Even Soul Emperors would find it uncomfortable to deal with high-powered soul cannons. Even a Cla.s.s 5 protective soul barrier couldn"t resist the elevated temperatures from a high-powered soul cannon.

However, Huo Yuhao acted like it was air. He continued to dash forward and didn"t bother with the a.s.sault coming from the high-powered soul cannon. He quickly closed the gap between him and Xia Xuanchen.

The homing red light finally arrived, but Huo Yuhao stopped in the air just as it was about to hit him. Huo Yuhao"s figure turned blurry in that instant, and in the next, the high-powered soul cannon"s attack brushed past Huo Yuhao"s body.

How was that possible? Xia Xuanchen had clearly locked onto him! He was perplexed. A moment later, a loud boom was heard as an orange-red light engulfed the area behind Huo Yuhao. The tremendous explosive force catalyzed the formation of a mushroom cloud in the Soul Tool Experimentation Area.

Huo Yuhao"s body was covered in a layer of diamond crystals. The Ice Empress" Armor. Intense shockwaves generated by the explosion propelled his body forward at a faster speed. His speed instantly soared, and he quickly arrived in front of Xia Xuanchen.

Everything came too abruptly for Xia Xuanchen. He could only unleash his Cla.s.s 5 protective soul barrier and frantically retreat.

However, a Cla.s.s 5 protective soul barrier was completely useless against the Darkgolden Terrorclaws. It was instantly torn apart, and Huo Yuhao destroyed his two soul cannons. Even so, Xia Xuanchen was not physically hurt in the process. The blades of the terrorclaws touched Xia Xuanchen"s shoulders slightly, and their cold aura caused gooseb.u.mps to rise.

"You"ve lost." Huo Yuhao"s Ice Empress" Armor disappeared. Even so, his calm and emotionless voice caused Xia Xuanchen to feel an extreme chill through his entire body.

Xia Xuanchen was indignant as he exclaimed, "I haven"t unleashed all my soul tools…!" 

Piak­— Huo Yuhao retracted his terrorclaws and slapped Xia Xuanchen, who spun twice and fell to the floor.

Huo Yuhao said coldly, "If this were a battlefield, you"d already be a corpse. Will your enemies care whether you"ve used all your soul tools?"

Xia Xuanchen was dumbfounded as he sat on the floor. One of his hands was on his cheeks that were just slapped. He seemed to lose his awareness.

Huo Yuhao lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger at the spectators. Following that, he made one revolution before placing his finger on his lips. He was asking everyone to remain quiet. After that, he shouted, "Next!"

It was only at this point that the academy"s teachers and students reacted. A commotion ensued once more.

The first round ended not long after it starting. Approximately ten seconds had pa.s.sed… It seemed like Huo Yuhao didn"t even do anything. He only burst forward and slapped before he emerged victorious. He didn"t use any dazzling soul skills, and the spectators didn"t even see his soul rings. But, he had won! He won cleanly.

Did he really win that easily? It might appear very simple or easy, but was that really the case?

Only Xuan Ziwen witnessed everything clearly as the referee. Firstly, Huo Yuhao hadn"t wasted any time. When Xuan Ziwen signaled the start of the compet.i.tion, he was dissatisfied with Xia Xuanchen, and thus didn"t wait for him to turn around or prepare. However, Huo Yuhao burst forward like a fired cannon sh.e.l.l. Undoubtedly, Huo Yuhao was ready.

Xuan Ziwen wasn"t too surprised when Huo Yuhao used the Darkgolden Terrorclaws to tear apart the protective soul barrier and overcome Xia Xuanchen. It was Huo Yuhao"s reaction when the shock cannon was fired that shocked him. His direction changed immediately when the yellow light appeared, allowing him to dodge it effectively. How did he predict it like that? Furthermore, he had even managed to prevent the high-powered soul cannon from locking him onto him properly, and exploited the shockwave to increase his speed. If all of that was within his calculations, he was indeed to be feared.

"Do you need to rest?" Xuan Ziwen asked Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, "No, let"s continue."

Their gazes met, and Huo Yuhao could tell that Xuan Ziwen was deep in thought. Xuan Ziwen could see Huo Yuhao"s stubbornness in his Spirit Eyes, and sensed the strong compet.i.tive will in his body.

"Silence!" A voice that sounded like rumbling thunder resonated through the Soul Tool Experimentation Arena. This voice greatly eclipsed the commotion that had ensued from Xia Xuanchen"s defeat. Even Huo Yuhao couldn"t help but look into the air.

Jing Hongchen floated in mid-air without using any flying-type soul tools. He was also looking at Huo Yuhao.

Lin Jiayi had sent someone to report to Jing Hongchen when he realized that the situation was getting out of control. After all, the teachers in the audience were all very strong, and he couldn"t really control those from the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall either.

Jing Hongchen placed his hands behind his back, and his awe-inspiring gaze swept the place. He said coldly, "Are all of you only this good? Besides cursing, what else can you do? It"s better to prove yourself using your abilities, not your mouth. If you"re capable, beat him. If you"re not, then shut up. The purpose of this sparring contest is to show the gap between him and all of you. Don"t think you"re invincible just because you"ve learned how to use some advanced soul tools. This brat from Shrek Academy is only fifteen years old. Failure isn"t scary. The scary thing is inability to accept one"s defeat and remaining ignorant of your failure. If all of you can only whine, when will the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy ever beat Shrek Academy in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament?"

Jing Hongchen"s reputation was extremely prominent in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. His appearance silenced crowd instantly.

Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow. Jing Hongchen was indeed a hero of his generation. He used him to motivate these students, which was something that he didn"t want. However, he couldn"t stop him. Jing Hongchen had come much earlier than  expected!

Jing Hongchen looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "The compet.i.tion shall continue." As he spoke, his figure flashed, and he flew towards the main spectators" stand.

Huo Yuhao sighed in his heart. Forget it, he couldn"t realize his wish. The real reason why he"d been so arrogant and provoked the crowd, was because he wanted to leave the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.

He had learned enough theoretical knowledge over the past half year. Although Xuan Ziwen never brought him out for any practical experiments, he was now extremely well-versed theoretically. Huo Yuhao combined his own practice and the path that he"d discovered to make significant progress in his study of soul tools.

Don"t misunderstand, Huo Yuhao didn"t intend to leave the academy quickly because he thought that there was nothing left for him to learn. It was because of the Iron Man, which was like a time bomb! He was certain that it was the core essence of the Ill.u.s.trious Virtue Hall"s research. With his current theoretical knowledge, he could easily become a top-ranked soul engineer if he could comprehend the Iron Man completely. It wouldn"t be a problem even if he had to learn on his own. It wasn"t meaningless to remain in the academy—it was  dangerous.

That was why Huo Yuhao pretended to be very arrogant. On the surface, it seemed as if he was trying to obtain more rare metals as he invited more opponents to challenge him. But in truth, he wanted to incur everyone"s wrath and end this exchange as soon as possible.

However, Jing Hongchen"s appearance forced him to change his plans. After all, he couldn"t make it too obvious. Otherwise, it would attract the suspicions of others.

The second student sparring with Huo Yuhao entered the arena after being signaled by Xuan Ziwen. Compared to the previous compet.i.tor, this student looked much more stable. After he entered the arena, he stopped in his waiting area and watched Huo Yuhao with a vibrant look in his eyes. He seemed like a volcano that could erupt any time.

Huo Yuhao acknowledged him mentally. This fight was highly unlikely to be as easy as the previous one. However, the stronger his opponent, the greater his fighting spirit.

He squinted his eyes and looked at this opponent before returning to his waiting area.

Xuan Ziwen observed both parties and calmed himself down.

"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Grade 6 student, Wan Yijun. Please advise me!" The youth who looked older than twenty years shouted. His voice rumbled, and was full of a vigorous aura. His figure wasn"t exactly huge, but he looked very st.u.r.dy.

Huo Yuhao also lifted his hand and shouted, "Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao. Please advise me!"

"Begin!" Xuan Zimen gestured suddenly and retreated rapidly.

Huo Yuhao burst forth just like before. The only difference was that a golden light now shone from him as he leapt up. Four white soul rings rose from his feet, one was especially bright.

Wan Yijun had already made sufficient preparations. When Xuan Ziwen signaled the start of the fight, he backed away quickly and two streaks of light shot out from beneath his feet. The lights pushed his body off the ground. More than ten soul tools appeared on his arms, shoulders, chest and other areas.

However, he was stunned when he saw Huo Yuhao"s white soul rings. This was weird… White soul rings? What was going on?