Qian Renxue Enters the Soul Arena

Qian Xunji followed her as they walked and picked out fruit, Bibi Dong followed behind the father and daughter at a leisurely pace, occasionally stopping at the fruit stall to pick out a few sea coconuts.

The middle-aged woman asked, "Is it eaten fresh?"

"Um."

"Okay, Xiao Mei, three guests."

Just then, a girl with a ponytail came out of the store and said warmly, "Please come in, three guests."

Do you have any private rooms?

"Some."

The family followed her into a small restaurant.

The restaurant has two floors; the first floor is the main hall, and the second floor has private rooms.

Qian Xunji entered the private room, she saw decorations made of fishing nets and seashells hanging on the wall, and she could see the market downstairs by opening the window.

After the family had some tea, the restaurant owner brought out the seafood that the three of them had chosen.

Qian Xunji glanced at the grilled Golden-Whiskered Sea Shrimp that were served. The shells were grilled to a golden brown with a slight char, the prawn meat was snow-white and firm, and a thin layer of garlic sauce was brushed on the surface. Hot oil was still sizzling on the shells.

Qian Xunji deftly sliced the shrimp meat, and a piece of shrimp meat was cut out intact.

He put the shrimp meat into Qian Renxue's bowl.

"Try it!"

Qian Renxue scooped up the shrimp meat with both hands and took a big bite, thoroughly satisfied.

Bibi Dong looked at her and asked, "How is it?"

"It's fresh, but there's a little too much minced garlic."

Qian Xunji cut open the shrimp meat again, picked it up, and held it to Bibi Dong's mouth.

Bibi Dong opened her mouth and started eating, saying, "It's cooked just right."

Then she picked up a piece of Pufferfish meat, took it with her hand, and offered it to Qian Xunji's mouth.

Qian Renxue lowered her head, shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, and pretended not to see.

The restaurant then served a steamed Green-Spotted Sea Eel, saying that grouper eels only have one main bone in the middle, making them perfect for eating in large bites.

Bibi Dong picked up a piece of eel with serving chopsticks, tested its temperature with her lips, and was about to hand it to Qian Renxue when Qian Xunji leaned over and bit the eel off her chopsticks.

Bibi Dong's chopsticks hung suspended in mid-air as she turned to look at Qian Xunji. "Why are you fighting with your daughter for food?"

"My wife's first time feeding me has to be by me."

Qian Renxue stood up. "Mom, I want it."

"Well."

Then, the father and daughter began to compete for his affections.

Until Bibi Dong became impatient.

"Alright, you two, I haven't eaten yet."

She picked up a piece of fish, but before she could chew a few bites, Qian Xunji suddenly leaned over and snatched half a piece of eel from her mouth, mouth to mouth.

Bibi Dong was taken aback by his sudden action.

Qian Renxue rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and said resentfully, "I'm still here."

Bibi Dong blushed slightly and punched Qian Xunji on the shoulder.

"How dare you snatch something from my mouth in front of your daughter?"

Qian Xunji rubbed the spot where she had punched him and chuckled.

"This isn't called stealing, it's called showing affection."

"Oh? So who are you showing off your love to?"

"Look..." Qian Xunji gestured with his chin toward Qian Renxue.

"I'm not eating anymore, I'm so angry!"

Bibi Dong tapped his hand with her chopsticks, "You've made Xiao Xue angry. Do you still want to go on the ship tomorrow?"

Qian Xunji immediately stopped laughing, sat up straight, and placed his hands properly on his knees.

"Go! We must go!"

Qian Renxue snorted, "Then you promise to behave properly the whole time, and not steal food or kisses."

"No problem."

It was already late at night when we left the Fish Market.

The nightlife in Vast Sea City is just beginning, with the Seaside Street brightly lit.

An old craftsman selling wind chimes sat on a small stool, stringing together polished conch shell pieces with a thin copper wire.

Qian Renxue stopped in front of a wind chime stall.

The wind chimes were made of thin slices of colorful scallop shells, a specialty of the Nine Star Sea. Each slice was only the size of a fingernail and was so thin that the natural spiral patterns on it could be seen when the light shone through.

"You like it?" Qian Xunji stopped in her tracks.

Qian Renxue nodded.

Qian Xunji didn't ask the price; he simply took the wind chimes from the stall owner and handed them to her.

Then he bent down and picked out two necklaces from the seashell stall next to him.

He handed a string of pale purple seashells to Bibi Dong.

Another necklace, made of small, round pieces of snow-white mother-of-pearl and adorned with a pink coral bead, was tied around Qian Renxue's neck by his own hand.

Qian Renxue lowered her head and touched the coral bead on her chest, then tiptoed and kissed Qian Xunji on the left cheek.

Bibi Dong gently kissed his right cheek, whispering "You're thoughtful" as her lips touched his face.

The family of three continued walking along the Seaside Street.

The sea breeze was getting cooler, but the streets were becoming increasingly crowded.

Some were hurrying along in their Soul Master robes, some were carrying fishing gear to catch the night tide, and others, like them, were strolling around digesting their food after a good meal.

As you approach the intersection of Seaside Street and Pier Road, a huge, brightly lit building comes into view.

The building is oval-shaped, with its exterior walls made of dark gray granite. Above the main entrance hangs a huge soul guide signboard with eight large characters spelled out in glowing runes: "Vast Sea Great Soul Arena".

Qian Renxue slowed her pace, tugged at Qian Xunji's hand, and looked at the brightly lit building.

"Dad, I want to go in and try my skills."

"You really want to try?"

"I wanted to show you all the hard work I've put in over the past few years."

Qian Xunji raised the corners of her mouth. "Okay, I'll take you to register."

The family of three entered the Soul Fighting Arena hall.

Behind the registration window sat a middle-aged clerk wearing glasses, looking down at tonight's match schedule.

Qian Xunji led Qian Renxue to the viewing window. "Register."

The middle-aged clerk looked up and asked, "Participant's name, age, and Soul Power Level."

"Lin Xue, nine years old, level forty-nine Soul Ancestor."

The middle-aged clerk's pen froze in mid-air. Puzzled, she asked, "This... this child is participating in the competition?"

Yes, my child is participating.

"Sir, this is no joke. In the Soul Fighting Arena, swords and spears have no eyes."

Several Soul Master who were buying tickets nearby also turned their heads.

A burly, middle-aged Soul Master said gruffly, "Letting such a young child go up on the Soul Fighting Platform? What kind of parents are you?"

"Exactly, what's a nine-year-old girl doing going up there to fight? Who's responsible if something happens?"

"What kind of parents are these, standing in the audience watching the spectacle while their child goes up and gets beaten up?"

Qian Renxue released Qian Xunji's hand, walked to the window, and looked at the middle-aged clerk across the counter. "Is there an age limit for registration here?"

The middle-aged clerk was taken aback by her question.

He flipped through the rulebook beside him. "There's no explicit minimum age stated, but..."

"Then sign up," Qian Renxue continued, "I want the strongest person here to fight me."

"What?"

The middle-aged clerk nearly jumped out of her chair. "What did you say? Do you know who our hottest topic this month is?"

Who is it?

The clerk explained, "They're called the Sea Soul Brothers, a twin Soul King duo. Both brothers are level 53, and their combined achievements are enough to give even Soul Emperor a headache."

"Although they are not Soul Emperor, the two brothers can use Martial Soul Fusion Skill when they join forces. You, a little girl, want to fight them?"