Six Years

Life in cultivation was incredibly fulfilling. Every day, Di Hong followed the same three-point routine, and before he knew it, six years had passed.

Over the past six years, aside from the necessary trips back to Silvis City, he had spent nearly all his time cultivating here at the volcano. With an Innate Soul Power Level of twenty, coupled with nonstop cultivation, his Soul Power Level had risen extremely quickly.

Now, at only twelve years old, his Soul Power Level had already reached Level 53, the rank of a Spirit King.

A twelve-year-old Spirit King would have been terrifying anywhere on Douluo Continent. He could no longer be described as a genius, but rather as a monster.

Inside the small courtyard.

Having just finished cultivating, Di Hong stretched his body, and his bones crackled loudly.

Today, he planned to leave for the nearest city. He had spent the past six years cultivating diligently, and now he wanted to test just how strong he had become. The Great Soul Arena was undoubtedly the most suitable place for that.

The Silves Great Soul Arena was too far away. It was not worth making the trip back.

The nearest city was New City.

He took a carriage to New City.

New City lay north of the Silves Kingdom, close to the volcano. Since it had been established less than twenty years ago, it was named New City. Though newly built, it was exceptionally prosperous and ranked among the foremost cities in the entire Silves Kingdom.

At the same time, it was one of the necessary routes leading to the northern provinces directly governed by the Heaven Dou Empire, so trade flourished there.

As he walked along the streets, he saw many merchant caravans. Some came from the Balak Kingdom, some from Fasno Province, which bordered the kingdom to the south, and there were even caravans from the Star Luo Empire farther south.

The New City Spirit Arena stood in the eastern part of the city, one of its most bustling districts. Across from it was a tea stall.

It was still early, so Di Hong ordered a pot of tea and a plate of pastries at the stall, eating and drinking as he waited. Although it was still daytime, the Spirit Arena was already lively. Many people were waiting outside, ready to rush in the moment it opened.

For ordinary people and some Soul Masters, this was a place where they could strike it rich.

Soul Masters fought here, while spectators could choose a Soul Master to support and place bets on. If their chosen Soul Master won, the bettors would make a fortune as well. Many had gone from poverty to wealth here, while others had gone from wealth to poverty.

Once the Great Soul Arena opened, the people waiting outside eagerly poured in. Some held Gold Soul Coins in their hands, clearly waiting to place their bets.

After sitting for a while, Di Hong paid his bill, rose to his feet, and headed toward the Spirit Arena across the street. At the same time, he took a mask from the Soul Tool at his waist and put it on. His identity was not exactly known to everyone, but quite a few people were familiar with him.

Especially the nobles.

The royal family had publicly claimed that he possessed Innate Full Soul Power. Yet he was only twelve and had already reached Level 53. If people found out, who knew what kind of uproar it would cause? A twelve-year-old Spirit King—those people were not fools.

No matter how hard someone cultivated, they should not have been able to reach the rank of Spirit King by the age of twelve.

It might even draw the attention of Spirit Hall.

Aside from God-tier Martial Souls, he feared no other Martial Soul could possess an Innate Soul Power Level of twenty.

Even Top-grade Martial Souls only possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

He did not believe Spirit Hall would refrain from acting against him once they learned of it.

Spirit Hall would never allow a Soul Master who might threaten them to exist, unless that Soul Master was so powerful that they could not deal with them without paying an enormous price.

Like the Clear Sky Sect.

The title of the number one sect in the World was far too resounding, and Spirit Hall was naturally deeply dissatisfied with it. Yet because of their Sect Master, Tang Chen, Spirit Hall had been unable to deal with the Clear Sky Sect.

Both were Level 99 Peerless Douluo. Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen had clashed several times without determining a victor, though that was without either side fighting to the death.

Spirit Hall could do nothing to the Clear Sky Sect and could only suppress them openly and covertly.

Even the mighty Clear Sky Sect was treated like that. As a prince of a kingdom, he needed to keep an even lower profile.

Spirit Hall might not have been able to kill Tang Chen, but killing a mere prince like him would be effortless.

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, the first thing he saw was a stone stele. It was engraved with densely packed names, and people had to walk around it to reach the registration desk.

The staff member was not particularly surprised when he saw the masked Di Hong. He had worked here for many years and had seen all kinds of people. It was perfectly normal for some to wear masks in order to preserve an air of mystery.

"Name."

"Ling Guang. Ling as in mausoleum, Guang as in light." Di Hong did not use his real name, instead choosing a codename. The personified title of the Vermilion Bird was Ling Guang, so he naturally used that name as his codename for spirit battles.

"Martial Soul."

"Vermilion Bird."

"Come test your soul power."

The staff member led Di Hong to the room for testing soul power.

When he saw Di Hong's Soul Power Level of 53, he was somewhat surprised. Though Di Hong wore a mask, it was not hard to tell that he was very young. His actual age, however, could not be determined without examining his bones, and that was not something an ordinary staff member could do.

Besides, the Spirit Arena did not care about one's age, as long as one was not too young. A six-year-old child coming to participate in spirit battles would absolutely not be allowed.

Although Di Hong was only twelve, he was already one meter seventy-five tall, roughly the height of many adults. Judging by appearances alone, it was difficult to tell that he was only twelve.

It was like a child who was one meter eighty tall and looked to be in his thirties standing before someone and claiming to be eight years old. No one would believe it.

After the registration was complete, the staff member handed Di Hong an iron badge. This represented that he was a Soul Master with an Iron Spirit badge, and he was likely also New City's only Spirit King with an Iron Spirit badge.

Afterward, he went to the registration counter and paid ten Gold Soul Coins to sign up.

When the female staff member at the registration desk saw that Di Hong was a Spirit King, she was immediately startled. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

An Iron Spirit Spirit King—how was she supposed to arrange this?

It was not that there were no Soul Masters at the Spirit King rank, but Soul Masters of that level were rare. They were generally at the Gold Spirit rank, while Iron Spirit Soul Masters were usually only Soul Grandmasters or Soul Elders.

There was simply no way to arrange a spirit battle between Soul Grandmasters or Soul Elders and a Spirit King. Wouldn't that be like Father beating his son? A battle like that would be utterly pointless to watch.

There were no suitable spirit masters with Silver Spirit badges either; they were basically all at the Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor level.

"Sir, there are no Spirit King-level spirit masters between Iron Spirit and Silver Spirit who can battle you. Would it be acceptable to arrange an opponent with a Gold Spirit badge for you?"

The staff member asked tentatively. A Spirit King was not someone she could afford to offend. Even though she worked at the spirit arena, she was ultimately just an ordinary person.

"That's fine." Di Hong's voice emerged low beneath his mask. He did not care what badge level his opponent had. He had not come here to win in the first place; he mainly wanted to test how strong he had become.