The referees had arrived in the arena, but there wasn't anything they could do at this point. The battle had already ended, and as if to mock them, a purple ring of light rose from the Wind Tiger's body.
A kill!
There had only been a single collision between Dai Huabin and the Wind Tiger, yet Dai Huabin had savagely overwhelmed the Wind Tiger—a thousand year soul beast—with brute force, and had torn its body in half. Dai Huabin's body was drenched in the Wind Tiger's blood. The students from both Class 1 and Class 2 had all become pale-faced, while some female students couldn't even bear to continue looking.
Only Zhu Lu had an extraordinary splendor in her eyes. After all, this was the man whom she most admired! She loved to see how valiant Dai Huabin was.
"Dai Huabin, didn't you hear me tell you to stay your hand?" Du Weilun's angry voice rang out. The death of a thousand year soul beast wasn't exactly a small loss to the academy. It wasn't easy for them to capture a thousand year soul beast and domesticate it, nor was it easy to soothe Gong Changlong.
Dai Huabin indifferently replied, "A battle between soul masters and soul beasts is always one of life and death. Since it wanted to kill me, why couldn't I kill it? Besides, I couldn't stay my hand. If I had, its counterattack could've injured me. In order to obtain full marks, I needed to avoid the error that Wang Dong made. I didn't have the 30% chance of failure that he did. As for the academy's loss, I'm willing to compensate the academy for it."
Du Weilun furrowed his brows tightly. Even though Dai Huabin was powerful, he was still too vicious. Furthermore, the personality of a rebellious student like him would grow stronger and stronger as his power increased, which would make it harder to control him.
Du Weilun glanced towards Yan Shaozhe, who nodded slightly and whispered a few words to him.
Du Weilun sat back down and spoke in a low voice, "Dai Huabin, you have obtained a hundred marks as your base score for choosing a thousand year soul beast during the advancement test. The way you met force with force also embodied the strong points of an assault-type soul master. However, your technique was somewhat lacking. You've obtained 45 marks for your battle technique. You will also have to compensate the academy's loss within ten days. If you don't, the academy will strip you of your status as a core disciple."
"Yes." Dai Huabin had somewhat regained his composure by this point. He naturally wouldn't go against Du Weilun's word. He bowed slightly, saluted, then walked back towards his class with large strides.
He'd obtained a total of a hundred and forty five marks! This was an outstanding result that neared perfection! A score like this had never appeared within the Year 2 advancement test in the past—at least in Wang Yan, Zhou Yi, and Mu Jin's memories.
In reality, Dai Huabin's performance truly had neared perfection. Though his hands had been injured, he'd retained his fighting strength. Moreover, he'd valiantly killed a thousand year soul beast in battle despite being only twelve years old! Having such a cultivation at his age was extremely rare, even in the history of Shrek Academy; this was the main reason that Dean Yan Shaozhe had still given him such a high score.
Yan Shaozhe could tell that a student like Dai Huabin was different from Wang Dong: Though he had a steadfast personality, Dai Huabin could break too easily. He couldn't try to control him by giving him a setback like he had with Wang Dong. He could only guide him slowly. Giving him a high score would benefit his confidence in himself. That, and Yan Shaozhe was confident that he could control his rebelliousness. After all, he'd taught many other students who'd been even more rebellious. Furthermore, Shrek Academy was proud of its ability to train monsters. It wasn't worried about people with bad personalities; it was only worried that they wouldn't have the ability to back said personality up.
When Mu Jin saw the blood-drenched Dai Huabin walking towards to her, she furrowed her brows. "Huabin, head back and clean yourself up. You've already passed."
However, Dai Huabin shook his head. He towards Class 1, then raised his right hand's index finger and pointed at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was currently gazing straight at him. At that moment, Dai Huabin realised that Huo Yuhao's gaze was extremely calm—so calm that it almost icy. He didn't seem to have any intentions of cowering in front of his blood-drenched, savage appearance. On the contrary, he didn't relent at all when their gazes met.
Huo Yuhao knew that Dai Huabin was telling him, 'It's your turn now.'
"Indeed, it's my turn now." Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly once he'd finished speaking. He nodded towards Wang Dong, then strode towards the arena with large strides.
It took a few minutes for the arena to be cleaned up. Once it had been, the referee sent Huo Yuhao's test form to the tall stage.
"Class 1, Huo Yuhao." Huo Yuhao reported his name calmly. As he did so, he stood tall and straight. Not only was he much more robust compared to a month ago, he was also quite a bit taller. Suddenly, the referee noticed that he was somewhat similar to Dai Huabin. Was it in his appearance? They seemed to be slightly similar. However, it had more to do with the confidence they both exuded; the confidence that they would definitely win.
"Are you still going to choose a hundred year soul beast?" The referee's impression of him was still fresh in his mind; this was the student who'd alerted even the Beast King two days ago.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I choose a thousand year soul beast."
"A thousand year soul beast?" The referee was stunned. "Huo Yuhao, you need to carefully think about this. You're only a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster; a thousand year soul beast is still a bit too much pressure for you. You saw what just happened! Even if we wanted to help you out, in a close-combat fight like this, it'd still take time for us to reach you."
Despite his warning, Huo Yuhao confirmed his decision unhesitatingly. "Teacher, I've decided to take on the test's highest-ranked opponent, a thousand year soul beast."
He spoke very loudly, thus those atop the tall stage, as well as the other students, were all able to hear him clearly.
Dai Huabin's pupils contracted as a trace of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He's choosing a thousand year soul beast? What could he be relying on? He can't even use his second soul skill… is he just relying on his Spiritual Shock? That skill's not too bad, but it's nowhere near enough to take on the likes of a thousand year soul beast. Could he even manage to break its defences if it were to simply lie down and let him attack it?
He's courting death! Does he think that they're pushovers because Wang Dong and I were able to defeat them?
Dai Huabin had obtained 145 marks, while Wang Dong had obtained 100 marks. In other words, Huo Yuhao just needed to obtain more than 45 marks to win the bet. At the same time, the academy had requested that he not use his second soul skill during the test. In exchange, they had guaranteed that he would score at least 30 marks in order to ensure that he passed the advancement test.
Du Weilun had undoubtedly made a decision like this in order to see what he was capable of. If he hadn't, Huo Yuhao would be able to pass the test solely by relying on his Imitation, just like his performance the other day!
"Let him." Du Weilun's voice rang out from atop the tall stage.
"Alright." The referee responded. The arena had already been fully cleaned up by this point.
"Huo Yuhao, are you ready?" The referee asked.
He nodded.
The referee gestured towards the arena, then reminded him, "Pay attention to your safety. If you don't think that you can beat your opponent, do your best to protect yourself."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, but he didn't reveal any emotions on his face, as he was currently fully concentrated on the upcoming battle. As such, he couldn't even spare the effort required to say a word of thanks.
He was just a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster after all. Furthermore, he couldn't even use his second soul skill. In a situation such as this, the difficulty of taking on a thousand year soul beast could be imagined. Of course, he naturally understood that he was somewhat inferior to Wang Dong and Dai Huabin in terms of direct fighting strength. The only reason he dared to take on a thousand year soul beast was because of his confidence in his Spiritual Detection and the Ice Empress' two soul skills.
A pale golden light flickered as two soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
Wang Dong and Dai Huabin's three rings hadn't surprised any of the other students, but the students from Class 2 immediately cried out in surprise the moment his soul rings appeared.
Both of them were white, which represented two ten year soul rings! Yet, would anyone truly dare to underestimate these ten year soul rings? Two days ago, they had both been blood-red. At this point, almost no one who could tell what rank his soul rings truly were.
Yan Shaozhe's gaze was fixed on his body, and his eyes flickered slightly. Even though he didn't have a martial soul like the Spirit Eyes that could enhance his eyesight, his spiritual perception and vision weren't any less than Huo Yuhao's when he was using his Spiritual Detection due to his cultivation.
"What a strange skill. When he activates it, even I can't sense the intensity of the aura from his soul rings. Is his second soul ring truly a ten year soul ring?" Du Weilun furrowed his brows.
Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "There's no way it's a ten year soul ring. We've seen thousands upon thousands of soul rings. How could a soul ring that's capable of imitating the aura of a hundred thousand year soul ring possibly be a ten year soul ring? If it were only a ten year soul ring, could he really have scared hundred or thousand year soul beasts? If I were to make a guess, it's very likely that his soul ring is a thousand year one, just like Wang Dong's."
Du Weilun was stunned. "That can't be right. His first soul ring's only a ten year one; how could his second one be a thousand year one? His body shouldn't have been able to withstand absorbing one."
Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "Don't forget that he has twin martial souls. Furthermore, it's extremely likely that his second martial soul had a late awakening. Though this occurs very rarely, it could've changed his physique. However, you mentioned that he left the academy by himself, and that he's an orphan. There's almost no chance that he'll be able to kill a thousand year soul beast by himself. Is there anyone outside the academy who could help him out?"
At that point, their conversation stopped for the time being, as Huo Yuhao's opponent had appeared.
Surrounded by an intense aura of heat, a fire-wreathed lion charged out from the beast cage.
It was no wonder they were the highest-ranked opponents a student could challenge during the advancement test. Not only were the soul beasts Wang Dong, Dai Huabin, and Huo Yuhao faced thousand year ones; they were all tyrannical existences such as lions, leopards, and bears too.
Huo Yuhao felt somewhat strange when he saw the Flaming Lion King. He thought back to his match with Wu Feng. It was that match that had resulted in him obtaining stable footing in Class 1 and in sending Wu Feng to Class 2.
Wu Feng, who stood near Dai Huabin, gazed towards Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with anger. She couldn't understand why a sense of fear towards him had welled up in her heart after their match, despite him clearly being much weaker than her. It was because of this feeling that, during the months that followed their match, she hadn't issued him another challenge.
Wu Feng didn't know why this had happened, but the unyielding look in Huo Yuhao's eyes would frequently pop up in her mind.
He's actually going against the Flaming Lion King. This is gonna be a nice show to watch. Vicious thoughts popped up in Wu Feng's mind. It'd be good if it burned him to cinders.
The Flaming Lion King charged out of the beast cage and roared towards the sky. The lion's distinctive mane spread outwards and its fire-red fur looked even more formidable due to the fire surrounding it.
It was much more robust than the Wind Tiger that Dai Huabin had faced; its body was a full three meters long and its shoulders were one and-a-half-meters wide. Its muscles were outlined distinctly and its light brown eyes had a grim look to them. After letting out a roar, it shot through the air towards Huo Yuhao.
The flames around its body rose unceasingly as it charged towards Huo Yuhao. The flames were so hot that they began to distort the air around them.
Could Huo Yuhao really take on a thousand year Flaming Lion King? It was even stronger than the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear and Wind Tiger that Wang Dong and Dai Huabin had faced.
Dai Huabin did not not believe for a second that such a miracle would occur. In his opinion, Huo Yuhao wouldn't even be able to take a single blow from it.
Huo Yuhao stood unyieldingly as he faced the Flaming Lion King's charge. He released his Spiritual Detection and locked it onto its body. Despite having faced a thousand year soul beast in the past, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. This was still his first time facing a soul beast of its level by himself. However, he let out a mental sigh of relief once he sensed his opponent's attribute.
By this time, it had already reached within fifty metres of Huo Yuhao. A large majority of the audience was now focused on its body. Yet, due to their focus on the Flaming Lion King, they didn't notice that a change had occurred to Huo Yuhao's soul rings.
This time, the change wasn't the color of his soul rings, but rather the number of them. His two soul rings had suddenly become a single one, though they still remained white.
That single white soul ring emitted a weak and feeble light as a layer of translucent crystals silently covered his body. Every crystal was about the size of a fingernail, and didn't hinder his movements even though they had covered his entire body. On the contrary, they formed a suit of armor made of ice.
These crystals of ice were all hexagonal and multifaceted. Thus, any light that shone on these ice crystals would result in dazzling reflections.
After the crystals of ice covered Huo Yuhao's body, the Flaming Lion King suddenly stopped. The blazing flames around its body converged and turned into a fiery light identical to its body which then shot straight towards Huo Yuhao.
This was the Flaming Lion King's innate skill, Flaming Clone Strike.
The fiery light surrounding its body vanished as soon as it released this attack. However, the speed of its charge didn't diminish in the slightest as it continued to charge towards Huo Yuhao.
The referee had been following the entire situation closely. He felt somewhat surprised when the layer of ice crystals appeared on Huo Yuhao's body. Just what was his martial soul? Furthermore, the audience had just noticed that his two soul rings were now just a single soul ring.
This strange phenomenon sent the two referees into a daze for a brief moment. Naturally, this wasted some of their time; by the time they came back to their senses and realised that Huo Yuhao might not be able to withstand the Flaming Lion King's attack, it had already reached him.
Du Weilun had already risen to his feet with his right hand pointed downwards. He could naturally see that the two referees wouldn't be able to make it in time to help Huo Yuhao.
Yan Shaozhe flicked his sleeve and blocked Du Weilun's hand. He smiled slightly and said, "No need."
At that moment, the Flaming Clone Strike had already struck Huo Yuhao.
Astonished cries began to ring throughout the entire stadium, both Zhou Yi and Wang Yan rushed into the arena simultaneously. However, they suddenly stopped after taking three steps; they had just witnessed a miraculous scene.
Right when the lion's Flaming Clone Strike had collided with Huo Yuhao's body, a layer of white mist surged from his body. Immediately after that, an illusory shadow flashed behind his body. Following which, the lion's skill vanished without a trace. It was as though it had never occurred in the first place.
After the white mist disappeared, Huo Yuhao's body returned back to its normal state. He clasped his hands behind his back and glared at the lion coldly. "Scram!" he shouted with a stern voice.
The huge lion had unexpectedly shivered before it turned around and ran away with its tail between its legs. Its terrified appearance was as though it had seen something extremely terrifying. Yet, it was only Huo Yuhao who stood there, with a completely nonchalant attitude.
The two referees were left dumbstruck. Last time, a hundred year soul beast had been paralyzed from fear and this time, a thousand year soul beast had been scared to the point of fleeing. Furthermore, he had withstood its attack without releasing a hundred thousand year soul ring!
Just what had happened? All the teachers within the arena were baffled.
Yan Shaozhe slowly rose to his feet, turned towards Du Weilun and spoke, "I'm going to head back now. Huo Yuhao gets full marks for his advancement test. I want this kid."
With that, he took a step forward and left the tall stage. Then, he flashed through the sky and disappeared.
Of all the spectators observing the match, the only person who had clearly seen what Huo Yuhao had done was Yan Shaozhe.
After he was struck by the lion's Flaming Clone Strike, a white mist had poured from Huo Yuhao's body. At the same time, the crystalline ice armor he wore had turned jade-green. Furthermore, an illusory image had appeared behind him as the white mist floated upwards.
It was a meter-and-a-half tall scorpion and Yan Shaozhe had clearly seen the scorpion coldly glare at the Flaming Lion King with its crystal-yellow eyes. At that exact moment, the lion… had pissed itself…
This wasn't the sense of fear caused by his Imitation skill, but a true intimidation caused by the attribute of his martial soul. It was just like the intimidation Dai Huabin's White Tiger released towards the Wind Tiger.
Yan Shaozhe's emotions surged violently as he hurriedly left. It had already been 76 years since he'd entered Shrek Academy, but this was the first Ultimate element martial soul he'd seen.
Ultimate Ice, this was the Ultimate Ice attribute!
The fire-type Flaming Lion King was frightened to the point of fleeing by Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice-type martial soul. This was the absolute suppression that stemmed from their attributes!
Only Yan Shaozhe had been able to see through everything clearly and he had made many decisions as a result. The skill Huo Yuhao had just released was called the Ice Empress' Armor, and it was the other skill that the Ice Empress' four hundred thousand year soul ring had given him. The Ice Empress' Pincer and the Ice Empress' Armor were absolute godly skills. Only, the current Huo Yuhao wasn't able to reveal their true strength. However, the strength required to send a fire-type opponent fleeing through elemental suppression posed no problem to him.
Yan Shaozhe had left earlier because he had seen what he had come to see. Now, all he needed to do was figure out a way to make Huo Yuhao stay in the Martial Soul Department without losing face.
A slight sinister smile appeared on Yan Shaozhe's face. Qian Duoduo, ah, Qian Duoduo. I was taken in by your scheme this time, but let's see who gets the last laugh. My Martial Soul Department is the true number one department on the continent and we have certain things that your Soul Tool Department doesn't. If this Dean doesn't hesitate to spare no expense, hehe… it's all worth it for an Ultimate element!
The silence in the arena vanished following Yan Shaozhe's departure, and the spectators all flew into an uproar.
Just what in the world had occurred?
Dai Huabin's earlier feat of killing a thousand year soul beast was already enough to astonish them, but Huo Yuhao hadn't even made a move. Yet, he'd sent his opponent fleeing by merely withstanding a single blow from it. This was even more stunning than a direct kill!
But, just what did he use to achieve this? After all, he wasn't allowed to use his Imitation!
Dai Huabin's confident eyes turned somewhat dazed. He muttered to himself, "Just how could this happen, how could this…?"
At this moment, Du Weilun's voice boomed across the arena, "Huo Yuhao's test is over. According to the Dean's evaluation, Huo Yuhao has obtained 150 marks. He passes with full marks."
"Ah" The astonished cries of various students immediately rang out. They didn't even know that the Dean had been watching this round of the advancement test. Without a doubt, Du Weilun's announcement of Huo Yuhao's score had been made even more persuasive with his use of the Dean's name.
Huo Yuhao slowly walked back to the area where the rest of the Class 1 students were waiting. In reality, even he didn't know that a situation like this would occur. It hadn't even been his own intention to yell out the word 'Scram'; in that instant, the Ice Empress had awakened. The Ice Empress had urged him to yell that out and as a resultthe grand Flaming Lion King was actually scared witless…. The might of the Ice Empress Jade Scorpion was truly terrifying.
Without even waiting for Huo Yuhao to return, Wang Yan instinctively ran up to him. Though his eyesight wasn't as good as Yan Shaozhe's, his research in the field of martial souls was extremely profound. Moreover, he more-or-less understood Huo Yuhao's abilities which resulted in him obtaining a few ideas as to what had really happened.
"Yuhao, you, just now, the soul skill you used just now, what happened? Your two rings became a single ring… don't tell me you have two martial souls? Your second martial souls belongs to the Ice element?"
Wang Yan's words rang out like a string of cannon shots.
Huo Yuhao might've been able to conceal the truth from other people, but Wang Yan had always treated him extremely well. Furthermore, he had always been extremely concerned about Huo Yuhao's growth. The heartfelt respect that Huo Yuhao held towards Teacher Wang was no less than the respect he held for Fan Yu and Zhou Yi. He nodded softly, affirming Wang Yan's guess.
Wang Yan's eyes lit up. "This… were you were late because of your second martial soul? Is it because it just awakened? Come, follow me. There are some questions I'd like you to answer for me." He grabbed Huo Yuhao's arm as soon as he'd finished speaking and left. Zhou Yi had an odd expression on her face when she saw him leave, but she couldn't leave since he had! In order to guide their students through the advancement test, a teacher was required to be present at all times.
Huo Yuhao had been dragged away, but Wang Dong was still there! Even though he had been just as surprised by Huo Yuhao's performance, Huo Yuhao was still his martial soul fusion companion. The stronger Huo Yuhao was, the stronger their combined combat strength would be. Thus, although he was stunned, he was also greatly excited. He turned and looked towards Dai Huabin with a look of disdain, whose face had begun to alternate between shades of green and white. He ridiculed, "How about it, Mr. Dai? It seems that you were full of shit this time around. Whaddaya mean 'taking on both of us by yourself'. Huo Yuhao's score alone is enough to beat yours. Remember to honor your promise later. Aih, the feeling of looking down on you from above truly feels good."
"You—!" When he heard this, Dai Huabin became so angry that his entire body began to shiver. His blood-drenched body caused him to look even more sinister. Zhu Lu almost rushed towards Wang Dong, while Xie Huanyue simply had an astonished look on his face.
Dai Huabin grabbed ahold of Zhu Lu; he'd unexpectedly managed to calm himself down after such a short amount of time. He looked towards Wang Dong and said indifferently, "Since I was willing to make a bet with you, I'm also willing to admit my defeat. I'll naturally honor my promise when I see Huo Yuhao later." After he said this, he turned towards Mu Jin. "Teacher Mu, I'm heading back to clean myself up first." With that, he let go of Zhu Lu and glanced towards her with a deep look before leaving.
The rancor and killing intent within Dai Huabin's eyes surged out like a waterfall as he left the Great Beast Duelling Arena.
Wang Dong lips curled as he watched Dai Huabin's distant figure. "He's actually quite a man; he still knows how to pay up when he loses." However, he didn't realize that Dai Huabin's loss today had thoroughly transformed him into a crazy madman who would disregard the consequences of his actions.
Wang Yan dragged Huo Yuhao all the way to his office, then shut the door once they'd entered. As soon as he'd shut the door, he impatiently inquired, "Yuhao, did you just awaken your second martial soul?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, then proceeded to give Wang Yan the same explanation he'd given to Zhou Yi and Fan Yu.
Wang Yan became somewhat tongue-tied as he listened to his story. Once he'd finished listening, he asked, puzzled, "Why would this happen? Just what in the world could cause this!? This can't be right! Even if your Body Soul were to have a second awakening, a brand new martial soul shouldn't have appeared. Twin martial souls are born at the same time; how in the world could a second one appear after the first? Was your second martial soul hidden from the very beginning? However, a situation like this has never occurred in the annals of history…"
The current Teacher Wang was a completely fanatical scholar. He continued to ponder unceasingly as he talked to himself.
"Yuhao, what exactly is your second martial soul?" Wang Yan looked towards him, an urgent tone in his voice.
Huo Yuhao replied, "I heard Teacher Zhou say that it's the Ice Jade Scorpion."
Wang Yan sharply inhaled when he heard this. Perhaps the other teachers wouldn't recognize the Ice Jade Scorpion, but he did. He had always devoted his efforts to the research of martial souls, thus he had naturally done research on soul beasts that solely belonged to the Extreme North. He naturally knew about the terrifying existences that lived in that place.
"I understand, I understand." Wang Yan's eyes lit up. "No wonder that Flaming Lion King ran with its tail between its legs. Your second martial soul is actually an extremely rare Ultimate martial soul! Heavens… it's actually an Ultimate martial soul!"
Huo Yuhao scratched his head. "Teacher Wang, I think I've heard Teacher Fan Yu mention this as well. What does an 'Ultimate martial soul' mean?"
Currently, Wang Yan was looking at Huo Yuhao the same way he'd look at a lover in a dream. Huo Yuhao felt somewhat guilty when he saw this.
"What is an Ultimate martial soul? How should I explain this to you… Let's put it this way. As you know, there are various ranks within the world of soul masters."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Wang Yan continued, "Within these ranks, it's appropriate to say that twin-souled soul masters are existences who stand at the top of the pyramid. Regardless of what their martial souls are, they're definitely much stronger than ordinary soul masters, due to the fact that they can add soul rings to their second martial soul after they reach a certain level of strength. However, twin-souled soul masters are extremely rare. You're one of them, and Xiao Xiao is too. It's the first time in the outer courtyard's history that two twin-souled soul masters have appeared at the same time.
"Besides a unique situation such as this however, there are certain differences between martial souls. There are Beast Souls, and then there are Tool Souls. All martial souls have characteristics that belongs to them alone; its existence is worth something as long as soul power appears when it awakens. Due to this fact, it's often very hard to differentiate strong and weak martial souls. Under different circumstances, or perhaps I should say, 'different domains', there won't be just one 'strongest' martial soul. However, even though that's normally the case, there are a few martial souls publicly recognised as extremely powerful ones.
"The first of these are Body Souls. Body Souls are extremely powerful due to the fact that they're a part of a soul master's body. A soul master's trained body is naturally more accommodating to their wishes when compared to a martial soul created after its awakening. Furthermore, a second awakening can occur in a Body Soul. This second awakening can both occur during the initial awakening of the Body Soul, or at higher ranks. I've been paying a lot of attention to your Spirit Eyes, in the hopes that I would be able to see it undergo a second awakening. A Body Soul will experience a qualitative leap when it undergoes its second awakening, and will become an existence that lords over ordinary martial souls. It's just like a hundred thousand year soul beast that's broken through its limits; we can use the word 'transcendent' to describe martial souls that have achieved this.
"When a martial soul can be referred to as transcendent, it's obvious that it will definitely be much stronger than a normal martial soul. Besides Body Souls that have undergone their second awakening, there is another type of martial soul that can be classified as a transcendent martial soul: Ultimate martial souls. An example of this would be your second martial soul."
Huo Yuhao conscientiously listened to Wang Yan's explanation. He'd never expected Ultimate martial souls to be evaluated this highly.
The more Wang Yan spoke, the more excited he got. His face turned slightly red as he continued, "The strength of Ultimate martial souls is reflected in the word 'Ultimate'. There are several different types of Ultimate martial souls, and they can belong to any element. However, for a martial soul to reach the pinnacle of any element is easier said than done. If it's lacking even a little bit, it can't be considered to have reached the pinnacle. You've seen Wu Feng's Red Dragon; it's a relatively top-ranked martial soul within the fire element. However, her fire isn't Ultimate Fire. In fact, there's a large gap between her fire and Ultimate Fire. Because of that, we say that her martial soul is a Fire Dragon, not a True Fire Dragon. When a True Fire Dragon appears, it's capable of scorching everything within a thousand miles. However, your Ice Jade Scorpion is a true Ultimate Ice martial soul! Ice Jade Scorpions are soul beasts that live within the Extreme North. The Extreme North is an area that we humans simply cannot enter; soul beasts are the absolute masters of that place."
"According to the legends, there are three extremely powerful ice-type races who live within that extremely frigid world. They are known as, respectively, the Titan Ice Devils, the Ice Jade Scorpions, and the Snow Ladies. The kings of their respective races are known as the Three Emperors of the Extreme North. I can guarantee that these Emperors are transcendent soul beasts."
A sense of admiration spontaneously arose in Huo Yuhao's heart when he heard Wang Yan say this. His description of the Extreme North was identical to what the Skydream Iceworm had said. In a situation where there was no way for them to collect any information from that place, Teacher Wang somehow possessed this much knowledge about it. The amount of dedication he'd put towards the research of soul beasts could be seen from this. Even the newly awakened Ice Empress couldn't help but praise that he was somewhat knowledgeable.
Wang Yan naturally didn't know what Huo Yuhao was thinking. He continued excitedly, "The Snow Ladies are supposedly the strongest race within the Extreme North. Nobody's clear about their origins, but I strongly suspect that they have human blood; their appearance resemble those of humans as well. They're definitely Ultimate martial souls. Other than the Snow Ladies, there's the Ice Jade Scorpions, who have also reached to the pinnacle of the ice element. However, the Titan Ice Devils, who are likewise one of the three strongest races in the Extreme North, can't be considered to have achieved transcendence in terms of their element. As far as I know, I've never heard of a Snow Lady or an Ice Jade Scorpion appearing as a human's martial soul. I didn't think that I'd actually be able to see one during my lifetime. Furthermore, it even turned out to be one of my students."
Huo Yuhao was somewhat embarrassed. "Teacher Wang, I'm not even clear as to what happened myself."
Wang Yan replied, "Ultimate martial souls are extremely rare. The academy's entrance contains the sculptures of the first generation Shrek's Seven Monsters. They were extremely powerful. Even the founder of your Tang Sect—Ancestor Tang San—was one of them. However, none of them had an Ultimate element. In the ten thousand year history of our academy, an Ultimate element martial soul has only appeared thrice before. They were, respectively, Ultimate Wind, Ultimate Fire, and Ultimate Wood. This is the the first time the Ultimate Ice element has appeared. In the past, the three of them all managed to achieve extreme fame amongst their contemporaries. Of them, the most famous is the possessor of the Ultimate Fire martial soul. It was under his leadership that the three original empires of our Douluo Continent were able to defeat the Sun Moon Empire. Later on in his life, he created an extremely powerful clan. However, the martial souls that his descendants inherited didn't have the word 'Ultimate' attached to them.
"Do you know why Ultimate martial souls are so rare?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head blankly.
Wang Yan continued, "It's because it's extremely hard for our bodies to endure an Ultimate martial soul. Think about it. Regardless of whether it's your Ultimate Ice or that ancestor's Ultimate Fire, the extreme amount of power that appears once it awakens could easily blow a soul master's body apart. Without an unusual amount of innate talent, a person simply couldn't withstand it. Because of this, the chances that an Ultimate element will appear on the continent are miniscule; they're exponentially rarer than Body Souls. Based on what you've said, I'm going to make an outrageous hypothesis: Your second martial soul had already appeared when you first awakened your martial soul, but a mutation occurred and it gained a shred of intelligence. Its element was too tyrannical, thus it must've restrained itself."