Suotuo City

Dai Mubai returned quickly and nodded to Flender, indicating that he had already sent Oscar to comfort Ning Rongrong.

Flender waved his hand. "Set off. Follow me."

With that, he pushed off the ground with the tips of his toes and darted out lightly, heading toward the academy gates.

The others hurriedly followed.

Flender maintained a fairly rapid pace throughout, and the gap in strength between the five students soon became apparent.

Following closest behind Flender was the Soul Power-rich Evil Eye White Tiger, Dai Mubai. Behind Dai Mubai was not Tang San, but Zhu Zhuqing.

Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track excelled in intricacy; when it came to accelerating in a straight line, it was actually inferior to Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-attack-type Soul Master. Lan Xue liked being with Tang San, so Tang San and Lan Xue ran side by side in third place. Ma Hongjun was at the back, but he had not fallen far behind Tang San.

Along the way, Flender did not say another word, nor did Tang San and the others make a sound. Their minds were still replaying the earlier conversation between Flender and Ning Rongrong.

Before long, Tang San discovered Flender's destination for this trip: Suotuo City.

Shrek Academy was not far from Suotuo City. Only when they were nearing the city's southern gate did Flender slow down, allowing all five students to catch up.

Suotuo City was located within the Balak Kingdom and faced no external threats, so its gates remained open around the clock. The group of six entered the city without incident.

Although night had already fallen, Suotuo City seemed as though it had just awakened, even livelier than during the day. Every shop along the streets was brightly lit, while vendors who only came out to do business at night had taken up their usual spots, selling snacks, trinkets, and the like.

Though Tang San and Lan Xue had also stayed in Suotuo City for two days, they had never gone out at night. Tang San was relatively calm, but Lan Xue looked around with eager interest. Whenever she spotted something intriguing, she would quietly move closer to get a better look. If Tang San had not kept hold of her hand, she might well have gotten lost.

Zhu Zhuqing still wore an icy expression, as if nothing in the outside world had anything to do with her. Her gaze remained fixed on Flender ahead of her, completely unaffected by her surroundings.

Dai Mubai lowered his eyelids, showing his steady side. He looked almost identical to Zhu Zhuqing, except there was no frost on his face; everything about him appeared natural.

Ma Hongjun's eyes, on the other hand, could barely keep up. Though he was not interested in everything like Lan Xue, his eyes darted about constantly, targeting the most distinctive parts of the women on the street.

From six-year-olds to sixty-year-olds, Ma Hongjun's eyes spared almost no one. Whenever he saw someone with a fuller figure, he immediately swallowed hard. Fortunately, he was at the back of the group. Only Lan Xue noticed his current behavior; no one else did.

Flender suddenly stopped and glanced at the sky. "There's still some time. Follow me."

As he spoke, Flender led the five into an inconspicuous tea shop by the street. The six sat around a round table, and Flender ordered six cups of the cheapest tea.

Lan Xue frowned at the tea before her, which was full of tea leaves. "Dean, our first lesson isn't going to be here, is it?"

"Of course not," Flender said. "The place where you'll have class is over there." As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed outside.

Following the direction of his finger, Tang San saw a vast cluster of towering buildings not far from the tea shop. From their angle, they could only see that the structure was nearly a hundred meters tall, enormous and imposing, appearing especially solemn beneath the night sky. Faint glimmers of light flickered from within it.

Dai Mubai's expression changed slightly. "Dean, you're sending them there on the first day?"

Flender said calmly, "Remember, you are all monsters, not ordinary people. Since you are monsters, you must cultivate like monsters."

At that, he paused, then continued in a deep voice, "Your martial souls are all different, and each of you has your own cultivation methods. What the academy can teach you is how to make better use of your martial souls, help you obtain better Soul Rings, gain more practical combat experience, and develop your own potential as much as possible. The rest concerns all aspects of martial soul knowledge, as well as the state of Soul Masters across the continent. Of everything you need to learn, practical combat experience is the most important."

"With the same rank and strength, the amount of practical combat experience will determine the key to victory or defeat. Only through constant real combat can you improve your ability to adapt during battle as much as possible. Therefore, your first lesson is practical combat. And that place is your classroom."

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance. Ma Hongjun did not dare say a word, while helplessness showed in Dai Mubai's Evil Eyes. They clearly both knew what kind of place it was. Lan Xue knew as well. Tang San and the icy Zhu Zhuqing, however, both wore puzzled expressions.

Flender said, "Only cities at the level of a main city can possess buildings like this. Its scale can be said to be a symbol of whether a city, or even a nation, is prosperous and powerful. Such a building is called a Great Soul Arena, and it is named after the city where it stands. Therefore, the one before you is called the Soto Grand Spirit Arena."

"A Great Soul Arena is, as its name suggests, a place where martial souls clash—a place for Soul Masters to battle. Whether in the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire, there is a saying: Spirit Duel Arenas determine a nation's rise and fall."

Tang San frowned. "Dean, aren't Soul Masters the most noble profession? Why would there be a place like a Great Soul Arena? What does it amount to, having martial soul competitions put on display for people to watch like performing monkeys?"