Imperial Fighting Team

With his current strength, he still could not enter Dragon Valley alone to hunt Soul Beasts. While breaking through the level thirty Soul Power bottleneck, he needed to consider who he could ask for help.

On the way to the academy cafeteria, information about Yu Tianheng, a character from the original story, surfaced in Xia Liang's mind.

Trying to curry favor with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was definitely out of the question. The elders of that clan were all arrogant and unruly, making them extremely difficult to deal with. Yu Xiaogang was a perfect example.

So, if he wanted to hunt Soul Beasts like Bone Dragons, it would be better to set his sights on Yu Tianheng, someone of his generation.

If he could find some way to make Yu Tianheng willingly use the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's power to deliver a Bone Dragon Soul Beast right to him, he would not need to risk going to Dragon Valley himself.

As for what method to use, Xia Liang had yet to figure it out. After all, it was rather wishful thinking.

Fortunately, half a year ago, Yu Tianheng had joined Heaven Dou Royal Academy under the noble status of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Thanks to his outstanding talent and strength, he had been exceptionally promoted to a Heaven Dou Grade student and placed in Heaven Dou Grade One Class under the guidance of the second-youngest Soul Emperor, Qin Ming.

Now, Heaven Dou Royal Academy was filled with talk of him, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Twin Stars genius.

For the moment, getting in touch with Yu Tianheng seemed easy enough.

"Hey, did you hear? Teacher Qin Ming took Heaven Dou Grade One Class to the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City for training. They've already won twenty straight matches in same-level Soul Battles. It seems they're preparing to sign up for Over-Level Soul Battles. Shall we go watch together when the time comes?"

The sudden conversation caught Xia Liang's attention.

He looked toward the voices and found two female students beside him discussing Heaven Dou Grade One Class.

It looked like the two female students were heading the same way as him, both on their way to the academy cafeteria.

"Master Xia, hello." One of the female students greeted Xia Liang.

Xia Liang smiled and nodded.

As the academy's Special Grade Chef, Master Xia had earned the respect of food-loving students over the past year and a half.

A few minutes later.

When they arrived at the academy cafeteria, the two female students headed up to the private rooms on the second floor.

Xia Liang, meanwhile, entered the kitchen, put on his chef's hat, and began a new day's work.

From the conversation between the two female students, he learned why Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the other Heaven Dou Grade One Class students had not been seen around the academy these past few days. Qin Ming had taken them to the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City for training.

With the most outstanding Martial Soul talents and their already formidable strength, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others had become unbeatable in same-level Soul Battles at the Great Soul Arena.

To achieve better training results, Qin Ming, as their teacher, began encouraging them to sign up for Over-Level Soul Battles at the Great Soul Arena.

An Over-Level Soul Battle meant fighting an opponent one level above oneself, with one more Soul Ring or one higher Spirit Fighter rank.

Only by winning an Over-Level Soul Battle could one truly embody the meaning of being a monster student.

Qin Ming had graduated from Shrek Academy. This teaching method of participating in Over-Level Soul Battles had likely been passed down from the Four-Eyed Owl Flender mentioned in the original story.

Thinking back over the past year and a half, Xia Liang suddenly recalled a Soul Battle sparring match between Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan several months ago.

At the time, Yu Tianheng had defeated Dugu Yan, becoming the leader of Heaven Dou Grade One Class and the captain of their Imperial Fighting Team.

Judging from their respective conditions, Yu Tianheng had been able to defeat Dugu Yan because they were both Soul Elders. With little difference in their Soul Power Levels, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was stronger than the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, so his victory was perfectly normal.

Xia Liang thought that if he, as a Two-Ring Great Soul Master, defeated Dugu Yan, a Three-Ring Soul Elder, in an Over-Level Soul Battle, the meaning would be entirely different.

Being defeated by an opponent with lower Soul Power and one fewer Soul Ring was a tremendous humiliation for any Soul Master.

To wash away that humiliation, Dugu Yan would definitely keep pestering him, given her personality.

There was currently no news in the academy that Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were a couple. If he could steal Dugu Yan away, obtaining the Immortal Herb opportunity from Dugu Bo would become much easier.

What made Xia Liang hesitate was that he still needed to rely on Yu Tianheng for Soul Beasts like Bone Dragons. If he stole Yu Tianheng's woman now, would he not be cutting off his own path to hunting Soul Beasts?

Moreover, stealing a woman from Yu Tianheng also carried the risk of offending a disciple of a great sect.

With a dejected sigh in his heart after washing the pots, bowls, and utensils, Xia Liang knew that if he wanted to hunt super Soul Beasts like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as Soul Rings in the future, he would inevitably need to deal with more major figures mentioned in the original story.

With someone powerful backing him, the road ahead would surely be easier.

If he did not want to join another faction but still wanted someone to rely on, then he could only draw the neutral Dugu Bo over to his side.

With the support of Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, not only could he rightfully occupy the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and its Immortal Herb opportunities, but he could also solve the immediate problem of who to ask for help hunting Soul Beasts.

In that case, there was no need to pin his hopes for the Third Soul Ring on Yu Tianheng. Once his friendship with Dugu Yan grew deep enough, he could have her ask Dugu Bo for help.

In any case, he was only at level twenty-nine Soul Power and had not truly reached the level thirty bottleneck. He had plenty of time to deepen his relationship with Dugu Yan.

Several days later.

Heaven Dou City, Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.

VIP Rest Area. VIP Room Number Three.

Inside the luxurious private room were seven people—five men and two women—who all appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.

If a Soul Master who frequently followed the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena entered this private room, they would certainly recognize these seven distinctive individuals at a glance.

All seven came from Heaven Dou Royal Academy. They were the top seven noble geniuses of Heaven Dou Grade One Class and also the core members of the Imperial Fighting Team, which had recently achieved the highest consecutive victories in team Soul Battles at the Great Spirit Arena.

The man meditating on the sofa was the Imperial Fighting Team's captain, Yu Tianheng.

The purple-haired, green-eyed woman applying nail polish was the Imperial Fighting Team's vice-captain, Dugu Yan.

The other woman, whose face was veiled in black gauze, was Ye Lingling, the Imperial Fighting Team's Support System Soul Master.

The pair of twins were named Shi Mo and Shi Mo, the Imperial Fighting Team's two Defense System Soul Masters.

The remaining two refined-looking young men were Yu Feng and Osler, both Agility Attack System Soul Masters of the Imperial Fighting Team.

Not only did they hold the highest winning streak in team Soul Battles, but among the seven members of the Imperial Fighting Team, aside from the Support System Ye Lingling, the other six had each achieved twenty-five consecutive victories in same-level one-on-one Soul Battles.

Even the most outstanding Soul Masters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could no longer threaten their winning streaks in Soul Elder-level battles at the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.

The Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was an Imperial Capital Great Spirit Arena, a place where hidden talents abounded.

To have no rivals in same-rank Soul Battles at an Imperial Capital Great Spirit Arena showed just how exceptional the strength of the Imperial Fighting Team's seven members was.

At their team leader Qin Ming's suggestion, the seven members of the Imperial Fighting Team had each signed up for Over-Level Soul Battles. They were waiting in this private room for challengers to appear.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knock from outside the private room interrupted everyone's conversation.

"Excuse me, respected Soul Masters of the Imperial Fighting Team. I am Yao Yao, a staff member of the Great Soul Arena. I have come specifically to report the registration results for this Over-Level Soul Battle."

Osler ran over and opened the door.

A tall female staff member walked in. After bowing to everyone, she looked at Dugu Yan and said with a smile, "Miss Dugu, someone has applied to challenge you in the Over-Level Soul Battle you registered for."

"The other party is a newcomer calling himself Bone King. He registered for Soul Battles only five days ago and currently has a record of ten wins and zero losses. Because he received one hundred points for maintaining a ten-match winning streak, his points have accumulated to one hundred and ten. His Spirit Fighter rank has advanced from Iron Spirit Fighter to Bronze Spirit Fighter, granting him the qualifications to participate in an Over-Level challenge."