“Is, is that a Class 5 soul tool?” Gao Dalou asked with a shocked expression. It seemed like he had forgotten that the two of them were still in a tournament.

Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “Class 4. A Class 5 offensive-type soul tool can’t be supported with just one formation array. Weren’t you watching me just now?”

“But…”

Huo Yuhao said, “Let’s have a private conversation when the tournament ends.”

“Alright!” Gao Dalou agreed to his request immediately. As his hands moved, the shock cannon was fired once again. Even though he was astonished, it didn’t mean that he was conceding defeat. There were a lot of rare metals at stake!

Huo Yuhao smiled and lifted his right hand, also firing his soul cannon. However, the cannon chargel didn’t brush past the shock cannon shell this time. With his immense spiritual power, it was easy for him to lock onto his opponent’s discharge. It was literally impossible for him to fail to hit it.

Both cannon shells left the barrel at the same time. They also met at around the center point between the two of them, and blew apart. Suddenly, an intense spark of energy blurred their vision. A terrifying shock and energy undulation spread out and struck the both of them.

At this point, Gao Dalou felt that he was in a trance, and everything in front of him had turned blurry. For some reason, he felt that he had deviated from his original position. As he subconsciously turned around, he adjusted his position. When he raised his hand, he fired his cannon again. With his current cultivation, he didn’t need long to charge his cannon even though he couldn’t fire it continuously.

After that… there wasn’t anything after that.

Boom!

Amidst a reverberating boom, Gao Dalou’s body was engulfed by electricity. He felt his entire body turning numb, and a terrifying explosion caused him to become very distressed. He was stuck on one side of the barrier, and his blood seemed to stop flowing. He felt extremely uncomfortable, and wanted to spit out blood. However, he couldn’t do so.

What was going on?

The same thought appeared in everyone’s mind. In their eyes, Gao Dalou made a half turn and flew towards the protective barrier to one side after his cannon charge collided with Huo Yuhao’s cannon charge. As he was only one meter away, he was caught in the explosion of his own Class 4 shock cannon shell. The shock flung him away. Blood still flowed out of his nose and mouth even when he increased his soul power to protect himself. He looked pathetic.

Fortunately, it was only a Class 4 soul tool. If it was a Class 5, he would have been killed if he didn’t unleash his soul skills and other soul tools to defend himself.

Huo Yuhao wore a smile on his face. As he saw Gao Dalou sliding to the floor, he turned to the judge and said, “I guess it’s time to deem me the winner. If I fire one more time, he’ll be dead.”

“Yes, you win,” the judge nodded. Although the situation was very weird, the strength of Huo Yuhao’s soul tool was indeed greater than Gao Dalou’s shock cannon. However, Gao Dalou decided to incapacitate himself so that he would lose for some unknown reason. Did he really think he had no chance at all?

Huo Yuhao turned the wheels of his wheelchair and rolled over in front of Gao Dalou. He smiled and asked, “Brother Gao, are you okay?”

As he was affected by the shock cannon shell, Gao Dalou’s entire body was still shaking. He struggled to prop himself up. “What happened? Why was I struck by my own shock cannon? What’s going on?”

Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “You’ve lost. Let’s go.”

Gao Dalou still felt very dizzy even as he exited the Duel Region. He felt as if he was walking through a world of cotton.

After Huo Yuhao went to claim his reward, he asked, “Brother Gao, shall we find a place to sit?”

Gao Dalou laughed bitterly and replied, “Alright, but you’ll have to treat me. I have no money.”

“Alright,” Huo Yuhao smiled as he answered.

Wang Dong’er was already there by this point. Huo Yuhao instructed Na Na to wait for He Caitou, since he hadn’t finished yet. Wang Dong’er pushed his wheelchair, and they left with Gao Dalou.

He wasn’t worried about his bet. Chen An was around, and thus nothing would go wrong. Gold soul coins were just numbers to him. Rare metals were more important. However, now was not the time.

Wang Dong’er didn’t know about the interaction between Huo Yuhao and Gao Dalou. She was a little curious as he brought his opponent along with him. However, her current appearance was only as Huo Yuhao’s maid, and thus she couldn’t say anything. After the three of them left the hotel, they started walking away from the direction that led to the Ming Yue Hotel.

------

Back in the Golden Hall,

“Chen An, what’s the background of competitor 66? His soul tool is extraordinary!” the chief judge asked Chen An. Initially, he had wanted to offer Huo Yuhao money for his soul cannon. It was obviously a Class 4 soul tool, but it had unleashed the strength of a Class 5! Whether it was in terms of the materials used or the time taken for Huo Yuhao to create his soul tool, they were both very impressive. With such a technique, he might even be able to completely alter the method of how soul tools were created.

Chen An softly said, “Judge Chen, it’s not that I want to remain mum. It’s just that we can’t trifle with him. He…” As he spoke to this point, he made a gesture.

The chief judge was shocked. “Are you sure?”

Chen An leaned up to his ears and whispered a few words.

“Alright. You can go. Don’t tell anyone what I asked you about.” A look of fear flashed across the judge’s eyes before he regained his normal appearance.

“Yes!” Chen An sniggered to himself. How can I let you get close to Sir Tang Wu? I still need him to help me get rich!

------

Huo Yuhao brought Gao Dalou and Wang Dong’er to find a bar that wasn’t too big.

While the bar wasn’t huge, there was a hubbub of laughter and shouting. The moment they walked in the door, they were greeted by pandemonium. Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow at this.

“Little Dong, go and find the manager,” Huo Yuhao instructed.

Wang Dong’er pinched his back with some force. After that, she furrowed her brow and walked in. Very soon, a waiter walked out.

“Is there a private room?” Huo Yuhao asked.

“No, it’s full,” the waiter said without any hesitation as he looked at him in his wheelchair before glancing at the slipshod Gao Dalou. He even wore a slightly disdainful expression and spoke sarcastically. “You shouldn’t be coming to a bar in this state. No lady will like a cripple.”

Huo Yuhao smiled. “That’s not true. Cripples have their rights too, especially rich ones.” As he gestured, Wang Dong’er retrieved a bag of gold soul coins.

Huo Yuhao opened the bag and swayed it slightly. Clinking sounds could be heard coming from the bag.

The waiter’s expression changed, and he laughed. “I’m sorry, distinguished guest. I apologize for looking down on you. Although there aren’t any rooms left, there are still two seats available.”

Huo Yuhao took out a gold soul coin and said, “Give me the quietest spot. We’ve got business to discuss.”

“No problem.” The waiter’s expression changed after he received the gold soul coin.

This wasn’t a dubious setting like the Golden Hall, it was just a bar. Huo Yuhao wouldn’t hold it against a mere waiter. Sometimes, using money was more effective than violence.

Very soon, the three of them were brought to a booth at a corner of the bar. The booth consisted of seats that were separated by a few wooden benches. There were two long sofas in this booth, and a tea-table. Although this booth looked very ordinary, it was still very quiet.

“Bring your most expensive liquor.” Huo Yuhao instructed the waiter.

The waiter’s eyes flashed, and he replied, “Alright! Please wait a minute. It’ll be here soon!”

Gao Dalou looked after the waiter, who had quickly scurried off, and couldn’t help but say, “Brother Tang, you’ll be blacklisted by them like that.”

Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, “Blacklisted? They can do it if they want to. Have you forgotten my identity?”

Gao Dalou replied, “Alright. Let’s not talk about that now. What was going on just now? Why was I struck by my own shock cannon?”

Huo Yuhao answered, “I used a small trick to daze you temporarily. After that, you were confused, and turned in the wrong direction. In such a narrow space, any slight deviation in your sense of direction was sufficient to cause a huge difference in where your attack hit. Your cannon was fired towards the protective barrier next to you, thus you absorbed the entire impact of the explosion. I’m also very curious about something. Why does your shock cannon contain a force even scarier than numbness? Not only can it interrupt a soul skill, but it even caused my blood to stop flowing. Although it only lasted for a second, its impact was quite great. Otherwise, I would’ve taken you down in my first attack.”

After hearing Huo Yuhao’s question, Gao Dalou hesitated. He lowered his head and didn’t mutter a word.

Huo Yuhao didn’t probe either. This was undoubtedly his secret.

“It’s fine if you’re unwilling to tell me. Let’s talk about something else. You mentioned that you’ve never studied at an academy before. Since this is the case, it’s quite a miracle that you were able to reach the standard of a Class 5 soul engineer!”

A Class 5 soul engineer was like a five-ringed Soul King. For him to reach such a level through self-learning before he was even thirty, it showed how much talent and hardwork he had put in!