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 Yuhao"s attack, but he still felt as if his Xuanwu s.h.i.+eld almost broke because of it. If his martial soul broke, he would be severely injured!
"What the h.e.l.l, little junior brother?" Xu Sans.h.i.+ asked with a bitter laugh.
Huo Yuhao scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Third elder brother, if I tell you I don"t know what I did, will you believe me?"
"You rascal!" Xu Sans.h.i.+ said unkindly. "Who the h.e.l.l would believe you?"
Huo Yuhao said, "This 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."
Xu Sans.h.i.+ was stunned. "There"s still a palm strike?. Had the sword not sent me flying, would you have struck me with your palm?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, "No! I need to acc.u.mulate strength for my Haodong Palm. Right now, I can"t link them together. I don"t think I"m strong enough."
Xu Sans.h.i.+"s mouth twitched as he said, "If you"re not strong enough, how can you beat me so badly? That"s not right! You haven"t 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?"
A dazed look crossed Huo Yuhao"s eyes as he said, "I don"t 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 Dong"er. I don"t know how this came to be. If I did, I would have held back just now. I"m sorry, third senior brother. How bad are your injuries?"
Xu Sans.h.i.+ asked suspiciously, "This is so strange! Have you become too obsessed?"
"Can you stop being so negative?" Bei Bei"s voice rang out.
When he saw Xu Sans.h.i.+ in his pathetic state, he was shocked too. He turned to look at Huo Yuhao joyfully as he said, "Congratulations, little junior brother! You"ve recovered!"
Huo Yuhao rushed up and said, "Sorry for making you worry, elder brother."
Bei Bei hugged him tightly and said, "It"s good that you"re alright! There"s no need for formality. It appears that you benefited greatly from your closed-door training! Recently, someone"s improvement made him as proud as a peac.o.c.k. It"s good that you"ve taught him a lesson."
"Bei Bei, you"re not the one who beat me," Xu Sans.h.i.+ retorted angrily. "What are you so happy about? If you think you"re strong enough, come fight me one-on-one!"
Bei Bei looked at him from the corner of his eyes and said, "I don"t have time for you, as I have things to do. Qiuqiu, Guyi, gather the rest of them. We have a lead, and I think we"ll head out soon. It"s fortunate that little junior brother has already recovered. With him, we have a much bigger chance of success."
Before Ye Guyi could react, Nan Qiuqiu whooped in joy. She rushed into the back hall to gather the rest of them.
"Elder brother, what do we have a lead on?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
"On the matter of rescuing someone from the Sun Moon Empire. Let"s go, we"ll talk inside!" Bei Bei replied with a serious expression.
As he said that, he brought Huo Yuhao and Xu Sans.h.i.+ 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, "Sans.h.i.+, you should change your nickname from The Eternal Defense. What about The Eternal Wreck?"
"Wreck… wreck your face," Xu Sans.h.i.+ retorted in frustration. "Don"t be too happy. If you dare, try and spar with him. Little junior brother"s 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 there"s been a change in his abilities!"
"You have been happy recently because of your relations.h.i.+p," Bei Bei said unkindly. "Little junior brother"s punch and sword surpa.s.s his cultivation by a lot, but it did not come from nothing. This came from his longing for Dong"er. He fused his intent with his emotions and his spiritual power beautifully, and this is the result.
"Do you think it"s 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. I"m afraid that if you become too engrossed in this state, you may never be able to snap out of it."
"Right," 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 Dong"er.
With great power came great sacrifices. Huo Yuhao"s Fist of Remembrance, Sword of Longing, and Haodong Palm had the same problem. He devoted all his attention to his longing for w.a.n.g Dong"er, 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 Bei"s words, Xu Sans.h.i.+ woke up from his reverie as he said, "Little junior brother, Bei Bei is right. Your attack is problematic. Please don"t be too engrossed in it. Don"t use it unless you have to. Try not to use it too often." As he said that, he pressed down on Huo Yuhao"s power, channeling cool and clear Xuanwu soul power into him.
Huo Yuhao felt himself tremble. Only then did he regain some lucidity.
"Thank you, elder brother, third elder brother. However, even without these three moves, I"ll still miss Dong"er terribly. But don"t worry, I"ll be fine."
Bei Bei sighed and said, "Little junior brother, you"re a prodigy indeed. This perfect fusion of soul power, spiritual power, and emotion surpa.s.ses even my ancestor"s Sovereign"s Descent. If he were still alive, he"d be proud of you."
When Bei Bei mentioned Elder Mu, a look of respect crossed Huo Yuhao"s face as he nodded slightly and said, "Don"t worry, elder brother. I"ll continue to work hard."
Xu Sans.h.i.+ 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.
---
The three of them entered the conference hall. After a short while, the upper echelons of the leaders.h.i.+p 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, "Everyone is here. Let us begin."
Other than Huo Yuhao, the rest of them intoned, "We of the Tang Sect will always be unrivaled!"
Xu Sans.h.i.+, who sat next to Huo Yuhao, whispered, "This is the motto of the Tang Sect from now on. Remember it."
"Alright," 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, "Everyone, Huo Yuhao has completed his closed-door training. This is great news. With Huo Yuhao"s Imitation, the rescue mission will be much easier."
When he said that, his face turned serious as he said in a heavy voice, "From 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.
"Sunrise City is to the south of Radiant City. It"s 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 it"ll be much easier with Huo Yuhao"s Imitation. According to a.s.sessments made by the Academy, the Sun Moon Empire has become much more wary after the last explosion. As Sunrise City isn"t 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 don"t think little junior brother"s Imitation can fool them. This rescue operation will be very difficult!"
He Caitou spoke up, "Elder brother, can we go by a subterranean route?"
Bei Bei shook his head and said, "No. 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. They"ll keep a much tighter watch on those two countries, at least compared to us.
"After waiting for two months, while the Sun Moon Empire"s 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 we"re gone. Among all of us here, Nannan and Xiao Xiao will stay behind."
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.
"This rescue operation will be extremely dangerous. The Tang Sect"s development is going smoothly, so it"s best for the two of you to stay behind. I, Caitou, Sans.h.i.+, Yuhao, Guyi, Qiuqiu, and Juechen shall take part in this operation. The rest of you shall stay behind."