Chapter 41 – Huo Yuhao's Core Role in Team Battles
"Alright, alright, I'll save my ammunition from now on. Once I obtain my fifth soul ring, all these little problems will be solved."
After all, large-scale, indiscriminate attacks are designed to leave opponents with nowhere to run. You can't dodge them—you can only endure. While the soul power consumption on the user's side is heavy, the enemy team is also forced to spend enormous soul power on defense. Compared to focused single-target breakthroughs, both methods have their strengths and weaknesses. There is no clear winner.
The three of them continued challenging advancing teams. With each elimination round, their cooperation grew more seamless.
Although Xiao Hongchen always itched to show off, he was too embarrassed to turn every match into his personal performance. As a result, the three of them rotated in battle, taking turns with soul guidance devices.
When it was the siblings' turn, Huo Yuhao stood in the back and acted as their support plug-in. When it was his turn, he relied on his soul master abilities. Only when facing Level 5 soul engineers or above would he bring out the Ice Soul Spirit Rhino chain to deal with them.
What was supposed to be a proper soul engineer competition had turned into a battle of martial souls. The three-on-three soul engineer matches ended up looking more like three different personal showcases. The sight left the supervising teachers and official team members utterly speechless.
In the end, the trio secured a joint first place in the selection tournament. With Lin Jiayi's announcement, the seven reserve members for Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's team for the upcoming Continental Soul Master Tournament were officially confirmed.
Alongside the Hongchen siblings and the much-discussed Huo Yuhao, the other four reserve members… Well, truth be told, their strength was rather underwhelming.
After the selection concluded, the successful candidates were escorted to the spectator area to meet the official team members and the supervising teacher, Elder Ma. The eliminated students, full of reluctance, were led away by their respective instructors.
Ma Rulong was the first to step forward. Grinning at Huo Yuhao and the Xiao siblings, he extended his right hand.
"My name is Ma Rulong, captain of the official team for this Continental Soul Master Tournament. Congratulations on becoming reserve members."
Huo Yuhao naturally shook his hand, followed by the other reserves.
Xiao Hongchen, however, was never one to act by common sense.
"Oh, so you're the captain of the official team? That must mean you're pretty strong, then?"
The moment he spoke, the official members Mijia, Chen Fei, and the others froze. They had been warned beforehand about Xiao Hongchen's temperament. Sure enough, the kid was as difficult as they'd been told.
Ma Rulong nodded calmly. "Yes, you could say that."
Xiao Hongchen smirked. "Then if I defeat you, does that mean I can replace you as captain?"
Of course, both being students of Sun Moon Academy, it wasn't as though Xiao Hongchen had never seen Ma Rulong before. He was only trying to distinguish himself—to announce his own genius to everyone.
The so-called Hawthorne Effect—people always like to highlight their uniqueness, to seek self-respect and a sense of belonging. In short, he was just being a show-off.
Meng Hongchen couldn't stand it. A swift slap to the back of her brother's head shattered the tense atmosphere he had worked so hard to build.
"Idiot! Stop making trouble!"
Huo Yuhao ignored the squabble and walked over to Jing Hongchen and Lin Jiayi.
"Dean, Director."
Jing Hongchen adjusted his glasses with a warm smile. Though he always maintained a stern, dignified appearance outside, he often claimed this was necessary to command respect.
"Yuhao, congratulations on becoming a reserve member."
His eyes then shifted to his grandson, still sparring verbally with Ma Rulong, and his fist clenched unconsciously.
"Congratulations to all of you as well. You will represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the Continental Tournament. Remember—what you carry is the honor of the Empire."
"I expect every one of you to set aside arrogance and pride. In the upcoming battles, you must unite as one and give your all to win glory for the Empire."
Xiao Hongchen lowered his head, fidgeting with his thumbs. 'Grandpa's not talking about me… right?'
Once Jing Hongchen finished his rousing speech, Lin Jiayi stepped forward.
"Ahem. Although the roster is finalized, the tournament itself is still two months away. The official members have already gone through long periods of practice together, but you reserve members are unfamiliar with each other."
"Therefore, before the holiday begins, we want you to train extensively—fight together, build trust, and adapt."
"The Academy has decided that you will be mixed into teams with the official members and engage in seven-versus-seven battles. Through this kind of three-two-two cooperative formation, you'll quickly integrate into the tournament team."
The official members accepted the arrangement without surprise. The reserves, however—aside from Huo Yuhao and the Hongchen siblings—looked uneasy.
There was no choice but to grit their teeth and face it.
As dean, Jing Hongchen gave a few more words of encouragement before leaving the rest of the arrangements to Lin Jiayi and Elder Ma, smiling faintly as he observed the students.
Lin Jiayi addressed the reserves. "No more talk. I know you've just fought several matches, but time waits for no one. Restore your soul power with soul power milk bottles. Once you've recovered, we'll immediately start three rounds of 7v7 team battles."
The official members were visibly excited. The reserve members, on the other hand, could only groan miserably.
Xiao Hongchen sidled up to Huo Yuhao with a sly grin.
"Yuhao, if we're not on the same team later, maybe don't use your Spiritual Detection Sharing for them, alright?"
Before he could finish whispering, Lin Jiayi had already grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.
Not long after, once everyone had restored their soul power, the teams for the first match were revealed:
Team One: Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, Chen Fei, Huo Yuhao, Meng Hongchen, plus two other reserves.
Team Two: Mijia, Chen An, Xiao Xiafeng, Li Yan, Xiao Hongchen, plus two other reserves.
"Ma Rulong, close-combat burst-type Level 7 soul engineer. Martial soul—"
"Mijia, ranged mobility-type Level 6 soul engineer. Martial soul—"
"Huo Yuhao, martial soul Spirit Eyes, soul power rank 29."
"Xiao Hongchen…"
After a quick round of introductions, without giving either side time to plan, Lin Jiayi directly announced the start while jotting notes into his records.
"First 7v7 team battle—begin!"
The moment his voice fell, the students immediately spread out.
And of course, it was time for the traditional trash talk before the real fight.
On the opposing side, the ever-uncontrollable Xiao Hongchen was still the loudest voice.
Meanwhile, standing beside Huo Yuhao, Meng Hongchen muttered "show-off fool," leaving her brother fuming before the battle had even begun.
The fight was officially underway.
Huo Yuhao knew his role perfectly—to control the battlefield and provide his team with God's Eye view. In short, he was the team's cheat code.
The official members Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, and Chen Fei, once they experienced his support firsthand, could hardly restrain their shock.
"Damn! What kind of skill is this? It's like having a god's-eye view!!"
"No wonder that Xiao Hongchen brat was so worked up earlier. Fighting under this ability is an absolute luxury!"
"Holy crap—at this rate, my soul guidance device attacks will hit one hundred percent of the time!"
The moment Huo Yuhao unleashed his power, he instantly established himself as the core of the team.
—
End of Chapter