Huo Yuhao shook his head, choosing not to pursue the matter further. With the current power of his Spirit Eyes, he still couldn't fully see through the soul bone within Wang Dong's body.
Aside from the physical enhancement it passively provided, he couldn't discern its other effects or abilities. As for asking Electrolux, it wasn't something that could be clearly explained in just a few words.
"All right, stop fooling around," Huo Yuhao said, pressing down on Wang Dong beside him. "Don't forget that Du Weilun just deducted ten points from your technique score."
Wang Dong frowned, somewhat dissatisfied. "What do you mean by lack of technique? He told me to fight that Bloodthirsty Demon Bear with guerrilla tactics,he's not me, how does he know I didn't think about that?"
"Besides, my Butterfly Goddess Slash just now could already heavily injure that big guy! Even if it turned into close combat, I'd still be fine!" Wang Dong said proudly, though his expression quickly fell.
"Yeah, yeah," Huo Yuhao nodded. This time, however, he wasn't being perfunctory,he genuinely thought Wang Dong's tactics had been correct.
After all, once Wang Dong got close, his third soul skill, Butterfly Goddess Slash, had completely ripped open the Bloodthirsty Demon Bear. Though the beast still had some fight left in it, Wang Dong was clearly in control.
Compared to this point in the original story, Wang Dong's physical condition and soul power reserves had been greatly enhanced thanks to that mysterious torso bone.
His tactical thinking had also improved somewhat under Huo Yuhao's guidance, though not by much.
Huo Yuhao didn't think Wang Dong's complaints were baseless. Du Weilun had probably deducted points only to temper Wang Dong's personality.
As the students took their turns, most of them didn't perform particularly well in Huo Yuhao's eyes. Few were able to fully utilize the advantages of their martial souls or soul skills to exploit the weaknesses of the exam soul beasts.
Naturally, their battle performances were mediocre, and their scores weren't very high.
Besides Wang Dong, the highest score belonged to Dai Huabin,like Wang Dong, he earned 145 points after swiftly tearing apart his thousand-year soul beast opponent. Huo Yuhao figured this result was likely intentional on Du Weilun's part.
After all, Wang Dong was still the class monitor. Although Dai Huabin had greater cultivation and talent, and was more favored by the Martial Soul Department, they couldn't allow him to overshadow Wang Dong publicly.
Wang Dong's performance had been nearly flawless, and since both were core students of the Martial Soul Department, it made sense to keep things balanced.
"Next, Year Two Class One, Huo Yuhao," the referee announced, taking Huo Yuhao's exam record and nodding at him.
"Hmm, what level of soul beast do you choose for your exam?"
"Thousand-year."
"What? Thousand-year? Are you sure about that? You're only a two-ring Grandmaster. I hope you understand the power of a thousand-year soul beast. Although teachers will step in to save you if needed, accidents can still happen."
"Yes, thousand-year."
Seeing his determination, the referee didn't try to persuade him further.
The other teachers perked up with interest. For a second-year student, a thousand-year soul beast was quite formidable,this would be the third one used in today's assessment.
"I wonder if his spiritual power and intelligence can handle it," one teacher murmured.
Huo Yuhao entered the arena. After the referee finished reciting the safety rules, his test,or rather, his experiment,finally began.
As his soul rings lit up,one yellow and one purple,everyone present was shocked by this rare combination.
Also surprised, though unseen, was an elderly man observing from afar: Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.
That's right, Mu En had come to watch the second-year promotion exams. Truthfully, he had nothing better to do.
He was curious about what new tricks Huo Yuhao might come up with after spending half a month holed up in his dorm.
In the world of soul masters, strength and combat talent ultimately determined one's voice. Mu En wanted to personally gauge Huo Yuhao's potential in battle.
"Isn't this boy from a civilian background? Without any rare treasures to strengthen his body, how could he absorb a thousand-year soul ring at the two-ring level?"
"Maybe it's the combination of his Spirit Eye martial soul and the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Technique. After all, the ancestor Tang San once absorbed a third soul ring across levels, though no one since has attempted it."
Huo Yuhao's opponent emerged from the beast pen,a mutated Mighty Arm Ape. Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, surprised that his opponent wasn't the expected Flame Lion King, but it didn't really matter.
"A thousand-year mutated Mighty Arm Ape, an attack-type soul beast. Its matchup against this kid doesn't look favorable," Du Weilun commented from the stands.
The Mighty Arm Ape was famous for its strength, said to carry a trace of the Titan Giant Ape's bloodline. Though faint, it still made the species superior among lower-ranked soul beasts.
At the hundred- and thousand-year levels, their raw strength made them powerful, often outperforming elemental beasts in early-stage combat.
This one even had traces of other bloodlines. Unlike typical dark-red apes, its fur shimmered faintly with a black metallic luster.
Everyone knew Huo Yuhao's fighting style relied on hidden weapons, which were nearly useless against thousand-year beasts,especially one that had evolved toward defense.
The two-meter-tall ape pounded its massive chest, producing deep, thunderous sounds. Some of the weaker or more timid students showed obvious fear.
"Is that... a fear aura?"
Through his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao detected a faint spiritual fluctuation mixed within the ape's soul power,an intimidation field.
This aura could cause soul masters with weaker mental strength to lose their will to fight even before the battle began.
However, to Huo Yuhao, such tactics were meaningless.
"It seems to be a hybrid between a Mighty Arm Ape and an Iron Arm Ape, possessing the strengths of both," he thought.
By analyzing its abilities, he'd already deduced its lineage,and how to defeat it.
"The Mighty Arm Ape excels in strength and explosive power, while the Iron Arm Ape's body is as hard as steel. Its constant intimidation aura gives it stamina in prolonged battles. Its weaknesses are speed and endurance. Despite its high defense and attack, that's all it has."
Under Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes, the creature's seemingly impervious body was full of weak points, all clearly visible. He could have ended the fight instantly,but instead, he chose to use his soul skills.
Yellow and purple light alternated beneath his feet as both rings shone.
The ape, mid-roar and about to charge, suddenly froze in place, unmoving.
Huo Yuhao calmly walked up to it, circling around and observing it closely. His two soul rings continued to glow.
"The maximum combination of Spiritual Detection Sharing and Spiritual Parasite… just as expected."
He was satisfied. No matter how close he got,even when he tugged on its fur,the ape remained motionless.
Then, stepping back, he watched as the creature began pounding its own chest again,harder and harder,until its ribs broke, its heart was damaged, and its body collapsed from blood loss.
Huo Yuhao turned to the referee. "Teacher, I believe this assessment is complete."
Though confused, the referee quickly looked to Du Weilun for confirmation.
Frowning slightly, Du Weilun nodded. "After deliberation, Huo Yuhao has successfully completed the highest-level thousand-year soul beast test. Base score: 100."
"Using control-type soul skills, he affected the Mighty Arm Ape at the very start of battle, ultimately causing it to injure itself. Perfect performance. Skill score: full 50 points."
"However, there were excessive unnecessary actions. As a control-type soul master, you must always act with prudence. You failed to seize the opportunity immediately, approaching instead and taking unnecessary risks. Therefore, 20 points are deducted as a warning."
"Huo Yuhao, final score: 130. You pass the promotion exam."
Huo Yuhao shrugged, unconcerned. He had only chosen a thousand-year soul beast to test his new ability anyway,the score didn't matter.
"Wow, what was that soul skill just now?" Wang Dong rushed up to him afterward.
"That ape just beat itself up! Was that your second soul skill? That's crazy!"
"What, you want to try it yourself?" Huo Yuhao smiled. "I just came up with it over the break. Haven't tested it on a human yet."
Wang Dong quickly shook his head. "No way! Still, the academy's grading is way too harsh. Your performance was flawless,why deduct twenty points?"
"Who cares? I don't. Even if they expelled me, I wouldn't mind. Scoring higher doesn't earn me any extra gold soul coins." Huo Yuhao yawned. "Finally done. I'm going to sleep."
With that, he turned and left the arena, Wang Dong naturally following behind,there was nothing left to see anyway.
On the way, Huo Yuhao pondered the details of his battle.
Through the combination of Spiritual Detection Sharing and Spiritual Parasite, he had infiltrated the ape's spiritual sea unnoticed, subtly influencing it at a deep level.
As the ape's consciousness became overloaded with the flood of information gathered by the detection skill, its instincts forced all its spiritual energy back into its spiritual sea to process it.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao blocked the detection link and observed through his Spirit Eyes instead.
With its consciousness fully focused inward, the ape's spiritual sea was gradually devoured and sealed by Spiritual Parasite, separating its mind from its body.
Without control of its own flesh, its body became an empty shell. Huo Yuhao could easily manipulate it like a puppet.
Under the continued effect of Spiritual Parasite, the ape's consciousness had almost completely dissolved into the devouring energy. Even if its body could be healed, without its mind, it would soon die and decay.
"This technique is unstoppable for soul beasts. Against soul masters of similar level, the effect should be similar. A thousand-year beast's spiritual power roughly equals a four-ring master's."
"It's a pity, though,spiritual power consumed by Spiritual Parasite can't be recovered. Otherwise, that pure energy would make excellent nourishment. Maybe I can find a way to recycle it later."
For now, Huo Yuhao called this ability "Spiritual Collapse."
It wouldn't be long before he replaced it with something even stronger.
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