Cyberpunk

In the evening, Tang San returned to the Great Soul Arena.

The Great Soul Arena was already bustling. Spectators filed in, chatting and laughing as they discussed the evening's Soul Fighting matches. Vendors outside sold snacks and drinks, and business was booming.

Tang San entered through the contestants' entrance and waited in the lounge.

About half an hour later, a staff member pushed open the door and came in.

"Cyberpunk, your opponent has been decided. Please follow me."

Tang San followed the staff member down a long corridor to the edge of the Soul Fighting Platform.

Across from him, a tall youth was already standing on the stage. He looked about fifteen or sixteen, and his Martial Soul was a long blade. Two yellow Soul Rings pulsed slowly beneath his feet.

The host stood in the center of the Soul Fighting Platform, holding an Amplifying Soul Tool, and introduced the two contestants in a booming voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena!"

"Tonight's second one-on-one Soul Fighting match begins now!"

"On the left, we have a new face, Cyberpunk! Eleven years old, with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, a level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster! This is his first Soul Fighting match, so let's give him a warm welcome!"

A smattering of applause rose from the stands, mixed with whispers.

"Blue Silver Grass? Level twenty-five? Interesting."

"Level twenty-five at eleven. Good talent, but it's a shame his Martial Soul holds him back."

"Let's wait and see."

The host continued the introductions.

"On the right is an old friend we all know, Crazy Blade Zhao Meng! Fifteen years old, with the Crazy Blade Martial Soul, a Twenty-Sixth Rank Soul Grandmaster! His current record: twelve wins and five losses!"

This time, the applause was noticeably louder.

Holding his long blade, Zhao Meng waved to the stands, a confident smile on his face.

The host retreated to the edge of the Soul Fighting Platform and raised his right hand.

"Contestants, prepare!!"

Tang San stood where he was, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his expression calm.

Zhao Meng gripped the hilt with both hands and pointed the blade at Tang San. The Soul Rings beneath his feet slowly rose.

"Begin!"

Zhao Meng attacked first. He kicked off the ground and shot toward Tang San like an arrow loosed from a bow. His long blade traced an arc through the air, slashing down at Tang San's shoulder.

The strike was fast and vicious. It was clearly no flashy showpiece.

Tang San neither retreated nor even raised a hand.

He merely turned slightly to the side, letting the blade pass.

Zhao Meng's slash missed, and his momentum carried him forward, throwing his steps slightly out of order.

At that instant, Tang San raised his right hand.

A strand of Blue Silver Grass shot from his palm with astonishing speed. Like a purple-green venomous snake, it wrapped around Zhao Meng's right ankle in an instant.

Zhao Meng felt something tighten around his ankle, and he lost his balance, pitching forward.

He reacted quickly, bracing his left hand against the ground to steady himself while swinging his blade at the vine around his foot with his right.

The blade landed on the vine with a dull thud, leaving only a shallow crack. The crack healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning completely to normal in the span of two breaths, as if it had never been cut.

Zhao Meng's eyes widened.

I'm a Twenty-Sixth Rank Soul Grandmaster. The Crazy Blade Martial Soul's offensive power is among the best at the same rank. With a full-powered strike, I can even cut through an ordinary iron chain. I didn't use my full strength, but surely I should be able to cut through a single strand of grass?

Before he had time to think further, more Blue Silver Grass surged toward him.

Starting at Zhao Meng's ankle, the vines wound upward like nimble snakes, circling his knees, binding his thighs, coiling around his waist and abdomen, and locking his arms. Layer upon layer tightened, wrapping him from head to toe in a purple-green cocoon.

The vines tightened with just the right amount of force, leaving his muscles and bones unharmed while rendering him completely unable to move.

The entire process took no more than three breaths.

Zhao Meng lay on the ground and struggled a few times, but could not budge an inch. He drew a deep breath and unleashed the full force of his Soul Power. His muscles swelled and his veins bulged as he tried to snap the vines through brute force.

But the Blue Silver Grass was far tougher than he had imagined. Zhao Meng's struggles left only a few indentations on the vines. Not only did they fail to loosen, they tightened even further.

Zhao Meng's face turned bright red.

The stands fell silent.

Then, deafening cries of astonishment erupted.

"What?! It's over already?"

"Blue Silver Grass? That's Blue Silver Grass? Am I seeing things?"

"A Twenty-Sixth Rank Soul Grandmaster didn't even get a chance to fight back?"

The host froze for two seconds before coming to his senses. He raised his right hand and shouted, "Cyberpunk wins!"

With a thought from Tang San, the Blue Silver Grass flowed back into his palm like a receding tide.

Zhao Meng climbed to his feet and looked down at his ankle, then at Tang San's palm, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Your Blue Silver Grass... how is it so hard?" Zhao Meng could not help asking.

Tang San smiled but did not answer. He turned and walked down from the Soul Fighting Platform.

Behind him, a tide of discussion swept through the stands.

Tang San did not look back.

Just like that, his first Soul Fighting match ended in the blink of an eye.

Over the next two months, Tang San became a regular at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

Almost every evening, Tang San appeared on the Soul Fighting Platform. His opponents changed one after another, but the outcome was almost always the same.

The Blue Silver Grass was immensely resilient. Every time, his opponents were bound so tightly they could not move, leaving them helpless and able only to admit defeat.

Simple and brutal.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had been strengthened by the Evergreen Vine and Illusory Dream Nether Vine Soul Rings, then nourished by the vitality of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone. Its toughness had reached an outrageous level.

Ordinary Soul Grandmaster-level opponents struggled to break even a single vine.

Besides, Tang San still had trump cards such as Evergreen Body, Dreamlike Illusion Realm, and Illusory Gaze that he had not used.

Tang San needed only the most basic, straightforward methods to defeat the vast majority of his opponents.

In two months, Tang San fought sixty Soul Fighting matches.

Fifty-eight wins and two losses.

His win rate was astonishingly high.

In the two matches he lost, both opponents were powerful fire-attribute Soul Masters. Although the Blue Silver Grass had been strengthened, it could not change the innate vulnerability of plants to fire.

Against ordinary fire, Tang San could still resist with his own immense vitality. Even when the Blue Silver Grass was set alight by flames that were not hot enough, its tenacious vitality allowed it to hold out for a time.

But against a top-tier fire-attribute Martial Soul with an extremely high temperature, the vines burned to ashes as soon as they drew close and could not hold out at all. Even when Tang San used his first Soul Skill, Evergreen Body, to boost himself, he could not get close and had no choice but to admit defeat.

Of course, the main reason was that Tang San had not deliberately pursued a perfect record, nor did he want to reveal his External Soul Bone and second Soul Skill. Dreamlike Illusion Eyes and Dreamlike Illusion Realm were his trump cards. If Tang San had used those two skills, he might have been able to defeat the two fire-attribute Soul Masters.

Those two defeats made Tang San clearly realize that the innate weakness of plants to fire was not so easily overcome.

Fire was currently his greatest bane.

When facing a fire-attribute Soul Master, his Blue Silver Grass's combat power would be greatly diminished. If the opponent's flames were hot enough, Tang San would be completely unable to fight back.

The only solution Tang San could currently think of was Ice-Fire Body Tempering, so that his Blue Silver Grass would gain immunity to fire.

At present, Tang San had achieved thirty consecutive victories in the Soul Fighting Arena.

That record was not unprecedented in the history of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, but it was enough to go down in its annals.

After all, Tang San was only eleven, and his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, a universally acknowledged Trash Martial Soul.

After sixty matches, Tang San had accumulated 4,990 points.

He was only ten points away from a Gold Soul Fighting Badge.

In other words, one more victory would take Tang San past five thousand points and earn him a Gold Soul Fighting Badge.

The Gold Soul Fighting Badge was second only to the Purple Gold Soul Fighting Badge in the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena. Every Soul Master who possessed a Gold Soul Fighting Badge was outstanding among their peers and a potential future Titled Douluo.