Faced with this downright dramatic result, the entire Soul Fighting Arena fell into deathly silence.
The stands beneath the ring, which had previously been filled with all kinds of whispers from spectators who thought the match would be nothing special, went completely quiet.
A moment later, a tremendous wave of excitement erupted.
"Purple? A Thousand Year Soul Ring?! And he's got two of the damn things!!!"
"Holy crap, that color's gotta be fake. What kind of person can have two Thousand Year Soul Rings at level twenty?!"
"Fake? Go get me a fake Soul Ring, then! What kind of Soul Tool could possibly change the color of a Soul Ring?!"
Some know-it-alls heard someone nearby claim the Soul Rings were fake. Their mouths twitched, and unable to bear watching any longer, they kindly offered an explanation.
"Exactly! And you're calling them fake Soul Rings? Could a fake Soul Ring slap the Blazing Wolf half to death in one hit?
Did you leave your brain at home or something..."
"..."
"..."
"You're making a fuss over nothing. Haven't you watched the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament? Some of Shrek's geniuses had Thousand Year Soul Rings as their First Soul Ring."
"So, by that logic, this Yan Jun is a genius from Shrek too?"
"Looks that way to me. But the Blazing Wolf really got it rough. I remember he was almost on a seven-match winning streak..."
"Tell me about it..."
"..."
The spectators beneath the ring chattered among themselves. In short, everyone had something to say.
It couldn't be helped. The match had been far too dramatic, and full of explosive moments!
Several staff members had already entered the ring. They efficiently carried the half-dead "Blazing Wolf" away, presumably to get him treated.
Next, the beautiful hostess, dressed in a pure white gown, walked gracefully onto the ring and announced the result of the match:
"...Let's congratulate the winner of this match—Yan Jun!"
As soon as the hostess finished speaking, a tremendous roar rose from the audience.
"Yan Jun! Yan Jun!!"
"Yan Jun! Yan Jun!!!"
Someone had started the chant, and it spread like an infection, once again driving the atmosphere to its peak.
Wave after wave of cheers surged higher and higher.
Lu Lin stood calmly on the ring, watching as the name Yan Jun rang out for the first time in the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
At the center of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena hung a gigantic Soul Guidance Crystal Screen, which broadcast matches from some of the subsidiary arenas in real time.
At the front desk, the staff member who had registered Lu Lin's match looked away from the crystal screen, her face filled with utter shock.
He'd taken him out in one move...
Lu Lin hadn't worn a mask when he registered.
She was certain that this Soul Grandmaster named Ji Ming, whose alias was Yan Jun, was nowhere near the sixteen years old he'd claimed to be.
Thirteen or fourteen at most.
Just then, another soul master came to register for a match. She quickly composed herself, put on a professional smile, and got back to work.
But the image of Lu Lin's handsome, stern face lingered in her mind. Well, she'd just have to stay up a little later tonight...
Well, this kid did pretty well.
Mo Yin stood beneath the stands, uncorked the wine gourd hanging at his waist, and took a sip. As Little Poker Face walked toward him, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.
Naturally, he wasn't surprised by the result.
"Elder Mo, let's head back."
Lu Lin looked at Mo Yin.
No matter which Soul Fighting Arena it was, a person could only compete in one match of the same type per day.
So it would certainly take him quite a while to earn a Silver Soul Badge.
"Here."
Mo Yin nodded, then suddenly grabbed a handful of Gold Soul Coins and stuffed them into Lu Lin's hand without giving him a chance to refuse.
Lu Lin froze and looked down. The number of Gold Soul Coins in his hand was exactly ten—the amount he'd spent registering for the match.
Before Lu Lin could ask, Mo Yin spoke in a leisurely tone:
"Before your match, I went and placed a few bets. Whew, good thing you won. Otherwise, I'd have lost a fortune..."
At that, Lu Lin's face went blank.
He thought to himself that he was certain the "few bets" Mo Yin mentioned hadn't been for a small sum.
Lu Lin wasn't greedy. Getting ten Gold Soul Coins back was already a huge win for him.
Since it was his first appearance today, and his Soul Power of level twenty-one was so misleading, the odds had naturally been absurdly high. Mo Yin wouldn't get another chance to make money like this.
"Thank you, Elder. Ji Ming will go buy you some wine."
Lu Lin put away the Gold Soul Coins and looked at Mo Yin.
Mo Yin's eyes crinkled with delight. "Not bad, not bad."
It wasn't that Mo Yin couldn't afford to buy wine, but wine bought by an elder wasn't the same as wine bought by a junior.
With that, the two of them set off to leave the Great Soul Arena.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a black suit, around forty years old and looking rather amiable, came into Lu Lin's view.
"Please wait!"
The two of them stopped instinctively.
Lu Lin looked at the man in confusion. "What is it?"
The man was extremely obese. He'd jogged over, and fine beads of sweat covered his forehead.
But he had no time to wipe them away and hurriedly introduced himself:
"My surname is Xiao, my given name is Huohuo. I'm in charge of this Great Soul Arena."
Xiao Huohuo?
Lu Lin's expression turned a little strange. Could the man handle the karma that came with that name?
At least he wasn't called Xiao Yan.
After introducing himself, Xiao Huohuo paused briefly before continuing:
"To be honest, I just watched the replay of Yan Jun's match. Having a heaven-blessed genius like you grace our Soul Fighting Arena is truly an honor for us.
"But given your strength, Iron Soul Master matches in the Soul Grandmaster division really aren't suited to you. I came over to discuss this with you."
Lu Lin frowned slightly. "What, am I not allowed to compete here anymore?"
Xiao Huohuo hurriedly waved his hands. "You misunderstand, Yan Jun. Our arena doesn't prohibit anyone from competing.
"What I mean is, although you're currently only an Iron Soul Master, with your strength, it's only a matter of time before you advance to the Gold Soul Master and Purple Gold Soul Master ranks.
"I came over with a suggestion that might help you shorten the wait."
"Sure. What's your suggestion?"
Lu Lin became a little interested.
According to the Soul Fighting Arena's ridiculous rules, advancing from Iron Soul Master to Copper Soul Master required a hundred points.
Advancing from Copper Soul Master to Silver Soul Master required a thousand points.
A win earned one point, while a loss cost one point.
After five consecutive wins, each additional consecutive win earned ten points. After ten consecutive wins, each win earned a hundred points.
There was nothing wrong with the points system itself.
It was the hard-and-fast rule allowing only one match per day that left Lu Lin with nothing but complaints.
Even the ranked matches in Honor of Kings didn't have a rule like that.
Lu Lin had only won one match so far, so naturally, he had only one point.
Seeing that Lu Lin seemed interested, Xiao Huohuo hurriedly continued:
"All the large Soul Fighting Arenas have a special channel set up for heaven-blessed geniuses like you.
"Our arena is no exception.
"Simply put, you can use your Soul Grandmaster-level strength to compete against Soul Elders.
"That way, for each match you win, you'll earn ten points."
A Cross-level Challenge?
That sounded interesting.
Lu Lin nodded thoughtfully.
For the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, the purpose of setting up a special channel like this was naturally to boost business, ticket sales, viewership, and so on.
Making money was what mattered.
Once a soul master took this special channel, the match would be full of hype and exciting highlights.
The problem was that the soul masters still willing to compete were usually ordinary ones.
The special channel at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena hadn't been used in over ten years.
Before you continue