Aside from Gu Yue, who had known about Huo Yuhao's information long ago, the gazes of the others present couldn't help but fall upon the longsword in Huo Yuhao's hand.
Xie Xie and Tang Wulin quickly realized that this was not a Spirit, but a melee spirit tool.
However, as they were currently in the middle of a battle, there was no time for them to think too much about it.
Xie Xie closed in once more, his light dragon dagger tracing trails of afterimages as it stabbed toward Huo Yuhao's vital points from various angles.
Yet every attack was steadily parried by the longsword in Huo Yuhao's hand, producing short, crisp clashing sounds.
Facing Xie Xie, who had a two-ring cultivation, Huo Yuhao didn't even use Mental Detection, calmly responding through his own reactions and eyesight alone.
Having Cultivated the Body Sect's secret techniques since childhood, his physical fitness had long surpassed that of an ordinary Spirit Elder, even though he was a mental-type Spirit Master.
Unable to land a hit for a long time, Xie Xie's offensive gradually grew frantic.T
ang Wulin, who had been waiting for an opportunity, finally made his move. Several strands of Blue Silver Grass darted across the ground like Spirit snakes, silently coiling toward Huo Yuhao's feet!
Huo Yuhao swept his longsword downward. A cold light flashed, and the tough Blue Silver Grass snapped instantly.
And at the very moment he severed the Blue Silver Grass, Huo Yuhao, who had been in a defensive state, moved!
His figure was like an arrow leaving a bow as he lunged straight for Xie Xie!
The distance between them wasn't far to begin with, and the speed Huo Yuhao erupted with now far exceeded Xie Xie's expectations!
The blade swept across, bringing with it a sharp whistling sound of breaking air.
Xie Xie's pupils constricted as he felt a heavy sense of pressure from that simple sword strike.
In a flash, he had no time to dodge, and his first spirit ring suddenly lit up.
First Spirit Ability: Light Dragon Blade!
A golden blade of light shot out from the dagger, faintly carrying a clear dragon's roar as it met the sweeping longsword head-on!
"Boom!"
The light blade and the sword edge collided violently, spirit power surging and scattering as Huo Yuhao's offensive came to a halt.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Xie Xie tapped his toes on the ground and retreated rapidly, barely pulling several meters away, fine beads of cold sweat already seeping from his forehead.
Huo Yuhao hadn't even used his Spirit yet, and he had already brought such heavy pressure. This caused a sense of despair to involuntarily rise in Xie Xie's heart.
However, he wasn't the type of person to give up after suffering a setback; that sense of despair instantly transformed into an even more surging Battle Intent.
"Wulin!" he shouted without looking back, "Go all out!"
"Okay!"
Tang Wulin moved in response.
He no longer controlled the Blue Silver Grass but instead launched a charge toward Huo Yuhao as well.
To be able to stay in Class Zero, what he relied on had never been just his Blue Silver Grass Spirit.
Xie Xie knew his speed held no advantage before Huo Yuhao, so he simply gave up on kiting.
A fierce look flashed in his eyes as his second spirit ring suddenly lit up.
Second Spirit Ability: Light Dragon Storm!
In Huo Yuhao's vision, Xie Xie's figure seemed to vanish instantly, replaced by a golden sphere of light carrying a sharp aura. Like a small metal storm, it swept toward him!
Even without using any Spirit Abilities, under the minute insight of his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao could still judge that this was a violent offensive combining attack and defense, formed by Xie Xie using himself as an axis and pushing his speed to the limit to drive his twin daggers into a frantic spin.
Facing such a sharp Spirit Ability, Huo Yuhao no longer acted overconfidently.
Under the cover of his Simulation Spirit Ability, Mental Detection quietly unfolded.
He withdrew his sword and took half a step back, then flicked his wrist. The sword tip shone like a cold star, instantly thrusting out several condensed sword shadows!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...!
Each sword strike precisely struck the blade of Xie Xie's high-speed rotating light dragon dagger, which had almost turned into a phantom!
Sparks constantly sputtered at the collision points between the sword tip and the dagger blade, the crisp clashing sounds merging into one.
Huo Yuhao's sword strikes seemed effortless, but the power and angle of each hit were just right.
After several strikes, that violent golden whirlwind was actually forced to a halt!
Xie Xie stumbled out of his skill state, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.
He looked up at Huo Yuhao, his eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
He knew better than anyone what kind of terrifying eyesight, judgment, and control were required to precisely hit his Spirit with every strike without harming him in the slightest while in the high-speed rotation of the 'Light Dragon Storm'!
And Huo Yuhao had actually done it.
The more he understood the difficulty involved, the more Xie Xie felt a bottomless gap between them.
His hand gripping the Light Dragon Dagger trembled slightly, whether from exhaustion or emotional turmoil.
However, as for this battle, he had already done his best.
Although his attack had been blocked by Huo Yuhao, it wasn't in vain, because Tang Wulin's attack had already arrived.
He had never thought his second Spirit Ability could defeat Huo Yuhao; he was merely creating the perfect opportunity for Tang Wulin's attack.
Just as Huo Yuhao forced Xie Xie back with a sword strike, Tang Wulin had already silently circled behind him.
At this moment, Tang Wulin's right arm had swelled by nearly a circle compared to before, its skin covered in a layer of fine, solid diamond-shaped golden scales that shimmered with a brilliant golden light under the training hall's lamps.
The five fingers of his right hand had completely transformed into sharp dragon claws, with cold glints appearing at the tips.
Even without turning around, Huo Yuhao's Mental Detection had already presented the scene behind him in his mind.
An instinctive sense of danger came from that Golden Dragon Claw, causing a hint of surprise to flash through his heart.
This youth clearly only had a one-ring cultivation, yet he could actually make him feel threatened!
However, with the spirit power gap between them, Huo Yuhao's surprise only lasted for a moment.
With his speed, he could easily avoid this claw strike.
But he chose not to dodge.
He also wanted to see for himself just what kind of power Tang Wulin's claw possessed!
Huo Yuhao suddenly spun around, the ice-blue longsword in his hand tracing a cold arc in the air. The blade did not yield, meeting the Golden Dragon Claw that was tearing through the air head-on!
The moment the sword edge and dragon claw violently collided, a majestic force far exceeding both their expectations erupted!
Huo Yuhao's heart jolted. He hadn't expected that this youth, who had only one ring and a Blue Silver Grass Spirit, would possess such formidable physical strength!
Surprise also flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes. He had always been confident in his strength, but the recoil from that strike just now actually made his entire right arm feel faintly numb.
Amidst a thunderous roar, Tang Wulin was shaken back several steps by that domineering force.
He had just stabilized his stance and was about to launch another attack when his pupils suddenly constricted.
An icy sword tip was already silently pressed against his forehead.
If it advanced just one more inch, it could easily pierce through his skull.
Victory and defeat were decided in an instant.
"Huo Yuhao wins."
Wu Changkong's cold voice rang out at the right time, bringing a conclusion to this brief but intense clash.
Xie Xie walked to Tang Wulin's side. The two looked at each other and simultaneously gave a bitter smile, shaking their heads.
They had exhausted their efforts, and Tang Wulin had even brought out his trump card, the Golden Dragon Claw, yet they were still defeated so decisively.
As the winner, Huo Yuhao didn't show the slightest bit of pride.
He lowered his gaze, staring at the spirit tool longsword in his hand.
This Rank Four melee Spirit Tool that had accompanied him for eight months appeared intact on the outside, but under the powerful vision of his Spirit Eyes, he found that several fine cracks had appeared in the precise and complex spirit tool patterns on the blade, and the path of spirit power flow had been destroyed.
His gaze slowly moved to Tang Wulin not far away.
The cause of all this should be that domineering claw strike just now!
His judgment was indeed correct; that claw strike was certainly not simple.
Wu Changkong walked slowly into the field, his gaze lingering on Huo Yuhao for several seconds.
His original intention was to use this battle to figure out this new student's strength and combat style to determine his future training direction.
However, the result was far beyond expectations. Huo Yuhao hadn't even released his Spirit, yet he had so calmly defeated Xie Xie and Tang Wulin, whom he had personally trained for a year.
As a result, even now, he remained completely ignorant of Huo Yuhao's Spirit characteristics and Spirit Ability composition.
Wu Changkong's brow furrowed slightly, his voice still cold as he looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "Why didn't you use your Spirit?"
"Your actual combat ability is indeed good among Spirit Elders, but underestimating the enemy has always been a major taboo in Spirit Master duels."
Having grown up under the tutelage of two top powerhouses, Leng Yaozhu and Han Tianyi, Huo Yuhao had long ago etched "never underestimate the enemy" into his instincts.
He met Wu Changkong's gaze and answered honestly, "Teacher, I didn't underestimate the enemy, it's just..."
He paused, his tone as calm as usual. "If I used my Spirit, this battle would have ended too quickly."
Wu Changkong's eyes flickered. He could see that Huo Yuhao was not a person of boastful words, but those two words "too quickly" instead piqued his deeper curiosity.
Just how fast would it be?
"Since that's the case," Wu Changkong took a step forward, "then use your Spirit Abilities and let me see."
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Thank you.