Chapter 132: Invincible Among Peers!!
"Excellent combat awareness. Finally, someone decent."
Huo Yuhao intended to try the combat style of Soul Skill linkage, so he did not stop her.
The Ice Empress's Body, a Soul Skill exclusive to the Ice Empress, linked with the Ice Empress's Wrath. This was his first attempt at linking two soul skills.
Under the effect of the Ice Empress's Body, his body was instantly covered with a brilliant, eye-catching layer of jade ice crystals, forming a powerful defensive shield while significantly boosting his attributes. It could also resist various attacks and reflect a large amount of ice-attribute damage to enemies who touched the shield.
The linked Ice Empress's Wrath, while ensuring his defense was maximized, could enhance his strength and attack damage to the extreme, releasing a powerful freezing force with astonishing power.
Jing Ziyan's fifth Soul Skill not only failed to weaken Huo Yuhao but was instead reflected onto herself under the Ice Empress's Body.
That invincible soul guidance shield, claimed to be unbreakable by anyone below a Soul Saint, was as laughable as Xu Jiujiu's reverse soul guidance shield—instantly shattered by Huo Yuhao.
Crack!
A powerful explosion sounded, and after the ice mist dissipated, Jing Ziyan was already kneeling on the ground, looking utterly dejected.
It was fortunate that Xuan Ziwen rescued her in time; otherwise, something would have definitely been left on her body.
Huo Yuhao—he didn't care if you were male or female; he was quite ruthless.
"The winner of the ninth round, Huo Yuhao."
After the match, Huo Yuhao did not need to rest, so the tenth round, which was the last challenge of the day, quickly began.
Just kidding—with Life Gold's abnormal recovery, the consumption of such a battle couldn't even keep up with the enhancements of the two.
Often, as soon as soul power decreased on one side, the consumed soul power was replenished on the other. Huo Yuhao no longer needed to worry about his soul power, and with the body + soul power internal dual circulation of the body secret method, to some extent, it had already made his soul power endless.
"The tenth challenger, Ji Juechen."
"Challenger, please enter the arena!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao, who had been feeling a bit bored, finally smiled. This was more like it. He finally couldn't hold back and appeared—the sword fanatic Ji Juechen.
A man with long, light green hair, carrying a long sword on his back, and a cold demeanor, entered the arena.
The previously calm training ground instantly erupted into a frenzy.
"Ji Juechen, has he finally decided to enter? Can Huo Yuhao win this one?"
"Hard to say. This one is a true madman. I think both sides are going to get serious now!"
"Huo Yuhao has already fought nine matches. Although he doesn't look tired on the surface, his soul power must be low. The outcome is really hard to predict."
"Tsk tsk tsk, it's truly unbelievable. Huo Yuhao, this super genius, was apparently an innate soul power rank one before, and Ji Juechen is an innate soul power rank three. Are all geniuses starting like this now?"
"Who told you Huo Yuhao was an innate soul power rank one? Did you hit your head?"
"The news from the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament has spread throughout the continent. Where did you crawl out from that you don't know this?"
"Ji Juechen, although Huo Yuhao is truly worthy, his winning streak these past few days has impressed me greatly, but Ji Juechen might really be able to end it all."
The clamor filled his ears, but it did not affect the two in the arena.
Ji Juechen spoke, "I think you need to recover. I don't want to take advantage of your state."
"Huo Yuhao, you are very strong, but I, Ji Juechen, want to have a true battle with you. Perhaps you possess something I have always sought."
How sensitive was Huo Yuhao's mental power? At this moment, he only felt that Ji Juechen's aura in front of him was exceptionally ethereal—so minuscule that he couldn't sense even a trace of soul power fluctuation, almost merging with the surrounding world.
Interesting. If it weren't for his age, he thought Ji Juechen might become a good teammate for him in this competition.
Such an existence, solely pursuing the ultimate path for himself, was indeed a good companion. Although Ji Juechen had not yet become a Soul Emperor, he already possessed a hint of the unity of man and sword.
As for his words about having something he sought, Huo Yuhao was not surprised.
Although he currently didn't possess the "Sovereign's Descent" taught by Mu En, nor had he integrated and comprehended his own "intent," he had Heaven's Movement is Vigorous.
As an echo that could grow stronger with the strengthening of mental power and will, Heaven's Movement is Vigorous, to a certain extent, was his "intent"—not fist intent, not sword intent, but the concretization of his own fighting will.
For someone like Ji Juechen, who pursued sword intent, it certainly fit that exclusive stereotype.
Xuan Ziwen and Lin Jiayi, standing by, also became much more serious. After so many challenges, this was the first time they felt worried for Huo Yuhao.
Especially the former, because the Level 7 soul engineer whom Ji Juechen had defeated a few years ago was him. Although he wasn't known for combat, he was still formidable.
"No need. I can maintain peak condition at all times."
"Ji Juechen, many people say you're a madman. I also want to experience whether the renowned sword fanatic can be my opponent."
He decided not to use any soul skills. In this match, even if he lost, he would only lose using Heaven's Movement is Vigorous Echo. He wanted to use this to try and comprehend his own "intent," his own battle intent.
Ji Juechen's perpetually grim face finally curved into a smile. He clasped his hands, and his eyes instantly sharpened.
"Then, please enlighten me!"
This was a battle of stark disparity. Both sides were absolute geniuses capable of fighting above their rank. Ji Juechen had even earned the title of "Sword Fanatic" and was permitted by Dean Jing Hongchen to challenge anyone in the academy.
His sword was incredibly sharp, truly invincible within the academy, but recently, his sword had been idle. Huo Yuhao's appearance excited him; he wanted to obtain what he sought, even if it meant failure. He didn't care at all.
But he wouldn't lose. His sword would only advance relentlessly.
Buzz buzz buzz!!
The challenge arena continuously hummed. This was the sound of the sword—the unique sword intent of Ji Juechen.
"I heard the echo of Heaven's Movement is Vigorous!"
Under immense pressure, Huo Yuhao's battle intent was ignited. His bodily functions, explosively enhanced under Heaven's Movement is Vigorous echo, instantly boosting his physical qualities—strength, speed, and mental power—to the extreme.
His mental power began to mobilize, engaging in battle against Ji Juechen's bone-chilling sword qi. Even if his clothes were torn by the sword qi, even if wounds appeared on his body and quickly healed, he didn't care at all.
What is mental power? It is the concretization of personal will. Mental power is a special form of energy that exists independently of soul power, with consciousness as its core carrier, applicable to multi-dimensional combat scenarios such as perception, attack, and control.
Its strength is directly related to a Soul Master's innate talent and the depth of their acquired mental cultivation. The awakening of "intent" is actually a breakthrough transformation through mental power or the essence of the Martial Soul, which can be achieved through special opportunities combined with cultivation.
What Huo Yuhao needed to do now was to elevate his state to the limit through Heaven's Movement is Vigorous, and then, under Ji Juechen's pressure, achieve another transformation of his mental power—and even his Martial Soul.
Ji Juechen's sword intent could serve as his reference. Huo Yuhao wanted to clarify the energy resonance principle between mental power and soul power here, understanding how Ji Juechen synchronized and output both in his attacks, and integrated them into his personal will.
Only under high pressure could his Martial Soul be stimulated, allowing him to find and complete the precise output ratio of mental power and soul power, thereby awakening battle intent and integrating it into himself.
"Very good, this is what I wanted. Huo Yuhao, you really didn't disappoint me!"
What were Ji Juechen's soul skills? Very simple—all were basic soul power enhancements, without any special attributes.
Simply put, his soul skills only enhanced sword intent output, combined with self-created skills like Dragon Slaying, to achieve cross-rank combat. All his attack power stemmed from the deep integration of his Martial Soul and sword intent, rather than the inherent characteristics of the soul ring itself.
Simple, right? But it was precisely such simple soul skills—or rather, abilities that couldn't even be called soul skills—that allowed him to focus on reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, becoming invincible among his peers.
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End of Chapter