Chapter 30.3: The Finals
The instant that Huo Yuhao made his move, Xiao Xiao activated her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. The black cauldron flew towards Huo Yuhao, suddenly dropping to the ground just as Zhu Lu was about to reach him.
Zhu Lu was extremely quick, thus she was able to quickly evade. However, the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron suddenly split in three to form a straight line in front of her. Xiao Xiao then activated her first soul skill, Cauldron Quake.
Amidst the thunderous booms, the quaking ripples emanated from Xiao Xiao’s Threelives Soulcrush Cauldrons formed a protective barrier in front of Huo Yuhao. Although Zhu Lu was quick, she wasn’t able to dodge all three cauldrons in such a brief moment. When Xiao Xiao had released her soul skill, she knew that she was screwed. Thus, she’d instantly stopped the soul skill she’d just activated and had turned to the side, narrowly dodging the quaking ripples from Xiao Xiao’s Cauldron Quake.
At the same time, another intense boom rang out. With a muffled groan, Wang Dong landed beside Huo Yuhao.
He’d suffered a loss after trying to block Dai Huabin’s second soul skill—the White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave—with his Guillotine Wing, causing an unstable light to flicker around his wings as they shook. In addition, a trace of blood began leaked out of his mouth and nose.
The gap in their soul power’s strength had immediately been revealed.
Once Dai Huabin had obtained an advantage, he wouldn’t give it up easily. He quickly shot forwards, a savage glint in his eyes. On the other hand, the crafty Cui Yajie rapidly hid behind him, so as to dodge Huo Yuhao’s attacks.
Dai Huabin was a bold person, but he had a plentiful amount of combat experience; he was much more experienced than Huo Yuhao’s trio at least. The instant his body shot forward, his first soul ring lit up, causing a layer of white light to surround his entire body, especially his head. He was clearly guarding against Huo Yuhao. This was his first soul skill—White Tiger’s Shield. Not only did it have an extremely powerful defense, it also increased his combat strength,
Both parties had already been close to one another, and this clash only brought them even closer. Dai Huabin pounced towards Wang Dong, landed in front of him, and swatted at him with his claw.
On the other side, Zhu Lu’s body flashed as she fought against the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron. She was simply too fast however, as Xiao Xiao needed 120% of her focus to block her with the Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron—even with the speed-inhibiting effect of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection. If Zhu Lu hadn’t been suppressed by a combination of so many factors, she would’ve been able to approach Huo Yuhao and attack him.
Wang Dong had already suffered a loss during his first clash with Dai Huabin, who had now approached him again. It was clear who held the upper hand.
They were both Assault System Battle Soul Masters, but they specialised in different areas. Wang Dong’s Radiant Butterfly Goddess had extremely strong energy-type attacks like the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, but the White Tiger had always been good at close-combat attacks. As a result of this, Dai Huabin would have the upper hand in a close-range fight like this.
Dai Huabin was astonished by the fact that Wang Dong hadn’t activated his second soul skill yet. After landing on the ground stably, Wang Dong still continued to meet Dai Huabin’s claw with his Guillotine Wing.
Dai Huabin snorted coldly and forcefully grabbed ahold of Wang Dong’s wings with his claws, completely ignoring their sharp edges. He wanted to rely on his own strength to crush Wang Dong’s martial soul. From this, his amount of self-confidence could be seen.
The moment before his claw touched Wang Dong’s wing, Dai Huabin suddenly felt a sense of crisis in his heart. He suddenly discovered something different about Wang Dong’s Guillotine Wing. Previously, Wang Dong’s blue wings had been outlined with a golden edge. Now, however, a faint layer of orange had on top of that golden edge.
That’s not right. As a result of Dai Huabin’s vast combat experience, he was able to react the instant he sensed that something was wrong. He forcefully stopped his claw, then stamped on the ground with his right foot. This forcefully changed the trajectory of his charge, allowing him to dodge to the side. At the same time, he activated his White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave again, launching it towards Wang Dong as he dodged to the side.
However, the situation this time had completely changed. The instant that Dai Huabin had changed directions, Wang Dong hadn’t chased after him. Instead, he’d unfurled his wings and flown up into the air. He then landed on Huo Yuhao’s shoulders, allowing him to dodge Dai Huabin’s White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave’s bombardment.
With Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection, Wang Dong’s grasp of the battlefield was extremely accurate. As a result of his rushed attack, Dai Huabin hadn’t been able to lock onto Wang Dong. Thus, Wang Dong had been able to dodge his White Tiger’s Fierce Light Wave. On the other hand, the change in Dai Huabin’s movements had exposed Cui Yajie, who had been hiding behind him.
Cui Yajie was completely stupefied when she saw the golden streaks appear on Wang Dong’s wings. Only after the battle had reached its current stage, had Wang Dong finally revealed his second soul skill, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.
This was the art of war. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong both knew that it was an impossible task to defeat Dai Huabin within such a short period of time. As a result of this, Cui Yajie had been their target since the very beginning. They hadn’t even hesitated to expose a weak point in their formation by allowing Wang Dong to take on Dai Huabin without the assistance of their Haodong Power. All of this had been done to temporarily distract Dai Huabin.
Although Dai Huabin had a vast amount of combat experience, he was still a twelve-year-old child. How many calculations could he perform in an instant? On the other hand, Huo Yuhao’s way of fighting entirely relied on the predictive nature of his Spiritual Detection. He didn’t even need to tell Wang Dong anything; he could basically direct Wang Dong just by continuously changing the focal points of his Spiritual Detection. This was a type of mutual understanding that the two had gradually formed after the many matches they’d fought together.
Cui Yajie was only a Soul Grandmaster, and as such, she definitely wouldn’t be able to block the Light of the Butterfly Goddess that had been activated by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Haodong Power. However, at that moment, she revealed her vicious side.
As the Light of the Butterfly Goddess shot towards her, it was basically impossible for her to dodge it. On the other hand, Dai Huabin had pounced to the side and wasn’t able to rescue her. However, she didn’t retreat, sidestep, or reveal a flustered expression. In that instant, her second soul ring lit up. She swiftly swung her body, causing both of her pink tails to fly outwards. However, she didn’t target Wang Dong, but instead Huo Yuhao, who was beneath him. Her tails flew straight towards Huo Yuhao’s chest.
One shouldn’t assume that she had a large, soft tail. This wasn’t fur, but an attack filled with the might of Cui Yajie’s second soul skill.
Huo Yuhao was able to clearly sense the terrifying amount of soul power contained within Cui Yajie’s two tails from his Spiritual Detection. Her soul power hadn’t simply been condensed; it had been focused into the very tip of her tail, just like a needle. If he were struck by it, he’d definitely die.
This was Cui Yajie’s second soul skill, Foxtail Needle.
One who knows both his and their enemy’s strength is sure to be invincible in battle. Although Huo Yuhao’s trio didn’t completely understand the comprehensive strength of their opponents, they were definitely able to predict their every move with Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection. However, the understanding Dai Huabin’s trio had of their team was limited by their previous performances.