Second Stage Training

As the lanterns began to glow, Dai Mubai and the six boys and one girl Ning Qiu had chosen had already gathered at the hotel entrance as instructed.

"Ning LaoDa, where are we going next?" Dai Mubai asked.

Dai Mubai was actually several years older than Ning Qiu. However, Ning Qiu was now the village chief of Holy Soul Village, while Dai Mubai was a registered villager of Holy Soul Village. All actions had to follow Ning Qiu's orders. Thus, Dai Mubai still addressed Ning Qiu as boss.

"Now that everyone is here, let's go. We're heading to the Soto City Great Spirit Arena," Ning Qiu replied.

"The Great Spirit Arena?" Dai Mubai froze.

The six boys and one girl Ning Qiu had chosen were equally stunned. Back at the Junior Soul Master Academy, they had heard what kind of place the Great Spirit Arena was.

"Ning LaoDa, isn't it a little too early to send them into the Great Spirit Arena?" Dai Mubai himself had no issue with it, but his gaze fell upon the seven companions beside him.

"Holy Soul Village is still just an ordinary village. You are all soul masters I carefully selected. You are the future pillars of Holy Soul Village, the hope of our village. Therefore, I will train you into monsters—elites among elites. And monsters require monstrous training methods. Let's go," Ning Qiu said calmly.

"The Great Spirit Arena?" Xiao Wu murmured to herself. Having never attended a soul master academy, she asked curiously, "What kind of place is the Great Spirit Arena?"

"It's where soul masters battle with their martial souls. It's also where gamblers place their bets," Dai Mubai answered.

"So, does that mean we're going to perform like monkeys for others to watch?" Xiao Wu asked thoughtfully.

"You're wrong. To soul masters, it is the best platform to demonstrate their worth. It has a complete system and an independent power structure. More importantly, it is relatively fair. Even heirs of great families and crown princes of kingdoms and empires still face harsh trials of life and death when competing there," Dai Mubai continued.

"Mubai, what happened to your hair?" Ning Qiu noticed that a small patch of Dai Mubai's hair looked as though it had been scorched by fire.

"It's nothing. It's fine now," Dai Mubai said flatly. Clearly, he did not want to discuss the details.

The group of ten chatted as they walked, soon arriving before a sizable plaza.

Soto City was no small city. Being able to possess a plaza in a place where every inch of land was worth a fortune was enough to show just how profitable the building before them was.

"This is the Great Spirit Arena. After registering, everyone will receive an Iron Spirit badge. Win a match and gain one point; lose a match and lose one point. Once you reach one hundred points, you can become a Bronze Spirit. Over the next three months, I require all of you to obtain a Bronze Spirit badge at minimum. This will be your second round of training. Only those who complete the second round may participate in the third," Ning Qiu said sternly.

"Yes, Ning LaoDa!"

"Yes, Ning LaoDa!"

"Yes, Ning LaoDa!"

Dai Mubai and the others responded in unison.

"Alright, let's register together," Ning Qiu said.

"Brother, how many ranks do the Spirit Arena badges have?" Xiao Wu asked.

"The Great Spirit Arena badges have eight ranks in total. From lowest to highest, they are: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond," Ning Qiu answered.

"A Bronze Spirit badge is only one rank above an Iron Spirit badge. Getting one shouldn't be difficult," Xiao Wu said confidently.

"It's not that simple." Dai Mubai could not help interjecting. "The matches here are divided into Gambling Matches, death matches, and Betting Matches. The latter two require you to risk your life. Gambling Matches are mainly for sparring. A person can only participate in one Gambling Match per day. In other words, if we're lucky, we can earn one point a day."

"One a day means one hundred points in a hundred days. Brother wants us to obtain Bronze Spirit badges within three months. By that calculation, it's impossible for us to complete the task." Xiao Wu looked at Ning Qiu.

"That's not necessarily true. If you win five matches in a row, then win the next match as well, you'll receive ten points. If you're lucky enough to win ten consecutive matches, winning the next match will earn you one hundred points. Besides one-on-one matches, there are also two-on-two matches and seven-person team matches. If you win everything for the entire day, you can earn three points in one day!" Dai Mubai interjected again.

"Brother, can I register for a two-on-two match with you?" Xiao Wu asked Ning Qiu, her adorable big eyes shining as even her rabbit ears twitched.

"Sure," Ning Qiu agreed.

"Ning LaoDa, I also want to register for a two-on-two match with you." A girl with a sturdy, muscular build and brown hair loosely tied with a ribbon that fell straight to her waist asked Ning Qiu eagerly.

The girl was not old, only twelve this year. Her body had developed well, with her shoulders exposed and straps wrapped around her wrists. Her tight-fitting clothes vividly displayed the graceful curves of her figure.

The girl's name was Wu Sheng, and her martial soul was a brick. She was the younger sister of Wu Ji, the Gatekeeper Lad at Notting Academy.

In truth, Wu Ji, the Gatekeeper Lad at Notting Academy, had stubbornly insisted on joining Holy Soul Village not only for himself, but also to pave the way for his younger sister.

After Wu Ji joined Holy Soul Village and learned of its many benefits, he begged Ning Qiu to allow his younger sister, Wu Sheng, to join as well. After meeting Wu Sheng, Ning Qiu became interested in her brick martial soul and agreed to make her a registered villager of Holy Soul Village.

Wu Sheng was also the only female among Ning Qiu's chosen people besides Xiao Wu.

"I already promised Xiao Wu. You can form a two-person team with someone else," Ning Qiu said with a smile.

As they chatted, Ning Qiu, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Wu Sheng, and the others completed their registration.

"For a two-person team, the registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins," the young woman at the counter said.

As instructed, Ning Qiu placed ten Gold Soul Coins on the table.

"Team name?" the young woman asked.

"You pick it," Ning Qiu said.

"Hmm..." Xiao Wu pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's call it the Qiu Wu Combination!"

"Contestants, are you ready? Iron Spirit Xiao Wu, please proceed to Sub-Arena Fourteen to prepare for your Gambling Match."

Before long, the announcer's voice rang through the hall.

"Go on, Xiao Wu." Ning Qiu smiled.

"Good luck, Xiao Wu," Dai Mubai encouraged.

"Good luck, Sister Xiao Wu," Wu Sheng said.

"Mm."

Xiao Wu nodded and headed toward Sub-Arena Fourteen with light steps, practically skipping along.