Although the evaluation given by the Douluo World didn't sound very pleasant, it was actually something Baili Du had done intentionally.
For a Soul Elder like Huo Yuhao to possess such stats was, in reality, quite outrageous.
In terms of mental power alone, a Spirit Abyss Realm foundation was at least the standard for a Soul Douluo in Tang Wulin's era. In Huo Yuhao's relatively backward era, it was already no inferior to a Titled Douluo...
As for life force and strength, due to the amplification of the Dragon God bloodline combined with the nourishment of Life Gold on his body, Huo Yuhao's data was enough to rival a Soul Saint, and he was even superior in terms of endurance.
To use a somewhat improper analogy: if Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao were to enjoy themselves to their hearts' content, the one who definitely wouldn't be able to get out of bed would be Ma Xiaotao...
Regarding the Added Value, Baili Du calculated this based on external items like soul bones and Battle Armor. A 100,000-year soul bone or a Heavenly-Forging Battle Armor piece counted as 1,000; a 10,000-year soul bone counted as 100, 20,000 years as 200, and so on.
Previously, Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao had sparred. Neither side used their full strength—he didn't use his second martial soul, and Ma Xiaotao didn't use her sixth soul skill. Relying on the precognition of the Spirit Eye's third soul skill, Epitaph, plus the two powerful defensive soul skills of the Golden Tortoise left leg bone, he could hold his own against Ma Xiaotao for a while. However, the gap in cultivation was ultimately too large; Huo Yuhao lost more often than he won.
That's right—Huo Yuhao could occasionally win against a careless Ma Xiaotao.
Everyone was a genius; in truth, no one was much worse than the other. If one had to say what widened the gap, it was "cheats" and luck.
The target Baili Du had previously set for Huo Yuhao was to pass Stage 2 before reaching Level 40. Naturally, winning and clearing the stage would come with a reward.
Actually, this so-called Stage 2 wasn't that hard; one just had to pick one out of three 5,000-year soul beasts and win.
Huo Yuhao shouted toward the sky: "I want to undergo the Stage 2 trial!"
An emotionless electronic voice rang out from above.
[Received. Initiating Stage 2 for ID: 0001 Huo Yuhao. Please select your combat opponent.]
A golden light fell, transforming into an optical screen in front of Huo Yuhao.
Looking at the three silhouettes of a lion, a dragon, and a tiger on the screen, Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. If he had a choice, he really didn't want to fight any of these guys.
A 5,000-year soul beast sounds weak, but these three thousand-year beasts were:
[Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff], [Pure-Blooded Seven-Element Silver Dragon], and the [Dark Demon Evil God Tiger].
A stat-monster, a mechanic-monster, and a mechanic-plus-stat monster.
Before obtaining the Golden Tortoise's third soul ring, and even while using his Deep Blue Glazed Dragon martial soul, Huo Yuhao had fought all three of these, yet hadn't won once.
From Huo Yuhao's personal combat perspective, the Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff had the greatest strength and highest destructive power—he had taken the most beatings from it. The Silver Dragon's attacks were ever-changing; he was often blasted apart by elemental combinations before he could even get close.
As for the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger... it wasn't as good at elemental control as the Silver Dragon, nor as strong as the Lion-Mastiff. But in Other aspects, the two combined couldn't match the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, especially in terms of intelligence.
That thing's brain was just too good! Aside from not being able to speak, Huo Yuhao even suspected its IQ was higher than a human's.
After two attempts, he gave up. He would rather fight the dragon or the "lion-dog" ten times than face that guy once more...
Clenching his fists, he followed his heart and made a choice. He tapped the screen for the [Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff].
The electronic voice followed:
[ID: 0001 Huo Yuhao has selected Stage Guardian: Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff. Generating... Battle Terrain: Jingyang Mountain Range. Combat begins in five minutes. Please prepare.]
The light screen for the Lion-Mastiff dissolved into gold and black particles, coalescing nearby to generate a strange creature.
Huo Yuhao swallowed hard. He released the three soul rings of his Spirit Eye. This time, he didn't use Simulation to hide the colors of his rings; he had to go all out to have any chance of winning.
Soon, the figure of the Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff fully appeared. It was about two meters long—not particularly massive—but its build looked perfectly proportioned, every muscle seemingly bursting with explosive power. Its head was huge like a lion's, but it had a "ghost face." Compared to its brilliant golden fur, its face was black, etched into a demonic visage.
"Hoo..." Taking a deep breath, he formulated a battle plan in his mind.
He had considered "kiting" it with long-range attacks to wear it down, but the system would deem that a failure. He had to defeat it in a direct confrontation to get the reward.
Five minutes passed quickly, and the Lion-Mastiff's dim eyes suddenly lit up.
"ROAR—" An angry bellow erupted from its throat. Its brownish-yellow eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao. Its golden fur stood on end, and with a leap, it charged.
Spiritual Detection & Sharing had already covered the field. Though the explosive power of the Lion-Mastiff was difficult to handle, his Spirit Abyss Realm mental power was enough to lock its position.
Fortunately, the terrain was a mountain range; otherwise, it might have been much harder... with that thought, Huo Yuhao simultaneously activated his third soul skill, Epitaph. The Lion-Mastiff's next actions began to appear in his vision in synchronization.
This skill had pros and cons. While he could know the opponent's moves ten seconds in advance, "Future Vision" and "Present Vision" occurred simultaneously. After all, your opponent won't just stand there waiting, so a slight slip in concentration could lead to a failure to react.
He stepped forward with his left foot. Suddenly, a brownish-gold rock pillar erupted abruptly from the ground, intercepting the Lion-Mastiff mid-pounce.
Golden Tortoise left leg soul bone skill: Center of the Earth.
This rock pillar's defense was extremely high and its appearance was sudden. Even the Lion-Mastiff couldn't react in time and slammed right into it.
It must be said, this thing's strength was truly immense... even caught off guard, it still managed to shatter the rock pillar generated by Center of the Earth.
However, the impact left the Lion-Mastiff dazed for a moment. Seizing this precious opening, Huo Yuhao quickly unleashed his Spirit Eye's first soul skills.
[Spiritual Clone], [Spiritual Interference Domain].
The Spiritual Interference Domain, a wide-area mental soul skill, wasn't very effective against the Silver Dragon or the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger because their mental power resistance was high enough, and the hallucination/debuff effect wasn't that potent.
But against a "berserker-type" fighter, it was incredibly useful.
Leaving a fake [Huo Yuhao] at his original position, he switched his martial soul to the Deep Blue Glazed Dragon. With a flap of his four pairs of wings, he shot into the air like a rocket.
His right hand transformed into a deep blue dragon claw, and vast clouds of water mist erupted from his body, spreading in all directions.
The area around the Golden-Haired Lion-Mastiff was instantly plunged into a "Water Kingdom."
One of Huo Yuhao's ultimate talents: Pure Water Barrier.
Water benefits all things without contention and encompasses all without exclusion. Although its direct destructive power might not match lightning or fire, water remains one of the most troublesome attributes in the world.
No matter how strong the force, what use is it when striking into water?
But...