webnovelvip Chapter 262 "Flesh and Blood, Returned to You!"
Chapter 262 "Flesh and Blood, Returned to You!"
Chapter 262 "Flesh and Blood, Returned to You!"
The Xingluo military camp was deathly silent.
Dai Hao stood on the high platform in front of the command tent, his face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.
He could clearly feel countless gazes focused on him from behind.
Those gazes held astonishment, anger, resentment, confusion, and lingering resentment towards Huo Yuhao's humiliating words.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that the Heavenly Soul Eastern Army had breached the city so easily.
The Heavenly Soul Eastern Army, which had always been used as a training ground, was now equipped with far too advanced soul tools.
This made some soldiers transferred from the Western Army Group subconsciously think of the Sun and Moon Empire on the west side of the Mingdou Mountains.
However, just as Dai Hao was about to issue the order to seize the city, Huo Yuhao, who had been keeping his eyes fixed on them from mid-air, did something that made Dai Hao feel even more humiliated.
Surprisingly, Huo Yuhao calmly put on his Azure Dragon King's crown robes in full view of everyone.
Huo Yuhao stretched out his arms, his movements carrying an almost ritualistic solemnity.
The Azure Dragon King's Crown, representing the supreme power and glory of the Heavenly Soul Empire, seemed to come alive and automatically draped itself over his body.
Her clothes fluttered and rustled even though there was no wind.
Then a phantom image of a ten-zhang-long azure dragon coiled and rose around Huo Yuhao, emitting a heart-stirring dragon roar.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao was no longer just a powerful figure, but the Azure Dragon King of the Heavenly Soul Empire!
A pillar of the empire whose status is even higher than that of Duke Daihao Baihu!
In the most direct and unquestionable way, he laid bare and oppressively displayed his identity, status, and the immense imperial power he represented to Dai Hao and the entire Star Luo army!
"Huo Yuhao!!!"
"You've gone too far!!!"
Dai Hao felt as if he had been punched hard in the chest, and his chest was so painful that he almost couldn't breathe.
From the moment he first met Huo Yuhao, this young man with the title of Azure Dragon had been targeting him.
During the previous Soul Master Competition in Xingluo City, Dai Huabin rebuked Huo Yuhao, saying that a mere Azure Dragon Earl was not worthy of speaking to the White Tiger Duke.
Now, in just a few short years, Qinglong Bo has transformed into the high and mighty Qinglong King.
A king of a different surname, a rarity even in the history of the Heavenly Soul Empire!
The Evil-Eyed White Tiger Martial Soul appeared uncontrollably, crouching low and roaring angrily at the Azure Dragon coiled in the sky.
The roars of dragons and the howls of tigers clashed fiercely in this world.
"Duke of the White Tiger".
Huo Yuhao's voice was like a steel knife scraping bone: "In front of me, the Azure Dragon King, you, the mighty war god of the empire, are you just going to stand here like a wooden stake, letting your soldiers stare at your spine with the eyes of someone looking at trash?"
This is no longer a simple humiliation.
This is to completely trample on Dai Hao's and the dignity of the White Tiger Duke underfoot, and to repeatedly crush them with the authority of the Heavenly Soul!
The Xingluo military camp was in complete uproar.
"He's daring to intimidate us! How dare this brat insult my Marshal!"
"Your Grace, give the order! This humble general is willing to fight to the death!"
"Forget about the Azure Dragon King! I don't believe he alone can wipe out our entire Star Luo army!"
The soldiers were filled with rage, weapons raised high, and countless soul rings lit up in their fury, instantly filling the sky above the military camp with violent fluctuations of soul power.
Huo Yuhao's imperial robes completely ignited the last vestiges of reason in the Star Luo soldiers.
Even though Dai Hao is currently facing much criticism in the Star Luo Empire, they cannot tolerate their commander having his dignity so blatantly trampled on by the enemy!
Capture the city?
All they want now is to tear apart this Azure Dragon King high in the sky!
"This is going too far!"
Huo Yuhao's voice suddenly rose, his vigorous spiritual power pouring down like the Milky Way from the heavens, instantly overwhelming the roar of the Star Luo Army.
"That's a question I should be asking you!"
"Dai Hao! You hypocrite, you sanctimonious and shameless scoundrel!"
"Duke of the White Tiger? You dare to challenge me?!"
Where were you when Dai Huabin died? What were you doing when Dai Yueheng died?
"Do you have any backbone at all?!"
"Or do you think that the glittering position of Duke of White Tiger is far more important than your impulsive act of fulfilling your fatherly duty—avenging your tragically murdered son!"
These two names, like the sharpest daggers, pierced Dai Hao's heart!
That was his proud eldest son, the future hope of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion!
Their deaths are an eternal pain in Dai Hao's heart!
A surge of violent soul power erupted from Dai Hao in an instant, exuding a chilling killing intent!
The generals in the Star Luo army also glared angrily, their soul power surging even more intensely, almost unable to resist rushing out!
However, Huo Yuhao's curses grew louder and louder.
His voice boomed like thunder, carrying the overwhelming resentment accumulated over a decade, aimed directly at Dai Hao on the high platform, whose soul power surged and whose killing intent was palpable.
"If it weren't for the deaths of two legitimate sons, would you have paid any attention to Dai Luoli, the illegitimate son born to a concubine?"
Huo Yuhao's accusations were like a venomous snake, relentlessly attacking Dai Hao's identity as a father.
"In your eyes, only the legitimate son who flows with pure White Tiger blood and can inherit your title can be considered your true child!"
"The rest are merely dispensable embellishments, or even stains, on the continuation of your bloodline!"
Dai Hao had never been insulted in public like this, especially by someone he considered a junior.
His breathing became extremely heavy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his fingernails dug deeply into his palms, drawing blood.
"you!"
"What do you mean, 'me'?!"
Huo Yuhao's voice was like a sharp knife scraping against a sheet of iron, filled with a hysterical grief and indignation: "Dai Hao!"
"Open your eyes wide and look carefully! Look carefully at who I am!"
Then Huo Yuhao's simulation skill was activated, and his appearance slowly changed back to what it was before he received the Martial Ancestor's inheritance.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's drastically changed face, Dai Hao's initial anger suddenly turned into extreme confusion.
Huo Yuhao's face was unfamiliar to him, and could even be described as completely foreign.
Seeing Dai Hao's expression, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but chuckle.
He regained his current appearance: "I knew it."
"I knew someone like you could never remember what my mother looked like."
"No wonder."
"After all, how could someone who treats his own bloodline as worthless remember the son of a lowly maid?"
A so-called stain left after your one-night stand?
"You think I'm just the Azure Dragon King of the Heavenly Soul Empire? An enemy who has humiliated you today?!"
"No!"
Like a cuckoo weeping blood, Huo Yuhao's voice was filled with deep-seated resentment and mockery: "I am Huo Yuhao!"
"My mother's name is Huo Yun'er!"
The name Huo Yun'er was like three invisible thunderbolts from the heavens, striking Dai Hao hard on the head!
The flush of anger on his face vanished instantly upon hearing that name, leaving only a horrifying paleness!
His tiger-like eyes, which were originally filled with anger and majesty, suddenly expanded to their maximum extent due to fear.
Those eyes were now filled with disbelief and horror, as well as a trace of panic that had been buried deep in the heart, forcibly forgotten, but now being brutally exposed!
His tall body swayed violently, staggering back several steps. The white tiger phantom behind him let out a painful whimper and instantly dissipated.
The generals around Dai Hao were puzzled, not knowing what the name Huo Yun'er really meant.
But they were all incredibly shrewd individuals.
Huo Yuhao had previously deliberately mentioned Dai Huabin, Dai Yueheng, and Dai Luoli, and now he's bringing up his mother—
Therefore, Huo Yuhao's identity is self-evident.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
"It seems the esteemed Duke of White Tiger has finally remembered?"
Huo Yuhao's voice was icy cold, devoid of any warmth: "What, can't you speak?"
"Has he finally realized what a filthy, hypocritical, and despicable human skin lies beneath his splendid ducal robes?"
"You truly have hypocrisy ingrained in your very bones; your entire appearance is merely a facade."
Huo Yuhao took a step forward, his azure dragon robe fluttering in the wind, radiating an even more imposing aura.
"Dai Hao, have you ever felt even the slightest bit of remorse towards my mother?"
"No! You threw her away like a used rag! You left her in that cannibalistic Duke's mansion, bearing the stigma of a shameless maid, enduring endless scorn and barely clinging to life!"
"How did my mother die?! Dai Hao, tell me!"
Huo Yuhao's roar was like thunder, causing the White Tiger Banner of the Star Luo Army Camp to shake repeatedly: "She died from overwork, from melancholy, from the cold stares of those sycophantic lackeys in your Duke's mansion, and from the torment of the Duchess!"
"Even in her dying moments, she kept calling your name, hoping you would look at her one last time! And what about you?! You, the high and mighty Duke of the White Tiger, where were you?!"
"When my mother breathed her last, all she had by her side was me, a bastard child who couldn't even get enough to eat! There wasn't even a decent coffin for her!"
Dai Hao felt as if struck by lightning, his whole body trembling violently. He wanted to refute, to roar, to deny it all.
An indescribable sense of shame and panic gripped him.
Dai Hao felt as if he had been stripped naked and thrown under the watchful eyes of the army to undergo the cruelest trial!
"Now that you've lost two of your most prized sons, have you finally remembered you had a son named Dai Luoli?"
"Ha! What a cruel irony! Dai Hao, don't you think this is the greatest retribution for you?! Your prized direct lineage has been severed, and only now do you remember the bloodlines you discarded like trash!"
"Your so-called fatherly love is so cheap! So laughable! So hypocritical!"
"Look at yourself now!"
A voice filled with utter contempt echoed continuously above the Star Luo army: "Before me, the Azure Dragon King, and under the watchful eyes of your entire army, you can't even stand firm? Where is your White Tiger Martial Soul? Where is your decisive ruthlessness? Where is the aura of your Imperial War God?"
"Were they all eaten by the dogs?!"
"Aren't you curious why I always target you? Because you don't deserve it!"
"You don't deserve the title of 'father'! You don't deserve the soldiers who died for you! You don't deserve to sit in the position of the God of War of the Star Luo Empire! You are hypocritical, shameless, and all bark and no bite! You've even fed the dogs your basic human conscience!"
"The Duke of the White Tiger? A pillar of the empire? Bah!"
Huo Yuhao spat fiercely, the sound jarringly clear in the deathly silent military camp.
Dai Hao could no longer hold on and spat out a mouthful of scalding hot blood.
The entire Xingluo military camp was deathly silent, like a graveyard.
The 100,000-strong army remained completely silent.
However, Huo Yuhao's most ruthless attempt to destroy Dai Hao's spirit has only just begun.
Huo Yuhao's fingers brushed across the storage soul tool, and the outline of bones, blood, and flesh of a body, deliberately preserved in solid ice, appeared before the eyes of the Star Luo army and Dai Hao.
The entire Star Luo army was terrified the moment they saw the outline and appearance of the body!
This body is clearly the same appearance that Huo Yuhao had previously transformed into!
"Dai Hao, do you think this is over?"
"My achievements today are due to my inheritance, the protection of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Body Sect, and most importantly, my own cultivation!"
"I won't rely on you, Dai Hao! I won't rely on even the slightest favor from your Dai family!"
"I shattered the bones, stripped away the flesh, and even threw away the very essence of my double pupils!"
This solid ice block floated in mid-air, like a mirror, reflecting Huo Yuhao's past, and also reflecting Dai Hao's most shameful and inescapable sins.
"Look closely at Dai Hao!"
"Look closely at this body! Look closely at this face! Look closely at these empty eye sockets!"
"He once carried your bloodline and possessed the potential of a double-pupil martial soul! It's blind! It's gone!"
Huo Yuhao pointed his finger at the eyes of the frozen body.
There are now only two dark, empty holes there.
"But now!"
"This filthy bloodline you bestowed upon me, these things that symbolize your status, I, Huo Yuhao, despise! It's filthy!"
"Crush my bones! Burn my blood! Forsake my eyes!"
"The power of destiny! Sever my ties with you, Dai Hao! With the White Tiger Duke's Mansion! With the Star Luo Dai Family!"
"The very last shred of connection!"
Suddenly, the Eye of the Mind between Huo Yuhao's brows burst forth with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!
He connected with the power of destiny between himself and Dai Hao, and then severed it completely with the White Tiger Dagger!
"today!"
"I!"
"Here's all of these back with you!"
"Here you go, Dai Hao! This is what you gave me! Now, I'm returning it all!"
"Take this corpse and go back to your Star Luo Empire!"
Huo Yuhao used all his strength to push his hands forward!
The ice is starting to melt!
Under the horrified gazes of everyone, everything about that body gathered above Huo Yuhao's outstretched palms, forming a fist-sized ball of blood-red light!
This crimson ball of light, like a crimson meteor, streaked across the sky with a piercing sound, and crashed down on Dai Hao, who was looking utterly lost and like a clay sculpture!
"No-!!!"
Dai Hao finally let out a shrill, distorted roar, a voice filled with endless fear, regret, and despair!
He instinctively tried to gather his soul power to resist.
However, this ray of light, imbued with Huo Yuhao's will, ignored Dai Hao's hastily condensed soul power defense and, like an illusion, pierced through it directly, slamming hard into Dai Hao's chest!
There were no earth-shattering explosions.
There is only one kind of coldness and excruciating pain that penetrates to the bone marrow and reaches the soul!
The crimson light that crashed into Dai Hao's chest did not dissipate; instead, it instantly merged into his bloodline!
A violent sense of rejection and tearing originating from the very source of life, along with the curse condensed from Huo Yuhao's boundless hatred, pierced Dai Hao's limbs and bones like billions of cold steel needles, penetrating deep into his marrow!
This feeling was a hundred or a thousand times more painful than the worst injury he had ever suffered in his life!
The White Tiger Martial Soul let out a painful wail, its light dimmed instantly, and its soul power realm showed faint signs of instability!
Dai Hao clutched his chest tightly, as if trying to dig out the fused curse.
But all is in vain.
Huo Yuhao's will, his flesh and blood, his magic, and his spiritual power, guided by the power of fate, transformed into a curse that deeply penetrated Dai Hao's soul.
From then on, Dai Hao could no longer use the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul.
To break Huo Yuhao's curse, he had no choice but to sacrifice everything he had to Dai Luoli.
Huo Yuhao retained a last bit of goodwill towards the Dai family towards Dai Luoli.
"Dai Hao".
Huo Yuhao's voice finally calmed down: "This is the interest you owe my mother."
On the high platform, Dai Hao, the once spirited Duke of the White Tiger who commanded thousands of troops, was curled up, convulsing in pain.
His once-proud White Tiger Martial Soul had dimmed and become listless, as if its backbone had been removed.
The 100,000-strong Star Luo army seemed to be frozen in place.
The Empire's military genius collapsed completely, not because of defeat by powerful enemies on the battlefield, but because of his own most shameful past.
Dai Hao struggled to lift his head and look at the young man in the air whose face was as fierce as a ghost and whose lips curled into a cruel and gleeful smile.
Huo Yuhao's gaze finally became as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
"When we meet again on the battlefield, I will take your head."
The White Tiger Dagger left a white crack in the air and embedded itself firmly between Dai Hao's outstretched legs.
Blood was everywhere.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Soul Eastern Army, which had been sweeping through Lingdou City, broke through the city's east gate.
The Azure Dragon Guards were the first to rush out from the middle.
"Azure Dragon King!"
The deafening shouts, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, surged forth from the wide-open east gate of Lingdou City.
The shouts rose in waves, perfectly synchronized, carrying with them a belief forged in iron and blood and an unparalleled glory.
This is not just a title, but a declaration of power, a clarion call of victory, and the only main theme on the battlefield at this moment!
Huo Yuhao stood in mid-air, the ten-zhang-long azure dragon phantom swirling around him raised its head and let out a clear roar.
When he looked at the figure huddled under the White Tiger Banner, all that remained was an indifferent gaze overlooking the dust.
Huo Yuhao slowly raised his hand.
The boiling army below instantly fell silent, with only the sounds of soul tools being loaded and charged converging.
Countless gazes were fixed on the desolate Xingluo Camp ahead.
As long as Huo Yuhao gives the order, they will rush forward without hesitation and tear apart any enemy in front of them.
The entire Star Luo military camp fell into an even more terrifying silence than when Huo Yuhao had made his accusations.
Dai Hao's previously maintained image of deep affection within the Star Luo Empire has crumbled.
It collapsed so completely, so quickly, so—it was an eyesore.
The Star Luo commander was so humiliated that his martial spirit was injured and his spirit collapsed. He lay there like a completely defeated cripple.
Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon King, whose momentum was at its zenith, sat high in the clouds, and his elite troops were like fierce dragons released from their cages, revealing their full power.
How can we possibly fight this battle today?
Aside from initially using his identity as the Azure Dragon King to intimidate the White Tiger Duke, Huo Yuhao...
The rest were all personal grudges between him and Dai Hao.
Should we seek revenge for someone like Dai Hao?
"Ah! I want you dead!"
Dure finally awoke from this earth-shattering upheaval.
The immense humiliation and anger instantly overwhelmed his fear of Huo Yuhao's power.
His liver and gallbladder were shattered, and a surge of blood rushed to his head, causing him to roar and leap into the air.
Huo Yuhao didn't even glance at him.
A golden dragon spear and a snow-white chain flew down from below, piercing through Durei's body in an instant.
"To fight or to retreat?"
"Fight! The Heavenly Soul Empire is ready to oblige."
The Star Luo soldiers instinctively lowered their weapons.
It wasn't out of fear, but because of an unspeakable shame.
Dai Hao gripped the ground tightly with both hands, his fingernails curled up and bleeding profusely.
He tried to mobilize his soul power to respond to Huo Yuhao's provocation, even if it was just by standing up straight.
But Dai Hao can't even do this extremely simple action now.
He could only raise his head and look at the young man who had only been his son for eleven years with his bloodshot eyes filled with pain, fear, and shame.
Yes.
Huo Yuhao, who belonged to Dai Hao, or Dai Yuhao, had long since died under the Azure Dragon Transformation Technique.
"Pass on the order—"
Dai Hao's voice was hoarse like a broken bellows, so faint that it was almost inaudible.
"Withdraw—withdraw the troops—"
These two words exhausted all of Dai Hao's energy and spirit.
His body went completely limp, like mud with all its bones removed, leaving only weak and painful gasps.
The order was given, but there was no uniform response as expected.
An eerie silence fell over the entire camp, broken only by heavy breathing and the occasional clang of weapons.
The soldiers silently turned around and began packing their gear, their movements slow and numb.
Watching the Star Luo army retreat, Huo Yuhao felt no elation of victory, only calm.
In Huo Yuhao's heart, Dai Hao was already dead.
What remains is merely a tattered shell, burdened with curses and endless shame.
Huo Yuhao's gaze finally fell on the White Tiger Dagger, which was deeply embedded in the platform and stained with Dai Hao's blood.
The dagger gleamed with a cold, icy light under the illumination of the Azure Dragon.
"Your mother's grave has been prepared."
Du Busi came to Huo Yuhao's side and patted the latter on the shoulder.
"Your spiritual body, along with Xiong Jun and the King of Ten Thousand Demons, has been placed in Azure Dragon City."
"The grudges are settled, and the shackles are shattered."
"From this day forward, you are simply Huo Yuhao, the successor of the Body Sect, and the Azure Dragon King of the Heavenly Soul Empire."
"The battle of spirits is over; it's time to start preparing for a new war."
"Your mother's soul is still waiting for you to rescue her in the realm of the gods."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then turned around, facing Lingdou City and the direction of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
He slowly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and then suddenly clenched his fist!
The illusory image of the Azure Dragon let out a long, resounding roar that shook the surrounding area.
"Eliminate the remaining enemy forces and take over the city's defenses!"
"Proclaim this city, from this day forward, to return to the Heavenly Soul realm!"
Outside the east gate of Lingdou City, ten thousand soldiers stood in solemn silence.
Only the roar of the Azure Dragon King echoed through the night like thunder.
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