Flender picked up the cold tea on the table and drained it in one gulp, then turned and walked out of the teahouse.
The eight from Shrek followed him in unspoken accord, melting into the glow of the city lights together.
Though Suotuo City was still bustling with voices, an undercurrent of unrest ran through it.
At that moment, squads of Spirit Hall knights in fine armor were patrolling the streets and alleys in an orderly fashion.
The crisp clatter of armor and the sound of hoofbeats echoed through the streets.
After all, nighttime was when Soul Masters were most likely to commit crimes.
As the old saying went, a moonless, windy night was a night for murder. Many bandits and petty thieves did their evil deeds after dark.
Flender and the others continued to hurry through the streets, and in the distance, the outline of the Great Soul Arena grew clearer.
Flender's expression was grave as he instructed them, "All of you, remember this: once you enter the Great Soul Arena and step onto the platform, put away every last scrap of that cheap mercy in your hearts!"
Xiao Wu asked, puzzled, "Dean, didn't you say before that Soul Masters weren't allowed to kill one another in the Soul Fighting Arena, except in battles to the death?"
"That's right," Flender said sternly. "Official Soul Fighting matches are indeed bound by rules that expressly forbid deliberately killing your opponent."
"But remember, there are countless Soul Masters in this world, and plenty of them are cruel and bloodthirsty by nature. The Great Soul Arena only expressly forbids injuring Soul Masters, yet every day, Soul Masters have their bones broken and end up crippled for life."
As he spoke, Flender's gaze turned fierce.
"I'm telling you this now, and every one of you had better remember it. The moment you find that your opponent is vicious and intends to hurt you, don't hesitate for even a second. Strike first and gain the upper hand!"
"Even if you cripple their Martial Soul or break their arms and legs, it doesn't matter. As long as you leave them breathing, you won't have broken the rules!"
Hearing Flender's fierce tone, Dai Mubai nodded in complete agreement.
He had spent many years in Suotuo City and had seen his share of bloodshed in the Soul Fighting Arena. He was long accustomed to it.
Ma Hongjun hurriedly chimed in from behind.
Still a little shaken, he patted his chest and began describing his experience with animated gestures.
"Don't think the teacher is trying to scare you. Every word he said is true! I've been through it myself!"
"A while back, I ran into a desperado whose Martial Soul was a rusty wood-chopping knife. It looked ordinary and battered, but it carried a strange, deadly poison."
By this point, Ma Hongjun's body had begun to tremble slightly.
"When I fought him, I only got a small cut. It didn't hit anything vital."
"But a few days later, I started feeling dizzy, and I had a high fever for days. The meridians all over my body went numb, and even my Soul Power stagnated. I almost went into shock."
"I was desperate, so I had no choice but to burn my entire body with Evil Fire. I burned myself all over, and only then did I manage to save my life."
Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong and the others were shocked by Ma Hongjun's account.
They had never expected the Great Soul Arena to be so brutal.
Until now, they had thought a Soul Fighting Arena was simply a place to spar, gain experience, and test their strength.
They had never imagined that a real match could be so dangerous. An inconspicuous rusty wood-chopping knife had nearly finished Ma Hongjun off.
A shadow instantly fell over their hearts, dimming some of their earlier anticipation.
Su Zui, however, felt that something about Ma Hongjun's story wasn't quite right.
A rusty kitchen knife, a poisoned cut, nausea from the poison, and nearly going into shock?
Why do those symptoms sound so familiar? Isn't that fucking tetanus?
What poison could possibly compare to tetanus?
Was Ma Hongjun really that hard to kill? He actually survived the tetanus virus?
Flender looked at their solemn expressions and nodded slightly.
Fear was only natural. Only by feeling fear would they have a sense of awe.
What worried Flender most was that these students would aim high while lacking the ability to match. That would certainly lead to trouble.
"Hongjun is right. He really did escape death that time. He came within a hair of dying."
"The Great Soul Arena truly is the most chaotic mix of good and bad people under heaven. Soul Masters of every kind gather here, with all sorts of bizarre Martial Souls and strange, unpredictable abilities appearing one after another. Never judge your opponents by common sense!"
Flender raised his eyes slightly and looked over each of them.
"I know every one of you is exceptionally gifted, a famous genius among your peers. It's only natural that you'd feel proud and confident."
"But you also need to face reality. You've grown up under the protection of your academy or your families, like flowers in a greenhouse. You've never experienced the dangers of the outside world."
"Those independent Soul Masters who belong to no sect or school and venture through the world alone are all ruthless. Every Soul Ring they possess was won by risking their lives again and again. Some of them have killed more people than you've ever met."
"That's why I keep warning you: never underestimate anyone. Even if their Soul Ring is only a white Ten-Year Soul Ring, their fighting experience will definitely be greater than yours!"
"On the platform, never show any opponent mercy, because they certainly won't show you any."
Flender repeated those words many times, making sure they were welded firmly into everyone's minds.
After all, this was no joke. These matches could truly cost them their lives.
Su Zui nodded solemnly, his voice brimming with killing intent. "Dean, don't worry. Whenever I meet someone ruthless, I won't leave a single one alive!"
Flender: ?
Ning Rongrong: ?
Dai Mubai: !! Come on, man, that's way too brutal.
Looking at the killing intent all over Su Zui's face, Dai Mubai felt a chill on his neck.
Su Zui seemed a little more ruthless than he had imagined.
He had already thought Su Zui was excessive enough, but it seemed he really could be even more excessive.
Flender also stared at Su Zui in shock.
He had been a teacher for over a decade and had taught countless talented students.
He had seen far too many students miss their chance to strike because they were softhearted, but Su Zui seemed to be the first student he had met whose killing intent soared to the heavens!
Flender hurriedly tried to persuade him with earnest patience. "Xiao Zui, listen carefully. Apart from matches specifically arranged as battles to the death, killing your opponent is expressly forbidden in ordinary arena matches."
"You can cripple your opponent or destroy their Martial Soul, but you absolutely mustn't kill anyone. That's completely out of the question."
Su Zui restrained the sharp killing intent around him. "Ahem, I understand."
Though Su Zui had agreed readily, Flender was still visibly uneasy. "You'd better really understand. If you kill someone in the Soul Fighting Arena, you have to pay an astronomical compensation. Kill three or more, and you'll lose your Soul Fighting qualification forever."
Flender truly had never expected that one day he would have to explain these things to Su Zui.
Before long, the group entered Suotuo City's Great Soul Arena.
As soon as they stepped inside, they could hear waves of astonished cries from far away.
The shouts and cheers of countless spectators pierced through wall after wall, making their eardrums tremble.
Flender knew the way well and led the eight straight to the match registration area.
The registration process was simple. They only needed to fill in basic information such as their name, age, Martial Soul, and Soul Power Level, after which they could become registered Soul Masters at the Great Soul Arena.
The registration fee, however, was far from cheap.
Registering a single person cost as much as ten Gold Soul Coins.
Ten Gold Soul Coins! For an ordinary family, that was enough to cover food, clothing, and other necessities for an entire year.
Yet in the world of Soul Masters, it was merely the most basic admission ticket.
As the saying went, scholarship was for the poor and martial arts for the rich. Every step forward on the path of a Soul Master consumed vast quantities of resources.
They were all accustomed to this and paid the expense no mind.
However, neither Su Zui nor Ning Rongrong, Tang San, Xiao Wu, or the others wrote down their real names.
Tang San and Xiao Wu each chose an inconspicuous alias, while Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong took the names Zhuye and Ningning respectively.
Su Zui pondered for a moment, then wrote two characters in the name field: Wine Sword.
He had originally wanted to call himself Wine Sword Immortal, but on second thought, the name was a little too conspicuous and would draw attention.
In the end, he simply shortened it to Wine Sword.
Once they had registered, a staff member gave them a paper rulebook.
It clearly laid out the Great Soul Arena's match rules, ranks, badge levels, point-based advancement system, and divisions of eligibility.
The contents were much the same as what Flender had explained.
Everyone quickly leafed through it, familiarizing themselves with the detailed rules.
After Su Zui scanned the clauses, a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.
He had hoped to team up with Ning Rongrong for Soul Fighting, but the gap between their major cultivation ranks meant they couldn't form a team.
The Great Soul Arena had clear rules: both two-person and team matches had strict level restrictions.
If Su Zui wanted to team up with Ning Rongrong, they could only compete against teams made up entirely of Soul Ancestors.
Conditions on the battlefield could change in an instant, and Su Zui would never take Ning Rongrong into such danger.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu and Tang San formed one two-person team, while Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong formed another.
They were the Three-Five Combination and the Zhu-Rong Combination respectively.
Suotuo City's Great Soul Arena was far larger than any of them had imagined.
It had twenty-seven subsidiary Soul Fighting Arenas and two main Soul Fighting Arenas.
The smaller subsidiary arenas were reserved for low-level Soul Masters to train and compete in on a daily basis.
The main arenas hosted duels between high-level Soul Masters. Their stages were larger, they attracted more attention, and the sums wagered were staggering.
As a level-forty Soul Ancestor, Su Zui was naturally assigned to the second main Soul Fighting Arena.
After checking his information, the staff assigned Su Zui to the seventh match.
His opponent's codename was Mo Kuang. With a Soul Power Level as high as forty-eight, he was a formidable fighter with a modest reputation in the main arena.
Su Zui picked up his number plate, took a mask from his Soul Tool and put it on, then entered the waiting area.
Just then, Flender's eyes flickered, and he quietly made his way deeper into the Soul Fighting Arena.
He passed through corridor after corridor and avoided the noisy crowds, finally entering a luxuriously furnished high-end betting lounge.
It was an exclusive area for high-end spectators, wealthy merchants, and influential figures. Highly private, it handled large Soul Fighting wagers, often amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins.
Flender walked up to the betting counter and took a card from his Storage Soul Tool.
Flender rubbed his hands, a glint of shrewdness and anticipation flashing in his eyes. In a low voice, he said, "Second main Soul Fighting Arena, seventh match. I'm betting on Wine Sword to win—one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"