Huo Yuhao frowned slightly as he looked at this strange giant sword.
Currently, Huo Yuhao was merely a Rank 6 Soul Tool Engineer, and a self-taught one at that. The object before him was definitely Rank 7 or above—a type of soul tool Huo Yuhao had never encountered before.
"Awaken, Sword of Judgment."
Ma Ruolong gave a loud shout. He poured his soul power into the giant sword without reservation. A thick golden light flashed from the blade, and streaks of brilliance continuously burst forth into the air. Under its influence, even Ma Ruolong's own aura became majestic.
Huo Yuhao did not move to interrupt Ma Ruolong's casting; this was a manifestation of complete confidence in his own strength.
I've even taken down an Evil Soul Master at the Soul Douluo level; would I be afraid of a Soul Emperor?
Meanwhile, the giant sword shimmering with golden light began to change.
Starting from the hilt, the golden light quickly withdrew, and the blade gradually turned into two colors: black and white.
This contrast of distinct colors felt somewhat eerie amidst the golden radiance it emitted, yet it flowed naturally, as if they were a single entity.
"So that's how it is," Huo Yuhao's expression turned a bit strange...
However, the combination of Light and Darkness is not that easy to control. First, one's mental power must be up to par. Despite Ma Ruolong being a Soul Emperor powerhouse, his mental power wasn't particularly strong. To be able to forcibly activate such a soul tool, it seemed he had used some other method.
Just as Huo Yuhao expected, this Sword of Judgment was a fusion of Darkness and Light—a Rank 8 soul tool. Among melee soul tools, it could be called one of the strongest. For Ma Ruolong, a mere Soul Emperor without any "cheats," using this soul tool was naturally not easy.
At this moment, behind Ma Ruolong, a Rank 7 soul tool formation called the Seal of Sacrifice was flashing at the center of his back. Using Ma Ruolong's own life force and potential as a sacrifice, a thick blood-colored flame was burning, boosting his mental power and soul power to support the needs of the Sword of Judgment. It could be said to be the trump card Virtue Hall gave him.
Within the next year, Ma Ruolong's cultivation would be unable to improve... but if using this price could exchange for victory in this tournament, Ma Ruolong felt it was worth it.
This Sword of Judgment had no effect on Soul Masters with Light or Dark martial souls, but for Soul Masters of other attributes, it could use the power of Darkness to invade the opponent's body, and then use the powerful Light attribute to "judge" the opponent.
Under the baptism of the absolute opposition of Light and Darkness, it could instantly disintegrate an opponent's cultivation or even completely destroy them.
This strike was prepared for Ma Xiaotao. As a descendant of the Phoenix God Ma Hongjun from ten thousand years ago, the flaws of the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul were no secret on the Douluo Continent.
Ma Ruolong swung the Sword of Judgment in a horizontal sweep. The Lightning Prison that had originally trapped him shattered, and then he pointed the white side of the blade toward Ma Xiaotao.
He didn't choose to attack Huo Yuhao, but instead chose the strongest person on the battlefield, Ma Xiaotao. At the same time, he activated his Rank 6 Resilient Wall soul tool to protect himself and defend against Huo Yuhao's subsequent attacks.
Even if I don't know why Ma Xiaotao can unleash such powerful dark energy, it doesn't matter. Using the power of Light to attack her, no matter how tough she is, the clash of Light and Darkness will be enough for her to handle.
"Light, Judgment!"
Suddenly, a white flash vanished in the air. That overbearing power of Light even purified a large area of the dark flames surrounding Ma Xiaotao.
...It didn't hit.
Because at some unknown moment, Huo Yuhao had appeared in front of that white beam, taking the strike head-on with his face. That white light merely flashed and merged into his body.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he raised The Elucidator and charged toward Ma Ruolong.
The restraint of the Light attribute isn't strong against anything other than the Dark attribute! It must be so! Exactly!
Ma Ruolong tried to convince himself in his heart, then suppressed his uneasy mood and aimed the black edge of the Sword of Judgment at Huo Yuhao.
"As for Darkness, thou art heresy."
A black blade glow carrying gloomy dark power shot straight out, landing on Huo Yuhao.
Whether Darkness came first or Light came first didn't matter; as long as the target wasn't a Soul Master of the Light or Dark attributes, they wouldn't fare well before the Sword of Judgment!
But...
"Clang!"
A sharp sound rang out—Ma Ruolong only felt his hand sink. Huo Yuhao had single-handedly held his sword and hacked into the thick spine of the Sword of Judgment, sparks flying as it cut in inch by inch.
"This is impossible! How can you be completely fine?!"
Ma Ruolong desperately held up the Sword of Judgment to block Huo Yuhao's slash, but he was still suppressed by Huo Yuhao's single hand, slowly being forced to one knee on the ground.
He saw clearly that the two forces of Light and Darkness that had landed on Huo Yuhao's body were slowly disappearing... no, they were being absorbed by Huo Yuhao's body.
Huo Yuhao shrugged. "Well, I'm really sorry about that. Your hard-earned attack... by the way, can you just surrender now?"
Only then did Ma Ruolong realize that the Sword of Judgment had already been cut halfway through by the black sword in Huo Yuhao's hand. The blade was aimed right at his neck. With a little more force, this precious Rank 8 soul tool would be scrapped...
"Ma Ruolong, out!"
A yellow light flashed past as the Sky-Scorching Douluo stepped in, snatching Ma Ruolong out from under Huo Yuhao's sword.
It wasn't until Ma Ruolong was sitting back in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy rest area that he was still in a daze.
...
Looking at Ma Ruolong and the leading teacher below the stage who were questioning their lives, Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched twice; he actually felt a bit bad.
In truth, that move from Ma Ruolong just now would have caused anyone else on the Shrek Team to suffer greatly.
But it just so happened that he was on the field. That strike from Ma Ruolong had instead replenished a wave of soul power for him.
I wonder if this counts as an 'unearned' victory...
At the same time, a pair of ice-blue longswords appeared in Meng Hongchen's hands. Simultaneously, thirteen ice-blue light clusters erupted from her forehead, shoulders, chest, elbows, abdomen, thighs, knees, and hands, transforming into a suit of exquisite armor that protected her whole body.
Meng Hongchen's aura instantly soared under the boost of this armor, nearly reaching the Soul Emperor level.
This team battle was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's last chance. They had to win! Even if they had to expose their hidden cards!
Her twin swords crossed, blocking Ma Xiaotao's heavy kick, but Meng Hongchen was also forced back several steps before stabilizing herself.
On Xiao Hongchen's side, his soul cannons weren't all blocked by Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Fireline; many were still charging straight at Ma Xiaotao.
But this strike from Ma Xiaotao was also very useful. She hadn't expected to block all of Xiao Hongchen's attacks with just this; her goal was simply to release fire around Xiao Hongchen to raise the temperature.
The flames scattered by the soul cannon shells caused the surrounding temperature to rise again, to the point that Xiao Hongchen had to give up some of the soul cannon barrels around him. This resulted in a significant reduction in the soul power storm released by Xiao Hongchen.
In the blink of an eye, Ma Xiaotao was submerged by the soul power storm released by Xiao Hongchen...
Xiao Hongchen waved his hand excitedly. "Success!"
To the side, the referee Sky-Scorching Douluo was about to step forward to save her, but he seemed to sense something. His mouth twitched speechlessly, and his gaze toward the Sun Moon Team held a few more hints of pity.
The surrounding dark aura retracted and dissipated; the Dark Phoenix that had previously rampaged across the field seemed to have simply vanished...
Before the smoke had fully cleared, a vivid gold-red phoenix soared out from the mist. With a swing of its brilliant phoenix wings, it charged toward the Hongchen siblings with searing heat and flames.
Exiting her [Dark Phoenix] state, Ma Xiaotao chuckled lightly, looking at the dark golden thin plate in her hand with a mix of emotions.
I was so stupid, really. I clearly knew soul tools were this useful; why did I refuse them before?
But next, the Hongchen siblings and the other members of the Sun Moon Team were going to have a hard time facing this gold-red fire phoenix.
This phoenix was a combination of Ma Xiaotao's two great thousand-year soul skills, Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike and Phoenix Meteor Shower, plus her left arm bone soul skill, Phoenix Explosive Strike. It was an inner court secret technique of Shrek Academy.
She called it: Blazing Phoenix Dance.
After using an Invincible Barrier to defend against Xiao Hongchen's concentrated soul cannon fire and then performing this Blazing Phoenix Dance which compressed multiple skills, Ma Xiaotao's soul power was basically exhausted.
But reaching this point, she was already very satisfied. Victory in this team battle was firmly in hand.
Feeling the terrifying high temperature that seemed as if it would vaporize them, the arrogance on Xiao Hongchen's face inevitably gave way to a trace of fear.
Can't block it, I simply can't block it...
The members of the Shrek Team retreated one after another, breaking away from the entanglement with the Sun Moon Team members to avoid being caught in these phoenix flames themselves.
In the end, it was the Sky-Scorching Douluo who helped the Sun Moon Team block this strike. Before a Titled Douluo, Ma Xiaotao's move wasn't quite enough to watch.
The Sky-Scorching Douluo Huang Jinxu shouted loudly: "The semi-finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament, team battle—Shrek Academy wins. Both sides will rest for ten minutes. After ten minutes, the individual elimination round begins. At the same time, please both parties decide on the seven participants for the individual match; once decided, they cannot be changed."
The audience burst into a chorus of cheers.
Compared to the foreign Sun Moon Empire, Shrek Academy was clearly more popular among the citizens of Star Luo, not to mention the visual appeal of Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao.
Elder Ma looked at the injured and exhausted Sun Moon Team members, then at Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao, who were using power cells to recover soul power.
Even the strongest, Ma Ruolong, had used the Sword of Judgment and was now completely drained of vitality.
He couldn't see any hope of winning the individual match...
As for Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen... these two "ancestors" were just here to gain experience. How could he dare let them truly risk their lives?
Elder Ma tried to keep his tone as relaxed as possible. "Children, you've already done your best. We can't win the individual matches against Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao one-on-one. Give up..."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head stubbornly, his gaze toward the Shrek Team filled with anger and fighting spirit.
All along, Xiao Hongchen had been considered the number one talent of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, and even the number one talent in the history of the Sun Moon Empire.
He was an excellent Rank 5 Soul Tool Engineer and also a powerful Soul Master. Furthermore, he had perfectly combined the two. Xiao Hongchen prided himself on being second to none among his peers!
But the result? He hadn't even managed to turn the tide or cut down Shrek. He had just come down in such a pathetic manner!
"Can't win at all? I don't understand!"
After dropping those words, Xiao Hongchen turned and walked toward the arena.
Elder Ma was so startled he grabbed him: "Xiao Hongchen! Don't forget what you mean to the Academy and the Empire! If something really happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to the Hall Master?!"
Xiao Hongchen angrily broke free from Elder Ma's hand. "I don't need you to answer! If I really die on the competition stage, my sister will help me go back and explain clearly to Grandpa. Anyway, I don't care; no matter what, I'm going up. If you don't let me out there, then get lost and go home! Stop staying at Virtue Hall."
"You..."
If it weren't for the fact that the person behind Xiao Hongchen was his grandfather, the Hall Master, Elder Ma really wouldn't want to bother with this arrogant brat who looked at people through his nostrils.
Fine, let Huo Yuhao teach you a good lesson!
Elder Ma flicked his sleeve. "Fine! Remember what you said! Don't lose face!"
The first person to come out on Shrek's side was naturally Huo Yuhao; this had been agreed upon beforehand.
After the referee announced the start of the match, Huo Yuhao didn't immediately release his martial soul or soul rings. Instead, he spoke slowly.
"Do you still want to fight? If you calmed down a bit, you'd understand that the best thing to do now is to surrender."
Xiao Hongchen said coldly, "A match isn't for you to talk trash!"
"I don't quite understand. Is the outcome of one battle worth this much of your concern? Clearly, there are many things more worth your attention in a fight besides victory or defeat."
Xiao Hongchen said impatiently, "Are you going to fight or not? What exactly are you trying to say!?"
Huo Yuhao spread his hands. "I wanted to tell you this when we first met, but clearly you didn't listen... So today I'll ask properly: what exactly are you proud of? Or rather, what do you have to be proud of?"
Xiao Hongchen was stunned.
"The Hall Master of Virtue Hall is your grandfather, and you might even be the future Hall Master of Virtue Hall... but I still don't understand. What is the point of you always acting like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread?"
"You are more talented and have a better background than others, but do you really think you were able to cultivate to a Soul King before the age of 15 because of your own talent?"
Xiao Hongchen's face turned a bit ugly.
"No. It's just that your background is better than your teammates', and the resources you receive are more than theirs. If they were placed in the same environment, they might not be weaker than you."
Cultivation begins with the heart. This was the first sentence Baili Du told Huo Yuhao when he stepped onto the path of a Soul Master.
The problem with Xiao Hongchen was indeed too great. His pride had already made him forget his own place. Such a person is fine if things always go smoothly, but if they ever lose once...
It wasn't easy to find an opponent like this. Huo Yuhao didn't want this guy to lose once and then completely lose his fighting spirit.
Xiao Hongchen was still stubborn. "What? Are you jealous?"
Huo Yuhao's eyes looked at him indifferently. He gave a snort from his nose. "If you don't change your arrogant temper, even if you practice for another ten thousand years, it's impossible for you to beat me. Because you can't even beat yourself."
"Enough nonsense!"
Activating 108 soul cannons, Xiao Hongchen tapped his toes and retreated to open up some distance!
...
The battle ended quickly. About a minute later, Xiao Hongchen was already lying on the ground, unable to get up. Deep purple lightning snakes slithered over his body, causing him to twitch from time to time.
Metal conducts electricity, let alone Ultimate Lightning...
The mental defense soul tool Xiao Hongchen had painstakingly made was also useless, because Huo Yuhao hadn't used a single soul skill from his Spirit Eyes at all...
Huo Yuhao kicked Xiao Hongchen over with one foot, then raised his booted foot and stepped lightly on his head, letting him have some intimate contact with the competition stage.
Below the stage, Meng Hongchen ran over, pressing against the protective barrier and crying out anxiously.
"Brother..."
A mocking smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. "Do you believe me now?"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
How had Xiao Hongchen ever experienced such ultimate humiliation! He pressed his hands against the ground, struggling to stand up. In all his life, no one had ever stepped on his head!
But Huo Yuhao's strength was simply terrifying. No matter how hard Xiao Hongchen tried, he couldn't budge an inch.
Looking at the struggling Xiao Hongchen under his foot, Huo Yuhao shook his head and ground his foot harder against Xiao Hongchen's head. "You might be a worthy opponent, but you've never seen yourself clearly. So in my eyes, you're just a dog on the side of the road."
"You're not even worthy of being my opponent."
Then he released his foot and kicked Xiao Hongchen away like trash.
This method was indeed very humiliating, but if Xiao Hongchen wanted to go further, he needed a strong dose of "medicine."