First Battle

Soto Great Soul Arena, Soul Master registration desk.

Hearing this, Doudou pointed at herself. "You mean me? Hehe, my martial soul isn't very strong in combat."

"It's fine," Ye Buqun said. "We can form a two-person team and enter two-versus-two matches. Don't worry, I've got everything covered."

Doudou thought it over and agreed.

"Very well. Deputy Manager Doudou, and this gentleman, the registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. You will receive ten Gold Soul Coins for every match you win."

With Doudou present, the staff member explained everything very politely.

Ye Buqun casually took out ten Gold Soul Coins and placed them on the counter. Then he and Doudou each received an Iron Soul Fighting Badge.

At that moment, Ye Buqun had completed the tasks of checking in at the Soto Great Soul Arena and obtaining an Iron Soul Fighting Badge. He received one thousand Gold Soul Coins and ten sets of Godly Zhuge Crossbows, which were automatically stored in his Mirror Space.

Although Doudou was a staff member here, the Soul Arena strongly supported employees who wished to participate in soul battles. There had been many such cases before. The Soul Arena received half of the Soul Coins they earned through victories, and it could also boost the arena's prestige and reputation.

Doudou seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Since one of us works for the Soul Arena, if we enter two-person or even larger team matches, we'll be representing the Soul Arena. And we'll have to give half of our winnings to the arena. Are you okay with that?"

"It's fine," Ye Buqun said. "After all, I was the one who invited you to team up."

Ye Buqun truly did not care much about it. His purpose was to compete and complete his tasks. Besides, Soul Coins were no longer an issue for him at all.

Of course, the Soul Arena was not entirely unreasonable. If the two of them formed a team, they would represent the Soul Arena. But if Ye Buqun entered one-on-one matches, he would represent himself.

The staff member wore a professional smile. "Then, please give your team a name."

"Oh, I've already thought of one. We'll be called the 'Ye-Doudou Duo.' It sounds cute, doesn't it?" Doudou said before the boy could speak.

Ye Buqun smiled beneath his mask. "It sounds pretty good. I have no objections."

"Very well. The Ye-Doudou Duo has been registered." The staff member was quite efficient. After entering their information, he engraved the words "Ye-Doudou Duo" onto their Iron Soul Fighting Badges.

Although the two had registered their team, they did not immediately sign up for a two-versus-two match. Ye Buqun first asked whether there were any remaining spots for one-on-one matches.

Rather than immediately looking up the available matches for him, the staff member first explained the point system to Ye Buqun.

Each victory earned a certain number of points. Advancing from an Iron Soul Fighter to a Bronze Soul Fighter required one hundred points, but losing a match would result in a corresponding point deduction.

In regular soul battles, an Iron Soul Fighter could only earn one point per victory. However, after more than five consecutive victories, each subsequent win would grant an additional ten points. After more than ten consecutive victories, each win would grant an additional one hundred points. Almost no one could achieve more than twenty consecutive victories. If someone truly did, every victory thereafter would earn one thousand points, with no upper limit.

In matches between Bronze Soul Fighters, the winner gained ten points, while the loser had ten points deducted accordingly. The higher the badge rank, the more points were gained for victory and deducted for defeat.

From lowest to highest, the badge ranks were Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond—a total of nine ranks. One hundred points were needed for Bronze Soul Fighter, one thousand for Silver Soul Fighter, ten thousand for Gold Soul Fighter, and so on.

Soul Arenas existed not only in Suotuo City, but also in many large city-states. A Soul Fighting Badge represented a Soul Master's status within the Soul Arena. The higher the badge rank, the more distinguished one's status.

The regular soul battles introduced earlier were matches between opponents of the same rank. For example, a level twenty-one Soul Grandmaster could fight a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. However, once one reached the Soul Elder rank, one could no longer participate in matches between Soul Grand Masters.

There was also another kind of match, an irregular battle, also known as a free battle. In such battles, there were no restrictions on Soul Master rank. In other words, a Soul Master could potentially encounter a Title Douluo. However, such a situation only existed in theory. Ordinary Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings would not dare enter such matches. If they encountered higher-ranked Soul Emperors or Soul Saints, they would be utterly crushed or forced to surrender immediately.

"After all that, Mr. Ye, do you understand?"

Doudou was well-liked, so the staff member patiently gave Ye Buqun such a detailed explanation out of consideration for her.

Who could remember all of that after hearing it in one breath?!

Ye Buqun only got the general idea. "So as long as I keep winning, that's enough, right?"

The staff member smiled. "No Soul Arena has ever had a Soul Master who remained undefeated. But you certainly seem confident. As for one-on-one matches, only the Soul Grandmaster division has matches left today. Would you like to participate, sir?"

Ye Buqun had actually wanted to enter a free battle so that he could fight without holding back.

Since either way he would earn points, Ye Buqun agreed.

"Very well, please wait a moment."

"You're a Soul Grandmaster?" Doudou found it hard to believe. A Soul Grandmaster had actually defeated Bule, a Soul Ancestor, in an instant.

Before Ye Buqun could speak, the staff member said again, "Mr. Ye, please proceed to Soul Battle Stage No. 22. Your opponent is a Strength-type Soul Master who has just achieved a three-match winning streak. Please be careful. Good luck."

Although the staff member said this, he inwardly felt regretful. This young man had just registered his Soul Fighting Badge and had already encountered such an opponent. If he lost his first battle, it would inevitably deal a blow to his confidence.

Ye Buqun and Doudou headed toward the match venue.

Regular soul battles between opponents of the same rank were random. Depending on when Soul Masters arrived, they could encounter any sort of opponent.

From this perspective, Ye Buqun seemed rather unlucky to have met such a tough opponent right away. Of course, that was only what others thought.

Led by the staff member, Ye Buqun arrived at Soul Battle Stage No. 22, while Doudou naturally headed to the spectator stands to watch.

Each individual Soul Battle Stage could seat several thousand spectators, but only a few hundred people were present for this match. After all, neither contestant was particularly famous, and some of the audience had come specifically to watch Ye Buqun's opponent—