Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 259 A single move unleashes a royal flush (10,000 words per day)

Elder Xuan waved his hand and pointed towards the inner courtyard: "Alright, it's your turn."

The first person to emerge from the inner courtyard was Ma Xiaotao. Perhaps because her fiery temper had been completely tamed, she appeared much calmer than usual.

"Inner Courtyard, Ma Xiaotao, Level 69 Peak, Power Attack Type Battle Soul Emperor."

He can unleash a royal flush with a single move.

Apart from Huo Yuhao, although everyone in the outer courtyard knew of Ma Xiaotao and had heard of her deeds, they were unaware of her specific strength. When they heard that Ma Xiaotao's cultivation was only one step away from becoming a Soul Saint, everyone gasped involuntarily.

Ma Xiaotao's ability to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament means she is not even twenty years old. At such a young age, her cultivation level has already reached the peak of level sixty-nine; this is beyond simply being described as terrifying.

Even Huo Yuhao, the junior brother who would help Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire every now and then, was still somewhat shocked when he heard Ma Xiaotao say that her cultivation level was already at the peak of level 69.

Aside from Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao had only met one other person with such talent: Long Aotian, whom he had met once before. Although Long Aotian was only a few years older than him, he had already obtained his fifth spirit ring several years ago.

Now that they think about it, they're probably already charging towards the Sixth Ring Road, or maybe they've even broken through it.

Following that, the other inner court students also introduced themselves. Dai Yueheng's level 64 cultivation surprised the young soul masters of the outer court. However, everyone noticed that Dai Yueheng was absent-minded. He seemed to have something on his mind. After introducing himself, he stepped back.

Dai Yueheng's thoughts were simple. Half a year had passed since the news of his younger brother's death, and he still couldn't figure out whether his brother was really dead or faked. Being killed by a meteorite was too unbelievable, but a meteor shower did indeed fall in Xingluo City on the night his brother died.

Whether it was the servants in the White Tiger Duke's mansion or his own mother, the Duchess, they all told him with certainty that Dai Huabin was probably dead. But can you use "probably" to prove whether someone is dead or not?

Dai Yueheng thought that this might be a way for his mother and servants to protect Dai Huabin, but why would they keep such a thing from him? Moreover, the news of his younger brother's death was being spread by the citizens of Xingluo City in great detail. He did see the meteorite that fell from the sky when he returned home, but could there really be such a coincidence in the world?

For a time, his younger brother, whose death could neither be confirmed nor disproven, became a mental obsession for Dai Yueheng. The more the Duchess told him that Dai Huabin was dead, the less he believed it, and he sought confirmation everywhere, falling into a vicious cycle.

The level of the next five people was not as exaggerated as that of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, but the Soul King level powerhouses under the age of twenty were still extremely shocking.

"Inner Courtyard, Chen Zifeng, Level 57 Power Attack Type Battle Soul King."

"Inner Courtyard, Xixi, Level 56 Agility-Attack Type Battle Soul King."

"Inner Courtyard, Ling Luochen, Level 55 Control-type Battle Soul King."

"Inner Court, Yao Haoxuan, Level 55, Control and Support Type Battle Soul King."

"Inner Court, Gongyang Mo, Level 59 Support-type Battle Soul King."

For some reason, every time these people came out to introduce themselves, Huo Yuhao's eyebrows would twitch involuntarily, as if he were being summoned by the King of Hell. Even though they were introducing themselves, Huo Yuhao always felt that something was wrong.

Quietly opening a barely perceptible crack in the vertical pupil between his brows, Huo Yuhao attempted for the first time to mobilize the strange and noble power left in his spiritual sea by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

Strands of silk threads connected each person, each a different color. Huo Yuhao didn't know what these threads represented, only that each of his seniors had a gray or black thread attached to them.

Before Huo Yuhao could delve deeper into the mysteries, Elder Xuan interrupted his thoughts once more.

"Alright, you've all gotten to know each other briefly. To help you remember each other better, today's training task is a friendly match."

"Only through battle can we better understand each other's abilities. You won't necessarily only cooperate with your own teammates; I may make substitutions at any time during the match to ensure we can win the final championship."

"Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, you each lead a team. Ma Xiaotao, because of your higher cultivation level, you can only lead two regular team members, but you will have the first choice to select regular and reserve team members. Dai Yueheng, you will lead three regular team members. Then the reserve team members will be selected."

Elder Xuan's words interrupted Huo Yuhao's thoughts, and Huo Yuhao had no choice but to close his vertical pupils again.

None of the people in the inner courtyard found this strange, clearly having grown accustomed to Elder Xuan's way of doing things.

Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng walked out separately, keeping a certain distance between each other.

"I want Gongyang Mo as a starting player."

Ma Xiaotao's choice did not surprise anyone. Gongyang Mo, as a support-type Soul Master, had a Soul Power level as high as level 59, making him an absolute hot commodity in the team.

"I want Yuhao as a reserve player."

Ma Xiaotao turned her head and called Huo Yuhao over as well.

Although Ma Xiaotao called out Huo Yuhao's name, her eyes were always on Wang Dong. When she called out to him, she deliberately swallowed a word and only called out "Yuhao".

As expected, Ma Xiaotao's slightly affectionate address made Wang Dong's fair face flush slightly, but he immediately lowered his head after meeting Ma Xiaotao's fearless gaze.

After teasing Wang Dong, Ma Xiaotao felt much better and raised her chin at Dai Yueheng in a somewhat provocative manner, "Your turn."

Dai Yueheng was clearly not interested in this, and said in a deep voice, "Chen Zifeng and Xu Sanshi."

Ma Xiaotao immediately made another choice: "Ling Luochen, He Caitou."

Are they trying to bolster their team's firepower?

A knowing look flashed in Dai Yueheng's eyes. Although he had been somewhat distracted by his younger brother's troubles lately, he could still concentrate on important matters; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cultivate to level sixty-four so smoothly.

Dai Yueheng said, "Xixi, Yao Haoxuan."

He can choose three regular team members. Adding an extra Soul King significantly weakens the team, especially since everyone is already an inner court student of Shrek Academy.

This is why Dai Yueheng immediately understood Ma Xiaotao's tactical intentions after she chose He Caitou; the lack of high-level combat power can indeed be compensated for to a certain extent by relying on soul tools.

Soon, the players for both teams were all in place.

(End of this chapter)