Jing Ziyan’s body flashed forward in an attempt to block him. However, how could Huo Yuhao give her this opportunity? He swiped with his right hand, and the Darkgolden Terrorclaws slashed out.
However, he was surprised then Jing Ziyan’s body exploded with a sphere of brilliant purple light, and two crescent blades appeared in each of her hands. That purple radiance was a Class 6 protective soul barrier, and she took the hit from Huo Yuhao directly, even though Huo Yuhao had unleashed a complete version of his Darkgolden Terrorclaw!
All this just to stop me from retreating?
“Pshhhh!” The Darkgolden Terrorclaw swiped down violently. Suddenly, Jing Ziyan’s entire body transformed into fog and dissipated. Her Class 6 soul barrier had just been baiting him, while the dissipated fog began to condense once more, and enveloped Huo Yuhao inside. The sticky feeling made him feel like he had landed in an enormous web, and his speed plummeted.
Even though Jing Ziyan’s soul tools dropped to the ground because of the transformation, she had still managed to achieve her original goal. The soul tools on her body weren’t meant to confuse Huo Yuhao, but she had had to drop them because Huo Yuhao broke through her fog too quickly, faster than she had expected.
Impressive – Fog Transformation and Condensed Fog!
The radiance in front of Huo Yuhao’s chest receded, and he didn’t continue using his soul thruster too stubbornly. His feet touched the ground, and an intense layer of golden light burst from his body.
The thick and sticky Condensed Fog was shaken off, and was no longer able to touch his body. This fog was formed by Jing Ziyan’s own body, and was the most powerful aspect of her martial soul; it could be said that she was halfway to a Martial Soul True Body! However, Huo Yuhao’s Sovereign’s Descent and the level of his spiritual power meant she wasn’t able to use it directly on him.
Huo Yuhao made a peculiar and slow gesture. His left hand gradually pushed forward into the purple mist, while he raised his right hand. There was a flourishing golden luster on both of his palms, and his Spirit Eyes erupted with golden light.
The dense fog began to tremble violently under the churning effect of his palms, as if it were about to break free from Jing Ziyan’s control.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Ziyan.” Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and spoke as an intense chill burst from his body. The temperature plummeted, and quickly dissipated the large area of fog before him.
Huo Yuhao had already used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice once just now, but he didn’t want to reveal too much, and he withdrew it as soon as it was released. Jing Ziyan was powerful in her fog form, but Huo Yuhao would definitely wound her deeply if he used the Snowy Dance of Ultimate Ice once more, possibly to the point where she couldn’t return to human form.
The fog condensed once more, and Jing Ziyan reverted to her human form. However, the immense roiling force on the fog still took effect on her body, as she spun around rapidly a few times on the spot, stumbled, and almost fell before she managed to barely regain her balance.
At this moment, Ji Juechen made his move.
Jing Ziyan had managed to achieve her goal of delaying Huo Yuhao after all.
A streak of gray light swept out like a whip. There wasn’t a single undulation of soul power when it first appeared, and not even a single trace of anything at all. It was just a pale gray light that didn’t seem to have any substance at all.
However, a thin black line followed wherever this light reached; this was clearly the appearance of space being slashed apart.
Huo Yuhao had been monitoring Ji Juechen from the beginning. From the moment Ji Juechen made his move, Huo Yuhao drifted lightly into the sky and fluttered backwards like a snowflake. This time, he didn’t use any soul tools.
Thick golden hues congregated in his left palm, and a pale orange shadow flickered behind his back. His left hand crystallized like suet white jade under the cocoon of the golden luster.
Huo Yuhao pushed out with his palm lightly and undramatically, blocking off the gray streak that had arrived before him.
Jing Ziyan’s eyes were frozen open, as she was afraid she would miss something. The golden streak and the gray light separated once they touched.
Huo Yuhao’s body drifted through the air as if he were a leaf and slowly fell to the ground.
Ji Juechen’s body appeared in his original location. His expression was calm like a statue, but the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword in his hands had turned white.
Boom, boom, boom…
A series of crackling sounds could be heard as the snowy-white Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword shattered just like that, and disintegrated into a million pieces that drifted away on the wind.
Huo Yuhao landed on the ground twenty meters away and stared at his opponent.
Ji Juechen said nothing. The Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword had been by his side for more than twenty years, and yet he didn’t show any emotions as the sword disintegrated into a million pieces.
The battle didn’t stop there. He suddenly raised his right hand into the air and pointed towards Huo Yuhao in the distance. A streak of gray sword energy exploded into being, and rapidly grew in size as it barreled through the air, eventually transforming into a sword shadow three meters long as it surged towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and slashed out with a similar light sword, while dark blue light flickered once, then disappeared.
The sword lights looked vast, but were actually as thin as paper. However, the thin swords still collided directly with each other in the sky with absolute precision.
A shrill ring could be heard as a thin black line appeared in the sky, extending and sealing shut in an instant.
Boom!
A deafening sound was released right after the black line vanished, and terrifying shockwaves rippled out in all directions.
Ji Juechen immediately slid backwards, his feet actually plowing two deep grooves in the tough ground. On the other side, Huo Yuhao’s situation wasn’t that much better. His entire body was tossed into the air, but he drifted and turned in the sky like a snowflake as he used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and dispersed most of the impact before he landed on the ground stably.
He planted his feet on the ground, his eyes were fixed on Ji Juechen in the distance.
“You have actually grasped the secrets of merging spiritual power and soul power. You have lived up to the name of being a sword fanatic! If I’m not wrong, that was your Domain! What is it called?”
Ji Juechen said plainly, “It’s called Solitude. It’s not complete – otherwise, I wouldn’t need Ziyan to hold you back.”
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “The truth is it’s still a contest between the two of us. Your fighting style is just too unique, and there’s no way you can work together with other people. You didn’t have to do that – even if Ziyan hadn’t held me back, I would still want to test your Domain’s power.”
Ji Juechen’s eyes sparkled. “What’s that sword of yours called? I can feel a solitary arrogance within the extreme cold – and from that palm, as well.”
Huo Yuhao replied, “The sword is called Unparalleled Chill, and the palm is called Snowless Glacier. Both are soul skills that I’ve recently mastered.”
Ji Juechen said plainly, “I lost.”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “No, you haven’t lost. This battle isn’t over – you integrated spiritual power and soul power, and that move you invented where you convert sword intent into physical form hasn’t been completely unleashed yet. My Unparalleled Chill can’t be used continuously, and it takes a heavy toll on my soul power. Therefore, the outcome of this battle is still undecided.”
Ji Juechen shook his head. “I’m very clear about whether I’ve lost or not. You didn’t use your Sovereign’s Descent – furthermore, you already held back against Ziyan. Your Domain has changed.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “Your perception is sharp! If my future opponents were like you, I don’t think there’d be a place for me in the world anymore.”
Ji Juechen asked, “Will you always be at Shrek Academy?”
Huo Yuhao answered, “For now, yes. At least, I will be there until the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.”
“Alright. All the best.”
“Yes.”
Jing Ziyan came up to Ji Juechen and gave Huo Yuhao another deep glance. “Don’t think we’ll just let you be when you go back to Shrek Academy.”
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Do come if you have the ability to do so. That’s my turf, and Shrek Academy’s soul masters are much stronger than I am. When the time comes, you guys probably won’t know who to challenge.”
Ji Juechen’s eyes sparkled as he said, “I hope you’re not lying to me.”
Huo Yuhao answered with a stunned look on his face. “Are you guys really thinking of going?”
Jing Ziyan laughed and said, “We just might.” With that, she grabbed Ji Juechen and left the arena.
Huo Yuhao watched them walk away, and laughed as well. He mumbled under his breath, “I can’t wait for the two of you to go. If the two of you really go, I will definitely find a way to convince you guys to stay!”
He stared at the Soul Practice Arena and puffed out a steamy breath. He raised his right hand, and a single gash could be seen in the center of his palm.
“Such powerful sword intent. You really haven’t lost, Juechen. Do you know that my Enfeeblement and Chaos are completely useless against you? The determination that you have that is as solid as a sword spells disaster for control-type soul masters. I still haven’t perfected the fusion of my Snow Empress’ Three Ultimate Techniques and my Sovereign’s Descent!”
Huo Yuhao didn’t have that many friends in this place, but he still decided to find someone. This time, he could seek him out without worrying too much.
------
“What? You want to see the Hallmaster?” Lin Jiayi stared at the youth before him, and a look of astonishment came over his eyes.
Over two years of exchange studies were about to end. Shrek Academy’s students were obedient and orderly, and there were quite a few prodigies amongst their ranks. However, his impression of this youth before him was the strongest – back during the exchange students’ contest, he had actually gone into deep meditation for half a year, but his cultivation hadn’t improved a single bit.
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “Is that alright? We’re leaving soon. I want to express my gratitude to the Hallmaster before I leave, and there are some things I wish to discuss with him.”
It was immensely difficult for normal students to see the Hallmaster of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, to the point where it was almost impossible. What status did the Hallmaster have? He held a position in the Sun Moon Empire where he was above everyone else, and below only a single person.
However, this student was different. His status was special, to the point where Lin Jiayi didn’t dare to reject him without a good reason.