In a team-based spirit competition, the role of a control-type soul master is to restrain the opponent and create opportunities for their teammates. This is exactly what Cao Jinxuan is attempting to do now.
However, his cultivation level is only that of a Soul Grandmaster, while Huo Yuhao has already advanced to the Soul Elder level.
This difference in cultivation means that Cao Jinxuan has lost his inherent advantage. If he were to recklessly attack first, he would only lose the initiative and be easily countered by Huo Yuhao.
Fortunately, Cao Jinxuan's martial soul is the Time Elapsing Clock, which possesses time-based attributes, and his soul skills have unique characteristics.
Moreover, Huo Yuhao is alone, isolated and without support. Most importantly, Huo Yuhao did not dodge or evade Cao Jinxuan's soul skill.
The equation for victory seemed to have been written successfully!
Cao Jinxuan is confident that even if Huo Yuhao's cultivation is one ring higher than his, he will still be able to control him for at least three seconds under his full restraint. And in those three short seconds, it would be enough for his teammates to unleash their full power.
"This is our passionate combination, a righteous three-on-one!"
Just as Cao Jinxuan's control-type soul skill struck Huo Yuhao, his teammates sprang into action. Their coordination was impeccable.
Long Xiangyue's martial soul is a boomerang. As he activated his skill, the two soul rings on his body lit up. The sound of the boomerang cutting through the air echoed as it gleamed brightly, tracing a beautiful arc straight toward Huo Yuhao.
Zhou Sichen's martial soul is a treasure book, which allows him to absorb the soul rings of the spirit beasts he has killed and transform them into his own abilities.
The most remarkable feature of this martial soul is that it has no attribute restrictions, meaning he can absorb and utilize the abilities of any spirit beast.
The two soul skills he unleashed transformed into a bear glowing with yellow light and a tiger wreathed in flames. The Earth Bear and the Flame Demon Tiger roared in unison as they charged toward Huo Yuhao.
Even the referee believed that Huo Yuhao, caught off guard and restrained, was already like a fish on the chopping board—his defeat seemed inevitable. The referee was prepared to intervene and rescue him at any moment.
However, it was only when Cao Jinxuan launched his soul skill at Huo Yuhao that he realized how naive his assumptions had been. As he looked at Huo Yuhao's calm expression, Cao Jinxuan's face paled with horror.
'What was happening?'
It was clearly Cao Jinxuan who had launched the soul skill at Huo Yuhao, so why had it backfired on himself?
Terrified, he wanted to shout a warning to his teammates. The plan had changed! But when he opened his mouth to speak, he realized that he had been artificially delayed in time and could do nothing.
He was trapped, unable to utter a single word. He could only watch helplessly as his two teammates charged forward, delivering themselves to Huo Yuhao on a silver platter.
Huo Yuhao's figure vanished. When he reappeared, all three of his opponents had collapsed unconscious.
To capture the thief, first capture the king!
At this moment, the three opponents were at their weakest, having expended all their strength in their attacks and control.
Although Zhou Sichen's treasure book martial soul was powerful, as a summoner, he had no offensive capabilities.
You couldn't expect him to hit people with the book in his hand, could you? The same went for Long Xiangyue. Although he could recall his boomerang, he was powerless to resist under Huo Yuhao's overwhelming strength.
As for Cao Jinxuan, he was still under the effects of Huo Yuhao's counterattack.
Just as Cao Jinxuan's control skill struck Huo Yuhao, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes were triggered, and a flash of purple-gold light rebounded the time-based control skill, amplifying its effect.
"Magic-Mirror Heaven and Earth Turn!"
'Hmph, in front of these eyes, nothing can escape!'
The evolved Spirit Eyes, as the king of time and space, are not to be underestimated.
Although Huo Yuhao currently lacks soul skills to manipulate the power of time at will, he still has the assistance of the soul bone attached to the Time and Space Demon Eye. Rebounding the time-based soul skill of a Soul Grandmaster is no challenge for him.
Huo Yuhao's team won once again, advancing to the quarterfinals.
…
In the stands, Wang Yan couldn't help but sigh. The quality of this year's freshmen was far superior to previous years. Especially Huo Yuhao, who dominated everyone.
"What a monster!" Wang Yan's breathing quickened, and his eyes burned with intensity as he watched Huo Yuhao.
Although he had high hopes for Huo Yuhao, he had also been worried when he saw him being restrained. Unexpectedly, the final outcome was still so overwhelming.
Moreover, this wasn't even Huo Yuhao's full strength. Wang Yan knew that Huo Yuhao's second martial soul was the Ultimate Ice.
Yet, throughout the entire freshman assessment, Huo Yuhao had not used his second martial soul even once.
This kid was truly terrifying—a unique and unprecedented genius. Wang Yan couldn't help but think that even the Sea God from ten thousand years ago would pale in comparison to him.
Xuan Zi, on the other hand, was leisurely munching on a chicken leg and sipping wine. He was already accustomed to Huo Yuhao's performances.
After all, Huo Yuhao, as a Soul Grandmaster, had once fought against a Soul Emperor at full strength. Now that he had broken through to the Soul Elder level, such a performance was to be expected.
As for his third soul skill, teleportation, Xuan Zi had also noticed it. But it was merely the icing on the cake.
In his opinion, the true source of Huo Yuhao's combat power still lay in his Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. Huo Yuhao was destined to become an Extreme Douluo.
If a soul master wished to break through from level 98 to level 99, they had to master the power of space to a certain extent.
At that level, spirit rings with low age limits were of little help, even for rare space-based spirit skills. There was only one thing that Xuan Zi cared about: the prototype of the self-created spirit skill that Huo Yuhao had used.
Xuan Zi could see that it already contained the initial fusion of mental power and soul power. This unique move bore some resemblance to Mu En's dominance over the world!
Had Mu En made a move after all? Xuan Zi's hopes of stealing Huo Yuhao as his disciple were dashed. He could only regret that he hadn't been able to take Huo Yuhao as his final disciple.
Huo Yuhao's talent in cooking was clearly on par with his cultivation talent. It was truly the greatest regret of Xuan Zi's life!
…
It was now afternoon, and only eight teams remained in the elimination round. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's team were among them.
Of the eight teams, four were led by freshmen at the Soul Elder level—a spectacle that hadn't been seen at Shrek Academy in hundreds of years.
On the viewing platform, Mu Jin tightly gripped the railing, her brow furrowed.
Originally, she had been proud that both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds from her class had made it to the quarterfinals. However, her pride had been short-lived.
The draw for the quarterfinals had resulted in a civil war within Class 9! Now, she was torn. Both teams were her students, and she couldn't bear to see either lose.
To be fair, she hoped that Huo Yuhao would win the championship. After all, in the three-person team competition system, it was unprecedented for a single individual to win the championship. But still…
"Mu Jin, it's truly unfortunate that the two teams from your class have been pitted against each other, forcing a civil war. What a pity," a faint voice remarked.
Mu Jin didn't need to turn around to know that it was Zhou Yi, the old woman who always dressed as an ugly woman.
"So what? Isn't your Class 1 doing well? I'd like to see how many of your students make it to the top four," Mu Jin retorted coldly.
"Your luck has run out. I just looked at the draw. The only team from your class is facing the No. 2 seed from the freshman class, which has Soul Elder. Guess who will win?" Mu Jin added with a sarcastic smile.
Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry about it."
Mu Jin continued to provoke her. "Nothing is absolute. However, I haven't heard of any particularly outstanding talents in your class this time—at least, no Soul Elder. What a pity."
Zhou Yi's expression turned cold. "Are you here to pick a fight?"
The smile on Mu Jin's face disappeared. "Didn't you start it first?"
Zhou Yi said lightly, "Shall we make a bet?"
Mu Jin's goal was to anger and humiliate Zhou Yi. She would never forget how Zhou Yi had expelled her brother. Therefore, Mu Jin was eager to engage. "A bet? What do you have to wager?"
Zhou Yi looked directly into Mu Jin's eyes and said in a deep voice, "A soul bone. Do you dare?"
At the mention of a soul bone, Mu Jin's lost rationality returned. "You? Let's talk about it when you can make it to the semifinals."
Mu Jin wasn't foolish. She wasn't familiar with the Xie Huanyue team from Class 2.
Although Xie Huanyue was a Soul Elder-level combatant, Wang Dong from Class 1 was clearly no pushover.
In previous matches, Mu Jin had gathered information on Wang Dong. The Light Goddess Butterfly, capable of flight, with a second ring at the millennium level… It was hard to say who would win against Xie Huanyue. If she lost the bet, she would lose both face and resources. She needed to play it safe.
"I hope your class can make it to the semifinals. You're not qualified to bet with me yet," Mu Jin mocked before slipping away to find another seat to observe the upcoming battle.
Zhou Yi was slightly pleased to see Mu Jin retreat. Although she appeared confident now, she was also uncertain.
Before the competition, Zhou Yi had urged Wang Dong and the others to do their best to win the championship. However, she hadn't expected there to be three special recruits at the Soul Elder level this year, making the competition exceptionally difficult.
It was already beyond Zhou Yi's expectations that Wang Dong and the others had made it this far. The reason she had proposed the soul bone bet was mainly due to her competitive nature and her desire to save face.
Mu Jin's provocations had irritated her, so she had made a bold statement to scare Mu Jin off.
Even a hundred-year soul bone was an extremely rare and valuable treasure.
Zhou Yi looked down at Wang Dong and the others, her palms sweating. Would they win? After all, they had reached the quarterfinals.
No one wanted to give up now, and Zhou Yi was no exception. If Wang Dong and the others could win, her promotion to a senior professional title might be secured.
"You must do your best, Wang Dong!" Zhou Yi silently urged. She believed that the key to victory lay with Wang Dong.
Meanwhile, in Assessment Area No. 3, the battle was about to begin.
Freshman Class 9: Huo Yuhao Vs Freshman Class 9: Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Nanmen Yuner.
The clash was imminent!
…
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