Because the Three Lives Soul Suppression Cauldron arrived quickly and quite suddenly, the three agile-attack class Soul Masters didn't have time to unleash their soul skills. To all the spectators, Xiao Xiao's ability to multitask with her Martial Soul split into three was already impressive, and it seemed impossible for her to still have the capacity to launch soul skills at the precise moment needed. After all, the three opponents advanced at different speeds and in a specific order.
However, Xiao Xiao showed them a stunning scene. Three booming sounds erupted in succession, with each Cauldron Shock occurring at different locations.
Each was activated at the exact moment of collision with the agile-attack class Soul Masters, causing them to be stunned simultaneously as they were repelled. Lacking the physique of direct-attack class Battle Soul Masters, naturally, their dizziness lasted longer than Huang Chutian's before. The three cauldrons once again caught up to their bodies and struck them.
"Bang, bang, bang." Three fronts met the enemy, three fronts celebrated victory. Three figures were struck and simultaneously flew out of the arena.
Three beams of black light rose up and converged above Xiao Xiao's head, quietly disappearing as she retracted her Martial Soul.
The entire venue fell silent. The victory led by Xiao Xiao was even more shocking than the previous match, with the whole fight ending in less than half a minute. On her own, she withstood three agile-attack class opponents and didn't even let them cross halfway through the field. In all three directions, she secured a comprehensive victory.
Teacher Wang Yan had witnessed all of the Huo Yuhao Team's previous assessments and, to him, Wang Dong was naturally the strongest, and Huo Yuhao was the most mysterious and stable. Xiao Xiao's Tool Soul seemed decent, but it appeared more like a hybrid of auxiliary and control. To him, she seemed to be the least remarkable.
Yet, at that moment, Xiao Xiao proved her critical role in the three-person team with her own strength. Teacher Wang Yan couldn't fathom how an eleven-year-old girl could remain so calm and accurately anticipate all enemy attack paths on the battlefield and effectively counterstrike. Even control-class Battle Soul Masters with four soul rings might not be able to deal with opponents so smoothly, blocking, controlling, and repelling them. How did this little girl achieve it?
The other groups, who had thought they might have a chance after seeing the Huo Yuhao Team greatly exhausted in the first match, now abandoned all such thoughts. Among the three members, two possessed the strength to fight a whole team alone! They were too strong.
However, the Huang Chutian Team, whose overall strength wasn't inferior to the Huo Yuhao Team, wasn't so lucky. Although the Lan Sisters regained consciousness from their stupor, they remained severely headachy and their Soul Power was overly depleted; they didn't even take the field. Only Huang Chutian continued to participate alone.
Huang Chutian had also expended a lot of Soul Power earlier and had been injured by Wang Dong's Wing Scythe Blade. Moreover, in a three against one situation, all the attention was on him alone. Earlier, even though Xiao Xiao was essentially in a one against three situation, Huo Yuhao's presence behind her was a deterrent that certainly distracted her opponents.
As a result, Huang Chutian met with a tragedy. After holding on for a while in the second match, he was eventually defeated by his opponent, leading his team to their second defeat.
For the remaining matches, the Huo Yuhao Trio entered a positive cycle, where no one wanted to clash head-on with them during confrontations, preserving their strength to face others instead. In the last three matches, their victories were exceptionally easy. Especially by the fourth match, once Wang Dong's Soul Power had fully recovered, and with him and Xiao Xiao standing in front of Huo Yuhao, the opponents only symbolically resisted before conceding.
Ultimately, the Huo Yuhao Team representing the freshman class one triumphed in all ten rounds of the round-robin stage, securing the best record in their area.
The Huang Chutian Team, after all, had a strong foundation; after having lost two matches in a row, the Lan Sisters recovered a bit and reentered the fray, while Huang Chutian also displayed formidable strength. Facing opponents who were already worn out after so many matches, they finally achieved consecutive victories. In the end, they won seven out of ten matches, which should easily secure them a spot in the top sixty-four.
With the round-robin matches all concluded, Wang Yan could no longer contain his curiosity.
"Huo Yuhao, you three stay behind for a moment." While the other teams went to rest, Huo Yuhao and his two teammates were stopped by him.
"Teacher Wang Yan." Huo Yuhao approached Wang Yan.
Wang Yan nodded at him and smiled, "Congratulations on achieving a flawless victory record during the freshman assessment round-robin matches. Teams with such a record in the freshman assessment probably don't exceed ten. You are indeed very strong. However, I've always been curious, Huo Yuhao, as the team leader, what exactly is your Martial Soul? Although I can't tell what you've done in the battles, I believe you are the core of this team. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, then replied somewhat shyly, "Teacher Wang Yan, you flatter us. We were able to achieve such a good result because of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's strength. I am just a supporting role. As you've seen, I only have a ten-year Soul Ring."
Wang Yan smiled slightly and said, "You don't need to be modest. If you didn't have enough strength, I wouldn't believe that talents like Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao would both agree to let you be team leader. Plus, I've looked into your performance at the academy these past three months. Do you know what your fellow first-year classmates call you?"
Huo Yuhao was startled and shook his head.
Wang Yan said, "They all call you Steel Yuhao, because you have the will of steel. You have the weakest talent but are the most diligent. You've become a role model for the first-year students. However, I have never inquired about your Martial Soul because I wanted to see it with my own eyes, along with your soul skills, to prove my ability. But, as it turns out, I must admit my defeat. From beginning to end, I have not been able to discern what your Martial Soul is, nor have I noticed what soul skills you used. Your ten-year Soul Ring's white light shines in every match, but I can't figure out the purpose of your soul skills. Could you enlighten me?"
Huo Yuhao said, "Teacher Wang Yan, my Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes, which is a spiritual attribute martial soul. As for my soul skills, please allow me to keep them a secret. After all, we still have to continue with the assessment." His Martial Soul wasn't exactly a big secret in the academy, and quite a few people knew it. If Teacher Wang Yan truly wanted to investigate, he could certainly find out—there was no need to be stingy. But regarding his soul skills, he was not willing to disclose those.
"Spirit Eyes? Your Martial Soul is your eyes?" Wang Yan's reaction was much more intense than Huo Yuhao had anticipated. After hearing Huo Yuhao's explanation, he nearly jumped with excitement, looking at Huo Yuhao with glee.
Huo Yuhao was taken aback, "Teacher Wang Yan, what's the matter?"
Wang Yan grabbed his shoulders with both hands and said, "First answer me, is your Martial Soul really eyes?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, "Yes, it is!"
Wang Yan took a deep breath, his expression tense as he asked urgently, "So, are you from the Body Sect?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head blankly, "Body Sect? Teacher Wang, I've never heard of it."
A wild joy burst forth in Wang Yan's eyes, and he let go of Huo Yuhao's hands, "That's great, this is truly wonderful. Haha, who would have thought that Shrek Academy would pick up such a treasure. No wonder, no wonder your single 10-year soul ring is so potent, it turns out to be a self martial soul. It's such a pity, if you had come to the academy earlier, no matter what, I would have helped you get a first soul ring of the highest possible age!"
Watching Wang Yan babble somewhat incoherently, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but turn to look at Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. He had already encountered that unreasonable Evil Fire Phoenix of Ma Xiaotao before. Teacher Wang had been quite normal the past couple of days, so why the sudden change? This made Huo Yuhao involuntarily remember the words his Teacher Xiao Ya and eldest senior brother had said, that there were not many monster students left in Shrek Academy, but there was no shortage of monster teachers.
Wang Yan took another deep breath, calming the shock and joy in his heart, "Alright, Huo Yuhao, you guys should go back and rest for now. I will come find you later." After saying that, he turned and hurried away.
Watching his departing figure, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but whisper, "Is Teacher Wang sick or something?"
Huo Yuhao frowned and said, "Don't talk about the teacher like that."
Wang Dong came over to Huo Yuhao's side and said, "He must have lost his composure because of your self martial soul. I've heard before at home that those with self martial souls are extremely rare, but I've never heard about this Body Sect either."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled, "Let it be. I guess Teacher Wang will come find me later. We achieved a complete victory, isn't it time to celebrate? Let me treat you guys to something good in the cafeteria."
Xiao Xiao seemed tempted and said, "Forget the cafeteria, class leader, I haven't yet tasted your grilled fish. Today, no matter what, you have to satisfy this little wish of mine."
Huo Yuhao laughed, "No problem, it's still early. Let's go back to the dormitory to rest first, and meet at the dormitory entrance tonight. There should be nothing tomorrow, they always let us rest before the elimination rounds start."
The three of them returned to the dormitory together. Xiao Xiao went upstairs, since the girls' dormitory was absolutely off-limits to male students.
Huo Yuhao returned to the bedroom with Wang Dong. To his surprise, Wang Dong seemed to have a lot on his mind.
"What's wrong, Wang Dong? What are you thinking about?" Huo Yuhao asked, looking at him seated on his bed.
Wang Dong mused, "Yuhao, I've been thinking about the process of our first match today. Something doesn't feel right to me. Although my thousand-year soul ring skill is powerful, they were using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill after all! At that time, I could feel that you were focusing the Shared Spiritual Detection, probing into the very core of their soul skills, but it wasn't shared with me. Right after that, their soul skills dissipated. What exactly did you do?"
As he spoke, he had already looked up, his gaze burning into Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat, knowing that it would be somewhat difficult to deceive Wang Dong. Unlike Teacher Wang Yan, the two of them shared a dormitory and had cultivated together for so long, he knew him very well. If he fabricated a lie, it might get by for the moment, but it would definitely leave doubt in Wang Dong's mind.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao did not answer immediately, but instead fell into hesitation and contemplation.
Telling the truth was obviously out of the question; the existence of the million-year soul beast Skydream Ice Silkworm was too shocking, and it would have an unimaginable impact on anyone. Telling Wang Dong the truth might only harm him. But what should he do if he wasn't telling the truth?
Suddenly, the phrase self martial soul flashed in Huo Yuhao's mind, and a light shone in his eyes as he had an idea.
"Wang Dong," Huo Yuhao raised his head again, his eyes now carrying a bit more gravity.
Wang Dong had never seen Huo Yuhao look this way, and immediately widened his eyes, saying, "Do you really have some kind of trump card?"
Huo Yuhao met his gaze, and was momentarily distracted, because Wang Dong's eyes were just too beautiful, with long eyelashes curling upwards, and a pair of black eyes that hardly showed any white around the edges, revealing his curiosity in a way that made them seem almost alive with speech.
Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly, no wonder all the girls were infatuated with him, he truly was good-looking!
"Not exactly a trump card, you could say it's a secret of the self martial soul that I've recently discovered," Huo Yuhao said in a lowered voice.
Wang Dong looked surprised, "A secret of the self martial soul?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, "Just before, on our way back, you mentioned that self martial souls are very rare. Indeed, that's true, and our self martial souls do have some unique characteristics. Ever since I started cultivating the Tang Sect's Purple Demon Eyes, I've found that my spirit eyes seem to be undergoing a certain mutation. When I focus my first soul skill, Spiritual Detection Sharing, in one direction, if I want to, I can concentrate my Spiritual Power at one point and launch an impact, creating a spiritual impact. I've tried it on some small animals within the academy, and it indeed has an effect. Today, under pressure, I tried it during the battle. I didn't know it would have such a good effect. Perhaps, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were already struggling to execute their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and with your thousand-year soul skill constraining them, followed by an impact from the Spiritual Power invoked by my Purple Demon Eyes, they collapsed. However, their fainting probably had nothing to do with me. Haven't you forgotten what the teacher said during class, that executing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill consumes a great deal, and generally, there will be some backlash after it's used? The stronger the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the more severe the backlash. Even the lightest backlash effect is extreme weakness. Today they executed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and I guess they won't be able to use it again for a while."
Wang Dong's eyes widened, "Are you saying that your Martial Soul, influenced by the Purple Demon Eyes, can now launch a spiritual attack similar to a soul skill?"
Huo Yuhao put a finger to his lips and whispered, "Keep it down, okay? You want the whole world to know? This is my biggest secret, and I've told you about it."
In some sense, Huo Yuhao wasn't exactly lying, but he also wasn't telling the complete truth. The idea of a million-year soul beast was just too astonishing. Finding a suitable explanation for his soul shock ability was a relief for Yuhao. He knew that as he continued to study at Shrek Academy, various assessments awaited him, and he couldn't possibly keep his soul shock a secret. Sooner or later, he would need a reason for it, and his explanation to Wang Dong seemed more than appropriate.
Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao with a face full of shock, "Your self martial soul is that powerful? It can even evolve abilities on its own?"
Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, "It's not that big of a deal, is it? Your Bright Goddess Butterfly naturally has the ability to fly, and as your cultivation improves, so does its flying height. Such inherent abilities should be considered the instincts of a Martial Soul, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Wang Dong said, "No, it's not the same. Indeed, the flying ability of my Bright Goddess Butterfly is an innate ability of the Martial Soul. But your spiritual impact isn't, as it evolved after coming into contact with the Purple Demon Eyes. This means your spirit eyes, as a self martial soul and mutant Martial Soul, have their own evolutionary capability, something my Bright Goddess Butterfly cannot compare with. Perhaps it will evolve even more abilities in the future."
Huo Yuhao let out a chuckle and replied, "Actually, it can't really be considered an ability. More accurately, it's the spirit eyes enhancing my Spiritual Power, and then I release it with the assistance of the Purple Demon Eyes, creating a certain application."
Wang Dong nodded and said, "Now that you mention it, I understand. It's like how I refine or compress my Soul Power for attack and defense. It's just that your Spiritual Power is formless and unseen, making it harder to detect when used. I didn't realize it had such great utility."
With his question answered, Wang Dong's beautiful eyes showed a hint of understanding. However, his excitement quickly surged again, "Yuhao, that twin's Martial Soul Fusion Skill is really strong. If we were both three-ringed, I'm afraid we'd have no chance of winning today! Even though a Martial Soul Fusion Skill can't last long, its immense power and explosive force make it one of the top skills for Soul Masters. If they get stronger and can sustain the Martial Soul Fusion Skill for longer periods, it would be hard for anyone in the same level to compete. It'd be great if we could have such a skill too."
Huo Yuhao burst into laughter and said, "Stop dreaming, when do such good things happen? I remember the teacher saying that a Martial Soul Fusion requires an extremely high compatibility between both parties' Martial Souls to even be possible. It's like one in a thousand. When two people with highly compatible Martial Souls meet, they would naturally sense each other. Have you felt any compatibility with me after living together for three months? Because I haven't."
To his surprise, Wang Dong lowered his head as if contemplating something, his cheeks slightly reddened.
"What's up?" Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.
As if making up his mind, Wang Dong looked up again with a slightly strange expression in his eyes as he stared at Yuhao and said seriously, "You've told me the secrets of your self martial soul, so it'd be wrong for me to keep hiding mine. Actually, I've always concealed some of my abilities, including my aura."
"What?" Huo Yuhao exclaimed in surprise. Wang Dong's strength was clear to all; the power of his Bright Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul had been fully demonstrated during the freshman assessment. In ten matches, Wang Dong only used his second soul skill once, and no one had seen what it was. Now he was saying that he still had hidden strengths, which surprised Huo Yuhao greatly.
Wang Dong continued, "Although you might not feel my aura, the first time I was aided by your Shared Spiritual Detection, I felt very close to your aura. The reason my aura doesn't emanate outward is due to being restrained by another force within me. Only through close physical contact can you truly sense my aura. Do you want to try?"
"Body contact? How do you mean?" Huo Yuhao asked innocently.
Wang Dong was immediately frustrated, "You dummy, just hug it out, will you?"
Chucking, Huo Yuhao said, "Oh, like that! You could've just said so." As he spoke, he casually reached out his arms to hug Wang Dong.
However, Wang Dong was somewhat taken aback. Watching Huo Yuhao drawing nearer, he didn't share Huo Yuhao's casual demeanor at all; instead, his body tensed up subconsciously, as if he had entered a state of paralysis.
Huo Yuhao naturally embraced Wang Dong, considering a hug between friends to be perfectly normal. But when he actually hugged Wang Dong, things felt different.
He suddenly remembered that this was their first time being so intimate, and the image of Wang Dong's back from before flashed through his mind once again.
He had assumed that since everyone was a Soul Master, training their physical strength and Soul Power daily, Wang Dong's body would be muscular like his own.
But actually holding Wang Dong was completely different from what he had imagined. Although Wang Dong's body was resilient, it was incredibly soft, almost bonelessly so. There was also a faint, pleasant fragrance coming from him. The two were about the same height, so when Huo Yuhao hugged Wang Dong, his face was close to Wang Dong's neck, and as his chin rubbed against Wang Dong's slender neck, the smooth and soft sensation made him shiver slightly.
Huo Yuhao wanted to exclaim in surprise but felt something was off. With his young age, he had a very limited understanding of certain matters and didn't think too much of it; all he felt was that holding Wang Dong was much more comfortable than he had imagined.
"How does it feel?" Wang Dong asked, almost muttering. He didn't hug Huo Yuhao back but let him do the hugging. Wang Dong's experience was different from Huo Yuhao's; Huo Yuhao's body was solid, exuding a strong masculine presence with a slight scent of youthful sweat, which made Wang Dong's beautiful face turn a deep shade of red.
"Pretty good, very cozy," Huo Yuhao almost reflexively replied, according to what he was feeling.
Wang Dong was stunned, then his expression suddenly turned to anger, "Idiot, am I asking if you feel comfortable hugging me? I'm asking you to sense the aura of my Martial Soul."
"Uh... I forgot, let's hug a little longer, I'll try," Huo Yuhao immediately felt embarrassed, but also hugged a bit tighter right away.
Wang Dong let out an involuntary light moan from the force, wanting to push away, but ultimately, he endured it, barely grasping Huo Yuhao's clothes at either side of his waist, pursing his lips tightly, looking as if he had been greatly wronged.
Huo Yuhao slowly gathered his Soul Power, while attentively sensing the aura emanating from Wang Dong's body. However, after hugging Wang Dong tightly, his first impression was that the fragrance was a bit too strong, and although Wang Dong's body seemed a tad tense, it remained very soft.
Gradually, Huo Yuhao began to feel fluctuations in Wang Dong's aura, a rich, luminous presence that gently stimulated the slow circulation of his Soul Power inside him, indescribably comfortable. What surprised him even more was that amidst this undulating aura of light, a denser aura of life began to emerge, followed by a feeling of profound stability.
The aura belonging to Wang Dong changed thrice in succession, but with each transformation, his sense of intimacy with him increased. When he felt the final change in Wang Dong's inner aura, his Soul Power had already begun to circulate on its own, following the trajectory of the Mystic Sky Method.
This, this is...
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened with surprise, as did Wang Dong, who, after being tightly embraced by Huo Yuhao, first had a layer of light golden airflow gradually surface on his body, which then slowly turned into blue-gold, and finally, dark gold.
The colors also changed three times, representing the strange undulations that Huo Yuhao felt after the changes in Wang Dong's aura.
Having far more experience than Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong did not just silently sense his aura, but constantly observed everything about him. He noticed that light began to appear on Huo Yuhao's body as well, starting with a light white airflow that was gentle and substantial, with a quality that felt as inclusive as the sea. When his own aura came into contact with this white aura, there was an indescribably comfortable feeling. Huo Yuhao's aura was like boundless virtue carrying all things, blending perfectly with his own aura.
Then, the aura on Huo Yuhao's body also began to change. The gentle and substantial aura slowly became chilly, a faint coldness emerging from his body, yet filled with the texture of endless life, perfectly merging with the life aura from Wang Dong's body. Despite one belonging to the natural world's life energy, and the other stemming from ancient ice's endless life, their common prolonged life vibrations once again combined their auras.
Finally, when the color around Wang Dong's body turned into a dark gold airflow, the aura on Huo Yuhao's body shifted from the previous ice-blue to a faint grey.
This touch of grey was very faint, very faint, but to Wang Dong's shock, he felt that thickness and sediment, which even surpassed the dark gold on his own body.
Indeed, Huo Yuhao's aura also changed three times in succession, and moreover, each time it blended perfectly with Wang Dong's aura.
The hands Wang Dong had placed on Huo Yuhao's garment gradually lifted, embracing him as well. At this moment, they gradually lost all distractions in their hearts, completely immersing themselves in the wonderful sensation of each other's changing auras.
The three different auras kept changing, their own Soul Power also began to circulate slowly, and as time went on, the circulation speed became faster and faster. The alternating speed of the three auras was also continuously increasing.
The differently colored airflows continuously circled around the bodies of the two, faintly visible; the colors were all very light, and only they could clearly sense each other's aura.
They were not sure what this state meant for them at the time, but they were both instinctively holding each other quietly, silently experiencing this strange and increasingly pleasant feeling.
Gradually, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt as if the other's body had merged into their own, a sensation that was truly marvelous. It seemed as if their souls were also beginning to elevate.
Just then, within the Sea of Spirit in Huo Yuhao's mind, a cool sensation emerged, followed by a voice he knew all too well.
"Such good luck? No way."
The sudden voice gave Huo Yuhao a start and brought him partially back to his senses from the wondrous feeling, causing him to subconsciously let go of the embrace.
The voice quickly spoke up in urgency, "Hold tight, dummy."
Huo Yuhao immediately tightened his arms. He had absolute trust in this voice because he had recognized it belonged to none other than the Skydream Ice Silkworm.
Indeed, the Skydream Ice Silkworm had awakened from its months-long slumber due to the embrace between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
However, it promptly fell silent again. After a moment, its voice echoed once more in Huo Yuhao's mind. "From now on, do as I say. Who could have imagined that you would find someone in this world whose energy is a perfect match with yours? I really can't comprehend this; it's nearly impossible! Yet, you've done it. This is an excellent opportunity for you. You must seize it, for it could make your future immensely bright."
Instinctively, Huo Yuhao thought, "Brother Heavenly Dream, what's happening with me and Wang Dong, and what do you mean by someone whose energy matches mine perfectly?"
The Skydream Ice Silkworm explained, "To put it simply, your current relationship is akin to that of a husband and wife among humans, one side Yin and the other Yang. Two identical energies representing Yin and Yang come together to form a harmonious whole, which will inevitably release incredible power. I believe your human Soul Masters call this 'Martial Soul Fusion.' That means your Martial Spirit and the Martial Spirit of the little one you're holding are perfectly compatible. Furthermore, there are different degrees of compatibility for Martial Soul Fusion; usually, it requires more than fifty percent compatibility to be possible. However, your fusion is one hundred percent, and what shocks me is that between you two, there is actually a triplet martial soul fusion. This isn't just a miracle; it's an abnormality!"
"Triplet martial soul fusion?" Huo Yuhao echoed dumbfounded, "How is that possible? Wang Dong has only one Martial Soul, the Bright Goddess Butterfly. And haven't I just got two Martial Souls? Besides, it's still undecided what exactly my second Martial Soul is."
The Skydream Ice Silkworm replied irritably, "Would someone tell you all their Martial Souls? If it were me, I wouldn't either! As for yourself, that's right, you originally had one Martial Soul, to which I gave you an Ice Martial Spirit. That makes two. But do you remember that gray ball? That little guy with the mysterious origin? Don't look down on it just because it's very weak now, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't devour it. It has actually become a peculiar Martial Soul. What on earth this thing is, even with my million years of experience, I can't figure out. It seems that it can't acquire Soul Rings, but its inherent soul power actually terrifies even me. I don't know what it is exactly; if it does become your Martial Soul in the future, I can't imagine what it would be like. But it is your so-called Martial Soul, which shouldn't even be called a Martial Soul, that has fused with this little one you are holding. Why else would I be so shocked?"
Shocked, Huo Yuhao asked, "Does this mean Wang Dong also has a triplet martial soul now?"