Volume 17, Chapter 150.2: The Ten Thousand Year Soul Skill - Enfeeblement
He Caitou did not disappoint, and even though it was less than a hundred percent accuracy rating like before, he still got in six more missiles under the Light of Destiny’s blessing. The two remaining soul beasts still recovering from Enfeeblement—decapitated.
While the battle seemed like it took a long time, but from the moment Huo Yuhao radiated the Light of Destiny, to using Mass Enfeeblement, and until the last soul beast had perished—only a minute had passed. The battle was over in a hurry, and all twelve soul beasts were slain: the four three-thousand year Single-Horned Devilrhinos included.
Gong Changlong no longer felt his heart ache. Instead, he had already become numb. Even though there were many mystical beasts inside the Beast Dueling Area, a third of their thousand year soul beasts had already been eliminated in just this one battle. The color on his face turned blue with a green tinge before it turned black altogether… How could Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu have expected such a result from the spectator’s grandstand?
Huo Yuhao surveyed his surroundings warily and awaited the next wave of soul beasts that could appear at any time. This Single-Horned Devilrhino was the most important weapon in his arsenal for the subsequent battle. He couldn’t help but think, “If only big brother Xu were here. He could concentrate all the soul beasts together, then use the Mysterious Underworld Displacement to swap over this Single-Horned Devilrhino and I would detonate it – I would be able to destroy an entire wave!”
“That’s it! Why are we still testing? If this assessment continues, all the Beast Dueling Area’s properties will be gone.” Gong Changlong walked out with a glowering look on his face. He shouted towards the spectator’s grandstand, “Dean Xian, I am also a reserve Elder of the Sea God’s Pavilion, and I am worthy enough to question the Sea God’s Pavilion, and to question the decision you guys have made using the Sea God’s Writ’s authority. Every one of you saw it – twenty thousand-year soul beasts of mine perished just like that, and all of you should know these soul beasts’ value. Take a look, how many soul rings has this wasted? The Soul Tool Department has to be responsible for capturing another batch for me. I will take this up to the Sea God’s Island right now.”
Gong Changlong spun around furiously as he spoke and was about to leave.
Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu hurriedly leapt down from the spectator’s grandstand and arrived before Gong Changlong in a flash.
Xian Lin’er wore an apologetic face as she said, “Don’t be angry, Elder Gong. We will stop here for today. I never imagined that such a situation would happen, and it’s all because our judgment of these two students’ abilities was inadequate – so it’s all our fault. We will explain things to the Sea God’s Pavilion ourselves. Duoduo and I will be responsible for capturing another batch of soul beasts when we come back.”
Gong Changlong’s face softened a little as he said, “That will do. Don’t pull this kind of assessment anymore – if not, how can my Beast Dueling Area endure? Leave, all of you. These two fellas are no longer welcome inside the Beast Dueling Area.” Elder Gong huffed and puffed at his beard while he glared at three of them as he spoke, before he turned around and walked out, leaving Xian Lin’er and the others laughing bitterly at each other.
Huo Yuhao had rendezvoused with He Caitou by now. They both heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Elder Gong’s furious look, and it seemed like today’s assessment was over.
The two of them felt as if they were in a dream as they watched the corpses scattered all over the ground. There were eighteen thousand-year soul beasts, and four of them were three thousand year soul beasts! Yet, they massacred every single one within fifteen minutes. Even a Soul King from the inner courtyard probably wouldn’t be able to accomplish this.
Fan Yu forced a laugh and said, “What shall we do about today’s assessment, Deans?”
Xian Lin’er expression also seemed a little sullen. She replied, “Go to the Martial Soul Department and fetch Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. The assessment will continue; let them battle the others from the Shrek’s Seven Monsters. I want to see how long they can last.”
She deliberately raised her voice when she spoke the last sentence so that both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could hear her. The two of them glanced at each other exasperatedly and swiftly sat down on the ground. They restored their soul power through Milk Bottles while they started to meditate to recover the energy they had previously expended.
Huo Yuhao realized that his spiritual power’s recovery speed inside his spiritual sea was relatively impressive. However, his second mental sea’s spiritual power recuperated incredibly slowly – as a slow as a snail sliding across the ground. He would probably need an entire day to completely recover the spiritual power he had expended – that meant his Eye of Destiny could only be used once per day.
Fan Yu was highly efficient. He had no problem extracting the several students from the Martial Soul Department, as he had Xian Lin’er’s orders. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan arrived at the Beast Dueling Area within fifteen minutes.
Xu Sanshi looked like he was in a good mood, and he looked like he couldn’t wait to get it on while he wore a mischievous and wry smile on his face. Jiang Nannan was calm and composed, and even though she maintained a distance between Xu Sanshi and herself, they were no longer as distant as before. This was probably the reason why Xu Sanshi was in a good mood – at least there was progress.
Bei Bei was as elegant and refined as always. However, he no longer had that faint smile on his face ever since Tang Ya had left. He couldn’t wait for the holidays so he could go to Heaven Dou City to find Tang Ya. He had no clue why he felt as if his hair had been standing on end recently, and he grew even more worried about Tang Ya venturing towards Heaven Dou City all by herself. He had had his own revelations after the grand competition, and he had also reached a crucial point in his cultivation, while the academy had also ordered him not to leave. He was also about to face the immense pressure of the examination to enter the inner courtyard during his graduation.
“Senior brother, big brother Xu, sister Nannan.” Huo Yuhao stepped forward elatedly. He hadn’t seen Bei Bei and the others ever since their closed-door cultivation after they returned.
However, Bei Bei and the others were as astonished as ever. The Beast Dueling Area was incredibly messy – there was a giant crater from the Ice Explosion, there were soul beasts’ severed limbs, and there was a multitude of corpses strewn all over the place.
“Little junior brother – what’s all this?” Bei Bei asked with a face full of doubt.
Before Huo Yuhao could explain, Xian Lin’er lowered her voice and said, “Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan – I have an immediate assessment task for you guys: take down Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. The battle will start immediately. If the three of you lose the fight, then I will ask the Martial Soul Department to increase the difficulty of your assessments to enter the inner courtyard next year.”
“Ah?” Bei Bei and the other two were immediately shell-shocked.
Fan Yu chimed in. “This is also an assessment for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Look at the corpses of soul beasts around you – they were the ones that killed them all. The battle will start immediately.”
Bei Bei’s eyes sparkled. There seemed to be blue lightning flickering within his eyes when he turned back toward Huo Yuhao, and he was the first to mentally prepare himself. The academy had their reasons for arranging something like this, and he knew that it wouldn’t be bad for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou if he followed his teacher’s instructions.
“Watch out, junior brother.” A crackling lightning strike burst from within his body as he spoke, and his right arm swiftly transformed. Bluish-purple dragon scales began to spread, first towards his chest then all the way to his hips. He lunged towards Huo Yuhao in a flash.
Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were a beat slower, but they immediately realized what was happening and released their respective martial souls before they launched their own attacks. Xu Sanshi went for He Caitou, while Jiang Nannan hid herself behind him. With the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle defending them, there were no cracks or loopholes for soul tools in front of them to exploit.
Even though this battle was incredibly rushed and hasty, Bei Bei and the others’ experience and discipline in battle were quickly put on the display, and everyone went for their most suitable targets.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly inside. He felt a little stifled facing off against his eldest senior brother, and this wasn’t just because his soul power had only been restored to about fifty percent, his spiritual power had only recovered to about thirty to forty percent, and his second mental sea wasn’t operational at all. This was also because of his relationship with Bei Bei.
Bei Bei had always been like a mentor and a big brother to him. It could be said that without Bei Bei’s care and help, Huo Yuhao wouldn’t have been able to stand his ground when he first came to Shrek Academy. He was already disadvantaged in terms of his mentality even though this was only a friendly battle.
Huo Yuhao unleashed the Spiritual Detection as fast as he could as Bei Bei lunged directly at him. He connected himself to He Caitou while he used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to make a swift retreat in an attempt to distance himself from Bei Bei.
Bei Bei’s experience in battle was as rich as it could be. He was the Tang Sect’s eldest senior brother, and he was simply too familiar with the Tang Sect’s Six Great Secret Techniques.
The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track’s most prominent point was that it was mutable and unpredictable. There wasn’t a rhythm or pattern to take advantage of. However, Bei Bei was familiar with this technique, and as such was acutely aware of its speed.
“Crackle!” A thunderous boom could be heard as a colossal Thunderous Dragon Claw slashed out through the sky and went directly for Huo Yuhao’s body. The lightning bolts had yet to reach him, but Huo Yuhao could already feel his entire body starting to go numb. There was no doubt that Bei Bei’s cultivation had grown exponentially again. The Thunderous Dragon Claw’s ferocity was augmented, and its area of effect was much wider than before.
Huo Yuhao placed his hands in a circle before him, and his Spirit Eyes began to glow. His Spiritual Detection found the Thunderous Dragon Claw’s weakest spot, and his left hand formed the Controlling Crane while his right hand formed the Capturing Dragon. With a single pushing and pulling action, he pushed the Thunderous Dragon Claw to one side.
“Eh?” Bei Bei glanced at Huo Yuhao with a surprised look on his face. However, he took the time that Huo Yuhao needed to stop and block the Thunderous Dragon Claw to swiftly close the distance between him and his junior brother. He made a grab at Huo Yuhao’s shoulder as he bent the center of his palms inwards – he was also using the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique.
Bei Bei was more than ten ranks above Huo Yuhao in cultivation, and formidable suction power immediately pulled at Huo Yuhao till he stumbled. It wouldn’t be easy for Huo Yuhao to defend against Bei Bei’s Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon even at his peak, and he was no match Bei Bei in cultivation. This was the reason why it was challenging for him to evade this attack even though his Spiritual Detection could predict and detect it.
He Caitou finally displayed his fearsome and ferocious side. His consumption from the previous battle was far smaller than Huo Yuhao, since he hadn’t needed to expend much energy with Huo Yuhao’s spiritual guidance. His soul power had been restored to more than eighty percent, and his soul tool fort asserted its dominance in all directions. He managed to suppress both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan so that they couldn’t come near – instead, they were gradually forced back.