Chapter 196: The Grand Brawl
While everyone else was busy scrambling to form teams, He Caitou stood alone in place. All of a sudden, a large number of metal tubes emerged from his body—from his shoulders to his back, from his arms to his waist—layering up densely, one row after another.
From a distance, he looked exactly like a human hedgehog.
The most terrifying part was the two metal tube cannons mounted on his shoulders, thick as a grown man's thighs. Even if the students of the Martial Soul Department didn't recognize them as fixed-type soul ammunition shell launchers, they could still feel the horrifying aura radiating from those things.
At the same time, four soul rings rose from beneath his feet—two yellow and two purple—marking him unmistakably as a Soul Ancestor-level powerhouse.
Once all the metal tubes were fully in position, He Caitou, without the slightest hesitation, unleashed a full salvo straight at the most densely packed area.
Over twenty streaks of light burst from his body. The sudden explosion of soul power fluctuations shocked everyone into instinctively whipping their heads around.
Two students bore the direct brunt of it, on the verge of being hit by the concentrated volley of dense light.
The attack had come far too suddenly, and far too fast. Soul tool attacks inherently had very little warning, and with firepower this ferocious, those two simply froze in place, their minds going completely blank.
In the next second, they felt their bodies grow light, as if they were soaring through the clouds.
"You two are eliminated."
Elder Xuan had appeared above their heads at some unknown moment, one in each hand, dragging them back from the brink of death.
Down below, the light of twenty soul tools slammed into the ground with a thunderous roar, the massive explosion shaking everyone's eardrums painfully. The violent shockwave spread out in all directions, kicking up dust and debris several zhang high. Aside from the two unlucky souls rescued by Elder Xuan, everyone else was either scrambling and crawling to dive out of the way, or frantically activating defensive soul skills to tank the impact.
Amidst this chaos, Huo Yuhao had already successfully led Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to charge right up to Bei Bei and his two companions.
He turned his head to look at He Caitou and waved vigorously: "Senior He Caitou, over here!"
Because he hadn't taken Fan Yu as his master like in the original story, nor had he participated in the Ultimate Soldier Project, Huo Yuhao's relationship with He Caitou was merely that of compatible friends, usually exchanging insights on soul tools together. Hence, the form of address was only "Senior He Caitou," not "Senior Brother He."
As soon as his words fell, the first soul ring on Huo Yuhao's body lit up—Spiritual Detection Sharing unfurled in an instant, enveloping Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and the distant He Caitou within its scope.
Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou were all experiencing this ability for the very first time and were instantly startled.
Xu Sanshi's eyes went perfectly round, and he blurted out, "Freaking awesome! No wonder you're so strong!"
He couldn't help but look around in every direction. Even though his eyes were closed, he could "see" the positions and movements of everyone around him—this experience was simply far too novel.
On the other side, Furina remained seated where she was, legs crossed. While stuffing potato chips into her mouth, she hollered toward Dai Huabin and his group:
"Hey, hey, hey! You bunch of clueless rookies, hurry up and team up! Those seven over there have already formed a group—they're invincible now! If you don't work together, are you just waiting to be picked off one by one?"
Hearing this, Wang Dong whipped his head around and glared at her, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice: "You can just sit there and watch the show. Why are you helping them?"
Huo Yuhao, however, understood Furina's meaning and explained with a smile, "Probably doesn't want to let us win too easily—adding a bit of pressure for us."
Xiao Xiao nodded, her fighting spirit fully ignited: "Makes sense! Then let's show them! The seven of us are more than enough to handle the dozen or so remaining!"
Bei Bei also smiled, his tone relaxed: "It's fine. With Yuhao here, they're nothing to fear."
He had great confidence in Huo Yuhao's abilities.
On Dai Huabin's side, after hearing Furina's words, although he felt stifled and humiliated inside, he had to admit she had a point.
The power of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's martial soul fusion technique was staggering, and their support capabilities were even more monstrous. Add Bei Bei and the other two senior students, plus He Caitou, a four-ring Soul Master—a total of four Soul Ancestor-level combat powers. If they didn't unite, there was simply no fight to be had.
He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, join forces! Take them out first!"
The support-type soul masters led by Ning Tian immediately sprang into action. The light of various support soul skills lit up in rapid succession, bestowing their blessings upon their own team members.
"Seven treasures rotate, and glazed tile appears—first is Speed! second is Dispel! third is Strength!"
The sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo embraced each other and activated their martial soul fusion technique, the Heavenly Net. An enormous net of light took shape in midair and came bearing down toward Huo Yuhao and his group.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu also embraced simultaneously. The Netherworld White Tiger roared into manifestation, its colossal tiger claws crushing the ground as it lunged ferociously toward the opposite side.
With Furina's reminder, Dai Huabin and his group reacted far faster than in the original story, deploying nearly their full power right from the start.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.
The two embraced tightly, the Hao Dong Power circulating madly through their bodies. The radiance of the Path of Gold shot skyward, meeting the Netherworld White Tiger and the Heavenly Net head-on.
Three terrifying forces collided with a thunderous boom in midair, erupting in a blinding, dazzling light and a deafening, ear-splitting roar.
Bei Bei let out a low roar. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul instantly possessed his form, purple arcs of electricity crackling and snapping across his body. Without the slightest hesitation, he charged forward, engaging two Assault-type battle soul masters from the opposing side—holding his own against two opponents at once.
Xu Sanshi also revealed his Black Tortoise Shield, the massive barrier blocking in front of Xiao Xiao and He Caitou. While observing the flow of battle, he searched for an opening to strike, ready at any moment to provide support to his teammates.
Xiao Xiao deployed her Thrice-Born Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to control the enemies' movements.
He Caitou stood in place, the soul tools on his body beginning to charge once more, aiming toward the opposing crowd.
The sounds of explosions, battle cries, and the roaring collisions of soul skills echoed throughout the entire Spirit Arena district.
The light of soul rings flashed incessantly, and soul skills of every color interweaved into a chaotic curtain of brilliance.
One student after another was struck and sent flying out of bounds. Elder Xuan's figure flickered and flashed across the arena, each appearance taking away one or two eliminated contestants.
"AHH—!"
"How is this possible! Two martial soul fusion techniques, and they still couldn't beat their martial soul fusion technique?!"
"Idiot, we should have gone for a sneak attack!"
"Who are you calling an idiot!"
"Stop arguing! Keep up the siege! Take out Huo Yuhao and that guy from the Soul Tool Department first!"
...
In less than a quarter of an hour, the number of people on the field had dwindled drastically.
Sixteen, ten, five, three...
When the last burst of light dissipated, the Spirit Arena district finally fell silent.
The ground was pitted and scarred, everywhere bearing the marks left by the bombardment of soul skills. The smoke and dust slowly settled, revealing the seven figures still standing on the field—Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and He Caitou.
The seven were panting heavily, only a few of them bearing injuries, but all their eyes shone with astonishing brightness.
They had won.
With the strength of seven, they had defeated eighteen opponents.
After being eliminated, Dai Huabin and the others stood outside the arena, their faces ashen. He stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao, his fists clenched so tight they creaked, yet he couldn't utter a single word.
And on the other side of the arena, Furina was still sitting where she was, the potato chip bag now empty. She dusted the crumbs off her hands, stood up, and walked slowly, unhurriedly, toward Huo Yuhao and his group.
Exactly eight people remained on the field.
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?)
This story has a somewhat similar style to my other translation for this fandom (same author, after all), but it's completely different from any other fanfic I've come across for this fandom! It's set thousands of years before the original novel/anime, and the MC literally plays a part in shaping the backstory of this world. I really enjoyed it—hope you will too!
Mondaiji: I Really Didn't Want to Become God https://www.webnovel.com/book/36945944200410205