Spirit Fighting Badges

By the time they left, night had fully fallen. Yet Suotuo City seemed to have just woken up, and was even livelier than during the day.

Unlike when she was alone with him, Zhu Zhuqing wore a cool, detached expression once they were outside, as if nothing around her had anything to do with her.

Oscar knew this was an emotional outburst caused by a typical stress-related psychological trauma.

As it happened, he had also been thinking of taking Zhu Zhuqing out to clear her mind, so he said:

"Since we're here, we might as well have some fun. Suotuo City is especially interesting at night—much more so than during the day."

The shop was in Suotuo City's old district, one of the city's less prosperous areas. To reach the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena, a landmark in Suotuo City, they had to cross half the city.

Every shop along the streets was brightly lit. A number of vendors who only came out at night had also found their usual spots to sell snacks and knickknacks.

"Mm..."

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment, but didn't refuse Oscar's kindness.

The three headed north. Along the way, Oscar kept buying Zhu Zhuqing Suotuo City's local specialties, and her little belly gradually grew round.

In turn, Zhu Zhuqing's mood improved considerably. Every now and then, she even puffed out her cheeks and glared at Oscar reproachfully.

Unlike the two who were busy interacting, Ma Hongjun spent the whole way counting something on his fingers, completely unlike his usual greedy, food-loving self.

Oscar had obviously noticed. After handing Zhu Zhuqing a skewer of charcoal-grilled lamb, he turned to Ma Hongjun and asked:

"Junior brother, how many points do you still need for a Silver Spirit Fighting Badge?"

Spirit Fighting Badges were a symbol of rank at the Great Soul Arena, and they were recognized in every major city across the continent.

They were more like a supplement to Soul Power Level. Soul Power Level indicated how strong a Soul Master was, but couldn't precisely show the difference in strength between Soul Masters of the same level.

Spirit Fighting Badges, on the other hand, distinguished Soul Masters' strength beyond that.

The higher a badge holder's rank, the stronger their combat ability among Soul Masters of the same level. In fact, Soul Masters whose badge rank reached a certain level could even fight opponents a whole level above them!

This was often powerful proof of a Soul Master's talent. Even if their Soul Power Level was somewhat lower, Soul Masters with high-ranked Spirit Fighting Badges would be welcomed by various forces and given special training.

"Silver" was one rank of Spirit Fighting Badge. The ranks were based on mineral quality: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond, from lowest to highest. There were eight ranks in total.

Soul Masters of any level were simply called Soul Fighters when they entered a Great Soul Arena. After winning their first match, they received a badge. Each subsequent victory earned them a certain number of points, and once they had enough points, their badge rank would rise.

Raising an Iron Spirit Fighting Badge to Copper required one hundred points.

Each battle won earned one point, while each loss deducted one point.

If a fighter won more than five matches in a row, each additional consecutive victory earned them ten points. After ten consecutive wins, each further victory earned them one hundred points.

Even after reaching Copper Spirit Fighter rank, if their points fell below one hundred, they would lose their Copper Spirit Fighter qualification.

Raising a Copper Spirit Fighting Badge to Silver required one thousand points.

In battles between Copper Spirit Fighters, each victory earned ten points, while each loss deducted ten. The bonus for consecutive wins was the same as for Iron Spirit Fighters.

Though the point system suggested that a winning streak could quickly raise a fighter's badge rank, the Great Soul Arena was not an easy place to get ahead.

There were three ways to compete here. The one Oscar and Ma Hongjun often took part in was called Sparring. It was for practice, with fighters grouped by rank—or, more precisely, by the number of Spirit Rings they had.

Once a fighter gained an additional Spirit Ring, they could only take part in the next group's Sparring.

The best way to build a winning streak here was to forgo hunting for a Spirit Ring once one's Soul Power reached the threshold for advancement, and keep competing at the same rank. But in practice, only those who made their living at the Great Soul Arena usually did this.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun, however, entered the Great Soul Arena mainly to hone their fighting skills. Naturally, they weren't willing to waste precious time doing that.

So after a year at the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena, Ma Hongjun had only just raised his badge to Silver Spirit Fighter rank—and that was already an astonishing pace!

It was exceptionally rare even at the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena, and he was one of the few whose achievements had made it into the records!

Of course... Oscar was still even more ridiculous. His Spirit Fighting Badge had already reached Gold Spirit Fighting Badge rank, and that was despite hiding Feng Hou Qi Gate and part of his Taiji Sword Technique!

Otherwise, he would already have been a Purple Gold Spirit Fighting Badge holder!

"About three more matches, if I can keep winning."

Ma Hongjun was on a four-match winning streak and still needed 209 points in total. If he won three more in a row and got the streak bonus, he might be able to reach Silver Spirit Fighter rank tonight.

"Don't rush to rank up. Take it step by step, and keep hiding half of your Taiji Sword Technique, just like before."

Ma Hongjun nodded. Following Oscar's gaze, he looked toward a spot not far from the alley's entrance. A vast cluster of towering buildings stood there. From where they were, they could only see that the structure was nearly a hundred meters tall. It was immense, and looked especially imposing in the night.

Faint light flickered from within the enormous building.

This was the Soto Grand Spirit Fighting Arena. Buildings like it could only be found in major cities, and its scale was considered a sign of a city's—or even a nation's—prosperity.

It was also one of the hardest bones for Sky Net to crack in Suotuo City. The Great Soul Arena had a complete system of its own and could be considered a special force in its own right.

It had been jointly founded by the continent's seven most prestigious Soul Master clans. It belonged to neither of the two great empires nor to Spirit Hall, and could be considered a third-party force.

It was richer than the entire empire!

What's more, the forces behind it had made a promise: as long as you followed the rules in the arena, you needn't worry about retaliation even if you killed the heir of a great clan!

They had even truly upheld that promise!

Fortunately, though the forces behind the Great Soul Arena were powerful, they didn't interfere with the other forces in Suotuo City, and for now they had no conflict of interest with Sky Net either.

Of course... the most likely explanation was that they hadn't discovered Sky Net yet. After all, aside from its true inner circle, most of Sky Net's members came from among commoners, merchants, and farmers.

Returning here, Oscar took a deep breath. His Quiet Meditation had already reached a certain level, but when he heard the cheers passing through the thick walls, he still felt the blood in his veins begin to boil!