34 Taking on an Impossible Challenge

Huo Yuhao shook his head, a determined expression on his face. “I’m not afraid of such a thing.” Fan Yu’s attitude had completely won over Huo Yuhao’s heart. It only took him a few seconds to get over the regret he’d had from not being able to become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. This was because he wasn’t alone; he also had Brother Skydream within his body! The greatest advantage of joining the Martial Soul Department was that it would help its students obtain suitable soul rings. However, the Skydream Iceworm had already promised to obtain a soul ring for him. If he didn’t factor this in, the Soul Tool Department could practically give him everything that the Martial Soul Department could. Furthermore, he would still be able to temporarily enjoy the treatment of a core disciple from the Martial Soul Department.

Fan Yu continued, “If you’re not afraid of hardship, I’ll do all that I can to teach you. Our Soul Tool Department also has more resources than the Martial Soul Department.” He walked towards Huo Yuhao and placed a black necklace on his neck. The necklace was adorned with a tiny, dark-gold medallion made of some unknown metal, and there were a few complicated patterns on its surface.

“With this medallion, you can enter any of the areas within the Soul Tool Department’s outer courtyard as you wish. Now then, we’re done here for today, but you’ll need to come here every day from tomorrow onwards. You’ve just been put into your new class, so you should head back first.”

“Yes. Thank you, Teacher Fan Yu.”

As Zhou Yi led Huo Yuhao away, a satisfied smile appeared on Fan Yu’s face. On the other hand, He Caitou’s excitement hadn’t diminished in the least. “This is too good, I have a junior brother now. Now Teacher can’t keep tormenting me by myself!”

Fan Yu grumpily hit He Caitou on his dark, bald head. “I’ve been tormenting you? Go do some work.”

With a downcast expression on his face, He Caitou obediently walked away. The instant he left, a tall figure suddenly appeared and walked towards Fan Yu. Unexpectedly, this figure was the Vice-Dean of the Soul Tool Department—Qian Duoduo.

“Not bad, it went quite smoothly. This Huo Yuhao has quite a sincere temperament; he’s a good seedling. I was quite happy when they won the finals with their fusion skill, but now that I think about it, I can’t help but regret it greatly. Fortunately, Old Yan wasn’t even able to recognise such a precious treasure, which allowed us to snatch him up a large bargain. Fan Yu, how confident are you that you’ll be able to successfully implementing our Ultimate Soldier plan on him?”

Fan Yu replied solemnly, “I’m 40% confident if we use it on Caitou, but our chances of successfully implementing it with Huo Yuhao increase to 70%, at the very least. If the two of them work together, I’m 100% confident that I can produce a prototype of the Ultimate Soldier in ten to fifteen years. Once they’ve cultivated to my age, we’ll have reached our true objective.”

“Good!” Qian Duoduo slapped his sturdy chest. “With this, the Soul Tool Department will dedicate all of its resources to you from now on. As long as we complete the Ultimate Soldier plan, I can guarantee that you’ll be the next Dean of the Soul Tool Department.”

A feverish gaze appeared in Fan Yu’s eyes, and he hurriedly replied, “Dean Qian, you should know that I’m not trying to complete the Ultimate Soldier plan simply for the sake of a higher position.”

Qian Duoduo smiled. “Of course I know that, as this is a common dream we share. The moment we complete our objective, the Douluo Continent will turn a new page in its history.”

Fan Yu smiled. “If Huo Yuhao’s martial soul continues to grow at the same rate it’s currently growing, we’ll definitely succeed. The Martial Soul Department might not want someone with a Body Soul, but we do. Does it really matter if he has a ten year soul ring? So what if he’s had a late start? In my opinion, Huo Yuhao has a ten year soul ring that’s better than any hundred year soul ring. Furthermore, Zhou Yi told me that he’s increased his soul power from Rank 13 to Rank 18 in a mere three months. I’ve asked Zhou Yi to conceal this fact, but is it really possible for him to be trash with a growth speed like that? Fortunately, only class teachers have access to a student’s registration forms.”

Qian Duoduo said, “Your Zhou Yi is too strange; she insists on making herself look like an old woman. Don’t you care about that?”

Fan Yu was somewhat helpless as he replied, “With a temper like hers, do you think I can really control her? According to her, the only way for her to appear imposing in front of her students is to disguise herself. Whatever, it’s fine as long as she doesn’t look like that in the house at night.”

After leading Huo Yuhao out of the Soul Tool Department’s Testing Area, Zhou Yi quickly returned to the Martial Soul Department with him. However, she didn’t bring him to the first year’s school buildings.

After reaching the Martial Soul Department’s Assessment Area, Zhou Yi stopped and asked him, “Yuhao, when you saw Director Du Weilun earlier, did you ask him what effect your fusion skill had?”

“Nope.” Huo Yuhao replied.

Zhou Yi furrowed her brows slightly. “That won’t do. If you don’t even know what your fusion skill does, how would you be able to use it in a fight next time? Let’s do it this way. After you head back, ask Wang Dong to ask Director Du for you.”

Ask Wang Dong to? Huo Yuhao was stunned.

Zhou Yi smiled. “You still don’t understand? You’ve already become a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department, so you should do your best to show your face around Director Du as little as possible. Also, Teacher Wang Yan seems to think quite highly of you, so you should try to keep a lower profile when you’re normally cultivating. I know that you have a lot of doubts in your heart right now, but I promise you that Teacher Fan Yu wholeheartedly wants to raise you into an outstanding talent. I do as well. You might be wondering why I’m inclined towards the Soul Tool Department, even though I’m clearly a teacher from the Martial Soul Department. Let me tell you a secret: A woman should always go along with what her husband does, and Fan Yu is my husband. Thus, I have to support him.”

After she’d finished speaking, Zhou Yi raised her right hand and gently pulled something off of her face from the left side of her cheek. She slowly pulled of an elaborate face mask, revealing an extremely beautiful face that also seemed extremely youthful. Her eyebrows were as beautiful as the scenery in the spring, while her complexion was both graceful and touching.

Huo Yuhao was dumbstruck. Even in his wildest dreams, he’d never thought that the ‘Perverted Old Grandma’ Zhou Yi would actually be a beauty. Furthermore, how could her true appearance even look strict at all?

Zhou Yi quickly pulled the face mask back over her face and said helplessly, “Now you’ve seen what I look like. My original appearance can’t deter anyone at all, so I had to put on a disguise because of my philosophy of teaching. Now then, head back to Class 1. It’s still in our original classroom. Remember, you have to keep everything you’ve seen and heard a secret, especially the fact that you’ve become a direct disciple of Fan Yu. Also, I’ve heard that you’ve been selling roasted fish at night. You should stop, as you won’t have any time to in the future. Don’t worry though, the Soul Tool Department will take care of all of your expenses from now on. In the future, you’ll see just how well core disciples of the Soul Tool Department are treated.”

“Yes, Teacher Zhou.” Huo Yuhao had received too much information during this short hour, to the extent that he was even somewhat muddle-headed. However, there was no doubt that the injustice he’d felt from not being chosen as a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department had thoroughly vanished due to how highly the Soul Tool Deparment thought of him, as well as the encouragement that Teacher Fan Yu had given him in addition to taking him in as a disciple.

The moment he got back to Class 1, Huo Yuhao shouted from outside the classroom, “Reporting in!”

“Enter,” Wang Yan’s voice rang out. After Huo Yuhao had entered the classroom, all of the students in the classroom’s gazes immediately gathered on him.

Of the four classes in Year 1, Class 1 was undoubtedly the strongest. Yet, they weren’t the largest class; that title belonged to the diverse Class 4. This was because the total number of assault-type and control-type soul masters amongst the freshmen didn’t exceed sixty.

The instant Huo Yuhao entered, he’d immediately attracted the attention of every student present. Wang Yan smiled. “Yuhao, you came at just the right time. We’re about to begin the selection of the class monitor. Come in and take a seat first.”

Although their classes had been re-divided, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s seating arrangements hadn’t changed. On the contrary, Xiao Xiao now sat to Huo Yuhao’s left, which allowed the three to be seated in a single row.

Huo Yuhao noticed that Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie were seated two rows behind them. The moment he’d entered the classroom, Dai Huabin had glared at him coldly.

As he stood behind the podium, Wang Yan said, “Next up, we’ll be electing the class monitor and assistant class monitor of our class. Our class consists of assault-type and control-type soul masters, so each monitor will be in charge of a single System. We’ll be re-electing both monitors each month. Now then, I’ll nominate a few people, then let everyone cast their votes into a ballot.”

With that, he turned towards the blackboard and wrote two rows of names on it. The first row was titled ‘Assault System’, and the names below it were: Wang Dong, Dai Huabin, Zhou Sichen, Huang Chutian, and Wu Feng.

The second row was titled ‘Control System’, and the first name he wrote down was Huo Yuhao’s. Afterwards, he wrote down Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo’s names.

A total of nine names had appeared on the blackboard, and one could tell what Wang Yan was thinking from the order he’d written the names down. Nobody objected to Wang Dong’s name being written at the top of the Assault System list; after all, his team had just become champions of the freshmen assessment, and Wang Dong had been the main force of his team. Even though he didn’t have a three-ringed cultivation, everyone had seen the power of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess.

However, Huo Yuhao’s name being at the top of the Control System list sparked a flurry of whispers. The students who were originally from Class 1 were fine with it, as Huo Yuhao had been their class monitor in the first place. Moreover, they’d seen how hard he worked. However, the students who’d come from other classes all had disdainful expressions on their faces.

Huo Yuhao had been one of the members of the freshmen assessment’s champion team along with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, but many students had secretly talked about him behind his back, calling him the luckiest person amongst this year’s freshmen. The fact that a mere Soul Master—one with only a ten year soul ring—had been able to mingle his way into the champion team, and was even able to enjoy the treatment of a core disciple, had aroused the envy and hate of several people.

“Teacher Wang, I have an objection to this.” Wu Feng, who was sitting near Dai Huabin, raised her hand.

Unlike Zhou Yi, Wang Yan had a warm personality. He smiled. “Wu Feng, do you have any problems with this?”

With a disdainful expression on her face, Wu Feng replied, “I don’t think that Huo Yuhao has the qualifications to be nominated as a candidate for the position of class monitor. He’s only a one-ringed Soul Master, and his soul ring’s even a ten year one. Even if he was one of the champions of the freshmen assessment, he only did that by tagging along with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Why should he be nominated in this class monitor election?”

Ning Tian had already given voice to her doubts about Huo Yuhao’s extraordinary abilities once before, and after their recent battle, she’d reaffirmed her belief. That, in addition to the final fusion skill they’d unleashed, resulted in everyone unanimously agreeing that Wang Dong’s skill had knocked Ning Tian unconscious; it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to have done it. Furthermore, the obvious conclusion was that Huo Yuhao’s martial soul fusion with Wang Dong was the only reason he’d been able to join the champion team.

Plus, Ning Tian’s team had been eliminated after they lost to Huo Yuhao’s team. The resentment she held from losing that match was why she’d immediately protested Huo Yuhao’s nomination.

Her words were immediately met with agreement, especially from students who were a part of the Control System. Because of her, the entire class’ emotions had been stirred up.

Wang Yan furrowed his brow and replied sternly, “Huo Yuhao was part of the freshmen assessment’s champion team alongside Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao; they all have their own strong points. I’ve personally experienced his soul skill, and I can say that, within the same rank, there are very few control-type soul masters capable of comparing to him. The people I’ve nominated were all based off of the freshmen assessment rankings as well as their individual strengths.”

However, Wu Feng wasn’t willing to give up. “Teacher Wang, you’ve just stated what I have wrong with him. ‘Within the same rank, his soul skill is good.’ However, what rank is he again? He’s only a one-ringed Soul Master! Our class doesn’t lack two-ringed Soul Grandmasters—we even have three-ringed Soul Elders! What right does a one-ringed soul master have to participate in the election for class monitor? Can you even convince our class to listen to him?”

“Bang!” Wang Dong suddenly slammed his hands on his table and stood up. He turned towards Wu Feng and spat angrily, “Don’t go too far! Are you angry because you were eliminated by us last time? If you have the ability to, beat us fair and square during an assessment!”

Wu Feng replied angrily, “I’m still unhappy about our loss, but so what? Aren’t control-type soul masters supposed to have an advantage against assault-type soul masters? If he’s strong enough to beat me, I’ll admit that he has the qualifications to be nominated as a candidate for class monitor.”

“You’re full of shit. I’ll fight with you. If you dare, come with me to the Soul Duelling Arena.” Wang Dong’s clear eyes glared daggers at Wu Feng. The soul power in his body had already begun to stir.

“Enough.” Wang Yan’s imposing voice suddenly rang out, accompanied by a strong undulation of soul power. This forced the two to immediately shut up.

“Sit down.”

Only after Wang Yan interfered, did Wu Feng and Wang Dong unwillingly sit back down.

Wang Yan sternly said, “Since it seems like there are those with objections, let’s put it to a vote. If the number of students who disagree with Huo Yuhao being nominated exceeds half the class, I’ll rub his name off. Students who disagree, please raise your hands.”

Zhou Yi definitely wouldn’t have handled the matter like this. Instead, she would’ve stood her ground, or might have even directly appointed Huo Yuhao as the class monitor. If someone wasn’t happy with her decisions, she would’ve punished them with an iron fist.

However, Wang Yan was different. He was a gentle scholar who excelled in theory, but he was much worse than Zhou Yi when it came to dealing with students.

Regardless of whether it was jealousy that the one-ringed Huo Yuhao had been able to become part of the champion team, or if it was due to the influence of Wu Feng’s words, two-thirds of the class ended up raising their hands once Wang Yan had finished speaking. Only the students originally from Class 1 and a few moderate students hadn’t raised their hands.

Anyone that had entered Shrek Academy could be considered chosen; this could be seen from the optimum combination of soul rings that most students had before the four-ringed rank. Of the students within Shrek Academy, how many of them weren’t proud and arrogant? How could they not be resentful and envious after they were forced to agree to a Soul Master, one who only had a ten year soul ring, being appointed as their class monitor?

Wang Yan had clearly never expected a situation like this to happen. He was left somewhat dazed for a brief moment.

In a fit of anger, Wang Dong nearly stood up again. However, he was stopped by Huo Yuhao.

Somewhat satisfied, Wu Feng said, “Teacher Wang, over half the students in the class have disagreed. Please rub his name off the blackboard.”

Wang Yan had truly been put into a difficult situation. He’d taught many students in the past, but this was the first time he’d encountered a situation like this. Furthermore, he’d already given his word earlier. It was impossible for him to take back his word now. He could only look towards Huo Yuhao apologetically.

Just as he was about to remove Huo Yuhao’s name from those qualified to partake in the election, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his right hand.

On the outside, Huo Yuhao’s mood hadn’t changed at all, even when Wu Feng had started to object. He’d even stopped the enraged Wang Dong. However, was he truly as calm as he appeared on the inside?

Wang Yan said, “Yuhao, you can talk.”

Huo Yuhao slowly stood up without even sparing a glance towards Wu Feng. Using a calm tone, he spoke in a voice that was slightly slower than his usual voice.

“Teacher Wang, I understand Wu Feng’s objections. She’s questioning my qualifications to be chosen as one of the class monitors. Before you rub my name off, I want to say this: I’m willing to accept Wu Feng’s challenge. If I can beat her in a fight, I’d like everyone to vote again.”

His voice was moderate, but the originally clamorous Class 1 instantly turned quiet.

Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and even Wu Feng herself were instantly stupefied. They never thought that Huo Yuhao would actually accept Wu Feng’s challenge.

Wu Feng had the Red Dragon martial soul. In terms of quality, it was slightly inferior to Dai Huabin’s White Tiger and Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess, but there was only an extremely tiny gap between them. Moreover, she also had the most optimum combination of two hundred year soul rings. That, in addition to her tyrannical combat power, as well as her Rank 25 cultivation, made it so that she exceeded Huo Yuhao in all aspects! This could be seen from how she’d been able to become a core disciple, despite the fact that she didn’t have a high ranking in the freshmen assessment. Even Shrek Academy’s picky teachers had recognised Wu Feng’s relatively large amount of talent.

Even though Huo Yuhao was a spiritual-attribute control-type soul master, he was still only a one-ringed Soul Master, and his only soul ring was that of the ten year rank. No matter which angle you looked at it from, nobody believed that he’d be able to contend against Wu Feng.

And yet, Huo Yuhao had expressed his willingness to accept Wu Feng’s challenge. In addition to that, his calm voice didn’t seem impetuous in the least. Furthermore, the determination in his voice had surprised everyone.

Wang Yan’s pupils contracted slightly. Seeing the calm gaze in Huo Yuhao’s eyes, he became silent for a few seconds. Afterwards, he took a deep breath, then nodded. “Fine. Since that’s the case, I’ll allow you two to have a match in the Soul Duelling Arena. However, we’ll change the bets to make it fair—if Wu Feng can defeat Huo Yuhao, he’ll be stripped of his qualifications to participate in the election. Conversely, Wu Feng will also be stripped of her qualifications if she loses to Huo Yuhao.”

Wu Feng didn’t raise any objections to the conditions of the bet. Either way, she was unlikely to be chosen as one of the class monitors, due to the presence of Dai Huabin and Wang Dong. At the same time, what were the chances of her losing to Huo Yuhao, who only had a ten year soul ring?

After being astonished for a brief moment, Wu Feng’s face became filled with disdain and contempt. As the other students from Class 1 left the class one-by-one, Wu Feng walked over to Huo Yuhao and whispered, “I’m gonna beat you to the point that you won’t even be able to take care of yourself.”

Huo Yuhao glanced coldly at the tomboyish Wu Feng, then took large strides out of the classroom.

He’d experienced a great deal of things today. He understood that, if he gave up like a gutless coward and lost his qualifications to become a class monitor, he’d never be able to hold his head up high in the class. An adverse effect on his mental state far surpassed the pain he’d receive from any physical damage to his body, so he chose to fight. Even if he’d definitely lose, he still had to accept Wu Feng’s challenge. Even if he lost, he had to lose like a man. If he didn’t even have the guts to accept Wu Feng’s challenge, how would he obtain his revenge in the future?

After the students of Class 1 had arrived in the Soul Duelling Area, Wang Yan helped them pay the entrance fee. This was a Soul Duel where no one other than the students of Class 1 could spectate. In addition to that, this was the first Soul Duel that Huo Yuhao was participating in since he’d entered Shrek Academy.

Wang Dong had walked to the Soul Duelling Area alongside Huo Yuhao, but he hadn’t said anything to him. He could understand how Huo Yuhao was feeling today; not only had he not been chosen as a core disciple, he’d even been called into question like this. Now, it seemed that Huo Yuhao could no longer endure things silently. Instead, he’d chosen to prove himself through a method such as this.

Xiao Xiao didn’t utter a word either. However, she silently fixed her gaze on Huo Yuhao’s body. In her mind, her companion was no longer a mere youth; he was a man, a man who’d had the courage to take on a challenge. Not everyone had the courage to face an opponent who was clearly stronger than them. How many people could take on a challenge like this while fully knowing that it was impossible?

“Let’s bet, let’s bet! I’ll be the banker, does anyone wanna bet? Huo Yuhao’s odds will be 1 to 10, while Wu Feng’s odds will be 10 to 1.” Zhou Sichen stood and shouted. Teacher Wang Yan had accompanied Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng to the Soul Duelling Arena, but naturally didn’t bother to care about the other students.

“I’ll bet a hundred gold soul coins on Wu Feng.” Dai Huabin was the first person to approach Zhou Sichen. He handed him a heavy coin pouch.

Zhou Sichen’s facial muscles immediately twitched. “You don’t have to be this cruel.”

Dai Huabin replied disdainfully, “If you want to be a banker, you should have the guts to take a bet. If you don’t, you should keep your thoughts to yourself.”

Stirred up by Dai Huabin’s arrogant words, Zhou Sichen immediately spat out angrily, “I’ll take it! I’m just scared that you won’t give it to me. Even if you win, I’ll only owe you ten gold soul coins. I’ll take any bets.”

However, Zhou Sichen wanted to cry after the following scene unfolded. A large number of students ran towards him, with practically all of them betting on Wu Feng. The disparity in strength between both parties was simply too great, to the extent that nobody was optimistic towards Huo Yuhao’s chances. Betting on Huo Yuhao would give an extremely high payout, but nobody was willing to bet on him.

Zhou Yi’s expression was becoming uglier and uglier, but it was too late for him to take back what he’d said. Instantly, his expression had become as dark as the bottom of a pot.

At that moment, a voice that caused Zhou Sichen to become overjoyed rang out, “I’ll bet a thousand gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao.”

The person who walked up and handed him an exquisitely made gold banknote was precisely Wang Dong.

Immediately after Wang Dong handed his banknote to Zhou Sichen, Xiao Xiao also took out a golden banknote. “I’ll bet a thousand as well.”

Hearing these two voices, Zhou Sichen immediately took their bets. The other students had bet a total of around two thousand gold soul coins, yet Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao alone had just equalled that. In other words, he wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket if Huo Yuhao lost. On the whole, a crisis had been averted.

“We’ll bet fifty gold soul coins on Huo Yuhao.” Two crisp voices rang out simultaneously, jolting Zhou Sichen. There were actually still more people who dared to bet on Huo Yuhao. After looking carefully, he realised that the two people betting on Huo Yuhao were actually the Lan sisters.

The sisters smiled at Wang Dong, then took out a total of fifty gold soul coins.

“I’ll bet fifty as well.” Another voice rang out. This time, Zhou Sichen was somewhat flabbergasted. The person who’d placed a bet this time was actually his good brother, Cao Jinxuan. During their match with Huo Yuhao’s team, Cai Jinxuan hadn’t even been able to even release a soul skill before he’d been knocked out by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s combined Spiritual Shock.

“Jinxuan, what’re you doing?” Zhou Sichen asked suspiciously.

Cao Jinxuan smiled cunningly. “I know that a fella like you has a lot of money; why can’t I bet on an unknown gamble?”

Still somewhat suspicious, Zhou Sichen replied, “That can’t be right. You’ve never done something that doesn’t profit you, nor have you done something that you’re unsure of.”

Cao Jinxuan replied in an easy-going manner, “That’s not your problem. Besides, I’m only betting fifty gold soul coins. That isn’t too cruel. However, let me remind you: If Huo Yuhao does win, you’ll go bankrupt. With odds of 1 to 10, you’ll have to pay out twenty one thousand gold soul coins for these two thousand one hundred gold soul coins. Do you even have that much money?”

“Uh…” Cold sweat immediately began to drip off of Zhou Sichen’s face when he heard Cao Jinxuan. Right! In the extremely unlikely chance that Huo Yuhao managed to win, what would he do? Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had each bet one thousand gold soul coins! That, multiplied by ten, was an astronomical figure to him!

“Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, can you guys lower your bets a bit?” Zhou Sichen had previously hoped that Huo Yuhao would cause an upset. However, his current attitude had completely flipped around.

Wang Dong replied, “You said that you were willing to accept any bets, no matter how high they were. I’m confident in Huo Yuhao, and I’m not afraid of losing. What’re you afraid of?” With that, both he and Xiao Xiao turned around and found a place to sit.

Seeing their backs, Zhou Sichen mumbled unhappily, “Humph, let’s see how you start crying after you lose. It’d be weird if Huo Yuhao really was able to beat Wu Feng with such a large gap between them. Still, I’ve really dug a hole for myself with the odds I’ve set! If I’d known people would make such large bets earlier, I would’ve taken it easier, so as to guarantee that I’d still make a slight profit.”

Cai Jinxuan patted him on the shoulder and replied in a sincere voice, “Being impulsive truly is the devil!”

As the spectating stage continued to buzz with activity, Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng proceeded to enter the Soul Duelling Arena. For the sake of safety, Wang Yan was personally acting as the referee for their match.

After entering the arena, Wang Yan said solemnly, “I’ll once again remind you that this is merely a sparring session between fellow classmates, so although you can go all-out, you absolutely cannot injure your opponent. Do you understand? Once one party gains an upper hand in the match, I’ll stop it immediately.”

Both Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng nodded at the same time. However, Wu Feng said offhandedly, “Teacher Wang, doesn’t that mean that you’ll have to stop the match after only a few seconds?”

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards her side of the arena. Wu Feng hadn’t even turned twelve, yet she’d clearly developed much faster than other girls her age. This was exemplified by her extremely tall figure. Furthermore, her feminine traits were very obvious; this was especially so for her fiery red hair, which had a peculiar beauty to it. Only, her tomboyish personality, which caused her to be even rowdier than boys, was clearly somewhat disharmonious with her beauty.

As Huo Yuhao slowly walked towards the other side of the arena, Wang Yan whispered, “Try your best, but don’t force yourself. Sometimes, patience is a form of strength.”

Huo Yuhao could see how concerned Wang Yan was for him. After nodding to him, he slowly moved backwards. He understood Wang Yan’s good intentions, but he’d already decided not to spare any costs when he fought against Wu Feng. He had no intentions of backing down.

Both sides were quickly separated by a distance of a hundred meters.

Wang Yan stood in the middle of the arena with his arms spread out. After ensuring that both parties had finished making their preparations, he suddenly raised his hands and shouted, “Begin!”

Wu Feng moved instantly. Her red hair fluttered in the wind, resembling a red cloud as she charged towards Huo Yuhao at full speed. Her slender yet forceful legs caused her body to rapidly shoot forwards whenever her feet touched the ground, and in the blink of an eye, she’d already traversed several tens of meters.

As her tender body rushed forward, dragon scales began to cover half of her body. Though they were still a good distance away from each other, yet Huo Yuhao was already able to sense the valiant air coming off of her body.

Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao didn’t move at all. Instead, he simply shut his eyes and stood there, making it seem as if he was meditating while standing up.

The spectator’s stage had become completely silent; everyone’s eyes were currently focused on the Soul Duelling Arena. Naturally, the most attentive students were Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Zhou Sichen.

Likewise, Cao Jinxuan was also looking concentratedly at the arena. However, he wasn’t following Wu Feng like many people were. Instead, he’d fixed his eyes on Huo Yuhao, and was observing his every move.

It was just as Zhou Sichen had guessed; Cao Jinxuan placing a bet on Huo Yuhao hadn’t been a moment of impulsiveness, nor had it been because he was trying to obtain a large profit. Rather, he had his own motives for doing so.

The true core of Zhou Sichen’s team was actually Cao Jinxuan. His Time Elapsing Clock was an extremely rare control-type Tool Soul that had the ability to control time. Cao Jinxuan had contributed the most during their arduous journey to the top four. As an outstanding control-type soul master himself, Cao Jinxuan had a much greater understanding towards the similarly control-type Huo Yuhao.

During their match that time, he’d instantly been knocked unconscious without even being able to use a soul skill. Many people had assumed that it was the work of Wang Dong, but Cao Jinxuan was fully aware that it had been a spiritual-type attack. Even though he’d had Wang Dong’s assistance, the truth was that it had still been Huo Yuhao’s attack. More importantly, he‘d even been specifically guarding against a long-range attack like this. The time surrounding his body had been slightly distorted, which was extremely hard to see with the naked eye. Because of this, he hadn’t been afraid of long-distance single-target attacks. However, even though his Time Elapsing Clock was able to distort time, it wasn’t able to distort Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection. Once Huo Yuhao’s attack had landed, Cao Jinxuan didn’t have the chance to do anything at all. This had greatly increased Cao Jinxuan’s interest towards Huo Yuhao.

Cao Jinxuan was someone who had a strong desire for knowledge. He really wanted to know how Huo Yuhao had been able to do what he’d done. After all, Huo Yuhao only had a ten year soul ring! Could his soul skill be used in two different ways? Or did his soul skill have two different effects? With its detection and attacking abilities, could that still even be considered a ten year soul ring? Only hundred thousand year soul rings could have two skills!

Because of that, even though everyone else believed that Huo Yuhao would definitely lose to Wu Feng, Cao Jinxuan had a certain amount of confidence in him. This confidence was even stronger than that of even Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao’s. Sometimes, a person’s rivals can understand them more than their teammates.

The distance between the two parties gradually decreased. Facing the motionless Huo Yuhao, Wu Feng raised her vigilance. After all, Ning Tian had been knocked unconscious during their previous match. In their post-match research, they’d felt that the best way to protect themselves would be to gather their soul power in their heads. If they protected their spiritual seas, their opponent’s attacks wouldn’t be able to overcome their defenses.

Because of that, Wu Feng didn’t bother to use any soul skills. From her point of view, Huo Yuhao had no chance of winning in a direct competition of combat power. As long as she was wary of his Spiritual Shock, everything would be fine. In reality, none of the students present—other than Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao—were aware that Huo Yuhao’s main soul skill was his Spiritual Detection.

Currently, the distance between the two had shrunk to a mere five meters. Stamping the ground with her left leg, Wu Feng shot towards Huo Yuhao like a sharp arrow that had been released from a bow.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao finally made a move. The instant Wu Feng moved, he shifted his feet. As a result, he was able to quickly sidestep to the left. At the same time, he sent a kick flying straight towards Wu Feng’s abdomen.

The instant that Wu Feng had leapt out, her arms had been raised up high, while her palms had slashed towards Huo Yuhao’s shoulders. By relying on his Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao had grasped the trajectory of her movements perfectly. Because of this, Huo Yuhao had sidestepped her attack the very moment she’d begun moving. At the same time, he’d sent a kick flying towards an area that was very hard for Wu Feng to defend against.

Even though she was extremely confident in herself, it was extremely uncomfortable for Wu Feng to deal with Huo Yuhao’s attack. However, she wasn’t willing to get kicked by Huo Yuhao. Helpless, she could only twist her body in midair in an attempt to dodge Huo Yuhao’s kick. However, the fact that she was in a leaping position couldn’t be changed.

Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped his kick in midair, then jumped forward using his left leg. After jumping half a meter off the ground, he changed his right leg’s sweeping kick into a regular kick. This allowed him to perfectly kick Wu Feng’s slightly defined and perky round buttocks.

One’s buttocks practically represent a person’s center of gravity. If someone’s buttocks were to be kicked midair, their balance would immediately be broken. Just as Wu Feng twisted her body to the side, she felt a large amount of force transmitted through her buttocks. She immediately let out an alarmed cry when this happened, and used her left hand to push against the ground in an effort to seize an opportunity to control her own body.

After kicking Wu Feng’s butt, Huo Yuhao immediately used a follow-up move. Landing his right foot on the ground, he suddenly rushed towards Wu Feng. Up to this point, his eyes had remained shut. However, his perception of the outside world was far clearer than it would’ve been if he’d been using his eyes.

As Wu Feng pressed her left hand onto the ground, the speed of her fall decreased slightly. However, Huo Yuhao arrived at that point again. Stamping his right foot on the ground, he rushed forwards and used his left leg to strike Wu Feng’s slender waist.

Naturally, Wu Feng wouldn’t just let him have his way with her. She hurriedly raised her left knee and angled it towards Huo Yuhao’s left leg. At the same time, she exerted some strength with her left arm, borrowing the strength of her physique to forcefully turn around and send a vicious kick towards Huo Yuhao with her left leg.

As a result of the embarrassment she was feeling, Wu Feng had put all of her strength into this kick. Even though she hadn’t used a soul skill, the all-out kick of a Soul Grandmaster that was using her martial soul couldn’t be underestimated.

However, Wu Feng made another miscalculation. Huo Yuhao suddenly pulled his left leg back mid-kick, then went down into a squat, allowing him to dodge Wu Feng’s kick. Immediately afterwards, he nimbly shot forwards and firmly slapped Wu Feng’s lower back with his palms.