Yes, he was only a level 28 Soul Grandmaster, while Qing Mu was a level 34 Soul Elder.
Unless it was one of those extremely rare cross-rank challenges, there was simply no chance they would be matched together.
Just as Ma Hongjun was left speechless, Dai Mubai snorted coldly. "He can't be matched against you, but what about me?"
Unlike Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai was a level 37 Soul Elder, placing him in the same rank as Qing Mu.
There were not many Soul Elders and above in Suo Tuo Great Spirit Arena. As long as Qing Mu had not left, there was a good chance he would be matched against Dai Mubai.
"You?"
Qing Mu glanced at Dai Mubai, his tone as calm as ever. "We'll talk when we actually meet."
To be honest, Dai Mubai was not weak. White Tiger Splitting Light Wave, White Tiger Bodyguard Shield, and White Tiger Adamant Transformation—these three soul skills carefully selected by the Star Luo Empire were indeed excellent.
But Qing Mu feared opponents like Dai Mubai the least. A single Leech Seed was enough to give someone like him a headache.
What Qing Mu feared most right now were Fire Attribute and Ice Attribute Spirit Masters. Those two types were his natural enemies at present.
After saying that, Qing Mu ignored the Shrek group and turned his gaze toward the Soul Fighting Arena.
"These Spirit Masters are even weaker than I expected, though some of their combat techniques are worth learning from."
An hour later, Qing Mu watched the two people fighting fiercely on the Soul Fighting Arena, stroking his chin with one hand as he thought to himself.
Qing Mu noticed that very few people had a Hundred-Year Soul Ring as their first ring. Even many Soul Elders had configurations of one white, one yellow, and one purple Soul Ring.
That was easy enough to understand. Most of these people had no real backing, so their first Soul Rings had most likely been hunted under the guidance of their schools.
Teachers at Junior Soul Master Academies were generally only Soul Grandmasters. Though they had the ability to deal with Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, the risks were not small.
Therefore, unless they thought particularly highly of a student or had some connection to them, most would rather give the student a Ten-Year Soul Ring than a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
As for harming their potential? Please. Most of those teachers had Ten-Year first rings themselves. How great did they expect their students to become? It was already good enough that they were willing to personally take them out to hunt Soul Beasts.
Compared to obtaining a Hundred-Year first Soul Ring, getting a Thousand-Year third Soul Ring was much easier for Spirit Masters.
By that point, Spirit Masters had already established themselves. Anyone who could cultivate to level 30 and add a Soul Ring could be considered a noble in waiting, so all sorts of people were quite willing to do them that favor.
It was not until evening that Qing Mu finally left the Great Soul Arena, still wanting more.
Though these Spirit Masters were not particularly powerful, the techniques they casually displayed during battle had benefited Qing Mu greatly.
Qing Mu's combat techniques mainly came from two sources: his parents' teachings, and the life-or-death battles he had fought against Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
But regardless of which it was, he had focused on supporting Bulbasaur and preserving his own life. He had little experience fighting personally, and the appearance of these seasoned Spirit Duel Arena veterans had helped him fill in that gap.
The next day, Qing Mu returned to the Spirit Duel Arena. His opponent that day was a defense-type Spirit Master whose Martial Soul was an Iron Horn Rhinoceros. His Soul Power Level was the same as Qing Mu's: level 34.
"First Soul Skill, Iron Rhinoceros Shield!"
"Third Soul Skill, Mad Rhinoceros Counter Armor!"
The instant the battle began, the Iron Horn Rhinoceros Spirit Master immediately adopted a defensive stance, then slowly walked toward Qing Mu.
His third soul skill, Mad Rhinoceros Counter Armor, was his proudest trump card. When combined with his First Soul Skill, Iron Rhinoceros Shield, it could not only block most attacks below the Soul Ancestor rank, but also reflect those attacks.
With this soul skill, he had once achieved an impressive seven-match winning streak. It was only when a Spirit Master with the Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul appeared that he was defeated.
Yet as Qing Mu looked at the iron lump approaching him, the corner of his mouth twitched. With a light wave of his right hand, several ordinary-looking seeds scattered in front of his opponent.
The next moment, countless green vines burst from the ground, wrapping the man up like a dumpling almost instantly.
Realizing something was wrong, the opposing Spirit Master immediately activated the reflection effect of his Third Soul Skill, only to discover that it had no effect on Qing Mu at all.
Qing Mu could not even be bothered to use a second soul skill. Under the current circumstances, it was nearly impossible for his opponent to break free from Leech Seed.
And that was indeed the case. Once the Iron Horn Rhinoceros Martial Soul Spirit Master discovered that reflection was useless, he immediately panicked. He quickly prepared to use his only offensive soul skill, Rhinoceros's Wrath, hoping to tear apart the restraints of Leech Seed through sheer strength.
But if Leech Seed were so easy to break, it would not be called a divine skill. No matter how desperately his opponent tore and struggled, he could not rip apart the restraints formed by several Leech Seeds. As Leech Seed continuously drained the energy from his body, his resistance grew weaker and weaker.
Tiny white balls of light drifted from the vines and merged into Qing Mu's body. But because Qing Mu was uninjured, the energy could not be used and could only slowly dissipate.
The feeling of being continuously devoured also reminded the Iron Horn Rhinoceros Martial Soul Spirit Master of the terror of once being dominated by Jade Scale Snake Poison.
After struggling to no avail, he hurriedly shouted at Qing Mu, "I surrender! I surrender!"
The next moment, the vines around him instantly withdrew, and Qing Mu won his second battle without any surprise.
Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, ten days had gone by, and Qing Mu had achieved eleven consecutive victories through his constant battles. Once the reward points were settled at the end of the month, he would become the owner of a Bronze Soul Fighting Badge.
However, it was precisely because of those eleven consecutive wins that, while the name Garlic Turtle spread far and wide, Qing Mu also caught the attention of the Great Soul Arena's management.
"Garlic Turtle has already won eleven matches in a row. Should we put some obstacles in his way?"
In an office within the Great Soul Arena, a staff member dressed in a tailcoat was asking the opinion of the richly dressed middle-aged man before him.
Supervisor Ao tapped the desk in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Match him against some powerful Spirit Masters. If he reaches fifteen consecutive wins, match him against Shrek's Dai Mubai."
Once a Spirit Master at the Great Soul Arena achieved ten consecutive wins, they received an additional hundred reward points for every further victory. A Silver Soul Fighting Badge required only one thousand points.
In other words, if Qing Mu were allowed to keep winning like this, he would only need twenty consecutive victories to obtain a Silver Soul Fighting Badge.
Whether to preserve the prestige of the Silver Soul Fighting Badge, improve the spectacle of the spirit duels, or increase the gains from gambling, Suo Tuo Great Spirit Arena naturally could not possibly let Qing Mu achieve such a high winning streak so easily.
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