In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

After Zhu Ningyun's death, some people realized that there were many problems with the previous cultivation methods, so they improved their control over their martial souls by creating their own soul skills and other methods.

Some people, however, still dream of being part of a "Celestial Empire," focusing their development efforts on researching soul tools. This leads to a lack of understanding of their own martial souls, resulting in some laughable actions. We won't say who these people are.

Seeing the two daggers flying towards him, Chen Cheng almost burst out laughing. He immediately swung his Wind and Thunder Sword and knocked the two daggers away.

"Huo Yuhao, you call yourself the most talented Soul Master in thousands of years. Using a dagger as a throwing knife, you are indeed in a class of your own in thousands of years."

Chen Cheng had just turned nineteen. Since he wasn't a time traveler or a reincarnated person, he inevitably had some childish tendencies. Seeing Huo Yuhao's behavior, he couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks.

But he didn't know that when it comes to being petty, Tang San ranks first in the entire Douluo series, and Huo Yuhao is definitely in the top five.

In the past, he would have just made a few sarcastic remarks, or at worst, beaten them up to teach them a lesson and let them know that Huo Yuhao was not someone to be trifled with.

But things are different now. After Huo Yuhao turned to the dark side, his mindset changed a lot. He no longer bothered with hypocritical behavior. He preferred to kill all those who opposed him and turn Douluo Continent into his backyard, continuously absorbing the faith of thousands of soul masters on Douluo Continent.

Going back to reality.

Huo Yuhao was too lazy to argue with Chen Cheng. He then had a thought, and a blue light flashed on the fingerless glove on his hand. His slightly delicate hands transformed into a pair of azure crab claws at a speed visible to the naked eye, and they clamped down on Chen Cheng's position.

"A melee soul tool?"

Chen Cheng frowned. In close combat, he had never backed down from anyone of the same level. Recalling how Huo Yuhao threw the dagger like a throwing knife, he forgot the leader's earlier instructions, gripped his sword with both hands, and began to take things seriously.

Chen Cheng gripped his greatsword and, with a ferocious expression, slashed at Huo Yuhao's head. Huo Yuhao quickly raised his crab claws to defend himself.

This was a clash between a greatsword and a crab claw, a pure contest of strength with no skill involved. For a moment, both of them turned red in the face, seemingly putting all their strength into it and eagerly wanting to win this round of the clash.

As it turns out... hard work can never compare to having a cheat code. In terms of talent, Chen Cheng is definitely one of the top two figures in the second tier. At nineteen years old, he is a high-level Soul King who controls both wind and lightning elemental attributes, and his strength on paper is not weak.

The problem is that Chen Cheng encountered Huo Yuhao, a reborn god king with a million-year soul ring. Don't be fooled by Huo Yuhao's thin and small appearance; it's all just an illusion.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, Chen Cheng showed signs of exhaustion. His muscular arms trembled uncontrollably, and his chest felt like it was filled with lead.

Chen Cheng gritted his teeth, suddenly reduced his strength, and used the thrust generated by Huo Yuhao to retreat backward.

Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao was relentless, his feet moving with incredible speed as he approached Chen Cheng's position step by step, constantly waving his crab claws to harass him.

Chen Cheng complained repeatedly, mechanically swinging his greatsword to deflect the opponent's attacks.

For Huo Yuhao, the crab claw-shaped melee soul tool was clearly more useful than the Twin Dragon Daggers. Don't ask why; it's simply because he used it a lot in his previous life, and the Ice Emperor's golden-finger grandpa taught him all the time. Practice makes perfect.

As for why Huo Yuhao doesn't practice using daggers, don't ask. The answer is simply that Huo Yuhao looks down on daggers. He can already make all kinds of melee and ranged attack soul tools, so why would he lack attack methods?

"This Huo Yuhao... is indeed not simple, but he is a bit old-fashioned. When he gets serious, he doesn't seem like a slacker."

Chen Cheng murmured to himself, as he deflected Huo Yuhao's attacks while pondering whether he should admit defeat.

To be honest, his performance just now was enough. Being able to master both wind and lightning elemental attributes at the same time, many forces will definitely be vying for him after the Soul Master Competition ends. He has already achieved his goal of participating in the competition, so there is no need to fight to the death here.

However... Chen Cheng was clearly unconvinced. He thought Huo Yuhao was a good-for-nothing who rose to power by sacrificing soul beasts. He looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. He believed that if he could gain the favor of a million-year-old soul beast, he would definitely do better than Huo Yuhao.

Thinking of this, Chen Cheng immediately stopped and slashed at Huo Yuhao's head once again with his Wind and Thunder Sword.

Huo Yuhao raised the crab claw to block without expression.

This time, Chen Cheng learned from his mistake and no longer chose to compete with Huo Yuhao in strength. The moment his attack was neutralized by Huo Yuhao, he immediately withdrew his greatsword and spun rapidly in place. In an instant, a hurricane rose up on the Soul Battle Platform, and countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky.

"This move... let's call it Thunderous Might. For three years, day and night, I've been working towards this moment on the field, to prove... that I, Chen Cheng, am stronger than everyone else, stronger than you, the chosen one favored by heaven. You, Huo Yuhao, are nothing but a fool with a million-year soul ring who doesn't strive for anything!"

With a slightly heavy sound, nine bolts of lightning descended from the sky and struck Huo Yuhao's... soul guide protective shield.

As he watched the lightning continuously descending on the Soul Arena, Huo Yuhao's gaze deepened. A pure ice-attribute energy condensed on his right palm and struck towards Chen Cheng's heart.

"Emperor's Palm - Great Cold with No Snow!"

With a flash of azure light, everyone was surprised to find a heart encased in ice in Huo Yuhao's hand.

Chen Cheng... is dead?

Since his heart is gone, he must be... dead, right?

Following Huo Yuhao's gaze, the audience saw... Chen Cheng's body lying on the Soul Battle Platform with a ferocious expression, his heart completely hollow. Many timid female Soul Masters turned their heads away, unable to bear this gruesome scene.

Just then, a female Soul Master ran onto the Soul Arena, pointed at Huo Yuhao's nose, and demanded, "Why did you kill him?"

As she spoke, she could no longer contain her emotions, knelt down beside Chen Cheng, and burst into tears.

Huo Yuhao said calmly, "We are both Soul Kings. Since he chose to challenge me and unleash his most powerful attack, I, Huo Yuhao, can only do my best to defend. If he can't withstand my full-force attack, that's Chen Cheng's problem, what does it have to do with me?"

"I can't just put myself in danger by deliberately holding back and letting Chen Cheng attack me indiscriminately, can I?" (End of Chapter)