Exchanging names and classifications is a basic courtesy in soul duels.
Then, Huo Yuhao heard Wang Dong declare, "Wang Dong, Agility Attack System Battle Soul Master!"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Okay, okay, so that's how we're playing it.
But... there's technically nothing wrong with it.
As for the future class division—worst-case scenario, after the freshman assessment, he could just claim he's not suited for agility attack and transfer to the Power Attack department.
If he reveals his Clear Sky Hammer martial soul, it'll be impossible for him not to join the Power Attack class anyway.
Nothing to argue about there.
"Let the match begin!"
Du Weilun announced.
Since it was a semifinal match and one of Yan Shaozhe's prospective disciples was involved, Du Weilun personally served as referee.
He couldn't show bias toward Huo Yuhao in the rules, but he also couldn't treat the match casually.
As Du Weilun's voice fell, both sides activated their martial souls.
"Goddess of Light Butterfly, possession!"
"Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron!"
"Shuyue Sword!"
"Pipi Elephant, possession!"
"Fairy Wand!"
Huo Yuhao finally opened his mouth slowly, "Come out, my Ice Jade Centipede !"
The Variant Ice Jade Centipede martial soul appeared, shielding Huo Yuhao.
Xie Huan Yue and Lulu's eyes were immediately drawn to Wang Dong.
While both Xiao Xiao and Lan Yin had two yellow soul rings, Wang Dong's were one yellow and one purple.
Although they'd already heard this from Huang Tao, seeing a thousand-year second ring with their own eyes still had a certain impact… though it wasn't as earth-shattering as expected.
After all, they had someone on their team with two thousand-year rings!
Was Huo Yuhao not more shocking than Wang Dong?
Still, Wang Dong couldn't be underestimated.
With his thousand-year second ring, both his physical attributes and soul skills were strong—it was entirely possible to fight a three-ring opponent with just two.
Many teachers in the audience were drawn to Wang Dong's presence.
Zhou Yi puffed out her chest with pride, as if Wang Dong's brilliance was entirely thanks to her own teaching.
Even Elder Song looked at Wang Dong twice—once because of his stunning appearance after martial soul possession (she'd never seen such a handsome youth in her prime—if she had, she'd definitely have made a move), and once because of the thousand-year second soul ring. But Elder Song had seen far too much in her life.
A thousand-year second ring might be rare, but it wasn't unheard of—it just meant using whale glue to enhance one's body constitution.
Besides, whether a second soul ring was hundred- or thousand-year didn't change the fact it was still just the second ring. That few-hundred-year difference only mattered when one's strength was still low. It didn't have much long-term impact.
Elder Song's eyes finally fell on Huo Yuhao, curiosity showing.
"So he's Huo Yuhao?"
Before she came, Mu En had specifically told her to pay attention to a new student by that name.
Naturally, this piqued Elder Song's interest.
What kind of freshman could draw Mu En's personal attention?
...
"Since our opponent is the daughter of a God King, I'd better show some real ability too!"
"Plus, Yan Shaozhe is watching from above."
Huo Yuhao muttered inwardly.
If he wanted more investment, he had to show results. No way an investor would keep putting in resources if he didn't see returns.
But just as Huo Yuhao prepared for combat, he noticed something strange—Wang Dong and her team didn't attack.
Instead, the three of them huddled together, with Xiao Xiao placing her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron at the front. Each of them hid behind one of the small cauldrons.
Huo Yuhao blinked and reminded, "They're setting up a strategy on us!"
Lulu blushed and replied quickly, "Brother Hao, you're so smart!"
Xie Huan Yue rolled his eyes. He wasn't blind—of course he could see Wang Dong's team was setting up a tactic. And Lulu, could you be any more obvious with the flattery?
Xie Huan Yue: I'm starting to feel like I don't belong in this team anymore.
This was the tactic Zhou Yi had rushed to prepare for Wang Dong's group the night before.
Among Huo Yuhao's team, the highest-level member was Xie Huan Yue, a Defense-Type Soul Master. While he had some offensive power, that wasn't his specialty.
If they could force Xie Huan Yue into a frontal assault, Xiao Xiao could use her cauldrons to split the battlefield and create openings between the trio, giving Wang Dong and Lan Yin chances to strike.
This strategy hinged on the uniqueness of Xiao Xiao's twin martial souls.
The Soul-Suppressing Cauldron had offensive and support functions, while the Phoenix Flute had solid control abilities.
The cauldron's vibration force and the flute's slowing effect could potentially pin down Xie Huan Yue—and maybe even restrain the Ice Jade Centipede .
That would allow Wang Dong and Lan Yin to unleash their strongest offense on Huo Yuhao and Lulu, breaking the team without even engaging in direct combat.
On paper, Wang Dong seemed like the strongest in their team. But the real trump card was Xiao Xiao.
Their lineup looked like one power attack, one agility, one control—but in reality, it was two attackers and one controller, covering attack, defense, control, and support.
"I thought it'd be another exciting showdown. Who knew that sissy from Class One would be such a coward!" Xie Huan Yue mocked loudly.
Wang Dong's face darkened, but she remembered Zhou Yi's instructions—and her character—and forced herself to remain calm.
Wang Dong: Endure!
Seeing his taunt didn't work, Xie Huan Yue turned to his teammates, "I'll go break their formation. Yuhao, time your Centipede to support me—"
But Huo Yuhao reached out and patted his broad back.
"No need to complicate things. Let me handle this match."
Xie Huan Yue and Lulu both looked at him in confusion.
Huo Yuhao gave them a bright, sunny smile. "They're standing too close together."
That's when they suddenly remembered—the Ice Jade Centipede has soul skills!
Spectator seats.
Zhou Yi smiled as she noticed Xie Huan Yue didn't charge first.
Her strategy was working!
Wang Dong's team could win—thanks to her brilliant planning…
But then, something unexpected happened.
Huo Yuhao and his Ice Jade Centipede walked out from Xie Huan Yue's protection.
"What's he doing?" Zhou Yi frowned, puzzled.
On the other side, Qian Duoduo was surprised. "Is Huo Yuhao going to take on all three by himself?"
Yan Shaozhe gave a faint smile. "Perhaps."
In the audience, a seemingly ordinary middle-aged man—smiling, unassuming—watched Huo Yuhao intently.
His name was Wang Yan, a character from the original novel.
He was very interested in Huo Yuhao's mutated martial soul.
"Is he trying to use his martial soul as bait to break their formation? But if his soul is like the Master's from ten thousand years ago, any damage to it would affect his body."
"Oh wait—his Centipede has great defense. He's not afraid of injuries."
Wang Yan felt he'd figured out Huo Yuhao's strategy.
But then, Huo Yuhao and the Ice Jade Centipede suddenly stopped—seven steps away from Wang Dong's team.
He shifted sideways and pointed a finger.
"Beyond seven steps, I'm faster."
"White mist, attack!"
The Ice Jade Centipede reared up and spat a huge cloud of white mist.
The mist spread rapidly—and since Wang Dong's team was huddled close, all three were engulfed instantly. None escaped.
On closer inspection, one could see tiny ice particles floating in the fog.
This wasn't a soul skill—just the Centipede 's natural poisonous cold fog.
Its power was limited since it wasn't a real soul skill, but against three two-ring Soul Masters, it was more than enough.
Huo Yuhao was worried that using an actual soul skill might accidentally take out Xiao Xiao and Lan Yin altogether.
Caught in the mist, the trio immediately lost vision.
Wang Dong shouted, "Careful, sneak attack!"
But it was too late—they'd already inhaled the fog. The icy particles drifted right into their bodies.
Xiao Xiao, with the weakest constitution, immediately felt her body stiffen and her soul power falter.
Huo Yuhao turned back confidently.
"The fight's already over."
Three minutes of prep. Thirty seconds of combat.
It wasn't that Brother Hao was too fast—it was that his opponents couldn't take it.
After seeing the Exotic Frost Centipede Spirit exhale a puff of white mist, Huo Yuhao immediately turned and walked away.
The observing teachers were all a bit confused.
Yan Shaozhe suddenly spoke up, "Director Du, the match can already be declared over. Hurry and call for the healing-type soul masters to save the members of Wang Dong's team."
Upon hearing Yan Shaozhe's words, everyone was shocked, and Zhou Yi's face was filled with disbelief.
Zhou Yi immediately shouted, her face turning ugly, "This is a sham! Wang Dong hasn't admitted defeat yet—why are you ending the match? Just because you want to take Huo Yuhao as your disciple?!"
The teachers broke into an uproar.
Many even subtly distanced themselves from Zhou Yi.
Already unpopular, Zhou Yi was instantly ostracized even more.
The other teachers believed Yan Shaozhe wouldn't play favorites. If he said this, he must have his reasons. Even if he were pulling strings, as long as he could provide a reasonable explanation, they wouldn't make a fuss about it.
After all, they were just employees. The students were only temporary charges. It wasn't worth offending the dean over this.
Still want promotions and raises, don't they?
Zhou Yi calling it a cover-up before hearing Yan Shaozhe's reason was way out of line—it was essentially questioning his character, and even the fairness of Shrek Academy itself!
No one wanted to be collateral damage if she went down.
Mu Jin saw Yan Shaozhe's expression darken and nearly burst out laughing.
Did Zhou Yi have her brain eaten by a Wind Baboon?
Oh right, this was just her personality. Never mind then.
What do they call this?
Put nicely: "Unyielding in the face of power!"
Put bluntly: "No respect for rank or order!"
At that moment, Elder Song spoke up. She shot Zhou Yi a sidelong glance and said coldly, "A mere Soul Emperor dares question the Dean's judgment?"
"There's poison in that mist. If we delay any longer, those three kids inside might be in real danger. If anything happens to them, the blame will lie squarely with you for delaying rescue!"
"I really want to know who gave them that ridiculous tactic."
Elder Song wasn't defending Yan Shaozhe; she was defending the authority of Shrek Academy's upper echelon.
Hearing Elder Song's words, Qian Duoduo reacted first. "This is bad. It's been way too quiet in that white mist. Quick, save them!"
Du Weilun immediately rushed into the arena.
Zhou Yi's face went pale as she exclaimed, "Poison? Impossible! That spirit never used poison before!"
Mu Jin sneered at her from the side, "You think people have to reveal all their tricks to you in advance?"
Zhou Yi nearly ground her teeth to dust.
Who would've thought—this deep into the semi-finals—someone was still holding back a hidden move?
Just then, a teacher cried out in alarm.
Even Du Weilun, who had dashed into the arena, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Because something unexpected had happened.
Huo Yuhao, who had been walking back to his seat, had already been alerted by the Skydream Iceworm.
"Careful, Bro Hao! Something's going on with Wang Dong!"
The Skydream Iceworm had been monitoring Wang Dong the entire time with undivided focus.
So the moment anything changed with Wang Dong, it sensed it immediately.
Inside the white mist, Xiao Xiao and Lan Yin had already collapsed, and Wang Dong had also lost the ability to fight.
By the time they realized the mist was problematic, it was too late. Their bodies were already frozen stiff, and their soul power circulation had slowed—classic symptoms of being poisoned by cold.
Cold poison is a toxin that causes the body to stiffen as if frozen.
Thankfully, this was just the ambient cold poison released passively by the Exotic Frost Centipede Spirit, not a full soul skill. Otherwise, Xiao Xiao and Lan Yin might have been in mortal danger. Even if they survived, the damage would have been hard to recover from.
"Damn it, despicable..." Wang Dong thought angrily, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have listened to that old hag's tactics. If I'd just fought directly, even losing would've been more straightforward!"
Standing there, getting blasted in the face by Huo Yuhao like an idiot—how humiliating!
But ultimately, she lost consciousness.
Just as Wang Dong passed out—
A divine blue glow flashed on her forehead, and a tiny trident symbol appeared and disappeared in an instant.
The next second, Wang Dong opened her eyes again—but they were now unfocused, concealed behind a blue light.
She was being controlled!
Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess Spirit vanished, replaced by the Hao Tian Hammer.
Wang Dong stomped on the ground, powerful force erupting from her legs. She burst out of the mist and charged toward Huo Yuhao, who was still returning to his seat.
"What?!"
Du Weilun exclaimed in shock.
Even Elder Song stood up abruptly. "Hao Tian Hammer? Twin Spirits?!"
Twin Spirits weren't unheard of, but the Hao Tian Hammer? That was something else entirely.
So Wang Dong was a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect?!
As Wang Dong charged at Huo Yuhao, the Skydream Iceworm also sprang into action. The Exotic Frost Centipede Spirit spun around and launched itself toward Wang Dong.
"You dare touch my bro? Did you ask me first?"
And then—
"Ouch, what the hell?!"
Wielding the Hao Tian Hammer, Wang Dong unleashed power far beyond that of a typical Rank 20 Soul Grandmaster, smashing the Exotic Frost Centipede Spirit flying.
"Not good!"
The Skydream Iceworm cried out in alarm, its voice echoing into Huo Yuhao's mind via their spiritual link.
"Bro Hao, she's activated it!"
The centipede wasn't overpowered by raw strength—it had been suppressed by some strange force that disabled its abilities.
As Wang Dong charged at Huo Yuhao again, she didn't swing the hammer but instead raised her other hand, reaching out as if to touch him.
"Yuhao, look out!"
"Be careful!!!"
Xie Huanyue rushed toward Huo Yuhao. Lulu raised her fairy staff. Both shouted warnings.
Huo Yuhao simply turned, facing the approaching Wang Dong.
His eyes lit up with icy blue light, releasing an aura of extreme cold.
In that moment, time seemed to slow for him. His mind raced.
He could clearly see the cracks splitting Wang Dong's skin, and the blood spurting out.
Clearly, to draw out that explosive strength, whoever was controlling her had forced Wang Dong to pay a heavy price.
And that hidden blue light deep in her eyes—Huo Yuhao took it all in.
"The old bastard's showing up personally now?"
Wang Dong's fingertips were just about to touch Huo Yuhao.
But it wasn't to attack—
It was to inject her soul power into him.
The purpose? Obvious.
"Trying to use this battle to entrap me? Custom-make a Martial Soul Fusion Technique for me?" Huo Yuhao sneered inwardly.
A certain God King was getting anxious. Because Huo Yuhao had been keeping a low profile, Wang Dong had no real chance to interact with him—yet Huo Yuhao was flourishing at Shrek.
That God King realized he couldn't sit back any longer.
If Shrek fully won over Huo Yuhao, it would be hard to use Wang Dong to leash him again.
Whether Huo Yuhao joined Shrek Academy or Tang Sect, he was currently not bound to Wang Dong.
But if they established a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the God King could interfere far more easily in Huo Yuhao's life.
The icy chill in Huo Yuhao's eyes exploded forth.
"Zero-Degree Ice Seal!"
Wang Dong froze mid-stride, her outstretched hand mere inches from Huo Yuhao.
But those inches now felt like a world apart—utterly unreachable.
At that moment, Wang Dong had been completely frozen, encased in a block of ice radiating cold energy.
Huo Yuhao stepped back, creating distance between them.
"Beyond seven steps, I'm fast.
Within seven steps, I'm both accurate and fast."
"A self-created soul skill?!"
Yan Shaozhe cried out in surprise.
However, his exclamation cut off Qian Duoduo, who was just about to shout the same thing. Qian Duoduo's expression froze, then turned strangely as he looked at Yan Shaozhe.
"You're planning to take Huo Yuhao as your disciple, right? Don't tell me you didn't know about this? You call yourself a dean—such negligence. Might as well transfer Huo Yuhao to our Soul Tool Department. We'd be happy to give him full support."
Yan Shaozhe didn't bother replying to Qian Duoduo. He quickly composed himself, putting on his usual calm demeanor as he stepped down personally to manage the aftermath. He also wanted to question Huo Yuhao about that self-created soul skill.
Qian Duoduo immediately followed. He too wanted to get close to Huo Yuhao and earn some favor.
Meanwhile, Elder Song—still seated in the viewing stands—had a gleam in her eyes, filled with excitement.
"Ultimate Ice! It's Ultimate Ice! No wonder Elder Mu asked me to keep an eye on him!"
Thinking this, Elder Song looked toward Yan Shaozhe, who had just reached Huo Yuhao's side.
"Shaozhe, I'm sorry. You're still too young. A disciple like that is beyond your ability to control. Let this auntie handle it…"
On the competition field.
"小雨浩 (Little Yuhao), I'm the Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo," he said in an extremely kind tone.
"Hello, Dean Qian," Huo Yuhao replied politely.
Qian Duoduo smiled even more warmly—he loved well-behaved kids. "Good, good, good. Since it's our first meeting, this Grade 3 flying soul tool I personally made will be my little gift to you."
"Um…" Huo Yuhao hesitated and looked at Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe smiled gently at him, then glanced at Qian Duoduo with a faintly annoyed tone: "Take it. Getting this stingy iron rooster to give something nice isn't easy. But remember, the path of a soul master should not overly rely on soul tools, understood?"
"Understood, Uncle Yan."
Huo Yuhao happily accepted the Grade 3 flying soul tool and thanked him sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle Qian."
Qian Duoduo, although a bit unhappy with Yan Shaozhe's jab, instantly felt it was all worth it upon hearing Huo Yuhao call him "Uncle" and seeing how much the boy adored the soul tool.
Inwardly, he cheered:
"Hah! I've entered the track—I'm officially in the race to win Huo Yuhao's favor. Yan Shaozhe, just wait till I poach your prized student! Hahaha…"
Yan Shaozhe looked puzzled as he glanced at the suddenly grinning Qian Duoduo, then turned back to Huo Yuhao and asked seriously:
"Yuhao, the move you just used was a self-created soul skill, wasn't it? When did you develop it?"
"Oh, that… It's something passed down from my ancestors," Huo Yuhao scratched his head. "Uncle Yan, you know about my family. Even if my ancestors absorbed soul rings, they couldn't use soul skills. They could only manipulate soul power. So they focused on researching self-created soul skills to protect themselves. After many generations of effort, they eventually developed this eye-based self-created soul skill."
The truth was, the icy potential of his Spiritual Eye martial soul had been developed by Huo Yuhao into an offensive technique. It was originally a dual-attribute spiritual and ice attack.
But martial souls are mysterious things.
Even without directly activating the Spiritual Eye, he could still unleash a portion of its power—pure ice-type attacks. He named this technique Zero-Degree Ice Seal.
Yan Shaozhe had no reason to doubt him. He sighed softly and gently ruffled Huo Yuhao's hair.
"You've had a tough time… But thankfully, your generation is finally seeing the light."
"Uncle Yan…"
Huo Yuhao looked moved, his eyes reddening instantly.
Qian Duoduo, however, was confused.
He had no idea about Huo Yuhao's fabricated family history. What puzzled him even more was: what kind of thinking leads someone to develop an eye-based freezing technique?
But he knew now wasn't the time for questions—Huo Yuhao needed comfort.
"Little Yuhao, don't be sad. Here, Uncle has another gift for you—a Grade 4 close-combat soul tool, personally crafted by me. Consider it a reward for your victory in the semi-finals."
"Thank you, Uncle Qian! You're the best!"
"Haha, if you ever need anything, just come to your Uncle!"
Qian Duoduo beamed so hard that his gums showed as he handed Huo Yuhao a small sword-like soul tool.
Yan Shaozhe's face twitched. He finally felt something was wrong.
Why does it feel like someone's trying to steal my disciple?!
He was about to warn Qian Duoduo when a commotion interrupted him.
Everyone turned to see the source—it was Zhou Yi making a scene.
"That was attempted murder!" Zhou Yi shouted.
Du Weilun stood helplessly, trying to stop her.
Earlier, while Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo were busy cozying up to Huo Yuhao, Du Weilun had been handling the aftermath.
After dispersing the fog, they discovered that Xiao Xiao and Lan Yin had turned rigid with cold—Du Weilun nearly thought someone had died. Fortunately, healing-type soul masters confirmed they were only afflicted by a special cold poison that caused stiffness.
The cold poison wasn't deadly.
After some dispel techniques and healing, both girls were fine, needing only a couple of days' rest.
But Wang Dong was a different matter.
Du Weilun had personally tried to dissolve the ice encasing him, but the process was painfully slow.
It wasn't impossible, but the quality of the ice far surpassed his soul power.
He realized then: this wasn't ordinary ice. If not melted in time, Wang Dong's life could be in danger.
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo led Huo Yuhao over to check. Upon learning the situation, Huo Yuhao personally removed the ice from Wang Dong.
Even as a Grand Soul Master, the Ultimate Ice he produced couldn't be easily dispelled—it was a matter of soul power quality.
While removing the ice, Huo Yuhao also dispersed the illusory white tiger in his mind's eye.
"With the luck I've gained from Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Lan Yin, I'm close to my next breakthrough."
Just over a month ago, he had only just entered the Bhikkhu (比丘) level. Now he was racing toward the Dharma Master (法师) level.
Even the legendary Pudu Cihang didn't grow this fast.
But who told him to enter Shrek Academy, a place brimming with fate and fortune? And no one suspected his methods either.
A reckless little thief in a grain store—it'd be harder not to get fat.
After Huo Yuhao lifted the ice from Wang Dong, both Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo frowned at the boy's injuries. They quickly summoned healing-type soul masters.
But the results weren't good.
Yan Shaozhe immediately declared Huo Yuhao's team the winners and, along with Qian Duoduo, rushed Wang Dong to treatment.
A descendant of the Clear Sky Sect can't be allowed to die at Shrek Academy.
Zhou Yi, likely worried about Wang Dong, also hurried after them.
Huo Yuhao watched her leave silently.
"As long as she's not my teacher, the more scary teachers like Zhou Yi we have at Shrek, the better. Just don't mess with me."
At that moment, Xie Huanyue and Lulu finally dared to approach Huo Yuhao. They had been too intimidated earlier by the two Deans hovering around him.
The three joked and laughed as they left the arena.
Du Weilun watched their backs with a puzzled blink.
"Wasn't it Xie Huanyue's team? How did it become Huo Yuhao's team? Whatever… Let's just move on to the next match…"
Elder Song: Preparing to join the battle.
Qian Duoduo: Entering the race track.
Yan Shaozhe: Oh no… I'm going to be the loser in this love triangle!
Noon Break.
Huo Yuhao casually found a quiet corner in the academy to sit cross-legged and cultivate, substituting cultivation for rest.
Mainly, it was to digest the fortune gained in the morning—after all, there was another feast coming in the afternoon.
As for the two soul tools given to him by Qian Duoduo, Huo Yuhao only glanced at them, learned how to use them, and then casually tossed them into his storage wristband.
The two soul tools were:
A Grade 3 Flying Soul Tool, resembling a glider, usable only for solo flight.
A Grade 4 Close-Combat Soul Tool, a short sword longer than the White Tiger Dagger, extremely sharp.
Both soul tools were just right for Huo Yuhao's current use.
But as for soul tools in general, Huo Yuhao had little interest and didn't want to study them.
He had previously researched the White Tiger Dagger and the storage wristband.
His evaluation: "Just right for a soul master, but not suitable for a cultivator."
Not that Huo Yuhao couldn't unleash the power of soul tools—in fact, with his spiritual power, he could use them even better.
Rather, soul tools couldn't fully utilize a cultivator's capabilities—the conversion efficiency of the weapon's power was too low. They couldn't properly channel or express the force of his techniques.
"Once I reach the next realm, I can start crafting my own weapons and pills—then I'll be able to refine my life-bound magic weapon," Huo Yuhao thought to himself.
A cultivator's life-bound magic weapon was akin to their personal exclusive weapon—its importance was self-evident.
Currently, Huo Yuhao was at the Bhikkhu Realm, with limited abilities. His martial arts and cultivation mainly involved basic fist and foot techniques, and the few techniques he could use barely qualified as actual spells and required tools to aid them.
For example—voodoo dolls.
Without a higher realm, there was no understanding of advanced techniques.
Simply put—the engine isn't strong enough to drive a supercar.
If not for Huo Yuhao's past millennium of cultivation experience from "Universal Mercy Cihang," he wouldn't be able to use any spells at all—it would be difficult just to learn them.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao could be considered a reincarnated expert retraining himself, so normal standards didn't apply.
Even so, his current realm was only at the Bhikkhu level. He couldn't do anything too outrageous—at most, he could use a few high-proficiency spells and a few that didn't have realm requirements.
Only upon reaching the Mage Realm could he formally begin alchemy, weapon crafting, spell training, and martial cultivation beyond just fists and kicks.
In cultivator terms, this would be truly stepping onto the path of cultivation. For monsters, it would mean forming a true presence.
Luckily, Huo Yuhao wouldn't need to learn from scratch in the future—he only needed to review his memories and grind proficiency.
After the noon break—
The finals began.
Huo Yuhao reunited with Xie Huanyue and Lulu outside the arena.
"Contestants, enter the field!" Du Weilun announced.
The three of them entered the arena. Huo Yuhao casually glanced toward the spectators' seats.
Zhou Yi wasn't present.
Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo, and Elder Song were still there, seemingly normal.
The other teachers were also focused on the match.
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and turned to examine his opponent—also one of this body's enemies—Dai Huabin.
But upon seeing Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao showed no special emotion and even gave him a smile.
After all—would you randomly shout at a pig in your own pen?
But Dai Huabin didn't smile back. Instead, his face darkened, and a hint of hostility flashed in his eyes.
Clearly, Dai Huabin viewed Huo Yuhao as an enemy in the competition.
He had looked down on Huo Yuhao to begin with—and now Huo Yuhao dared compete for the championship? No way he'd treat him kindly.
The White Tiger Duke's teachings also didn't permit Dai Huabin to go easy on rivals.
Others might show Huo Yuhao some courtesy for being chosen by Yan Shaozhe as a disciple—but Dai Huabin, born of nobility, feared no one.
Dai Huabin: The championship is mine! Huo Yuhao can't take it! I said it!
Huo Yuhao maintained his smile, but his eyes narrowed.
Not giving Brother Hao face, huh? Then don't blame me for teaching you a lesson!
In the morning match, although Dai Huabin's team won, Zhou Sichen's team fought fiercely, exhausting Dai's team quite a bit.
Before the match began, both sides reported their names.
First, Huo Yuhao's team:
"Xie Huanyue."
"Huo Yuhao."
"Lulu."
Then Dai Huabin's team:
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
"Begin!" Du Weilun shouted.
All six immediately activated their Martial Souls.
"White Tiger, Possess!"
"Nether Cat, Possess!"
"Nine-Tailed Fox, Possess!"
Dai Huabin was a three-ring Soul Elder, with optimal ring configuration.
Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie were both two-ring Soul Grandmasters.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but take a few more glances at the two beast-eared girls beside Dai Huabin.
They were both beautiful, and after Martial Soul possession, their mature and alluring figures stood out even more.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu charged toward Huo Yuhao's group—one was a power-type soul master, the other an agility-type. They opted for the initiative.
Xie Huanyue and the Exotic Frost Centipede Martial Soul also took action to intercept.
As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu activated their Martial Souls, Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea stirred—his White Tiger manifestation suddenly became restless, baring its youthful fangs toward the two, filled with hunger.
"Relax—you'll get to eat eventually. But not yet." Huo Yuhao pacified the observing White Tiger.
Just then, Huo Yuhao noticed a spiritual force trying to invade his sea of consciousness.
Looking up, he saw—Cui Yajie had made a move.
At the moment, she was smiling sweetly at him.
Her first soul ring had quietly lit up—its glow subtle and easily overlooked. A perfect method for a sneak attack.
Cui Yajie was a rare spiritual-type soul master, and her beast Martial Soul—Nine-Tailed Fox—was a high-level soul beast. Each soul ring granted her another tail, and greater power.
Her first soul skill: Charm.
In the original novel, Huo Yuhao had also been targeted by her Charm. The result? He rebounded it with his overwhelming spiritual power, injuring her instead.
And now...
A chill flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
"Absolute Zero Freeze!"
Cui Yajie instantly felt icy cold—
Then completely lost consciousness.
A life-sized ice sculpture appeared in the arena.
The entire arena erupted.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu turned to look—and their scalps tingled as they saw Cui Yajie completely frozen.
They'd heard of Huo Yuhao's self-created soul skill in the morning, where he froze Wang Dong with just a glance.
But—how could Cui Yajie get frozen from that far away?
Wasn't there a range limit?!
There was—but Cui Yajie was still within it.
Absolute Zero Freeze had a much greater range than expected. Not as far as Spiritual Detection, but still within Huo Yuhao's line of sight.
Xie Huanyue shouted in excitement, "Nice one! Yuhao, freeze them too!"
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu immediately became wary, moving closer together, as if ready to use their trump card:
Martial Soul Fusion Technique—Nether White Tiger!
But Huo Yuhao just rolled his eyes and said irritably:
"You think I can just use that move anytime I want?"
"Oh, right~" Xie Huanyue laughed awkwardly, "Such a powerful self-created soul skill must be limited."
But the truth was—Huo Yuhao could use Absolute Zero Freeze at will.
It just required aiming—it only fired in a straight line, and the soul power cost was high.
Just one use consumed one-tenth of his soul power.
Now that Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were alert, they could just keep dodging to avoid it.
Rather than revealing his weakness, it was better to save it—he might get a better shot later.
After all, the audience wasn't full of allies.
Better to hold a card in reserve—it might just snare a target in the future.
Yan Shaozhe, watching from the stands, wasn't suspicious. Instead, he nodded with a smile:
"That self-created soul skill is impressive. Even if it can only be used once in a short time, it proves Yuhao isn't without offensive ability. It can absolutely be his trump card."
In the arena—
Hearing Huo Yuhao's comment, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu secretly sighed in relief.
But before two seconds passed—
The ground between them cracked open.
The Exotic Frost Centipede burst from below—
And blasted Zhu Lu in the face.
While Huo Yuhao attracted everyone's attention with his self-created soul skill—
The Variant Frost Centipede Martial Soul had quietly made its move!
Skydream Iceworm: Sneak attack!
The moment it struck, it targeted Zhu Lu with a lethal move.
Even Wang Dong couldn't withstand the cold poison—Zhu Lu had even less chance.
Dai Huabin realized—he was out of options.
"Zhu Lu!" Dai Huabin shouted, making a snap decision and charging into the white mist.
Xie Huan Yue was dumbfounded. "Huh? He just threw himself in?"
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect Dai Huabin to be so decisive."
While Zhu Lu couldn't withstand the cold poison, the Variant Frost Centipede's casually spat venom wasn't instantly fatal.
There were still more than ten seconds before Zhu Lu would lose combat capability.
If one was fast enough—that time would be enough.
Sure enough—
A powerful soul power fluctuation erupted from within the mist. Then, a tiger's roar shattered the fog.
The Variant Frost Centipede quickly fled underground.
"Roar—!"
A giant tiger shadow, over eight meters long, appeared in the arena.
The massive white tiger held its proud head high, exuding the domineering aura of a king of beasts.
The teachers in the spectator stands were in an uproar, then filled with excitement.
To witness a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—this final match was too thrilling!
Yan Shaozhe subtly clenched his fist, thinking, Huo Yuhao's championship might be gone.
Qian Duoduo was already considering what gift he should prepare to win Huo Yuhao's favor after he lost.
Elder Song, on the other hand, looked rather expectant—an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul isn't so easy to defeat.
On the field, Huo Yuhao simply exclaimed, "Now that's badass!"
Xie Huan Yue's eyes widened. "That move—it's…"
Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Nether White Tiger!
The Nether White Tiger was the most famous Martial Soul Fusion Skill on the continent—bar none!
Because it had a stable inheritance line and immense power. A thousand years ago, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's god-level Nether White Tiger had even reached legendary status.
Not every Dai and Zhu pair could perform the skill, but if they could, their fusion compatibility would never be below 70%.
And the power of a Fusion Skill was directly tied to that compatibility—the higher the fusion, the greater the might.
Coming from a powerful family, Xie Huan Yue had of course heard of the Nether White Tiger. From Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's background, he instantly knew—that's what it was.
He just hadn't expected Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu could actually perform it!
Though intermarriage between the Dai and Zhu families was common, that didn't guarantee a Fusion Skill.
They had never shown this before.
"We really hit the jackpot!" Xie Huan Yue muttered. He only had one thought—This is exhilarating!
Then, flames of battle lit up in his heart.
"Let me see just how powerful this legendary Nether White Tiger really is!"
The moment it appeared, the Nether White Tiger didn't give him any time to react—it pounced straight at Xie Huan Yue.
Huo Yuhao had just wanted to say something when Xie Huan Yue let out three roars in a row. His three soul rings flickered rapidly as he unleashed three soul skills and bulked up.
Then, without retreating, he charged forward.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!!"
Even in defeat, he would fall charging ahead!
"If you want to hurt my teammates—you'll have to step over my body first!"
Lulu quickly cast her two soul skills on him, shouting, "Big Brother Xie Huan Yue, go for it!!!"
"White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
Dai Huabin's voice echoed from within the Nether White Tiger. At the same time, its only purple soul ring glowed.
The soul-force-covered tiger claw slammed down like a hammer, swatting Xie Huan Yue away like a rubber ball. His shield shattered instantly upon impact.
He was blown out of the arena even faster than he had charged in.
Thankfully, Du Weilun caught him in time before he hit the ground, preventing further injury.
Even so, Xie Huan Yue looked quite miserable—blood trickled from his nose and mouth, clearly suffering internal damage.
"Th-thank you, Director Du…" he muttered weakly.
"Don't speak. Someone will take you for treatment right away," Du Weilun said.
"No… I… I want to… watch… the match…"
Xie Huan Yue insisted he couldn't leave. He had to watch the final to the end—to stand with his team!
Du Weilun was helpless.
Back in the arena—
The Nether White Tiger, having defeated Xie Huan Yue, turned its gaze to Huo Yuhao and Lulu.
Lulu trembled and clutched her staff.
The big tiger's going to eat us!
Huo Yuhao smacked his lips with slight exasperation.
He'd wanted to tell Xie Huan Yue to coordinate with him and let him do the damage…
Never expected him to be that fired up.
But—no big deal.
He'd just get less assist experience now.
Under everyone's gaze, Huo Yuhao calmly raised his left hand and gently clenched it.
The next second—
Boom—
A thunderous explosion. The ground beneath the Nether White Tiger collapsed, instantly throwing it off balance. Dirt sprayed onto its body as though to bury it alive.
Unbeknownst to all—the ground had long been hollowed out!
The Nether White Tiger tried to leap out.
But it didn't expect—a giant centipede lay hidden in the earth directly beneath it, waiting with razor-sharp limbs.
It was the Variant Frost Centipede Martial Soul!
Now back to its normal form, it stretched over nine meters long—even larger than the Nether White Tiger.
Catching it off guard, the Frost Centipede wrapped around the tiger and plunged all nineteen of its sharp limbs into it.
The Nether White Tiger let out a terrible shriek.
Its soul power surged—Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu clearly trying to activate a skill in counterattack.
But—
Huo Yuhao wouldn't give them the chance.
"Too late!"
Their soul power stalled—the soul skill failed!
"How is this possible?!" Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu exclaimed in shock.
A layer of frost had silently crept over the Nether White Tiger's body.
Looking closely, one could see that the dirt sprayed up during the collapse was full of tiny ice crystals.
That was the effect of the second soul skill—"Hidden Poison".
The entire arena's dirt had been imbued with cold poison by the Variant Frost Centipede. When the dirt landed on the tiger, the venom invaded its body. And the tiger had been completely unprepared.
With the power difference, the Nether White Tiger had no way to resist. The cold poison spread rapidly.
Frozen in both soul power and body—it could no longer use any soul skills.
"Time to end this."
Two purple soul rings floated above the Frost Centipede, stunning everyone.
Elder Song stood up in shock. She'd never seen anything like this!
A second purple ring alone signified wealth and power.
Both first and second rings being purple? That represented unmatched potential!
"First Soul Skill: Frost Centipede Venom!"
The monstrous centipede lifted its grotesque head and opened its mouth, spraying a mist of icy fog toward the Nether White Tiger.
At the same time, its first soul ring glowed.
The icy mist, made of countless frozen particles, had an almost dreamlike beauty—refracting the sunlight into a rainbow glow.
But within it lay a terrifying toxin that attacked at the cellular level—laced with Ultimate Ice energy.
Just before the mist hit—
The Nether White Tiger's body vanished—forcefully extracted from the centipede's grasp!
The ice mist struck the ground instead.
No corrosion could be heard—only a wave of intense cold spread from the impact site, transforming the entire arena into a snowy, frozen realm.
Even the teachers in the spectator seats all shivered in unison.
Huo Yuhao stood in front of Lulu, shielding her from harm.
Snow began to fall from the sky.
Lulu caught a flake in wonder, watching it melt in her hand—it was real.
The Variant Frost Centipede shrunk and returned to Huo Yuhao, coiling protectively around him.
Skydream Iceworm: "Yuhao, wasn't that awesome?!"
Huo Yuhao: "Brother Skydream, you're the best!"
Then Huo Yuhao looked into the distance.
The Nether White Tiger had vanished. A pale Dai Huabin and unconscious Zhu Lu were being carried by Yan Shaozhe.
Knowing the effect of Huo Yuhao's first soul skill, Yan Shaozhe had rescued them. Zhu Lu had fainted, but Dai Huabin was still conscious.
Yan Shaozhe was astonished—and pleased—by Huo Yuhao's performance.
But he didn't notice the look in Dai Huabin's eyes—
An uncontrollable shock and fear.
He had just brushed past death by a hair's breadth.
As Dai Huabin looked at Huo Yuhao, he saw—
Huo Yuhao smiling at him.
But behind that smile, his eyes were icy calm. The Variant Frost Centipede beside him flexed its jaws slowly.
A nameless fear crept into Dai Huabin's heart.
"AHHHHH!!!!"
Dai Huabin screamed in terror—and fainted.
What he couldn't see was—
The Visualization White Tiger squatted atop his head, devouring his luck.
Dai Huabin: Don't come any closer!!