A World That Judges by Faces.

On the arena platform.

Li Chang'an and Zhang Tieniu had gone through a bout that could only be called a Noob Fight.

Bang!

In the end, Zhang Tieniu, covered head to toe in sword marks, collapsed.

There were more than a dozen wounds of various sizes on his body. The defensive power he was so proud of was as fragile as paper before the edge of Li Chang'an's Azure Phosphorus Sword, and his flesh was easily sliced open.

If this had been a real duel to the death, Zhang Tieniu would probably have died long ago.

Li Chang'an's Azure Scale Sword could have easily pierced through his chest and run through his heart! Or cut his throat on the spot. Killing him would have been far too simple.

But because this was a sparring soul fight, he could not strike too heavily, which instead limited his performance.

Also, the reason Zhang Tieniu fell was not because the sword wounds on his body were all that deep, but because of the trace amount of toxins that seeped into him through those wounds!

This was only a sparring soul fight, so Li Chang'an did not dare cause a death. Because of that, he did his utmost to control the toxins on the sword in his hand, probing little by little and constantly increasing the toxicity until Zhang Tieniu was poisoned to the point of losing the ability to resist.

To be honest, this really was technical work. Poisoning someone to death was very simple. But trying not to poison someone to death, only leaving them poisoned and paralyzed, temporarily robbed of combat strength—that truly tested one's control.

"The Match is over. The winner is Li Chang'an!"

The Referee Teacher announced the result. Very soon, a Healing Soul Master walked onto the arena platform and began expelling the toxins from Zhang Tieniu, who had fallen to the ground paralyzed by poison. Because there had not been much toxin added to the sword, and it was not strong, Zhang Tieniu quickly stood up again.

As for the dozen or so wounds on his body, since they were only superficial injuries, they were healed along the way as well.

The battle between the two of them did not stir up cheers from the audience. That was because there were three arena platforms running soul fights at the same time, and Li Chang'an and Zhang Tieniu were not exactly famous figures, so not many people paid attention to who won or lost between them.

Everything was that bland.

Li Chang'an silently walked down from the arena platform, returned to the viewing area, and continued watching other people's soul fights.

This battle had not brought him any gains. His opponent was simply too weak. He had not even been able to withstand Li Chang'an's poison. And even without using poison, if Li Chang'an had used only his sword, then if he had wanted to, he could still have easily pierced through his opponent's defense with the sharp precious sword. That layer of iron skin could not block the edge of the precious sword at all.

His opponent was too weak.

Or rather, his sword was too sharp.

If his sword had not been that sharp, unable to easily cut through his opponent's defense, then this battle would not have ended in such an easy victory. He even had to be careful not to use too much force and kill his opponent. He had fought with his hands tied.

Still, fighting Soul Masters wasn't exactly without gains. At the very least, it let me understand that I can't yet control my strength freely. I need to put some effort into control... Li Chang'an felt that this place really was not bad. Coming here often to fight people and practice his control was still very necessary.

And he could also accumulate some combat experience here. Although it could not compare with real life-and-death combat, it was still better than nothing. At the very least, when he faced battle, he would not be flustered and at a loss.

At noon.

Li Chang'an decided to go home and rest for a while.

After walking out of the Soul Arena, when he was halfway back to the dormitory, he suddenly sensed something. Sure enough, immediately afterward, a familiar female voice rang beside his ear: "Senior Chang'an~ what a coincidence. We meet again."

He stopped.

He turned around, and sure enough, he saw the girl with short purple hair and Emerald Green eyes.

Dugu Yan was wearing the school uniform at this moment, showing that she had officially enrolled.

"So it's you, Junior Dugu." A slight smile appeared on Li Chang'an's face at just the right moment, neither distant nor overly familiar. It was simply the attitude of an ordinary senior toward a junior.

However, when Dugu Yan heard how he addressed her, she could not help puffing out her cheeks slightly and said coquettishly, "Junior Dugu? Senior, isn't that way too distant? Aren't we friends? People who know me well all call me Yanzi. You can call me that too."

"All right, Yanzi." Li Chang'an wore an expression as if he truly had no way to deal with her, and changed the form of address with extreme naturalness.

"Mm."

Hearing him address her so intimately, a bright, flowerlike smile bloomed on Dugu Yan's face.

Next.

Since it was just mealtime.

Li Chang'an naturally invited the newly enrolled "junior," Dugu Yan, to have lunch together.

They chose the Cafeteria as the location.

Heaven Dou Academy was an aristocratic academy, so the place where people ate was called a Cafeteria, but in truth, it could be regarded as a high-end restaurant. It had both a communal hall and private rooms.

And since he was treating a girl to a meal, naturally he could not eat together with everyone else in the main hall. So Li Chang'an chose a two-person private room. Its interior layout was similar to a modern high-end Western restaurant. The dishes might not necessarily be that delicious, but the style and atmosphere were absolutely laid on thick. It made one feel that even gnawing on a steamed bun here would be filled with an air of luxury.

"Yanzi, is there anything you want to eat, or anything you avoid? The chefs here are all the finest within the empire, and the flavor of the dishes they make definitely won't disappoint you." Li Chang'an held the menu in his hand and looked toward the girl opposite him, who was also holding a menu, as he asked.

"Senior, I don't have any taboos when it comes to food, nor do I have any particular preferences. Why don't you order some things for me according to your own tastes?" Dugu Yan put down the menu, propped her fragrant cheek on her hand, and gazed at the man opposite her as she said this.

"In that case, I'll order some of this place's signature dishes for you." Li Chang'an thought for a moment, then said.

"Waiter."

A neatly dressed waiter opened the door and walked in, saying respectfully, "May I ask what you need?"

"Bring one serving of everything I've marked on the menu." He handed the menu in his hand to the waiter.

"Very well, please wait a moment."

The waiter took the menu, then slowly withdrew from the private room, closing the door behind him as well.

While waiting for the dishes to be served, the two of them naturally could not just sit there in silence facing each other, so they began chatting idly.

As a girl, Dugu Yan was extraordinarily proactive. As she spoke, she intentionally or unintentionally probed into some of his relationship status. For example, whether he had a girlfriend, and what kind of girls he liked.

It was practically as if she had written the words "this lady is very interested in you" right on her face.

Faced with her initiative, Li Chang'an naturally played dumb, putting on the appearance of a steel-straight man who completely failed to understand her feelings. He also honestly expressed that he did not have a girlfriend. In addition, because he had never been moved by a girl before, he did not know what kind of girl he liked either.

His answer made Dugu Yan's heart blossom with joy, and the look she gave him became increasingly sultry~ If not for the fact that the two of them had known each other for too short a time, even confessing on the spot and establishing their relationship probably would not have been anything strange.

The Immortal Herb is in the bag now!

Li Chang'an looked at Dugu Yan, who had been utterly bewitched by his handsome appearance, and sighed in his heart. Ah, this damned world that judged by faces!

He did not even need to take the initiative to show goodwill; the girl threw herself at him on her own. If one said it was not because he was handsome, even ghosts would not believe it.

Tomorrow will be the first round of featured recommendations for the new book!

Tomorrow, I'm preparing to release four updates!

I hope everyone will support it. This round of recommendation results will determine whether this book gets any recommendations later.

It's extremely important. I'm begging you.