Codename

At those words, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the others all paled. They had never expected such words to come from a girl who seemed so gentle.

Even Gu Yuena looked at Ning Rongrong in surprise.

Flender did not become angry because of her words. He merely smiled faintly. "That's right, I'm only a mere Soul Sage. But you are still far, far beneath me. Even if you are the most talented of this generation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you are ultimately only a Soul Grandmaster. There is still an insurmountable gulf between us. Since you look down on this place, then please leave. Shrek Academy does not welcome students like you who refuse to follow the rules."

Ning Rongrong sneered. "Trying to drive me away? It won't be that easy. Since I came here, I never planned to leave so soon. Flender, I advise you not to meddle in my affairs. Otherwise, the consequences are not something you can bear."

Flender smiled calmly. "If I feared consequences, this academy would never exist. This is my territory. What I say goes. Mubai."

"Dean." Dai Mubai stepped forward. His gaze toward Ning Rongrong was still filled with disbelief. He vaguely understood that this was Ning Rongrong's true nature, but she had hidden it far too well yesterday.

Flender said, "Go take Miss Ning Rongrong's belongings from her room and bring them here, then escort her out. If she resists, I permit you to use any means necessary."

"Flender, how dare you!" Ning Rongrong shouted, hands on her hips. This twelve-year-old girl exuded an exceptionally fierce aura. "In all my life, you are the first person who has dared to treat me this way."

With Sect Master Ning's life-saving letter in hand, Flender was completely unafraid of Ning Rongrong. He shot back, "Your father being unwilling to discipline you does not mean I am unwilling as well. You are not my daughter, nor are you my precious treasure. In my eyes, every student here is better than you. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul is indeed one of the most powerful support-type martial souls, but unfortunately, all you know how to do is disgrace it."

Hearing this, Gu Chen shook his head and decided not to listen any longer.

What kind of students could a teacher who bullied the weak and feared the strong possibly teach? If not for Tang San, they probably would have died at the hands of Canghui Academy during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament.

It was time to put his plans to leave on the agenda.

After Flender angered Ning Rongrong to tears, he led everyone toward the Great Soul Arena.

When he saw the Great Soul Arena, Dai Mubai's expression changed slightly. He asked in a low voice, "Dean, you're taking them there on their first day?"

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

He paused, then continued gravely, "Your martial souls are all different, and each of you has your own method of cultivation. What the academy can teach you is how to better utilize your martial souls, help you obtain better soul rings, gain more practical combat experience, and develop your potential as much as possible. The rest is knowledge concerning martial souls in all their aspects, 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 combat experience you possess will determine the outcome. Only through constant real combat can you improve your ability to adapt in battle as much as possible. Therefore, your first lesson is practical combat. And that place will be your classroom."

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance. Ma Hongjun did not dare say anything, while Dai Mubai's evil eyes revealed helplessness. They clearly both knew what sort of place that was. Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, however, all 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 symbolize whether a city, or even a nation, is prosperous and powerful. Such a structure is called a Great Soul Arena. It is named after the city where it is located. Therefore, the one before you is called the Suotuo Great Soul Arena."

"A Great Soul Arena is, as the name suggests, a place where martial souls clash, where soul masters fight. Both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire have a saying: soul arenas determine the rise and fall of a nation."

After introducing the Great Soul Arena, Flender gave everyone a pep talk before declaring, "The task I am assigning you is to obtain at least a Silver Spirit Badge before graduation. Do you understand?"

"Do not think earning a Silver Spirit Badge is easy. Mubai and Hongjun have already participated in practical combat here for more than a year. Mubai, tell the three of them the requirements for advancing badge ranks here, as well as your records."

After Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun finished describing their records, the group headed for the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena.

As they drew closer, the Great Soul Arena became even more overwhelming. When Tang San and Xiao Wu had first arrived in Suotuo City, they had not visited this area, so they had never discovered that such a magnificent structure existed within the city.

Only when Gu Chen and Gu Yuena had gone shopping in Suotuo City that morning had they passed by the Great Soul Arena and learned of its existence.

The Suotuo Great Soul Arena was oval in shape and stood one hundred and twenty meters tall. Inside, it was divided into one main soul arena and twenty-four subsidiary soul arenas. It could accommodate sixty thousand spectators at the same time, including one hundred VIP boxes. This was not only a place for soul masters to spar and exchange techniques, but also a place for all factions to display their strength.

As they walked toward the Suotuo Great Soul Arena, Flender briefly explained some of the remaining details of the arena to Tang San and the others.

There were three types of soul battles here. One was a spar, where both sides competed and were forbidden from killing or using ruthless methods. Another was a deathmatch, used to resolve irreconcilable disputes. The final type was a wager match. The Great Soul Arena served as referee, while both sides sent out equal numbers of soul masters to compete. The final victor would receive everything staked in the wager. Wager matches began with deathmatches. Many nobles and clans often used this method when massive conflicts arose between them.

There were also three forms of competition: one-on-one, two-on-two, and group battles. For group battles, the number of participants on both sides 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 densely packed names. Flender told Tang San and the others that these were the names of those who had died in soul battles.

Gu Chen and the others completed their registrations separately. Gu Chen and Gu Yuena did not use their real names. Gu Chen registered as Golden Dragon God, while Gu Yuena, at Gu Chen's strong suggestion, registered as Silver Dragon God.

"Let's register for a two-on-two combination first. Once the one-on-one matches are over, we'll meet here and take part in a two-on-two soul battle," Gu Chen said to Gu Yuena beside him.

Gu Yuena nodded, and the two lined up to register.

Tang San and Xiao Wu stood in front of them.

"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. If you win one match, the two of you will receive a total of ten Gold Soul Coins," the staff member said matter-of-factly as she collected the fee from Tang San and Xiao Wu. Since they had already registered their ranks, they only needed to present their Iron Spirit Badges and did not need to fill out anything else.

"Please give your combination a name."

Tang San thought for a moment. "Let's call it the Three Dances Combination." He took one character from his own name and one from Xiao Wu's. In any case, the meaning was not particularly important.

"Alright, the Three-Five Combination has been registered."

Another line of four engraved characters appeared on Tang San and Xiao Wu's Iron Spirit Badges: Three-Five Combination. However, the character for "Dance" had been engraved as "Five."

"Hey, that character is wrong. It should be Dance, not Five," Xiao Wu said unhappily.

The staff member replied coldly, "Who told you not to make it clear? If you want to change the combination's name, you must register new Iron Spirit Badges. Then it can be changed, but all records you have already earned will be erased."

Just as Xiao Wu was about to lose her temper, Dai Mubai's voice suddenly rang out. "Xiao Wu, your one-on-one soul battle is about to begin. Hurry over here."

Tang San patted Xiao Wu on the shoulder. "Forget it. Three-Five Combination it is. It's only a name, anyway."

Xiao Wu made a face at the staff member before running toward the one-on-one soul battle area.

"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. If you win one match, the two of you will receive a total of ten Gold Soul Coins," the staff member said to Gu Chen and Gu Yuena.

Gu Chen took out a pouch filled with Gold Soul Coins and counted out ten for her.

"Please give your combination a name."

"Let's call it..." Gu Chen said confidently, "Golden Silver Dragon God!"

The high school entrance exam results came out. They were twenty points higher than my estimate—exactly enough to meet the high-score protection cutoff. (ω)