Chapter 45 I'll Give You One Chance

This was far from their first clash.

Only this time, in the past, Huo Yuhao had been utterly powerless to resist, knocked to the ground in a fraction of a second to face the merciless beatings of the servants and attendants.

"Game over."

The memories in his mind faded into the distance, leaving only a pure, bone-chilling coldness in Huo Yuhao’s eyes. A cruel, savage smile curled the corner of his lips: "Spiritual Sharing..."

Dai Huabin, whose heart was gripped by an inexplicable panic, faltered for a moment. He felt as though his spiritual vision had broken free from his physical body, his range of perception expanding further and further until it encompassed the entire arena.

Every single person on the field, every subtle movement, flashed vividly within his mind—even down to the drifting motes of dust and the fluttering blades of grass...

Then, an ocean-vast torrent of information burst through the firmament, pouring down like a deluge. Countless shattered visions, resplendent colors, and deafening sounds completely overwhelmed his soul.

"Bang!"

Huo Yuhao’s outstretched fist smashed brutally into his face, sending him flying backward. The force of the punch left a trail of blood, drawing a crimson line through the air.

"I’ve always kept count. I’ve always remembered."

Huo Yuhao shook his slightly aching hand from the excessive force, walking like a stroll in the park toward Dai Huabin, who was swaying and struggling to stand up on instinct.

He raised his leg and delivered a vicious kick straight to Dai Huabin's face!

The blow sent Dai Huabin skidding across the ground for several meters, leaving the surrounding spectators twitching in sympathetic pain.

"Eight beatings with fists and clubs... Six public humiliations..."

Huo Yuhao whispered in an almost inaudible voice, turning over the scars forever branded into the depths of his memory, one by one: "Minus one each..."

He slammed his foot against the ground and lunged forward several steps.

A heavy kick delivered at breakneck speed!

"Here it is!"

Sudden and violent impact seemed to jolt Dai Huabin into a fraction of lucidity. With a muffled groan and a harsh screech of friction against the floor, his body spun around, tracing more than half a circle in an instant like the hands of a clock.

...

"What is this?"

Yan Shaozhe on the spectator platform couldn't help but frown, failing to understand why Huo Yuhao would pull such a crazy stunt in full view of everyone.

He was relentlessly beating the opponent to a pulp, yet deliberately kept his attacks just shy of vital organs and below the threshold of rendering the enemy completely incapacitated, forcing the referee to sit back and watch him pummel Dai Huabin on the stage.

This was sheer, intentional humiliation!

The esteemed son of the White Tiger Duke, the esteemed son of the God of War of Star Luo, was being bullied to this extent in the freshman tournament. If word of this got out...

"Sigh~"

Yan Shaozhe rubbed his temples with a headache, tempted to step in and stop it, but Dai Huabin hadn't suffered any substantive injuries yet. "Once this match ends, I'm afraid the Dai family won't let this rest easily."

"Heh, what are you afraid of?"

Qian Duoduo watched the fierce combat on the field with undisguised excitement. Having long since defaulted to treating Huo Yuhao as a member of the Tool Soul Department, he was naturally more than happy to watch the elite of the Martial Soul Department get thoroughly beaten up. "Mediocre talents are afraid of stirring up trouble! Have you forgotten Shrek's motto?"

"That may be, but—"

Yan Shaozhe was about to retort, but suddenly jolted to his senses, realizing what he was saying. He promptly clamped his mouth shut, not daring to utter another word.

Some things were better left unsaid.

There was no need to voice them aloud.

...

"Bang!"

On the stage, Huo Yuhao delivered another flying kick.

"——Agh!"

This time, Dai Huabin finally regained a shred of consciousness, coughing up a mouthful of blood amidst a groan of pain in mid-air. Before he could hit the ground, Huo Yuhao charged forward with a burst of speed and struck him square in the chest with another flying kick, sending him crashing heavily to the edge of the arena with another low, muffled groan.

"Sigh~"

The referee, who had just been about to step in and save him, glanced at Dai Huabin, who was mere inches from the outer boundary. He let out a deep sigh and helplessly retreated to his original position.

As for stopping the match?

Didn't they tell the contestants before the match to do their best and go all out without holding back?

He couldn't break the rules now!

"Awake yet?"

Huo Yuhao walked up to Dai Huabin, looking down condescendingly at this nominal older brother of his: "What a pity~ You're almost out of bounds now. You're even more pathetic than I imagined."

If only the guy had regained consciousness midway through that beating, how wonderful that would have been...

No matter.

Waking up now was still soon enough.

"Huo—"

Dai Huabin clutched his body, coughing up bloody foam. His entire body trembled with agonizing pain throughout his limbs and a peak level of rage, his eyes filled with a murderous intent as if he wanted to devour him alive: "Huo Yu——!!"

"Bang!"

Huo Yuhao stomped his foot directly onto Dai Huabin's face, his eyes full of curious amazement: "What did you say? I didn't catch that."

"Mmph... Mmph..."

Dai Huabin struggled frantically, the killing intent and hatred in his eyes solidifying into something tangible, desperate to skewer Huo Yuhao on the spot.

"Enough."

A terrifyingly powerful aura erupted abruptly, sweeping across half the arena like a tsunami. Merely relying on the fluctuations of its released soul power, it pushed Huo Yuhao back several meters, separating him from Dai Huabin.

With a helpless expression, Yan Shaozhe descended from the air, glancing at Dai Huabin who was taking forever to recover, Zhu Lu who was still out cold, and a certain fox cowering at the edge of the field trying her absolute best to minimize her presence.

Clearly, the previous one-sided thrashing had left quite a psychological shadow on her.

"Classmate Huo Yuhao, you've already won."

Yan Shaozhe reached out and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder: "You're all classmates here. If there are conflicts, I can understand them. But surely there's no need to publicly humiliate him to this extent in broad daylight, is there?"

"Since you've already secured the championship, let's call it a day. Even if there are irreconcilable personal grudges, getting entangled in them here is hardly appropriate."

At this point, smoothing things over had become an absolute necessity.

If they kept fighting like this, the Emperor of Star Luo might personally send someone over to express his "concern," deliberately giving Shrek Academy a hard time.

"End it?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head amidst Yan Shaozhe's increasingly stiff expression, looking toward Dai Huabin on the ground: "If it ends just like this, I'm afraid even he wouldn't be willing, right?"

Hearing this, Dai Huabin immediately hacked up a few spatters of blood, stubbornly dragging himself up from the ground despite the excruciating pain. The meaning in his eyes was crystal clear.

Having not yet unleashed their ultimate trump card, the Netherworld White Tiger, he had suffered such a muddled defeat.

With an outcome like this, he would never accept it, not even in death.

"Then what do you propose?"

Looking at these two rebellious brats who refused to give him any face, Yan Shaozhe instantly regretted meddling in this business.

To dare defy the face of a Super Douro—the freshmen of this generation certainly had guts.

Yan Shaozhe shook his head inwardly.

Especially Dai Huabin; to still be thinking about getting back at him even in this state...

"I know what he's unsatisfied with."

Huo Yuhao glanced at Dai Huabin, then tossed a slightly gentle soul shock toward Zhu Lu to jolt her awake: "So, as the victor, I am willing to grant him one more chance—a chance to go all out."

"Show it to me."

"Let me see what your Martial Soul Fusion Technique is truly made of."

Huo Yuhao retreated slowly to his original position with a cold sneer, leaving plenty of space for the two of them to perform.