Yan Shaozhe laughed, while Qian Duoduo had a look of righteous indignation on his face. In reality, however, Qian Duoduo had also burst into laughter inwardly. Glancing at Yan Shaozhe, he inwardly thought, Old Yan, Old Yan. No matter how sly you are, you'll have to drink the water this daddy uses to wash his feet with. Hehe, I hope that you don't regret this in the future. Of course, it'll be too late to regret it then. Wahahaha!
Naturally, the two teams that were participating in the finals of the freshmen assessment's knock-out tournament weren't aware that their match had gotten to the point that even the two Deans were betting against each other.
Both sides had arrived in the arena early. One side was making their preparations, while the other observed their opponents.
Even though Dai Huabin didn't recognise Huo Yuhao, he was naturally able to sense the threat that Huo Yuhao's team posed to him. If he based their chances on cultivation rank alone, their team should win. However, there were several things that 'should' have happened yet hadn't. As such, nothing was set in stone. Was Ning Tian's team weak? Both Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, and Wu Feng, who possessed the Fire Dragon, were outstanding first-rate students from this year's batch of new students, and the overall strength of Ning Tian's team hadn't been far off from their team's strength. Had Xie Huanyue's team been weak? Xie Huanyue had an extraordinarily strong defense, but their match had still ended with the proctor being forced to interfere and protect him. If the proctor hadn't, he might not have been able to leave in one piece.
There was the powerful Wang Dong, the twin-souled Xiao Xiao, and finally Huo Yuhao, who was somewhat mysterious despite only being a Soul Master. The three of them made Dai Huabin feel threatened. Because of this, they'd made sufficient preparations before the match started; they'd even found the teams that had previously fought against Huo Yuhao's team and asked them about their fights in order to carefully understand Huo Yuhao and his teammate's abilities.
Compared to Dai Huabin's cautious and concentrated state of mind, Huo Yuhao was currently feeling a few different emotions. He'd done everything he could to hide his hatred deep within his heart, but his heartbeat still sped up violently when they entered the arena to begin the final match of the knock-out tournament. He truly wanted to simply get his revenge now! However, he knew that that wasn't a realistic option. With so many teachers present, as well as the referee who'd be monitoring and controlling the match, it would practically be impossible for him to kill Dai Huabin with his current strength.
"Yuhao." Wang Dong whispered.
"Yep." Huo Yuhao turned to Wang Dong and saw the cold look in his eyes. "Relax, don't expose any flaws." He urged Huo Yuhao, his voice so low that even Xiao Xiao couldn't hear him.
At that moment, the referee entered the vast Assessment Arena. All of the partitions had been removed during the afternoon, exposing the enormous Assessment Arena.
The referee waved towards both sides, motioning for them to enter the arena.
Huo Yuhao's trio proudly entered the arena. As per usual, Huo Yuhao stood in the middle, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood on either side of him. On the other side of the arena, Dai Huabin also stood in the middle as he walked into the arena, while the two girls on his team stood beside him.
The referee called the two parties to him and said in a deep voice, "The finals are about to begin, thus there will be a change in the rules. Listen well. As of now, you can move as you wish in the arena, but students with flying-type martial souls are no longer allowed to fly more than ten meters into the air. For the sake of allowing you to display the entirety of your strength, you can go all-out with your attacks; don't hold anything back anything during the match. I'll take care of the situation if any problems arise. However, any participants I have to rescue will be disqualified from the match. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Both parties simultaneously replied. A peculiar light flashed through both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's eyes. At the same time, a trace of chilliness appeared in Dai Huabin's eyes as an incorporeal killing intent seemed to erupt from his body.
Although Dai Huabin wasn't the eldest son, he was still one of the White Tiger Duke's sons. He'd received the best education a child could since he was young. He hadn't just learned how to cultivate his martial soul; he'd also learned about how to participate in a war, as well as ways to kill others. The White Tiger Duke was a commander of one of the Star Luo Empire's three armies. As such, his sons would definitely obtain military experience in the future.
As a result of this, Dai Huabin had a much colder temperament than his peers; he already had the basic mannerisms of a soldier. Of the White Tiger Duke's many sons, he had the best amount of talent, which in turn made the White Tiger Duke value him highly. On the other hand, any of the White Tiger Duke's sons could inherit the position of Grand Duke. This had formed Dai Huabin's firm and ruthless personality. When he was only five years old, he'd personally killed his first young soul beast.
"Both sides, introduce yourselves."
"Huo Yuhao."
"Wang Dong."
"Xiao Xiao."
On the other side, Dai Huabin's team of three exuded an obvious sense of hostility.
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu." The black-haired girl said.
"Cui Yajie." The pink-haired girl said.
The referee spread his arms wide and said, "Both teams, return to your sides of the arena. When I give the signal, you may begin attacking."
Both parties slowly moved backwards, but Huo Yuhao continued to keep his eyes trained on Dai Huabin. A savage light flickered through Dai Huabin's eyes as they revealed a faint killing intent. However, he was astonished by the fact that Huo Yuhao didn't yield at all. Strength-wise, there was a world of difference between the two of them. However, the aura that Huo Yuhao was letting out at this instant didn't lose to Dai Huabin's at all.
At that moment, the onlooking teachers were completely silent. Even Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo had become fully concentrated on the arena below them.
As Fan Yu looked towards the retreating form of Huo Yuhao, he inwardly thought to himself, Brat, I hope that you won't disappoint me. This match isn't just related to your freshmen assessment; it's also the most important assessment that the Soul Tool Department has for you.
Both parties quickly reached their respective sides of the arena. The Assessment Arena was extremely large, thus, due to the distance between them, both parties had already become miniscule dots in each other's eyes.
The referee raised his right hand, then brought it down swiftly. Immediately afterwards, a clear 'Begin!' rang out in the ears of the participants.
The instant after the announcement was made, both parties moved identically; they both charged towards each other.
At that moment, they were separated by too great a distance; even Huo Yuhao was unable to scout their opponents with his Spiritual Detection.
Wang Dong let out a shout as he ran, causing the wings of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess to unfurl. He flew directly into the air, but didn't overtake Huo Yuhao. Instead, he flew right above him.
They understood that there was little chance of them winning if they were to compete in pure strength; Dai Huabin's White Tiger was even better than Wu Feng's Red Dragon in terms of quality, albeit only slightly. Furthermore, Wu Feng had only had two soul rings. Even though Ning Tian was a three-ringed Soul Elder, her strength-boosting boost had been completely halted by Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock. However, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn't allow himself to lose to the same trick; he'd definitely guard himself against Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock. With his cultivation rank as a Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao's team were fated to be dragged into a bitter fight in which their only chance of winning would lay with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Haodong Power.
Xiao Xiao ran in front of Huo Yuhao, using her body to shield his. Simultaneously, she took out her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.
On the other hand, Dai Huabin's trio kept their previous formation as they wildly dashed forward. Dai Huabin was in the very front, and he shouted loudly as he ran, "White Tiger, Possession!"
An intense, white light suddenly exploded from his body, causing his arms to simultaneously expand as he charged forward. His chest stuck out, and bone-cracking sounds rang out from every corner of his body. His muscles suddenly swelled up, causing his clothes to be stretched taut. All of his muscles were now extremely prominent, and even the air surrounding him seemed to have turned wild.
His golden hair instantly turned black and white, with the white hair taking up a majority. However, the few strands of black hair on his head were especially obvious. Four faint lines appeared on his head, forming the 'King' character. (王)
Of the transformations that occurred to his body, his hands had been transformed the most. They doubled in size, and white fur covered the backs of his hands. Short, dagger-like claws began to unceasingly extend and retract from his ten fingers as he moved them, and each claw—eight inches in length—was just like the edge of a knife, and flickered with a cold, ghostly light.
Dai Huabin slowly crouched forward, and his four pupils became a deep, ghostly blue, making it seem as if he were a machine specifically designed for slaughter.
Three halos of light began to slowly rise above his feet; two of them were yellow, while the other was purple. As his soul rings revolved, his surging soul power formed a wave of pressure that exploded outwards.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but purse his lips as he saw the White Tiger martial soul. If his martial soul hadn't undergone a variation, he would've possessed a martial soul that was just like Dai Huabin's! If he also possessed the strong White Tiger martial soul, even the wife of the White Tiger Duke wouldn't be able to suppress him if she wanted to. Any child of the main bloodline who possessed the White Tiger would be an extremely important person who would be groomed by the clan. Furthermore, he was even the son of the White Tiger Duke, albeit a bastard child.
Various transformations had also occurred to the two girls beside Dai Huabin. The heterochromatic eyes of the black-haired girl on his left—Zhu Lu—became even deeper in colour, and her ears pricked up. Furthermore, her charming figure became even more slender and powerful. Sharp claws appeared on all ten of her fingers, and even though they weren't as sturdy as Dai Huabin's, they gave off an illusory sense of swiftness. Although her current speed hadn't exceeded Dai Huabin's, her body unexpectedly gave rise to a series of consecutive afterimages as it flickered.
The pink-haired girl, on the other hand, was even stranger. After releasing her martial soul, she seemed to have aged by three or four years, causing her originally twelve-year-old self to turn into a young lady that was filled with youthfulness. Her pink hair grew even longer, and even formed large curls at the bottom, making it look like a pink waterfall that rose into the air. Her eyes became clear and gem-like, causing her whole body to be filled with the vigor of youth. Her ears had become pointed as well, even more so than Zhu Lu's. Furthermore, one couldn't help but stare blankly at her perfect features. Most importantly, two long tails had appeared from her back. Each tail was around one meter long, and their thick, pink fur was illuminated by the rays of the afternoon sun, making it so that one couldn't help but want to rub them.
Cui Yajie's pink eyes immediately found Huo Yuhao's, and she smiled charmingly at him. Her first soul ring quietly lit up, but the light coming from it wasn't very obvious. If one wasn't paying careful attention to it, it would be overlooked.
Huo Yuhao's pale gold eyes flashed, but he remained unmoving.
Cui Yajie's body shook, and her peerless face turned slightly pale. Her martial soul—the Ninetails Fox—was a relatively high-levelled existence among Beast Souls, and it had a few unique characteristics. It would grow a single tail for every extra soul ring she obtained, and her strength would increase accordingly. Her first soul skill was called 'Charm', and she'd used it on Huo Yuhao, albeit to no effect.
The Ninetails Fox was part spiritual-type and part assault-type, and she'd chosen the same path for her cultivation. However, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes were a martial soul that focused completely on the spiritual-type. Due to that, it would be hard for Cui Yajie's Charm, which was a spiritual-type skill, to affect him.
After this brief period of time passed, both teams were now within fifty meters of each other. Thus, the speed-reducing effect of Xiao Xiao's Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute started to show itself, causing the speed of Dai Huabin's trio to decrease clearly. However, Zhu Lu was affected most by it; the number of afterimages she'd created decreased by two, and she didn't seem so illusory anymore.
As the distance between them shrank, Dai Huabin's team entered the range of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, causing their every move to appear as a three-dimensional image in the minds of Huo Yuhao's team.
Dai Huabin's team made the first move. Zhu Lu's body flashed, causing her speed to suddenly increase. This created a series of consecutive afterimages that appeared behind her as she pounced towards Huo Yuhao. Although she was affected by the speed-reducing effect of the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, her speed was still as shocking as ever.
Huo Yuhao's trio were all inwardly astonished. Before their match started, they'd heard that Zhu Lu's martial soul was the Netherworld Civet, and that she was an Agility System Battle Soul Master. However, she was undoubtedly the quickest Agility System Soul Master they'd ever met. Were it not for the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute's speed-reducing effect, it would've been hard to even catch her shadow.
The instant Zhu Lu made her move, Dai Huabin started to go on the offensive. He roared, and in a flash, an intense white light gathered around his head as his second soul ring lit up. Right after that, a ball of white light shot towards Wang Dong. Clearly, he didn't want to give Wang Dong any chance to save Huo Yuhao.
Cui Yajie was originally using her Charm on Huo Yuhao, but she suddenly shifted the target of her skill to Xiao Xiao.
The three of them coordinated extremely well. They each targeted a member of Huo Yuhao's team that they had an advantage against. Cui Yajie wanted to disrupt Xiao Xiao's Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, giving Zhu Lu the chance to attack Huo Yuhao. Zhu Lu wanted to rely on her speed to take care of the enemy commander. On the other hand, Dai Huabin clashed against Wang Dong's strength with his own strength.
Were it not for Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, their team would've immediately suffered a loss. After all, there was a distinct gap between the two team's cultivations. However, the foundational gap between their predictive skills changed the entire situation.
The moment Cui Yajie changed the target of her skill, Huo Yuhao made his move. However, he chose not to work together with Wang Dong. They were currently in a 3v3 match, and if he and Wang Dong joined forces against a single opponent, the remaining person would definitely cause a huge inconvenience to them.
Huo Yuhao released his Spiritual Shock. Target: Cui Yajie.
The timing of Huo Yuhao's attack was simply too ingenious. The Skydream Iceworm had warned him of the backlash that could occur as a result of his Spiritual Shock, but Huo Yuhao had the help of his Spiritual Detection. Why would he launch an attack on an opponent who was guarding against his attacks? The instant he chose to activate his Spiritual Shock was the exact instant when Cui Yajie changed who she was targeting—the instant she used her Charm on Xiao Xiao.
Cui Yajie's Charm and Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock were both spiritual-type skills, but the difference between the two skills was shown now. Cui Yajie needed visual contact for her Charm to be activated, but Huo Yuhao didn't need anything of the sort. Furthermore, his Spiritual Shock had no activation signals.
Cui Yajie let out a muffled groan. An intense, stabbing pain suddenly filled her brain, causing her to stagger forward and nearly fall. However, her spiritual power was much greater than an ordinary Soul Grandmaster's, and Huo Yuhao's cultivation rank was below hers. Without the assistance of the Haodong Power, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock wasn't able to pose an enormous threat to her. However, it was still able to stop her from interrupting Xiao Xiao.
The instant that Huo Yuhao made his move, Xiao Xiao activated her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. The black cauldron flew towards Huo Yuhao, suddenly dropping to the ground just as Zhu Lu was about to reach him.
Zhu Lu was extremely quick, thus she was able to quickly evade. However, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron suddenly split in three to form a straight line in front of her. Xiao Xiao then activated her first soul skill, Cauldron Quake.
Amidst the thunderous booms, the quaking ripples emanated from Xiao Xiao's Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons formed a protective barrier in front of Huo Yuhao. Although Zhu Lu was quick, she wasn't able to dodge all three cauldrons in such a brief moment. When Xiao Xiao had released her soul skill, she knew that she was screwed. Thus, she'd instantly stopped the soul skill she'd just activated and had turned to the side, narrowly dodging the quaking ripples from Xiao Xiao's Cauldron Quake.
At the same time, another intense boom rang out. With a muffled groan, Wang Dong landed beside Huo Yuhao.
He'd suffered a loss after trying to block Dai Huabin's second soul skill—the White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave—with his Guillotine Wing, causing an unstable light to flicker around his wings as they shook. In addition, a trace of blood began leaked out of his mouth and nose.
The gap in their soul power's strength had immediately been revealed.
Once Dai Huabin had obtained an advantage, he wouldn't give it up easily. He quickly shot forwards, a savage glint in his eyes. On the other hand, the crafty Cui Yajie rapidly hid behind him, so as to dodge Huo Yuhao's attacks.
Dai Huabin was a bold person, but he had a plentiful amount of combat experience; he was much more experienced than Huo Yuhao's trio at least. The instant his body shot forward, his first soul ring lit up, causing a layer of white light to surround his entire body, especially his head. He was clearly guarding against Huo Yuhao. This was his first soul skill—White Tiger's Shield. Not only did it have an extremely powerful defense, it also increased his combat strength,
Both parties had already been close to one another, and this clash only brought them even closer. Dai Huabin pounced towards Wang Dong, landed in front of him, and swatted at him with his claw.
On the other side, Zhu Lu's body flashed as she fought against the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. She was simply too fast however, as Xiao Xiao needed 120% of her focus to block her with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron—even with the speed-inhibiting effect of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection. If Zhu Lu hadn't been suppressed by a combination of so many factors, she would've been able to approach Huo Yuhao and attack him.
Wang Dong had already suffered a loss during his first clash with Dai Huabin, who had now approached him again. It was clear who held the upper hand.
They were both Assault System Battle Soul Masters, but they specialised in different areas. Wang Dong's Radiant Butterfly Goddess had extremely strong energy-type attacks like the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, but the White Tiger had always been good at close-combat attacks. As a result of this, Dai Huabin would have the upper hand in a close-range fight like this.
Dai Huabin was astonished by the fact that Wang Dong hadn't activated his second soul skill yet. After landing on the ground stably, Wang Dong still continued to meet Dai Huabin's claw with his Guillotine Wing.
Dai Huabin snorted coldly and forcefully grabbed ahold of Wang Dong's wings with his claws, completely ignoring their sharp edges. He wanted to rely on his own strength to crush Wang Dong's martial soul. From this, his amount of self-confidence could be seen.
The moment before his claw touched Wang Dong's wing, Dai Huabin suddenly felt a sense of crisis in his heart. He suddenly discovered something different about Wang Dong's Guillotine Wing. Previously, Wang Dong's blue wings had been outlined with a golden edge. Now, however, a faint layer of orange had on top of that golden edge.
That's not right. As a result of Dai Huabin's vast combat experience, he was able to react the instant he sensed that something was wrong. He forcefully stopped his claw, then stamped on the ground with his right foot. This forcefully changed the trajectory of his charge, allowing him to dodge to the side. At the same time, he activated his White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave again, launching it towards Wang Dong as he dodged to the side.
However, the situation this time had completely changed. The instant that Dai Huabin had changed directions, Wang Dong hadn't chased after him. Instead, he'd unfurled his wings and flown up into the air. He then landed on Huo Yuhao's shoulders, allowing him to dodge Dai Huabin's White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave's bombardment.
With Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, Wang Dong's grasp of the battlefield was extremely accurate. As a result of his rushed attack, Dai Huabin hadn't been able to lock onto Wang Dong. Thus, Wang Dong had been able to dodge his White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave. On the other hand, the change in Dai Huabin's movements had exposed Cui Yajie, who had been hiding behind him.
Cui Yajie was completely stupefied when she saw the golden streaks appear on Wang Dong's wings. Only after the battle had reached its current stage, had Wang Dong finally revealed his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
This was the art of war. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both knew that it was an impossible task to defeat Dai Huabin within such a short period of time. As a result of this, Cui Yajie had been their target since the very beginning. They hadn't even hesitated to expose a weak point in their formation by allowing Wang Dong to take on Dai Huabin without the assistance of their Haodong Power. All of this had been done to temporarily distract Dai Huabin.
Although Dai Huabin had a vast amount of combat experience, he was still a twelve-year-old child. How many calculations could he perform in an instant? On the other hand, Huo Yuhao's way of fighting entirely relied on the predictive nature of his Spiritual Detection. He didn't even need to tell Wang Dong anything; he could basically direct Wang Dong just by continuously changing the focal points of his Spiritual Detection. This was a type of mutual understanding that the two had gradually formed after the many matches they'd fought together.
Cui Yajie was only a Soul Grandmaster, and as such, she definitely wouldn't be able to block the Light of the Butterfly Goddess that had been activated by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Haodong Power. However, at that moment, she revealed her vicious side.
As the Light of the Butterfly Goddess shot towards her, it was basically impossible for her to dodge it. On the other hand, Dai Huabin had pounced to the side and wasn't able to rescue her. However, she didn't retreat, sidestep, or reveal a flustered expression. In that instant, her second soul ring lit up. She swiftly swung her body, causing both of her pink tails to fly outwards. However, she didn't target Wang Dong, but instead Huo Yuhao, who was beneath him. Her tails flew straight towards Huo Yuhao's chest.
One shouldn't assume that she had a large, soft tail. This wasn't fur, but an attack filled with the might of Cui Yajie's second soul skill.
Huo Yuhao was able to clearly sense the terrifying amount of soul power contained within Cui Yajie's two tails from his Spiritual Detection. Her soul power hadn't simply been condensed; it had been focused into the very tip of her tail, just like a needle. If he were struck by it, he'd definitely die.
This was Cui Yajie's second soul skill, Foxtail Needle.
One who knows both his and their enemy's strength is sure to be invincible in battle. Although Huo Yuhao's trio didn't completely understand the comprehensive strength of their opponents, they were definitely able to predict their every move with Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection. However, the understanding Dai Huabin's trio had of their team was limited by their previous performances.
As far as they were aware, Huo Yuhao had merely stood to the side and released his spiritual-type soul skill during his team's previous matches. Other than that, he'd never made a move.
As a result of this, Cui Yajie never expected to miss. She naturally couldn't dodge Wang Dong's attack, but it would've been worth it if she could've dragged Huo Yuhao down with her. After all, her teammates could be targeted by Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock at any time.
When they'd begun fighting at close range, the referee had immediately moved closer to them. The instant that Wang Dong unfurled his wings, he moved.
For the sake of allowing the six freshmen to use all of their strength, this match had no restrictions on the amount of power they were allowed to use. The spectating teachers would only be able to clearly observe their potential if they went all-out. Due to that, the referee wasn't just an experienced teacher, but was an agility system soul master. Furthermore, his cultivation had reached the seven-ringed Soul Sage rank. The moment he made his move, his speed far surpassed that of what Huo Yuhao and the rest could've imagined.
When Cui Yajie had viciously launched her attack towards Huo Yuhao, the referee had already arrived next to him. Even the referee thought that the two of them would ring-out simultaneously.
Just as the referee was about to make a move, Huo Yuhao had moved.
His figure suddenly turned illusory, and his figure swiftly moved backwards with a gentle sway, unexpectedly forming an afterimage.
His speed definitely couldn't compare to the agility system Zhu Lu's, but the movement he'd made was definitely not something an agility system soul master could perform. More importantly, his footsteps had been extremely mysterious, which had resulted in Cui Yajie's Foxtail Needle not being able to locate its target. As such, its condensed power hadn't been able to be released.
In that exact moment, Wang Dong's Light of the Butterfly Goddess surged downwards; not just towards Cui Yajie, but also towards Dai Huabin.
Wang Dong was standing on Huo Yuhao's shoulders, and moved backwards along with him as a result. However, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection made it so that his soul skill definitely wouldn't miss. Furthermore, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess was an extremely strong soul skill that could be used as both an AoE attack and a single-target attack.
The referee threw Cui Yajie out of the arena with his right hand. His judgement was extremely good; Cui Yajie was no longer able to strike Huo Yuhao, but she would definitely be seriously injured, if not killed, if she were bathed in the Light of the Butterfly Goddess. As for Dai Huabin, he didn't bother helping him.
When the Light of the Butterfly Goddess landed on Dai Huabin's White Tiger's Shield, a series of explosions rang out. In order to minimize the area of contact with Wang Dong's attack, he crouched down in a half-kneeling position while using his palms to protect his head.
However, the strength of Wang Dong's attack exceeded his imagination. Although it was only a two-ringed soul skill, Dai Huabin was nearly unable to withstand its might. His White Tiger's Shield actually almost shattered from defending against it.
The air surrounding Dai Huabin's body suddenly twisted as his demonic eyes turned blood-red. His third soul ring flickered with a noble purple color as it slowly rose into the air. His body—which had become muscular due to the White Tiger's Possession—expanded yet again, causing his muscles to bulge even more. Moreover, his clothes completely burst apart, revealing the distinct silhouette of his muscles. Strangely, black patterns had appeared on his skin, and were it not for the hair on his skin, they'd be identical to that of a tiger's.
His palms became even larger, while his claws turned bright silver. However, his body was covered by a layer of intense golden light, making it seem as if his skin had become gold-plated. In addition to that, a bloodthirsty light filled his blood-red eyes, in-turn causing the hegemonic aura of a Beast King erupt from his body.
The instant he released his third soul skill, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both felt an intense sense of crisis fill their hearts.
A strong, golden light erupted from Dai Huabin's body, causing his speed and strength to increase explosively. He repeatedly slammed his palms outwards, forcefully destroying the balls of light created by Wang Dong's Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
Although the target of Wang Dong's attack wasn't him specifically, it was still a powerful soul skill that had been activated by their Haodong Power, and its strength had definitely reached the level of a Soul Elder's thousand year soul skill! Dai Huabin was the first person who'd been able to block the Haodong Power-fuelled Light of the Butterfly Goddess since the start of the tournament!
This was the strength of a top-ranked Beast Soul. In the end, Wang Dong's cultivation rank was still inferior to Dai Huabin's. After all, he wasn't a Soul Elder, even after he'd fused his soul power with Huo Yuhao's. If Huo Yuhao's cultivation rank had reached Rank 20, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn't have been able to react in such a manner. However, their current situation was due to the gap in their strength.
In an instant, Wang Dong's attack completely dissipated. After 'sacrificing' Cui Yajie, Dai Huabin—who was now at his peak condition—had finally arrived before Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Although it was a 1v2, he'd already taken the upper hand in terms of pressure alone.
The instant Wang Dong's Light of the Butterfly disappeared, Dai Huabin stamped the ground with his left foot, causing a muffled bang to ring out. Immediately afterwards, he shot forward like a bow, not towards Wang Dong, but towards Huo Yuhao.
This was Huo Yuhao's first time being so close to Dai Huabin. With his hated enemy so close to him, Huo Yuhao was unable to remain calm no matter how hard he tried to forced himself.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly moved backwards with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but how could his speed compare to that of the Soul Elder-ranked Dai Huabin? The distance between them instantly shrank, and Dai Huabin sent his palm straight towards Huo Yuhao's chest.
At that exact moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped moving. He stared at Dai Huabin with a brilliant light in his eyes, causing the air within a five-meter diameter of him to slightly distort. Even the major powers observing from the Spectator's Stand weren't able to notice this slight change.
This wasn't his Spiritual Shock, but his Spiritual Interference. Huo Yuhao clearly understood that the only person who'd suffer a loss if he used his Spiritual Shock on Dai Huabin in his current state would be himself. Furthermore, he'd definitely suffer a backlash. Thus, he chose to use Spiritual Interference, which would never have a backlash. Furthermore, he used his ever-growing amount of control over his spiritual power to limit the range of his skill to a diameter of five meters.
The instant Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Interference, Wang Dong suddenly fell forward in a strange manner, as if he'd slipped. However, his Guillotine Wings flickered with a pale orange light, and still slashed towards Dai Huabin. He'd aimed his attack at both sides of Dai Huabin's neck.
No matter how tough the White Tiger's Vajra Transformation made him, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn't dare to forcefully take on Wang Dong's Guillotine Wings with just his neck. However, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Interference had distracted him for a second. It was just a second, but he'd still been slowed down half a beat!
Because of that, Dai Huabin's movements had become slightly sluggish when he felt the sharpness of Wang Dong's Guillotine Wings. Thus, he could only use his palms to forcefully block Wang Dong's attack.
How could a hastily-released attack be compared to an attack that had been charged up? Although Dai Huabin was using his White Tiger's Vajra Transformation, he still wasn't able to blast Wang Dong away. On the other hand, a golden light suddenly appeared on Wang Dong's folded wings. Once again, he activated the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
With the support of Huo Yuhao and the Haodong Power, the strength and activation speed of Wang Dong's soul skills far surpassed his usual level. His current strength had already reached the Soul Elder level. Compared to a Soul Elder, the only thing he lacked was a third soul skill.
Dai Huabin was inwardly astonished. Wang Dong's grasp of tempo was simply too amazing, to the extent that he simply couldn't react. Helpless, he could only go all-out with his defense. He activated his White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave at close range, causing it to collide with Wang Dong's Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
One was a concentrated all-out attack, while the other was a defensive counterattack that had been hastily released. One was a thousand year soul skill, while the other was a hundred year soul skill. At this moment, both parties had similar levels of soul power. Thus, the winner of the clash was immediately decided.
A violent boom rang out from the area between Wang Dong and Dai Huabin. Wang Dong had launched his attack from above, while Dai Huabin had launched his while facing upwards from down below.
After the terrifying boom rang out, Wang Dong flew into the air with his wings unfurled, easily dispersing the force of their collision. However, Dai Huabin was left in a sorrier state; he'd sunk knee-deep into the ground, while his upper body was bared and facing the sky. A golden light exploded from his body, showing that his White Tiger's Vajra Transformation had sustained an incredible blow.