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Huo Yuhao remained silent.
After a long silence, Xue Di said, "Yu Hao, if you can't make a choice, then weigh the pros and cons."
"Mingdetang's investment in you over the years far exceeds that of the Body Sect, and you have always been ambitious about this."
Xue Di had seen what Huo Yuhao had been doing in Mingde Hall over the years. In her opinion, Huo Yuhao should be biased towards Mingde Hall.
Tian Meng said with some fear: "Yuhao, don't get involved in the affairs of that old man Du and old man Toad, let them fight among themselves."
"Alas..." Yin Lex sighed, "It's hard to have the best of both worlds. Child, no matter what choice you make, it's acceptable."
"Let's talk about it then."
Huo Yuhao said calmly.
"In fact, I think I found a way to have the best of both worlds."
……
Green Hotel, VIP room.
In the spacious and luxurious golden room, there were a dozen or so people sitting sparsely, all of them quietly waiting for the game to begin.
Today's second-to-last round of the Soul Guide Competition will determine the top six from the Xishui League Division of the Soul Guide Competition. The next round will determine the top three. These three strongest players will represent the Xishui League Division and go to the western suburbs to compete in the final against the other two underground forces.
The rules of the soul guide competition are that both parties must produce a soul guide device within the specified time, and then use this soul guide device for actual combat. Except for the soul guide device produced on the spot, no other soul guide devices and soul skills are allowed.
As the game progressed, the restriction on using other soul skills began to be lifted. The soul guide competition became more exciting but also more cruel, and more and more bets were poured into the market.
Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and the two disciples of Minglei Douluo all won easily along the way.
“Sir Saint, in this round of competition, the teacher has specially arranged an opponent for you.” Number 96 Huang Zheng said to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao frowned: "Hmm? Who?"
Huang Zheng secretly pointed at a thin, yellow-haired soul mentor in the corner of the room. The number plate on his chest read forty-eight.
“Number 48? Is there anything special about him?” Huo Yuhao asked with some confusion.
He had no impression of Soul Master No. 48, nor did he pay attention to his previous games.
"Sir Saint, he is using a ranking knife, and his strength is below that of a level 5 soul master." Huang Zheng showed an evil smile, "Teacher said that this is a gift from him to you."
Huo Yuhao immediately understood what he meant.
Minglei Douluo specially arranged a contestant with a ranking engraving knife for him, so that he could kill the opponent and take away his ranking engraving knife in the subsequent soul guide competition.
“What a joke.” Huo Yuhao sneered, “What kind of people do you think those who possess the ranking knife are? Can you kill them just like that?”
"If he died in Xishui League, do you really think there would be no trouble?"
"Sir Saint, once you step onto our Xishui League's competition stage, it doesn't matter whether you live or die. In Mingdu, no one dares to cause trouble for the Xishui League."
Merck also advised.
"If the Holy Son is too disdainful to do it himself, we can also do it for him during the competition."
“If it’s someone from Mingde Hall, they wouldn’t dare to do that?” Huo Yuhao glanced at him sideways.
"This..." The two did not dare to speak nonsense.
At this moment, the attendant in the room said: "Dear guests, the competition is about to begin, please enter as soon as possible."
Huo Yuhao stood up and said calmly:
"I want to see his background."
After saying that, he headed for his own competition venue, followed not far behind him by the skinny Soul Master No. 48.
The contestants enter, with two people sitting opposite each other in front of two tables.
After a few rounds of competition, there was no need to emphasize the rules anymore, and everyone just waited for the host to announce the start of the competition.
Huo Yuhao carefully looked at his opponent, the soul master number 48.
Not only was he thin, but his appearance was also not very good. His messy hair made him look sloppy. Only his pair of bright eyes were staring at the various rare metal materials on the table like an eagle.
As the competition progresses, the various metal materials and winning rewards prepared for the players become more and more generous, and the finished soul guides can be taken away by the players themselves after the competition.
The players who made it to this round have already earned a lot from Xishui League.
But no soul engineer would complain about having too few rare metals.
“Could this kind of person be the owner of the ranking engraving knife?” Huo Yuhao muttered in his heart. It was really hard to imagine.
He has the Blade of Life and the Emperor Sword Carving Knife, so he doesn't need to steal other people's ranking carving knives. But it is obvious that Xishui League has already set its sights on the other party, and it is likely that they will not let this fat sheep go.
Noticing Huo Yuhao's gaze, Soul Master No. 48 slowly raised his head and grinned at him: "Hello brother, my name is Gao Dalou."
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and said, “Brother Gao, in this underground soul mentor competition, everyone addresses each other by their numbers. It’s very dangerous for you to introduce yourself like this.”
"Hey, what's the danger? No matter how dangerous it is, it's not as dangerous as being poor to death." Gao Dalou said without any hesitation.
Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "Yes, there is only one disease in this world, and that is poverty."
These words seemed to touch Gao Dalou's heart. He felt the same way and said, "Brother, you are absolutely right. If I hadn't participated in this underground soul mentor competition and made a little money, I would have been so poor that I couldn't even afford to eat or drink."
Huo Yuhao asked, “Brother Gao, why is he so poor? Even a first-level soul engineer can support his family by making soul instruments and live in a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in the center of Mingdu City. With Brother Gao’s strength, how can you be considered poor?”
Gao Dasha seemed to have found someone to talk to: "Hey, don't mention it."
"My family originally had some assets, but then my father died inexplicably. He was a miser and put all the family savings in his own storage soul guide. With his death, all my family assets are gone."
"I'm a soul guide, it's not hard to make some money, but the soul guides I made are like my sons, I can't bear to sell them. I finally earned some gold soul coins by working for others, but I spent them all on buying rare metals."
Huo Yuhao frowned again: "Didn't you join any academy?"
"Hey, don't mention it. I'm already this old, there's no school that wants me."
The more Huo Yuhao listened, the more he felt something was wrong, so he asked, "Who is your master, and who else is in your family?"
"After my father died, I became a lonely person. As for a master, there is no such thing as a master. I learned everything by myself."
After listening to Gao Dalou's answers one by one, Huo Yuhao fell silent.
He didn't know whether to praise Gao Dalou for his honesty or for being cute and silly.
It seems a bit unrealistic for such a fat sheep to carry a list-carving knife without being noticed.
Chapter 346: Undead Bomb
Huo Yuhao looked at the tall building again.
Although he didn't know why the other party had a ranking engraving knife, but without any backing and being targeted by the Xishui League, he most likely would not be able to keep the ranking engraving knife.
Gao Dalou answered whatever was asked, and his face was frank and his emotions did not fluctuate at all. It did not seem like he was lying at all.
Just as Huo Yuhao was puzzled, the chief referee's deep voice rang out throughout the venue: "Please prepare, contestants."
Upon hearing this, Gao Dalou immediately ended the conversation and looked seriously at the metal on the table. His not-so-handsome face showed a cautious and serious expression.
After selecting the materials he needed and making some preparations, he took out a black carving knife from his waist and began to engrave on a small piece of star silver steel.
The inconspicuous black carving knife moved quickly across the surface of the star silver steel, drawing one graceful and even arc after another.
Huo Yuhao was not in a hurry to make his own soul guide. He first looked at the tall building's movements and dispelled his doubts.
Star Silver Steel, a metal with its high density and hardness, once became a nightmare for some novice soul masters. Because it was too hard, if the skills were not up to standard, it was very likely that the carving knife would break during the carving process.
But in Gao Dalou's hand, the inconspicuous black carving knife cut the metal easily as if it were cutting paper.
Huo Yuhao sighed secretly: "It really is the ranking knife."
He could sense that during the process of engraving the tall building, a very special energy fluctuation was injected from the engraving knife into the core magic circle.
The biggest difference between a ranking engraving knife and an ordinary engraving knife is that it can add different abilities to soul guides when making soul guides.
The knife in Gao Dalou's hand is indeed the one used for engraving lists.
With the help of the ranking engraving knife and his skillful technique, the fifth-level soul guide in Gao Dalou's hand has taken shape.
However, Huo Yuhao also discovered some problems with him.
The high-rise building seemed a bit too casual when it came to engraving, with small mistakes like waving fingers around from time to time.
These minor mistakes are harmless, but the academic school pays great attention to correcting these minor mistakes. The Sun and Moon Academy and Mingdu Academy will cultivate students' correct engraving habits starting from the first grade.
Moreover, the order in which the different core magic arrays are engraved on the tall building is not ideal.
His method is obviously unconventional and full of underworld elements, which is basically consistent with his claim that he is self-taught.
“Brother Hao doesn’t need your carving knife, but since the Holy Spirit Church has its eyes on you, let Brother Hao help you.” Huo Yuhao shook his head, stopped looking at the tall building, and started his own work.
He took out several pieces of metal materials, and as soon as the Blade of Life came out, he began to engrave them like flowing water.
The Blade of Living Being has not yet shown any special abilities in his hands, and its appearance is completely different from the original ferocious devouring spirit. It just appears to be a little sharper. No one has yet thought that this is actually a ranking engraving knife.
Who could have imagined that in this underground soul instructor competition, there would be four ranking engraving knives appearing at the same time.
Before long, the core magic array had been engraved, and it was time to make the main part of the soul guide.
Gao Dalou also completed the first stage. He looked up to see what kind of soul guide Huo Yuhao was planning to make. He was surprised to see that Huo Yuhao seemed to have completed most of it.
"Brother, what you are going to make is... a soul-guided bomb?"
He looked at Huo Yuhao's desk. There was neither a gun barrel nor a cannon tube, only a small round ball that could be held in the hand.
"It's a bomb, what's wrong?" Huo Yuhao smiled and tossed the undead bomb he had just finished in his hand.
The advantage of soul-guided bombs over soul-guided cannons is that the production process is much shorter and only a small amount of materials are needed, after all, it is disposable.
Huo Yuhao is now very skilled in making a single Undead Bomb, and it won’t take him long to complete a level five one.
Gao Dalou swallowed his saliva, fearing that the bomb in Huo Yuhao's hand would suddenly go off and explode.
Huo Yuhao had just finished making the undead bomb and took a few pieces of metal to start carving.
Gao Dalou kindly reminded him, "Brother, don't blame me for not reminding you. According to the rules, all players in the soul guide competition are only allowed to use one soul guide device they made. Using a second soul guide device is a violation."
Huo Yuhao said: “Thank you for your kindness, Brother Gao, but I don’t plan to use my second soul guide to participate in the confrontation.”
Gao Dalou looked puzzled: "So, brother, you are...?"
Huo Yuhao explained calmly: "I just saw that there are so many rare metals here, which is very suitable for researching new soul guides."
The tall building couldn't help but gasp.