The blue light swallowed his vision, and an intense feeling of weightlessness enveloped his entire body. After a brief spell of dizziness and spatial disorientation, Huo Yuhao's feet once again landed on solid ground.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a world of pure white. Beneath his feet was an endless white plane, with no sky and no points of reference. An infinite expanse of pale emptiness stretched in all directions, and the silence was unnerving to the core.
Huo Yuhao, however, showed not a trace of panic. His Spirit Eyes focused slightly as Mental Detection silently spread out, and he curiously explored this bizarre space. At that very moment, a gentle yet utterly emotionless voice echoed throughout the space.
"Welcome to the Hall of Heroes. First Trial. Difficulty: Advanced. Identity Confirmed: Huo Yuhao. Age: Ten years. Test Requirement: Defeat the opponent."
The instant the voice fell, a soft pillar of light descended from the ceiling onto the pure white ground ten meters in front of Huo Yuhao. Within the light column, a human figure rapidly coalesced into form.
It was a tall young woman with graceful curves. She had long, brilliant golden hair, like the morning sun, cascading in large waves down her back. Her skin was fair, and her features were as exquisitely crafted as a meticulously carved doll.
What drew Huo Yuhao's attention even more were the four spirit rings that materialized at her feet in sequence: two yellow and two purple. This young woman was a four ring Spirit Ancestor. Huo Yuhao's eyebrows raised slightly, but an even more intense battle intent ignited in his eyes.
A Spirit Ancestor? It wasn't like he hadn't fought one before!
The girl opposite offered no preamble. The instant her form solidified, her entire body shot out like an arrow from a bow! Her movements were astonishingly fast, and as she advanced, her figure abruptly blurred, as if splitting into three or four indistinct, difficult to discern afterimages, closing in on Huo Yuhao from different angles.
However, within the absolute domain of Mental Detection, all illusions had nowhere to hide. The seemingly profound trajectories of those afterimages were crystal clear in Huo Yuhao's sight. He could even see every subtle muscle contraction and flow of spirit power within her.
But this footwork... he had seen it before. This was a Tang Sect secret technique, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
The distance between them wasn't great to begin with. The girl's figure was like lightning, closing in on Huo Yuhao in an instant. The moment she lifted her gaze, a flash of eerie purple light abruptly gleamed in the depths of her eyes!
Huo Yuhao felt a surge of pure mental force, sharp as a needle, stabbing towards his spiritual sea. Yet, this mental assault, upon entering his vast mental force field, failed to stir even a single ripple.
He chuckled inwardly, "Purple Demon Eye has little effect on me."
The mental impact proving ineffective, the light and shadow girl's movements seemed to pause for an imperceptible instant. But her subsequent offensive showed no hesitation. The first spirit ring at her feet glowed, and her already swift figure accelerated once more, becoming so fast it almost left afterimages!
Her figure twisted, flashing behind Huo Yuhao like a ghost. Immediately after, her hands lightly pressed against the ground, her waist arching backwards with an impossible suppleness. Her long, powerful legs suddenly whipped up, accurately aiming to scissor lock Huo Yuhao's neck!
First Spirit Ability, Waist Bow!
The gust of wind already assaulted the back of his neck. Huo Yuhao's right hand swung backward, and a pitch black soul tool longsword was already grasped in his palm. He didn't turn his head, but the sword tip, like a viper striking, thrust straight into the empty space behind him, precisely the trajectory of those scissoring legs!
The girl's reaction was astonishingly quick. The legs originally aiming for Huo Yuhao's neck forcibly changed direction mid air, like agile whip tips, narrowly avoiding the sword's edge. Simultaneously, the second yellow spirit ring at her feet suddenly flashed brightly.
Huo Yuhao felt his entire body abruptly grow heavy! It was as if an invisible mountain had crashed onto his shoulders and back, making every limb and joint sluggish.
Through Mental Detection, he knew the gravitational field around him had instantly intensified many times over. This was clearly the girl's second Spirit Ability, Gravity Control. A trace of surprise flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
Looking at the pair of pink rabbit ears atop her head that trembled cutely with her movements, he truly hadn't expected a rabbit type Spirit to obtain such a powerful control type Spirit Ability by the second ring. With gravity suddenly increased to this degree, an ordinary Spirit Master's movements would undoubtedly be severely affected, likely losing thirty percent of their combat strength.
But Huo Yuhao had trained hard in Body Sect secret techniques since childhood. His daily training often involved tempering his body and adapting to pressure in gravity chambers at various multiples. This sudden increase in gravity was already routine for him.
Seeing the girl closing in again under the suppression of the gravity field, a hint of amusement flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. He deliberately slowed his movements, feigning the difficulty of moving under gravitational restraint.
The girl indeed took the bait. Her figure swept in like the wind, a fierce side kick aimed straight at Huo Yuhao's chest, the leg whistling through the air!
Just as the tip of her shoe was about to touch his clothes, Huo Yuhao moved!
His previously sluggish figure suddenly erupted with astonishing speed. The black longsword in his hand traced a cold, arcing gleam, sweeping horizontally towards her waist! This change in technique was as fast as lightning, completely different from his earlier sluggishness.
For the first time, a flicker of astonishment appeared in the girl's eyes. She clearly hadn't anticipated her opponent could unleash such a swift counterattack under gravity suppression. At this distance between them, she had no time to dodge.
At the very instant the sword edge was about to connect, her figure abruptly blurred, then vanished into thin air! Huo Yuhao's sword slashed through empty air, and genuine surprise finally flickered in his eyes.
But in the next instant, he understood what had happened. Under Mental Detection, he saw that in that critical moment, the third purple spirit ring at her feet had flashed. She had clearly activated her third Spirit Ability.
The word Teleportation instantly surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind. Before the thought could fully form, the space behind him rippled almost imperceptibly.
The girl's figure reappeared like a ghost, silent and once again emerging at his blind spot from behind, delivering a kick. Huo Yuhao thought to himself that using the same skill on him again was ineffective. He didn't even turn his head. With a flick of his wrist, the black longsword thrust backward at a tricky angle.
With Mental Detection active, everything behind him was clearly presented in his mind. Huo Yuhao's backward thrust should have forced the opponent to dodge or block again. Yet this time, the girl neither dodged nor evaded, as if the longsword were nothing. Maintaining her kicking posture, her long, shapely leg whipped fiercely towards Huo Yuhao's lower back!
Huo Yuhao noticed the fourth purple spirit ring at her feet was already glowing brightly. A layer of solid golden radiance instantly enveloped her entire body like armor.
Clang!
The sword tip struck the girl's side, producing a metallic clang as if hitting metal! The sharp fourth level soul tool longsword now seemed to have struck the toughest alloy, unable to penetrate even a fraction.
"An Invulnerability type Spirit Ability?!"
Huo Yuhao's surprise deepened. A rabbit type Spirit actually possessed such an overpowered combination of Spirit Abilities. Teleportation and Gravity Control were one thing, but now it was an Invulnerability type ability akin to absolute defense.
With one strike ineffective, Huo Yuhao adapted with extreme speed. He fluidly rotated the longsword, using its broad flat side to press against his back, blocking the ensuing whip like leg.
Thud!
Amidst a dull impact sound, Huo Yuhao was sent stumbling forward several steps by the powerful force. Thanks to the formidable physique tempered by the Body Sect and his timely block, he wasn't injured.
Golden light swirling around her, the girl in her invulnerable state showed no restraint. Her figure flashed continuously, using the Teleportation Spirit Ability to launch a storm of attacks from various tricky angles. Under the absolute control of Mental Detection, Huo Yuhao either sidestepped or skillfully parried with his sword, deflecting each fierce assault one by one.
The air was torn by fists, feet, and sword edges, emitting short, sharp whistles. Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye. The golden radiance on the girl's body receded like a tide. The invulnerable state ended.
At the very moment the light faded, a sharp gleam abruptly flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes! The moment for counterattack had arrived. An intangible yet razor sharp Soul Lash viciously whipped into the girl's mental world!
The girl's rapidly attacking figure suddenly stiffened. Clear disorientation and pain surfaced in her eyes, her assault instantly interrupted.
Huo Yuhao took a step forward, his figure darting like lightning into her center line. The black longsword in his hand traced a simple, cold gleam, sweeping straight towards her throat.
The sword light passed. The golden haired girl before him froze, then, like shattered glass and light, dissolved into countless drifting golden specks, silently dispersing into the pure white void realm.
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