Sun Moon Spirit Pagoda, first-floor lobby.
Huo Yuhao was originally sitting in a chair in the lobby with his eyes closed, his fingertips gently tapping the armrest as if he were dozing.
However, at a certain moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze abruptly turning sharp.
His mental force had long since covered a large area around the Spirit Pagoda, and at this moment, his perception detected a group of Spirit Masters rapidly approaching the direction of the Spirit Pagoda.
The speed under those people's feet was extremely fast, their steps disorderly and hasty, as if they were running for their lives.
Huo Yuhao had already recognized the identity of the incoming people; they were precisely the people from Star Luo Imperial Spirit Master Academy.
The dozen or so of them swept across the square with panicked expressions, running toward the doors of the Spirit Pagoda.
Just as everyone rushed to the front of the Spirit Pagoda's doors, the gates slowly opened, and Huo Yuhao slowly walked out.
When these people saw Huo Yuhao, the leading teacher named Xu Yun visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he was much older than Huo Yuhao, facing this young man at this moment, he did not dare to consider himself an elder in the slightest, carrying an inner-felt reverence in his tone: "Pagoda Master Huo."
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept quickly across everyone, confirming that although their auras were disordered, none of them were injured, and he immediately nodded.
He then directly asked: "Is Princess Jiujiu not with you all?"
Xu Yun shook his head and explained: "The Princess went to meet up with the others and told us to come to the Spirit Pagoda first."
Huo Yuhao did not pursue the question further. His gaze shifted away from Xu Yun, suddenly turning toward another direction in the distance. The composure between his brows slowly receded, replaced by a layer of solemn and heavy color.
At almost the exact same moment, his voice clearly transmitted into the minds of every member of the Spirit Pagoda: "Assemble, and leave Ming City according to the previously planned route."
Before coming to participate in the competition, he had already prepared an emergency plan.
Retreat routes, assembly points, backup plans—every layer had been properly arranged in advance, and everyone knew how to go.
Although Huo Yuhao did not explain the specific reason, everyone inside the Spirit Pagoda was not obtuse.
The sound of the explosion coming from the direction of the imperial palace earlier still lingered in their ears, and many people already had vague guesses in their hearts that this was mostly inseparable from the upheaval at the imperial palace.
But no one asked more, and everyone took action at the very first moment, packing their personal belongings without any dragging or hesitation.
Soon, everyone from the Spirit Pagoda had finished packing, successively going downstairs and gathering in the first-floor lobby.
At this time, Huo Yuhao was still standing in the square outside the door, looking deeply into the depths of the night.
Wang Donger quickened her pace to cut through the crowd, walked to his side, took a slight breath, and asked softly: "Are you alright?"
As soon as her words fell, an aura that was tyrannical to the extreme suddenly swept across the entire square like a violent wind.
That coercion pressed down heavily, as if an invisible firmament were descending, causing everyone's breathing in the square to instantly stagnate.
Everyone raised their heads one after another, their gazes gathering on that figure in mid-air who had appeared at some unknown time.
That person hovered above the square, their dark gray robe motionless in the night wind, a pair of aged and sharp eyes overlooking below.
This figure had appeared during the opening of the competition, and now everyone present already knew his identity.
Limit Douluo, titled Dragon Emperor, Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao!
Seeing him suddenly appear above the Spirit Pagoda, everyone's expressions changed.
A presence at the Limit Douluo level appearing here at this time point and in such a manner was clearly harboring malicious intent.
The coercion permeating the air was like a layer of substantive ice film, clinging to everyone's skin, causing people's hearts to involuntarily generate a chill.
Huo Yuhao's expression also became a bit more solemn, but his voice remained steady, carrying a reassuring tone as he said: "You guys go first, I have a tracking Spirit Tool, I can find you."
"Yuhao!"
Wang Donger glanced at that figure in mid-air, then turned her gaze back to look at Huo Yuhao, her pink-blue eyes filled with worry.
Huo Yuhao turned his head to glance at her, saying in a relaxed tone: "Rest assured, I won't have any trouble."
Behind him, Jin Li's golden pupils were also full of solemnity at this moment. Standing at the front of the formation, she looked at Huo Yuhao's back for a split second, then shouted loudly in her capacity as captain: "Everyone, follow me!"
Wang Donger also knew that with her own strength, staying here would only add to the chaos.
She stood in place and tightly clenched her fists, and finally she clenched her teeth and shouted toward Huo Yuhao: "I will always wait for you!"
Finished speaking, she did not look back again, turned around and followed behind everyone, rapidly sweeping toward the distance.
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and raised his head to look at the hovering figure in mid-air.
His posture was composed, standing with his hands behind his back, as if the person standing before him at this moment was not a Limit Douluo, but merely an ordinary guest visiting late at night.
He said in a calm voice: "Senior shouldn't lower your status to make a move against these juniors, right?"
Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao's gaze consistently fell on Huo Yuhao, and for those "escaping" people, he truly didn't even spare them an extra glance.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Kid, I am quite curious, you are so calm and composed—do you truly have some backing, or are you just putting on a facade of composure?"
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao smiled: "Backing stems from strength; Senior should understand."
Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao's brows furrowed slightly. With his level of cultivation, he could naturally perceive that Huo Yuhao's Spirit Power fluctuation was roughly at the Spirit Douluo level, yet the composure on this young man's face did not look like he was merely putting up a false front.
For a moment, he could not quite see through the other party's reality, but he didn't believe a Spirit Douluo could escape from his hands either.
Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao continued: "If you capture yourself without a fight and come with me, perhaps you can still save your life."
Although Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao had joined the Holy Spirit Cult and ranked as the First Elder, he himself was not an Evil Soul Master.
What he had done over the years was stepping onto a mistaken path because of that unforgettable romance.
He considered himself deeply sinful, yet he was not a villain by birth.
At least at this moment, facing a talented Genius like Huo Yuhao, in his heart he truly was unwilling to directly deal a fatal blow.
The reason why Huo Yuhao was unhurriedly sparring with Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao in conversation was naturally to buy time for Wang Donger and the others.
Every piece of dialogue and every pause was striving to win an extra breath of a chance to breathe for those retreating figures.
Hearing the choice given by Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao at this moment, he shook his head slightly: "I certainly do not want to stay in Sun Moon, nor do I want to go to the Holy Spirit Cult as a guest."
Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao was unwilling to waste any more breath and let out a cold snort: "That is not up to you anymore."
Before his words had even fallen, he directly made a move.
He saw his right hand reach downwards; the movement looked casual and gentle, yet a huge dark dragon claw materialized out of thin air along with it.
This dragon claw was pitch-black as ink throughout, every claw blade radiating a faint, cold metallic luster, carrying a heavy aura that almost crushed space, grabbing straight toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's expression suddenly condensed. Streaks of metallic luster rapidly lit up around his body, and a silver-white armor covered his entire body in an instant.
Afterwards, the aura on his body abruptly spiked by a section, forcefully rising from the Spirit Douluo level to the strength of a Titled Douluo.
Hovering in the upper air, Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao looked at this scene and let out a cold laugh: "Kid, today I'll let you know what a Limit Douluo is."
Afterwards, Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao did not make any changing moves; that dark dragon claw continued to advance unhurriedly forward.
spirit rings successively lit up beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, and Spirit Abilities poured out as if they cost nothing, various radiances intertwining into a dazzling light screen, violently slamming into that dragon claw.
However, these Spirit Powers landing on that dragon claw at this moment were like mud cows entering the sea, not even causing a trace of a pause.
That huge dark dragon claw slowly closed, tightly gripping Huo Yuhao within its palm.
His body continuously twisted and struggled within the constraints of the dragon claw, but no matter what he couldn't break free by even a fraction.
Finally, the dragon claw slowly retracted, lifting him up before Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao.
Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao looked at him, saying in a plain tone: "Kid, don't waste your effort. Although your talent is not bad, in this old man's hands, you absolutely cannot escape."
After finishing these words, he prepared to turn and leave with Huo Yuhao.
But at this very instant, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
Those aged pupils suddenly contracted, his gaze falling upon the Huo Yuhao before him, filled with an incredible look of shock.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.