Before the battle began, Huo Yuhao was also observing Meng Hongchen. His gaze slowly moved down from her face, sweeping over the form-fitting soul tool armor she wore.
The armor was entirely silver-white with smooth lines, but it already bore dozens of damaged marks, left by Dai Yueheng during their previous battle. This set of armor of hers was somewhat similar to battle armor, but its effects were naturally far inferior to actual battle armor.
"Match start!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, Meng Hongchen launched her attack first. The first and second spirit rings beneath her feet flickered alternately.
"First Spirit Ability, Ice Toad Cold Poison"
A stream of white Qi that surged from her palm, winding toward Huo Yuhao like a venomous snake.
Wherever that stream passed, the air seemed to freeze, and a thin layer of frost condensed on the ground.
"Second Spirit Ability, Ice Poison Ring"
An ice-blue halo spread from beneath her feet, expanding outward like ripples and instantly covering half the arena. Within the range of the Ice Poison Ring, the power of her cold poison directly doubled, and bone-chilling cold permeated the air.
Yet, facing Meng Hongchen's cold poison attack, Huo Yuhao had no intention of dodging at all. He just stood there quietly, his expression calm, allowing that stream of white Qi to envelop him and letting that ice-blue halo spread over his feet.
Almost everyone could see that Huo Yuhao was now enveloped within Meng Hongchen's cold poison.
The audience widened their eyes, the contestants in the preparation area held their breath, and even the referee frowned slightly. They could not understand what Huo Yuhao was trying to do.
Just when many people were confused, Meng Hongchen's voice rang out. Her voice was full of disbelief, even carrying a hint of panic: "How is this possible? Why aren't you poisoned?!"
Her vermilion eyes widened, staring fixedly at Huo Yuhao. The cold poison she was so proud of was completely useless against him!
Huo Yuhao did not offer much explanation; he just smiled: "Just consider me immune to poison."
Possessing the Ultimate Ice attribute, it was certainly not an exaggeration for him to claim immunity to toxins. Ultimate Ice was the purest power of ice in the World. The moment those Ice Toad Cold Poison touched him, they were frozen by his Ultimate Ice.
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen's heart trembled violently. She had watched the battle between Huo Yuhao and Ye Wuqing and knew that this young man's strength was unfathomable. If the toxins were ineffective, she feared she would be unable to defeat her opponent.
She bit her lip, her face turning slightly pale. Even knowing that her chances of winning were slim, she still raised her sword and charged toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, his eyes showing a mix of helplessness and admiration. He unleashed a direct Soul Shock, charging toward Meng Hongchen's Spiritual Sea.
With his mental force approaching the Spirit Domain realm, ordinary Spirit Emperors could not withstand his Spiritual Impact, let alone a Spirit King. That invisible mental force was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely against Meng Hongchen's Spiritual Sea.
Having just charged forward a dozen meters, Meng Hongchen suddenly lost consciousness. Her vision went black, and the entire World instantly faded away. Immediately, her body fell forward due to momentum, drifting like a fallen leaf, landing lightly on the arena floor and sliding several meters before coming to a stop.
Almost none of the audience understood this sudden turn of events.
They had not seen how Huo Yuhao made his move, nor did they understand what had happened; they only saw Meng Hongchen fall suddenly halfway through her charge.
But they knew that Meng Hongchen had been defeated!
After a brief silence around the arena, enthusiastic cheers erupted instantly. The sound was like a tsunami, engulfing the entire Star Luo Plaza.
Watching this scene from the preparation area, Xu Sanshi revealed a "knowing" smile. He was too familiar with this scene; he had been defeated by Huo Yuhao in the same way back at Shrek Academy. He was a personal witness to this scene.
"Huo Yuhao wins!"
The voice of the referee, Huang Jinxu, echoed over Star Luo Plaza, and the protective barrier on the arena slowly opened.
From the Sun-Moon preparation area, a figure darted onto the arena like an arrow released from a bow; it was Xiao Hongchen.
He rushed to Meng Hongchen's side in a few strides, first casting an unfriendly glance at Huo Yuhao, then crouched down to carefully check on her.
Watching his demeanor, Huo Yuhao said calmly: "Rest assured, she is fine; she just fainted."
After checking, Xiao Hongchen discovered that his sister was indeed fine, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
He gently picked up Meng Hongchen, and before walking off the arena, he looked back at Huo Yuhao again; this time, his expression was much friendlier.
The voice of the referee, Huang Jinxu, continued: "In both the team battles and individual battles, the Shrek Team has achieved victory!"
He paused, took a deep breath, and raised his voice even higher: "I announce that the final champion of this All-Continent High-Rank Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is — Shrek Academy!"
From the spectator stands, waves of cheers erupted once again!
"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!"
The sound was like a tsunami, wave after wave, echoing over Star Luo Plaza for a long time.
Even though this result had continued for thousands of years, every time Shrek Academy won, people would still cheer excitedly for it.
After a long while, the sound that had resonated throughout the entire Star Luo Plaza gradually subsided.
Huo Yuhao on the arena did not walk down; instead, he turned around, his gaze crossing the boiling crowd and landing straight on the nearby city wall.
On the city wall sat the civil and military officials of the Star Luo Empire, as well as the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Emperor Xu Jiawei.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's gaze, Dai Hao in the crowd felt his heart jump violently. A bad premonition surged into his heart, and he subconsciously gripped the armrest tightly.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao's voice rang out. "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Xu Jiawei stood up and paced to the edge of the city wall. He placed his hands on the battlements, looking down at Huo Yuhao's direction, appearing as if he were waiting for him to speak.
Huo Yuhao did not mince words; his voice was clear and loud, carrying across the entire Star Luo Plaza with the support of his mental force.
"Your Majesty rules Star Luo; will you uphold justice for your subjects?"
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao ask this, Emperor Xu Jiawei had already guessed what he was about to do.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and said loudly: "As the ruler of Star Luo, I will naturally uphold justice for my subjects."
Huo Yuhao glanced at Dai Hao standing behind Emperor Xu Jiawei, a trace of coldness flashing across his young face.
He withdrew his gaze and raised his voice a few notches: "I am a subject of Star Luo, yet the White Tiger Dukes Mansion's wife, Zhu Yunqing, dispatched a Spirit Saint to assassinate me. I nearly died, and I ask Your Majesty to uphold justice!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Star Luo Plaza fell silent! The silence came so suddenly and so completely, as if the entire World had been pressed onto a pause button. The gazes of tens of thousands of people instantly focused on Huo Yuhao, filled with shock, curiosity, and a hint of excitement at watching a show.
They had thought the match was over, and many were already packing up to leave.
But they had not expected there to be a "special case" now?
"Gossip" is human nature, and Huo Yuhao's words instantly piqued everyone's interest. Those who were preparing to leave sat back down; the entire plaza was deathly silent, and everyone pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word.
They were also curious about what grudges existed between this Huo Yuhao and the Duke of White Tiger that would cause the Dukes Mansion's wife to dispatch a Spirit Saint to assassinate him?
That was the White Tiger Dukes Mansion, one of the most powerful Families in the Star Luo Empire.
And this young man, the Genius who had just led Shrek Academy to victory, was actually accusing the Dukes Mansion's wife in public?
This piece of gossip was going to be a feast!
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A/N: Damn, 51 Power Stones in one day. Awesome! I'm gonna post twelve chapters at once today. Some shit's about to go down. Read and enjoy!
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 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. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.