However, there was still one more thing—creating a self-invented soul skill usually required an immense amount of time before any results could be seen. This process inevitably had a huge impact on one's own cultivation, which was also the main reason many soul masters chose not to attempt it.
Not to mention whether there would be any success—not everyone had the comprehension to create their own techniques. Most attempts ended in failure.
Moreover, most people thought: with that much time, why not just focus on cultivation and increase one's soul power? Wouldn't it be better to hunt a higher-level soul beast directly?
Dai Huabin completely put away his condescension. Leaving aside the fact that the boy across from him now had strength equal to his own thanks to a self-created skill, there was another key point—Huo Yuhao was only at Rank 29. Considering if he hadn't spent time researching soul skills, he'd probably already be a Rank 30 Soul Elder like himself.
Their previous clash had ended in a tie, and the arena had fallen into an unnaturally quiet state. Logically, the match had already begun, yet other than Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin, none of the others had made a move.
Huo Yuhao turned to check and saw that Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu were still standing in place, motionless. Upon closer inspection, their eyes were vacant, and they appeared very abnormal.
Turning back, Huo Yuhao looked toward Dai Huabin's trio. Dai Huabin's White Tiger Martial Soul was of the power attack type, Zhu Lu's Ghost Shadow Cat Martial Soul leaned toward agility attacks. These two martial souls were well-known in the Star Luo Empire—Huo Yuhao, being from the Dai family himself, naturally knew of them. But his gaze ultimately landed on the girl with pink wavy hair standing beside Dai Huabin.
That girl had a graceful figure, delicate features, and captivating eyes. Her pink, wavy hair cascaded freely around her shoulders, exuding a youthful aura.
Her name was Cui Yajie, a Rank 20 Soul Grandmaster, with the Enchanting Fox Martial Soul, which combined both agility and spiritual attributes. Judging by the situation, Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu's strange state was undoubtedly caused by her. While Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were powerful, they couldn't possibly subdue two people in an instant. But Cui Yajie was different. The mental-type ability of her Enchanting Fox Martial Soul countered Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu perfectly.
Like many soul masters, Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu were proficient in attack and defense, but when it came to spiritual-type abilities, they were sorely lacking. If they had encountered someone like Huo Yuhao, who specialized in spiritual power, it would've been even more dangerous.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao had noticed her, Cui Yajie smiled faintly. Her lips curled into a charming arc and her eyes sparkled with allure. It had to be said, she was truly stunning—of all the girls Huo Yuhao had met, only Jiang Nan Nan could outshine her. The Enchanting Fox Martial Soul came with its own charm technique, and paired with her natural beauty, every move she made exuded irresistible seduction.
Her first soul ring continued to glow, and it was precisely due to her sustained output of soul power that she had managed to keep Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu in their dazed state for so long. Otherwise, they'd have snapped out of it already.
"Hmph!"Huo Yuhao let out a cold snort. He felt an illusory mental force affecting him. He hadn't expected Cui Yajie to try using the same trick on someone whose soul power was purely spiritual in nature. Wasn't that just brandishing a broadsword in front of Guan Yu?
"It's only polite to return the favor. Take this!"
The next moment, Huo Yuhao launched a counterattack. A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes. After emerging, it quickly condensed and compressed, forming a strand of golden thread, as fine as a hair. It shot straight toward Cui Yajie.
Soul Shock—this was a self-created soul skill by Huo Yuhao, formed by compressing his own spiritual power. It had a similar effect to the Soul Shock that Skydream Iceworm had bestowed upon him. However, compared to the version granted by a soul ring, his own was more energy-efficient and precise—focusing on one point to pierce through the surface. It required excellent control to execute.
The golden thread was so thin it was nearly invisible and didn't seem particularly threatening. But after their last exchange, Dai Huabin had learned his lesson and became very cautious.
"White Tiger Light Wave!"
A pale white beam shot toward the golden thread. Dai Huabin didn't understand its nature, but he wasn't about to pit his body against this strange technique, so he launched another White Tiger Light Wave to intercept it.
On one side, a beam as thick as an arm; on the other, a thread fine as a needle. The attacks were drastically mismatched in appearance, and anyone would think the golden thread would be destroyed instantly.
But instead, there was no confrontation—no explosive energy clash as expected. The golden thread passed through the white beam as if they were in separate dimensions, completely unaffected.
The White Tiger Light Wave shot straight toward Huo Yuhao, while the golden thread continued directly toward Cui Yajie.
"Oh no!"Dai Huabin cursed inwardly. Only now did he realize Huo Yuhao's real target. Cui Yajie also turned pale with fright. Unlike Dai Huabin, her spiritually-attuned Martial Soul allowed her to sense the true nature of the golden thread—it was a spiritual attack. She had a bad feeling. If she got hit, she definitely wouldn't walk away unscathed. She figured Huo Yuhao dared to strike so recklessly only because of the referee's protection.
Unfortunately, having continuously activated her first soul skill had drained a lot of her power. She had no energy left to defend herself. Her teammates were in no position to help—Dai Huabin's last attack had been useless, and Zhu Lu had already dashed off, taking advantage of Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu being incapacitated. She was just about to strike and couldn't possibly return in time.
Back to Huo Yuhao, the White Tiger Light Wave missed, but its power didn't dissipate. It kept charging forward. Unlike Cui Yajie, Huo Yuhao had been prepared for this. A Spiral Orb had already formed in his palm.
In their renewed clash, White Tiger Light Wave and Spiral Orb collided, ending in another draw. Neither gained the upper hand.
But Dai Huabin's expression had darkened to the point it could drip water. Cui Yajie, unable to withstand the Soul Shock, had been rescued by the referee and taken off the field.
Huo Yuhao frowned. If the referee hadn't intervened, he was confident that last attack would've wounded Cui Yajie. Had she been injured, her soul skill would've collapsed instantly, and Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyu would have recovered immediately—instead of having to wait for the effect to wear off.
But the opposing team wasn't in great shape either. While Cui Yajie's soul skill was still active, Zhu Lu had already engaged Xiao Xiao, who remained under the soul skill's effect and couldn't fight back. However, Zhu Lu was at least honorable—she retracted her claws just as they touched Xiao Xiao's neck, refraining from a sneak attack.
The referee took the hint and, with a wave, wrapped Xiao Xiao in a surge of soul power and floated her out of the arena.
It wasn't until then that Dong Xinyu slowly came to. The moment she regained awareness, she saw Zhu Lu rushing toward her. She also noticed that Xiao Xiao and Cui Yajie were now outside the arena. But there was no time to think—Zhu Lu's attacks rained down like a tidal wave.
Dong Xinyu did everything she could to fend off the barrage, but she was quickly overwhelmed. Her raw strength had always been inferior to Zhu Lu's, and now she'd lost the initiative. The tide was turning fast.
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