Soto Great Soul Arena (1)

The sky had just turned completely dark, and the eight students currently enrolled at Shrek Academy had already gathered on the playground.

The moon tonight was large and round, illuminating the entire playground with a clear, bright light.

"Very good, you all kept to the time I set."

Flender descended from the sky, his massive owl wings still spread wide behind his back. "We will begin tonight's lesson immediately."

With a gentle flutter of his wings, Flender rose back into the air. "First, we are going to Suotuo City. I will wait for you at the city gates. However, you had best not be too slow. If I do not see all of you within ten minutes, then there will be no class for you tonight; you can all just wait to be punished."

As soon as he finished speaking, Flender had already become a tiny black dot under the moonlight.

"It seems the Dean is determined to give you all a stern warning."

Dai Mubai said helplessly, "It won't be a problem for us four senior students to reach the Suotuo City gates within three minutes if we push ourselves. How about you all?"

"If I go all out, I can arrive within five minutes."

After estimating his own speed, Tang San provided a reference time.

"I'm about the same."

Xiao Wu chimed in; her Martial Soul still provided quite decent speed.

"Four minutes."

Zhu Zhuqing said coolly. She was an Agility Attack System master, after all; she had never been weak when it came to running away or traveling.

Ning Rongrong: "..."

The other seven people once again focused their gazes on her.

Ning Rongrong's expression gradually twisted—a mix of the inferiority complex born from realizing her own shortcomings; the pride that refused to admit she was worse than others; and the arrogance born from growing up constantly pampered and praised by those close to her, leaving her unable to see herself clearly.

These three emotions tangled together, clashing violently, causing Ning Rongrong to tear away her outer facade:

"Why is it only me who can't do it?! Are you all targeting me?! Why must I, a Support System Soul Master, compete on the same stage as a bunch of Battle Soul Masters like you?! Why can you two clearly be Support System masters yet fight head-on against Battle Soul Masters?! Why..."

"Stop!"

Le Bai forcibly interrupted Ning Rongrong. "Where do you get so many 'whys'? Time is short. First, pick one of us four seniors to carry you to Suotuo City. Once we get there, you can cry, curse, or ask 'why' all you want! Now! Immediately! Right now! Pick one!"

"You! I...!"

Ning Rongrong instinctively wanted to flare up, but the sense of inferiority in her heart hadn't vanished, the pressure of being watched by those around her remained, and combined with Le Bai's rapid-fire words, her attention was temporarily diverted from her anger. "Then... Oscar."

"Alright. Oscar, turn off your wrist guards for now. That way, it won't be a problem even if you're carrying someone, right?"

Le Bai asked Oscar. "We must arrive within five minutes."

"Did you think I was slacking off during my training these past few years?"

Oscar grabbed his wrist guard and gave it a twist, shutting off the pressure. He hoisted Ning Rongrong onto his back and smiled confidently. "Four minutes is enough!"

"Truly reliable!"

Dai Mubai laughed, bumping his fist against Oscar's chest, and waved his hand. "Let's go!"

Under the moon, eight people and seven shadows sprinted for their lives.

Four minutes later, at the gates of Suotuo City, the eight arrived one after another.

Oscar hadn't been boasting; even while carrying Ning Rongrong, he was still just a hair faster than Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Flender stood at the city gate with his hands behind his back. Only after seeing all eight arrive did he glance at the time. "Very good, you all arrived within the time I required."

Flender put his watch away and looked at Ning Rongrong, who had just climbed off Oscar's back. "You know how to help one another, which is good. I am very happy to see you helping each other. However, student Ning Rongrong, you need to work much harder, otherwise, it will be difficult to keep up with the progress of the others."

Ning Rongrong lowered her head and said nothing.

Flender understood when to stop, pushing up his glasses. "Next, we will talk as we walk."

"The content of tonight's lesson is actual combat. The location is the 'Great Soul Arena' here in Suotuo City. The four senior students have already been 'attending class' at the Great Soul Arena for half a year, so you can exchange information about the specifics of the arena among yourselves; I won't say much more here."

"Once you go in, you must register, and then raise the badge issued to you by the Great Soul Arena level by level. There are eight known badge levels, from lowest to highest: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond."

"Before the maximum graduation time required by the academy, you must raise your badge level to the third tier, which is the Silver Soul Fighting Badge or higher. Otherwise, the academy will not publicly acknowledge you as a graduate of our Shrek Academy."

Flender walked very quickly, so by the time he finished speaking, the group had just arrived at the Great Soul Arena.

"For tonight's lesson, what you need to do is go into the Great Soul Arena to register, and then participate in a match. It doesn't matter if it's a solo or team match, and winning or losing doesn't matter either."

Flender waved his hand. "As for the specifics of how to do it, Le Bai, Mubai, Oscar, and Hongjun all know. You can ask any of them. That is all I have to say; you can discuss the rest among yourselves."

Having said that, he accelerated again, quickly entering the Great Soul Arena and disappearing from everyone's sight.

Dai Mubai looked at the main entrance of the Great Soul Arena and sighed. "I feel like the Dean has been getting lazier over the last two years. Back then, he insisted on explaining everything to us in great detail."

"Who's to say he isn't?"

Le Bai spread his hands helplessly. "But these are minor matters. Boss Dai, you, Oscar, and Hongjun can go ahead; I'll explain things to them."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you!"

Dai Mubai took out a mask and put it on. "Your participation count and win rate are the highest among us, so it's best if you do the explaining."

Oscar and Ma Hongjun also took out masks and put them on, waved their hands, and followed Dai Mubai into the Great Soul Arena.

"Next, I will first introduce this Great Soul Arena."

Le Bai looked at Ning Rongrong: "You may have been to the Great Soul Arena with Sect Master Ning, but this should be your first time participating personally, right?"

Ning Rongrong frowned slightly, not being polite at all: "So what if it is?"

"It's nothing, I was just asking. I suspect you've only ever visited and aren't clear on the specific circumstances of participating in the Great Soul Arena."

Le Bai said affirmatively: "For the sake of your safety, I feel it is necessary to specifically emphasize the unique aspects of the Great Soul Arena to you."

Whether it was because Le Bai's sincerity successfully got through or because Ning Rongrong was also a bit afraid of death, in any case, she didn't make a scene and instead nodded to show she understood.

"Let's wait until we are inside the Great Soul Arena to discuss it further."

Le Bai noticed that the gazes of the people walking toward the Great Soul Arena were gradually focusing on them: "The charm of the three girls with us seems to be a bit too great."

Hearing Le Bai say this, the three girls also noticed the increasing number of gazes cast their way and felt a bit uneasy.

Le Bai led the four of them into the Great Soul Arena, made his way to the main hall, and found a relatively quiet corner: "We shouldn't be watched by too many people here."

Tang San activated his Purple Demon Eye and looked around cautiously: "What kind of place is this Great Soul Arena exactly? Why are so many Soul Masters gathered here? And their Soul Power Level varies so much; it seems like a mixed bag of social statuses as well."

"The Great Soul Arena, simply put, is a place where Soul Masters can fight at will. Here, no one cares who you are, no one cares about your family background, and they certainly won't look at you with higher regard just because you possess an extraordinary Martial Soul."

Le Bai looked at Ning Rongrong: "Even if a core disciple of a top-tier sect on the continent like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were killed in a match at this Great Soul Arena by a commoner Soul Master, as long as that commoner's identity remains unknown, even if the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect arrived in person, they would have no way to force the Great Soul Arena to hand over the killer."