Chapter 131: He's So Arrogant!
Three days later.
It was the same training ground at the Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
After several days of battles, Huo Yuhao remained undefeated with a record of forty consecutive wins. If he won all ten matches today, his undefeated streak would reach fifty.
While the first day was about crushing weaker opponents, in the following days, those who stepped into the arena were mostly Level 5 and even Level 6 Soul Engineers.
Many geniuses from Illustrious Virtue Hall, upon receiving the declaration of war issued in Huo Yuhao's name, came to challenge him, which significantly increased Huo Yuhao's pressure.
They were all geniuses; who didn't have a bit of arrogance in their hearts?
He could single-handedly take on a peak Level 6 Soul Engineer, but facing ten consecutively—without using Soul Guidance Devices or Soul Skills like Ice Silkworm Metamorphosis—was indeed incredibly stressful.
The stimulating effect on his Martial Soul, combined with the cultivation of his Body Secret Art after each battle, far exceeded his expectations.
Huo Yuhao had a premonition that if he continued this way, he could raise his soul power to Rank 39 within a few days.
Today was the fifth day, and many people could no longer sit still, including true geniuses from Illustrious Virtue Hall like Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan.
Illustrious Virtue Hall was not exclusively for Soul Engineers; while Soul Engineers had an advantage in entering, the system was quite inclusive.
Illustrious Virtue Hall primarily opened its doors to Soul Engineers, with a Soul Engineer identity as the core threshold. However, this did not mean Illustrious Virtue Hall disregarded Soul Masters; in fact, besides the research potential of Soul Engineers, the practical combat ability of Soul Masters was also extremely important in Illustrious Virtue Hall's considerations.
Ji Juechen had previously gained entry into Illustrious Virtue Hall by defeating a quasi-Level 7 Soul Engineer with his swordsmanship.
Illustrious Virtue Hall typically required exceptional talent in Soul Engineering, but Ji Juechen, with his mastery of swordsmanship and his powerful strength far surpassing his peers, also gained exceptional admission to Illustrious Virtue Hall. This system was independent of traditional Soul Engineer evaluation standards, which were the inclusivity mentioned earlier.
The challenge arena was packed with spectators, and for many students, the main enjoyment these days was coming to watch the challenge matches when they had no classes.
It could be said that from ticket sales alone, Dean Jing Hongchen had already made a fortune, and of course, Huo Yuhao had his share too.
Xiao Hongchen had stopped taking bets. After these few days of battles, many students had become smarter and knew about Huo Yuhao's undefeated record. Continuing to take bets would only lead to huge losses.
At this moment, the entire training ground was exceptionally lively, with cheers and shouts echoing endlessly, all from students supporting Huo Yuhao.
It could be said that after these forty consecutive battles, Huo Yuhao had become an idol in the eyes of all the students in the academy.
If before many people might have been unconvinced by the title of 'Huo Yuhao, the number one genius,' now those doubts had completely vanished.
At this time, many students were discussing animatedly, all speculating who would be the first to enter the arena today.
Wang Yan stood beside Huo Yuhao, his expression agitated, constantly speaking to Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, in the upcoming battles, you can not only stimulate your Martial Soul but also try Soul Skill linkage and the soul ring fusion secret art. Although I only have the theory, it is definitely worth trying."
That's right. Wang Yan taught Huo Yuhao the Soul Skill linkage and soul ring fusion secret art he knew from Shrek.
He couldn't do it himself, but his theoretical knowledge was solid enough.
Previously, Kong Deming had tricked Xuan Zi, that old fellow, into giving up a Soul Skill fusion secret art. Now, with the Soul Skill linkage and this soul ring fusion secret art brought by Wang Yan, it could be said that the Sun Moon Empire also had a copy of the good things from Shrek.
Of course, these were still immature now. Wang Yan needed to conduct more in-depth research before he could pass these secret arts to the core students of the Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
"Don't worry, Teacher Wang, I will try to learn these secret arts."
It must be said that these things definitely had their unique aspects. Take the method of hiding the release order of soul rings, for example; although Huo Yuhao could use simulation to conceal it, it still had limitations. More skills are always better—who would dislike having fewer methods at their disposal?
Speaking of Wang Yan, he had been thriving at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy during this period. Not only could he fully pursue what he wanted to do, but he also had no bothersome issues.
Although he was ostensibly a teacher and dean of academic affairs at the academy, he didn't actually need to intervene much in many matters. Jing Hongchen's positioning for him was very simple: one-on-one guidance for Huo Yuhao.
In addition, the academy's extensive library and research findings were unconditionally opened to Wang Yan. It could be said that, compared to Shrek, Wang Yan was living the life he had always dreamed of.
It was true that Shrek's research on Martial Souls and Soul Masters was ahead of the Sun Moon Empire, but it also depended on how one looked at it. An academy with vast knowledge that one couldn't access, versus an academy with a less extensive knowledge system but unconditionally open to oneself—there was no need to hesitate on which to choose.
No matter how good Shrek's things were, if he could only see them but not learn them, hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to his own intelligence. Wang Yan was very glad he met Huo Yuhao and came to the Sun Moon Empire.
During this time, Wang Yan had also interacted with Xuan Ziwen. Although they were research experts in different fields, their attitudes towards research made them appreciate each other, and they became friends.
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's agreement, Wang Yan relaxed.
He knew that these secret arts would surely shine in Huo Yuhao's hands and not be buried, and his own value would also be recognized.
The challenge match continued, no different from usual. After achieving eight consecutive victories, Huo Yuhao was a bit fatigued.
It must be said that after the Level 6 Soul Engineers entered the arena, the fun of crushing weaker opponents was truly lost. Sometimes, he had to put in serious effort to cope.
"Challenge match, ninth round, begin!"
Seeing the person who entered the arena, Huo Yuhao's expression became a bit more serious this time.
"Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Ziyan, please enlighten me!"
At this point, most of the younger generation from Illustrious Virtue Hall had basically been challenged by Huo Yuhao. For example, Su Cheng, who was in the eighth round just now, a top combatant among Level 6 Soul Engineers, still couldn't pose much of a threat to Huo Yuhao.
From now on, it was time for Illustrious Virtue Hall's true core members to appear.
"Academy Teaching Department, quasi-second-year student, Huo Yuhao."
His self-introduction was still so unpretentious. Although he was now mainly learning from his teacher, his identity was indeed that of a student who should have advanced to the second year of the teaching department.
This self-introduction had irritated many people before. It had to be said that, while a bit arrogant, this arrogance was perfectly timed.
Through observation over the previous dozens of matches, Jing Ziyan was extremely familiar with Huo Yuhao's fighting style.
This top genius of the Sun Moon Empire was restricted from using Soul Guidance Devices, but that wasn't important. It sounded like a significant restriction, but upon closer thought, one would realize his soul power was only Rank 38, and his Soul Engineer level was rumored to be Rank 3.
Therefore, even if he was restricted from using Soul Guidance Devices, the impact was still minimal because Soul Guidance Devices couldn't be his primary combat method.
Through the battles of these past few days, the facts indeed confirmed her thoughts: in terms of combat experience and Soul Master abilities, he definitely far surpassed his own research into the Soul Engineer system. His powerful personal strength was his fundamental basis, with Soul Guidance Devices at most being auxiliary means.
So, relying on conventional Soul Engineer combat methods to deal with him was clearly ineffective. The defeat of those Level 6 Soul Engineer geniuses fully proved this point.
Therefore, at the moment the challenge began, she used a Level 6 Soul Guidance Device for absolute defense. A head-on clash was definitely not an option; that path had already proven unfeasible. Huo Yuhao had many methods, and his own strength was terrifyingly great, so she could only use some special means.
This Soul Guidance Shield could provide three seconds of absolute invincibility against a Soul Saint's attack. Watching Huo Yuhao charge, Jing Ziyan immediately activated her fifth Soul Skill, Purple Asterism, covering the arena with purple mist and manifesting purple star spots, which collectively weakened specific attributes by 20% or individually nullified multiple attributes by 80%.
She intended to first weaken Huo Yuhao's strength, then use the special effect of her fourth Soul Skill to generate corrosive purple flames, making Huo Yuhao fall asleep and lose combat capability.
—
End of Chapter