The Spirit Dueling Arena's Silence

Heaven Dou Royal Academy, main Spirit Dueling Arena.

Sunlight streamed through the glazed tiles of the dome, casting thick pillars of light. Countless specks of dust fluttered up and down within them like startled golden sprites.

The venue buzzed with voices.

The stands were packed with students and instructors who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Without exception, every gaze was fixed on the center of the arena.

On the seven-year-old child who seemed utterly out of place amid everything around him.

Whispers and undisguised ridicule blended into a noisy backdrop. Contempt and curiosity were plainly written across the young faces.

In one corner, several lavishly dressed noble students were huddled together in conversation.

"Has His Highness the Crown Prince lost his mind? He brought a toddler like that into our team?"

"He's probably the descendant of some minister, shoved in here to gild his credentials. What a pity—he came to the wrong place."

"Captain Tian Heng could probably pin him to the ground and make him cry with one finger."

Amid the mockery, Shen Tianchen's expression remained calm and unruffled.

On the other side of the Spirit Dueling Arena, every member of the Heaven Dou Royal Team had arrived. The Shi Mo brothers stood with their arms folded, their faces full of disdain.

Yu Feng wore a faint, entertained smile, clearly eager to watch the show.

Osler leaned against the wall, looking completely unconcerned.

Only Dugu Yan was different.

Her pretty face was pale as she leaned heavily against the cold railing, her thoughts in turmoil.

Her emerald eyes were filled with shock and struggle. Her gaze remained locked on Shen Tianchen, and she had no mind to spare for the impending battle.

How did he know...

Even Grandpa is helpless against the Snake Venom... Could he really have a way?

No, that's impossible. He's only a child...

But what if he does?

That one-in-ten-thousand chance was like a spark, burning within the depths of her nearly hopeless heart.

At the judges' stand, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin wore solemn expressions.

"Brother Meng, are we really letting them fight?" Bai Baoshan lowered his voice. "If Tian Heng gets hurt, it'll be difficult to explain things to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. But if this child gets hurt, then His Highness the Crown Prince..."

Zhi Lin adjusted the crystal glasses on his nose. "The arrow is on the string; it has to be loosed. We can only hope Tian Heng knows his limits."

Meng Shenji took a deep breath and rose to his feet.

The pressure belonging to a Soul Douluo unconsciously spread out, and the previously clamorous Spirit Dueling Arena fell silent in an instant.

"This battle ends at the first touch!"

His voice echoed through every corner.

Yu Tianheng slowly stepped onto the dueling platform. He did not summon his martial soul right away, and even the occasional blue arcs of electricity around him were completely withdrawn.

Looking down at Shen Tianchen from above, his eyes carried the teasing impatience of an adult toward a child.

He could not even be bothered to assume a fighting stance.

"I'll let you make the first move."

"If I move first, I'm afraid you won't even get the chance to summon your martial soul."

Shen Tianchen merely shook his head.

He did not summon his martial soul, nor did he alter his stance in the slightest.

His toe lightly tapped the hard stone floor.

The Wind God Pearl in his dantian trembled faintly.

A formless wind-element Soul Power instantly enveloped his entire body.

Yu Tianheng's pupils had only just contracted.

Shen Tianchen's figure had already vanished from where he stood, as though the wind itself had wiped him away.

Instinctively, alarm bells blared in Yu Tianheng's heart!

"First Spirit Ability, Thunder Dragon Claw!"

With an angry roar, a thick lightning dragon claw tore through the air with a shrill howl and viciously struck at the spot where Shen Tianchen had just stood.

"Boom!"

Lightning exploded, and the air filled with the stench of burning.

Five deep, charred claw marks were left on the hard stone platform. Yet he had struck nothing but empty air.

Yu Tianheng's heart jolted. Before he could make his next move, an icy, bone-chilling touch had already pressed against the back of his neck.

Every hair on his body stood on end in that instant.

Shen Tianchen's calm voice sounded beside his ear like a ghost.

"Are you done warming up?"

"If this is all you have, then this challenge can end right now."

As his words fell.

The cold sword sheath moved away from Yu Tianheng's skin.

Shen Tianchen silently stepped back, widening the distance again and leaving him ample space.

That gesture was supreme confidence.

And silent mockery.

The entire arena fell deathly still.

The laughter from the stands came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor as they struggled to believe what they had just seen.

The noble student who had mocked him the loudest had his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg inside. The snack in his hand fell to the ground with a slap.

The Shi Mo brothers exchanged a glance, seeing the gravity and horror in each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, the faint spark in Dugu Yan's emerald pupils suddenly ignited into a blaze of hope.

"You—want—to—die!"

Yu Tianheng's face instantly turned liver-red. The utter humiliation drove him completely berserk.

He no longer held anything back, throwing back his head and releasing an earth-shaking dragon roar!

"Roar—!"

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul instantly possessed him!

The muscles across his body expanded in sections, fine blue dragon scales emerged over his sturdy arms, and his eyes transformed into imposing vertical pupils.

Yellow, purple!

Two spirit rings abruptly rose around him!

Violent lightning power enveloped his whole body, and the stone slabs beneath his feet cracked inch by inch under the overflowing electricity!

That violent aura made several low-level soul masters in the stands feel tightness in their chests and struggle to breathe.

Faced with Yu Tianheng, who had unleashed his full power, Shen Tianchen finally grew serious.

He slowly raised his right hand.

With a thought.

Rather than summoning the Dragon Abyss Sword, he directly released his spirit rings.

The first spirit ring rose.

Purple!

Thousand-year!

A wave of uncontrollable gasps rose from the stands.

Then, the second spirit ring rose.

It was still purple!

The gasps turned into sharp intakes of breath.

The third spirit ring rose.

Still purple!

The entire Spirit Dueling Arena erupted in commotion, and everyone unconsciously rose from their seats.

Yet it was not over.

The fourth spirit ring slowly appeared.

It was a deep, ominous black, as though it could devour all light...

The instant that ten-thousand-year black ring appeared, the entire Spirit Dueling Arena sank into absolute, deathlike silence.

Three purple, one black.

Four spirit rings quietly floated beneath the feet of that six- or seven-year-old child.

The terrifying pressure radiating from the ten-thousand-year black ring made the air itself seem viscous.

Unlike ordinary spirit rings, it did not shimmer with flowing light. Instead, it resembled a miniature black hole. Light twisted as it approached, and it exuded a chill and oppression that rose from the depths of one's soul.

The entire Spirit Dueling Arena was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

At that moment, everyone's thoughts completely froze.

"Bang!"

At the judges' stand, the three education committee members—Meng Shenji, Zhi Lin, and Bai Baoshan—shot to their feet, their bodies trembling faintly from overwhelming excitement.

"Fourth ring... ten thousand years..."

Meng Shenji muttered in a daze.

"This old man... This old man isn't dreaming, is he?"

"Clatter."

The crystal glasses on Zhi Lin's nose slipped off and shattered on the ground, yet he did not notice.

Bai Baoshan tightly gripped the railing in front of him. His knuckles had turned white from exertion, and clear finger marks had been crushed into the hard metal railing.

On the dueling platform.

The rage on Yu Tianheng's face was replaced by something deeper.

It was horror mixed with disbelief and a trace of fear born from the depths of his soul.

He stared fixedly at that black spirit ring, his lips trembling unconsciously.

The flames of fury in his eyes seemed to have been completely doused by a basin of icy water from the underworld, leaving behind only ashes.

Impossible...

This is absolutely impossible...

A seven-year-old Soul Ancestor... a ten-thousand-year fourth ring...

This...

This is a monster!