Registering for Spirit Duels

After paying for the tea, the group of six left the teahouse and headed toward the Soto Grand Spirit Arena.

The closer they got, the more astonishing the Great Soul Arena's imposing presence became. When Tang San and Xiao Wu had first arrived in Suotuo City, they had never come to this part of the city, so they had not realized that such a magnificent structure stood within it.

The Soto Grand Spirit Arena was oval in shape and stood one hundred and twenty meters tall. Inside were one main Spirit Duel Arena and twenty-four smaller Spirit Duel Arenas. It could accommodate sixty thousand spectators at once, including one hundred private VIP boxes. This was not only a place for Soul Masters to spar and exchange techniques, but also a place for various factions to display their strength.

As they walked toward the Soto Grand Spirit Arena, Flender briefly explained some of the remaining details about the Spirit Duel Arena to Tang San and the others.

There were three kinds of Spirit Duels here. The first was a sparring match, where opponents tested themselves against one another and were forbidden from killing or striking ruthlessly. The second was a life-and-death duel, used to settle irreconcilable disputes. The last was a wager duel. The Great Soul Arena acted as the referee, and both sides in the wager sent out equal numbers of Soul Masters to compete. The final victor received everything stipulated in the bet. Wager duels were first and foremost life-and-death duels. Many nobles and clans often used this method when serious conflicts arose between them.

There were also three match formats: one-on-one, two-on-two, and Team Battle. For Team Battles, the number of participants on each side was negotiated beforehand. According to the Great Soul Arena's rules, it was generally limited to between seven and ten people.

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, the first thing they saw was an enormous stone monument engraved with countless names. Flender told Tang San and the others that these names belonged to those who had died in Spirit Duel battles.

Registering for Spirit Duels here was quite simple. One only needed to fill out a form listing their name, age, birthplace, and martial soul, then they could receive the initial Iron Soul Badge. Of course, registration also required each person to pay ten gold coins.

They also underwent a Soul Power test similar to the one at Spirit Hall to determine their respective ranks. Dai Mubai told everyone that they had to undergo a Soul Power test every time they came to participate in Spirit Duels, in order to determine their opponents.

Naturally, Flender would not pay for them. Tang San, Lan Xue, and Zhu Zhuqing each completed their own registration.

What impressed Tang San was that, while they registered, the staff member in charge showed neither ridicule nor surprise because of their young age. He remained businesslike throughout, and worked with remarkable speed. From such a small detail alone, it was clear that this Great Soul Arena was no ordinary place.

After registering, they had to be assigned their Spirit Duel matches. Flender led them to the sparring Spirit Duel area, gave Dai Mubai a few brief instructions, and then headed into the arena by himself.

Dai Mubai told Tang San and the others that at the Great Soul Arena, only those with winning streaks of over five matches, sufficiently high Spirit Duel badge ranks, or extremely high Soul Master ranks could compete in the main Spirit Duel Arena. Newcomers like them could only compete in the smaller Spirit Duel Arenas. Winning one match as an Iron Spirit Duelist earned ten gold coins, while losing earned no prize money.

Before long, all five of them had been assigned their matches. Since they had come together, they were all placed in the fourteenth sparring sub-arena. Dai Mubai's opponent was at the Soul Elder level, while Tang San and the other four all faced Soul Grandmaster-level opponents.

The entire Great Soul Arena left Tang San feeling dazzled. The divisions here were extraordinarily detailed. Though there were said to be twenty-four sub-arenas, each smaller Spirit Duel Arena was further divided into different sections, including two main categories: sparring and life-and-death duels. Each category then had three formats: one-on-one, two-on-two, and Team Battle. Thus, each sub-arena had six separate fighting stages. As for wager duels, according to Dai Mubai, all of them were held in the main Spirit Duel Arena regardless of level.

The Great Soul Arena's operations had long since become exceptionally well coordinated. Ticket prices differed depending on the Spirit Duel area. For one-on-one sparring matches in the sub-arenas like the ones Tang San and the others were about to enter, ticket prices were the lowest, and they drew the fewest spectators.

The Soul Masters participating in Spirit Duels were all assigned to rest in a spacious room while waiting for their turns.

The moment Tang San and the others entered the waiting area, they immediately attracted the attention of the other Soul Masters. After all, they were simply too young. However, although those Soul Masters showed surprised expressions, no one mocked them. Everyone was meditating, doing their best to maintain peak condition as they waited for the coming Spirit Duels.

Lan Xue sat beside Tang San and said softly, "Brother, although each Soul Master can only participate in one sparring match per day, they can participate in different types at the same time. We're both level twenty-nine. Winning at this level shouldn't be difficult. How about we register for a two-on-two Spirit Duel as well? That way, we can meet the point requirement sooner. What do you think?"

Tang San smiled slightly. "No problem. We came here to improve our actual combat experience anyway. More battle experience is always a good thing."

He immediately told Dai Mubai about his and Lan Xue's idea. Naturally, Dai Mubai had no objection. It was as though they had reminded him of something, and his gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing. Unfortunately, their martial souls were not at the same stage, so they could not form a team for two-on-two Spirit Duels. He could only give up on the idea.

Dai Mubai said, "Little San, take Lan Xue over to register for two-on-two. The matches here should still take a while."

Tang San nodded. Before entering, he had already seen where the two-on-two registration area was. He immediately led Lan Xue out of the one-on-one Spirit Duel area and went to register in the two-on-two Spirit Duel area.