Soul Duel

Qian Renxue stood outside Qin Yuan's courtyard for a long time before finally sighing, "I hope Xiao Yuan won't be too sad," and walked through the gate.

Qin Yuan, who was practicing his sword, saw Qian Renxue arrive and immediately beamed, running over with a grin.

Looking at Qin Yuan's radiant smile, Qian Renxue dotingly took a handkerchief from her embrace and wiped the sweat from his brow.

After chatting for a while, Qian Renxue finally brought up the matter of Song Qingshuang breaking off the engagement. She nervously observed Qin Yuan's reaction, ready to comfort him.

To her surprise, Qin Yuan appeared calm. Apart from a flicker of initial surprise, there were no further emotional fluctuations.

"Heh, it's good that it's off. I never liked that woman who was too arrogant anyway."

Hearing Qin Yuan's words, Qian Renxue breathed a sigh of relief. This was the reaction she had hoped for.

She smiled and said, "I'm relieved you can think that way. But for the Song family to dare to break off the engagement, this matter will not be let go easily!"

As she spoke, a cold glint flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes.

Qin Yuan shrugged indifferently. It was just a minor interlude, not worth his concern. Practicing his sword was far more important.

After seeing Qian Renxue off, he completely put the matter of Song Qingshuang behind him and focused entirely on his sword practice.

Two and a half months into his sword studies, Qin Yuan's soul power broke through to level thirty-eight, making him marvel at the rapid cultivation speed of his Golden Dragon Martial Soul.

Of course, his soul power had already reached level thirty-seven and a half after absorbing his third spirit ring.

However, after two and a half months of sword study, his Sword Path advanced to the fifth stage, and his progress noticeably slowed, which greatly displeased him.

His sword instructor, seeing that Qin Yuan had only been studying for two and a half months yet reached the fifth stage of the Sword Path and was still unsatisfied, even complaining about the slowness, nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

He himself had studied the sword for decades, and with a sword martial soul, he had only barely reached the sixth stage of the Sword Path!

This brat in front of him was practically calling him a waste!

Could he tolerate this?

Heh, it was laughable, but he really could tolerate it.

There was nothing he could do; the young man had a noble status that he couldn't afford to offend.

Finally, he pointed Qin Yuan in a direction and said, "The sword is a weapon of slaughter; only through combat does one progress the fastest."

With that, he laughed heartily and walked out, declaring, "Young Master Qin Yuan, you have graduated. I will not be returning."

In reality, he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, his Dao heart would shatter.

Having received this guidance, Qin Yuan felt his teacher's words were wise. Thus, he donned his Golden Dragon Mask, adopted the alias Ling Tian, and headed to the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena to hone his swordsmanship.

He concealed his identity because, in the eyes of the world, he was a cripple with only half a level of innate soul power.

If he were to reveal his level thirty-eight soul power at the age of twelve, along with his Golden Dragon Martial Soul.

He feared he would never know peace. Not only would the Martial Soul Hall be after him, but even his uncle, Emperor Xue Ye, might covet his secrets and force him to reveal them.

He had deeply understood Emperor Xue Ye's ruthless nature.

Only Qian Renxue would treat him well, regardless of the cost.

Therefore, until his strength was sufficient to protect himself, he would not reveal his true identity.

Gazing at the magnificent building resembling an ancient Roman coliseum before him, Qin Yuan, wearing the Golden Dragon Mask, smiled silently and stepped inside.

He went to the registration desk, gave himself the codename "Ling Tian," and pinned an iron-grade Soul Dueling badge to his chest before heading to the contestant waiting area.

The badge levels at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena were divided into: Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Each victory earned one point, while a loss deducted one point. Reaching ten points allowed one to advance to a Bronze badge; one hundred points for a Silver badge; and one thousand points to achieve a Gold badge.

However, since the establishment of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, recipients of Gold badges were as rare as phoenix feathers, and those who possessed them were invariably top-tier powerhouses renowned throughout the land, without exception being Titled Douluo!

Therefore, any Soul Master who obtained a Gold badge would be a target of intense recruitment by all forces on the continent, even the Martial Soul Hall!

Entering the Soul Arena, he passed by the competition grounds and glanced at the Soul Masters engaged in fierce combat on the stage before turning towards the contestant waiting area.

He didn't wait long before the first match began.

Qin Yuan did not wear a storage soul tool, to avoid being recognized by those close to him. He simply carried a standard long sword on his back and walked onto the stage.

The seats were packed, and the shouts and roars from all directions assailed him, causing a slight sting in his ears.

His opponent was a youth with his upper body bare, wearing only black trousers. A scar on his face added a touch of ferocity and ruthlessness.

The Scarface youth was clearly popular. As soon as he appeared on stage, the crowd erupted with cheers dozens, even hundreds, of times louder than for Qin Yuan.

"Scarface! Scarface! Scarface!"

"Scarface, crush your opponent for me! I've bet my entire fortune on you!"

The youth clearly reveled in the cheers and applause, a sinister smile curling on his lips. He stared at Qin Yuan with a half-smile and made a throat-slitting gesture.

To quickly improve his Sword Path level, Qin Yuan had registered for duels that allowed killing.

"Hahaha, it seems our contestant Scarface can hardly wait, but before the match begins, it is necessary for me to introduce the contestants' information to you all."

At this moment, the host's hearty laughter echoed from high above:

"On my left, you are surely already very familiar with Scarface. He has already achieved a seven-match winning streak; even among the bronze-badge contestants in the Soul Elder realm, he is a formidable powerhouse.

As for his opponent, hmm..."

The host suddenly chuckled slyly:

"This contestant Ling Tian is visiting our Great Soul Arena for the very first time. It seems his luck is truly poor, to be matched against a bronze-badge contestant in his very first match.

I can already foresee the outcome; I just hope he doesn't die too miserably! Haha, without further ado, I now announce, the match... begins!!!"

Hearing that the match had begun, Scarface gave a ferocious, sinister grin and let out a low growl:

"Martial Soul Possession!"

In the blink of an eye, Scarface's body suddenly expanded significantly, his limbs grew robust, and his palms became as sharp as a beast's, resembling a werewolf.

Wrapped around his body were two yellow and one purple soul ring—the optimal configuration. One of the yellow soul rings shone brightly, and Scarface transformed into an arrow released from a bow, diving toward Qin Yuan.

"Ha, it seems my contestant Scarface simply cannot wait to tear our poor contestant Ling Tian to shreds. Let us hold a moment of silence for him."

High above, the host exaggeratedly covered his eyes, putting on a show of being unable to bear the sight.

Laughter erupted from the spectator stands; there was no pity, only the mockery and excitement of those watching a good show.

Qin Yuan did not activate his Martial Soul Possession; he merely drew the longsword from his back and, sword in hand, charged forward to meet the oncoming Scarface.

Is his Martial Soul a sword? Scarface thought as he watched Qin Yuan approach with the blade.

But when he sensed that the charging Qin Yuan possessed not a shred of soul power fluctuation, he was clearly stunned for a moment before sneering:

"You're courting death!"

Under the gaze of everyone present, the two collided, yet there was no one-sided slaughter; instead, it appeared to be a evenly matched struggle.

"What?!" Scarface's right claw struck toward Qin Yuan's neck, only to be parried by Qin Yuan's longsword. His force was completely neutralized, and the opponent didn't even sway. Scarface cried out in shock.

Seeing this scene, the audience and the host were both left dumbfounded.