First Lesson

After escorting Ning Rongrong back to the girls' dormitory, Zhang Yang hurried back to the Fourth Stage testing grounds, carried Tang San on his back, supported Xiao Wu, and painstakingly got the two settled down.

The dormitories housed two people each. Dai Mubai shared a room with Ma Hongjun, while Tang San was assigned to room with Oscar, the sausage seller. Zhang Yang was fortunate enough to have a dormitory all to himself.

After settling in at noon, Zhang Yang entered a cultivation state like Tang San and the others. The difference was that they were healing their injuries, while Zhang Yang was recovering his Soul Power.

Once his Soul Power had fully recovered, Zhang Yang saw that it was still early, so he began his daily Soul Power cultivation again. To his surprise, when he opened his eyes again, it was already dawn the next day.

Stretching lazily and listening to his bones crackle like firecrackers, Zhang Yang said with a refreshed grin, "Sure enough, a breakthrough always follows a great battle. Level 29. Feels great."

Following the information Dai Mubai had given him yesterday, Zhang Yang found the school cafeteria. The food was nothing special, but the portions were generous and filling.

The moment he entered the cafeteria, Zhang Yang spotted two lovely figures inside.

"Rongrong, Zhu Qing, good morning." Carrying a tray, Zhang Yang sat across from Ning Rongrong and greeted the two beauties.

The two nodded. "Good morning."

Because of the strength Zhang Yang had displayed yesterday, both of them had a fairly good attitude toward him. Although Zhu Zhuqing was reserved by nature, Ning Rongrong was quite talkative, and soon the cafeteria was filled with laughter.

Before long, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Tang San, and Xiao Wu entered the cafeteria together. Aside from Oscar, who was still asleep, all of Shrek's students were now present.

Seeing that all the new students had arrived, Dai Mubai, as the Senior Student, spoke first. "Let me introduce you. This fat guy is our academy's other student, Ma Hongjun. His Martial Soul is the Phoenix."

Ma Hongjun said, "Dai Laoda, I heard one of the new students gave Teacher Zhao a hard time yesterday. Who was it?"

Dai Mubai said, "This one here, Zhang Yang."

Since he had been mentioned, Zhang Yang greeted Ma Hongjun as well. "Zhang Yang. Martial Soul Borsalino. Level 29 Battle Soul Master."

Ma Hongjun said in surprise, "A Level 29 managed to make Teacher Zhao suffer? He's a Level 76 Soul Sage."

"My Soul Skill is rather special." Zhang Yang did not explain further. After all, without seeing it firsthand, no one would believe that such an unbeatable skill existed in this world.

"Oh, I see." Ma Hongjun suddenly understood.

Everyone enjoyed breakfast well enough. However, after exchanging looks with Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun helplessly realized that the three new junior schoolmates seemed to have already been claimed.

He had come too late.

Ma Hongjun felt somewhat helpless. Why had he been so unlucky yesterday, getting assigned to help at the Third Stage?

Although Zhu Zhuqing left early after finishing breakfast, the remaining six chatted happily until they heard the clang-clang of metal being struck.

Dai Mubai hurriedly stood up. "That's the bell calling us together. Fatty, take them directly to the Training Ground. I'll go get Zhu Qing." With that, he quickly left the cafeteria.

Watching his departing back, Ma Hongjun muttered, "Dai Laoda seems a little different. I've never seen him care this much about a woman before."

Ning Rongrong burst into laughter. "How old are you? Listen to you, talking about women."

Ma Hongjun snorted and said proudly, "I may not be old, but I've had women before. Let's go. The Dean doesn't like people being late."

As he spoke, Ma Hongjun seemed to shudder. Clearly, he had suffered for that before.

When the five arrived at the Training Ground, Oscar had already come as well, still bleary-eyed and eating a sausage he had made himself.

Soon afterward, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing arrived together. Shrek Academy's eight students had finally gathered.

Looking at the three youthful and beautiful junior schoolmates, each with her own charm, Oscar felt that not shaving today had been a terrible mistake.

When Shrek Academy's Dean Flender slowly approached from afar, Tang San and Xiao Wu were visibly stunned. Wasn't this the shady uncle who had sold them the crystal plate?

Flender stopped in front of the eight students. His distinct hoarse voice, carrying a hint of magnetism, rang out. "This year is not bad. We've gained another five Little Monsters."

"I am Flender, Dean of Shrek Academy. On behalf of the academy, I welcome you. Later, each of you will pay one hundred Gold Soul Coins to Teacher Li, who handles the finances."

Then, Oscar and Ning Rongrong, the auxiliary Soul Masters, were assigned to run laps, while the other Battle Soul Masters were told to recover their condition in preparation for the evening's First Lesson.

Tang San was then called away by Dean Flender.

Watching Tang San disappear around the corner behind Flender, Xiao Wu anxiously found Zhang Yang. "Zhang Yang, do you think Xiao San will get called out by the Dean and then be punished afterward? Uncle Big Sausage said the Dean holds grudges."

Zhang Yang shook his head. "Probably not. Besides, Teacher has a letter for Dean Flender. It seems Teacher and Dean Flender are old acquaintances. I just don't know how the Dean recognized Xiao San."

Xiao Wu suddenly understood. "Oh, I see."

"I'm going to pay the tuition. Are you coming?"

Xiao Wu shook her head. "My money is all with Xiao San. I have to wait for him to come back."

Zhang Yang nodded. "Oh, then I'll go first."

After paying the tuition, Zhang Yang returned to his dormitory, adjusted his condition, and entered cultivation once more.

If he did not want Tang San to leave him behind, he could only sacrifice a great deal of rest time and cultivate diligently.

That evening, Flender brought Zhang Yang and the others to Suotuo City. Their First Lesson would begin at Suotuo City's Great Soul Arena.

"Soul Power and Soul Rings do not fully represent a Soul Master's true strength. Only battle can prove everything. Your task is to obtain at least a Silver Soul Arena Badge before graduation. Do you understand?"

Flender glanced at the sky outside. "It's about time. Let's head over first. I'll explain the rest when we get there."

Suotuo Great Soul Arena was oval in shape and stood one hundred and twenty meters tall. Inside were one main Soul Fighting Arena and twenty-four smaller Soul Fighting Arenas. It could accommodate sixty thousand spectators at once, including one hundred VIP boxes. This was not only a place for Soul Masters to spar and exchange techniques, but also a place for various factions to display their strength.

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, the first thing they saw was a massive stone monument engraved with densely packed names. Flender told Zhang Yang and the others that these names belonged to people who had died in Soul Fighting battles.

Registering for Soul Fighting here was very simple. One only needed to fill out a form containing their name, age, birthplace, and Martial Soul to receive the initial Iron Soul Fighting Badge. Of course, registration also required each person to pay ten Gold Soul Coins.

At the same time, they underwent a Soul Power test similar to the one at Spirit Hall, confirming each of their levels. Dai Mubai told everyone that every time they came to participate in Soul Fighting, they had to undergo a Soul Power test first in order to determine their opponents.

Of all this, what interested Zhang Yang the most was undoubtedly the part concerning Gold Soul Coins.

"Winning one match with an Iron Soul Fighting Badge earns ten Gold Soul Coins. Losing earns nothing. Also, every match has bookmakers taking bets. The odds fluctuate, and winners must pay the bookmaker a certain handling fee."

"Can competing Soul Masters place bets too?" Zhang Yang leaned closer with interest. With the sheer unfairness of his ability, this was practically handing him money.

"Only betting on yourself is prohibited." Dai Mubai understood what Zhang Yang meant. "If you want to place a bet, I can help you."

"Of course I want to bet. This money is practically free. Dai Laoda, I'll have to trouble you." Zhang Yang hurriedly took out three hundred Gold Soul Coins and handed them to Dai Mubai.

Zhang Yang had never worked a part-time job outside the academy. These three hundred Gold Soul Coins were the Spirit Hall subsidies he had saved over the past six years. Aside from a few scattered coins, this was all he had.

"It's nothing." Dai Mubai shook his head, then reminded him, "Zhang Yang, your ability may be unbeatable, but you can't become dependent on it. If you run into a Soul Skill with a [Silence] or [Dispelling] effect, you'll be in trouble."

"Even if the Dean didn't say anything today, I think he'll definitely place restrictions on your Soul Skill in the future."

"You should prepare early. Don't let yourself get caught off guard."

Hearing Dai Mubai's words, Zhang Yang grinned mischievously. "Of course I know. But hasn't the Dean restricted me yet? I'll make as much as I can while I still have the chance."

As he spoke, Zhang Yang's 1v1 Soul Fighting match was about to begin. He patted Dai Mubai on the shoulder and ran off in a flash.

Dai Mubai weighed the money pouch in his hand and sighed helplessly.

Tang San smiled beside him. "Dai Laoda, Xiao Wu and I are going to register a 2v2 team first. See you later."

With that, Tang San was pulled away from the 1v1 Soul Fighting area by Xiao Wu.

The smaller Soul Fighting platform in the 1v1 area was twenty meters across, enough for the vast majority of Soul Masters to fight on.

At that moment, a Middle-aged Man in a tailcoat stood at the center of the Soul Fighting platform. He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Next is the first one-on-one Soul Fighting match of our Twelfth Soul Fighting Arena. The competitors will be two Soul Grand Masters. They are:"

"Battle Soul Master Zhang Yang, who possesses the Beast Martial Soul Borsalino."

"Versus..."

"Tool Soul Master Lin Shuai, who possesses the Weapon Martial Soul Iron Staff and has already won five consecutive matches."

"Will Soul Grandmaster Lin Shuai continue his glorious streak, achieve six consecutive victories, and receive the winning-streak point reward? Or will the newcomer Battle Soul Master Zhang Yang claim victory? Let us wait and see."

"Now, please welcome the two Soul Grand Masters onto the stage."

The spectators in the stands gave only scattered cheers, though quite a few shouted Lin Shuai's name. The rest did not seem very interested.

A man quickly appeared on the Soul Fighting platform. Judging from his muscular build, steel-like arms, and fan-sized hands, he was indeed well suited to using a long weapon.

On the other side, Zhang Yang, with his ordinary appearance and well-proportioned build, slowly stepped onto the Soul Fighting platform as well.

"The match... begins!!!"

"Martial Soul, possess me." The instant the fight began, Zhang Yang released his Martial Soul. At the same time, his opponent Lin Shuai released his Iron Staff Weapon Martial Soul and charged toward Zhang Yang.

They were ten meters apart. At a Soul Grandmaster's speed, that was only a matter of a second.

Therefore, in the blink of an eye, Lin Shuai had rushed in front of Zhang Yang. He raised his black Iron Staff high, and the First Soul Ring set around it lit up instantly.

"First Soul Skill, Thunderous Might."

As the Soul Ring lit up, not only was the Iron Staff Martial Soul enveloped in a layer of Red Light, but Lin Shuai himself was as well. Then, Lin Shuai swung his staff down at Zhang Yang's head.

Bang!

Zhang Yang narrowly avoided the head-on strike. The Iron Staff howled through the air and smashed violently into the floor of the Soul Fighting platform, blasting out a small crater and sending Crushed Stones flying.

No additional attack effects. This Tool Soul Master's First Soul Skill should be some kind of strength-enhancing skill, Zhang Yang thought.