Chapter 34: Long Aotian? Bear Lord Suppresses
He possessed his martial soul, and his skin instantly took on a bronze luster. His muscles bulged like coiled dragons, turning him into a mobile metallic statue.
Four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—lit up, and the third ring shone brilliantly: Bronze-Iron Skin!
His defense spiked instantly. He roared, charging toward Huo Yuhao like a maddened bull, enveloped in a gale of force. Clearly, he had learned from Wang Meng's failure and intended to use sheer defensive power to tank any potential spiritual shock, breaking finesse with brute force.
Huo Yuhao's eyes narrowed slightly. Faced with a power-type assault Soul Ancestor, he no longer held back.
Hum!
A deep black soul ring suddenly rose from beneath his feet, radiating the vast aura unique to ten-thousand-year soul beasts! Immediately after, the ghostly blue phantom of a jellyfish shimmering with dreamlike starlight emerged elegantly beside him—the thirty-thousand-year Soul Spirit, the Dream Illusion Jellyfish!
"A ten-thousand-year soul ring?!"
The supervisory disciple cried out, his face etched with absolute shock. A Soul Grandmaster possessing a ten-thousand-year ring? This was unheard of! The surrounding disciples gasped, their gaze toward Huo Yuhao shifting completely to one of disbelief.
Bear Lord crossed his arms and let out a savage grin, seemingly enjoying the shock of these "country bumpkins."
Just as Zhao Tiezhu's fist, carrying the force of ten thousand catties, was about to strike Huo Yuhao—
The ghostly light in Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes flared up! He didn't use Soul Shock to clash head-on with the opponent's defense. Instead, he activated the Dream Illusion Jellyfish's other core soul skill: Spiritual Illusion!
An invisible and exquisite spiritual force flooded out like mercury, instantly enveloping Zhao Tiezhu.
Zhao Tiezhu's forward charge jerked to a halt as the scene before his eyes warped. Huo Yuhao's figure seemed to multiply into dozens, flickering around him, indistinguishable from reality. The solid ground beneath his feet turned into churning lava, hot air blasted his face, and his ears were filled with the shrieks of countless vengeful spirits.
"Ah! Get away! It's all an illusion!"
Zhao Tiezhu let out a wild roar. The Bronze-Iron Skin he took such pride in was useless on a spiritual level. He looked like a trapped beast in a swamp, swinging his fists wildly at the air, his soul power pouring out haphazardly as he tried to shatter the omnipresent phantoms.
His attacks missed entirely. Due to overextending his strength, his footing faltered, and he lost his balance, falling heavily to the ground with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. He rolled and struggled on the ground as if fighting an invisible enemy, looking utterly demented.
Another move—a bloodless victory!
The Body Sect disciples fell completely silent, their faces pale. If Wang Meng being insta-killed was an accident, Zhao Tiezhu's miserable state made them clearly realize just what kind of eerie and powerful strength this seemingly frail Soul Grandmaster possessed! That ten-thousand-year soul ring and the mysterious ghostly blue jellyfish phantom cast a massive shadow over their hearts.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
The supervisory disciple's face was as black as a pot bottom. He snapped his head around and barked toward the interior of the mountain gate:
"Long Aotian! How much longer are you going to watch the show?! Come out! Let this kid witness the skill of a true genius of our Body Sect!"
As his voice fell, a tall, upright figure slowly paced out from the shadows behind the gate. The newcomer was slender and well-proportioned, with a cold face and sharp, hawk-like eyes. His steps were steady and powerful. He looked not much older than Huo Yuhao, but his composed aura far surpassed any of the previous disciples.
He did not rush to release his martial soul. He simply looked at the pathetic Zhao Tiezhu and the calm Huo Yuhao, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Senior Brother Long!" "Senior Brother Long is here!" "Great! With Senior Brother Long taking action, he'll surely teach this arrogant brat a lesson!"
The surrounding disciples felt as if they had found their backbone, whispering excitedly with eyes full of awe and expectation. This man was the top genius of the Body Sect's younger generation, possessing the top-tier Body Martial Soul—Skin! He was hailed as one of the successors to the future Sect Master!
Long Aotian ignored the chatter of the others. He locked his gaze on Huo Yuhao and spoke deeply:
"You have good methods. Suppressing strength with spiritual cultivation and playing with defense through illusions is indeed extraordinary." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of steady power. "I am Long Aotian, a disciple of the Body Sect. Please advise."
As he finished speaking, a vast and pure aura suddenly erupted from him. No flashy soul rings appeared, but his body seemed to instantly become a piece of flawless jade, emitting a soft yet resilient luster. Skin, muscle, bone, blood... every part of his body seemed highly unified and coordinated, filled with restrained explosive power.
This was the sign of a Second Awakening of a Body Martial Soul—Silver-level Awakening! It was a state that developed physical coordination and potential to the extreme, granting immense resistance and adaptability to both physical and spiritual attacks!
For the first time, Huo Yuhao's expression became incredibly solemn. He could feel that this opponent was fundamentally different from the ones before! The opponent's spiritual will was as solid as a rock, and that "flawless body" state seemed to vaguely isolate the direct penetration of his spiritual power.
This was a true rival!
"Huo Yuhao." He stated his name in return. The ghostly blue light in his Spirit Eyes flowed deeper, the tentacles of the Dream Illusion Jellyfish danced slightly, and his spiritual power reached a state of high concentration.
Just as the momentum of both sides peaked and a more intense collision was about to erupt—
"ROAR—!!!"
A terrifying, earth-shattering roar suddenly exploded from the side! This roar contained endless ferocity, tyranny, and a horrifying pressure, as if a giant beast from the primordial era had awakened!
It was Bear Lord! Seeing Long Aotian reveal extraordinary strength, he worried Huo Yuhao might suffer a loss. More importantly, the wild nature of a Great Beast in his bones had long been ignited by the provocation before him. He could no longer restrain himself and directly erupted with the terrifying aura belonging to a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear Great Beast!
Dark gold light surged from him like a raging tide! The form of the bald giant blurred instantly, and the phantom of a massive, hideous bear covered in dark gold claws flashed briefly behind him!
Although he didn't fully reveal his true form, this savage aura—originating from a top-tier Great Beast and enough to shatter the courage of ordinary soul beasts and soul masters—slammed into the heart of every Body Sect disciple!
Thud! Thud!
The disciples with lower cultivation turned pale instantly. Their legs went weak, and they fell uncontrollably to their knees, their bodies stiff and even breathing becoming incredibly difficult. Even the supervisory disciple and the recently powerful Long Aotian felt as if they were being pressed down by an invisible mountain. Their bodies sank, the color drained from their faces, and their eyes were filled with horror and disbelief!
This was absolutely no ordinary bodyguard! This aura was even more terrifying than the pressure their Sect Master gave them!