The two soul engineers who were walking in front seemed cold and tough as they entered the guest lounge. There was a tinge of arrogance in their eyes, and they threw a glance at Huo Yuhao and his companions before they walked over to one side and sat down.
I haven’t seen these two before in the tournament. Could they have skipped over the previous two rounds?
Huo Yuhao glanced subconsciously at the name list in his hands. Neither of them were wearing number tags, so he couldn’t confirm their identities.
The guest room was quite large. The two soul engineers didn’t bother with Huo Yuhao and his companions as they found a spot to sit down, and their four bodyguards positioned themselves behind them.
These two soul engineers immediately attracted Huo Yuhao’s attention. He could tell through Spiritual Detection that the bodyguards standing behind them were soul masters, and they didn’t seem weak at all. It seems like these two soul engineers are quite important people. They look like they’re around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Could they be from the Illustrious Virtue Hall?
Huo Yuhao tried his best to search his memory. He and He Caitou had spent quite some time inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and he had seen most of their members. Naturally, he had seen quite a few high-level soul engineers. However, these two soul engineers were definitely below thirty years old since they were participating in this tournament, and it wasn’t likely that they were high-level soul engineers.
The guest lounge’s door opened once more as he was calculating and analyzing things. Chen An walked in briskly, and gave Huo Yuhao a glance before he stepped over to the two soul engineers who had just sat down. Chen An said respectfully, “Greetings, my friends. Many thanks to you for coming forward to participate in the competition. These are your number tags.” He handed two number tags to the two soul engineers as he spoke.
Huo Yuhao’s eyes were extraordinary, and he could faintly tell that the two number tags read 96 and 98 respectively. These two numbers didn’t appear in the data that was given to him, and that meant that these two soul engineers hadn’t participated in the previous two rounds. Are they people that the Duskwater Alliance has specifically invited to participate?
“Alright. Let us know when it’s time.” The soul engineer with the 96 number tag answered plainly before closing his eyes to rest and mentally prepare himself. The soul engineer with the 98 number tag didn’t say anything at all.
Chen An greeted them once more before he turned around and walked briskly over to Huo Yuhao’s group. He came beside Huo Yuhao and asked respectfully, “Do you have any instructions for me?”
Huo Yuhao replied, “Arrange seats for these two inside the Golden Hall after this. It’s alright if they’re a little further away, as long as they can see me.”
Chen An was momentarily stunned. He glanced between the handsome-looking Wang Dong, and then at the cute-looking Na Na. He thought to himself, He really lives up to his identity as someone from the Holy Ghost Church! This arrangement was strange, and Yuhao actually had one male and one female servant with him. However, he had been utterly convinced after Huo Yuhao revealed the sealed Milk Bottle to him, as the sealed Milk Bottle was the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s newest technological breakthrough, and it was also a top-secret affair. The fact that Huo Yuhao could show it meant he was evidently one of the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s core members, and Chen An figured that Huo Yuhao was probably someone that the Holy Ghost Church had sent to the Illustrious Virtue Hall for special nurturing.
“Alright, I’ll arrange for it at once.”
Huo Yuhao’s eyes shifted to one side, and he made an inquiring expression. Chen An didn’t make a sound, and he mouthed a soundless response, “The Duskwater Alliance has specially invited these two to participate in the competition. I’m not sure where they’re from, but my superiors tell me that they’re formidable soul engineers.”
Huo Yuhao had a look of revelation on his face. It was clear that the Duskwater Alliance had invited these two to deal with the other contestants from the other two underground organizations. If that was the case, they couldn’t be that weak.
Chen An didn’t dally around. He turned around and left, and it didn’t take long before some officials came forward to announce that the competition was about to begin, and that the contestants could enter the arena.
Wang Dong’er began to push Huo Yuhao outside. However, two bodyguards who were guarding the two soul engineers opened their arms and blocked Huo Yuhao’s path right at this moment.
“Please wait. Let our masters go first,” they muttered coldly at the same time.
Wang Dong’er’s eyes widened, and she was about to erupt, but Huo Yuhao smiled and raised his hand as he said, “Alright, let them go first.”
One of the two bodyguards grinned mockingly and said, “Good for you, cripple, that you know what’s up.”
He hadn’t even finished his sentence when a golden beam of light sparkled behind Huo Yuhao like a waterfall. The bodyguard hurriedly channeled his soul power and released his martial soul as he raised his hand to block the golden beam.
Boom!
The bodyguard’s body was thrown backwards, and his entire body began to burn up in golden flames.
Wang Dong’er was naturally the one who had lashed out. The Fire of Light from her Golden Light Left Arm Bone immediately covered her opponent’s entire body. The party with a soul bone when both parties had yet to release their martial souls had an absolute advantage over the other side.
But her attack seemed to have disturbed the hornet’s nest, and the two other bodyguards raced forward and gathered with the remaining bodyguard as they all released their martial souls at the same time.
All three bodyguards had the same combination of soul rings, two yellow and three purple ones. They were all Soul Kings, and it was clear that they had gone through proper training. They protected the bodyguard who was burning up in flames as they combined their auras together and started toward Huo Yuhao and his companions.
“Stop!” The soul engineer with the 96 number tag shouted. He wasn’t tall or short, and his appearance seemed as typical as could be. However, his eyes were conspicuously cold and gloomy. He walked over with the other soul engineer, and Huo Yuhao watched them in amusement as he sat there in his Golden Tree wheelchair.
“My subordinates are immature and unruly, and I’m deeply sorry that they have offended you. After you.” The soul engineer with the 96 tag squeezed out a smile, and he spoke and gestured at Huo Yuhao courteously.
Huo Yuhao wore a faint smile on his face as well. “That’s alright. I’m quite sorry about all this. Let’s go.” Wang Dong’er surveyed the other three bodyguards coldly, her eyes filled with indifference and contempt. These three were Soul Kings, but they were still nothing much in her eyes. Wang Dong’er was from Shrek Academy, so how could other normal soul masters compare to her? Wang Dong’er’s current cultivation rank was no weaker than Ma Xiaotao’s when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’er first met her after they entered the academy.
---
The soul engineer with 98 came up beside the other soul engineer, and they watched Huo Yuhao and his companions leave the guest lounge. He asked softly, “Big brother, the fellow on the wheelchair seems a little strange.”
96 nodded and said, “His servant seems so gentle and tender, but she possesses such formidable strength. I believe she has six soul rings, at least. Otherwise, she couldn’t have forced him back with a single palm. Her element is light. Are they members of one of the Sun Moon Empire’s large families?”
The golden flames that were still burning on that bodyguard had been extinguished by now. However, his face was extremely pale, and soul power seemed to leak from his body, as if he were fighting against something.
96 walked over to his side and placed one hand on his shoulder. A greyish-white light lit up and swiftly flowed into the bodyguard, and only then did he gradually stop trembling.
“Nobody is to cause any more trouble after this. Don’t forget our task. Let’s go.” The soul engineers departed the guest lounge after that.
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He Caitou pushed Huo Yuhao’s wheelchair after they entered the Golden Hall. Wang Dong’er and Na Na, under Chen An’s special arrangements, were led by some officials along the arena’s edge and into a dark corner. There were no seats there, but they were in a better position to watch everything that was happening on stage. It was apparent that Chen An’s arrangements were quite thoughtful.
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were given places in a corner once they stepped on stage. Chen An didn’t dare to let Huo Yuhao and He Caitou attract too much attention after what Huo Yuhao said to him the last time!
“Between one to two hours – we’ve placed three hundred thousand golden soul coins. One-to-three odds, heh.” Huo Yuhao whispered to He Caitou.
He Caitou was wearing a metal mask on his face, and Huo Yuhao couldn’t see his expression. But He Caitou nodded in Huo Yuhao’s direction, and the two of them interacted with their eyes for a moment before they transferred their attention to the crafting desk in front of them.
96 and 98 were arranged in the seats that Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were last at. They were wearing long soul engineer robes, but their physical appearances were quite typical, so they wouldn’t draw too much attention to themselves.
Chen An’s voice quickly rang out across the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that the second round of the competition’s main phase is about to begin. Please remain silent so that our mighty soul engineers will have a quiet environment to craft their soul tools. There are still too many people in this round, so some soul engineers have to complete their tasks beneath the competition stage. Therefore, silence is to be maintained throughout the entire process, and anybody who makes a sound will be expelled from the arena. Alright, let me announce this round’s rules…”
Huo Yuhao perused the information that the Duskwater Alliance had prepared on stage as he listened to Chen An’s announcement.
There were a lot more materials compared to the previous round. There were ten kinds of rare metals, and more than twenty kinds of normal metals. The only problem was that there were no more than two kilograms of each kind, which meant that the soul engineers couldn’t craft any large Class 4 soul tools unless they brought their own materials, no matter what they chose to create. Chen An added one more line after he finished his announcement. “In the interest of fairness, every soul engineer can only use the metals provided by the organizing committee for crafting. The finished soul tools will be weighed immediately after completion so that they can ensure that the contestants didn’t cheat!”
Huo Yuhao was quite pleased with how the Duskwater Alliance did things. They were an underground organization, but they were still able to maintain fairness in their tournament and their rules.
“Alright. Get ready, all soul engineers. This round begins now, and the countdown has begun! Get into position, referees!”
The timing was closely related to the bets placed, hence it was extremely important. There were more than ten people responsible for the timing, and there were normal citizens, aristocratic members, soul masters, and soul engineers among them, along with people from other professions who were more or less representative. The Duskwater Alliance was doing their best to make sure that nobody could cheat!