First Battle at the Great Soul Arena

Dawn had barely broken.

Qian Yuling looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who was still asleep beside her, quietly got out of bed, quickly washed up, and headed out. This morning, she planned to visit the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City. Yesterday's battle with Zhao Wuji had been utterly satisfying, and she still wanted some real combat this morning.

Since she was going to fight at the Great Soul Arena and still had classes today, Qian Yuling did not wear her pleated skirt. Instead, she put on a pair of black pants.

"Contract Summon—Fleet."

As her words fell, Fleet, the Little Fire Dragon she had not summoned in quite some time, appeared before Qian Yuling.

Habitually climbing onto Fleet's back, she flew toward Suotuo City.

After arriving in Suotuo City and asking around for the location of the Great Soul Arena and information about its rules, Qian Yuling headed there.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Qian Yuling bought a mask on the way, intending to wear it during her matches.

Soul Masters of any rank were known only by the title "Soul Fighter" after entering the Great Soul Arena. Once they registered for a soul fight, they would receive a badge. Every victory earned a certain number of points, and once those points reached a certain threshold, the badge would be upgraded. This badge was the symbol of one's status in the Great Soul Arena. Badge ranks were distinguished by the quality of minerals. The lowest was the iron badge, making one an Iron Soul Master, followed by bronze, silver, gold, platinum, sapphire, ruby, and diamond. There were eight ranks in total.

The closer she came, the more astonishing the Great Soul Arena's grandeur became. The Suotuo Great Soul Arena was oval in shape and stood one hundred and twenty meters tall. Inside were one Main Battle Arena and twenty-four Sub-Arenas. It could hold sixty thousand spectators at once, including one hundred VIP boxes. This was not only a place for Soul Masters to spar and exchange knowledge, but also a place where various factions displayed their strength.

There were three types of soul fights here. The first was a contest, meaning a sparring match where killing or ruthlessly injuring one's opponent was forbidden. The second was a death match, used to settle irreconcilable conflicts. The last was a wager match, with the Great Soul Arena acting as referee while both sides sent equal numbers of Soul Masters into battle. The final winner would receive everything stipulated in the wager. Wager matches began as death matches. Many nobles and clans used this method to settle irreconcilable conflicts.

There were also three match formats: one-on-one, two-on-two, and group battles. In group battles, the number of participants on both sides was decided through negotiation, though according to Great Soul Arena rules, it was generally limited to seven to ten people.

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, the first thing that caught her eye was a massive stone monument covered in densely carved names. These were the names of those who had died in soul fights.

Registering for a soul fight here was very simple. One only needed to fill out a form containing their name, age, birthplace, and martial soul, after which they could receive an Iron Soul Master badge. Of course, registration cost ten Gold Soul Coins.

After having her Soul Power tested and her rank confirmed, Qian Yuling came up with an alias for herself. That way, the Great Soul Arena would not announce her real name when introducing the competitors. Its level of confidentiality was reassuring.

The alias Qian Yuling chose was Lunar Eclipse.

After registering in the one-on-one section, Qian Yuling quietly waited for her match.

Only those with a five-match winning streak or a sufficiently high Soul Fighter badge rank could compete in the Main Battle Arena. Otherwise, they could only fight in the Sub-Arenas.

On the soul fighting stage, a middle-aged man in black stood at the center and shouted, "The first one-on-one match: Wang Xiong versus Lunar Eclipse!"

After stepping onto the stage, Qian Yuling saw that her opponent was a middle-aged man in his forties with a burly build. Although he was not bare-chested, his muscular arms were enough to demonstrate his strength.

The middle-aged man, who stood well over two meters tall, looked at Qian Yuling, who was only one and a half meters tall and wore twin ponytails. His brows rose slightly, but he did not underestimate her. This was one of Wang Xiong's principles in life. In a simple, honest voice, he said, "Hello, I'm Wang Xiong. My Soul Power is rank forty-seven."

Qian Yuling had not wanted to speak, but since he had introduced himself, it would have been rude not to respond. So she said, "Lunar Eclipse. Soul Power, rank forty-five."

Compared to Wang Xiong's honest voice, Qian Yuling's ethereal voice surprised him somewhat.

"With such a nice voice and twin ponytails, are you a girl?" Wang Xiong scratched his head.

"That's right. Let's begin." Qian Yuling's voice rang out again.

However, Wang Xiong would not go easy on Qian Yuling merely because she was a girl. Circulating his Soul Power, he said, "Savage Bear, possess me."

As his words fell, Wang Xiong's body grew even larger. Four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—appeared around him, while his hands transformed into two thick bear paws. Surging Soul Power radiated from his body.

Qian Yuling circulated her Soul Power as well, but rather than summoning her martial soul, she activated Jieyi Gong.

Her light purple twin ponytails turned deep purple, and a sacred aura radiated from her body. As for the other changes, Wang Xiong could not see them because she wore a mask.

Did she hide her Soul Rings? Though he thought this, Wang Xiong did not slow down. He swung his bear paw and charged fiercely toward Qian Yuling.

"An Assault System Soul Master with a bear martial soul?" A smile appeared on Qian Yuling's lips. Watching the bear paw draw ever closer, she remained unhurried and raised her small fist. But she did not intend to clash head-on with Wang Xiong. Judging by appearance alone, compared with Wang Xiong's bear paw, Qian Yuling's fist seemed far too insignificant.

But some things could not be judged by appearances alone.

Bang!

With a slight movement, Qian Yuling dodged Wang Xiong's bear paw as it smashed toward her. After Wang Xiong's attack missed, she threw a backhanded punch and sent him flying two meters away.

"Why didn't it hit?" Wang Xiong got back to his feet, utterly bewildered.

Not far away, Qian Yuling still wore a faint smile, but she felt a little melancholy inside.

Sure enough, close combat feels the best. Damn it, why did I have to become a Summon System Soul Master? Forget it. With Jieyi Gong, it's enough that I can indulge in close combat once in a while.

"First Soul Skill—Bear's Strength." Wang Xiong's first yellow Soul Ring lit up. His body grew larger again, and a faint yellow aura appeared around him. His attack power increased dramatically.

"Second Soul Skill—Bear's Defense." Wang Xiong's defense also increased dramatically.

"Third Soul Skill—Bear's Majesty." Wang Xiong's aura strengthened considerably. Against opponents of the same rank, it could instill fear and reduce their attributes by twenty percent.

"Fourth Soul Skill—Mighty Bear Paw." Wang Xiong charged forward once more.

Wang Xiong's strength had reached a very high level, but no matter how powerful an attack was, it was useless if it could not hit the opponent.

The familiar scene played out once more. Wang Xiong's attack missed again, and Qian Yuling sent him flying with another backhanded punch. Even after activating his Second Soul Skill, Wang Xiong still could not withstand her blow. This meant that Qian Yuling had used only a portion of her strength in the first punch.