First Deathmatch

[Yanyan brought me to the Underground Deathmatch in Heaven Dou City.]

[Not going to lie, this was my first time in a place like this. If I weren't worried about exposing my Soul Ring Configuration, I wouldn't have wanted to come here. It was making me a little sick.]

[But this was also the kind of place that could quickly bring out my Combat Strength. After all, even though I had been reborn, I hadn't truly fought properly yet.]

[For now, I'll kill ten Soul Masters here first.]

The women were greatly surprised upon hearing this. They hadn't expected Xu Fan to go to such a place.

Blue Tyrant Academy.

Liu Erlong laughed heartily. "That kid went to a place like that the moment he arrived in Heaven Dou City. Now that suits my taste."

"It makes me want to meet you right now and have a proper fight."

She loved fighting most of all. If she could not fight Xu Fan even once, her life would not be complete.

As for bringing Xu Fan to Blue Tyrant Academy, it was not as though she had never considered it.

But Xu Fan planned to have Shrek Academy come here later, so he definitely would not return.

Although Liu Erlong was somewhat displeased—after all, Blue Tyrant Academy was not a place that took in trash—she did not care all that much.

It would count as helping Xu Fan out.

Perhaps she could even take another step forward in the future.

Hadn't Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan's Martial Souls both evolved?

Her Fire Dragon Martial Soul was already top-tier. If it evolved further, she might become a Super Douluo in the future, or even an Ultimate Douluo.

Holding his numbered wooden token, Xu Fan followed Dugu Yan's guidance and led Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong through the noisy, crowded passageway to his Preparation Room.

The room was fairly large and brightly lit.

However, its furnishings were extremely simple.

Only the four of them were in the room, making it exceptionally quiet in stark contrast to the outside.

Ning Rongrong uneasily looked around and instinctively grabbed the corner of Xu Fan's clothes.

As the Young Miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, this was her first time in such a place. If not for this occasion, she truly would not have known somewhere like this existed.

Heaven Dou City had hidden it well.

"Xu Fan, will we be able to get out? I heard that if you win too much in a place like this, they won't let you leave." Ning Rongrong asked cautiously.

Dugu Yan shook her head. "No. At least, not for now."

Xu Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Rongrong, you're the Young Miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. With your status, you're scared?"

"Of course I'm scared. If they kill someone and bury the body, who would know who did it?" Ning Rongrong nodded heavily.

"Don't worry. With me here, nothing will happen." Xu Fan patted Ning Rongrong's shoulder.

Hearing such confident words, Ning Rongrong froze slightly. She suddenly felt a sense of safety.

It was a feeling she seemed to have experienced only while she was in the sect before.

Before long, the door on the other side of the room opened.

A burly figure slowly approached.

The newcomer was an exceptionally muscular strong man over two meters tall, his muscles knotted and bulging.

His face was covered in flesh, and a vicious scar slashed diagonally from his left brow bone to the corner of his right mouth, making him look exceptionally ferocious.

Most eye-catching of all was the Martial Soul he held in his hand: an enormous hammer.

The hammerhead dragged across the floor, making a dull scraping sound. It was clearly quite heavy.

Judging from the fluctuations of his Soul Power, he was only a Soul Elder.

The strong man swept his gaze around the room. When he saw that his opponent was actually a delicate-looking child, disdain appeared on his face.

"Hmph!" He curled his lips, his voice booming with mockery. "So it's just a little brat!"

He looked Xu Fan up and down. "Kid, have you even been weaned yet? You haven't even grown all your hair, and you dare come to the deathmatch arena to show off? Aren't you afraid you'll die here and have your bones gnawed clean by wild dogs?!"

He had no interest in women.

Xu Fan's eyes turned cold.

"Whether I die or not, I don't know."

"But you... will definitely die."

There was no needless nonsense. Against an opponent destined to fight him to the death, Xu Fan had no intention of wasting words.

"You may be small, but you've got quite the mouth!" The strong man laughed angrily at Xu Fan's gaze.

Xu Fan and the strong man entered the Life and Death Arena one after the other.

The ground was Dark Red, stained by the blood of who knew how many losers.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

Xu Fan hated this smell.

But he knew he had to accept it.

He was strong now, but he had not experienced many battles.

Fighting was dangerous. Even a simple mistake could cost him his life, so he had to learn how to fight.

He possessed All Laws Are Connected. He believed that as long as he fought a few battles, his combat ability would improve tremendously.

Ning Rongrong grabbed Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing's arms.

"Yanyan Sister, Zhuqing... Xu Fan... he'll be all right, won't he? That Big Guy looks so fierce..." Ning Rongrong stared at the arena without blinking.

Dugu Yan turned her head to glance at Ning Rongrong's pale, nervous face and gently patted the back of the hand gripping her own.

"Don't worry, Rongrong." Dugu Yan's voice was steady. "That guy may be big, but his Soul Power is nothing special. Xu Fan's Combat Strength is very strong. Within the Same Realm... no one can be his opponent. Just wait and see how that big lump gets unlucky."

"That's right."

Zhu Zhuqing had fought Xu Fan before. She was the one who understood his Combat Strength best.

She had not possessed the slightest ability to fight back.

He was too strong. That all-encompassing suppression, that terrifyingly precise insight, and that effortless control of strength... she understood it better than anyone.

On the arena, the strong man impatiently swung the Giant Hammer and roared at Xu Fan, "Kid! Are you scared stupid? Hurry up and reveal your Martial Soul! Let your grandpa send you on your way!"

A Martial God Phantom appeared behind Xu Fan, while faint golden patterns emerged across the surface of his skin.

Multicolored radiance enveloped Xu Fan.

His pupils transformed into molten-gold Vertical Pupils, and three faint golden Light Marks extended from the corners of his eyes.

The air warped slightly, forming a visible pale-golden Pressure Field.

Three black Soul Rings slowly lit up beneath his feet.

At the sight of Xu Fan's Soul Rings, the strong man's Pupils contracted.

"Black... black!"

"How is that possible?! Those are Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings! You're only a Soul Elder—how can you have Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings?!"

"Fake! They must be fake!!!"

"Yanyan Sister, what's going on?" Ning Rongrong was stunned. Could someone really have such a Soul Ring Configuration?

Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing were dumbfounded as well. Xu Fan's first two Soul Rings had indeed been Hundred Year Soul Rings before.

"Maybe he took some Immortal Herb that increased his Soul Ring Lifespan," Dugu Yan said.

"That is possible. The special effects of Immortal Herbs are indeed powerful," Zhu Zhuqing said with a nod.

In any case, whenever something miraculous happened, they could just attribute it to Immortal Herbs.

After all, Immortal Herbs were that incredible.

"Kid! Die!"

The strong man roared, and the First Soul Ring beneath his feet abruptly lit up.