Great Soul Arena

Afterward, Flender led everyone to Suotuo City's Great Soul Arena.

Although he had been somewhat stymied by Ning Rongrong, Flender had no intention of changing his teaching plan.

His first class was still to be held at the Great Soul Arena.

Shrek Academy had limited funding and could not provide the expensive training facilities available at other academies.

But compared to training, actual combat was always a better way to grow.

No matter what type of Soul Master one was, engaging in actual combat would certainly bring improvement.

Of course, this training method inevitably had certain drawbacks.

That was, if one lacked sufficient strength, one could very likely be seriously injured or even killed in the Soul Arena.

This was also why other advanced Soul Master Academies did not use the Soul Arena as their primary training program.

However, Flender had his own educational philosophy.

Shrek Academy was an academy dedicated to cultivating monsters. It would not admit mediocre students. If someone could not even endure a few Soul Arena matches, that only meant they were not suited for Shrek Academy and could not bear the title of monster.

It was precisely because of this philosophy that since Shrek Academy's founding, pitifully few students had graduated successfully. Some students had joined Shrek Academy without issue at first, only to be eliminated by the brutal instruction that followed.

Standing before the Great Soul Arena's entrance, Flender introduced it to everyone.

"The Great Soul Arena is a place where Soul Masters battle. Earning badges through battles in the Great Soul Arena is the best proof of a Soul Master's strength. Badges are not only symbols of honor, but also come with many privileges. Your task is to obtain at least a Silver Spirit Badge here before graduation."

After saying this, Flender had Dai Mubai explain the Great Soul Arena's battle rules to everyone.

Simply put, Soul Masters could obtain two kinds of rewards from battling at the Great Soul Arena: honor and money.

The former was the badge Flender had mentioned. Based on the rarity of the metal, they were divided into iron, bronze, silver, gold, purple gold, sapphire, ruby, and diamond—a total of eight ranks.

The lowest was the Iron Spirit Badge, which could be obtained with just one victory. After that, advancing from Iron Spirit Badge to Bronze Spirit Badge required one hundred Points, while advancing to Silver Douluo required one thousand Points.

Each victory earned one point, while each loss deducted one point. After reaching a five-match winning streak, each victory would earn ten points. After reaching a ten-match winning streak, each victory would earn one hundred points, and so on.

As long as one was strong enough to keep winning, earning badges was still quite easy.

Furthermore, aside from badges representing honor, victories also earned additional monetary rewards. The higher the badge level, the more money one received. Taking the lowest Iron Spirit Badge as an example, one victory earned ten Gold Soul Coins, which was already no small sum for low-level Soul Masters.

After learning the rules, everyone entered the Great Soul Arena to register.

At this moment, Flender separately called Ning Rongrong and Mu Yuan over to the registration desk for two-on-two battles.

"Ning Rongrong, didn't you want to verify my theory? There are countless experts in the Soul Arena who can meet your needs. But I must remind you that two-person team battles assign opponents according to the strength of the highest-level member in the team. In other words, you will face two Soul Ancestor-level opponents.

"Mu Yuan is certainly very strong, but when facing two opponents of the same rank at once, can he truly guarantee your safety one hundred percent in battle? Nothing is absolute in actual combat. I advise you to think it over. It isn't too late to regret it now!"

Ning Rongrong did not shrink back at all after hearing this. In her heart, she dearly wished for Mu Yuan to make a mistake.

That way, she would have an excuse to refuse the engagement.

"I won't regret it. Mu Yuan, what do you think?" Ning Rongrong asked Mu Yuan.

Mu Yuan said calmly, "I have no problem with it."

Flender glanced at Mu Yuan and said nothing more.

"Fine, then register!"

Mu Yuan and Ning Rongrong proceeded to register.

Mu Yuan had not yet obtained his fifth spirit ring, so he was still classified as a Soul Ancestor.

The staff member in charge of registration recorded their information, then said, "Give your combination a name."

Mu Yuan looked at Ning Rongrong upon hearing this.

Ning Rongrong said indifferently, "You come up with it, but my information isn't allowed in the name."

Mu Yuan thought for a moment, then said, "Then we'll be called the Wood Leaf Combination."

The staff member casually wrote it down.

Ning Rongrong muttered, "Wood leaf... tree leaves. That's really casual!"

"You told me to name it," Mu Yuan said.

Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort and turned to walk toward the spectator area.

In a city as small as Suotuo City, Soul Ancestor-level battles already counted as relatively high-level matches. It was impossible to arrange one immediately, and some preparation time was needed. During this time, Mu Yuan could watch other people's Soul Arena battles.

By then, the people from Shrek Academy had all registered as well. The first to take the stage was Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's opponent was a Soul Master with an Ironclad Ox Spirit.

He was a typical Assault Type Soul Master, with a robust build, dark skin, and a powerful aura radiating from his entire body.

In comparison, Xiao Wu was merely a young girl. Her pretty face still carried a trace of childishness, making it difficult to imagine that these two had been assigned to fight in the same match.

"How old is that little girl? There must be some mistake, right?"

Some spectators below the stage questioned it.

However, before they could say anything more, Xiao Wu dashed forward in a single stride.

Xiao Wu was incredibly fast. Her long leg flicked out, and before her opponent could react, she hooked his neck with the tip of her foot.

Then, amid the shocked gazes of the audience, Xiao Wu activated her First Spirit Skill, Waist Bow. Her slender waist twisted, bending at an unbelievable angle. In full view of everyone, the Ironclad Ox Soul Master, who had looked incomparably strong, was directly flung off the stage by Xiao Wu and landed below the arena.

Xiao Wu stood on the stage with satisfaction. Seeing Mu Yuan watching below, she waved at him with a cheerful smile.

Ning Rongrong stood beside Mu Yuan. Seeing Xiao Wu wave in their direction, she thought Xiao Wu was greeting her, so she waved back as well.

Her best friend had won her Soul Arena battle, and Ning Rongrong was sincerely happy for Xiao Wu.

Afterward, Tang San and the others took the stage one after another for their battles.

After watching several consecutive matches, Mu Yuan finally received word that it was time for his and Ning Rongrong's two-on-two battle.

As a Soul Ancestor-level match, Mu Yuan's team was assigned to fight in the larger main Soul Arena.

The moment they stepped onto the battle platform, Mu Yuan and Ning Rongrong's excessively youthful appearances quickly drew the attention of the spectators below.

On the other side, two men in their thirties stepped onto the platform opposite Mu Yuan. One had loose, flowing hair, while the other had a scar on his face. Both wore high-level Soul Master combat uniforms and had arrogant expressions.

The spectators below cried out in surprise upon seeing the two men.

"It's the Lion Tiger Combination!"

As they spoke, some spectators recounted the pair's past record.

Clearly, quite a few spectators were familiar with them.

The host announced, "A Soul Ancestor-level two-on-two Soul Arena battle: the Wood Leaf Combination versus the Lion Tiger Combination!"

The scar-faced man glanced toward Mu Yuan. Seeing that Mu Yuan and Ning Rongrong both looked quite young, he immediately revealed a disdainful expression.

"Which family's geniuses have come out to gain experience this time?"

The other man with loose hair laughed loudly. "Geniuses are exactly what we fight!"

The moment he said this, the spectators' emotions were immediately stirred up.

The host shouted, "The Soul Arena battle begins!"