Chapter 34: The Evil Phantom Moon

Unsurprisingly, Huo Yuhao and his team advanced into the knockout stage without a single hurdle. In terms of win rates alone, only seven other groups among all the freshmen maintained a perfect record like theirs.

Along the way, they hadn't truly encountered a single opponent capable of putting up a real fight.

"The knockout stage will be arranged randomly as follows."

Du Weilun, making his first appearance at the freshman tournament, read from the list. Before finishing, he added a note for everyone: "Although there are no second chances in this round, the observing teachers will still note your performance. Even if you lose, there is still a possibility of being selected for specialized training."

"So—fight with all your might!"

Round of 64 to 32.
Three two-ring soul masters with nearly perfect coordination.
Instant victory.

Round of 32 to 16.
"Freshman Class 2, Xie Huanyue!"

The tall, round, chubby boy winked and grinned at Huo Yuhao. His jovial expression somehow reminded him of Tianmeng, who was equally rotund.

Of course, what caught Huo Yuhao’s attention most were the three soul rings rising from Xie Huanyue, as well as two brothers whose soul power fluctuations were even greater than Wang Dong’s.

One three-ring master, plus two powerful two-ring agility-type soul masters.
The two standing behind Huo Yuhao couldn't help but twitch...
Were they just incredibly unlucky?
They had encountered a three-ring team as early as the second round.

Among the freshmen, there were only three such luxuriously configured teams, all composed of "special admissions" carefully hidden by their respective homeroom teachers, kept back specifically to be unleashed during the freshman assessment to dominate the other classes.
Winning the championship meant a promotion and a raise were just around the corner.

"The two of you, step aside."
Huo Yuhao let out a long breath, examining his opponents with a rare seriousness during the assessment: "I have to fight this round alone."

That fatty across from him actually possessed mental resistance!
Moreover, it wasn't due to any mental attribute, but a trait inherent to his martial soul. Even just standing there, Xie Huanyue’s body was shrouded in a thin layer of resistance, intercepting the mental detection Huo Yuhao projected.

"No way! We've watched from the sidelines the whole way; how can we let you face such a strong enemy alone now!"
"Right! Even if we lose, the three of us will lose together. We will never leave you behind!"

The two became instantly agitated, their eyes showing a hint of determination. They were sworn to stand with him through thick and thin.

"..."
Huo Yuhao was momentarily speechless.
There were some things he didn't want to spell out, but he had no choice; it was clear they hadn't understood his intent at all.
Two one-ring soul masters with no particular specialties staying here—weren't they just coming over to get beaten up?

"The match begins!"
At the referee's command, Huo Yuhao had no time to ponder further. Xie Huanyue had already completed his martial soul possession in a few steps and kicked off the ground, charging straight at him.

Unlike Huang Chutian, this guy was more like a ball that had been forcefully launched. As his soul rings flashed, he soared ten meters into the air, transformed into a dark, fleshy sphere, and came crashing down with a gust of wind pressure.

Soul Shock!
As the blow landed, a muffled groan resonated from deep within the sphere. But compared to those before him, Xie Huanyue’s mental resistance was far greater; he actually endured the shock and continued his descent, his momentum undiminished.

"What kind of martial soul is this?" Huo Yuhao frowned.
He twisted his body, leaped into the air, and thrust his wooden staff into the ground. Using it as a fulcrum, he propelled himself backward several meters, dodging the attack.

For Huo Yuhao, this sequence was effortless, but his two teammates remaining on the ground were not as agile. Facing the fleshy sphere crashing down with black energy, they had no way to dodge. Seeing that severe injury was imminent, they had no choice but to give up resisting and let the referee intervene to pull them out of the arena.

"Boom!"
*Hiss—*

Xie Huanyue landed with a crash, kicking up a ring of black shockwaves that looked like ripples. Simultaneously, two sounds of impact hit the ground beside the now-stabilized Huo Yuhao.

The Luo brothers emerged from the left and right of the sphere like mirror images. Their residual momentum sent them sliding several paces, instantly bypassing Huo Yuhao to intercept his rear, surrounding him along with Xie Huanyue.

*Whoosh!*
The soul rings flashed again. The ball-like mass accelerated once more, but this time it bounced off the ground at an acute angle, charging straight at Huo Yuhao with a fierce wind.

The Luo brothers, whose arms had transformed into silver mantis blades, launched their own offensive. One from the left, one from the right, one aiming for the neck, one for the waist—their strikes were vicious and precise, each one aimed straight at vital points.

*Swoosh...*

Facing the seemingly inescapable multi-pronged ambush, Huo Yuhao moved as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He twisted his neck, pushed off with his toes, and flipped his body horizontally in mid-air, dodging both slashes by a razor-thin margin.

*How is this possible...*
The moment their gazes met in mid-air, shock surged in the eyes of the Luo brothers.
But shock was shock; they dared not pause their movements. Instead, they accelerated further, leaving two crossing afterimages and leaving the just-landing Huo Yuhao right in the path of the fleshy sphere!

"Boom!"
This time, Xie Huanyue finally connected solidly with Huo Yuhao.
However, the moment they made contact, the ball-like, taut surface suddenly buckled into a pit, carrying the force of the impact and recoil to send him flying.

"Ugh!"
Huo Yuhao dug his heels into the ground, creating deep furrows as he stabilized himself. He coughed up a bit of blood, feeling his energy in turmoil; even his soul power was scattered by the strange, elastic force that had entered his body, making it impossible to gather in the short term.

It even carried a special attack trait?
How could there be such a bizarre beast martial soul in this world?

"No choice then..."
Huo Yuhao lifted his eyes to look at the trio, who were already organizing their next attack. He sighed softly, and the soul ring floating at his side radiated a somewhat blinding white light.

Within his consciousness, the range of his mental detection expanded crazily, encompassing the entire freshman arena into his perception.

The next second.
Huo Yuhao took a weary breath and pointed a finger at the rapidly rebounding sphere.

*BOOM—!*
A deafening roar echoed within the mental realm, and an information storm that threatened to crush the soul suddenly erupted!

Countless chaotic noises and fragmented scenes surged out with his shared mental connection, flooding the minds of the three opponents so madly that their entire consciousness was completely overwhelmed in an instant.

*Plop.*
Xie Huanyue, having reverted from his martial soul possession, turned back into that soft, chubby boy. With a dull thud, he collapsed onto the ground, sliding through the dust until he came to a stop right in front of Huo Yuhao.

The entire arena fell silent.
Especially the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class 2, who stood up abruptly, slamming his armrest with an expression of utter disbelief: "How is that possible!!"