Volume 20, Chapter 178.2: 'Specter' Na Na
Huo Yuhao was walking towards Xuan Ziwen. He passed him the short spear.
Xuan Ziwen understood his intentions. He injected his soul power to analyze the spear. After that, he mentioned over the sound-amplifying soul tool, “Huo Yuhao is only using an ordinary weapon. It’s not a soul tool. Do you need to rest?”
Huo Yuhao nodded. He sat cross-legged beside Xuan Ziwen. He quickly entered deep meditation as everyone watched him.
While the throw appeared very simple, he had used the powers of the Sovereign’s Descent, Spiritual Detection and the Tang Sect’s hidden weapon skills. This undoubtedly expended his spiritual and soul power. He needed to keep himself in the best possible condition for the many remaining fights.
Jing Hongchen said to Lin Jiayi softly, “Send a Class 5 close-combat soul engineer in the next round. Choose someone defensively strong.”
Lin Jiayi acknowledged his instructions and nodded his head. He immediately left to carry them out.
Huo Yuhao didn’t rest for too long. After just ten minutes, he leapt up and nodded towards Xuan Ziwen. Following that, he walked to the waiting area.
Two rounds had ended, and the commotion and noises from the crowd had died off. More and more students were puzzled when they looked at Huo Yuhao.
Was this what a soul master was supposed to be like? Was this a soul master’s fighting style? But he didn’t even use a single soul skill!
So soul masters were that strong… Weren’t soul masters of the same level not supposed to be a match for soul engineers? But why were these soul engineers’ attacks ineffective against Huo Yuhao?
Some intelligent students were pondering in their minds. What Jing Hongchen wanted them to see was finally realized. Huo Yuhao wanted to at least influence their mindsets, because he hadn’t been able to succeed in the other aspects of his plan.
However, Huo Yuhao wasn’t coming out of this with nothing. Firstly, he won rare metals and some gold soul coins. Next, he’d managed to boost Shrek Academy’s reputation in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. And most importantly, he had managed to fuse the results of his Ultimate Soldier Plan’s training and his experiences with developing soul tools over the past six months.
This was also a fusion of his paths as a soul master and soul engineer.
Even though he couldn’t use soul tools here, it didn’t affect his thinking. The usages of different soul tools under different conditions surfaced in his mind, and his immense spiritual power ensured that he had enough thinking capabilities throughout the fights.
The third student to spar with him had already entered by now. It was a female student this time.
This female student couldn’t be considered very pretty, but she had a healthy complexion. She had a slender figure, and was around a hundred eighty centimeters tall. However, her figure still seemed very proportionate. There was a sharp look in her eyes. She stared at Huo Yuhao, and there appeared to be sparks coming from her eyes.
A Female soul engineer?
Huo Yuhao had sensed a heavy pressure from this young lady. This female soul engineer was definitely stronger than the other two soul engineers earlier. Huo Yuhao had likely met a real match.
The young lady rose while watching Huo Yuhao, and tied her long, dark-red hair up into a ponytail. She looked much neater this way. Her yellow uniform also made her look more valiant and formidable.
“Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, Grade 6. Active Control Soul Tool Department, Na Na. Please advise.”
“Shrek Academy. Huo Yuhao. Please advise.”
Active Control Soul Tool Department? Huo Yuhao was flabbergasted when he heard her. As a soul engineer, he knew what that meant. He took lessons on it when he was still in Shrek Academy.
The Active Control Soul Tool Department consisted of special close combat-type soul masters who strengthened themselves by using soul tools. They didn’t know how to create soul tools at all, but they were very familiar with all kinds of soul tools. They used soul tools to increase their fighting strength and survivability.
Currently, Shrek Academy’s Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department were exploring how to train in this aspect. The Soul Tool Department would provide soul tools and guidance for the Martial Soul Department’s elite soul masters. As Wang Yan put it, this was the future developmental direction of all soul masters.
Soul masters that could create soul tools and soul masters that could use soul tools shouldn’t necessarily be divided into different learning and cultivation paths. This was something Wang Yan had mentioned as he studied in the Library of the Sea God’s Pavilion. This was also affirmed by the Soul Tool Department. Even Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei’er from the Martial Soul Department were moved by those words.
The Active Control Soul Tool Department signified that her fighting strength wasn’t just in soul tools. Her martial soul was bound to be powerful too. While there were very few powerful martial souls in the Sun Moon Empire, it didn’t mean that they didn’t exist.
“Let’s go, Na Na. Let’s go, Na Na!” Some spectating students stood up and chanted Na Na’s name. She was apparently very popular among the student population.
Na Na didn’t seem to hear the cheering. She focused her gaze on Huo Yuhao.
She too, was very curious about him. One reason why she was so curious about him was because he might be an opponent in future Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournaments.
Na Na wasn’t part of the back up team in the last edition of the tournament, but she had managed to excel based on her own capabilities in the academy. After she managed to become a Soul King at the age of seventeen, she was finally confirmed as a member in the next tournament. She would compete along with the Hongchen siblings.
Since Na Na didn’t know how to create soul tools, she was definitely not as familiar with them as normal soul engineers. However, she was much stronger in her combination of soul tools and martial souls than most soul engineers. Furthermore, students from the Active Control Soul Tool Department truly lived to fight. With the academy backing them, they were always exposed to the newest and most suitable combative soul tools. They could also place more attention on fighting, rather than being distracted by the creation of soul tools.
She was one of the best among all the Soul Kings in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. She was far stronger than both Xia Xuanchen and Wan Yijun. Her soul power had reached Rank 54 already. In the next two years, she aimed to reach Rank 60, and become a Soul Emperor before the tournament.
After learning that there was an opportunity to spar with a student from Shrek, she was one of the first few to sign up. Huo Yuhao’s arrogance roused her fighting spirit, but she didn’t think that Huo Yuhao was very strong. After all, he was only a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. She could certainly defeat him!
Xuan Ziwen nodded in his heart as he observed the intense competitive spirit from both sides. This round was bound to be more intense than the previous two rounds.
He also knew who Na Na was. That was because the academy had once asked him to create soul tools specially for Na Na. Although she couldn’t enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall because she belonged to the Active Control Soul Tool Department, she was still highly valued by the academy.
“Begin!” As Xuan Ziwen shouted, the third round of sparring began.
Both contestants acted immediately. Huo Yuhao wasn’t the only swift attacker now. Na Na immediately burst towards Huo Yuhao, unlike the two soul engineers before her.
A close-combat soul engineer? Huo Yuhao was shocked. He also chose the close-combat path. While Na Na didn’t know how to create soul tools, she was adept at using them. She was very likely to be strong too.
Two yellow, two purple and one black soul ring drifted up from Na Na’s feet. Her entire body transformed as her martial soul was unleashed.
She looked a little illusory now. Her entire body looked very surreal. However, her speed soared as her martial soul was unleashed. She wasn’t any slower than Huo Yuhao.
Agility-type? This was Huo Yuhao’s second judgment of her. She was indeed an active control soul engineer who didn’t lose her abilities as a soul master. With her speed and destructive soul tools, she must be capable of high-frequency attacks.
Huo Yuhao’s guess and judgment were absolutely on point. Lin Jiayi wanted to find a Class 5 close-combat soul engineer that was defensively strong after being instructed to by Jing Hongchen, but Na Na happened to be third on the list. She wouldn’t agree to being substituted no matter what, and with her position in the academy, Lin Jiayi couldn’t persuade her either. Furthermore, Lin Jiayi really wanted to see how she would fare against Huo Yuhao. They were likely to be opponents in the near future! That was why he didn’t substitute her.
The hundred and fifty meter gap between them was quickly reduced. They were almost in front of each other.
Both of them burst towards each other from the start. It was only when they were finally ten meters apart that the situation changed.
A streak of fiery-red light flashed from Na Na’s body. It was a blade only one foot and two inches in length. She grabbed the hilt of the very weird looking blade.
This blade was different from ordinary blades. It was as wide as palm, and seemed blunt. There were elegant flower patterns carved on it, but Huo Yuhao was unable to tell what materials had been used to make it.
The blade was dark-red, but an almost two foot long scarlet-red radiance flashed on its surface, which appeared to be very unstable. It was like a flame, one that chose its target carefully.