Preparing for Spirit Dueling

At dusk, after dinner, Shen Tianchen slowly walked into the Suo Tuo City Great Spirit Arena.

He had chosen a hotel near the Great Spirit Arena as his base for two reasons: first, the heavy foot traffic meant news traveled quickly here; second, he could use spirit duels to temper his rapidly surging Soul Power.

This world did not have many forms of entertainment to begin with, and most of them were only affordable to imperial nobles.

For ordinary people, watching spirit duels at the Great Spirit Arena not only treated their eyes, but also satisfied their fantasies about Soul Masters.

Therefore, whether it was a holiday or not, the Spirit Dueling Arena was always packed with people and exceptionally lively.

Some people were even willing to spend savings they had accumulated for a long time just to watch a single spirit duel.

Outside the Great Spirit Arena, Shen Tianchen arrived precisely at the start time.

"It's really lively here at night."

Shen Tianchen could not help looking forward to the upcoming match.

For some reason, in the original owner's memories, his parents had brought him here to watch matches many times. Yet even after seeing so many, he had never grown tired of them.

Sometimes, the gap in strength between the two competitors was obvious, yet the result always came as a surprise.

No matter what, stronger people always carried a trace of contempt toward those weaker than themselves, allowing their opponents to seize the opportunity and end the match in a single burst.

At that moment, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who had come here to try their luck, scanned the area. Ma Hongjun finally spotted Shen Tianchen near the front rows.

"Boss Dai, that's the brat who beat me up like that!"

Ma Hongjun pointed at Shen Tianchen's back and spoke bitterly.

Dai Mubai was also somewhat irritated.

The two of them had searched all afternoon until their legs nearly gave out, and they had finally found this guy.

The anger in their hearts surged, along with their blood pressure. Naturally, they wanted to vent it on Shen Tianchen.

It was just that this was not a good place to make a move. After all, the Great Spirit Arena was no ordinary entertainment venue, and the experts backing it were each stronger than the last.

If they openly caused trouble here, getting beaten into pigs' heads would be getting off lightly. If things got serious, they might simply be quietly killed. Even several lives would not be enough to lose.

Dai Mubai watched Shen Tianchen for a while, frowned, then said to Ma Hongjun, "Fatty, don't rush. Now that we've found him, things will be easier. Let's go take a look first."

The two of them then quickly headed toward the spectator area and found seats not too close to Shen Tianchen, but close enough to see him clearly.

Venting their anger outside might land them in solitary confinement, but it would be much easier here. They could simply get on stage and fight.

The two had already decided that if Shen Tianchen registered for a match, they would follow him up and fight him.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Shen Tianchen's lips.

"Simple-minded fools. Do they think this will work?"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's method of tailing him was extremely clumsy in his eyes. Shen Tianchen had already noticed them the moment they entered the Great Spirit Arena.

Still, it was somewhat understandable. Their strength was too low, and they did not know how to conceal their own auras.

Shen Tianchen had fought Ma Hongjun during the day and was very familiar with his aura.

Combined with the extraordinary perception of a God-tier Martial Soul, the aura beside him that was stronger than Ma Hongjun's could only belong, at this time, to his good brother Dai Mubai.

"Two idiots. They dared to come seeking revenge without even investigating their opponent's strength. Those brains of theirs... tsk, tsk, tsk."

"Since you're here, prepare to be my whetstones. I hope you can put up a decent fight."

He had long wanted to see the strength of the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Since that Grass Chicken had gone looking for Dai Mubai, anyone could guess what they wanted to do.

Since that was the case, why not simply fight it out in the arena?

With that thought, Shen Tianchen headed toward the registration counter.

Seeing Shen Tianchen move, Dai Mubai quickly followed.

"Iron Spirit Dueling Badge. How about we have a match?"

Dai Mubai said confidently.

The staff member was naturally happy to see this situation. Normally, after contestants registered, they had to manually match themselves with opponents.

If the two had identical spirit dueling badges and both agreed, it would save quite a bit of time.

"What? Are you scared?"

With his big brother beside him, Ma Hongjun seemed to have found support. "You'd better know what's good for you, brat. Apologize to your Fatty here and pay my medical expenses, or you won't be feeling too good later."

Shen Tianchen immediately turned around, revealing a mysterious smile as he said to Ma Hongjun, "Grass Chicken, it seems the last time still didn't teach you a lesson. I didn't get enough of a beating during the day. I hope you show some real strength later."

Ma Hongjun's body trembled at those words. He shrank his neck and slowly retreated behind Dai Mubai, then shouted, "Don't get cocky. I'd like to see whether your mouth will still be this tough later."

In Shen Tianchen's current state, he did not dare rashly provoke him again. He planned to wait until Dai Mubai had fought Shen Tianchen for a while and worn him down before stepping in to take advantage.

Seeing Shen Tianchen's attitude, Dai Mubai said impatiently, "What, you're scared already? Weren't you pretty fierce during the day?"

Shen Tianchen still ignored him. Turning to the staff member, he asked, "Do arranged matches still award points?"

After seeing the staff member nod, he said to Dai Mubai, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and register."

Dai Mubai froze for a moment before threatening, "Fine, you're something else, brat. Let's see whether you'll still look like this later."

After registering, all that remained was to wait for the match to begin.

After fiercely glaring at Shen Tianchen, Dai Mubai left with Ma Hongjun.

"Such pitiful children."

For some reason, Shen Tianchen felt a trace of pity in his heart.

He knew that before long, the master renowned for his theories, Yu Xiaogang, would likely arrive at Shrek Academy.

His training methods could be described as lifting a rock only to smash one's own foot—pure self-torture.

Before long, an announcement rang out through the Great Spirit Arena.

"Please proceed to the spirit dueling stage, Sword Immortal and Evil-Eyed White Tiger, for your one-on-one spirit duel."

The entire Great Spirit Arena immediately erupted with deafening cheers.

"Go, Evil-Eyed White Tiger! Crush Sword Immortal!"

"Let that brat who doesn't know his place see how strong you are!"

It was clear that Dai Mubai had already gained some fame here.

However, some girls in the audience supported Shen Tianchen.

"Wow, Sword Immortal is so handsome!"

"Go, Sword Immortal! I believe in you!"

Hearing this, some boys sneered. "What use is being handsome? It can't fill your stomach. Just watch how that pretty boy gets knocked flat by Evil-Eyed White Tiger later. Hmph!"

"A bunch of idiots, a rabble. Do they really think that playboy is so strong?"

Shen Tianchen shook his head, then walked toward the stage.

After passing through the long contestant tunnel, Shen Tianchen slowly stepped onto the spirit dueling stage beneath the gazes of the entire audience.

Dai Mubai had been waiting there for a long time. Seeing Shen Tianchen come up, he said sarcastically, "I thought you wouldn't dare come up. Looks like I underestimated you. But it doesn't matter. It won't affect the final result in the slightest."

"For the sake of us becoming classmates in the future, I won't make things too embarrassing for you. I hope you don't disappoint me."

Did he truly want to stand up for Ma Hongjun? To put it bluntly, that was merely an excuse. What he really wanted was to preserve his own position in the academy.

"Anyone can talk big, but people who talk big rarely end well. I gave you time to think it over, but you didn't cherish it. Don't blame me now." A wicked smile curled Shen Tianchen's lips.

"Hmph!"

Dai Mubai could not be bothered to make a fool of himself any further.

Seeing that the two had finished their pre-match threats, the referee immediately announced the start of the match.

The audience, accustomed to fierce battles, had their curiosity stirred by this scene.

The male spectators were dissatisfied with Shen Tianchen's behavior and turned back to support Dai Mubai.

In contrast, the female spectators thought even more highly of Shen Tianchen—or rather, they admired the noble aura about him.