Huo Yuhao clearly could have easily defeated his opponent now, but he didn't strike. Instead, he let them unleash their powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
If it were any other Student, the surrounding Students and teachers watching the match would probably have called it 'arrogant.'
But because this person was Huo Yuhao, they didn't feel that way; this was their recognition of Huo Yuhao's strength.
Dai Huabin looked at Huo Yuhao's indifferent expression and steeled his heart.
He turned around and pulled Zhu Lu into a hug.
Zhu Lu's body stiffened slightly; she knew what he was about to do.
Yet she still whispered in his ear, "Our Martial Soul Fusion Skill... I'm afraid it won't be enough to deal with him. He's someone who defeated a Spirit Emperor."
Dai Huabin's throat bobbed. His voice was hoarse yet filled with a sense of finality: "I know. But even if I lose, I will give it my all!"
Hearing this, Zhu Lu no longer hesitated.
"Alright, I'll help you!"
The Spirit Power of both individuals surged simultaneously, intertwining and merging in the air.
Golden light and vermilion light became entangled, growing brighter and more intense until they completely swallowed the figures of the two.
As the light dissipated... a massive tiger, over eight meters long and over two meters tall, appeared on the arena stage.
The tiger was snow-white all over, with only deep blue patterns along its spine.
Its eyes were like two clumps of burning flames, radiating a soul-shaking light.
This was precisely Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill—the Hell White Tiger!
This aura had already far surpassed the Spirit Elder level, even faintly reaching the level of a Spirit King.
Wang Dong descended from mid-air, floating down to land beside Huo Yuhao.
The two simply looked at each other and understood what the other meant.
Wang Dong clearly wanted to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Huo Yuhao as well. She had seen the power of the Eternal Road with her own eyes; if they used it, this Hell White Tiger wouldn't even be worth mentioning.
But Huo Yuhao did not agree; he simply shook his head slightly.
Because this wasn't just a match; it was his revenge.
The massive white beast opened its bloody maw, its sharp claws tearing through the air as it lunged straight forward with suffocating pressure.
Facing the Hell White Tiger roaring and pouncing toward him, Huo Yuhao's expression remained as calm as still water.
The current him had far too many ways to deal with such an attack.
Yet he still didn't use any Spirit Ability. He simply condensed his Spirit Abyss Realm mental force into a single point and launched a mental shock toward the Hell White Tiger.
A mental force attack is formless and invisible. Most of the spectators couldn't even tell how Huo Yuhao had made his move.
They only saw Huo Yuhao's eyes flicker slightly, and then the Hell White Tiger, mid-pounce in the air, suddenly emitted a violent burst of light!
The light flashed and vanished, and then the massive white beast actually disappeared directly!
At the same time, two figures fell from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the arena stage.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's bodies slammed into the hard floor of the arena, making a dull thud.
At this moment, both were in an extremely miserable state.
Bleeding from their seven facial orifices and deathly pale, they looked as if they were on the verge of death from critical injuries.
This was even after Huo Yuhao had held back. In his script, Dai Huabin could not lose consciousness at this moment.
After all, the good show was just beginning.
Huo Yuhao started walking, slowly approaching Dai Huabin.
Just then...
"Stop!"
An urgent voice came from the spectator stands. The speaker was a man who looked to be about forty years old. His face was solemn as he stood up, his gaze fixed straight on Huo Yuhao on the stage.
His name was Yuan Feng, and he was Dai Huabin's class teacher. He didn't understand why Director Du hadn't announced the end of the match yet, but he had to speak up now.
If a Student from his own class was beaten into such a state on the stage and he didn't step in, what prestige would he have left in the class? Who would still respect him as their class teacher?
Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks.
He looked up, his gaze crossing the edge of the stage to land on Yuan Feng .There wasn't a hint of emotion on that clean-cut face. Meeting those calm eyes, Yuan Feng felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest, but he continued, "Student Yuhao, for this match... we concede."
Huo Yuhao's brow twitched slightly upon hearing this.
He lowered his gaze, glancing at Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu lying on the ground.
Though the two were badly injured and covered in blood, they were still conscious.
At this moment, neither of them said anything like "we haven't lost yet."
Clearly, they had accepted the result of their defeat.
According to the normal process, the winner had been decided. Huo Yuhao should have stopped, walked off the stage, and accepted the cheers belonging to the victor.
But he didn't.
Huo Yuhao looked up at Yuan Feng, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The smile was very gentle, yet it inexplicably made people feel a chill in their hearts.
"Teacher, the match is over." His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "But what comes next is my family matter. Please do not interfere."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd was completely bewildered.
This was the semi-finals of the Freshman Assessment; how did it suddenly turn into a family matter?
Everyone looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion.
Just then, Huo Yuhao had already walked a few steps to Dai Huabin's side.
He crouched down, looking down at the other's miserable face from above. Blood smeared across his entire face, and his originally handsome features were now in a wretched state.
Huo Yuhao smiled. In that smile, there was relief, there was gratification, and there was also an indescribable complexity.
"My dear brother. I wonder if you remember me now?"
Huo Yuhao did not bother to lower his voice. Consequently, everyone heard those words.
The area around the arena instantly fell silent.
Countless gazes snapped toward the arena, toward those two figures.
Huo Yuhao's words just now echoed in their minds. He actually called Dai Huabin... brother? How was that possible?!
Dai Huabin lay on the arena, unable to muster even a bit of strength.
His eyes were open, and he looked at the leaning Huo Yuhao with a vacant gaze.
That clean-cut face, those calm eyes, and that condescending posture all shifted before his eyes, blurry yet clear.
The moment Huo Yuhao's words reached his ears, he froze for a second.
Then... his pupils suddenly constricted!
The constriction was so violent, it was as if something had exploded in his mind!
Seeing this expression, Huo Yuhao smiled again. The smile deepened further than before, yet his eyes remained icy.
"It seems you finally remember."
Dai Huabin's chest began to heave violently, like a broken bellows, making heavy, raspy wheezing sounds.
It felt as if something was blocking his throat; every breath was incredibly difficult.
His expression gradually became distorted and hideous. Despite the pain wracking his body, despite the difficulty breathing, and despite every heartbeat feeling like it would tear his chest apart.
He still used all his strength to squeeze a sentence from the depths of his throat. His voice was raspy, cracked, and hysterical: "You... are that bastard?!"
The moment he shouted those words, Dai Huabin's face was full of disbelief.
Yes. He remembered. He remembered who the person in front of him was!
Back then, he was still called Dai Yuhao. Back then, he still lived in the most remote courtyard of the White Tiger Dukes Mansion. Back then, he always kept his head down, always hid behind that lowly maidservant, and always used those eyes to peek at them...those eyes were exactly the same as they were now, but the look in them had changed.
And now, he was called Huo Yuhao.
He was the illegitimate Son of the Duke of White Tiger, the existence Dai Huabin looked down upon most, the ant who had been trodden under his feet and bullied at will since childhood.
Dai Huabin truly found it difficult to accept this fact right now.
The person who was once under his feet, the person who once needed courage just to look up at him, the person he could beat, scold, and humiliate at will...Now, he actually possessed the strength to easily defeat him.
And the defeat was so thorough, so crushing, and so effortless.
He didn't want to believe it.
He really didn't want to believe any of this.
This was truly more painful than killing him!
A deathly silence fell over the arena.
If the crowd hadn't believed Huo Yuhao's mention of a "family matter" before, then the words Dai Huabin just shouted were undoubtedly a confession!
Everyone around, whether teachers or Students, was now dumbfounded.
They stared blankly at the two figures on the stage, their minds a complete blank.
Dai Huabin and Huo Yuhao were actually... biological brothers?!
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.