Douluo Continent: Huo Yuhao obtains the Flame Emperor template

Chapter 76 The Grim Reaper is Breaking Through to Soul King

Listening to Nana's rather aloof and mature voice, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment. Perhaps this time he didn't do what Huo Yuhao did in the original story... take away her soul and train her or something.

She had never demonstrated any necromancy abilities, so when facing Huo Yuhao, Nana acted like a cool and aloof senior.

I didn't feel much pressure; I just thought of him as a junior student with good talent.

Huo Yuhao pursed his lips, turned his head to look at Nana, wanting to ask her something, when he suddenly realized that Nana was half a head taller than him, walking beside him with her long, fleshy legs, and Huo Yuhao actually had to look up at her.

He did indeed suffer from malnutrition during his childhood at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, but during the months of his birth, his diet improved dramatically, and he ate well at every meal at Mingde Hall.

Thanks to the precious ingredients he had been nourished at Mingdetang for the past few months, and the addition of the ten-thousand-year-old whale glue, Huo Yuhao's physical condition had improved, and at the age of eleven, he was already nearly 1.7 meters tall.

However, Nana's height was due to the characteristics of her martial soul, coupled with her naturally tall figure, making her appear exceptionally tall and visually appealing, the kind of person who could easily inspire him to want to cling to her.

Even if girls generally develop their bodies much earlier than boys, it shouldn't be this exaggerated.

Nana's eyes flickered slightly, as if she had realized that she was much taller than Huo Yuhao.

Her long, straight legs were slightly bent as she turned her head to look at Huo Yuhao, her eyes lowered slightly as she softly asked, "Junior Brother Yuhao, what do you want to ask?"

Huo Yuhao blinked, a hint of doubt on his face suggesting he'd investigated the matter: "Senior Nana, I just started studying in the Soul Guidance Class of the Real Control Department, and you're already asking me to team up? Do you think I'm stronger than the other students?"

Nana smiled softly: "You've only been at school for less than a semester, and you've already broken Xiao Hongchen's record for becoming a Level 2 Soul Master the fastest, which has already caused a huge stir on campus."

"It shouldn't be surprising that I came to you, Junior Yuhao."

Nana had naturally been paying attention to Huo Yuhao, a minor celebrity within the academy, and his character illustrations frequently appeared in the top three of the creative rankings.

Her noble appearance in the character illustration, coupled with her somewhat thin and frail body, makes her the type that wealthy young women would be tempted to take care of.

Although Nana is not a rich woman, and even needs to carefully budget her daily expenses, she never misses a day of free voting and ranking.

Today I discovered that this suddenly appearing genius junior had transferred to her class, and my secret joy has never stopped.

Huo Yuhao raised his eyes, silently gazed at Nana, and slowly said something.

"Senior Nana, you should know that all those praises are actually a way of flattering me. Brother Xiao is the greatest genius in a thousand years. I don't want to compete with him, nor do I have any intention of taking that title."

Upon hearing this, Nana subconsciously glanced down at Huo Yuhao and was immediately captivated by his bright and intelligent eyes, and couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

Hmph, her skin is even whiter than a girl's, and her eyes are so beautiful. She looks so pitiful, I could kick two of them away with one leg. No wonder that rich woman Meng Hongchen took a liking to her.

The other female students in the class who had been quietly supporting Huo Yuhao were thinking of talking to him, hoping they could team up for a competition together.

Nana noticed these gazes, pulled Huo Yuhao closer to her, and with an expression that said "I've already made my reservation," she persuaded the female students to leave.

Half an hour later, Xu Sheng led all the students under the age of fifteen from the Real Control Department to the training ground.

At this moment, more than a hundred people had gathered in the Soul Guidance Device Trial Grounds, all of whom were students with good talent from grades one to five.

Lin Jiayi's loud voice came through the soul tool, ensuring that every student could hear: "Please keep quiet. Next, we will be holding the selection competition for reserve team members of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament."

"All students under the age of fifteen from grades one to five can participate. The entire selection process will be a free-for-all."

"Students in the same grade can form their own teams, but the number of people in a team cannot exceed four. Students from the top teams will have a chance to be selected as reserve team members."

Xiao Hongchen, Huo Yuhao, and Meng Hongchen were actually already decided internally, leaving only four spots for the other trainees.

However, this situation is quite good. You should know that Jing Hongchen did not initially plan to conduct selections in the lower grades; having his two grandchildren was enough.

It was because of Huo Yuhao's appearance that this selection competition was specially organized.

Lin Jiayi then led all the students to the center of the Soul Tool Trial Grounds, where a large arena was set up for various competitions.

Lin Jiayi looked at the group of students: "Now, everyone, enter the central trial area and check your soul guidance equipment in advance."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the students sprang into action.

The age limit of under fifteen resulted in very few fifth-grade students, with only the Hongchen siblings standing out.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy divides grades according to Soul Master levels. Those who can reach the fourth or fifth level Soul Master by the age of fifteen are already considered to be exceptionally talented students, and they are few and far between.

Most of the students participating in the selection competition were third- or fourth-year students.

As Nana and Huo Yuhao entered the Soul Tool Trial Grounds, Nana's face couldn't help but show a hint of sadness and urgency when she thought of her parents' souls still imprisoned by the Holy Spirit Cult. She longed to become a reserve member to receive preferential treatment in resources and quickly enhance her strength.

"Junior Yuhao, let's go straight to the middle of the field and stop lingering on the edge. Whoever provokes us, we'll beat them up."

Huo Yuhao nodded and readily agreed: "Yes, no problem."

With his current overall strength, there's nothing to worry about. He defeated Chen Fei when sparring with the regular team members, so beating these students will be a piece of cake.

On the other edge of the field, in the line of a fifth-grade class.

Meng Hongchen pouted and complained, "I don't know what Grandpa was thinking. Xiao, Yuhao, and I, the three of us, have already been decided internally, so what's the point of participating in the selection competition...?"

"Instead of wasting this time, Yuhao and I would rather practice our Martial Soul Fusion Techniques more."

Xiao Hongchen smiled and said, "Meng is a genius that our empire has seen once in a thousand years, and everyone agrees on that."

"However, some students were not familiar with Yuhao, so his grandfather held this selection competition to choose other reserve team members while enhancing his credibility."

This is what Xiao Hongchen understands as meaning: he wants all the trainees to know that Huo Yuhao's status as a reserve team member is due to selection.

It wasn't, as some trainees imagined, that he obtained a spot as a reserve team member through some shady, sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship with Miss Meng.

Lin Jiayi deployed his flying soul tool and arrived above the field: "I'll give you ten minutes to prepare. The selection will officially begin in ten minutes."

He took out a rectangular soul tool and pressed it. A soul tool screen was projected high in the sky directly in front of the arena, and a countdown began on it.

"All trainees, give it your all. We will arrange for ten level-eight soul masters from Mingde Hall to guard the area around the soul tool trial grounds and observe your battle situation at all times."

"If I sense an attack that could endanger my life, I will take immediate action to protect myself."

Sending so many level-eight soul masters to ensure the selection proceeds smoothly is already a considerable undertaking.

It should be noted that each level eight Soul Master has already reached the level of a Soul Douluo in terms of Soul Power cultivation. Ten of them would be a force that cannot be ignored by any faction.

Even the Royal Academy of the Three Kingdoms in the Douluo Continent, and Shrek Academy, only had an upper limit of level eight Soul Guidance Masters in the field of Soul Guidance Devices.

Of course, it was worthwhile for these ten level-eight Soul Masters to suspend their research and Soul Tool production for the day in order to maintain the selection competition.

After all, all the students in the arena are potential talents of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, and any accident that occurs to any of them would be a huge loss to the school.

As the ten-minute countdown began, Lin Jiayi flew to the high platform in front of the venue.

Jing Hongchen surveyed the trial grounds below from the high platform, seemingly searching for something. Upon seeing her three most beloved children, she couldn't help but smile.

"Master, what about Princess Xu Tianzhen... What did Elder Kong say? Will she participate in this selection competition?" Lin Jiayi asked with a slight frown.

Jing Hongchen chuckled: "No need to worry too much. Elder Kong said that the princess will not be allowed to participate as a reserve team member. In the Soul Master Competition five years from now, we can consider letting the princess participate as a formal team member."

Lin Jiayi nodded slightly: "That's good. The reserve team has Xiao, Meng and Yuhao, and when combined with the students we selected, the lineup is already quite impressive."

Inside the training grounds, students are searching for teammates to form groups and discussing tactics.

Some of the artillery spirit masters arm themselves with numerous metal cannon barrels installed all over their bodies.

In a line of fourth-grade students, a student exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, did you see that? Hao-ge is in that team. Let's go and talk to him."

"Brother Hao!?"

Another student followed and was greatly disappointed: "Oh, so you're talking about this Hao Ge... Zhou Xinghao..."

"I thought it was Huo Yuhao, who's even more twisted than Xiao Hongchen."

He looked at the chubby contestant named Zhou Xinghao and felt extremely disappointed. There was a huge gap between the two of them.

Zhou Xinghao finished setting up his metal soul-guided cannon base, rubbing his hands together and clenching his fists: "Haha, the time has finally come for me to show my skills. I'll show you the power of the second-best cannon in the Sun and Moon Realm later."

"Who is the number one cannon king?" a student next to him asked curiously.

"Xiao Hongchen. As long as Xiao Hongchen doesn't make a move, I, Zhou Xinghao, am invincible among my peers."

Zhou Xinghao was full of fighting spirit: "From now on, everyone should call me Brother Hao."

"Little Zhou, do you know if there's a guy in our academy named Huo Yuhao, Brother Hao?"

Zhou Xinghao was taken aback, then said somewhat smugly, "You mean that little scientist on the creativity list who likes to do research? No way, his practical skills might not be as good as mine. When we meet later, he might even have to be afraid of me."

"I think... Brother Hao shouldn't be afraid of you."

All the students in the trial field formed teams of two or three and began to discuss their tactics and strategies for the upcoming selection process.

Zhou Xinghao looked at his teammate Lan Xiu and chuckled, asking, "Brother Lan Xiu, what's your opinion on how we should play? Should we use overwhelming firepower or tactical flanking maneuvers?"

The student known as Lan Xiu thought for a moment and said, "We can wander around the edge of the arena and observe. Although in this kind of melee, it's inevitable that someone will attack us, we should try to avoid fighting and conserve our soul power."

Zhou Xinghao nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. When everyone's soul power is almost exhausted, it will be my turn, Zhou Xinghao, to make my move and wreak havoc."

The vast majority of the lower-grade students chose to stay on the edge of the field and develop their skills cautiously, trying not to be targeted by the fifth-grade students.

At the edge of the training ground, Xiao Hongchen crossed his arms and laughed heartily, "Meng, we'll start from here and bombard the other side with artillery fire all the way."

Meng Hongchen stood on tiptoe, her gaze fixed on the arena: "I wonder where Yuhao is..."

"Don't worry, Meng. With my soul-guided turrets pushing forward, I'll eventually find Yuhao."

In the middle of the training ground, Huo Yuhao and Nana chose a spot that caught their eye.

"Yuhao, could you give me a brief introduction to the abilities of a martial soul? It would help us coordinate better during the match."

"Spirit-based Martial Soul, Spirit Eye."

"Psychic type? Then you probably aren't very good at close combat."

"It's alright."

As the selection competition began, Huo Yuhao was considering whether he should create a Buddha's Fury Lotus in advance to show these Soul Masters what explosive aesthetics were all about, and also to give a brief demonstration of his close combat skills.

……

In a secluded cave in the central part of the Mingdou Mountains.

"Hehehe, this is truly heaven's help! This envoy has finally broken through to the Soul King realm."

A man dressed in a black robe, exuding a chilling aura, smiled sinisterly, clearly a person deeply rooted in evil.

"After refining a few more corpse slaves, we should cross the Mingdou Mountains and go to the Xingluo-controlled area on the other side of the mountains to pull off a big heist."

At this moment, a scarred man with a ferocious and ugly face entered the cave. He first congratulated him respectfully on breaking through to the Soul King level, and then said in a deep voice, "Boss, the next Soul Master Competition will be held in Xingluo."

"The side of the Mingdou Mountains closest to Xingluo must be under extremely strict military control. Why don't we intercept passing caravans here?"

The Grim Reaper sneered, "They're just a bunch of insects. How many times has Star Luo sent troops to try and wipe out our Death Hand Bandit Group? They've all returned empty-handed."

The scarred man said with a worried expression, "But if Star Luo holds a Soul Master Competition, Shrek Academy will definitely participate as well."

"As is customary, Shrek Academy will send an inspection team to conduct a powerful operation to wipe out bandit groups like ours."

"If we are unable to return to the Sun and Moon in time, we may be doomed."

The Grim Reaper grinned, revealing a sinister smile: "The Shrek Inspection Team? A bunch of good-for-nothings, daring to deliver themselves to my doorstep. I'll make them taste the agony of exploding corpses, heh..."

(End of this chapter)