Chapter 154: I Am Huo Yuhao
Time flew swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already afternoon. The final match—Huo Yuhao's team versus Dai Huabin's team—was about to begin.
Dai Huabin had yet to fully recover from his encounter with Furina that morning. That entire string of actions on her part still gnawed at him, impossible to let go:
From the very opening, the contemptuous way she had utterly disregarded them; to the repeated humiliations she had inflicted during the exchanges; to that final mockery—when victory was clearly within her grasp, she had instead voluntarily jumped off the arena and conceded...
Though the verdict had ultimately declared them the winners, in the eyes of onlookers, this "victory" had become the punchline of a joke—if Furina hadn't conceded, Dai Huabin would never have made it to the finals. Whether it was Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, or Cui Yajie, a seething fire was trapped in each of their chests.
Dai Huabin had already made a silent resolution: for this final match, he had to go all-out from the very first moment. He absolutely could not lose again. He was determined to show everyone their true strength.
Moreover, Huo Yuhao's team was by no means a weak opponent. The way they had defeated other teams fielding three-ring Soul Elders had been even more effortless than Dai Huabin's own victories. If he didn't bring out his trump card, "Netherworld White Tiger," from the very start, they might very well capsize in a ditch and lose outright.
The two teams mounted the stage in succession and briefly announced their names.
"Huo Yuhao."
"Wang Dong."
"Xiao Xiao."
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
The referee swept his arm downward and roared: "Match—begin!"
Just as Dai Huabin was revealing his martial soul and soul rings, preparing to immediately execute the martial soul fusion technique with Zhu Lu, Huo Yuhao's cold, crystalline voice suddenly rang out, cutting off his movements:
"Dai Huabin. Do you still remember me?"
Huo Yuhao's gaze was like ice, stabbing directly at his opponent.
Dai Huabin furrowed his brow slightly: "This is our first meeting, is it not?"
In his memory, this was indeed the first time he had ever laid eyes on Huo Yuhao. As for that child called Dai Yuhao, who had always trailed behind that lowly servant woman in the White Tiger Duke's Manor back then—in his mind, he was nothing more than a blurred silhouette.
He only vaguely recalled that such a person had existed, but their appearance and name had long since faded from memory. Especially after the boy and that servant woman had left the Duke's Manor, Dai Huabin had never thought of them again, not even for a fleeting moment.
Huo Yuhao had long anticipated this kind of reaction. After all, back then, he had been nothing more than the son of a servant—and one who had awakened not the White Tiger martial soul, but a mutated Body Martial Soul, "Spirit Eyes." Naturally, he was unworthy of entering this legitimate young master's line of sight.
And precisely because of that, he and his mother had endured endless humiliation in the manor. Whenever Dai Huabin or his mother, the Duchess, were even slightly displeased—or even merely glanced their way while passing by—servants would appear to "teach them a lesson."
But the present was nothing like the past.
He had undergone a complete rebirth, cast off the shackles of the White Tiger Duke's Manor. His mother now lived a stable, happy life. Since Dai Huabin couldn't recognize him, then he would simply force the other party to "reacquaint" himself.
And then, properly, thoroughly—return every bit of what he had endured in the past, one by one.
Huo Yuhao's tone was flat, but every word struck with absolute clarity: "The White Tiger Duke's Manor. The boy with the mutated martial soul. Huo Yun'er."
Upon hearing this, Dai Huabin abruptly fell silent.
Huo Yuhao shook his head gently and spoke again: "What's the matter? So many hints, and you still can't recall?"
Dai Huabin's pupils constricted sharply. Finally, he dragged forth a nearly obliterated shadow from the deepest recesses of his memory—
"Dai Yuhao?! It's you?!"
The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth lifted slightly: "Indeed, it's me. But I no longer bear the surname Dai. My surname is now Huo. Huo Yuhao."
Dai Huabin's face filled with stupefied disbelief: "How is this possible?! Your innate soul power was only rank one. It hasn't even been more than a year since you left the Duke's Manor—back then, you hadn't even reached rank ten!"
His voice involuntarily rose, nearly carrying an accusatory edge: "What kind of freak encounter did you stumble upon? To be able to rush past rank thirty in a single year, and with such... such utterly illogical soul rings? Are you jesting?!"
Even the teachers and students in the spectator stands who overheard these words couldn't help but break into a stir.
What kind of concept was this? Innate soul power of rank one was the absolute worst aptitude. Yet this person, relying on nothing but rank one innate soul power, had leaped from rank nine to over rank thirty in a single year, and moreover possessed such an outrageously unconventional soul ring configuration.
Unless he had received some heaven-defying encounter, it could only mean that his talent had been thoroughly obscured prior—and the likelihood of the latter was virtually zero.
On the high platform, Yan Shaozhe's brows were tightly knit, his heart similarly churning with shock: "Does the Church of the Water God truly possess such methods? Or is this Huo Yuhao genuinely born with a heaven-defying physique and extraordinary talent? But the innate soul power of rank one... no matter how you look at it, reaching this level in a single year should be impossible."
He murmured under his breath: "Even if he had consumed Profound Water Pills, Soul Ascension Pills, or even more precious elixirs, it still might not be enough to achieve this, could it?"
Beside him, Du Weilun lowered his voice: "Could it be... they got their hands on heavenly materials and earthly treasures of the ten-thousand-year or even hundred-thousand-year level? Perhaps even with the support of high-year soul bones?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded slowly: "That is indeed a possibility. If that's the case, the foundations of the Church of the Water God... may be immeasurably deep."
Down below the stage, Elder Xuan, who had been observing the match, also tugged at his beard in silence, a grave look flickering through his eyes. At last, he understood why Elder Mu held the Church of the Water God in such high regard—a power possessing such foundations and such methods truly warranted that old man's special consideration.
Huo Yuhao gazed at Dai Huabin's face, slightly contorted from shock, and an indescribable thrill of satisfaction surged from the bottom of his heart.
Seizing the moment while his opponent's spirit was still rattled, he spoke again, his words like knives: "Never expected this, did you? The insignificant little nobody you once regarded as no better than an ant—someone you trampled and tormented at will—now stands before you, and has even achieved more dazzling results than you ever have."
His gaze swept over Dai Huabin from head to toe, his tone gradually taking on a mocking edge: "Look at you—the second young master of the White Tiger Duke's Manor, blessed with enviable status, innate talent, and endless resources poured in your favor."
"And the result? Tsk, tsk... you can't even surpass me—a bastard son born merely because my mother happened to momentarily catch the Duke's pity. It's truly... laughable beyond words!"
In truth, Huo Yuhao could barely restrain himself from laughing out loud.
At this moment, he finally understood somewhat why Furina always loved putting on airs and showing off. Because this feeling—it was truly exhilarating. Especially when the target was an old enemy from the past.
A pity, really, that Dai Huabin was simply too weak. He probably wouldn't even need to use his full strength before the other party crumbled completely.
Whether it was their martial soul fusion technique "Path of Gold," the Spirit Shock and Demon Eye, the necromantic magic he had just begun learning from Master Electrolux, or even the frost power of his second martial soul, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion—any single one of these was more than enough to render Dai Huabin utterly incapable of continuing to fight.
Dai Huabin's fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his teeth ground audibly against each other.
In his ears, every word from Huo Yuhao was like a venom-dipped dagger, viciously stabbing into his pride-filled heart. Compared to his opponent, it was as if he were the one who had been utterly, completely defeated.
"What a joke!" Dai Huabin suddenly lifted his head, the traces of bloodshot veins surfacing in his eyes. "Just you?! You think you're worthy?!"
Huo Yuhao, however, merely responded with a calm, unruffled smile: "Believe it or not, as you wish. I am the Dai Yuhao of that year, and the Huo Yuhao of today. By bloodline, you and I could be called brothers. But by the debts of grievance between us, you are merely my enemy. Brothers? Between you and me, such a thing has never existed."
"Brothers?! You dare speak of brothers!" Dai Huabin roared hoarsely. "Your mother was nothing but a lowly slave! And you are nothing but a base-born bastard!"
Listening to this, Huo Yuhao showed not the faintest trace of anger. A year of tempering had long since forged his heart into unyielding steel. How could such a clumsy, pathetic provocation possibly stir his emotions?
He laughed lightly, his tone even carrying a note of pity: "Is that so? Then how about you first defeat this 'bastard' before running your mouth. If you can't even best me... wouldn't that make you less than even a bastard?"
"You—!" Dai Huabin completely lost all self-control. He seized Zhu Lu's wrist beside him, his grip so fierce that Zhu Lu winced in pain.
Yet Zhu Lu did not pull away. Whatever Dai Huabin demanded, she would always comply. After all, he was the fiancé she had set her heart on.
"Zhu Lu. We're using the martial soul fusion technique directly—Netherworld White Tiger!"
"...Alright!"
Huo Yuhao also turned to Wang Dong. Their gazes met, and in that single exchange, everything was understood without the need for words.
"Wang Dong. We're going too."
"Alright!"
"Martial Soul Fusion Technique—Netherworld White Tiger / Path of Gold!"
Almost simultaneously, two entirely different yet equally astonishing blazes of light erupted from opposite sides of the arena! Terrifying waves of soul power fluctuations swept outward like a raging tide. As the third members of their respective teams, Xiao Xiao and Cui Yajie had no choice but to hurriedly retreat, putting distance between themselves and the clash to avoid being caught in it.
Du Weilun shot to his feet, a flash of alarm streaking through his eyes—especially toward the radiance rising from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's side. Whether in intensity or sheer force of presence, it was visibly, clearly overwhelming Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's "Netherworld White Tiger"!
"Not good!" His heart tightened. "This must be stopped immediately! Otherwise, there will truly be casualties!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than his figure shot like an arrow toward the center of the arena—
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