Tremendous Growth in Battle

As Shrek Dragon walked past, the surrounding contestants deliberately or unconsciously kept their distance from him. It was clear that his reputation here was not particularly good.

"My teacher mentioned you to me," Shrek Dragon suddenly said to Qin Ming, his gaze blazing.

"Huh?" From Qin Ming's perspective, this star contestant had rushed over the moment he entered and opened with that remark.

He was from Shrek Academy, so his teacher should have been Flender.

Had Flender mentioned him to Shrek Dragon? Could it be that he had told Shrek Dragon to keep an eye on him and, if the opportunity arose, talk him into joining Shrek Academy?

But before Qin Ming could reply, the short-haired youth added, "Teacher said you're very talented, but I won't lose to you."

After saying those inexplicable words, he went to a corner of the Waiting Room and sat down to meditate.

A huge question mark practically appeared over Qin Ming's head. He had no idea what Flender had told that guy. Had he been made into Shrek Dragon's imaginary enemy?

Still, Qin Ming had one fewer Soul Ring than Shrek Dragon right now.

"Not bad, kid. This should be your first time at the Soul Fighting Arena, right? I've never seen you before. Getting Mad Dragon's attention on your first visit—pretty impressive."

Beside him, a red-clad woman with a high ponytail looked at Qin Ming with open delight at his misfortune.

"Mad Dragon? Is there some story behind that?"

The red-clad woman gestured with her chin toward the short-haired youth in the corner. "That's him. You might not know this, but he's already fought more than ten Soul Fighting matches this past week."

"On average, he fights two or even three matches a day. Plenty of Soul Grandmasters with Silver Soul Fighting Badges have been defeated by him."

"The people at the Soul Fighting Arena gave him the nickname Mad Dragon. He fights like he doesn't care whether he lives or dies!"

Soul Fighting consumed both Soul Power and mental energy. Ordinary contestants usually fought once every few days to ensure that both their Soul Power and mental state were at their peak.

For Shrek Dragon to go at it like that, calling him Mad Dragon was no exaggeration.

But Qin Ming had another guess. The short-haired youth had probably stumbled against Iron Bear Abu, so he had doubled down on Soul Fighting to train himself back up. After all, fighting every time at full strength would not produce much training effect.

Was he trying to break through under the extreme conditions brought on by consecutive battles?

Qin Ming glanced from the corner of his eye at the green figure sitting in the corner. He paid no further attention to that brief episode and closed his eyes to meditate as well.

Half an hour passed quickly.

"Contestant Lone Wolf, it is time for you to take the stage."

"Alright."

Qin Ming rose, ending his meditation, and followed behind the staff member.

"Contestant Lone Wolf, your arena for this match is No. 9 Soul Fighting Arena."

"And a reminder: your odds are one to three, while contestant Fire Spear's are one to one point two."

Qin Ming nodded. In other words, if he won this match, he would receive fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins.

That was a seriously fast way to make money.

A moment later, the two passed through a long corridor and arrived at the entrance to the Soul Fighting Arena just as the match began.

"Both contestants, take the stage!" the referee ordered.

Qin Ming stepped onto the Soul Fighting Arena and glanced toward the spectator stands. Only about one-fifth of the seats were occupied.

That made sense. Qin Ming was a newcomer, and Fire Spear was not exactly a popular contestant either. Naturally, few people were paying attention.

Walking toward Qin Ming from the opposite side was a male student wearing the standard uniform of a Soul Master Academy.

"Both contestants, release your martial souls!"

Qin Ming cupped his fists in salute. "Lone Wolf, martial soul: Inferno Grey Wolf. Soul Power Level Fourteen Battle Soul Master!"

Fire Spear returned the salute. "Fire Spear, martial soul: Fire Tip Spear. Level Eighteen Tool Soul Master."

Fire Spear was a student of Soto Intermediate Soul Master Academy, and his academy had a graduation requirement: obtain a Bronze Soul Fighting Badge from the Soul Fighting Arena.

He was only one point away from the Bronze Soul Fighting Badge. In other words, this was his final Soul Fighting match. If he won, he could escape this sea of suffering.

When he saw that his opponent was an eight-year-old child who had never participated in a Soul Fighting match before, he was ecstatic. Heaven was truly smiling upon him.

Although reaching Level Fourteen at eight years old was extremely talented, everyone knew that talent did not fully represent strength. It was already good enough if someone could display half their strength in their first Soul Fighting match.

At the very least, during his first Soul Fighting match, Fire Spear had not even been able to hold his spear steadily. Looking at the polite-looking child across from him, Fire Spear was already considering how to win without making Qin Ming suffer too much.

"Match begin!"

I need to be careful not to hurt him. With that thought, Fire Spear burst forward in a sprint toward Qin Ming.

His spear swept horizontally toward Qin Ming's chest.

Qin Ming hurriedly took a large step back, barely avoiding the sweep.

Fire Spear raised an eyebrow. This kid's mental fortitude is pretty good. In the usual Soul Fighting matches at the academy, that attack alone would have been enough to defeat most students who had just obtained their Soul Rings.

They would not even have had the chance to use a Soul Skill.

When his first strike missed, Fire Spear changed the sweep into a thrust, aiming directly for Qin Ming's upper body.

But Qin Ming dodged again with a sidestep, even though the spear tip brushed past his chest.

Fire Spear continuously changed his spear techniques—thrusts, chops, upward sweeps...

Yet Qin Ming narrowly evaded every attack, even though his posture was extremely awkward.

But gradually, a layer of sweat appeared on Fire Spear's forehead. He discovered that Qin Ming's movements were becoming smoother and more fluid. Attacks that Qin Ming had originally needed to evade in a terribly awkward manner could now be dodged with ease.

Was this brat acting the whole time? Fire Spear roared inwardly.

No! His movements earlier had truly been no different from those of someone fighting in a Soul Fighting match for the first time.

In other words, he was optimizing his footwork while fighting me? Only a few minutes have passed since the battle began!

Fire Spear abruptly looked up and saw that Qin Ming wore no trace of panic on his face. There was even a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

Monster! He was a monster!

Fire Spear could not allow himself to think any further. The enemy before him could no longer be treated like an eight-year-old child.

He had to end this battle immediately!

But what Fire Spear did not notice was that faint golden ripples were spreading from Qin Ming's eyes.

This was Qin Ming's first time applying his Mental Power in battle. Under its coverage, Fire Spear's movements seemed to turn into stop-motion animation, giving Qin Ming ample time to react.

Moreover, with the dual enhancement of his physical constitution and Mental Power, Qin Ming could use his Mental Power to control his body with greater precision, even directing the movements of every muscle group.

Thus, in the eyes of outsiders, Qin Ming's footwork had improved at a terrifying rate within mere minutes, almost going from crude to proficient.

But this undoubtedly consumed a tremendous amount of Qin Ming's Mental Power. He estimated that if he maintained full Mental Power coverage along with such fine control over his body, he could probably last around ten minutes.

Although the consumption was enormous, it would undoubtedly allow Qin Ming to quickly accumulate experience with footwork in the early stages and further refine it.

Spirit Masters truly improved the most in battle. Shutting oneself away to theorize could never compare to personal practice.

"First Spirit Skill! Crimson Edge!"

Fire Spear shouted, and the yellow Soul Ring circling the tip of his Fire Tip Spear flashed intensely. A sharp aura carrying scorching heat surged from it.

Fire Spear could no longer gauge Qin Ming's condition. He had to crush his opponent as quickly as possible—after all, this was his final Soul Fighting match before advancing!

If he lost, he would have to fight two more Soul Fighting matches before he could advance.

He no longer wanted to struggle in this sea of suffering!