First Victory

Xiao Chen shook Crackrock back, then spun his spear and activated Shadow Step Dash to charge forward.

Before Crackrock could react, he found Xiao Chen's spear tip already at his chest.

"Rock Skin Hardening."

Crackrock dared not be careless and immediately activated his first spirit skill.

A gray-brown rock armor swiftly spread and layered, covering Crackrock's upper body densely, barely holding against Xiao Chen's thrust.

But the moment the spear tip struck the rock armor, it burst into fine stone chips, and the powerful Spirit Power impact forced Crackrock back several more steps.

Xiao Chen pressed his advantage, giving Crackrock no time to react. Yet Crackrock, having won five consecutive matches in the Spirit Arena, did have some skill.

Though he couldn't match Xiao Chen's speed, he could roughly predict Xiao Chen's attack angles.

He swung his great axe, clashing repeatedly with Xiao Chen. The ringing collisions of spear and axe echoed across the arena.

The spectators were all stunned, especially the man who had mocked Xiao Chen earlier—he could hardly believe his eyes.

For a moment, he even suspected Crackrock was throwing the match, but Xiao Chen's astonishing speed was undeniable.

Having watched many of Crackrock's battles, he knew Crackrock's speed was far inferior to his opponent's.

Though Crackrock's second spirit skill, Rock Fury Slash, was powerful, it was useless if it couldn't land.

Xiao Chen, on the other hand, had only one spirit ring lit the entire time. Relying on his incredible speed, he wielded his spear, darting back and forth across the arena.

At first, Crackrock could still swing horizontally, block, and barely lock onto Xiao Chen's rhythm.

But his speed was too slow, his axe swings sluggish. After several exchanges, the speed gap quickly put him on the defensive.

Under Xiao Chen's relentless assault, cracks in Crackrock's defense kept appearing.

Xiao Chen's spear tip repeatedly broke through his defensive gaps, striking his rock armor again and again.

This drained Crackrock's Spirit Power heavily, and soon he could no longer maintain his first spirit skill—Rock Skin Hardening.

Crackrock's movements grew slower, his breathing heavy and erratic, his blocking strength weakening. His once steady defense crumbled step by step.

Xiao Chen's attacks, in contrast, grew fiercer and faster. Crackrock could only passively endure the spear's relentless strikes, until finally, Xiao Chen swept him away with a horizontal thrust, sending him crashing to the ground, unable to rise again.

"The winner of this one-on-one match—Mystic Spear!" the announcer's voice rang out across the arena. "Congratulations to Mystic Spear for decisively shattering Crackrock's five-win streak and claiming his own first victory in the Spirit Arena!"

The announcer's voice came at just the right moment, and the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers.

Defeating an opponent above one's level happened from time to time in the Spirit Arena. But someone like Xiao Chen, bearing two White Spirit Rings yet completely dominating and overwhelming an opponent two levels higher, was extremely rare.

The stark contrast between weakness and strength instantly ignited the emotions of the entire audience, each one burning with excitement.

Only in the area where Hu Liena and her two companions sat, a few who had lost their bets let out angry curses, but these were quickly drowned out by the surging cheers around them.

At the same time, the system's voice chimed in.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for participating in the Spirit Arena for the first time. Reward: special skill—Spirit Ring Concealment!"

"Skill effect: Activating a spirit skill in combat will conceal the spirit rings from view."

This reward was decent. Though it didn't boost combat power, it spared Xiao Chen from being mocked every time he revealed his spirit rings.

As his strength grew, the usefulness of concealing his spirit rings would only increase.

After all, on the Douluo Continent, Xiao Chen was the only one with all ten-year spirit rings. The moment his white rings appeared, everyone would guess his identity—something Xiao Chen didn't want.

Navigating a foreign world, having a disguise was crucial. He didn't want to be recognized every time he made a move.

"System, is there a skill to change spirit ring colors?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Yes. But that skill contradicts the ultimate mission's intent."

"If the outside world learns that the host can alter spirit ring colors, it will become far more difficult for the host to guide others to accept and integrate White Spirit Rings in the future. Therefore, this system will not unlock that skill for the host," the system explained.

"Makes sense." Xiao Chen nodded. He didn't insist on a color-changing skill, since it was only useful for showing off or intimidating others—completely useless in actual combat.

As an archer, when facing enemies in the future, Xiao Chen would inevitably keep a great distance from them.

At such a range, no matter how unusual his spirit ring colors were, his opponent likely wouldn't see them.

After collecting the reward, Xiao Chen left the Spirit Arena stage.

He had become famous in a single battle, but unfortunately, those below level fifty had restrictions on arena participation—only one match per day per mode.

If not for this rule, Xiao Chen could easily fight dozens of matches in a single day at this level.

Hu Liena and her two companions knew Xiao Chen would win, but they hadn't expected him to do so with such ease.

Especially his close-combat techniques, which left the three of them in awe.

If they hadn't already known Xiao Chen was a long-range weapon spirit master, they would have mistaken him for a deeply skilled agility attack system spirit master.

"Hey, see that? White Spirit Rings or not, true strength ultimately depends on the one who wields them!" Hu Liena said, looking at the young man who had mocked Xiao Chen earlier.

The young man wanted to argue, but the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no room to refute. In the end, he could only mutter, "If he had century spirit rings, this fight would have been even easier!" Then he left.

After leaving the Spirit Arena stage, Xiao Chen headed to the arena's private lounge.

As soon as he entered, Hu Liena shook a few money pouches and said, "Little junior, thanks to you, we just made a killing!"

She tossed two pouches of Gold Soul Coins to Xiao Chen. "Here, these two are yours!"

Xiao Chen took the money pouch without speaking, but Yan stepped forward with a smile and said, "I just discovered a way to make money!"

Yan wasn't usually short on cash, but who would ever complain about having more?

"Yan, you bastard, you're clearly trying to turn our little junior brother into a money tree!" Hu Liena frowned slightly and spoke with dissatisfaction.

Yan chuckled and said, "Nana, just tell me—do you want in or not?"

"I do, why wouldn't I!" Hu Liena declared decisively. She knew full well that Xiao Chen would definitely participate in the Spirit Arena again later. Rather than letting Yan profit alone, it was better for them to profit together.

"From now on, of the Gold Soul Coins we earn, Little Junior Brother gets forty percent, and the three of us get twenty percent each. How about that?" Hu Liena proposed.

"No problem!" Yan agreed very readily.

Then, Yan began offering Xiao Chen advice, telling him not to win too easily in future Spirit Arena matches.

Xiao Chen gladly agreed. Making money together was also a way to close the distance between them and strengthen their bond.