Soul Fighting Stage: Battle Against the Crescent Moon Saber

"Aunt Yue, I slept very well."

Tang Yuehua spoke as she reached out to support Lu Yan's face. A layer of red sleep marks had formed on it, painfully conspicuous.

"Xiao Yan, why did you sleep here? The floor is cold and hard."

Her tone was full of heartache.

Lu Yan got up, his gaze sincere as he shook his head. "Aunt Yue gave me such a huge opportunity. I wanted to help Aunt Yue too.

Besides, there's a carpet. It's soft, not cold."

"From now on..." Tang Yuehua paused. She had wanted to say that he did not need to help her fall asleep anymore.

But she could not bear to.

"Aunt Yue." Lu Yan leaned closer and asked, "What about from now on?"

Forget it. At worst, she could put a soft couch in the room.

She had been tired for so many years. It was time she enjoyed herself a little.

Tang Yuehua poked his head with a Jade Finger and said sternly, "From now on, pay more attention in class. Don't think Aunt Yue doesn't know you were slacking off this morning.

Come to think of it, I was even teaching you, you little rascal, in my dream just now."

"Yes, Aunt Yue. I definitely won't let your painstaking efforts go to waste."

Lu Yan promised.

In the dream, Tang Yuehua had taught him hand in hand for quite a while. All that remained was to practice it in reality.

After his nap, Lu Yan left Moonlight Pavilion and returned to "Heaven."

This was still his main base.

The name "Heaven" had already gained a little fame in Heaven Dou City. He believed more people would come looking for him.

He cultivated until evening, taking on a few jobs along the way and earning some Gold Soul Coins.

Outside, the lights still blazed brightly.

"It's time to go take a look."

After Lu Yan walked less than two hundred meters, an enormous, majestic building illuminated by dazzling lights came into view. On the high-hanging plaque, six gilded characters—"Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena"—shone in the night.

Having come to Heaven Dou City over a year ago, he had passed this place countless times. Tonight, he would finally step inside as a participant.

A Soul Grandmaster was already qualified to enter.

He urgently needed real combat to temper himself, especially his newly acquired Second Soul Skill. Dream Projection had far too many variations; he would never truly master its applications and combinations in battle through solitary exploration alone.

To participate in spirit battles, he first had to register an identity.

The Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was highly efficient. It was done in just a few minutes.

Lu Yan looked at the unremarkable Iron Badge in his hand. On its back was engraved his spirit battle title—Dream Master.

It was both his title in the spirit arena and a declaration of the ambition buried deep within his heart: to become the master who controlled dreams, until falsehood became reality.

As the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, this place gathered Soul Masters from all over, and spirit battles were the continent's most popular form of entertainment.

It was both a gambler's heaven and a dueling ground for Soul Masters.

Less than five minutes after he submitted his registration information, the match result was out.

Following the directions, Lu Yan stepped onto the designated secondary Soul Fighting Stage and saw his opponent for the night—Overlord Saber.

He was a brawny man built like an iron tower, nearly two meters tall. His robe hung half-open, revealing massive chest muscles enough to make countless women ashamed, while a hideous scar on his left cheek added several degrees of ferocity.

Zhao Long crossed his arms and sized up Lu Yan, his voice booming like a great bell. "So he's a genius too."

Though surprise flickered in his eyes, there was not the slightest hint of contempt. Being matched against him on the same stage proved that this youth was at least a Soul Grandmaster.

For someone so young to reach the cultivation of a Soul Grandmaster, his Martial Soul was surely not weak.

"Good evening, esteemed audience!" Outside the arena, the host's impassioned voice ignited the entire venue. "Tonight's contenders are as follows.

On one side, the battle-hardened 'Overlord Saber,' who has already claimed three consecutive victories.

On the other is the newly arrived and unfathomable 'Dream Master.'

Will Overlord Saber continue his undefeated Battle Record, or will Dream Master perform the miracle of winning his very first match?

Let us wait and see. Now—let the spirit battle begin!"

The moment the host's words fell, Soul Power erupted around Zhao Long. A Crescent Moon Saber over two meters long appeared Out of Thin Air in his hand, its blade smashing into the arena floor as it landed.

Two bright yellow hundred-year Soul Rings rose beneath his feet and slowly pulsed.

"Kid, if you can't hold on, just surrender. It's nothing to be ashamed of!"

With a low shout, Zhao Long dragged his saber with one arm and charged forward fearlessly.

His First Soul Ring lit up, and a frigid silver gleam immediately spread across the Crescent Moon Saber. His charging speed abruptly soared.

He crossed the twenty-meter distance in only two breaths. The blade scraped across the ground with a piercing screech, sending a trail of sparks flying.

"There it is—Zhao Long's Blade Drag Slash! Its force is stronger than a charging warhorse. Even a Soul Elder would find it hard to take that strike.

Still, that youth's Martial Soul is really pretty."

"This youth is probably doomed to lose. His Martial Soul really is beautiful, though."

On the Soul Fighting Stage, the spectators discussed fervently. They had already placed their bets.

They did not believe a youth could defeat Zhao Long, the Overlord Saber.

Lu Yan had already completed Dream Butterfly Possession. Butterfly Wings unfurled behind him as Purple Demon Eyes quietly activated, instantly judging Zhao Long's Soul Power to be at least level twenty-five.

And judging by the force of his charge, once he closed in, his power would be terrifying.

He could not let him get close.

First Soul Skill: Mental Severance.

In an instant, countless Silver Light Spots scattered from the Butterfly Wings, like a galaxy suddenly exploding across the night sky. They swiftly blanketed several meters before him and continued spreading forward.

"Not good." Zhao Long's Pupils contracted.

Years of fighting in the spirit arena had honed his instincts, making him extremely wary of this unknown Soul Skill. When facing an area-of-effect skill with unclear effects, the best choice was to avoid contact.

His charging momentum came to an abrupt stop. His right leg stomped forward into a bow stance, his rear leg stretched taut as power surged through his waist and abdomen.

Using the momentum of his charge, Zhao Long forcibly ended Blade Drag Slash early and took the opportunity to slash upward with brutal force.

The saber shot forth like racing thunder, its momentum like a wild horse breaking free of the reins.

The frigid saber light tore through the air with a shrill howl.

Though several meters away, Lu Yan still heard a sharp clang. Had he not experienced Tang Hao's imposing aura before, this strike alone would have been enough to make one tremble in fear. He could not help but marvel inwardly:

What a fierce strike!

Where the saber light passed, it forcibly cleaved a gap even through the scattered Silver Light Spots.

The long saber came to a stop while still over a meter away, yet a solid silver saber aura detached from the blade. Like a streak of light, it slashed toward him again.

Lu Yan was startled. His feet moved in Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his figure flickering like a ghost. At the critical instant, he deftly turned sideways and evaded the fierce saber aura.

"Gasp, Dream Master... he actually dodged it?!"

"How... how is that possible? So many Soul Masters have fallen to that strike. How could he dodge it?"

Everyone in the spectator stands was stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Bang!

The saber aura struck the stage, carving a clear saber mark several meters long into it.

Yet Zhao Long had already charged along the "pathway" cut open by his blade.

He was a little slower, but still arrived in the blink of an eye. The Crescent Moon Saber, over two meters long, moved in his hands as though it weighed nothing, accompanied by a mournful whistling through the air.

The saber light swept forth like a bolt of silk, as if it meant to seal off every possible path of escape.

But he was facing the Tang Sect Unique Skills—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, a technique capable of allowing a Soul Master to rival an Agility Attack System Soul Master.

Lu Yan's steps shifted lightly, his body like willow catkins drifting in the wind. Once again, he narrowly avoided the waist-level slash.

Zhao Long, however, pressed his advantage relentlessly. Already broad and powerfully built with astonishing strength, and wielding the heavy weapon that was the Crescent Moon Saber, every move he made was overwhelmingly fierce and unstoppable, like a tiger in the forest that stole souls and struck terror into hearts.

Saber light flashed across the arena.