At this moment, his right arm was still trembling. What was even more terrifying was that he could feel his soul shaking. He had used all his might to block Huo Yuhaoâs attack, but he still felt as if his Xuanwu Shield almost broke because of it. If his martial soul broke, he would be severely injured!
âWhat the hell, little junior brother?â Xu Sanshi asked with a bitter laugh.
Huo Yuhao scratched his head awkwardly and said, âThird elder brother, if I tell you I donât know what I did, will you believe me?â
âYou rascal!â Xu Sanshi said unkindly. âWho the hell would believe you?â
Huo Yuhao said, âThis is an ability that I came up with over the past few days. It comprises just one punch, one sword, and one palm strike. The punch is called the Fist of Remembrance, the sword is called the Sword of Longing, and the palm strike is called the Haodong Palm.â
Xu Sanshi was stunned. âThereâs still a palm strike?. Had the sword not sent me flying, would you have struck me with your palm?â
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, âNo! I need to accumulate strength for my Haodong Palm. Right now, I canât link them together. I donât think Iâm strong enough.â
Xu Sanshiâs mouth twitched as he said, âIf youâre not strong enough, how can you beat me so badly? Thatâs not right! You havenât gotten a new soul ring yet, so your cultivation should only be at Rank 60. How can this be possible? How can this be possible!? Why are you so strong? Just now, when you slashed with your sword, I felt as if a strange power was tearing my martial soul apart! With my defensive abilities, it would not be hard for me to resist the attack of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo! How did you do this?â
A dazed look crossed Huo Yuhaoâs eyes as he said, âI donât know myself. I thought about many things in the past few days, and I fused all my powers together. When I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I was able to use these three moves I invented. When I use them, all I can think about is Dongâer. I donât know how this came to be. If I did, I would have held back just now. Iâm sorry, third senior brother. How bad are your injuries?â
Xu Sanshi asked suspiciously, âThis is so strange! Have you become too obsessed?â
âCan you stop being so negative?â Bei Beiâs voice rang out.
When he saw Xu Sanshi in his pathetic state, he was shocked too. He turned to look at Huo Yuhao joyfully as he said, âCongratulations, little junior brother! Youâve recovered!â
Huo Yuhao rushed up and said, âSorry for making you worry, elder brother.â
Bei Bei hugged him tightly and said, âItâs good that youâre alright! Thereâs no need for formality. It appears that you benefited greatly from your closed-door training! Recently, someoneâs improvement made him as proud as a peacock. Itâs good that youâve taught him a lesson.â
âBei Bei, youâre not the one who beat me,â Xu Sanshi retorted angrily. âWhat are you so happy about? If you think youâre strong enough, come fight me one-on-one!â
Bei Bei looked at him from the corner of his eyes and said, âI donât have time for you, as I have things to do. Qiuqiu, Guyi, gather the rest of them. We have a lead, and I think weâll head out soon. Itâs fortunate that little junior brother has already recovered. With him, we have a much bigger chance of success.â
Before Ye Guyi could react, Nan Qiuqiu whooped in joy. She rushed into the back hall to gather the rest of them.
âElder brother, what do we have a lead on?â Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
âOn the matter of rescuing someone from the Sun Moon Empire. Letâs go, weâll talk inside!â Bei Bei replied with a serious expression.
As he said that, he brought Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi into the back hall. The moment he entered, he saw the destroyed tables and chairs. Even the wall at the back had a huge human-shaped hole in it. He could not help but say gleefully, âSanshi, you should change your nickname from The Eternal Defense. What about The Eternal Wreck?â
âWreck⦠wreck your face,â Xu Sanshi retorted in frustration. âDonât be too happy. If you dare, try and spar with him. Little junior brotherâs punch and sword are terrifying! His first punch almost shattered my martial soul, and I could not block the sword. These are not powers that he should be able to use at his level! I think thereâs been a change in his abilities!â
âYou have been happy recently because of your relationship,â Bei Bei said unkindly. âLittle junior brotherâs punch and sword surpass his cultivation by a lot, but it did not come from nothing. This came from his longing for Dongâer. He fused his intent with his emotions and his spiritual power beautifully, and this is the result.
âDo you think itâs easy? His soul power is weaker than yours, but his spiritual power is far beyond yours or mine. He turned his spiritual power into soul power, and achieved this beautiful fusion. Only like that is he able to strike with so much power. However, little junior brother, I advise you not to use this power too often. Iâm afraid that if you become too engrossed in this state, you may never be able to snap out of it.â
âRight,â said Huo Yuhao. He had the same thoughts. His eyes were still dazed. It seemed like he had yet to escape from his longing for Dongâer.
With great power came great sacrifices. Huo Yuhaoâs Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing, and Haodong Palm had the same problem. He devoted all his attention to his longing for Wang Dongâer, which allowed his spiritual power and soul power to fuse perfectly. Then, he injected bits of the power of his Spirit Eyes and Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. At last, his Haodong Palm was a terrifying skill that combined most of his abilities. Even Huo Yuhao himself did not know what would happen if he used this Haodong Palm!
When he heard Bei Beiâs words, Xu Sanshi woke up from his reverie as he said, âLittle junior brother, Bei Bei is right. Your attack is problematic. Please donât be too engrossed in it. Donât use it unless you have to. Try not to use it too often.â As he said that, he pressed down on Huo Yuhaoâs power, channeling cool and clear Xuanwu soul power into him.
Huo Yuhao felt himself tremble. Only then did he regain some lucidity.
âThank you, elder brother, third elder brother. However, even without these three moves, Iâll still miss Dongâer terribly. But donât worry, Iâll be fine.â
Bei Bei sighed and said, âLittle junior brother, youâre a prodigy indeed. This perfect fusion of soul power, spiritual power, and emotion surpasses even my ancestorâs Sovereignâs Descent. If he were still alive, heâd be proud of you.â
When Bei Bei mentioned Elder Mu, a look of respect crossed Huo Yuhaoâs face as he nodded slightly and said, âDonât worry, elder brother. Iâll continue to work hard.â
Xu Sanshi took this time to slip into something clean, not hard since he always carried his storage-type soul tool with him. He tidied himself up so he would look presentable for Jiang Nannan.
â
The three of them entered the conference hall. After a short while, the upper echelons of the leadership of the Tang Sect arrived, too. This time, even Xuan Ziwen, He Caitou, and Gao Dalou came from the Soul Tool Hall. The seats on both sides of the table in the conference hall were all filled. The hall was crammed.
After he saw everyone arrive, Bei Bei said, âEveryone is here. Let us begin.â
Other than Huo Yuhao, the rest of them intoned, âWe of the Tang Sect will always be unrivaled!â
Xu Sanshi, who sat next to Huo Yuhao, whispered, âThis is the motto of the Tang Sect from now on. Remember it.â
âAlright,â Huo Yuhao nodded back. He looked at everyone else, who were all staring at him happily. Only Xuan Ziwen seemed slightly displeased. The rest were all delighted.
Bei Bei smiled and said, âEveryone, Huo Yuhao has completed his closed-door training. This is great news. With Huo Yuhaoâs Imitation, the rescue mission will be much easier.â
When he said that, his face turned serious as he said in a heavy voice, âFrom what the Academy has told us, the Sun Moon Empire did not imprison their hostages in Radiant City. Instead, they are located in Sunrise City.
âSunrise City is to the south of Radiant City. Itâs surrounded by plains that stretched for as far as the eyes can see. Its geography is simple, and so, detrimental to our rescue efforts. Hence, this is why I say that itâll be much easier with Huo Yuhaoâs Imitation. According to assessments made by the Academy, the Sun Moon Empire has become much more wary after the last explosion. As Sunrise City isnât big and has walls, it is very defensible. Not only are there many soldiers there, there are also evil soul masters and powerful soul engineers. In particular, the surveillance soul tools there are going to be a big problem. I donât think little junior brotherâs Imitation can fool them. This rescue operation will be very difficult!â
He Caitou spoke up, âElder brother, can we go by a subterranean route?â
Bei Bei shook his head and said, âNo. The Body Sect did this twice, and each time, the Sun Moon Empire was dealt a heavy blow. They surely have their preparations for that tactic now. To us, our greatest advantage is that the Sun Moon Empire blames the Heavenly Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire for the explosion. Theyâll keep a much tighter watch on those two countries, at least compared to us.
âAfter waiting for two months, while the Sun Moon Empireâs defenses are still tight, they should have relaxed psychologically. The Academy has come up with a plan. After a while, those taking part in this mission will meet with them. Teacher Xuan, please help look after the Tang Sect while weâre gone. Among all of us here, Nannan and Xiao Xiao will stay behind.â
When Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao heard that, they were shocked. However, before they could speak, Bei Bei raised his hand, indicating to them that they should let him finish.
âThis rescue operation will be extremely dangerous. The Tang Sectâs development is going smoothly, so itâs best for the two of you to stay behind. I, Caitou, Sanshi, Yuhao, Guyi, Qiuqiu, and Juechen shall take part in this operation. The rest of you shall stay behind.â