The Unrivaled Tang Sect

Chapter 159: Xenophobia, Bullying, and the Sovereign Descends

Huo Yuhao’s expression grew solemn and gloomy. His eyes narrowed into slits, and a cold light flickered through them.

I just want to learn here, yet you guys just had to force my hand. Huo Yuhao knew that the best thing for him to do would be to find Xuan Ziwen and let his teacher resolve his predicament. However, he knew that doing so would mean lowering his head to the four of them; a moment of timidity and cowardice like that would probably lead to even more bullying in the future. How could he focus on studying if that happened?

He heaved a sigh and mumbled exasperatedly under his breath, “You guys forced me.” He raised his right hand once he’d finished speaking and pressed it to the lab door. A pale golden radiance flickered in his eyes and one white, one purple, and one black soul ring—quite the peculiar combination—gradually rose from his body. This was the true color of his Spirit Eyes’ soul rings, but whether or not others would believe what this was a different story. After all, not many people believed that the colors of one’s soul rings could be changed at will.

Xuan Ziwen had asked Huo Yuhao if he could use his Spiritual Detection to probe into metallic objects, to which Huo Yuhao had answered that he could, but only to a certain extent. This was a huge breakthrough he’d achieved in his two years of cultivating Spiritual Detection, and he’d come up with a name for it: Focus.

He could focus his energy on a single point to increases its penetrative power and analytical abilities to a truly formidable level. Huo Yuhao’s target of choice was naturally the lab’s access control soul tool.

His gaze quickly concentrated on a single point. He raised his right hand that he’d just pressed against the door and pointed his index finger at a certain spot. Dark golden light sparkled the next moment, and a sharp blade extended from his fingertip and pierced into the alloy door.

One had to admit that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy didn’t skimp with the mechanisms they used to protect their laboratories. The door was at least half a foot thick, and was incredibly tough. Huo Yuhao had the ability to break it down, but it would consume too much of his soul power to do so. He had several things he needed to do after this, thus he didn’t want to expend too much energy.

It wasn’t easy for his Darkgolden Terrorclaw to drill through such a tough alloy. His Darkgolden Terrorclaw released an ear-piercing sound as it ground through it, and was accompanied by intermittent sparks. However, he was gradually making progress thanks to the Terrorclaw’s extraordinary sharpness.

He drilled about two inches in before violently jabbing his finger inwards, causing the access control soul tool to instantly explode in a shower of sparks. Huo Yuhao immediately withdrew his Darkgolden Terrorclaw when this happened, and the door opened before him.

The best method to open a door guarded with a soul tool was to destroy the soul tool guarding it. It hadn’t been too difficult for him to find the crucial formation arrays.

“Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep…!” the sound of an alarm rang out. The four inside of the lab all turned to stare at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Not even in their wildest dreams had they expected Huo Yuhao to break down the door; they’d never even suspected that he had the ability to do so.

The shrill alarm continued to ring, but Huo Yuhao pretended to not hear anything and stepped into the laboratory. He didn’t even look at the four of them as he sauntered towards the place that he’d just been cleaning previously.

“Stop right there!” the young girl exclaimed in both fury and shock. “You dare to damage our lab! Have you already forgotten what we just told you? ‘If we see you inside one more time, we’ll beat you up again!’”

Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks and gradually turned around. His expression was full of regret and pity as he said, “I gave you guys one last chance after opening the door. Since you have refused to take it, then I’m sorry. I suspect you guys are intruders, and Ju Zi is your accomplice on the inside. I will take all of you down and hand you guys over to teacher Xuan.”

“Where did this little bastard come from? Who do you think you are? Don’t you think you’re punching above your weight? Take us down? You?” the tall youth that stood in front of everyone exclaimed indifferently. Ju Zi was also indignant, and only the relatively good-looking youth revealed an expression of astonishment, but didn’t react much.

He had already decided what he was going to do once he broke down the lab door. He wanted to give these fellows a show of strength, did they really think he was that easily bullied?

Golden light flashed from his eyes, and one white, one purple, and one black soul ring appeared on his body.

The four of them were slightly taken aback when they saw his soul rings. Three rings wasn’t much in their eyes, but the colors of Huo Yuhao’s three soul rings were simply too peculiar.

Just as they were momentarily off-put, Huo Yuhao’s first and third soul rings lit up at the same time.

Huo Yuhao’s pupils immediately turned white, and a circle of white light subsequently expanded from his body. The lab’s entire atmosphere twisted and contorted. When Ju Zi and the others looked at him again, they felt as if everything around them had turned blurry and obscure.

Even though Ju Zi and the others weren’t inside the Illustrious Virtue Hall, they were the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s sixth year students, and they could be considered the elites of their batch. How could they just sit back and let Huo Yuhao attack them?

Ju Zi’s reaction was the fastest. Uncountable oranges lunged towards Huo Yuhao’s slightly contorting figure, while the handsome youth beside her raised both hands and hurled out six hexagon-shaped golden boxes. A golden light screen wrapped around them and protected them inside itself, right before Huo Yuhao’s circle of white radiance hit them.

The four of them unleashed their martial souls at the same time, as powerful soul tools required sufficient soul power to maximize their effects. A giant cannon that was disproportionate to her body size suddenly appeared on the tiny young girl’s shoulder. This cannon barrel was even larger than He Caitou’s Giant Lightning Cannon, and it looked quite heavy. The tall youth flipped out more than fifty strange soul cannons of all kinds. Even though it wasn’t a soul tool fortress, he moved incredibly fast, and the number of soul cannons he was already displaying outmatched most soul tool fortresses.

It was a pity that they still underestimated Huo Yuhao’s abilities. The white circle of light effortlessly passed right through the layer of golden light, not impeded at all, and struck the four of them, just like that.

Their eyes immediately turned white, and an intense weakness coursed over their bodies. Their subsequent movements seemed to be slower than usual as dizziness, weakness in their legs, and fatigue caused them to stumble around. This was especially so for the young girl with the enormous cannon, who almost lost her balance.

It was right at this moment that Huo Yuhao suddenly vanished right in front of them, disappearing into the flurry of oranges that were still in midair.

Huo Yuhao had been tricked before, so he wouldn’t fall into the same trap again in the face of a similar attack. He was almost sliding across the ground when he slipped out, and he grabbed at the air above him again and again while he was sliding. He seized six actual oranges in the blink of an eye, and hurled them towards the golden layer of light.

Food-type soul masters were the most adept at materializing soul power, the food items that they produced were real, and actually had special effects.

Oranges contained moisture inside them, and he had now transformed them into solid ice. What could six oranges do against a Class 5 soul barrier?

Huo Yuhao gave them the answer.

These four students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were outstanding enough. Even though they were struck by Huo Yuhao’s Mass Enfeeblement and their minds were under the influence of Spiritual Interference, they still managed to unleash their respective attacks. The handsome youth stepped forward and stood in front of Ju Zi as a pristine white light barrier rose from his body. He raised his right arm at the same time, and a fiery-red longsword instantly appeared in his hands.

Strength and burliness was not a characteristic of long-range soul masters. He was tall and lanky, yet he was a close-combat soul master. The close-combat soul tool in his hands was also clearly a special item.

The tall youth’s body erupted with soul rays and soul cannon shells, his judgement extremely accurate for his currently weakened state. He blanked the area Huo Yuhao was moving into and through with ranged fire. It was unfortunate for him that his mind was far too hampered by Spiritual Interference, and adding in Huo Yuhao’s accurate judgments via Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao simply shifted his position subtly as he surged past this shower of attacks.

The tiny young girl only stabilized herself at this moment, but she hesitated in firing her giant cannon. If she fired this giant cannon inside the laboratory, the cost would be… Just as she hesitated, Huo Yuhao arrived before the light barrier. This was a lab after all, and not some competition arena – the distance between both parties was not even ten meters before this!

“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!” Six vigorous explosions could be heard on the golden light barrier. The things that detonated were the six oranges that Huo Yuhao had tossed out before this – Ice Explosion!

However, it didn’t look like that from their perspective. The tiny young girl reacted in shock and fury as she shouted, “What are you doing, Ju Zi?!”

An enormous crack appeared on the golden light barrier after this series of explosions, and Huo Yuhao’s hands slammed ferociously against the light barrier in the next moment.

Fearsome energy spewed from his body like crashing mountains and tidal waves. Diamond ice crystals covered his large palms, and a faint green luster was shining from them. The golden light barrier wasn’t able to resist for even a single second, it was blown to smithereens under his hands with a string of shrill breaking sounds.

He used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and his figure appeared even more surreal and virtual under the incredible masking effects of his Spiritual Interference. He was beside the tiny young girl in a flash, and used the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique to pull her in front of him… and directly into the path of the tall youth’s soul tool onslaught.

There were two main types of soul barriers in a soul engineer’s defensive arsenal – one was soul rays and shells that were similar to soul power attacks, and the other was soul barriers that could defend against physical attacks. Both could be used at the same time, but soul engineers would typically only choose one when they were engaged in battle. In the end, it was rare for soul engineers to use physical attacks; this was the case even for close-combat soul engineers.

The golden light barrier released by the handsome youth was meant to defend against physical attacks. This tiny young girl didn’t have the same accurate judgment, and this took Huo Yuhao by surprise, so his large hands immediately clamped onto her neck.

Everything happened far too quickly. The time needed for two breaths was all it took for Huo Yuhao to make a move to the point when he closed his fingers around the girl’s neck. Both parties had tremendously quick reactions, but it was undoubtedly Huo Yuhao who came out on top.

The tiny young girl was unexpectedly strong. She was still struggling and twisting her neck in resistance to Huo Yuhao’s Ice Empress’ Pincer while she pushed backwards with her hands and her right leg sprung out at the same time to kick Huo Yuhao’s vital points.

Unfortunately, it was to no avail. The soul barrier on her body blocked off the tall youth’s soul tool barrage, but that was it – she felt an intense chill on her neck before a wave of numbness came over her body, and she collapsed onto the ground like a ragdoll.

Purplish-golden light immediately erupted from Huo Yuhao’s eyes. He hated it when people dragged in his mother when they were insulting him, and the “little bastard” that the tall youth had just called him was one of the main reasons why he was infuriated and immediately launched an assault. Therefore, this formidable Purple Demon Eyes’ Spiritual Shock was naturally intended for that tall and lanky youth.

The most frightening feature of spirit-type attacks was that the defensive barriers previously mentioned were entirely useless against them, and those struck by such an attack could only use their own spiritual power to protect themselves.

These four students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were five-ringed Soul kings, but their spiritual power absolutely paled in comparison to Huo Yuhao’s.

Blood gushed from the tall youth’s mouth, nose, eyes and ears as he grunted and crashed onto the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted straightaway.

Huo Yuhao’s movements didn’t stop because of this. His right hand flickered with dark golden light and he sliced directly towards the handsome youth. This was because the handsome youth’s sharp sword stabbed at him just as he unleashed his Spiritual Shock.

The handsome youth’s hands were as stable as ever even under the effects of Huo Yuhao’s Mass Enfeeblement. He stabbed out with his sword and projected three sword shadows into the air. They were like three blooming roses as they covered all of Huo Yuhao’s vital points.

Huo Yuhao made the right judgment in this split-second that he was inferior to his opponent in terms of close-combat techniques. However, this didn’t mean that his opponent’s close-combat strength was more powerful than his – therefore, he gave the handsome youth a complete Darkgolden Terrorclaw.

An enormous dark golden blade slashed down from the sky and crashed against the soul barrier that the handsome youth quickly released. The Class 5 soul barrier instantly crumbled, and the “roses” he had formed were the next to break apart.

Huo Yuhao punched out with his left fist after he slashed out with his right hand. His right foot took a step forward, and Huo Yuhao punched forward simply without any special effects. However, this punch wasn’t simple at all in this handsome youth’s eyes.

It felt as if all of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual power was concentrated onto this fist. In the handsome youth’s eyes, this fist was all that was left of Huo Yuhao – a fist that sparkled with diamond brilliance.

A golden shield appeared in the handsome youth’s hands. He held the shield up with both hands and infused his Soul King-level soul power inside. Dense soul power rippled, and the shield erupted with golden luster.

“I cannot possibly lose this!” The handsome youth could not longer maintain his composure. Two yellow and three purple soul rings sparkled on his body. However, the peculiar three ring combination had already disappeared from Huo Yuhao’s body.

“Boom –”

Huo Yuhao’s fist connected with the shield, and what the handsome youth felt in that moment could only be described as wretched and shattering.

He felt as if his shield wasn’t the only thing that was being destroyed. His mind was breaking apart at the same time as a defenseless sensation burst from the bottom of his heart, and he felt as if his entire world was being torn apart.

He puked out a stream of blood. The handsome youth followed in the tall youth’s footsteps, and collapsed onto the ground. Blood trickled from his nostrils like miniature snakes, but the shield in his hands didn’t actually break apart.

Huo Yuhao’s eyes erupted with golden radiance, and he turned towards his last remaining adversary – Ju Zi. At this point, her eyes were a little lackadaisical, and her face was completely pale.

“What are you doing?!” An astonished voice could be heard right at this moment, and a figure appeared in the lab with a flash and stood in front of Ju Zi. The golden radiance in Huo Yuhao’s eyes vanished at the almost the same time, and his previous frightening aura, as if he reigned supreme over the entire world, also receded.

Supreme Reign! Yes, this was Supreme Reign. This was the name of his ability, and it was invented by the Ultimate Douluo, Elder Mu. It was a terrifying ability that combined both physical and spiritual attacks, and Huo Yuhao was the only person in the entire world who had inherited this ability.

Supreme Reign wasn’t a soul skill – it was more, and it could be used with any soul skill. However, it could only be used to infuse spiritual power into physical attacks. In other words, this ability’s foundations were still in physical attacks. Huo Yuhao could inject his formidable spiritual power into his physical attacks, but he couldn’t flip the process around. In the end, the creator of Supreme Reign wasn’t a spirit-type soul master.

Elder Mu had commented to Huo Yuhao before that if he could find out how to reverse the process, then he would have succeeded in life.

Of course, this was still quite a distance away from Huo Yuhao’s current standard. There were just too many things that he had to learn, and even though the Ultimate Soldier Plan was starting to bear fruit, the path ahead of him was still extremely long.

Xuan Ziwen was overcome with a haze of terror as he stood before Ju Zi, who was ghastly pale at this point. He would have taken another fifteen minutes to reach the lab, but he was alarmed by the security sirens. He had remote control over his door’s access control soul tool, so he was as bewildered as could be when he realized that the incident was coming from his own lab, and he came as fast as he could.

Xuan Ziwen was flabbergasted as he watched his three students unconscious on the ground. Huo Yuhao had mentioned to him before on the first day that they met each other that he was confident of perishing together with him within a fixed distance. He didn’t pay much attention to that then, but how could he not be shaken to his very roots by the scene before him now?

These four students had been his personal students ever since they had entered Year 6, including Ju Zi. He was naturally acutely aware of his students’ abilities – they were all Soul Kings and Class 5 soul engineers, and were considered the best of the best amongst their batch. Yet, Huo Yuhao didn’t even have his fourth soul ring, and three of them were actually defeated. He had no doubt that Ju Zi would also hit the deck if he had arrived just a second later.

“This child is so fearsome and outrageously powerful at such a young age? No wonder…”

Xuan Ziwen had perused his files and records since the first day he met Huo Yuhao, especially his experience during the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

His files detailed Huo Yuhao’s performance during several key battles, and it was remarked that he had been mentored by the Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, before his passing. He was one of the absolute elites amongst the younger batch of students from Shrek, and he was definitely in line to participate in the next season’s Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.

Xuan Ziwen didn’t have much of an impression after browsing through his records. He could see that Huo Yuhao’s records mentioned that he had twin martial souls, but the records mentioned that Yuhao’s soul power rank was only a little more than twenty during the competition, and he only had two soul rings. Even though nobody knew his soul rings’ exact level, his files had clear records of his abilities. One of the more salient ones featured his martial soul fusion skill with Wang Dong, and Xuan Ziwen was more interested in the fact that the two of them could use martial soul fusion skills rather than in Huo Yuhao’s personal battle prowess, and so he paid less attention to the latter.

Xuan Ziwen suddenly realized that he was wrong. Huo Yuhao’s personal battle prowess was weak…? Then, what’s the deal with these three guys lying on the ground?

Huo Yuhao crushed three Class 5 soul engineers even without his fourth soul ring, and the last one wasn’t even fit to continue the battle. This caused Xuan Ziwen to lose all his faith and confidence in his previous experiences.

“Teacher Xuan, these guys hacked the access control and barged into the lab. I was afraid they were intruders, so I made the first move, and I was going to take them down and hand them over to you. Ju Zi brought them here, and I suspect they are accomplices in this act. Please take care of this.” Huo Yuhao spoke as if he were recounting the truth. His face of sincerity was totally disproportionate to the ferocious aura that he had emanated during the battle before this.

Ju Zi had recovered by now. Her face was still as pale as ever and she exclaimed, “Nonsense! You intentionally attacked us!”

Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, “If you guys hadn’t hacked the access control, and if you guys hadn’t insulted me, why would I treat you like intruders? Did I say something wrong? Teacher Xuan, you can inspect the access control soul tool. They deceived me after barging into the lab to step out, and they hacked it afterwards. I had to force my way in to ensure the lab’s safety, so that I could take them down. They have only lost their autonomy and ability to move, and some are slightly injured. It’s not a big a deal.”

Xuan Ziwen was immersed in soul tool research, but he wasn’t a fool. He could tell from Huo Yuhao’s description that Ju Zi and the others had bullied Huo Yuhao, who was new to this place. Huo Yuhao was infuriated, and found an excuse to retaliate.

The process wasn’t that important – what was more substantial was that the four of them fell before Huo Yuhao one after another, and Huo Yuhao was just standing there without even a speck of dirt on his body.

Could he have some special soul tool on him? Xuan Ziwen was a little suspicious.

Many academy guards had arrived by this time. Xuan Ziwen shot a glare at Huo Yuhao and walked out of the laboratory. He explained what had happened to the guards, telling them that something went wrong with his students’ experiments in the lab, and it had already been resolved.

Experimenting with soul tools was bound to give rise to all sorts of problems. The guards naturally knew that Xuan Ziwen was a reputable researcher from the Illustrious Virtue Hall, so they didn’t suspect the truth of his words and departed immediately afterward. Xuan Ziwen tinkered with the access control soul tool, and returned it to normal.

Ju Zi stared at Huo Yuhao and wanted to say something threatening, but nothing came out of her mouth. It was clear that this kid, who was actually younger than she was, had instilled a deep sense of fear in her.

She had brought three classmates back with her today to seek vengeance for what had happened the day before, when she was frozen by the Domain of Perpetual Ice. Even though she had recovered, she was shivering for pretty much the entire day afterwards, and it wasn’t that easy to recuperate. She was instantly infuriated when she thought about Huo Yuhao watching her secretly and even attacking her. She waited for her classmates to return before she recounted the episode, and everyone came to an easy consensus. They all agreed to show Huo Yuhao, this new student who had just arrived, who was boss around here.

However, never in Ju Zi’s dreams hadshe expected Huo Yuhao to overwhelm their combined strength. Even though the laboratory wasn’t big, and no one went all-out, Huo Yuhao’s movements were just too quick. He never gave them a chance to show their best, and then the battle was over. If teacher Xuan hadn’t arrived in the nick of time, she would probably have been struck down as well.

How did he do that? He didn’t use any soul tools, he was just relying on his power as a soul master.

Ju Zi had always been one of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s elites, and she was confident of passing the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s entry examination. Her research with soul tools had gone so deep that she was beginning to doubt the abilities of a soul master. From her perspective, a soul master of the same class would never be able to outmatch a soul engineer from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy like her.

But today, Huo Yuhao had completely turned her opinions around. Even though she wasn’t convinced, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of defeat and self-deprecation whenever she thought about Huo Yuhao’s three soul rings lighting up at the same time.

Huo Yuhao continued to act as if nothing had happened, and went back to cleaning the place up, especially the oranges that littered the ground.

Xuan Ziwen closed the lab door with a strange expression on his face and walked back to everyone. He checked the three collapsed students on the ground to make sure they were okay, but suddenly realized that he had a problem on his hands.

Huo Yuhao made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, and that their lives weren’t in danger, but it wasn’t as simple as losing their fighting strength!

The only person that was in relatively good shape was the tiny young girl. Only her central nervous system had been frozen by Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate Ice, and she ended up like Ju Zi on the first day, who had recovered after shivering for an entire day. The other two’s circumstances were a lot less optimistic.

The tall youth took a hit from Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock. Even though Huo Yuhao had limited his spiritual power, he gave his opponent a solid and ferocious hit in return for the humiliation. The powerful Spiritual Shock had caused the tall youth’s spiritual sea to disassemble and come apart. He was now in a coma, and he definitely wouldn’t wake up for a while. It was hard to say whether he would experience any sequelae when he woke up.

The handsome youth was in a slightly better situation. He had suffered a traumatic injury that Xuan Ziwen couldn’t identify, and there seemed to be some remnants of power left inside his body that were still wreaking havoc. It wasn’t that fierce, but Xuan Ziwen was an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, and even he couldn’t resolve it with all his power.

“Come here, Yuhao,” Xuan Ziwen waved towards Huo Yuhao.

“Yes?” Huo Yuhao walked over immediately.

Xuan Ziwen glanced at him with an inscrutable expression. He lowered his voice and said, “The three of them are my students. I know that you must have received some injustice, but you have wounded them in return, so let’s call it even. What do you think?”

It was Huo Yuhao’s turn to be shocked. He had originally expected Xuan Ziwen to chide or punish him, and he was mentally prepared for that eventuality. However, he didn’t expect teacher Xuan to resolve the issue so casually.

“I will listen to you.” Huo Yuhao answered like an obedient child.

Ju Zi watched from the side with a look of annoyance. She thought to herself, You little bastard, acting like an obedient and gentle little child in front of teacher Xuan. You were so fierce just a moment ago.

Xuan Ziwen continued, “You’re an exchange student, and you will be studying with us for two years. No matter what, they are still your seniors, and the academy prohibits fighting inside the laboratories. We’ll let this go, and I hope there won’t be a next time. Of course, I will control and restrict them. If they trouble you again, I will punish them according to the academy’s rules. However, you have to help me heal them, as I don’t wish for anything bad to happen to my students. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I understand.” Huo Yuhao didn’t mince his words, and pointed a finger the tall youth. “I can’t help him, teacher Xuan. I have only had my mother since I was young, but my mother is no longer around, and he called me a little bastard. There is nothing I can do to help him. Find a place to let him rest, and he will recover on his own after about half a month. However, he might experience some spiritual disorientation for a period of time.”

He immediately knelt down on the floor afterwards. He pressed down on the back of the tiny girl’s neck and withdrew his Ultimate Ice energy, before he walked beside the handsome youth and patted him on the body several times to neutralize the Supreme Reign’s mystical effects.

The two of them woke up one after the other. The tiny girl shivered violently, before she suddenly saw Huo Yuhao right next to her. She leapt to her feet and was about to erupt once again until Xuan Ziwen stopped her with a furious exclamation.

“Enough, Ke Ke. If you still want to cause trouble, get out of my sight.”

It was only then that the tiny girl, Ke Ke, realized Xuan Ziwen was present. She said with an aggrieved expression, “He’s a bully, teacher Xuan! He hit me! You have to get justice for me!” It was obvious that she was better than Ju Zi was at throwing tantrums.

Xuan Ziwen grunted coldly and muttered, “Do you think I don’t know who’s bullying who? How can you mess around with them, Zi Mu?”

The handsome youth, Zi Mu, had a look of exasperation as he replied, “Don’t be angry, teacher Xuan. We were wrong.” He didn’t push the issue, and Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but glance a few more times in his direction.

Xuan Ziwen said, “Wang Shaojie needs more time to rest. Send him back to the dormitory, and I will send a teacher responsible for healing students to see to him soon.”

“Yes,” Zi Mu acknowledged. He turned towards Huo Yuhao momentarily, and he couldn’t help but quiver when his eyes came across this youth for reasons he couldn’t explain, as if something in his spirit had been shattered.

Huo Yuhao met Zi Mu’s gaze calmly. He was much more familiar with Supreme Reign’s effects.

Supreme Reign was a mighty ability that combined physical and spiritual attacks. Once his opponent took a hit from Supreme Reign, their confidence would be crushed as well. His opponent would develop a fear of him, as if there were no way they could resist him the next time they encountered each other.

Zi Mu carried Wang Shaojie away, and Xuan Ziwen turned towards Yuhao with an exasperated look. “Ah, Yuhao. This is a little problematic. Wang Shaojie belongs to the royal family. Even though he’s not a direct member, he belongs to an aristocratic family that has been added to the royal family’s register. The academy needs to answer to them now that you have wounded him.”

Huo Yuhao lowered his head and said, “Everything is up to you, teacher Xuan.” He was ready to give and ready to take, and he knew he couldn’t be overly tough and stubborn if he wanted to continue studying at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He was positive that teacher Xuan could do something about this with his status within the academy.

Indeed, Xuan Ziwen frowned and said, “Alright, that’s enough. Let me handle this. You can stay in the lab and clean everything up. Nobody will cause trouble for you again. If not, don’t blame me for not giving you another chance.” With that, he hurried away. Even though Huo Yuhao refused to help Wang Shaojie, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s medicinal prowess was relatively formidable, and it wouldn’t be hard for him to find someone to heal Wang Shaojie. This infighting would quickly be resolved as long as he was okay.

The laboratory door closed once again, and only Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi, and Ke Ke were left inside.

Huo Yuhao didn’t say anything else, and continued cleaning up the lab. Ke Ke and Ju Zi were extremely close and intimate, and they knew what the other was thinking the moment their gazes met. Ke Ke’s red lips shifted up and down, and she mouthed to Ju Zi, “This fellow is so powerful! Even four of us can’t take him down?!”

Ju Zi was a little unconvinced. “That’s because we’re inside the lab. If we were outside, and if we were given enough space, he would have no chance at all.” She didn’t suppress her voice, and intentionally said everything out loud.

Huo Yuhao pretended as if he hadn’t heard anything, and kept at what he was doing.

Ke Ke chimed in and harmonized with Ju Zi. “He’s a soul master. He has an advantage at close-range, but he doesn’t have a chance at a distance. We shall see when we’re on our expeditions, heh!”

Huo Yuhao suddenly straightened his back and stared at Ke Ke.

Ke Ke was taken by surprise and raised her hands to protect herself. She stammered nervously, “What are you doing?”

A mocking smile appeared on Huo Yuhao’s face. “Strength and ability doesn’t come from speech or from the mouth. You might as well spend the time researching or studying soul tools. I can help you if you need guidance or whatnot.”

The oranges on the floor had been swept into his storage-type soul tool at this point. He cleaned up the lab every single day, and it was spick and span in the blink of an eye.

He found a spot to sit down after completing his task, and quietly contemplated some questions for his teacher he had had regarding soul tools while he waited for Xuan Ziwen to come back.