The moment Ji Juechen charged toward Meng Hongchen with unwavering focus, Huo Yuhao had already moved under the cover of his simulated soul skill. Meanwhile, Jing Ziyan, who was ready to support Ji Juechen in swiftly taking down Meng Hongchen, failed to notice anything unusual. Her spiritual awareness remained fixed on the helmeted Huo Yuhao, who—under the effect of simulation—hadn't moved an inch in her field of vision.
But in reality, Huo Yuhao had long since approached her silently. With his current level of spiritual power, his stealth was so refined that even a Soul King like Jing Ziyan would have difficulty detecting it.
Thus, at point-blank range, Huo Yuhao launched a devastating Soul Shock attack. The closer the range, the stronger the effect—Jing Ziyan collapsed into unconsciousness almost immediately. Had this been a direct duel between the two, her exceptional combat sense would have made it much harder to land a hit. But Huo Yuhao's Soul Ancestor level cultivation deceived everyone, luring them into lowering their guard—some even ignored him altogether.
After all, who would ever suspect that a Soul Ancestor could wield spiritual power at the level of a Soul King or even Soul Douluo? Due to the influence of the powers of life and destruction on his spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao's current spiritual strength far exceeded what it had been before. Coupled with the nine-tier mental amplifier helmet, a single Soul Shock was more than enough to take Jing Ziyan down.
The sudden shift on the battlefield stunned every spectator. It all happened in the blink of an eye. What just occurred? Jing Ziyan was knocked out—without a single warning.
Ji Juechen's grip on his Meteoric Iron Sword tightened. Huo Yuhao's strength had clearly surpassed his expectations. Though he had witnessed the Soul Shock technique before, he never imagined it could directly incapacitate a Soul King like Jing Ziyan. Has his spiritual power already reached such terrifying heights?
Ji Juechen didn't respond to Meng Hongchen's teasing remark. Instead, his eyes burned with battle intent, and a fierce sword aura erupted around him, surging across the dueling platform. Both Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen grew serious—this sword fanatic was about to go all out.
Watching from the stands, Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up as she stared at the swordsman gripping the Meteoric Iron Sword. A moment ago, she had been impressed by Huo Yuhao's prowess. Now, she was even more shocked by the monstrous sword aura Ji Juechen emitted. She hadn't expected such a powerful and pure soul master to exist in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, where strong combatants were so rare. Honestly, with strength like his, he would easily rank among the elites at Shrek Academy—if only he weren't slightly older.
What she didn't know was that with a meager innate soul power of rank three and a seemingly useless sword-type martial soul, Ji Juechen never had a chance to enter Shrek Academy. There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters. Perhaps that statement applied only to geniuses like Ji Juechen in the world of Douluo.
Back on the battlefield, Ji Juechen performed a smooth series of actions—lifting his sword, charging power, and launching into a lightning-fast thrust. In the blink of an eye, his speed surpassed even his previous attack as he charged at Meng Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen raised an eyebrow. 'Still targeting me? I'm in full defense mode.'
But she instantly realized something was wrong—it was too late. Ji Juechen's high-speed charge suddenly veered in a sharp, physics-defying turn, ignoring all inertia, and bypassed her to charge directly at Huo Yuhao.
Her expression changed. 'Can Yuhao block that strike?' She could sense from its aura that the blow could injure even a Soul Sage. She hurriedly drew out soul tools from her storage device and fired blasts and beams toward Ji Juechen, trying to stop his charge.
But it was useless. Ji Juechen dodged the beams with uncanny agility, and the slower-moving artillery simply couldn't catch up. Just as Meng Hongchen prepared to assist Huo Yuhao, she caught sight of his calm expression. Trusting her partner like a family member, she halted, instead preparing for Ji Juechen's next move.
Like lightning, Ji Juechen reached Huo Yuhao. Frowning at his stillness, he wondered, What is he doing?
Despite the doubt, he didn't hesitate. A slash so fast it left only an afterimage came down upon Huo Yuhao. It was so fast that even a soul shield couldn't react in time—an unavoidable strike, or so Ji Juechen thought.
In his mind, Huo Yuhao posed a greater threat than Meng Hongchen. He was simply too unpredictable and too resourceful. If he could eliminate Huo Yuhao, dealing with Meng Hongchen would be significantly easier.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao watched Ji Juechen's slash in slow motion. With his helmet-enhanced mental amplification, his spiritual perception could analyze even lightning-fast movements frame by frame. Whether his body could react was another matter, but that didn't matter now.
Huo Yuhao didn't flinch. Feeling the terrifying sword aura approaching, he didn't dodge, nor did he show fear.
When the slash was just thirty centimeters from Huo Yuhao's body, a loud metallic clang rang out across the arena.
Clang!
Ji Juechen's expression changed. His sword had struck something solid—so solid, in fact, that the handle reverberated with the impact. It was like hitting reinforced steel. The Meteoric Iron Sword stopped just a few centimeters from Huo Yuhao's chest.
It was then that everyone saw it. Huo Yuhao's partial mech armor, which he'd hidden all this time, revealed itself. With help from Captain Wang, he had recently modified his Ultimate Ice Armor, reinforcing it with structural upgrades, optical camouflage, and spiritual misdirection. Ji Juechen never noticed the armor underneath Huo Yuhao's helmet—crafted from extreme northern glacial alloy, it was absurdly tough.
Realizing he had been tricked, Ji Juechen tried to pull back and retreat—but it was too late.
From beneath his armored arm, Huo Yuhao revealed the true ace up his sleeve: a massive Ultimate Ice Chainsaw Sword. With a burst of mechanical whirring and the terrifying growl of sawteeth spinning at high speed, the enormous sword descended mercilessly toward Ji Juechen.
Compared to the giant chainsaw sword looming above him, Ji Juechen's figure looked incredibly small.
(End of Chapter)
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