Returning to the Great Soul Arena

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since the Heaven Dou First Team was established.

Over those six months, Douluo Continent appeared peaceful on the surface. However, more and more small duchies had come under Spirit Hall's actual control, and Spirit City had announced an expansion half a year ago.

Spirit Hall publicly claimed that, as the sacred land in the hearts of Soul Masters throughout the realm, Spirit City naturally ought to have the scale befitting its status.

Even if it could not compare in size to the two imperial capitals of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, it should not fall too far behind. At the very least, it could not be inferior to the provincial capitals within the two empires!

Over the past few years, Bibi Dong had completed her consolidation of control over Spirit Hall. Aside from the Worship Hall, which she could not command, her word was law throughout Spirit Hall.

Naturally, Spirit City could not be populated entirely by Soul Masters. There were ordinary people as well; after all, keeping a great city running required talent in every field. Spirit Hall had even formed a City Guard.

Such actions naturally drew the dissatisfaction of the two great empires.

However, the duchies surrounding Spirit Hall had no objections, and the two great empires did not dare meddle in Spirit Hall's affairs.

So long as Spirit Hall did not openly establish a nation, the two great empires still did not dare clash with it.

At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the members of the Heaven Dou Team were carrying out their usual training in the back mountains. This time, however, Dugu Chen was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, Dugu Chen was at the Education Committee, discussing with the Three Education Commissioners their upcoming trip to the Great Soul Arenas in the various cities of the Heaven Dou Empire.

After training for so long, it was time to test the results through actual combat.

No powerhouse in this world had ever emerged by burying their head in training. A Soul Master's path of growth was inevitably accompanied by battle.

Reading ten thousand books was no substitute for traveling ten thousand miles. He did not know whether the Heaven Dou Empire actually spanned ten thousand miles, but he wanted to take them out to see the world. Besides, he was close to breaking through to Soul King, and this trip would be a good chance to take care of that as well.

However, some issues needed to be resolved by the Education Commissioners—or rather, by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

Meng Shenji said to Dugu Chen below, "I support your wish to go out and gain experience. With Teacher Liu Ze and Teacher Qin Ming leading you, I am quite at ease. You said there were still some issues. Speak up, and the academy will help you resolve them."

Looking at Dugu Chen below, then thinking of the others in the back mountains, Meng Shenji felt a surge of excitement. In his eyes, Heaven Dou Royal Academy had already secured the championship of this Soul Master Tournament. He was more than willing to accommodate their requests.

Dugu Chen chuckled at the Three Education Commissioners. "We'll also need the academy's help resolving the matter of our Seven-Person Soul Battles."

After hearing this, the Three Education Commissioners frowned slightly. Meng Shenji spoke up to ask, "You mean the issue with your levels?"

Dugu Chen nodded. The levels within the team were currently unevenly distributed. If they took part in team Soul Battles, the opponents they would face would be teams of seven Soul Kings. Setting aside whether an all-Soul King team even existed, even if one did, aside from Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan, the others would gain no meaningful training from it.

Of course, the main issue was Shi Mo and Shi Mo. They still did not possess the strength to fight a Battle Soul King alone. Even if the two joined forces, it would still be a tough fight.

That was why they needed to rely on the power of the Heaven Dou Empire. He did not believe the empire had no hand in the Great Soul Arenas behind the scenes. Since they had privileges available to them, why not use them?

This was no major issue. Meng Shenji believed Emperor Xue Ye would support it, and immediately made the decision.

"The academy will handle this for you. If you have any other requests, bring them up now as well!"

Meng Shenji had truly gone to great lengths to win them over. None of them were commoner Soul Masters without a background, so minor favors would be useless. He could only do his best to increase their goodwill toward the empire.

Dugu Chen shook his head. With Liu Ze and Qin Ming present—and Ning Fengzhi might even send someone over—their protection was already sufficient.

Did they really think Soul Fighting Douluo powerhouses grew on trees? That they could run into one everywhere?

Furthermore, Soul Fighting Douluo were already powerhouses at the peak of the continent's pyramid. They were all notable figures. Once others learned of their backgrounds, few would dare offend them—though freaks like Shi Nian did not count.

In this era, Evil Soul Masters were truly like rats crossing the street, hated and hunted by everyone. Spirit Hall had even driven them into the City of Slaughter. It was only after the City of Slaughter and Spirit Hall were destroyed that Evil Soul Masters began to flourish ten thousand years later.

So, little runt, that was another crime to add to your list.

The distance from Heaven Dou Royal Academy to Heaven Dou City was only a little over thirty li. In just over ten minutes, Dugu Chen and the others had arrived at Heaven Dou City—and that was without traveling at full speed.

Ning Rongrong, whose Soul Power was the lowest among them, had already reached Rank 27. Though she was an auxiliary Soul Master, she had consumed Whale Rubber before, and her physical condition was no weaker than that of an ordinary Two-Ring Soul Grand Master.

By the time Dugu Chen and the others reached the Great Soul Arena, it was still packed with people and buzzing with noise.

The streets surrounding the Great Soul Arena's outer perimeter were lined with hundreds of shops.

Even though it was daytime, despite there being so many shops, not a single one was without customers. The Great Soul Arena's popularity was evident.

Hearing the shouts coming from inside, Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling, who had never been here before, were somewhat puzzled.

Dugu Chen explained to them, "Battles between Soul Masters always draw plenty of attention. Especially wealthy and influential ordinary people—they love watching Soul Masters compete. That's why this place is so lively even during the day."

After hearing that, the two understood somewhat what the Great Soul Arena was about. Although they were somewhat displeased at being watched by others, so long as it could temper them, that was enough.

Moreover, fighting Soul Battles under the gaze of tens of thousands of people was itself a test of one's mental fortitude.

After half a year of adjustment, the Heaven Dou Team had developed considerable coordination. But seven against one was ultimately different from seven against seven.

They now needed to temper themselves through continuous combat and hone their collective strength to a higher level.

When Dugu Chen had previously come to the Great Soul Arena with Dugu Yan and Oscar, he had formed teams with each of them to participate in Soul Battles here.

Thus, he was thoroughly familiar with the preparations required to take part in Soul Battles.

After entering the Great Soul Arena, Dugu Chen led the others straight to the front desk to complete the procedures.

This time, he did not plan to participate in any Soul Battles other than Seven-Person Team Battles. Few Soul Masters of the same level could cause him trouble anymore, while it was difficult to find opponents if he challenged those above his level.

Soul Masters at the Soul King level were already the backbone of their sects and rarely came to participate in Soul Battles.

That was why he had asked the Three Education Commissioners to use the empire's influence to arrange Soul Ancestor Level teams for them.

There were still many teams of that level, and most of them were battle-hardened veterans with rich combat experience. Dugu Chen did not even dare claim that he could defeat them under equal conditions. They would be perfect for training.