Book 4: The Golden Road

Chapter 25.4: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda VS Spirit Eyes

When two people fused their martial souls with one another, they’d become almost entirely immune to each other’s martial souls and their abilities. If it were anyone else but Wang Dong, even if they weren’t struck by Huo Yuhao’s attack, they’d still have been dazed for a while due to being in such close proximity of his enhanced soul skill.

If Ning Tian felt as if her brain had been stabbed by a needle earlier, then this attack from Huo Yuhao was akin to a large hammer hitting her brain. Everything in front of her became white, and her body turned weak. She collapsed onto the ground, blood flowing out of her nose and mouth like tiny snakes.

Her second soul skill could only dispel auxiliary system skills, but Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock was a spiritual-type attack in the truest sense of the word. How could her second soul skill cancel it? Furthermore, this attack had been launched by Huo Yuhao with the assistance of Wang Dong. Even if the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda was stronger than it currently was, it wouldn’t have the ability to block spiritual-type attacks. From another standpoint, Ning Tian’s buffing abilities had actually been perfectly restrained by Huo Yuhao.

Wu Feng, who’d already charged towards Huo Yuhao’s team, instantly slowed down; the speed and strength buffs she’d just received completely disappeared. Astonished, she turned towards Ning Tian just in time to see her falling body. She completely gave up on attacking Huo Yuhao’s team. Instead, she turned around and ran to Ning Tian’s side, picking her up and holding her in her arms.

“Ning Tian, Ning Tian what’s happened to you?” Wu Feng immediately panicked when she saw the injured Ning Tian.

Xiao Xiao suddenly turned towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, then whispered in an astonished tone, “Did you two do this?”

Wang Dong had a pleased smile on his lips, while Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t like your use of the word ‘do’.”

The proctor was slightly astonished as well. Only after Huo Yuhao reminded him did he announce that they’d won the match. Even though Wu Feng still had an indignant look on her face, she simply wasn’t able to fight against the combined attacks of Wang Dong and the twin-souled Xiao Xiao without Ning Tian’s assistance and Nanmen Yun’er’s speed. Furthermore, she was anxious to treat Ning Tian; she didn’t have the time to care about the competition.

Mu Jin was completely astonished as she stood in the Spectator’s Stand; so much so that she didn’t even dare to trust her own eyes. Her team had had two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Elder! The latter even had the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, which was known as the ‘Number One Tool Soul Under Heaven’. Despite all of this, they’d actually lost to two Soul Grandmasters and a Soul Master, who only had a ten year soul ring.

Not to mention her, nobody would’ve believed the results of the match after hearing the difference in power between both teams.

However, the facts were right in front of her: Ning Tian’s team had lost.

The trace of a smile appeared in Fan Yu’s eyes as he said to Zhou Yi, “This was truly a marvelous match. Your students have astonished me greatly; especially that Huo Yuhao. I didn’t think that he’d actually have an ability like this.”

There was only a gratified look in Zhou Yi’s eyes. “Let’s go.” As she spoke, she took the initiative to walk towards the stairs. When she walked past Mu Jin, she glanced coldly at her. However, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she jumped forwards and leapt off the twenty-meter-tall stage.

Fan Yu didn’t even seem to see Mu Jin as he followed Zhou Yi.

“What did you guys do just now? Why’d that Ning Tian suddenly faint?” After leaving the Assessment Area, Xiao Xiao didn’t forget to ask about the doubts in her heart.

Huo Yuhao chuckled. “It’s because I used an attack fuelled by my spiritual power. She couldn’t defend in time, thus she was knocked unconscious by it.”

“Ah? You can even do that? No wonder her soul skills were interrupted earlier. Was that you as well?” Xiao Xiao’s face was filled with astonishment.

Huo Yuhao nodded and said, “Perhaps this is an advantage of having a Body Soul. Furthermore, this was also due to my Purple Demon Eyes, which is a secret technique cultivated by my Tang Sect. I used the Purple Demon Eyes to stimulate my spiritual power, which made my earlier attack as effective as it was. As for why my Spiritual Shock became even stronger after I asked Wang Dong to return, it’s because we’ve successfully created a fusion skill.”

They were all friends, and Xiao Xiao had done her best during their previous matches. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would definitely need to use their Haodong Power during their matches in the future, so they wouldn’t be able to hide it either way. It was fortunate that they’d decided to tell her the truth, so as to avoid making Xiao Xiao feel alienated.

Xiao Xiao stared blankly at them. She pointed at Huo Yuhao, then pointed at Wang Dong. After that, she blurted out a few words that made the two not know whether to laugh or to cry. “I was getting more and more suspicious that the two of you were gay….”

Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said, “What do you mean by ‘gay’?”

Xiao Xiao took Huo Yuhao’s hand and placed it in Wang Dong’s hand. Afterwards, she glanced disdainfully at Huo Yuhao. “How could you not know what such a mainstream thing is? Being gay refers to the love between two boys.”

“You….”

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously let go of one another’s hands. With a bell-like laugh, Xiao Xiao immediately turned around and ran; she even remembered to release her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute and play it so as to reduce the speed of the two guys that were chasing after her.

Contrary to their high-spirited excitement, Ning Tian slowly awakened after being treated by a high ranking healing system soul master in the infirmary.

After awakening, she immediately clutched her head in a fetal position. The intense waves of pain stemming from her brain filled her forehead with a cold sweat.

“Ning Tian, Ning Tian...”

Wu Feng hugged her concernedly, while Nanmen Yun’er stood to the side with a perplexed look on her face.

Teacher Mu Jin had an extremely grave expression on her face as she asked the teacher who’d just healed Ning Tian, “Just what happened to her? What knocked her out?”

The teacher muttered in response. “I’m not really sure. It seems like her head was struck by a heavy object, thus causing her to have a cerebral concussion. As you know, the brain is the most complicated organ in our bodies—nobody has managed to truly grasp everything about it. As such, I can only make a few minor deductions about what happened here. However, despite her injuries, her soul power seems to have a very strong ability to adjust itself, so the problem isn’t that serious anymore. She’ll be able to fully recover after a short time.”

“Thank you.” After thanking the teacher, Mu Jin walked over to the bed.

After a brief moment of uncomfortableness, Ning Tian’s headache gradually subsided, and her breathing became much more stable.

Nanmen Yun’er asked Mu Jin in a quiet voice, “Teacher Mu, what happened? How did we lose the match?” Up till now, she still didn’t understand how her team had lost.

Mu Jin had a grave expression on her face as she remained silent. Wasn’t Nanmen Yun’er’s question the exact question that she had in her heart? She didn’t even know how they’d lost the match. Although she’d been able to clearly see the entire match from the tall stage, she hadn’t been able to concentrate on the minute details. This was especially so when Wang Dong had used his wings to cover Huo Yuhao, and in turn when Huo Yuhao had used their Haodong Power to activate his Spirit Shock. She hadn’t been able to see anything then. Only Ning Tian would be able to quell their doubts, but that would be after she woke up.

After a full fifteen minutes, Ning Tian slowly came to from her coma. When she opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Her headache had already subsided by a large amount, and her train of thought had gradually returned.

After Wu Feng helped her up and gave her some water to drink, Ning Tian’s pale expression improved slightly. After seeing Mu Jin—who was standing next to the window—an ashamed look appeared on her cute face. “Teacher Mu, we lost.”

Mu Jin nodded and warmly said, “It’s fine, don’t be too upset over losing this match. It’s fine as long as you’re safe.”

Mu Jin’s words caused a warm feeling to appear in Ning Tian’s heart. “Teacher Mu, were you able to see why we lost from the Spectator’s Stand?”

Mu Jin was stunned. “You don’t know either?”

Ning Tian placed her hand on her forehead and started to concentrate. “Once I finished buffing Wu Feng, I used all three of my buffs on myself in order to protect myself. However, I saw a purplish-golden light appear in front of me right after I finished. After that, it seemed as if an enormous hammer struck my head. I can’t remember anything else after that.”

Wu Feng angrily said, “Those bastards dared to be so vicious. Teacher Mu, we can’t just let it go like this.”

Mu Jin coldly swept her eyes over her. “Then what do you plan on doing? This was just an assessment. Do you think that this is a sect war?”

Wu Feng lowered her head and stopped talking. However, she clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were burning with both anger and rancor.

Mu Jin asked Ning Tian, “Think a bit more carefully. Just before you fainted, did anything strange happen?”

After thinking for awhile, Ning Tian replied, “Although I don’t know how they did it, the problem most likely stemmed from that one-ringed Soul Master. His soul ring was lit up from the start of the match till the end, which meant that he was constantly activating a soul skill that we couldn’t sense, yet was still affecting the situation of the battle. I faintly saw a golden light flickering in his eyes. Their team had a very strong assault system soul master, as well as a twin-souled control system soul master. What qualifications does that one-ringed freshman have to form a team with those two? He must have some sort of special ability. During the most critical moment of the battle, he interrupted my soul skills, preventing me from buffing Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun’er. At that time, my head felt as if it had been stabbed by a needle. However, his attack was much stronger the second time around.

Mu Jin’s heart shook. Right! That one-ringed freshman didn’t seem to make any moves the entire length of the match. That soul master who had the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the twin-souled soul master were the only ones who fought. Then, what role did he play in their team? No wonder Zhou Yi was that confident; that freshmen with that ten year soul ring must have some sort of secret.

After calming the indignation she had in her heart, Mu Jin said, “If you lost, you lost. However, you should summarize your experiences and use them as a lesson when you do. In any case, you’ve already passed the freshmen assessment. There’ll definitely be competitions between you and them in the future. So, for right now Ning Tian, have a good rest.”

“Thank you, Teacher Mu.”