Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 456 Ji Juechen, Who Repays Kindness with Enmity (Daily Ten Thousand Words)

"Ji Juechen, it's hard for me not to interpret your behavior as repaying kindness with enmity."

Inside the dormitory, Huo Yuhao, who had changed into his pajamas and was unusually planning to take a day off, looked at Ji Juechen with a displeased expression.

When Huo Yuhao questioned him, Ji Juechen displayed his characteristic deadpan expression—ignoring him completely and refusing to listen.

"Alright, you can come in first."

Huo Yuhao could only sigh as he looked at Ji Juechen's expressionless face.

Two people followed behind Ji Juechen. One of them was Jing Ziyan, who was always by Ji Juechen's side. As for the other person, Huo Yuhao did not recognize her. She had long dark red hair and wore a yellow school uniform, which gave her a rather heroic and dashing appearance.

Huo Yuhao's dormitory was not small, and there were several chairs. Huo Yuhao gestured for the others to sit wherever they wanted, and then he plopped down on the bed.

"You mean, after our fight, you went into deep meditation for almost six months, then spent another two weeks adjusting your breathing, and only recovered a few days ago, before coming to find me with your people?"

"I have money."

Even Ji Juechen's usually expressionless face showed a hint of unease.

Upon hearing Ji Juechen's blunt statement, Huo Yuhao could only cover his head.

"Alright, I understand that Jing Ziyan wants to fight me. Maybe she can gain some insights from it. I also have no objection to you wanting to fight me again, but what about the person behind you?"

Huo Yuhao frowned.

"This is Nana, a Soul Master who uses a close-combat Soul Tool. I've sparred with her before, and she's quite strong. She also wants to become stronger, and I owe her a favor."

It was rare for Ji Juechen to utter more than ten words in a single sentence. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down, as saying so much at once almost suffocated him.

"Have you considered that, in principle, you already owe me a favor, and to repay that favor, you'll have to owe me another one?"

Huo Yuhao scratched his head.

Ji Juechen took out several gold soul coin cards from his storage soul tool, and after thinking for a moment, he also took out the loose gold and silver coins from his storage soul tool and pushed them towards Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao was both amused and exasperated by Ji Juechen's reaction.

"Forget it, whether you're herding one sheep or a flock, it's all the same. Perfect timing. I also want to see what you've learned in the last six months. Let's go to the dedicated battle arena. We'll have to pay for any damage to the training area."

Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's confirmation, both Jing Ziyan and Nana's eyes lit up with joy, especially Nana, whose worries had almost disappeared.

Huo Yuhao glanced at the other person; it seemed there was some sorrow hidden in the other person's eyes.

It seems that this person is different from Ji Juechen. Ji Juechen simply wants to comprehend the highest realm of swordsmanship and wants to become stronger for the sake of becoming stronger. On the other hand, this girl named Nana seems to have a reason to become stronger.

Walking along the road, Huo Yuhao chatted with Jing Ziyan and learned the whole story.

During Ji Juechen's deep meditation, Jing Ziyan stayed with him almost the entire time. Later, after sparring with Ji Juechen, she realized that the gap between them had widened, and she was almost powerless to fight back.

Therefore, Jing Ziyan hoped to spar with Huo Yuhao and gain some insights. Nana, after hearing what Jing Ziyan said and learning about Huo Yuhao's existence, immediately approached Ji Juechen, hoping that he could introduce her to Huo Yuhao.

"So that's how it is."

Huo Yuhao nodded. Luckily, he asked Jing Ziyan, who explained it to him in just a few words. If it had been Ji Juechen, he probably wouldn't have been able to explain it all day.

"My sword intent has changed; let's spar with each other's sword intent."

Ji Juechen remained as sparing with his words as ever.

Huo Yuhao glanced at Ji Juechen and said with amusement, "You're not sparring because you've lost your weapon, are you?"

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao turned his head to glance at the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash behind him.

Ji Juechen looked at the large katana on Huo Yuhao's back with a hint of longing in his eyes, but still shook his head: "It has nothing to do with the weapon. A kitchen knife will do too. My martial spirit is a non-physical sword that can be integrated into any weapon."

Huo Yuhao silently gave Ji Juechen a thumbs up; this kind of martial soul was really useful.

Ji Juechen could see through Huo Yuhao's disguise at a glance, and Huo Yuhao could naturally sense what Ji Juechen was thinking. He took the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash from his back and handed it to Ji Juechen.

Ji Juechen took the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash that Huo Yuhao handed him with both hands, stroking the wild katana as if it were a precious treasure.

"A fine knife."

Huo Yuhao simply smiled at this. For a true expert in weaponry, these two words were far more valuable than a long string of compliments from an outsider.

The Wind Mantis Shadow Slash was designed and made by himself, combining the dragon-patterned longsword in Ashina Isshin's hand and the giant katana Mask Shadow of his adoptive father. A true connoisseur could see its extraordinary qualities at a glance.

Ji Juechen wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words back. He just looked at the Shrek Academy symbol on the sword sheath with some longing.

"Come on, let me see the results of your six months of deep meditation. It's also a good opportunity for me to integrate some of the skills I've learned."

On the Soul Battle Stage, Huo Yuhao slowly took down the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash from his back. This time, Huo Yuhao's posture was not to hold the sword in his hand, but to quietly draw the sword and point it at the ground.

Ji Juechen also took out his weapon, a watermelon knife he bought from a fruit stand for one gold soul coin.

Their eyes met, and almost simultaneously, they leaped up and retreated.

Neither of them made a move immediately; instead, they stood facing each other from a distance of about ten meters.

An invisible pressure began to permeate the trial area.

Ji Juechen gripped the sword with both hands, and six perfectly matched spirit rings appeared.

An incomparably sharp aura burst forth from him almost instantly.

Huo Yuhao held the sword in both hands, in the starting stance of the One-Character Slash.

Yellow, purple, black, and black—four completely unreasonable spirit rings slowly emerged from beneath his feet.

A faint rumbling sound emanated from within his body, and booming sounds like war drums echoed throughout the trial area—the sound of surging blood energy within Huo Yuhao's body.

An aura of pure killing intent permeated his body, swirling around the blade of the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash, vibrating and humming softly.

Neither of them moved, but their two completely different yet equally sharp auras had already begun to clash invisibly.

Jing Ziyan and Nana, who were in the distance, looked at the Soul Arena area in shock. Nana, in particular, had heard Jing Ziyan and Ji Juechen talk about Huo Yuhao’s strength, but she still couldn’t believe that a four-ring Soul Master could defeat Ji Juechen, a six-ring Soul Emperor who had once defeated a seven-level Soul Master.

However, looking at the terrifying array of spirit rings beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, Nana couldn't help but suddenly believe it a little.

(End of this chapter)