He Caitou’s soul tool fortress was a great counter to Jiang Nannan’s abilities, and it was hard to throw him out when he was solidly rooted to the ground. However, the destiny’s blessing from before when he was facing the soul beasts was completely gone. The Eye of Destiny’s powers had a limited duration, and Huo Yuhao could only maintain it for about three minutes with his current strength.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw sprung out once more, and he clashed against Bei Bei’s Thunderous Dragon Claw head-on.

“Clang!” A metal clanging sound boomed, and Bei Bei felt as if five streaks of intense chill shot through his arm from five incredibly sharp talons, and they were drilling deep into him with hysterical speed. He was taken by surprise, and he unleashed his Vigorous Thunderbolt in an instant. Huo Yuhao also released his own Class 2 soul barrier at the same time.

His soul barrier was immediately shattered to pieces, but he managed to block the Vigorous Thunderbolt’s immense power of paralysis. The Ice Empress’ Armor released diamond-like ice crystals that blanketed his entire body and resisted the Vigorous Thunderbolt. Huo Yuhao was pushed back several meters, but he wasn’t injured.

Bei Bei looked down at his dragon claw and realized, to his intense bewilderment, that the sharp tips of his talons each had a thin crack. Even though these cracks weren’t that big, his right arm’s dragon claw was the toughest spot on his entire body. His gaze was immediately attracted to the Darkgolden Terrorclaw on Huo Yuhao’s right hand.

“Junior brother, is that the Darkgolden Terrorclaw soul bone from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear?” Bei Bei asked in astonishment.

Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Very discerning, senior brother.”

Bei Bei gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up with his left hand and said, “Great job. However, I’m going to give everything I have.” He had already noticed that Huo Yuhao had three soul rings on him, and he had never underestimated or looked down on his little junior brother.

He howled into the sky, and Bei Bei’s entire skeleton crackled with a series of explosive popping sounds. His frame grew in size as he became taller by an entire head, while the flesh on his body was conspicuously more bulging than before. His eyes sparkled with bluish-purple lightning, and snake-like streaks of lightning webbed all over his body like a net of lightning.

His third soul skill, Thunderous Fury, had also evolved. Huo Yuhao could feel a tremendous gravitational energy emanating from Bei Bei. The fine and complex bluish-purple net of lightning seemed like it wanted to suck everything into itself, and subsequently tear it apart. The Ultimate Ice energy that he had injected into Bei Bei’s body through the Ice Empress’ Pincer and his Darkgolden Terrorclaw were instantly dispelled after the Thunderous Fury’s explosive release.

Bei Bei’s prowess was worthy of his status as the leader of the new generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters. He made a grab through the air at Huo Yuhao. This was another Thunderous Dragon Claw, but the force of this attack was vastly different from before.

An enormous streak of bluish-purple lightning formed a lightning claw with three meters wide that lashed at Huo Yuhao. This lightning claw was infused with vigorous suction power, as if Bei Bei had incorporated the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon’s effects into his soul skill.

Huo Yuhao couldn’t struggle out from this formidable suction power with his current cultivation, so he could only face it head-on.

Two purplish-golden beams of light burst from Huo Yuhao’s eyes – Spiritual Shock!

Bei Bei’s eyes sparkled at the same time. Purple light flashed across his eyes, but the difference was that Bei Bei’s eyes seemed to contain two lightning whirlpools. Invisible spiritual power clashed violently, and Bei Bei’s head was forced backwards slightly while his forward movement was halted. However, he wasn’t injured in any substantial way. He also knew how to use the Purple Demon Eyes, and he was also incredibly familiar with Huo Yuhao’s abilities. How could he not be prepared for his little junior brother’s signature move?

However, the power of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual shock took Bei Bei by surprise. His forward momentum was hampered, but his Thunderous Fury wasn’t over yet.

His Thunderous Dragon Claw had arrived before Huo Yuhao, and the immense suction power already caused Huo Yuhao to lose his balance slightly. The monumental expenditure during his battle against the soul beasts before this was starting to show. Huo Yuhao didn’t have enough soul power, so formidable abilities such as the Domain of Perpetual Ice and the Ice Empress’ Wrath were out of the question. The Eye of Destiny was similarly unusable. His third soul skill, Mass Enfeeblement, was incredibly powerful, but it was a ten thousand year soul skill, and consumed a lot of his soul power. He had looked very glorious and spectacular before, but there weren’t that many soul skills that he could still use at this point.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, and he exceeded everyone’s expectations when he decided to take this hit. Indeed, he didn’t use any soul skills to defend himself as he curled his body as much as he could before he took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon Claw.

Bei Bei couldn’t prolong his control over this soul skill due to the Spiritual Shock’s effects, so Huo Yuhao only took a direct hit from the Thunderous Dragon Claw’s original power after it was amplified by Thunderous Fury.

The gigantic lightning claw swiftly closed up and trapped Huo Yuhao’s body in a vice-grip. Huo Yuhao’s soul barrier was activated, but it immediately shattered into pieces, and even the original item broke apart.

Huo Yuhao’s own body was in a dire state. Streaks of lightning surged all over his body, and the ice crystals formed by his Ice Empress’ Armor exploded into a layer of icy mist that permeated the sky. His own body wasn’t electrocuted by the lightning streaks, but his body quivered, twisted, and contorted as he collapsed onto the ground. This strike’s power did what it meant to do, and Huo Yuhao’s defenses were completely overcome.

He Caitou wasn’t having a good time on the other side either. His soul tool fortress managed to hold Jiang Nannan back, but Xu Sanshi’s defensive abilities countered his as well. Repeated bombardment meant Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan couldn’t advance, but using the soul tool fortress consumed a lot of soul power.

Xu Sanshi darted forward with Jiang Nannan in between He Caitou’s intermittent attacks, and he finally found an opportunity and slammed into He Caitou’s body.

He Caitou’s choice was a little comical. He realized that he was about to crumble, so he released his Class 4 soul barrier while he withdrew his soul tool fortress. His soul tools were extremely weak, and if the Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle directly clashed against them, most of them would probably be damaged – how could he bear to let that happen? This was just an assessment, after all.

Jiang Nannan finally leapt into action, and when she stepped on He Caitou’s shoulders, He Caitou raised both his hands in the air to signal that he wanted to surrender.

Xian Lin’er’s expression was a little sullen. She understood that her impromptu assessment didn’t achieve the best results. Soul masters were soul masters after all, and the Shrek’s Seven Monsters were best buddies from the beginning, so it was impossible for them to fight with everything they had. However, this meant that she hadn’t seen Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s real limits yet.

“Are you alright, junior brother?” Bei Bei swiftly came before Huo Yuhao and wanted to help him up, but Huo Yuhao flipped around on the ground and launched a Darkgolden Terrorclaw with his right hand. This attack wasn’t aimed at Bei Bei, but rather it slashed to another side. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw erupted with a colossal wave of dark golden light, and a giant claw that was three meters long surged across the sky and violently slammed against the ground, leaving five deep grooves.

“You can’t be so careless, senior brother.” Huo Yuhao smiled as he got to his feet. Even though he appeared terribly unkempt and wretched from the lightning strike, he didn’t seem like he was substantially injured. The Ice Empress’ Armor’s defensive capabilities were still relatively formidable, and the Thunderous Dragon Claw that was no longer under Bei Bei’s control could only make him numb. Bei Bei didn’t follow up on his assault, so he wasn’t considerably injured.

Of course, Huo Yuhao still lost the battle. If Bei Bei had followed up with another strike, then his life would have been in danger. However, he used actions to tell his senior brother that he couldn’t be careless no matter what.

Bei Bei wore a look of amazement. “This… this must be the Darkgolden Terrorclaw’s complete version. You are so fortunate, junior brother!”

Bei Bei was familiar with the Darkgolden Terrorclaw, as he favored soul bones that were related to claws. He had always wanted to attach a suitable right arm soul bone to himself, but hadn’t been able to.

Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “Senior brother, this is one of my takeaways from our expedition into the Great Star Dou Forest. My expenditure during the soul beast assessment was a little too great – if not, I would have let you have a taste of my third soul skill.”

The assessment was over. Even though it was a little anticlimactic, Xian Lin’er, Qian Duouo, and Fan Yu still admired Huo Yuhao.

The Ultimate Soldier Plan had been suggested for a long time, but this was the first experiment. Even though the assessment’s results were a little below expectations, Xian Lin’er’s mood was still pretty good after she frowned momentarily. Huo Yuhao’s display of well-rounded prowess and mighty fighting strength would undoubtedly have a catalyzing effect on the entire Ultimate Solder Plan.

“Alright, the three of you can go back.” Xian Lin’er said to Bei Bei and the two others with an expressionless look on her face.

Xu Sanshi snickered and said, “Dean Xian, about reducing the difficulty of our inner courtyard assessment… What do you think…?”

Xian Lin’er snapped, “Reduce what? Did you guys give your all? You call this an assessment? It was clearly an artificial performance for us to see. Scram, and don’t make me angry.”

“Uh…” Xu Sanshi glanced at Bei Bei, but Bei Bei looked like he didn’t see Xu Sanshi’s expression. Who would choose such a time to invite a snub?

“We should catch up at night when we have time, junior brother.” Bei Bei greeted Huo Yuhao and He Caitou before he hurriedly departed with Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

Xian Lin’er’s mouth twitched and she said, “When you have time? Let me tell you the truth – when the Ultimate Soldier Plan has officially begun, you guys will no longer have time to yourselves. From now on, your lives will be incredibly rich!” She deliberately placed emphasis on the last word, and both Huo Yuhao and He Caitou could feel their hearts beating out of their chests as they listened.

Reality proved that Xian Lin’er wasn’t lying. Once the assessment was over, the two Deans and Fan Yu immediately took them both back to the Soul Tool Testing Area.

They didn’t give Huo Yuhao or He Caitou time to meditate so that they could speedily restore their soul power, and a new teacher appeared before them.