Codename: Dragon Halberd

After Zhao Wuji left the back mountain, Tang Hao remained there alone, lost in thought.

"What kind of genius is Li Yan...? He's the same age as Xiao San, yet his Soul Power has already reached an astonishing level 46. No one on the continent has ever reached that level at his age before."

"Moreover, he's a loyal and righteous person. He treats both Xiao San and Xiao Wu extremely well, and his family are good people too."

"Perhaps, compared to an unfit father like me, they're more like family to Xiao San."

Tang Hao pondered for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Li Yan was worth bringing over to his side.

"Once this kid grows up, he definitely won't be an ordinary Titled Douluo. He has Twin Martial Souls too. Though they're a little strange, his combat strength is so formidable. If he and Xiao San are together, then with two level 99 Peerless Douluo with Twin Martial Souls in the future, the goal of destroying the Spirit Hall and avenging Ah Yin can be achieved."

"In that case, I must invest in him early, or I won't be able to get him to do my bidding later."

Tang Hao considered it for a moment and decided to rob the rich to help the poor. There wasn't a single good thing in the Spirit Hall, so he might as well cut in on the local Spirit Hall Branch and get some resources to spend.

Meanwhile, Li Yan and the others had arrived at the Soto Great Soul Arena.

The place was bustling with excitement, and every seat was occupied.

"Hello, we'd like to register to compete."

The Soul Master at the reception desk brought out the forms.

"If you have a token from a Soul Fighting Arena, you can register to compete directly. If not, you can receive a bronze token."

Naturally, they all started as Bronze Soul Fighters.

Li Yan chose "Dragon Halberd" as his codename. He was fighting here mainly to gain combat experience, not to fight others to the death, so there was no need to reveal his Martial Soul.

A pitch-black, dragon-scaled halberd was enough to sweep aside all Soul Masters at the same level. Li Yan was confident of that much.

Tang San named himself Myriad Senluo, taking the name directly from his first Soul Skill rather than calling himself "Thousand-Hand Asura" as he had in the original story. After all, the path he had taken was entirely different from the original.

Xiao Wu and the other two took their names from their Martial Souls. Once they had chosen their names, they each registered to compete.

Tang San and Xiao Wu teamed up for a Soul Elder-level 2v2, while Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing teamed up for a Soul Grandmaster-level match.

As for Li Yan, he registered directly for a Soul Ancestor 1v1. If the arena didn't have a rule that newcomers had to start from the beginning, he would have loved to test himself against some of its veteran Soul Kings right now.

"Now, please welcome the San-Wu Combination to face the Lion-Tiger Combination!"

"The San-Wu Combination are newcomers, while the Lion-Tiger Combination are old friends of ours: powerful Soul Elders with the White Lion and Black Tiger Martial Souls!"

Li Yan immediately bet ten thousand Gold Soul Coins on the San-Wu Combination. Because they were newcomers and their opponents were powerful veteran Soul Elders, the odds were frighteningly high.

If the San-Wu Combination won, Li Yan stood to gain nearly a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins from his ten-thousand-coin wager.

It was a chance to make a huge profit from a small investment. How could Li Yan pass it up?

Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins were his entire fortune, and he could multiply it ninefold in one go.

"Brother Yan, you're very confident in Xiao Wu and Tang San?"

"Yes. I can say for certain that they're invincible among Soul Elders. Though their opponents' White Lion and Black Tiger are also very strong Martial Souls, they're still no match for them."

Hearing that, Ning Rongrong nodded and followed his lead, betting ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

The odds shifted accordingly.

"Brother Yan, you seem to be short of money. I'll give you everything I win this time."

The first step in Ning Rongrong's pursuit of a husband was to shower him with enough Gold Soul Coins.

Zhu Zhuqing had been silent at their side. She wasn't as rich as Ning Rongrong, nor did she come from as good a family or have such a cheerful personality.

She could tell that Ning Rongrong was interested in Li Yan too.

Yes, a genius Soul Master who's so powerful and handsome, and has such a good personality, would be sought after anywhere.

Zhu Zhuqing, if you don't take the initiative now, you'll definitely regret it later.

With that thought, Zhu Zhuqing gathered her courage and tugged at the hem of Li Yan's clothes.

"Brother Yan, after you finish your Soul Fight, could you team up with me? I want to become stronger and receive your guidance."

"Of course."

Ning Rongrong joined the conversation too.

"Me too, me too!"

"Both of you can, but you're only Soul Grandmasters. If you team up with me, we'll be matched against Soul Ancestor-level teams. Have you thought it through?"

The two nodded at the same time.

Whether their opponents were Soul Ancestors or not didn't matter. What mattered was whether they could spend time alone with Li Yan.

Li Yan said no more and focused on watching Tang San and Xiao Wu in the ring.

They were so young that they could easily attract the attention of people with ill intentions. At Li Yan's suggestion, they had both put on masks to conceal their faces.

One blue, one pink.

Opposite them stood two standard Power Attack System Battle Soul Elders, with powerful presences and well-developed muscles.

"Two level 38 Soul Elders. Interesting."

Li Yan looked at the two opponents. They weren't very old either, around twenty, and could certainly be called geniuses.

Once this is over, I could try to bring them over to my side, provided they don't have an organization backing them.

Besides gaining combat experience, Li Yan had come here for another reason: to recruit some unaffiliated geniuses and lay the foundation for establishing his own organization later.

High-level Soul Elders under twenty, with high-level Martial Souls like the White Lion and Black Tiger—it wouldn't be difficult for them to reach the Soul Douluo level in the future.

"Xiao San, Xiao Wu, go easy on them. I'm planning to recruit them."

In the ring, Tang San and Xiao Wu received Li Yan's transmitted message.

"Begin!"

At the host's command, spectral Martial Souls appeared behind their opponents: a white lion and a black tiger, both majestic and imposing.

Three Soul Rings appeared beneath each of them, two yellow and one purple—the optimal combination.

They have a good foundation and plenty of combat experience. The only thing left to test is their character.

If their character meets the mark, they'd be worth cultivating.

In the ring, the two were courteous.

"Li Hu, Martial Soul Black Tiger, level 38 Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder!"

"Zhao Lei, Martial Soul White Lion, level 38 Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder!"

"Please give us your guidance!!"

Tang San and Xiao Wu introduced themselves in turn, and the four joined battle.

Tang San didn't use Myriad Senluo. Instead, he relied on the effect of his first Soul Skill to conjure a spear.

Li Yan's Dragon Halberd and Tang San had worked it over together, and Tang San had tried quite a few weapons before finally choosing the spear, the king of a hundred weapons.

He wielded a spear that was azure blue from end to end, whirling it in an impenetrable flurry. With level 35 Soul Power, he suppressed Li Hu, who was level 38.

"Wasn't one of them supposed to have Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Soul? How did he pull out a spear, and how is he so freakishly strong?"

Li Hu retreated as he fought and regrouped with Zhao Lei.

Zhao Lei wasn't in much better shape. Though he had relied on his overwhelming Soul Power Level to fight Xiao Wu, one careless moment had let her get close enough to hit him with a Waist Bow, leaving him badly injured.

"Let's use that move!"