Soul Arena

"So that's how it is."

Xue Wu nodded in sudden realization.

"Come to think of it, as someone with Innate Full Soul Power, your cultivation speed must be really fast, right?"

After dinner, seeing that Xue Wu showed no intention of leaving, Su Chen politely invited her to sit for a while. To his surprise, Xue Wu really did stay.

"It's all right. My Soul Power Level is twenty-five now."

After opening part of the Shangyang Acupoint and absorbing some Heterogeneous Soul Power, Su Chen's Soul Power had risen by another level.

"Twenty-five?"

Xue Wu could hardly believe it. Countless experiences throughout her life had told her that reaching level eighteen at the age of ten made her an unparalleled prodigy.

But compared to the classmate before her, Xue Wu was questioning her own talent for the first time.

"Yes, twenty-five."

Su Chen nodded as though it were nothing remarkable.

"Why did you suddenly ask about that?"

"I'm so jealous. Innate Full Soul Power..."

Xue Wu sat on the edge of Su Chen's bed and leaned back slightly.

"If only I had talent like yours."

"You don't necessarily have to pursue aptitude."

Seeing Xue Wu like this, Su Chen more or less understood what was going on.

"I have a friend with Innate Soul Power of level nine. She's already level twenty-eight now, and cultivates even faster than I do."

The friend Su Chen spoke of was naturally Hu Liena.

Having received professional training since childhood, Hu Liena still held a slight advantage over Su Chen in terms of level.

"Really?"

Xue Wu felt that Su Chen had made it up to comfort her.

A ten-year-old at level twenty-eight—how could such a genius possibly exist in this world?

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?"

"Then does she have some kind of secret?"

Xue Wu pressed him impatiently.

"I've never asked her about that. I'll help you ask the next time I write to her."

"If you don't have anything else to do, I'm going to start cultivating."

After clearing away the dishes, Su Chen lit a burner of incense and prepared to cultivate.

"Then I won't disturb you."

Seeing that Su Chen was about to begin cultivating, Xue Wu took the initiative to leave without lingering any longer.

For the next half year, Su Chen spent every day after class in the dormitory refining Heterogeneous Soul Power.

Other than Xue Wu occasionally coming to see him, he could practically be said to never leave his room.

"Level twenty-eight. Looks like I can catch up to Nana."

Stretching, Su Chen rose from his bed.

After half a year of effort, the Shangyang and Erjian Acupoints had both been opened.

Not only had the issue with the Heterogeneous Soul Power been eased, but Su Chen's Soul Power had also become much more stable as a result.

"It's time for something more serious."

After all, not every academy was Shrek Academy.

Other than weighted running, their training methods were still weighted running.

After half a year of study, every student in the class had obtained their first soul ring.

"Starting today, you will begin learning Soul Master combat."

Although Skywater Academy's teaching philosophy prioritized the safety of its students,

the world of Soul Masters was ultimately filled with conflict and danger.

As a major academy with a hundred-year history, Skywater Academy naturally would not raise its students into flowers sheltered in a greenhouse.

Although it could be considered the renowned academy that protected its students the most among all major academies, it had never lacked the necessary trials and tempering.

The Soul Arena was their destination.

In the city where Skywater Academy was located, there was a Soul Arena nearby.

Because it was in the same city as Skywater Academy, it was called the Tianshui Soul Arena.

The Soul Arena was oval in shape, designed mainly in the same pale blue as Skywater Academy.

The arena contained twenty-four subsidiary arenas and one main arena, the standard configuration of a Great Soul Arena.

Under normal circumstances, it could even accommodate tens of thousands of spectators at once.

If Skywater Academy supported half of the city's economy, then the Tianshui Great Soul Arena accounted for eighty percent of what remained.

On the way to the Soul Arena, Shui Jing, their teacher, did not forget to further explain the competition rules to the students.

There were three types of battles in the Soul Arena. The first was a sparring match—put simply, a friendly duel.

Shui Jing spoke to the group of inexperienced students.

"This is the category you'll be registering for shortly. It's the same whether you choose singles or doubles."

"The second type is a death match. It's used by major factions to settle irreconcilable disputes, so it has nothing to do with you right now. No matter what excuse you have, you are not allowed to register for a death match."

At this point, Shui Jing's expression became extremely serious.

"The final type is a wager match. This is also not something you can participate in yet."

"In this format, the Great Soul Arena serves as the referee. Both sides of the wager send out the same number of Soul Masters to compete, and the final winner receives everything included in the bet."

"Money, honor, soul bones, even lives."

"The competition formats are singles, doubles, and team battles."

The teacher carefully explained not only the battle categories, but also the specific competition formats.

"Every category has these three formats. Today, you will be practicing singles or doubles. If you want to register for doubles, form your own teams."

"Ahem."

The moment the teacher said this, Su Chen keenly noticed that many pairs of eyes had turned toward him.

"I want to compete in singles."

Su Chen cleared his throat twice and raised his left hand.

"Ah, what a pity."

"I wanted to compete in doubles with Su Chen."

At his words, the girls in the carriage began sighing regretfully.

It seemed they had not realized what this was at all, treating it more like a group outing.

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, the first thing that came into view was an enormous stone monument.

This was standard equipment for every Soul Arena, as well as an official requirement.

"The names on it all belong to those who died in Soul Arena battles. And every one of them died in this Soul Arena."

Seeing the students laughing and chatting, unconcerned by the matter,

Shui Jing calmly revealed the horrifying truth.

The stone monument at the entrance was densely engraved with words, all of them the names of the dead.

"What?"

"Is that real? That's terrifying."

"Blech..."

Upon hearing this, the girls who had been laughing and chatting immediately panicked. Some with weaker stomachs even vomited on the spot.

"But the matches you registered for are all sparring matches, so they won't be that dangerous."

Shui Jing had not expected such a strong reaction from the girls and hurriedly added.

This feeling is familiar.

Su Chen brushed his hand across the stone monument carved with the names of the dead, and an unusual feeling welled up in his heart.

There was something on the monument that felt very familiar to him, but for the moment, he could not remember what it was.