Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 17: A Battle Without Pressure

The ideal is beautiful, but reality is cruel. Before Xiao Xiao even had a chance to show herself, she was completely crushed by Huo Yuhao, who didn't even use any hidden weapons.

After all, although the Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron is considered top-tier in terms of weapon spirit, Xiao Xiao has indeed put in a lot of hard work in the forging of her spirit.

However, with the Eye of Truth, Huo Yuhao could easily discern Xiao Xiao's every thought during the battle, and he could predict her moves by avoiding the Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron's attacks. After getting close, he relied on the Eye of Truth for assistance.

Huo Yuhao knocked Xiao Xiao to the ground with just a few punches and kicks, rendering her unable to get up.

Even when Huo Yuhao threw her to the ground, Xiao Xiao was still completely bewildered, her face full of confusion.

Who am I? Where am I? What happened?

"What, are you convinced now? Want to try again?" Huo Yuhao smiled as he looked at Xiao Xiao lying on the ground, reached out his hand, and pulled her up again.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao pursed her lips and straightened her clothes. She wasn't stupid; judging from Huo Yuhao's nonchalant demeanor, he clearly hadn't used his full strength yet, and she didn't want to embarrass herself any further.

"Alright, let's call it a day. Go back and get some rest before the afternoon exam," Huo Yuhao said with a yawn.

And so, the afternoon arrived quickly, and Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao also arrived at the Shrek Academy's assessment area.

"By the way, the opponents we face next shouldn't be too strong, so you two should hold back and try to stall for time. I'll intervene if anything unexpected happens," Huo Yuhao instructed Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

After all, the competition is a great opportunity for Huo Yuhao to observe other people's soul skills. Huo Yuhao naturally wants to seize the opportunity to give his opponents more opportunities to perform, so that he can have more information on their soul skills to analyze.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were both puzzled and looked at Huo Yuhao with doubt.

"Aside from freshman enrollment and sparring at home, how many times have you guys actually fought? To put it bluntly, the freshman assessment was just a bunch of weaklings fighting each other. Accumulating more experience will help you become stronger later," Huo Yuhao casually made up a reason.

However, becoming stronger is not as simple as Huo Yuhao said. While practical experience is one part, it is more important to conduct a deep analysis of one's own abilities and those of the enemy, and ultimately to counterbalance the strengths and weaknesses of both.

This is the true way for the weak to overcome the strong, or for the strong to ensure they don't suffer a setback due to carelessness.

Sufficient combat experience can only help Soul Masters develop a certain degree of combat instinct, preventing them from being at a loss when faced with unexpected situations. However, if they are not good at summarizing their experiences, they will not become much stronger in the end.

Soon, as they officially entered the assessment area, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were ready to face their only warm-up match opponents of the day.

There were 306 groups of students participating in the new student assessment this time, totaling 918 people. Only 150 groups will be able to stay in the end.

"Attention all new students! Attention all new students! Please proceed to the assessment area immediately to prepare for the new student assessment."

Amidst the broadcast announcements and mixed emotions, most trainees nervously entered the assessment area to face their new opponents.

Huo Yuhao and his group were in District 33 for this assessment, which consisted of six groups of trainees.

A male teacher in his forties with an ordinary appearance smiled and said to everyone, "Now that all the students have arrived, let me introduce myself. I am your assessment teacher, Wang Yan, and I will be your assessment teacher for the next two days."

Skipping the pleasantries, Wang Yan began arranging for the first group of trainees to enter and take the assessment.

"First round, first assessment: Class 1 freshmen: Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao; Class 3 freshmen: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen."

"You may enter now. Take your places. You may release your martial spirits only after I announce the start of the match. Enter now."

When Zhao Haochen, a chubby boy from Class 3, heard about his opponent, his face immediately darkened, and he quickly introduced him to his two teammates.

"Damn, what a bad start! Those two on the other side were amazing guys who made the senior students look terrible during the entrance exam. They're probably out of luck this time. Let's try our best to perform well."

"Go away, stop jinxing us. We'll only know who's stronger after we fight."

"Exactly! They're strong, but we're not weak either. It's not certain who will win!"

Soon, both sides had taken their positions in their respective formations.

Huo Yuhao's side was naturally led by Wang Dong, with Xiao Xiao positioned between Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

Meanwhile, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng stood closer to Zhao Haochen, protecting him.

After seeing that both sides had adjusted their positions, Wang Yan said, "The assessment begins."

Both sides released their martial spirits immediately, but Huo Yuhao took the initiative and flicked the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moon at his waist, sending three flying stones flying towards the three opponents.

Wang Dong then unfurled the wings of the Goddess of Light Butterfly and rushed swiftly toward the three people opposite him.

Three large black cauldrons also hovered in front of Xiao Xiao, ready for battle.

Just as Zhao Haochen was thinking about reciting his soul skill incantation, a flying locust stone struck his throat.

Although the flying locust stones weren't very lethal, this attack still made the chubby boy swallow his words again.

Also hit were Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng, who were about to reach for the chicken leg. Because they were distracted by trying to grab the little fat boy's chicken leg, their mouths were also hit squarely by the flying stones thrown by Huo Yuhao.

Blood started flowing out immediately, and it swelled up rapidly.

Seeing the chubby boy unable to speak for a moment, and feeling the pain in their mouths, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng became furious. They didn't care about waiting for the chubby boy's big chicken leg to support them, and each used their soul skills to rush towards Wang Dong.

"Interesting, a special student recruited by the Tang Sect?" Wang Yan couldn't help but pay more attention to Huo Yuhao at this moment.

"He's quite skilled with hidden weapons. But what's his martial soul? Judging from his soul rings, he's already used his soul skills—are they amplification-type soul skills?"

At this moment, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng, two agility-type soul masters, rushed towards Wang Dong with great anger, but anger could not make up for the difference in strength.

In terms of raw strength, the gap between them and Wang Dong is still too large.

Moreover, with Huo Yuhao's support from behind, hidden weapons flew out from all blind spots. In order to avoid these hidden weapons or suffer less damage, the two agility-type soul masters had to slow down their advance.

This gave Wang Dong an opportunity. He used his first soul skill, Winged Guillotine, to attack the two of them. At the same time, Huo Yuhao threw two more hidden weapons.

Upon seeing Wang Dong's attack, Ouyang Junyi immediately activated his first soul skill, with the sword-shaped spikes on his right arm transforming into dozens of beams of light that attacked Wang Dong.

Meanwhile, Chen Junfeng, standing to the side, simultaneously activated his first soul skill, his short sword flashing with sword light as he slashed towards Wang Dong.

However, at this moment, two hidden weapons appeared out of nowhere and struck their wrists. Immediately afterward, due to the pain, their soul skill attacks were deformed and grazed past Wang Dong's body without causing any real damage.

"Alright, these two are both one-ring Soul Masters, nothing much to see here. However, this hummingbird Soul Master's first Soul Skill is not bad." Huo Yuhao's eyes dimmed, and he said directly to Wang Dong, "That's enough, finish them off."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong did not hesitate. As the Winged Guillotine slashed down, Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron followed. Accompanied by the vibrations of soul power, the two agility-type soul masters collapsed to the ground, powerless.

Seeing this, Wang Yan didn't waste any time and directly announced, "Wang Dong's team from Class One has won a match."

Looking at Huo Yuhao and the other two, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel a little emotional. The hidden weapons were indeed worthy of being used by the Tang Sect, which was once famous throughout the continent. They were exceptionally clever and gave them a great advantage in battles between low-level Soul Masters.

"It's a pity the world has changed. The gap between hidden weapons and soul tools will only widen over time, which is why the Tang Sect declined. However, this child seems to have excellent insight, always able to anticipate the enemy's moves and strike their vitals."

"Let's see later. This team should be Zhou Yi's trump card. Indeed, among Soul Masters and Great Soul Masters, hidden weapons are still very useful, but their difficulty in use is too high, and few people train specifically for them."

"And this child looks familiar. Oh right, I seem to have been seeing him at the library a lot these past few months. Balancing cultivation with reading? Not bad, not bad."

After the assessment, Huo Yuhao and his two companions did not leave immediately, but watched the other two matches separately. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao spoke to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

"We've gathered enough intelligence. The upcoming battles aren't very interesting, so let's finish this quickly."

Seeing Huo Yuhao's flip-flopping, Wang Dong was momentarily speechless: "You, you, you, didn't you just tell us that we needed to develop combat experience?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong. It's just a competition of this level, there's no need for that at all. I'm going back to sleep now." Huo Yuhao left as if he were fleeing, and Wang Dong chased after him.

"Hmm, I've looked at most of it. I'll go back and try out the newly recorded soul skills by disassembling and combining them." Huo Yuhao thought to himself as he ran. As for going back on his word? That's called being adaptable!

On the second day, there were four matches, each against one of the other four teams in the same district. However, with the suppression of the two Great Soul Masters, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao's tricky teamwork, they easily won all four battles.

Meanwhile, Wang Yan's gaze towards Huo Yuhao from the sidelines grew increasingly intense. "Interesting, very interesting. Could this martial soul be a true form martial soul?"

When Huo Yuhao activated his Spirit Eye, only his eyes changed. Wang Yan, as the examiner who had watched five matches, was not blind and could notice such an obvious change.

"While the advantage of a martial soul is indeed not apparent at lower soul power levels, Huo Yuhao actually combined his martial soul with hidden weapons, ensuring sufficient combat power for at least the first thirty levels. Not bad, not bad, very clever."

After all, for most Soul Masters, the only things they trust are their own bodies and Soul Skills. Using hidden weapons or Soul Guidance Devices is something that Soul Masters despise.

However, because Wang Yan's talent for cultivation is not high and he specializes in theory, what he most wants to become is a theoretical "master" like Yu Xiaogang from ten thousand years ago.

Seeing Huo Yuhao using hidden weapons now, I suddenly felt like Yu Xiaogang from ten thousand years ago had met Tang San.

"It's such a pity. He has a powerful martial soul, and he seems quite good in every aspect. He would probably be highly regarded in the academy, so it's unlikely I'll be the one to provide him with comprehensive instruction."

"However, I haven't seen its original martial soul before. It would be great if I had the chance to study it."

And so, Huo Yuhao found himself in Wang Yan's sights without even realizing it. After all, Huo Yuhao knew what Wang Yan was thinking even without activating his Eye of Truth.

"It doesn't matter, becoming a core disciple will grant me access to more resources anyway."

"Besides, we can't extricate ourselves right now, under Tang Buddha's watchful eye. We can only try to secure the resources we can. For now, we'll wait for the right opportunity, until Tang Buddha lowers his guard, or until Electrolux awakens."

Soon, the third day of the competition began, and this time Huo Yuhao and his team faced two sisters, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, whose martial souls were hair, as well as Huang Chutian, a powerful attack-type soul master.

"Hair-based martial souls. Since this type also belongs to the category of body-based martial souls, could I use it to modify my body?"

"After all, I can glimpse the composition of a martial soul, and the original martial soul is different from ordinary beast martial souls or weapon martial souls. Could I artificially modify my blood and soul power composition to make it compatible with and complete my own martial soul?"

"What if I could transform my own martial soul into a true 'original' martial soul?" Thinking this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but become more interested.

Wang Yan announced, "Alright, both teams are all here. Since Wang Dong's team achieved the best results in this region in the first five rounds of the competition, they will be the seeded team in this region."

"According to the competition order, they will be the first to play. The first match of the sixth round in Zone 33: Wang Dong's team from Class 1 of Freshmen versus Huang Chutian's team from Class 7 of Freshmen. Ready to begin!"

After exchanging names, they took their places, with Huo Yuhao's group maintaining the original order.

On the other side, Huang Chutian stood at the very front, with Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo behind him.

Seeing that both sides were in position, Wang Yan announced, "The match begins!"

With both sides activating their martial spirits, a battle was about to break out. Huo Yuhao did not throw out his hidden weapon at the beginning as he had done before, but instead observed the situation quietly.

(End of this chapter)