Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
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The atmosphere on the Martial Arts Stage was incredibly tense.
The Hell White Tiger, transformed from Wu Siduo, stood proudly in the center. Its massive, transparent tiger body exuded a suffocating pressure, and its eyes flickered with a cold, ghostly light.
Opposite it, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er stood side by side.
Wang Dong'er's condition was dire; she was gasping for air, her forehead drenched in sweat. The Spirit Power fluctuations from her body were so weak they were almost undetectable. The period she spent stalling Wu Siduo alone had nearly exhausted all her Spirit Power and Mental Force.
Huo Yuhao was in slightly better shape. He stared intently at Wu Siduo, his mind racing.
Wu Siduo's self-Martial Soul Fusion Skill didn't consume as much as his and Wang Dong'er's Golden Road, but it couldn't be used indefinitely either. She would need at least three days to fully recover.
Thus, Wu Siduo's choice to release the Hell White Tiger now had a clear goal: to secure second place.
Huo Yuhao bit his lip. This opponent was quite troublesome. If he were facing Tang Wulin, losing wouldn't matter much since the gap was too large, but... facing Wu Siduo, he didn't want to just admit defeat like this.
"Little Yuhao!"
In the Sea of Consciousness, the voice of the Skydream Ice Worm rang out with a hint of urgency.
"Do you want me to step in? My Soul Shock..."
"No need."
Huo Yuhao interrupted the Skydream Ice Worm.
"I'll do it myself."
He took a deep breath, his gaze becoming increasingly determined.
"If I lose, I lose. I'll rely on myself, no cheating."
The Skydream Ice Worm was momentarily stunned, then it smiled.
That smile was full of gratification.
"Good lad! I really didn't misjudge you!"
Huo Yuhao said nothing more, turning instead to look at Wang Dong'er.
"Wang Dong'er."
"I'll hold her off. You take the time to recover."
Wang Dong'er was slightly startled as she looked at Huo Yuhao.
"You, by yourself..."
"Trust me."
"Though I can't win, I can stall for a while."
Wang Dong'er didn't waste time being sentimental and nodded.
"Okay."
She took a few steps back, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and focused entirely on recovering her Spirit Power.
Watching this, Wu Siduo did nothing to stop them.
She just stood there quietly, allowing Wang Dong'er to recover.
The next moment, the Hell White Tiger moved.
Its massive body turned into a streak of light, pouncing fiercely toward Huo Yuhao!
Huo Yuhao's pupils constricted as he retreated rapidly!
His speed wasn't slow, but compared to the Hell White Tiger, it was far too lacking.
A tiger claw descended from the sky!
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, crossing his arms to block—
BOOM!!
The massive impact sent him flying, crashing heavily onto the edge of the Martial Arts Stage.
He struggled to climb up, a trickle of blood already seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Too strong.
Even though he had already afflicted Wu Siduo with the mental weakness and slow debuffs, and even though he was giving it his all, it still wasn't enough in the face of such an absolute power gap.
Although his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul had completed its silver-level awakening, the gap between it and Wu Siduo's Hell White Tiger was still too large.
And—
Huo Yuhao looked down at his hands.
Regarding Teacher Mu Ye's Body Sect secret technique, his cultivation progress was still quite far from 'Body Integration,' the first stage of the Body Tempering realm.
Right now, his physical constitution was far inferior to Wu Siduo's in her Hell White Tiger form.
But he couldn't fall.
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and stood straight once more.
In the spectator stands, Da Ming and Tai Tan were stunned by the scene.
"Big brother..."
Tai Tan muttered.
"This kid... isn't he a support?"
Da Ming didn't speak, but his eyes were equally full of surprise.
Huo Yuhao's physical constitution, while not comparable to that freak Tang Wulin, was much tougher than the vast majority of freshmen present.
And that tenacity...
"As expected of the child of destiny Tang San favored."
Da Ming said in a low voice.
"He must have had many opportunities."
Tai Tan nodded, his gaze lingering on Huo Yuhao with a hint of complexity.
On the Martial Arts Stage, Huo Yuhao was sent flying again.
This time, he lay on the ground, struggling several times before barely managing to crawl back up.
Huo Yuhao looked quite wretched at this moment, yet he still managed to hold his ground.
Wu Siduo looked at him, a strange look flashing in her eyes. How could this mental-type Spirit Master be so resilient?
She no longer hesitated; the Hell White Tiger pounced again!
Just then—
"Huo Yuhao!"
Wang Dong'er's voice rang out.
She had already stood up. Though her face was still pale, she looked much better than before.
She quickly walked to Huo Yuhao's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same light in each other's eyes.
"We can only use that move."
Wang Dong'er said softly.
Huo Yuhao nodded.
"Mhm."
The two reached out simultaneously, their hands gripping tightly together.
Those who knew of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill were stunned.
Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was 'Withering in Brilliance, Golden Road.' Its power was indeed formidable, but it was unidirectional and easy to dodge!
Meanwhile, Wu Siduo was still nearly at full strength and possessed incredible movement speed; hitting her would be extremely difficult.
However... given the current situation, they truly had to give it their all.
In the next instant, the figures of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er began to turn illusory.
It was an indescribable state of void, as if the two had detached from reality and merged into another dimension. Then, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.
It was a brilliant gold that defied description, as if all the light in the sky had been absorbed and condensed. The moment the gold appeared, the light in the entire Martial Arts Arena suddenly dimmed.
On the forehead of that illusory figure, a strange vertical eye slowly opened.
A luster filled with the aura of life instantly illuminated the entire field.
Vaguely, a brilliant golden hammer emerged in the void, hovering above the illusory figure.
A golden version of the Clear Sky Hammer.
The moment the golden hammer appeared, it shattered with a bang, turning into countless miniature hammer shadows, then into a sky full of golden light that spread in all directions!
In the next breath, a ring of golden halo spread out from the forehead of the illusory figure.
Truth in the Void, Spiritual Storm!
Everywhere the golden halo passed, the entire Martial Arts Stage seemed to be enveloped in another World.
The Hell White Tiger transformed from Wu Siduo bore the brunt of it, enveloped by the golden halo.
Her massive body trembled violently, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared in those cold eyes.
This was...
A mental attack!
And it was an area-of-effect, all-encompassing mental attack!
The golden halo penetrated her defenses, directly impacting her Sea of Consciousness.
BOOM!!!
Wu Siduo felt an explosion in her mind. Her entire being felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and her consciousness instantly plunged into darkness.
The form of the Hell White Tiger collapsed instantly.
Wu Siduo's body fell straight back, crashing heavily onto the Martial Arts Stage.
As she fell, Huo Yuhao's body also went limp and collapsed to the ground.
His Mental Force had been completely drained in that instant, and he fell unconscious.
Although this move consumed less Spirit Power than the Golden Road, its Mental Force consumption was terrifying. Had their Mental Force not been nourished by the golden pearl, and had Huo Yuhao's Spirit not undergone the silver-level awakening, this move could never have been released, and might have even caused a direct backlash.
Wang Dong'er barely remained standing, her body swaying.
Her face was as white as paper, her forehead covered in cold sweat; she looked as if she could collapse at any moment.
"This girl, Xiao Qi..."
Tai Tan muttered.
"When did she get this new ability?"
Da Ming shook his head and said nothing.
Wu Feng and Xi'er stood at the edge of the stage, watching this scene with eyes full of bitterness.
Their loss... wasn't undeserved, but Wu Siduo's loss was quite unfortunate, as the two of them hadn't been able to help.
Zhang Yang's voice rang out.
"Semifinal Match One—"
"Wang Dong'er's Team, victorious!"
Applause erupted, sweeping through the entire arena like a tide.
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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.