Outside the Suo Tuo Great Spirit Arena, a carriage slowly came to a stop.
"Why skip so many other Great Soul Fighting Arenas just to come to this little place, Suotuo City?" Yan asked in surprise as he jumped down from the carriage.
"I have my reasons." Jiang Mian smiled. "I'll explain it to you when the time comes."
Before he finished speaking, another group approached from the distance. Jiang Mian looked closely and saw that their leading teacher was a middle-aged man with a crew cut, dressed in coarse black linen.
"Yu Xiaogang." The sight of that sanctimonious bastard made Jiang Mian feel physically ill.
They noticed Jiang Mian's group as well.
"Dai Laoda, look! Those girls are so pretty, absolutely smoking." Ma Hongjun, at the rear of the group, swallowed and pointed at Hu Liena and the others.
"Let's see if we can get our hands on them later." Dai Mubai's eyes gleamed as he chuckled. "Those three chicks look like they'd bear children well. Just thinking about it gets me going."
Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing had sharp ears, so they naturally heard the two men discussing them. Hu Liena's face darkened, and she wished she could make them the last of their bloodlines.
Xie Yue quietly patted Hu Liena's shoulder and gave her a look. His meaning could not have been clearer: he would avenge her later.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Dai Mubai with an icy expression, utterly dismissive. Only trash chose to run away, and Dai Mubai was exactly that kind of trash!
Of all people, Zhu Zhuqing despised him the most.
Tang San met Jiang Mian's gaze and saw nothing but mockery in his eyes, as though he were looking at a clown.
"Third Brother, do you know them?" Xiao Wu asked, clutching Tang San's sleeve and trembling slightly.
As a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit who had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for years, how could she not recognize the two terrifying beings behind Jiang Mian?
"Look at that little rabbit." Bear Lord grinned teasingly. "Why has she taken human form? How boring."
"I get the same feeling. Why don't you go test it out?" Scarlet King joked.
"I'm not interested." Bear Lord snorted disdainfully. "Let the man beside her pick up that scrap instead."
Rabbits had the longest mating season of any animal, and Xiao Wu was a rabbit who had lived for a hundred thousand years. The implications spoke for themselves.
"I don't know them." Tang San frowned. Whenever he saw Jiang Mian, he felt a faint, nagging unease. "But I feel like they bear us a great deal of hostility."
"Oscar, what do you think?" Ma Hongjun patted Oscar's shoulder and grinned. "There are three chicks among them. Third Brother doesn't care for them, so how about one for each of us?"
"Fatty, don't get me killed." Oscar raised his brows and quickly slipped behind Yu Xiaogang, smiling. "Those people clearly aren't to be messed with. I'm not blessed enough to enjoy that."
"Look at you, such a coward. What a bore." Ma Hongjun elbowed Oscar in disdain, then scampered over to Dai Mubai's side to indulge in his fantasies.
"Let's go in." Yu Xiaogang waved his hand and led Tang San's group into the Suo Tuo Great Spirit Arena.
"Brothers, did you see those pricks acting all high and mighty just now?" Jiang Mian turned back and smiled. "If you get matched against them later, beat them half to death for me."
"Do you have some deep grudge against them?" Xie Yue asked in surprise.
"Don't worry about that." Jiang Mian sneered, then teased, "Xie Yue, they made dirty jokes about Nana just now. Aren't you going to avenge her? If it were me, I'd beat them to death."
Hu Liena's cheeks reddened. Jiang Mian really cared about her.
Jiang Mian's group entered the Great Soul Fighting Arena. After registering their identities, they prepared to begin their matches.
Tang San and the others were all Soul Elders now, two entire major ranks below Jiang Mian. Ordinarily, they should never have been matched against one another.
But Jiang Mian knew a thing or two about rigging things behind the scenes.
They were from Spirit Hall and were the Golden Generation personally selected by Pope Bibi Dong. Naturally, Xie Yue carried a badge that allowed him to act with discretion.
Although the Great Soul Fighting Arena allowed betting, the wagers were not the arena's own money. Besides, if necessary, they could simply bar those wealthy gamblers from betting on these two matches.
With a little behind-the-scenes manipulation, Jiang Mian was easily matched against Tang San. Hu Liena was matched against Xiao Wu, Xie Yue against Dai Mubai, and Yan against Ma Hongjun.
"Yan, that little fatty insulted Nana. You understand, right?" Jiang Mian continued fanning the flames, eager for more trouble.
"Don't worry." Yan cracked his knuckles. He had embarrassed himself in front of Nana when he fought Jiang Mian, and he intended to make up for it all this time. "I'll roast that little fatty's bird until it's cooked!"
"I'll go first." Jiang Mian chuckled and slowly walked into the fighting arena.
"I didn't expect us to meet so soon." Tang San calmly walked up to face Jiang Mian. Even after seeing who his opponent was, he still had the mood to chat.
"Yeah." Jiang Mian stood with his hands behind his back. "I'll go easy on you and try to leave you breathing."
"Who exactly are you?" Tang San searched through his memories, but he could not recall ever offending the man before him.
"Don't worry about who I am." Jiang Mian spread his hands, his face full of ridicule. "I just want to completely shatter your confidence. After all, destroying a genius is far more fun than creating one."
"Tang San, Blue Silver Grass martial soul, Level 31 control-type battle Soul Elder."
"My name is Jiang Mian."
"Aren't you going to summon your martial soul?" Tang San asked blandly, holding that ridiculous stalk of Blue Silver Grass in his hand.
"You're not worthy." Jiang Mian stood calmly in place and mocked, "Aren't you Innate Full Spirit Power? Let me see whether you're as useless as your teacher."
Jiang Mian's voice was loud enough for Yu Xiaogang to hear.
Yu Xiaogang suddenly rose from his seat and glared viciously at Jiang Mian, yet he could not remember who the man was.
"First Soul Skill, Entanglement."
Tang San raised his hand, and several thick Blue Silver Grass vines shot toward Jiang Mian like pythons.
"Your martial soul really has a bit of a fetish to it. It even does bondage and all that. Xiao Wu might not be happy with you, but she'll definitely have plenty of variety in bed." Jiang Mian laughed loudly. He did not even move his feet. With a casual wave, three blades abruptly appeared before him and sliced the Blue Silver Grass to pieces.
"After absorbing the Man Faced Demon Spider, my Blue Silver Grass became too resilient for ordinary weapons to damage. What Soul Skill is he using to cut through it so effortlessly?"
Tang San's heart skipped a beat. He had not even seen his opponent's martial soul, yet he was already at a disadvantage?
Just as Tang San was considering how to deal with Jiang Mian, the crisp sound of a slap rang through the ears of every spectator.
Tang San's right cheek instantly turned bright red. He had not even noticed when Jiang Mian got close to him.
"You!" Tang San threw a punch and tried to use Crane Control Dragon Capture, but Jiang Mian gave him no chance. An uppercut landed directly on Tang San's jaw.
"Pfft." Tang San spat out blood as Jiang Mian's powerful punch dislocated his jaw.
"Third Soul Skill, Spiderweb Restraint."
Tang San quickly pulled away from Jiang Mian. His speech was slurred as he unleashed his third Soul Skill, trying to restrain Jiang Mian.
"Hellfire." Jiang Mian casually flicked a tiny flame from his right hand. The flame surged violently and burned Tang San's Blue Silver Grass to ash.
Jiang Mian shot forward like a rainbow, his fist like a bullet as it slammed into Tang San's lower abdomen.
Pfft!
Tang San was sent to his knees by the punch, liquid uncontrollably flowing from his crotch.
"No, no, no." Tang San's eyes widened. He desperately tried to stop the liquid from coming out, but the pain in his lower body left him utterly powerless. He could only let so many people witness his humiliating, wretched state.
"Little San." Grandmaster slammed a fist onto his seat and stared fixedly at Jiang Mian. Who exactly was this bastard?
"Third Brother." Seeing Tang San humiliated so badly, Xiao Wu immediately tried to leap into the arena to help him, but the guards firmly pinned her in place.
"Well, isn't this embarrassing?" Jiang Mian grabbed Tang San by the throat and lifted him high into the air.
Tang San's pants were already soaked, and a nauseating stench of urine wafted from his body. Yet Jiang Mian remained vicious and merciless, showing not the slightest restraint.
With a thud, Jiang Mian smashed Tang San's head straight into the ground. Bluestone bricks collided with skull, producing a pleasing sound.
That sound meant he had a good head.
Tang San was dizzy from the blow, while liquid continued flowing from his lower body. Jiang Mian was truly ruthless, specifically striking the most shameful parts of his body.
That punch had made Tang San lose control of his bladder, and this slam nearly knocked him unconscious.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jiang Mian kicked Tang San into the air, his hands flying like lightning as he bombarded Tang San's face with a savage barrage of punches.
"X-Xiao Wu..." As Tang San teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, Xiao Wu's image appeared in his mind. The External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances, activated on their own.
"A Soul Bone." In the stands, a well-informed wealthy merchant suddenly exclaimed, "He's only in his thirties, yet he already has a Soul Bone!"
At those words, many people began to entertain crooked thoughts. Soul Masters were not valuable, but if one killed a Soul Master possessing a Soul Bone, the Soul Bone could be removed from his body.
"Spider legs." Jiang Mian sidestepped the Eight Spider Lances' instinctive defense. Tang San used the Eight Spider Lances for support and barely managed to stand again.
By now, Jiang Mian had beaten him beyond recognition. The flesh on his face was a bloody mess, and Jiang Mian had knocked out two of his front teeth, leaving his mouth full of gaps.
Jiang Mian had also broken his nose, crushing its bridge inward. At that moment, Tang San was as ugly as could be.
"Do you still want to continue?" Jiang Mian kicked Tang San in the face, knocking the barely steady Tang San back to the ground.
"Stop, please stop bullying Third Brother." Xiao Wu covered her mouth as tears streamed from her eyes.
Seeing that little rabbit, Hu Liena already came up with a hundred ways to torment her.
"Grandmaster, if you don't stop the match, Little San will be beaten to death by that bastard." Dai Mubai said anxiously.
"If Little San does not surrender, we have no right to end the match for him." Yu Xiaogang shook his head helplessly.
"Let me take a look at this External Soul Bone." Jiang Mian stepped on Tang San and grabbed one spider lance in each hand.
Crack!
The sound of bones shattering echoed through the Great Soul Fighting Arena. Like snapping chopsticks, Jiang Mian tore the Eight Spider Lances from Tang San's body one after another.
The Eight Spider Lances were connected to Tang San's bones. The pain was no different from having someone forcibly rip out his ribs.
"Ah!" Tang San's blood mixed with the filthy liquid from his lower body, making him look both miserable and ridiculous.
"I..." Tang San exhausted all his strength to raise a hand, wanting to surrender, but Jiang Mian would never give him the chance. He stepped directly on Tang San's mouth, forcibly silencing him.
"Tang San has lost the ability to fight. Contestant Jiang Mian, please stop here."
The referee entered the arena in time and separated Jiang Mian from Tang San.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun almost jumped down at the same time, carrying the battered Tang San back.
"You're finished." Dai Mubai pointed at Jiang Mian with a face full of rage. "You will definitely pay for what you did today!"
"Dai Laoda, why waste words with him?" Ma Hongjun spat at Jiang Mian and cursed, "Once the time comes, I'll give every woman traveling with him a proper training!"
"You two want to die?" How could Jiang Mian tolerate that? He immediately said coldly, "I won't bully your shitty Shrek. The two of you can fight me together. Do you dare?"
"Hmph, you only beat Little San through skill." Dai Mubai looked disdainful. "The two of us are assault-type battle Soul Elders. What strength do you have?"
"Enough talk. Come on!" Jiang Mian could no longer wait to beat those two ungrateful bastards senseless.
"Private fighting is not allowed in the Great Soul Fighting Arena." The referee hurriedly stopped Jiang Mian. "Go outside and fight however you like. We will not interfere."
"Tch. If you have the guts, get outside and fight." Jiang Mian spat directly onto Ma Hongjun's face, returning the favor in kind.
"What do you want?" Shrek's students all jumped down from the stands. Jiang Mian looked around and saw many familiar faces, along with plenty of unfamiliar ones.
Ning Rongrong was not among this group of Shrek trash. It seemed Jiang Mian had taught her such a lesson that she did not dare go outside.
"You want a group fight?"
Xie Yue and Yan almost simultaneously jumped to Jiang Mian's side. Without hesitation, they summoned their martial souls, their two yellow and two purple Soul Rings shining brilliantly.
"Soul Ancestors?" Yu Xiaogang slumped limply in his seat. Were his prized students really so far behind their peers?
"Doesn't Shrek only accept monsters?" Jiang Mian mocked them without mercy. "I think you're all trash. If you can't stomach the humiliation, feel free to have Flander and Zhao Wuji come assassinate us."
"We're leaving." Xie Yue said coldly. "If you want to fight, we'll accompany you anytime."
"These little ones really don't lose in spirit." Scarlet King smiled approvingly. "Did you feel that? There was a burst of Soul Power from over there just now."
"A Titled Douluo." Bear Lord nodded, utterly unconcerned. "They may be unknown nobodies, but they actually have a Titled Douluo backing them."
"They put on quite the show. Just watch, we'll have work to do tonight." Scarlet King said, "After beating the young ones, the old ones will come asking for a beating too."
"Why is everyone lining up to get slapped? I've never seen such a request in my life." Bear Lord burst into laughter.
Before you continue