"Oh?"
For a moment, everyone's gaze shifted toward Huo Yuhao. It was well known that Huo Yuhao had previously slammed the table in a confrontation with Wang Yan; sending him out first now could easily be interpreted as a public act of private revenge.
But Huo Yuhao knew that Wang Yan had no such intention.
"…Fine." After speaking, he strode toward the competition stage.
Wang Yan shook his head with some regret, muttering to himself, "A pity. If Xu Sanshi hadn't sustained such heavy injuries, he should have been the one to go first."
The first student sent out by Yunluo Academy was not tall, but his shoulders were broad—he was even a bit stout. His face was a mask of tension, and beads of sweat were already visible on his forehead.
The student squeezed out a sliver of a smile and said to Huo Yuhao, "I... my name is Ma Yingjun. Please show some mercy, senior."
Huo Yuhao offered a faint smile and nodded to Ma Yingjun. "Hello, I am Huo Yuhao."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's gentle demeanor, Ma Yingjun's original nervousness actually eased quite a bit.
Once the two were positioned at opposite sides of the ring, the referee shouted, "Match start!"
Ma Yingjun had been waiting for those words.
The moment the referee said "start," his short, stout body reacted instantly, moving as nimbly as a monkey.
Three yellow and one purple—four soul rings lit up simultaneously. Various soul tools emerged from all over his body. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a stout fat man into a mechanical juggernaut covered in soul tools.
Huo Yuhao simply stood there as four white soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
A series of deflated sighs immediately erupted from the distant spectators.
"What is this? A Soul Ancestor with four ten-year soul rings? What's the point of watching this..."
But the true color of Huo Yuhao's soul rings was known to no one but himself.
The first soul ring flickered slightly. Then, Ma Yingjun, who had just been about to activate his soul tools, suddenly froze in place. His chubby body swayed, and then he collapsed onto the ground.
The entire arena fell silent.
That... that's a win?
The referee stepped forward to check Ma Yingjun's breathing. After confirming he was not in mortal danger and had indeed fainted, the referee sent him off the stage and raised his soul-guided megaphone.
"Individual Elimination Match, Round One: Shrek Academy, victory."
The captain of the Yunluo students took Ma Yingjun from the referee. After a moment of thought, he spoke to a female student beside him: "His move just now was likely a spiritual attack. Spiritual-type soul masters are notoriously bad at close combat. Shang Yue, you're up."
"Yes." The female teammate bounded up and quickly ascended the competition stage.
The girl named Shang Yue stood over 1.7 meters tall and looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. While not stunningly beautiful, her white martial attire perfectly showcased her excellent figure—especially her long legs, which were quite eye-catching.
She held a pair of white scimitars, giving her the air of a female hero.
Huo Yuhao's brow twitched slightly. A close-combat type?
With that thought, Huo Yuhao reached into his storage belt and pulled out a soul tool of his own.
Fight her in close quarters? He didn't want to waste the time.
Therefore...
Shang Yue was also slightly stunned when she saw the soul tool Huo Yuhao produced.
He's also a soul engineer? And...
It was a bow woven of gold and blue, decorated with ice carvings. It looked quite magnificent.
Once the referee saw both had taken their stances, he gave a forceful wave of his hand.
"Match start!"
As soon as the words left the referee's mouth, Huo Yuhao pulled the bowstring back with force. As soul power was injected, a transparent thread appeared upon it. An arrow made of ice and snow manifested, and the power of light surged frantically into it.
Forget the people from Shrek; even the members of Yunluo Academy were dumbfounded.
Does this guy have any common sense as a soul engineer? Charging up a shot in this situation is a gamble; if interrupted, all effort is wasted, and he would suffer a significant backlash.
Shang Yue naturally understood this logic as well. From the bottom of her heart, she didn't want to hurt this little guy who happened to fit her aesthetic preferences perfectly.
But this was a battle!
Shang Yue showed no mercy. Her long legs lunged forward, and her twin blades brought forth two three-foot-long light trails, slashing directly at Huo Yuhao.
She was right in front of him, yet Huo Yuhao still hadn't moved.
Even the referee was prepared to intervene, but Shang Yue suddenly realized that she hadn't felt the sensation of her blades hitting anything.
It was a trick!
The figure of Huo Yuhao dissipated like ripples on water. On the other side of the arena, space folded and flickered abruptly, and Huo Yuhao's figure appeared out of thin air. He stepped out leisurely and released the bowstring.
BOOM!
A massive burst of cold air and brilliant light erupted on the stage, causing the temperature of the entire arena to drop several degrees.
The arrow pierces the firmest stone; its might crowns the three armies.
After seeing his teammate off the stage, the captain of Yunluo Senior Soul Engineering Academy ascended the platform and strode over to Huo Yuhao.
"Yunluo Senior Soul Engineering Academy, Situ Yu."
Huo Yuhao lowered the Light-Feather Bow and nodded calmly. "Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao."
Situ Yu said in a heavy voice, "As the captain of Yunluo Academy, I hope for a fair and square match. Let me see the gap between us. If you defeat me, the rest of today's matches won't need to continue. I hope you can earn my respect through your strength."
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. Meaning, if he beat this guy, he wouldn't have to fight anymore?
Huo Yuhao, who had been expressionless since stepping onto the stage, allowed a rare smile to surface. "Of course."
"Both sides, retreat."
Once the two had retreated to their respective sides, the referee glanced at them and shouted, "Start!"
A violent metallic clattering echoed from Situ Yu. In just a few breaths, his entire body seemed to double in size. Soul Tool cannons of varying calibers emerged from every corner of his body.
Huo Yuhao stowed the Light-Feather Bow and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Fortress tactics...
In this state, Situ Yu truly resembled a life-devouring fortress. Two yellow and two purple soul rings rose from beneath him. Behind him, white light surged, spreading out into a massive fan shape, looking as if he were carrying a giant fan on his back.
Countless white light orbs erupted almost instantly. Each orb was the size of an egg, sweeping toward Huo Yuhao like a frantic tide of light-bullets.
The six-barreled small soul-guided cannon—specializing in fire coverage and one of the military's favorite soul tools.
The only way for an average four-ring soul master to face such a weapon was to run as far as possible. After all, while this fortress tactic was stable and ferocious, it lacked endurance; one simply had to wait until the opponent's soul power was exhausted.
But what did they see?
Xiao Hongchen looked as if he were seeing a monster.
"Impossible... this is impossible..."
Huo Yuhao brandished a black sword that had appeared in his hand at some unknown moment, charging straight toward Situ Yu's fortress despite the cannon fire.
The black sword danced nimbly in the air, precisely striking every soul-guided shell that threatened Huo Yuhao's vitals. Though he charged in a straight line, his body ducked and weaved with extreme agility to dodge the shells he couldn't deflect.
The black sword seemed to possess a special effect that disrupted soul power; the light shells it struck did not explode, but were instead instantly annihilated...
The first, the second, the third...