A Visit to the Battle Arena

Lin Li saw the pure yellow honey in the glass bottle in Zhou Yurou's hand, reached out to take it, and said, "Thank you, Yurou."

After seeing Lin Li accept it, Zhou Yurou said, "If Ning Lanlan were still here, she'd definitely say something like, 'What a cheap thing,' and then I'd still end up arguing with her."

Lin Li: There was nothing wrong with what she said, but somehow it didn't sound very nice.

The class continued chattering and making noise when several soft clicks of high heels against the floor sounded. A woman in a black gown walked in unhurriedly.

The moment she entered, the entire classroom fell silent, as though a giant hand had clamped around their throats.

She patted the lectern and said flatly, "Keep talking. Go on. Are you all Soul Masters now? Soul Grand Masters? You're so good at making noise. Every other class studies quietly and cultivates quietly, yet you bunch of fools are still sitting here grinning like idiots!"

Lin Li: If she replaced Soul Master and Soul Grandmaster with college or high school, this would sound even more familiar.

No way, was this some universal teacher line?

Ye Lian said blandly, "When I call your name, stand up and report your level. If you haven't met my expectations, think carefully about how you're going to explain yourselves to me."

She said lazily, "We'll start with the Class Monitor. Ling Xuan, what level are you? What makes you think you can sit there doing nothing?"

Ling Xuan stood up stiffly and immediately said, "Teacher, my Soul Power is currently Level Twenty-One! I've obtained my Second Spirit Ring!"

Ye Lian gave him a meaningful look when she heard that. It seemed Ling Che had spent quite a few resources on him.

A Soul Master's level could rise quickly in the early stages, but such advancement would inevitably be unstable. That was why major families generally only did this after something important happened.

She said flatly, "Not bad. But raising your Soul Power too quickly isn't a good thing either. Don't even think about increasing it for a while. Focus on solidifying your foundation."

Just as Ling Xuan finished reporting his level, Zhou Yurou beside Lin Li suddenly trembled.

Lin Li naturally understood what Zhou Yurou meant. Both of them were plant-type Weapon Spirit Masters. A month ago, they had both been in the teens, with little difference between their Soul Power. Yet now, one was still hovering in the teens while the other had already reached Level Twenty and obtained a Second Spirit Ring.

She gently patted Zhou Yurou's back and whispered, "The Class Monitor has his family supporting him, and he also has Innate Full Soul Power. You only need to compare yourself with yourself. No one is your opponent. As long as you're stronger than you were yesterday, that's enough."

Zhou Yurou gave a quiet hum, but quickly perked up and asked, "Xiao Li, then what level are you?"

Lin Li replied, "Level Twenty-Five."

Recently, she had been constantly consolidating her Soul Power, because unstable Soul Power was insufficient to sustain the consumption of her usual spirit skills.

Zhou Yurou's eyes immediately sparkled. "Then, Xiao Li, you're still better than me. Unlike me, I'm only at Level Eighteen Soul Power right now."

Lin Li gave a hum, but inwardly questioned the protagonist's rate of development. Nineteen levels of Soul Power in six years seemed like a lot, but in reality, those nineteen levels were nowhere near as troublesome as gaining even a single level later on.

With Zhou Yurou's talent, she might very well have reached Level Twenty-Seven or Twenty-Eight Soul Power by the age of twelve.

But she had not considered that advancement was simply faster in the teens, while it slowed after reaching the twenties. Not everyone could devour a Soul Beast's Soul Power like Lin Li.

Their quiet whispering naturally did not affect Ye Lian. During their conversation, four students had already stood up in class.

Wang Ning, Level Eighteen.

Wang Ming, Level Seventeen.

Rou'er, Level Nineteen.

...As everyone answered one by one, it finally came to Zhou Yurou and Lin Li.

Ye Lian said flatly, "Zhou Yurou, stand up and report your Soul Power Level."

Zhou Yurou immediately rose and said, "Zhou Yurou, Soul Power Level Eighteen."

Finally, it was Lin Li's turn. Almost everyone in the class had reached above Level Ten!

Yet Ye Lian did not have her stand. She simply said, "The last student, Lin Li, has a Soul Power Level of Twenty-Five."

Everyone immediately cried out in surprise, only for Ye Lian's cold voice to ring out.

"Your talents are the best in your grade. Every one of you has a high level of Innate Soul Power, yet after only one month of rest, the gap between you has already widened considerably. It's clear how lazy you've been."

"People better than you are still working themselves to death, still cultivating desperately, while you're sitting there feeling pleased with yourselves. What, do you think you're such incredible geniuses?"

Everyone lowered their heads guiltily. Hearing such familiar rhetoric from her previous life, Lin Li could not help twitching the corner of her mouth.

Ye Lian said flatly, "This is also for the sake of your future. Tonight, I'll take you to Saint Er Grand Battle Soul Arena, where you'll truly experience a real battle between Soul Masters. It'll also be your first lesson in getting your heads straight!"

Everyone let out an "Oh."

Wang Ning immediately asked, "Will they be Soul Masters from the Great Soul Arena, like that Yellow River Soul Master?"

Ye Lian gave a hum. "The reason I had you fight before was to help you understand your own spirit skills and become familiar with them. But that is still far from fighting real Soul Masters, so now I'll let you experience Soul Master battles!"

Ye Lian's voice no longer carried its usual indifference. Instead, it held a trace of solemnity.

Lin Li raised her brows. The Great Soul Arena? It truly was an excellent place to improve oneself—not only in control over Soul Power, the use of spirit skills, but also in grasping the flow of battle.

The Great Soul Arena was practically a miniature battlefield. Seven-versus-seven matches in particular displayed its true intensity.

Amid everyone's curiosity, fear, and above all, anticipation, they were somewhat distracted while Ye Lian explained knowledge about Soul Masters.

Ding-dong, ding-dong. The bell rang.

Ye Lian patted the blackboard and said, "Gather in the classroom at seven tonight. I'll take you to Saint Er Grand Battle Soul Arena. I'll let you experience the cruelty of Soul Masters."

After saying that, she revealed an unreadable smile.

Everyone involuntarily shuddered. They knew Ye Lian's so-called kind smile all too well.

Zhou Yurou could not help tugging Lin Li's arm. "Xiao Li, what do you think Teacher Ye will have us watch?"

Lin Li's reply nearly made her drop to her knees as she heard her friend say,

"The fiercest match in the Great Soul Arena is nothing more than a Life and Death Arena."

Zhou Yurou fell silent for a moment. "Will people really die?"

Lin Li did not answer. Wang Ning, who was passing by them, had already spoken in a slightly teasing tone. "A Life and Death Arena? How could anyone not die?"

However, Lin Li also noticed the unease in his eyes. When Wang Ming came over, Wang Ning grabbed him.

Muttering, he said, "I want to eat the school's roast chicken. I haven't had it in a long time."

Wang Ming affectionately rubbed his head. "Alright. I'll give you both drumsticks later."

Wang Ning nodded excitedly, utterly delighted.

Zhou Yurou looked eagerly at Lin Li. Lin Li gave an "Oh" and said, "I'll take you to the first cafeteria later. The Charcoal Grilled Tender Bone Rabbit they've been serving recently tastes pretty good."