Soto Grand Soul Arena

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the end, Yu Xiaogang still could not bring himself to leave Shrek Academy.

Fortunately, Flender had no intention of pursuing the matter. He downplayed the major issue and settled the minor one, allowing Yu Xiaogang to remain.

Although Yu Xiaogang had, in a sense, lost some of his reputation, he had preserved his future.

But Yu Xiaogang's choice undoubtedly pushed Tang San further into the abyss.

How important was a stable state of mind to a Soul Master?

Yu Xiaogang did not know, but Lu Yuan did.

Those six years in the Star Dou Great Forest had been six years of silence and solitude.

Under constant pressure, with not even a single person nearby to confide in, one's thoughts would undoubtedly become increasingly extreme over time.

Just like half a month ago, when he had crushed Tang San beneath his feet—once a breach was opened, a great deal of negative emotion could easily pour out.

As it was released, little by little, one's mentality would gradually stabilize.

What was frightening was when that breach could not be opened—or when, after opening it, it could not be stitched back together.

The former could easily lead to depression and death.

The latter could easily turn someone into a rabid dog that bit anyone it could.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had noticed both possibilities in time and had been working hard to adjust his mentality in his own way.

Of course, in his spare time, he would also drag Xiao Wu along to provoke Tang San a little, treating it as a form of relaxation.

Though he did not know how severely Tang San's mentality had become unbalanced, as long as he ensured that it was unbalanced, Lu Yuan could guarantee that Tang San would head down the wrong path.

A person with a boat would not grasp at straw.

Only someone who had fallen into the water without a boat would desperately seize that life-saving straw.

Because aside from that unreliable life-saving straw, he had no other choice!

After splashing cold water on his face, Lu Yuan took a towel from his Storage Space and wiped himself dry.

Although Soul Power had many wonderful uses, it still needed to be conserved where possible.

After all, he was neither "Hashirama" nor "Naruto."

His physique was lacking, and he did not have a power bank. Naturally, he had to use his Soul Power sparingly.

Once he was dressed, Lu Yuan's figure flickered several times, and he was already standing at the village entrance. The battered signboard still hung there, looking as miserable as ever.

However, the number of people gathered at the village entrance was no longer comparable to the "grand scene" from when they had enrolled.

Although that "grand scene" had not been crowded with people, it had clearly looked far better than the eight people currently standing at the village entrance.

Lu Yuan silently took his place and squeezed in beside Xiao Wu.

"Today, I'll take you to see the Soto Grand Soul Arena."

"And the Grand Soul Arena is also connected to whether you can graduate smoothly in the future."

Flender got straight to the point.

Then, with a tap of his toes against the ground, he shot forward lightly.

"Keep up!"

The others hurriedly circulated their Soul Power and followed closely behind Flender.

Lu Yuan had it the easiest.

Yet the one directly behind Flender was Dai Mubai, whose Soul Power Level was thirty-seven.

As the second echelon, Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun stayed close on Dai Mubai's heels.

The remaining third echelon consisted of Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Although Xiao Wu's Martial Soul was a Soft Bone Rabbit, that did not mean she was especially good at running. Rather, it meant that her jumping ability was exceptionally strong.

Therefore, Xiao Wu could not gain the advantage in speed like Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-attack-type Soul Master.

As for the final pair, they were Lu Yuan, who was taking it easy, and Ning Rongrong, who was being carried along.

Unlike the others.

Ning Rongrong only needed to grab the corner of Lu Yuan's clothes at the right moment, and she could be carried directly into the first echelon. Then she could patiently wait for the others to catch up; once she fell back to the rear again, she would be carried forward once more.

To be honest, Ning Rongrong's treatment truly made the others in the group jealous, especially Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's reasoning was also perfectly sound.

They would have to hunt soul rings later anyway. Saving some strength by getting carried along once could not possibly be considered an excessive request, right?

Unfortunately, after trying it once, Xiao Wu refused that treatment.

The sensation of spatial displacement was extremely obvious.

Forget continuous spatial jumps like this—even a single long-distance Spatial Teleportation had nearly made Ma Hongjun throw up on the spot.

However, contrary to Lu Yuan's expectations.

Ning Rongrong could withstand even the spatial vertigo that Xiao Wu could not!

And judging by how relaxed she looked, it probably had not caused her the slightest negative effect.

That level of resistance was absurd!

Amid Lu Yuan's continual inward grumbling, the group unknowingly arrived at the gates of Suotuo City.

Suotuo City rarely closed its gates.

Perhaps it had something to do with its geographical location.

After all, if an enemy broke through head-on and fought all the way to Suotuo City, this "great granary," then whether it was defended or not would no longer make much difference.

If they held it, their territory would still be torn open by a massive breach.

If they failed to hold it, their territory would be split in two.

Either way, the outcome was difficult to accept.

Once they entered the city, Flender, Dai Mubai, and the others appeared quite calm.

Naturally, Ning Rongrong was calm as well.

A Grand Spirit Arena!

It was hardly anything rare.

When she had secretly slipped out to wander the streets before, Ning Rongrong had already stumbled upon the location of the Soto Grand Soul Arena.

Compared to the Heaven Dou Grand Spirit Arena, the Soto Grand Soul Arena could only be considered "average."

Although Ning Rongrong felt that her assessment was quite fair, to everyone else, it was an exceptionally high-level humblebrag!

A colossal oval-shaped building over one hundred and twenty meters tall stood before them.

This was "average"?

"What... is that?"

Tang San murmured.

Both Tang San and Xiao Wu had clearly been stunned.

Although the two had spent a night at the Rose Hotel, they had not noticed this towering building, nor had they ever even come this way.

"This is a Grand Spirit Arena."

The hoarse voice made Tang San instinctively turn around. Yu Xiaogang's figure suddenly entered his view.

"Teacher!"

Tang San blurted out, his voice brimming with delight.

Yu Xiaogang waved a hand, signaling Tang San not to interrupt his explanation.

"A Grand Spirit Arena is a place where Martial Souls are pitted against one another. Simply put, it is a place where Soul Masters fight."

"Generally speaking, there are two forms of battle."

"The first is sparring. The second is a deathmatch—a battle to the death."

"Of course, there is also a variant of deathmatches known as a Gambling Duel."

"But overall, the two mainstream formats still make up the majority."

Tang San thoughtfully tapped his palm.

"So, this Grand Spirit Arena is a place for improving practical combat experience?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly.

Flender took over from the side.

"Once any Soul Master enters a Grand Spirit Arena, they may only use the words 'Spirit' as part of their identity."

"For example, an Iron Badge corresponds to an Iron Spirit; a Copper Badge corresponds to a Copper Spirit. The ranks continue upward in that manner, for a total of eight levels: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond."

"The scoring rules are simple. Every victory earns a certain number of points. Once you have enough points, your badge rank will automatically rise."

"Speaking of which, I have to mention something."

Flender said meaningfully, "If you achieve a certain number of consecutive victories and continue your winning streak, then the points earned for each victory will increase dramatically."

"And before graduation, I hope every one of you will have a Silver Badge. Understood?"

"Understood!!!"

Everyone answered in unison.

Flender had made it that obvious. Even Xiao Wu, a Transformed Soul Beast, could understand.

This was not merely him "hoping" that everyone would have a Silver Badge.

This was clearly the first hurdle for graduation.

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