The shrill screams of his companions echoed in his ears, finally snapping the remaining two guards back to their senses. Terrified, they dared not hold back any longer and quickly activated their martial souls.
Two soul rings slowly rose from beneath their feet. One of the guards had two white rings, and with the release of his martial soul, a rather ordinary-looking long blade appeared in his hand. The other had one white and one yellow ring, and his body was covered in brown fur. For the moment, it was hard to tell what kind of beast martial soul he possessed.
The guard with the beast martial soul swung his arm, his fist creating a whistling gust as it hurtled toward Huo Yuhao. The other guard's first soul ring lit up, and a faint light shimmered along the wide blade of his sword as he followed up with a downward slash.
Before reaching the Soul Elder rank, a soul master's physical attributes aren't significantly superior to that of an ordinary person. However, the gap in sheer power had been bridged by the dark blue energy Huo Yuhao unleashed. Now, what remained was his battle-hardened experience from his past life, ruthlessly overwhelming the two guards.
Huo Yuhao ducked low, dodging the incoming punch. He then lunged forward, charging straight into the slash aimed at him. As he advanced, the White Tiger Dagger in his hand angled upwards, catching the blade mid-air. A sharp screech of metal on metal rang out, bright sparks flew as the long blade scraped against the dagger, finally getting stuck at the crossguard.
In that brief instant, Huo Yuhao had already crashed into the guard's body. Caught off guard, the guard stumbled backward, his head spinning. A sharp, piercing pain suddenly shot through his wrist, forcing a scream from his throat.
"Ah!"
Huo Yuhao's slender frame was pressing down on the guard, and the White Tiger Dagger had effortlessly plunged deep into his wrist as if slicing through tofu.
Feeling the instinctive struggle from the guard beneath him, Huo Yuhao's eyes turned cold. Gripping the hilt of the dagger with both hands, he twisted it with all his might.
Scarlet blood splattered everywhere. The guard's nerves were completely severed, and he could no longer hold onto his sword. His body began to convulse uncontrollably. Without a trace of emotion, Huo Yuhao pulled out the dagger and slowly stood up, turning his gaze toward the last remaining guard.
The last guard was trembling, his face pale. At that moment, he wished he could curse the ancestors of the young man standing next to Dai Huabin.
This is supposed to be soul power at level one?!
But now wasn't the time to retreat. If anything happened to Dai Huabin, the fate awaiting him would be far worse than death.
In the next second, he let out a roar and charged at Huo Yuhao, his second yellow soul ring glowing brightly. The brown fur on his body took on a faint silvery hue, seemingly boosting his defense.
He knew this wouldn't be enough to fully block the dagger's sharpness, but at least it would keep him from falling in one strike like the others.
The distance between them closed in an instant. Huo Yuhao raised his dagger again, thrusting it straight toward the guard. But this time, the guard noticed a faint golden light shimmering along the dagger's blade.
Instinctively, he raised his fur-covered arm to block. A sound like a knife tearing through leather rang out, but the blade didn't immediately pierce through his defense.
This was within the guard's expectations. He gritted his teeth against the pain in his arm and reached out with his other hand, aiming to grab Huo Yuhao by the throat.
However, just as he raised his arm, he felt a domineering spiritual force surge through the wound, flooding into his body and exploding in his mind.
It was as if someone had smashed his head with a hammer. Overwhelming pain and dizziness washed over him. Huo Yuhao, who had been waiting for this moment, swiftly pulled out his dagger and slashed horizontally.
A thin red line appeared on the guard's neck. Crimson beads of blood began seeping from the wound. Feeling the sharp pain in his throat, the guard instinctively reached up to touch it. When he saw the blood on his hand, his body trembled. His mouth opened, but all that came out was a hoarse, gasping sound.
Under Huo Yuhao's cold gaze, the guard's body slowly collapsed to the ground.
Six-year-old Dai Huabin had never witnessed such a gruesome scene before. After all, he had only just recently awakened his martial soul. Watching as Huo Yuhao methodically dispatched the remaining three guards with his dagger, Dai Huabin's body felt as heavy as lead. No matter how hard he tried to move, he couldn't budge an inch.
Finally, after dealing with the last guard, Huo Yuhao stood up, slightly out of breath, and turned his gaze towards Dai Huabin. His beautiful sapphire-blue eyes now looked like a bottomless abyss, capable of swallowing souls.
The young man standing beside Dai Huabin also turned pale, trembling as he stammered, "You... you're not Huo Yuhao."
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow at the remark, his heart growing more vigilant. He took large, deliberate steps towards the two, causing Dai Huabin to instinctively take two steps back. The arrogance from before was completely gone from his face. He suddenly grasped at straws, speaking in a trembling voice.
"You can't kill me. If you do, you'll regret it! The Duke's mansion... my mother... they won't let you go! You and your mother will be hunted down until death!"
"Yes, the Duchess would indeed do something like that," Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement, his steps calm and unhurried as he walked towards Dai Huabin. Then, a fist glowing with golden light appeared in front of Dai Huabin's face.
"You know, a person receives three gifts in their life."
Bang! Dai Huabin was sent flying, nose blood splattering everywhere.
"The first gift is what your mother teaches you."
As Huo Yuhao's voice fell, his spiritual power, enhanced by his Spirit Eyes martial soul, invaded Dai Huabin's mind, destroying what little remained of his sanity. The pain was so intense that Dai Huabin couldn't even scream.
"The second gift is what society teaches you."
Huo Yuhao's voice echoed in his ears as the White Tiger Dagger pierced through Dai Huabin's hand, pinning it to the ground.
"The third gift is the opportunity for the future. The first two gifts are beyond your control, but your future is usually determined by your own choices."
Huo Yuhao crouched down, yanking Dai Huabin up by his golden hair. Staring calmly into the boy's eyes, which bore the White Tiger Clan's signature double pupils, Huo Yuhao's gaze radiated such chilling coldness that even Dai Huabin's body stopped convulsing in fear.
"I don't understand where you got this confidence and sense of superiority that makes you think you can simply decide who lives and who dies."
"Maybe it's because of the environment you grew up in. The Duchess sheltered you well, and everyone around you revolved around your needs, making you feel like everything in this world was yours. Some things may not be yours yet, but you believe they will be eventually."
"But sadly for you, because of you and your mother, I've become your enemy. And your third gift... is me."
"Because of me, everything you rely on will one day cease to exist."
"Perhaps after this ordeal, you'll grow up and learn. But since you've made me your enemy..."
"You'll shudder at the mere mention of my name, your legs will go weak when you see my face, and you'll want to flee whenever you hear my voice."
Huo Yuhao leaned in close to Dai Huabin's ear, his voice soft but carrying the weight of a demon pronouncing judgment from the depths of hell.
To experience such a nightmare at such a young age, and to be directly hit by Huo Yuhao's domineering spiritual power, would leave an indelible scar on Dai Huabin's mind.
"And all of this... is because of your one sentence: 'Fight to the death.'"
With that, Huo Yuhao viciously twisted the dagger embedded in Dai Huabin's hand. The excruciating pain caused Dai Huabin to open his mouth in a scream, but before the sound could fully escape, Huo Yuhao had already pulled the dagger out and delivered a swift kick to his face.
Dai Huabin's face was now bruised and bloody, looking utterly miserable. Finally, he passed out from the beating. After finishing his work, Huo Yuhao turned to the young man standing nearby, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
The young man suppressed his trembling body, trying to put on the same flattering smile he had used earlier when dealing with Dai Huabin. But it was now laughably pitiful.
"You... you're a transmigrator too, aren't you?"
->End of Chapter<-