Long Yue's eyes were filled with Battle Intent, and his lips curled into an arrogant arc as he laughed loudly: "I, Long Yue, never regret my actions! Come and fight!"
As his voice fell, he saw six pitch-black spirit rings, deep as the abyss, emerge one by one from beneath Huo Yuhao's feet.
Immediately after, a dazzling silver light suddenly burst forth from his body, and pieces of Battle Armor rapidly covered his form.
Finally, a pair of huge silver wings unfurled from his back with a boom.
Huo Yuhao soared into the sky, hovering steadily in mid-air level with Long Yue, confronting him from a distance.
Watching the figure opposite him, whose aura was in no way inferior to his own, a flicker of undisguised admiration and surprise flashed in Long Yue's eyes.
He thought to himself that he was truly worthy of being the Federation's number one Genius; to think he was also a Spirit Emperor and a Two-Word Battle Armor Master.
He took a deep breath and said calmly: "If I were at your age, I would definitely not be your opponent. However, today's battle is only about victory or defeat, not age. It is I who am taking advantage of you."
Huo Yuhao, however, gave a cold snort with an expressionless face: "Stop talking nonsense."
He flicked his right hand casually into the Void Realm, and a slender, sharp longsword appeared out of thin air in his palm.
With a fierce flap of the huge silver wings on his back, he transformed into a streak of silver light, tearing through the air as he rushed toward Long Yue.
"Well fought!"
Long Yue laughed heartily. Facing Huo Yuhao's sharp offensive, he didn't retreat in the slightest; instead, his Battle Intent grew even stronger.
The dark gold Dragon wings on his back flapped violently, and he collided head-on like a dark gold meteorite.
However, at the moment he reached halfway, Long Yue felt a sudden sharp pain in his head, as if an invisible giant hammer had smashed heavily into the back of his head.
He felt his limbs lose all sensation, and he fell straight down from mid-air like a kite with a broken string.
Just as he was about to crash heavily onto the arena below, the pair of dark gold Dragon wings on Long Yue's back stretched out again, carving a thrilling arc along the arena floor before pulling him back up.
He hovered in mid-air, looking at Huo Yuhao opposite him, the Battle Intent in his eyes replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He reached out to rub his still-throbbing temple, his voice low: "As expected of the Spirit Eyes Martial Soul; this mental force is truly powerful."
"However, my mental force is not weak either. Defeating me won't be that easy."
A flicker of imperceptible surprise flashed across Huo Yuhao's face opposite him; he didn't seem to expect Long Yue to regain consciousness so quickly.
...
At Star Luo Stadium, the excitement and agitation that had been burning in the eyes of over three hundred thousand spectators were fading bit by bit, replaced by growing confusion and bewilderment.
They stared wide-eyed at the massive arena below, but they did not see the fierce, close-quarters combat or the exchange of Spirit Abilities between the two Geniuses they had imagined.
They only saw one person standing on the arena and the other floating above it.
After the two sides exchanged harsh words, it was as if someone had pressed the pause button; there was no further movement, and almost everyone was left unable to understand what had happened.
However, inside the number one VIP room, Saint Dragon Douluo Enci's expression changed drastically.
His originally half-squinted eyes widened abruptly, his pupils contracted violently, and he subconsciously slapped the armrest of the sofa heavily with his right hand, springing up from the sofa instantly.
He walked a few steps to the huge floor-to-ceiling glass window, his body leaning slightly forward, his gaze nailed to Huo Yuhao's figure on the arena below. On that face, which was always calm and composed, there was now a rare flash of undisguised shock.
Seeing his teacher in such a state of disarray, Dai Tianling was filled with confusion.
He put down the teacup in his hand and stood up, walking to Enci's side, asking puzzledly: "Teacher, what is it?"
Enci turned around slowly, his face still bearing the remnants of shock that had not yet fully faded.
His pair of withered yet powerful hands were trembling slightly, which was almost unbelievable for a Limit Douluo standing at the Peak of the continent.
A moment later, Enci took a deep breath, suppressing the surging waves in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please take a close look at Long Yue's current situation."
The White Tiger Martial Soul inherited by the White Tiger Bloodline was also a top-tier Spirit, destined to have an Innate Spirit Power that wouldn't be too low.
Therefore, although Dai Tianling was the Star Luo Emperor, he hadn't neglected his Cultivation and was now a Titled Douluo.
He didn't ask further, and a majestic wave of mental force instantly pierced through the VIP room's floor-to-ceiling glass, landing precisely on the dark gold figure hovering above the arena below.
Soon, his brows furrowed tightly, and a look of unbelievable confusion and shock appeared on his face.
He turned his head sharply to look at Enci, his tone filled with disbelief: "Long Yue's aura is constantly changing. His Spirit Power is being consumed rapidly; it's only about half left now. But they clearly haven't fought yet. What exactly is going on?"
Enci was silent for a moment before speaking slowly: "Your Majesty has always wanted to know just how strong Huo Yuhao's true strength is, right? His current strength is likely already comparable to a Titled Douluo."
"How is that possible?!" Dai Tianling's tone was filled with disbelief, "How old is he? Fifteen! A fifteen-year-old child—how could his strength be comparable to a Titled Douluo?"
A flash of extremely complex emotion crossed Enci's eyes as he sighed: "Yes, he is only fifteen."
He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze piercing through the glass to land on Huo Yuhao once more.
"Huo Yuhao's Spirit Power cultivation might still have a certain gap from level ninety, but his mental force is too strong."
"His mental force has reached the Spirit Domain Realm, and from my observation, it is not just the initial stage of the Spirit Domain Realm."
"Spirit Domain Realm?!"
Dai Tianling's voice couldn't help but rise a notch, and then his expression became even more fascinating.
He himself was a Titled Douluo, but his mental force was still a considerable distance from the Spirit Domain Realm.
In other words, in terms of mental force alone, this fifteen-year-old youth had already far surpassed him.
Enci nodded: "That's right, it is the Spirit Domain Realm. What Huo Yuhao is currently displaying should be his Spirit Domain."
"If it weren't for the anomaly in Long Yue's Spirit Power consumption, even I would have barely noticed that an invisible Spirit Domain had long since been deployed on this arena."
Dai Tianling's breathing became more rapid, his chest heaving violently several times.
If he had previously only thought that Huo Yuhao had the potential of a Limit Douluo in the future, he now believed that this youth was very likely to become the next deity on the continent.
A fifteen-year-old in the Spirit Domain Realm—this kind of Prodigy-level talent that was almost unreal had already far exceeded the category of a Limit Douluo.
A moment later, Dai Tianling's expression slowly returned to calm.
Just a moment ago, a thought had even flashed through his mind: if he were to abdicate now, could he make Huo Yuhao stay in the Star Luo Empire?
But he eventually shook his head, suppressing this tempting yet unrealistic thought.
Through their previous frank and restrained conversation in the study, he had realized very clearly that this youth was not the type to be swayed by power and status.
However, they did have a Bloodline connection after all; this was a fact that could not be erased no matter what.
If Huo Yuhao could successfully seize the position of Spirit Pagoda Master from the Qiangu Clan in the future, the Star Luo Empire might be able to obtain many unexpected benefits as a result.
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A/N:
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.