Leaving the Soul Tool Department and walking out of the gate, Huo Yuhao looked up at the bright sky and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. A year and five months had passed just like that.
During that time, he had created countless soul tools, mostly at the fourth rank. Most of them were handed over to the academy for use in future soul tool course teaching for the Outer Court Martial Soul Department students.
Yes, Shrek Academy had started soul tool theory and practical teaching more than a year ago. By today, the popularity of soul tools among the Outer Court students had reached nearly one hundred percent.
When the benefits of using soul tools were presented, no one would refuse.
You could even see Martial Soul Department students using soul tool boosters to speed up because they were about to be late.
They really understood how to have fun.
Stretching, Huo Yuhao headed directly toward the Inner Court. The academy was still in class at this time, and there were basically no people walking on the sidewalks.
Arriving at the edge of the Sea God Lake, Huo Yuhao spread his wings behind him and, at an astonishing speed, crossed the lake, stirring up waves. He quickly landed in the Inner Court.
Before heading to the Mingde Hall in the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao had one last thing to do: help Ma Xiaotao completely elevate her Martial Soul to the ultimate level.
After more than a year of cultivation, Ma Xiaotao's Burning Phoenix soul power had solidified to the limit, enough to support her transformation from ordinary phoenix flames to Extreme Phoenix Flame.
According to habit, Ma Xiaotao would usually be training Zhu Lu at the Inner Court training ground during this time. After Elder Mu's instructions, the students who had participated in the competition no longer needed to attend classes and instead received specialized training.
At the same time, Wang Dong, Wu Feng, Ning Tian, and Xiao Xiao were also receiving guidance from Zhang Lexuan and other Inner Court teachers somewhere in the academy.
Sure enough, before he even approached the training ground located on a hillside, Huo Yuhao sensed a subtle fluctuation of soul power spreading outwards.
Quietly, Huo Yuhao walked up, and after reaching a hidden spot, looked up.
A ghostly figure was rapidly moving through the spacious training ground. She was like a silent soul, circling a woman standing in the center of the training ground.
In the arena, Ma Xiaotao's gaze scanned her surroundings, and a fleeting shadow occasionally flashed in her eyes, catching people off guard, making it impossible to know when the attack would land.
"Whoosh." A wisp of a shadow, like a Hell Stab appeared. Surprisingly, the fluctuations caused by this soul skill were so subtle that they were almost impossible to detect on the left side of Ma Xiaotao.
However, Ma Xiaotao was, after all, a Soul Sage. Although the fluctuations were weak, she still sensed them. Her body shifted slightly, dodging the attack. In front of her, Zhu Lu was in the pose of launching an attack, their eyes meeting.
After the attack, there was no effect. Zhu Lu's expression remained calm, while Ma Xiaotao's palm contained flames, and she slapped out.
At such a close distance, a Soul Sage attacking a Soul Ancestor was almost a complete suppression. However, the instant the flaming palm landed on Zhu Lu, her body inexplicably disappeared, like a wisp of air, vanishing completely.
"A clone." Ma Xiaotao realized.
"Swish." The sound of wind breaking came, and Ma Xiaotao saw the space behind her wriggling. Zhu Lu's figure appeared, and on her right arm, a crescent-shaped blade swept across, pulsating with a fantastic, pale purple glow.
The intense sharp aura was completely revealed. However, Ma Xiaotao seemed to have eyes on her back. Intense flames surged up. The crescent moon sliced through, tearing apart the flames, but it was also melted by the high temperature.
Ma Xiaotao immediately turned around and threw a punch, her momentum astonishing. Zhu Lu, as a Soul Ancestor, couldn't dodge at all, watching herself get hit.
Huo Yuhao, who was watching from a distance, raised an eyebrow. This time, Zhu Lu was still a clone, and after being hit by Ma Xiaotao's punch, she once again turned into energy light points and dissipated.
At this moment, an astonishing scene unfolded. After Ma Xiaotao dealt with the two clones, six figures of Zhu Lu inexplicably appeared from all directions. Each of them had four soul rings pulsating around them: two yellow, one purple, and one black. They attacked Ma Xiaotao from different directions.
Their attacks targeted her head, abdomen, and legs—anywhere Ma Xiaotao might have a weak point.
The sharp aura seemed to make the air itself become sharp, causing a stinging sensation on the skin.
"Interesting." Ma Xiaotao glanced at the six figures rushing towards her. Perhaps Zhu Lu's true body was hidden within these clones, but Ma Xiaotao's sharp eyes locked onto the top of her head. There, a soul power fluctuation was also hidden, extremely deeply.
She stomped on the ground and leaped upward, ignoring the attacks coming from all directions. Then, she threw a punch at the air.
For no apparent reason, the air faintly wriggled, and another figure of Zhu Lu emerged. Her expression was shocked, as if surprised that Ma Xiaotao had discovered her. Her delicate body was agile, as if stepping on air, and she leaned back, intending to retreat.
But Ma Xiaotao didn't give her a chance. She retracted her soul power and relied solely on the strength of her body to throw a punch, directly hitting Zhu Lu's body.
But the scene Huo Yuhao had imagined, of Zhu Lu spitting up blood and collapsing, didn't happen. That figure dissipated once more.
Ma Xiaotao's eyebrows twitched. For the first time, she showed a flicker of emotion. At this moment, the six clones of Zhu Lu below simultaneously unleashed their Hell Stab soul skill, effectively cutting off all of Ma Xiaotao's escape routes.
"Burning Phoenix!" Without hesitation, Ma Xiaotao's body lit up with a yellow light as she immediately activated her second soul skill. Terrifying golden-red flames erupted from her, centered on her body, and swept outwards in all directions.
The intense heat distorted the very air. The flames spread, instantly engulfing the six clones of Zhu Lu.
In an instant, the clones were all destroyed and consumed.
When the flames wrapped around Ma Xiaotao, adorning her like a fire goddess, the air in the distance once again began to ripple, and a tall, slender figure revealed itself.
It was Zhu Lu!
Ma Xiaotao's thoughts shifted. The flames on her body converged back within her. She turned her head and looked at Zhu Lu, her face filled with admiration.
"Sister Xiaotao, did I do okay this time?" Zhu Lu walked over. Even though her soul power consumption was significant, and her face was slightly pale, her expression was extremely excited.
As a Soul Ancestor of the agility-attack type, she had actually forced a Soul Sage of the power-attack type to use a soul skill. This was definitely something to be happy about.
She didn't have a top-tier Xuanwu bloodline like Xu Sanshi, which would erupt at any moment. Nor did she have Huo Yuhao's extreme attributes to contend across levels. All she had was the Hell Spirit Cat, a martial soul that wasn't even considered top-tier.
Of course, it was also thanks to the Water Lily Jade Skin Bone that Zhu Lu had a better opportunity to strengthen herself.
"Not just qualified, but very excellent," Ma Xiaotao didn't hold back her praise.
A relaxed smile appeared on Zhu Lu's lips, and her tense body relaxed a little.
Ma Xiaotao analyzed, "I have to say, if it were someone else, even a Soul Emperor, as long as it wasn't a place like a competition arena, your attack frequency and methodical approach would cause them a lot of trouble. Your third soul skill is a perfect match for your martial soul and has even elevated it. Just what did that guy Yuhao do to help you find it?"
Zhu Lu's beautiful eyes flickered slightly. Her third soul skill came from the Hidden Beast. After a chemical reaction with the Hell Spirit Cat, the effect was astonishing.
It allowed her to become invisible and gave her the power of hiddenness, reducing her soul power consumption when releasing soul skills.
With the fourth soul skill, Hell Spirit Phantom, she could release phantoms that could also use soul skills. Coupled with her third soul skill, Stealth, her attacks were always a mix of truth and deception.
As an agility-attack type soul master, in Huo Yuhao's words, they were high offense, low defense. When engaging enemies in close combat, they could sometimes be counterattacked, increasing the chances of being killed. But the abilities Zhu Lu now possessed perfectly solved this problem.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Zhu Lu now had the confidence to secretly assassinate a Soul Emperor in the wild.
Ma Xiaotao glanced at her, pinching her chin, and said, "You've forced out my soul skill, so the first phase of training can end. Now, prepare for the second phase."
"The second phase of training will be difficult, but the overview is simple. I will find all types of soul masters to hone you, allowing you to learn to make your own judgments and solutions when facing any type of soul master. As an agility-attack type soul master, outstanding observation skills are essential."
Zhu Lu's eyes were calm as she said in a serious tone, "I won't let you and Yuhao down, Xiaotao-jie."
From the beginning, when she would often break bones and couldn't even get within ten meters of Ma Xiaotao, to now being able to force her to use her soul skills, Zhu Lu's growth was obvious.
Ma Xiaotao saw her like this and couldn't help but pinch Zhu Lu's increasingly soft and elastic pretty face, which was a result of her Water Lily Jade Skin Bone, before shouting towards the distance:
"Stop staring, come over here."
Zhu Lu turned her head and saw Huo Yuhao walking over with a happy expression. Her cold eyes immediately softened.
"Impressive." Huo Yuhao walked over and immediately gave Zhu Lu a thumbs up.
Zhu Lu smiled, but before she could say anything, Huo Yuhao's tone became serious. "When you use your soul skills, you actually have another way to fight, which Sister Xiaotao didn't mention."
Ma Xiaotao and Zhu Lu were both taken aback.
Huo Yuhao stroked his chin and said, "Your Hell Spirit Cat clones, unlike ordinary clones that can only confuse the enemy and have no combat power, can release soul skills. Why not consider controlling each clone as a team?"
"Like in a seven-on-seven team battle, you can rely on your clones to cooperate, advancing to attack, retreating to defend, instead of just using the clones as bait to lure the enemy and then wasting them."
"Of course, it's not wrong to use the clones as bait. On the contrary, this fighting method is excellent, but you can't just rely on this type of fighting method. You have to learn to be flexible."
Zhu Lu watched Huo Yuhao, who was speaking eloquently. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to talk to her about these things.
After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Zhu Lu fell into deep thought. But soon, her eyes, which had been blank, occasionally flashed with a glimmer of understanding, clearly realizing something.
Seeing Zhu Lu's changing expression, Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and said, "I've finished my tasks in the Soul Tool Department and the Martial Soul Department. I'll have more free time in the last month. I'll come and help you when I have time."
"Finished?" Ma Xiaotao asked curiously.
"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded. "The teachers and my shiniang looked for me yesterday. I can start helping you raise your soul power to the extreme attribute now. You should go find them first."
Hearing this, Ma Xiaotao's heart skipped a beat. "I'll go right away."
With that, Ma Xiaotao flashed away, looking quite eager.
Huo Yuhao and Zhu Lu couldn't help but smile. But for Ma Xiaotao, being able to become an extreme soul master was indeed a dream.
"You're leaving in a month?" Zhu Lu raised her head, her gaze shifting from Ma Xiaotao to Huo Yuhao's increasingly handsome profile.
"That's right," Huo Yuhao nodded. "If all goes as planned, I'll be staying in the Sun Moon Empire for about two and a half years."
Upon hearing this, a hint of hidden disappointment flickered in Zhu Lu's eyes. She had spent a considerable amount of time alone with Huo Yuhao recently, most of which was spent with him treating her injuries.
These were also her most relaxing and comfortable moments. She didn't have to think about cultivation or anything else, just sitting with Huo Yuhao in the pavilion by the Sea God Lake, enjoying the breeze and occasionally chatting about cultivation.
But now, it seemed this peaceful time, that belonged only to her, was about to disappear.
"I'll go first, then. Do you want me to walk you back to the Outer Court?" Huo Yuhao looked down at Zhu Lu.
Looking into those deep blue eyes, Zhu Lu instinctively shook her head, smiling. "No, I can go back by myself."
"Swish."
Suddenly, a finger tapped Zhu Lu's smooth, fair forehead. It was Huo Yuhao. He released a surge of rich life force from his fingertip, infusing it into Zhu Lu's body to dispel her fatigue.
"Let's go." After a few seconds, Huo Yuhao withdrew his finger and leisurely left the training ground.
The sensation of being touched on the forehead hadn't faded. Gazing at Huo Yuhao's departing figure, Zhu Lu instinctively reached up to rub her forehead, a hint of regret surfacing in her heart.
She actually wanted to say those few words, but she couldn't bring herself to.
But... she would wait until her strength was truly formidable before saying them. Perhaps it would be more convincing then.
After all, liking someone hadn't delayed her cultivation progress.
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, a group of elders sat together. They were quite concerned about Ma Xiaotao's plan to raise her soul power to the extreme attribute.
After some discussion, the elders, led by Mu En, immediately passed a resolution.
The academy would provide a large number of its treasured fire attribute treasures to establish a training ground for Ma Xiaotao's breakthrough.
If Ma Xiaotao succeeded, the academy would have two successors with ultimate attributes. For Mu En, if Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao could become Limit Douluos, the situation he was worried about could be alleviated.
Two Limits would protect the academy for hundreds of years without any problems.
He, Mu En, also wanted to live a relaxed and comfortable life like Xuanzi, but the pressure of the academy prevented him from doing so.
While nearly eight hundred students in the Outer Court were still immersed in their studies, the Inner Court was already bustling.
The seventy students in the Inner Court were all busy, helping to set up the training ground. Actually, it wasn't much; it was just piling up fire attribute treasures, relying on the treasures themselves to attract the fire attribute elemental energy of heaven and earth, forming a fire attribute elemental circle.
This would be of immense benefit to Ma Xiaotao.
After spending several hours, a cultivation area of about a hundred square meters was built.
It looked quite simple, just piles of treasures piled together, like bricks stacked to form a circle.
Among them were even seven fire-attribute Soul Bones, each with a lifespan of no less than fifty thousand years.
After finishing the construction, the students gathered together chatting, occasionally revealing a look of amazement in their eyes.
Even Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, and Tang Ya were there.
"Seven top-tier fire-attribute Soul Bones, the Academy is really rich."
"Duh, after ten thousand years, I'd believe the Academy has a few hundred Soul Bones."
"Who do you think is stronger, Ma Xiaotao after breaking through her extreme attribute, or the Head Senior Sister?"
"It's definitely Senior Sister. She's the strongest."
"I think it'll be Ma Xiaotao. With her Extreme Fire, a full-power burst could rival an ordinary Title Douluo."
~~~~~~~~~~~
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