Princes' Duel

Star Luo City

As the royal capital of the Star Luo Empire, it was also the empire's most prosperous city.

Nobles and aristocrats could be seen everywhere.

Small vendors struggling to make a living lined both sides of the streets, while carriages occasionally passed through the center.

Compared to Heaven Dou City, where carriages often raced down the roads with no regard for the impact they had, Star Luo City's order was clearly much better.

This was not because Star Luo's officials and citizens were particularly united, but because the Star Luo Emperor's authority within the Star Luo Empire was far beyond what Xue Ye could command in the Heaven Dou Empire.

The powerful and noble feared the Star Luo Emperor deeply, so they behaved especially well in Star Luo City, terrified of drawing the emperor's displeasure.

As for other places, the situations in the Two Great Empires were actually more or less the same.

As a nation that worshipped strength, Star Luo City differed greatly from Heaven Dou City.

There were not many establishments filled with song and dance here, but the Great Soul Arena was far larger in scale than those in the Heaven Dou Empire.

"What a huge Soul Arena!" Ning Rongrong held a local Star Luo Empire dessert in one hand and looked at the immense Soul Arena in the distance, whose edge could not be seen at a glance. She spoke with some surprise.

"This place doesn't seem as lavish and decadent as Heaven Dou City."

Ning Rongrong had arrived at Spirit Hall when she was three. Her last visit to Heaven Dou City had been three years ago, yet this was still her impression of it. The things the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect saw were certainly different from what ordinary people saw, which said enough about the situation there.

Pei An shook his head slightly. "No, they're actually about the same."

His gaze was deep as the Soul Arena reflected in his eyes.

"It's just that one is displayed openly, while the other is hidden in darkness."

The Heaven Dou imperial capital's extravagance and debauchery were out in the open, while Star Luo Empire's indulgence was concealed within other things.

For example, the Soul Arena before them.

The battle-loving people of Star Luo were especially enthusiastic about this form of entertainment, which meant an enormous market for profit.

Nearly all Soul Arenas on the continent had been established by the seven great Soul Master families. The fact that the Great Soul Arena of Star Luo City could make them invest so much money to build it on such a grand scale showed just how massive the profits it brought them were.

After all, the seven great Soul Master families were not charitable organizations. The only thing that could make them part with their money was even greater profit.

Betting outside the arena was its greatest source of income.

Soul Battles and gambling matches—the unparalleled thrill of them perfectly suited the tastes of Star Luo's people.

The money involved surpassed, rather than fell short of, the resplendent pleasure houses of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Gambling: one thought led to heaven, another to hell. Yet heaven was mostly an illusion, while hell was the true nature of it.

In Star Luo City, countless people had lost everything over a single wager.

Moreover, things like Soul Battles inevitably gave rise to certain gray industries.

Trafficking, Prohibited Drugs, threats...

Their harm was even greater than that of the Heaven Dou Empire's pleasure houses.

Ning Rongrong nodded thoughtfully, seeming to understand yet not fully understand.

Pei An did not explain further. Although Ning Rongrong, whether as the Pope's disciple or the future Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, would inevitably come to understand such gray matters in the future,

she was still young, and her values had not yet fully matured. There was no need for her to learn too much about them so early.

"Teacher, can we go inside and take a look?" Ning Rongrong pointed at the Great Soul Arena in the distance and tugged on Pei An's sleeve.

"Mhm." Pei An did not refuse.

He did not want Ning Rongrong to come into contact with those dark matters too early, but as their name implied, those things were hidden in the dark.

There was nothing obviously wrong with the Great Soul Arena on the surface. It was simply ordinary Soul Battles.

Though it could be somewhat bloody, it remained within acceptable limits.

"May I ask, are you two here to watch or to participate in a Soul Battle?"

The moment they stepped through the Great Soul Arena's gates, a staff member approached them.

"To watch. Arrange the nearest match, private room." Pei An took out a Gold Card and spoke calmly.

The staff member accepted the Gold Card, and the smile on his face became even more obsequious.

As someone who worked at the Great Soul Arena in Star Luo City, he naturally had sufficient experience.

The instant he received the Gold Card, he recognized its origin.

It was a top-tier card from the Martial Soul Bank. Those who possessed one were almost all important figures from Spirit Hall.

These two were both young and should be descendants of some Spirit Hall High-Level.

People like them could not be slighted.

"Certainly. Please follow me, you two." The attendant led Pei An and Ning Rongrong to a private room, keeping his body slightly bent the whole way.

The private room was located high up, offering a complete view of the Soul Arena below.

"My lord, would you require any other services?" the attendant asked in an ambiguous tone.

Although Pei An had a little girl like Ning Rongrong beside him, one could not judge certain second-generation nobles merely by their age.

Because of their birth and the peculiar nature of Soul Masters, some of them might be young, yet played far more wildly than anyone else. He had seen plenty of them.

"No." Pei An's expression turned slightly cold, and there was a faint chill in his voice.

Sensing this, the attendant hurriedly apologized. After Pei An waved his hand, he quickly left without daring to linger.

He was merely an ordinary attendant. If he were killed, a few Gold Soul Coins would probably settle the matter. The Great Soul Arena would never offend a Spirit Hall High-Level for his sake.

The door to the private room slowly closed.

Ning Rongrong looked around the room curiously. It was her first time visiting a Great Soul Arena.

She had been too young while in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, so Ning Fengzhi could not possibly have brought her to a place like this.

At Spirit Hall, although she had received Soul Battle instruction and watched quite a few Soul Battles, those had all been internal battles within Martial Soul Academy. They were certainly very different from those here.

Pei An sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

He was all too familiar with Great Soul Arenas.

The first time he had met Tang Yuehua was when he had concealed his identity and gone to Wutasuo to participate in Soul Battles, only to encounter her during a trip to Xuan Ya Pavilion.

In his earlier years, he had participated in countless Soul Battles, though always under different identities.

If all those points were added together, obtaining a Diamond Badge would probably not have been a problem.

Before long, the Soul Battle match began.

A host with a flying martial soul flapped his wings as he flew above the Soul Arena, speaking passionately through a Soul Guidance Amplifier:

"Everyone, this Soul Battle differs from the usual matches. The two participants are princes of the Star Luo Royal Family!"

"Prince Dai Mubai has once again challenged Prince Dai Weisi!"

A duel between princes!

On either side of the Soul Arena, two golden-haired boys slowly stepped onto the battle platform.

One still looked like a child and was extremely immature, while the other already looked like a youth and was much taller in build.

Pei An, seated in the private room, was slightly stunned.

He had not expected such a coincidence—he had actually encountered a Soul Battle between these two princes.

By his calculations, Dai Mubai should have been around nine years old now. Dai Weisi was six years older, making him around fifteen.

With such an age gap in these early years, it was no wonder Dai Mubai had been so thoroughly crushed that he abandoned his fiancée and fled Star Luo City.

But judging from his appearance, Dai Mubai did not seem to have been beaten down to that extent yet.