Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 699 The Bitter Feeling of Being Banned for Using Counterfeit Goods (6K)

Even so, the more than thirty soul masters responsible for maintaining the protective shield still had blood spilling from their mouths and noses, and their soul power was overloaded in an instant.

Zheng Zhan, acting as referee, intervened.

Unable to determine who would win, he simply didn't intercept this dreaded duel.

It wasn't until the moment the impact occurred that he truly felt just how terrifying it was.

Even someone as powerful as a Title Douluo had to release his Martial Soul in conjunction with his Soul Guidance Device to barely prevent the powerful shockwave from shattering the Soul Guidance Barrier.

It wasn't until he rushed into the arena that Zheng Zhan could barely see everything on the field.

The massive snow dragon was instantly split in two by Long Aotian's terrifying axe strike, bursting into a shower of icy rain that scattered in all directions.

But Long Aotian's slash was also blasted away at the same moment, and his body was almost torn to pieces.

The terrifying explosion lasted for nearly ten seconds before it finally stopped.

The audience was shocked to see the images re-emerging on the Soul Guidance Screen, and immediately turned their attention to the original competition platform.

In the very center of the competition arena, a huge crater with a diameter of over fifty meters appeared.

The situation was better on the side where the Douluo's defense was unbreakable. The depth of the crater was not visible from below the stage, but the high-ranking officials of the Sun Moon Empire on the distant platform could see it clearly; it was a full five meters deep!

Keep in mind, those were top-quality granite reinforced with steel plates. Just how powerful an impact would that take?

Both Huo Yuhao and Long Aotian have far surpassed Xiao Hongchen, who is at the Soul Saint level, in strength.

Are Soul Masters really stronger than Soul Instructors?

Long Aotian appeared at the very core of the explosion.

He knelt on the ground in the center of the pit, trying to stand up.

Her long, reddish-brown hair was cut into pieces by sharp, curly hair, with the remaining parts sliding down her face.

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, his body was covered with wounds of all sizes, blood was spilling from the corner of his mouth, and he was covered in cold, as if he had been frozen by frost.

The two spirits beside Huo Yuhao vanished instantly after unleashing such a powerful attack. Huo Yuhao's face turned pale. He hadn't even obtained his sixth spirit ring yet. He could barely be considered a Spirit Emperor, but in reality, he was just a Spirit King.

In this state, not only did he forcefully unleash the domains of the Ice and Snow Emperors, but he also merged the two domains and clashed head-on with Long Aotian. Huo Yuhao's soul power reserves, which were far more abundant than those of his peers, were almost instantly depleted.

Both of them were in a rather disheveled state. Long Aotian twitched his finger, and large shards of ice crystals fell to the ground.

Huo Yuhao's face was ashen, wrinkled and unsteady, and he could barely stand, clearly having lost the ability to fight again.

The two were in relatively good condition, but the referee, Zheng Zhan, went to mediate the fight using his Martial Soul True Body. However, he was hit by a full-force attack from these two Soul Douluo-level beings and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Zheng Zhan was inwardly bitter. He was just a mediocre Title Douluo, how could he withstand the torment of two monsters like these?

"Um, um."

Zheng Zhan looked the two of them over and then coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"Are you going to keep fighting? If you do, I'll get a new referee."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of crackling explosions rang out. The protective shield that more than thirty soul masters had worked together to maintain was finally frozen through, shattering into pieces like broken eggshells.

Zheng Zhan's voice also came out at this moment. When the referees in the rest area saw Zheng Zhan's miserable state and heard the chief referee's request to make a substitution, their expressions changed drastically.

Boss, you're a Title Douluo, for goodness' sake. If you can't even withstand the torment of these two monsters, what hope do we Soul Saints and Soul Douluos have? We'll just be treated like toys.

Are we protecting the participants, or are the participants protecting us?

"I'm not fighting anymore. I have no more soul power left, not a single bit. I've lost this time."

Huo Yuhao waved his hand weakly.

Long Aotian shook his body, flinging away the ice shards, and then let out a long breath: "I admit defeat. You came over and stabbed me with your sword just now, I wouldn't have been able to escape."

Just as the two were about to decline, Zheng Zhan cautiously approached them: "Gentlemen, how about you call it a draw? I'm begging you!"

He was truly terrified. If these two gentlemen refused to yield to each other and sat on the Soul Battle Platform to recover their soul power and fight again, he didn't know what their condition would be like, and he certainly wouldn't live to see the end of his life.

Huo Yuhao was both amused and exasperated. He shook hands with Long Aotian, who had stepped forward, and said, "Let's call it a draw then."

A smile flashed across Long Aotian's face: "Then it's a draw. But what were those two you summoned?"

"It's a soul."

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, "It's a method of controlling the soul of a soul beast. Not only can you obtain the soul ring of the other party, but if the other party is willing to form a soul spirit ritual with the soul master, you can also summon the other party to fight."

"This is a closely guarded secret of our Soul Palace. It will be gradually made public after the competition ends. As for the advantages of Soul Spirits, you will all know about them later."

At the end, Huo Yuhao raised his voice slightly, answering many of the audience's questions.

"Soul."

Xu Tianran pondered these two words repeatedly. If the Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire could obtain this technology, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger?

The original combat capabilities of the Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire were somewhat lacking. If they had the help of Soul Spirits, wouldn't they have no weaknesses?

Conversely, if the Sun and Moon Empire fails to acquire this technology and it falls into the hands of the three great empires instead, it might cause many complications.

Xu Tianran looked at Zhongli Wu and asked softly, "Grand Preceptor, what do you think of the soul spirit that Hun Tiancan mentioned?"

Zhongli Wu narrowed his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The vast majority should be true, but there are also some inaccuracies."

"Oh?" A hint of curiosity flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes. "Why do you say that?"

Zhongli Wu said, "This Hun Tiancan keeps saying that only when a soul beast willingly forms a soul spirit ritual with a soul master can the other party be summoned to fight. But how proud is the 100,000-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion King? How could it possibly obediently be driven by someone?"

"Besides, the Soul Palace—just the name itself suggests a force that manipulates souls. How could they not have methods to torture souls?"

Zhongli Wu did not continue speaking, but Xu Tianran already understood what he meant.

"Why."

Xu Tianran let out a soft sigh: "First, there was the cluster of rotorcraft arrays, and then there was the Soul Spirit system that could change the course of Soul Masters' battles. How come these technologies that could change the continent's landscape are not in our Sun Moon Empire?"

"Huo Yuhao, Hun Tiancan, Long Aotian, and other prodigies."

Zhongli Wu smiled slightly: "Your Highness, there's no need to worry. Before long, all of these will belong to us, won't they?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianran's brows relaxed slightly: "Yes, it won't be long before all of these belong to us."

(End of this chapter)