Qin Ming's eyes were filled with admiration. Polite and obedient, exceptionally talented, and blessed with heaven-defying luck—what a perfect genius. It was enough to make anyone envious.
He refocused his gaze on the three of them and asked, "Have you come to the Soul Fighting Zone to defend the ring or to spar with each other?"
"We already sparred on the Soul Fighting Arena yesterday. Today, we'll defend the ring," Yu Tianheng replied.
There were five arenas in the Soul Fighting Zone.
The central arena was the largest, with a diameter of fifty meters. The four arenas around it were thirty meters across. All five were paved with sturdy Black Tortoise Stone, and orderly rows of seats surrounded the Soul Fighting Zone for spectators.
Besides Qin Ming, there were four other teachers: two Heaven Micro Grade teachers and two Heaven Supreme Grade teachers.
The four registered their information, then waited in the spectators' stands.
Registration was mainly to determine the order in which people used the arenas. Otherwise, things would descend into chaos.
There were already students fighting on every arena, and their combat skills varied wildly.
A small number were decent enough. They knew when to use their Soul Skills, understood how to seize an opening, and had a rhythm to their fighting.
Most were simply painful to watch. They took turns using Soul Skills, with no idea how much Soul Power to spend. After using a Soul Skill, they were usually left with barely any Soul Power and could only admit defeat.
Yet they thought highly of themselves. The teachers refereeing the matches wanted to correct their mistakes, but the students' faces were full of impatience.
To them, Soul Fighting was just a fun game. Who wanted to listen to someone lecture them? Especially when certain teachers gave pointers without mincing words, making them feel like they were utterly worthless.
For example, on Arena Three, near Ling Yun, the teacher was a middle-aged man with bulging muscles, a thick beard, and fiery red curls. His eyes were full of exasperation at their failure to live up to his expectations.
"Listen, you're a flying Soul Master with a Blazing Bird Martial Soul. Just because he provoked you a few times, you gave up your advantage in the air and tried to settle things with Soul Skills against a Soul Master with a Variegated Cat Martial Soul. You nearly lost!"
"Do you enjoy challenging your own weaknesses? Why not make full use of your Martial Soul's strengths and wear him down from a distance?"
"Or do you get no sense of accomplishment from winning without breaking a sweat?"
"And you. Your Variegated Cat Martial Soul has a Soul Ring that boosts your speed, so you're clearly following the agility attack path. Why were you standing there like a fool when he used his Soul Skill? With your speed, you could've rushed in and interrupted him while he was charging it."
"You two have obvious problems. Go think carefully about what I said. I hope you'll improve by your next Soul Fighting match."
"Remember, your parents sent you to Heaven Dou Royal Academy because they want you to become better."
"..."
The student with the Variegated Cat Martial Soul lowered his head under the barrage, looking close to shutting down. Ling Yun hadn't expected the rough-looking teacher to be such a chatterbox. Every word came from a good place, but he said far too much.
The student with the Blazing Bird Martial Soul wore an expression of impatience. At last, he couldn't take it anymore. "Teacher, there's nothing practical in what you're saying. I don't think I did anything wrong. When emotions run high, anyone would react the way I did."
"Besides, my Innate Soul Power is only level four. No matter how hard I work, I'll never get beyond Soul King in this life. As long as I get by, that's enough."
"I'm not going to compare myself to those geniuses!"
With that, the student with the Blazing Bird Martial Soul turned and walked off the arena, his face full of displeasure.
All he knew was that he'd won the match. Being lectured after a win left him deeply dissatisfied.
The burly teacher shook his head, wanting to say more but holding back. He sighed. In the end, only a few people were willing to take advice to heart.
He looked at the student with the Variegated Cat Martial Soul, his expression softening with approval. "Go think carefully about your Martial Soul's strengths. Your biggest problem is that you don't know where you stand."
The student with the Variegated Cat Martial Soul nodded and silently left the Soul Fighting Arena.
"Xiao Xiaohua and Lin Ting, to Soul Fighting Arena Three." The announcement rang out, and soon, two randomly matched opponents stepped onto the arena.
Similar scenes played out on the other arenas. After a match, teachers who wanted to offer pointers said a few words; those who didn't simply moved on to the next match.
Ling Yun could only shake his head.
After about the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, an announcement caught Ling Yun's attention and made him look toward Arena Five.
"Yu Tianheng, report to Soul Fighting Arena Five for a ring-defense match."
At the words "ring-defense match," most of the spectators grew excited, especially when they heard the name Yu Tianheng.
That made them even more excited. Quite a few people left the stands and hurried off to sign up. They were all Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters.
A ring-defense match was a series of consecutive battles. If the students before them wore Yu Tianheng down enough, their turn would come at just the right moment, and they might win.
It was a chance to defeat a genius student.
Some of the spectators near Ling Yun had the same idea and went to sign up. They hadn't forgotten Ling Yun's thousand-year second Soul Ring.
Since Yu Tianheng had signed up for a ring-defense match, Ling Yun, who'd come with him, might do the same.
The thought of having a chance to beat Ling Yun made them even more excited.
On Arena Five, Yu Tianheng's first opponent wore a tense expression. She was facing him at full strength.
Qin Ming personally took on the role of referee. "This is a sparring match, so you may fight with all your strength. If I have to rescue you, that means you're eliminated."
"You have one minute to summon your Martial Souls. The match will begin when the minute is up!"
The minute passed quickly. At Qin Ming's signal, Yu Tianheng charged straight at the blue-haired girl.
She was about a meter and seventy-five tall, with her long hair tied in a ponytail and fighting spirit in her eyes. Her Martial Soul was a spear, with a three-and-a-half-inch spearhead, a five-foot shaft, and a three-inch butt. The entire weapon was blue and wreathed in cold mist, with two yellow Soul Rings circling its shaft.
Yu Tianheng's two Soul Rings circled his Dragon Transformation right arm.
Neither of their Soul Rings followed the usual pattern of circling around the Soul Master's waist.
A few breaths later, they collided.
The blue-haired girl's spearhead shot forward like a streak of blue light, slamming into Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Claw.
Striking at a single point to break the whole, she shattered Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Claw, sending arcs of electricity flying in every direction.
Like fireworks bursting open.
"Senior Sister Mu Shuang, go for it! Beat Yu Tianheng!"
"Yu Tianheng, go! I'm rooting for you..."
Excited shouts broke out. One voice was followed by a second, then a third.
The students fighting on the two nearby arenas were distracted and began fighting halfheartedly.
The teachers refereeing those matches had no choice but to raise Soul Power barriers and block out the noise. "How can you let something so small distract you? Get back to it!"
But the students' minds had already flown away. Neither a Soul Power barrier nor a few words could bring them back. They stopped fighting at once.
The referees were furious. These two students had no discipline at all! They silently lowered the Soul Power barriers and let the two leave the arenas.
The pair quickly ran up to the spectators' stands and joined the others in cheering, watching Yu Tianheng and Mu Shuang's fight with excitement.
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