First Soul Fight

"As for why staring at small animals made them fall unconscious, that was easy to explain. Your Mental Power leaked out, and those animals couldn't withstand it."

"You haven't forgotten how it felt when Flender probed you with his Mental Power, have you?" Charlton asked with a chuckle.

"How could I? I actually looked into it myself before, but I still wanted to confirm it with you."

Qin Ming then told Charlton about his doubts: why couldn't he use Mental Power to inflict mental harm on his enemies as the books described?

Only then did Charlton realize that the boy had already researched it on his own and had only come to him after hitting a bottleneck. But he wasn't annoyed. For a child, being willing to explore things independently was undoubtedly a good thing.

"That's because you don't have a Mental Power Cultivation Method."

"There are undoubtedly three ways for Spirit Masters to defeat enemies with Mental Power."

"The first is to learn a Spiritual Technique. The second is to absorb a Soul Ring from a Spiritual Attribute Soul Beast. The third is to simply crush the opponent with overwhelming Mental Power."

Qin Ming nodded. So the root of the problem was that he lacked the proper method!

For example, if Mental Power were a basin of water, Qin Ming's way of attacking with it was to splash the water directly at his enemy. But with a Mental Power Cultivation Method, it would be like forcing that water into a high-pressure water gun. The amount was the same, but the effect was worlds apart!

As for absorbing a Spiritual Attribute Soul Ring, that was even more impossible. He wasn't a Spirit Master with a Spiritual Attribute Martial Soul.

The third method, overwhelming someone through sheer quantity, would only work when bullying weaker opponents. Qin Ming and those little animals had been much the same.

"Grandpa Charlton, do you have any Mental Power Cultivation Methods?" Qin Ming asked tentatively.

Charlton looked at Qin Ming helplessly. Did the boy take him for a treasure bag?

"Mental Power Cultivation Methods are different from Meditation Techniques. Spirit Masters only need them after reaching a relatively high level, so there are basically no Mental Power Cultivation Methods in circulation on the continent."

"What you want should be a technique for using Mental Power against enemies. Those are even rarer. I don't have one."

"As for cultivation methods that strengthen Mental Power, I do have some, but they're useless to you. Their effects aren't even as good as the Angel Meditation Method you cultivate," Charlton said calmly.

"But don't be impatient. Suotuo City may not have them, but Spirit City certainly will!"

"You went from Soul Power Level Eight to Soul Power Level Fourteen in less than three months. At most, it should take you another two years to break through to Soul Grandmaster."

"When that time comes, you can go to Spirit City for higher-level training. They have more good things there than you could imagine. It just depends on whether you perform well enough."

"I understand, Grandpa Charlton." Qin Ming knew he couldn't rush things. After all, he had only formally begun cultivating three months ago.

As the saying went, you had to eat one bite at a time. He would set a small goal first: break through to Soul Power Level Twenty!

After leaving the study, Qin Ming had no plans to continue cultivating. Instead, he headed straight for the Soul Fighting Arena. What he needed most right now was a satisfying soul fight to test his strength.

The Main Hall wasn't too far from the Soul Fighting Arena. Qin Ming hired a carriage and arrived in half an hour.

The Soul Fighting Arena was still packed with people, but compared to a week ago, the crowd was now at a normal level.

Reports of the battle between Shrek Dragon and Iron Bear Abu still hung around the venue. Judging by the scene, Shrek Dragon's popularity had actually risen rather than fallen.

Qin Ming walked up to the registration counter and handed over the Iron Soul Fighting Badge Charlton had given him.

"I want to register for a match."

"A kid? You?" Seeing that Qin Ming looked only seven or eight years old, the clerk wondered where this child had come from.

But when the clerk saw the Iron Soul Fighting Badge Qin Ming had handed over, the words died in his throat. Anyone who could produce a Soul Fighting Badge had clearly already registered at a Great Soul Arena.

"Certainly. Please test your Soul Power." The clerk made a welcoming gesture.

Qin Ming placed his hand on the Crystal Ball. The next moment, the information from his registration appeared on the Soul Guidance Screen before him.

Name: Qin Ming

Age: Eight

Martial Soul: Inferno Grey Wolf

Soul Ring: Yellow

Soul Power: Soul Power Level Fourteen

Badge Rank: Iron

When Qin Ming saw the age field, he understood that it must have been Charlton's doing. Raising his age a little would keep him from drawing too much attention.

"This is your first soul fight. What kind of title would you like?"

After thinking for a moment, Qin Ming answered, "Lone Wolf."

"Alright, contestant Lone Wolf. Here is the information on the opponent matched for you. Please take a look." After making a few adjustments behind the counter, the clerk handed Qin Ming a sheet of paper.

Qin Ming carefully examined the opponent for his first soul fight.

Title: Fire Spear

Age: Fifteen

Martial Soul: Fire Tip Spear

Soul Power: Soul Power Level Eighteen

Soul Ring: Yellow

Badge Rank: Iron

A boy around fifteen years old, with Soul Power Level Eighteen. A smile appeared at the corner of Qin Ming's mouth. Was he starting with a battle across four levels?

But that was what made it interesting. If he bullied opponents with lower Soul Power Levels than his, it wouldn't achieve the purpose of testing his own strength.

"Contestant Lone Wolf, would you like to place a bet on yourself?"

"How does the betting work?"

"Our Great Soul Arena has its own betting pool. The minimum bet is ten Gold Soul Coins, and an individual contestant may not bet more than one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins per match. The default is a win-loss bet, and we take ten percent of your profits as a processing fee."

"Of course, we must remind you that you may only bet on yourself. This is to prevent contestants from throwing matches."

Qin Ming understood. This was one of the key ways contestants earned income. He currently had more than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins on him. Nuo Si had given him ten thousand, while the small cloth bag Qin Chuan had given him contained around another fifty.

How could he miss such a good opportunity to make money?

"I'll bet five thousand Gold Soul Coins on myself!" Qin Ming counted out five thousand Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Tool and handed them to the clerk.

"Uh... alright." Perhaps the clerk had never seen someone bet five thousand Gold Soul Coins on their very first soul fight, because the clerk froze for a moment.

"Please take these. This is our Soul Fighting Arena's Stored Value Card." After completing the procedures, the clerk returned Qin Ming's Soul Fighting Badge along with a golden card.

After putting both items away, Qin Ming went to the Waiting Area.

The Waiting Area was a large public space filled with chairs. Contestants with different badge ranks all waited there to be called away by the staff.

There were still nearly half an hour before Qin Ming's match.

Just as Qin Ming was about to meditate for half an hour, an unexpected figure walked toward him.

Qin Ming turned his head and saw a Short-haired Youth in green standing beside him.

Shrek Dragon!

He was still wearing that green outfit covered in rental advertisements, but unlike a week ago, they had actually managed to attract several sponsors.