Soul Battle, Ice Mist Bird

Outside the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, the crowd was surging.

Even though it was daytime, this place remained one of the liveliest spots in all of Heaven Dou City.

The city's nobles and the wealthy found their favorite pastime in coming here to watch Soul Master duels.

Wang Xian stood across the street, looking up at the massive building.

It was a sprawling complex of tall structures; from his current vantage point, the main building in the center stood nearly a hundred meters high.

The grayish-white walls shimmered with a cold, hard luster under the sunlight, and a giant flagpole stood atop it, flying the flag of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The entire building was oval-shaped and occupied a vast area, with wings extending to the left and right that seemed to stretch on forever, possessing an unimaginably magnificent presence.

As the soul arena of the imperial capital, the scale of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena was naturally incomparable to others.

With the main arena and dozens of sub-soul fighting arenas, it could accommodate two hundred thousand spectators at once, with five hundred VIP boxes alone.

This place was not only a venue for Soul Masters to spar and exchange pointers, but also a stage for various factions to showcase their strength.

The main entrance was packed with people, with those queuing to enter forming a long line.

Wang Xian glanced over and, noticing that the side entrance was much less crowded, walked through the throng of people toward it.

A sign hung above the side entrance, bearing the words "Contestant Registration Office."

The reason he needed to re-register was that back in Notting City, he had used false information to register in order to conceal his identity.

Now that he had arrived here, there was little need to hide his identity, so he naturally had to register for a soul fighting status using his real information.

He pushed the door open and entered a medium-sized hall, where a young girl sat behind a counter, head bowed as she wrote something.

Hearing the movement, she looked up and caught sight of Wang Xian, looking somewhat surprised; she had seen many contestants come to register, but this was the first time she had seen one so young.

"Are you here to register?" the girl asked.

"Yes." Wang Xian nodded.

The girl didn't ask further, taking a form from her drawer and asking for basic information: name, age, Soul Power Level, and Martial Soul type.

Wang Xian answered one by one, and the girl filled it out quickly before handing him an Iron Soul Fighting Badge.

"Registration complete. There are matches today, so go to the waiting area and wait. Someone will call you when it's your turn," the girl said, pointing to a corridor nearby.

Wang Xian took the identity badge, thanked her, and walked down the corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors; after pushing them open, he found a large waiting area inside.

The floor was covered with dark carpeting, and several rows of sofas were placed against the walls. Many people were sitting on them—some were resting with their eyes closed, some were whispering, and others were checking their equipment.

Wang Xian made a rough count; there were nearly a hundred contestants waiting here.

When he pushed the door open and entered, many people looked up at him, all of them stunned for a moment.

The child looked to be at most one point four meters tall, with a face so tender he looked like he had just been weaned, at most seven or eight years old.

Appearing in a place like this was indeed quite eye-catching.

However, those people only paused for a second before withdrawing their gazes and returning to what they were doing.

To them, the younger the opponent, the better; there was money to be made from winning a match, and who would turn their back on money?

Wang Xian didn't mind those gazes; he found a sofa in a corner, sat down, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for his number to be called.

About ten minutes passed before a staff member arrived.

"Contestant Wang Xian, your one-on-one match is about to begin. Please proceed to Sub-Soul Fighting Arena No. 24," the staff member stood at the door and shouted into the waiting area.

Wang Xian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes, stood up, and walked straight out of the waiting area.

A wave of whispers broke out behind him.

"That kid? Fighting at seven years old?"

"Whoever drew him is lucky; these newbies have the least experience."

"Tsk, why didn't I get such a lucky break?"

Wang Xian didn't stop, his expression unchanged.

He heard these comments clearly, but there was nothing to care about.

Once he stepped onto the platform, everyone would naturally shut up.

He walked through the corridor and followed the signs to find Sub-Soul Fighting Arena No. 24.

Although it was only a sub-soul fighting arena, the area was not small. The circular soul fighting platform was twenty meters in diameter, the ground was paved with smooth stone slabs, and it was surrounded by a waist-high railing.

The spectator stands surrounded the platform, with about one-fifth of the seats filled—sparse, but not a small number for a sub-soul fighting arena.

On the platform, a middle-aged man in robes stood in the center, holding a megaphone Soul Tool.

He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Next, we will conduct the third match of our one-on-one soul fighting in Arena No. 24. The two contestants appearing are both at the Soul Master level."

He paused and flipped through the card in his hand.

"First, the Battle Soul Master possessing the beast Martial Soul Ice Mist Bird, Ice Wind!"

A round of polite applause erupted from the spectator stands.

"The other contestant is a Battle Soul Master who possesses the tool Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, Wang Xian!" the host's voice rose a notch.

"It is worth mentioning that contestant Wang Xian is participating in the Soul Fighting Arena for the first time, and he is only seven years old this year! Who will emerge victorious? Let us wait and see! Now, let us invite both Soul Masters to the stage!"

The applause from the audience was more enthusiastic than before; seven-year-old Soul Masters were a rare sight, and many people craned their necks to look toward the Soul Fighting Platform.

Wang Xian walked onto the Soul Fighting Platform first and stood still on the left side.

Opposite him, a youth wearing an ice-blue robe also walked up.

He had a slender build and delicate features, appearing to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with pale blue hair draped over his shoulders, exuding an icy temperament.

Ice Wind walked to the right side of the Soul Fighting Platform, glanced at Wang Xian, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, his expression carrying a hint of disdain.

A seven-year-old Blue Silver Grass Soul Master—wasn't this just points delivered to his doorstep?

The host retreated to the edge of the Soul Fighting Platform, raised his right hand high, and swung it down sharply.

"Begin!"

Ice Wind did not hesitate; he shook his arms, and a pale blue light surged from his body, instantly covering him from head to toe.

His figure grew a few inches taller within the light, and his hands began to change.

His fingers lengthened, his nails grew into hooked, sharp claws, and his arms were covered in a layer of fine, shimmering ice-blue feathers.

His eyes turned light blue, his pupils became vertical slits, and he radiated a cold aura.

A yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, slowly rotating around his body.

A yellow Soul Ring also rose from beneath Wang Xian's feet, and azure-colored Blue Silver Grass surged from his palms, swaying gently in front of him.

Ice Wind sneered, flapped the wings on his arms violently, and took to the air, hovering about three meters above the Soul Fighting Platform.

He looked down at Wang Xian from above, as if he were looking at prey waiting to be slaughtered.

"Blue Silver Grass? A trash Martial Soul like that dares to come to the Soul Fighting Arena?" Ice Wind's voice came from above, laced with mockery.

Wang Xian ignored him.