Swish!
With the two joining the battle, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn. As the saying goes, a flurry of punches can overwhelm even a master—the three black-clad men coordinated seamlessly, surrounding Huo Yuhao tightly. Every time he repelled one attacker, another would immediately follow up, with one always staying back to prevent his escape.
The three attackers used no fancy techniques—just raw, brutal force. Huo Yuhao had no choice but to keep brandishing his Bloodflame Spear to parry the blows. His Rasengan was unusable—not due to soul power depletion, but because it required time to charge, and the enemy clearly wouldn't give him a chance.
Gradually, their attacks became faster and more intense. Huo Yuhao barely dodged several times and was occasionally struck. Fortunately, he wore the Bloodflame Armor, reinforced by the Heavenly Wall Barrier. With these two layers of protection, he could still hang on.
"Something's not right. These people seem..."Huo Yuhao sensed something was off. These assailants lacked killing intent. A strange feeling surged through him, and after a moment of hesitation, he actually deactivated his Mental Detection.
That ability had been crucial in his extended clash with them. With Mental Detection, he had a god's-eye view of the battlefield, allowing him to dodge with precision. But now he shut it off—was he out of his mind?
Sure enough, as soon as Mental Detection was disabled, his situation worsened dramatically. He took several hits in a row, and the Heavenly Wall Barrier nearly collapsed.
Yet Huo Yuhao's expression grew calmer.
Because that strange feeling—was getting stronger.
Bang!Crack!
Finally, under constant assault, the Heavenly Wall Barrier broke and vanished. One black-clad man raised his fist and slammed it toward Huo Yuhao.
But Huo Yuhao didn't care. That feeling—was here. It was about to emerge.
The next moment, a red mist burst forth around him, spreading outward in all directions from Huo Yuhao as the center. In just seconds, everything within a kilometer was shrouded in thick, rolling red fog.
Seeing this, the black-clad men abruptly stopped, standing aside like nothing had happened. Gone was their bloodthirsty demeanor.
Huo Yuhao had no time to question them. He closed his eyes to quietly feel out the nature of this phenomenon. Honestly, he didn't even know what it was. He had only felt this strange sensation a few years back.
He used to think it was due to cultivating the Heavenly Demon Art, but Ming Zhi Han had never experienced anything similar.
Five minutes later, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes. He now had a vague idea of what this ability might be, though he wasn't entirely sure.
As his eyes opened, the red mist gradually dispersed.
He looked at the black-clad men and asked, "Did Master send you?"
The black-clad men glanced at each other.
"Hahaha! As expected of someone I've taken a liking to. Yuhao, you've completely redefined what it means to be a genius."A booming voice echoed from all directions.
"Master, I figured it was you."Huo Yuhao looked to his right. As he did, a shadow flickered, and Du Busi appeared there out of nowhere.
"Heh, you've got some wits. Tell me—how did you guess?"Du Busi looked quite pleased—though Huo Yuhao had never seen him in a bad mood, to be honest.
"Isn't it obvious? If the Dai or Zhu families wanted to attack me here, they wouldn't bother hiding it. Besides, apart from our Body Sect, I can't think of anyone else who'd have this kind of combat power without even using martial souls."
Huo Yuhao pointed at the four black-clad men."Also, they could've just rushed me all at once, but instead they came at me one-by-one—like they were training me."
Du Busi chuckled. He wasn't about to let someone actually hurt his disciple. The longer the battle, the more exposed Huo Yuhao would be—his awareness was understandable.
"Alright, let's talk about something else. I think you've figured it out, haven't you?"
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao hesitated."Master, could that have been... a domain?"
Du Busi nodded calmly."I sensed some clues recently. You probably felt it too, but were stuck at a bottleneck. So today I added a little pressure—and look at that, you awakened a domain."
Even Du Busi, powerful as he was, couldn't help showing a hint of envy. A domain—he didn't even have one himself. Among the eleven Title Douluo of the Body Sect, only one possessed a domain. That's how rare they were.
Although Huo Yuhao had suspected it, hearing his master confirm it filled him with joy. A domain—something he had longed for—was now his. Even better, he had comprehended it on his own. Now he could begin cultivating the offensive technique he'd been planning for ages.
"Yuhao, tell me—what abilities does your domain have?"
Huo Yuhao replied,"Rather than describe it, why not feel it for yourself, Master?"As he spoke, he activated the domain again.
The red mist enveloped the area once more, and an eerie chill crept in.
As soon as he was within the domain, Du Busi felt his mind clear completely. No distractions, just a pure and lucid awareness—emotionless and without desire.
Then suddenly, dread surged up. Unwelcome memories surfaced: his parents dying when he was young, drifting with his brother, the girl he loved falling for someone else, his brother dying from injuries... Scene after painful scene played in his mind, unrelenting.
But when he saw his brother's death, Du Busi couldn't take it anymore. He released his spiritual power and easily repelled the red mist.
Though domains were powerful, they couldn't defy the gap in absolute strength. Du Busi hadn't resisted earlier just to experience the domain firsthand.
Of course, Huo Yuhao knew he couldn't affect his master with his current strength. Seeing Du Busi break free, he deactivated the domain and said,"It eliminates distractions, maintains absolute mental clarity, and dampens sensory input. I call it—'Severed Thought.'"
"Fitting."Du Busi nodded approvingly. Fitting? It was more than that—it stripped emotion, dulled perception. In that moment, Du Busi actually feared becoming that kind of self: emotionless, numb, a cold machine.
(End of Chapter)