Mu Tianyi Heads to the Soul Fighting Arena to Test New Soul Skills, Ye Qing and He Mingqin

After lunch, sunlight spilled through the window lattice into the living room, casting a warm glow.

Zhang Lexuan cleared the dishes, washed them with practiced efficiency, put them away, and untied her apron to hang it behind the kitchen door.

"Tianyi, I have classes this afternoon," she said, walking out while wiping her hands. "I won't be able to keep you company."

Mu Tianyi leaned back in his chair and nodded. "Alright, Sister Lexuan. Go ahead and get busy; I'm heading out for a bit myself."

Zhang Lexuan tilted her head slightly to look at him. She didn't ask any questions, simply saying, "Let me know in advance what you want for dinner," before grabbing her things and heading out the door.

The sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.

Mu Tianyi sat in the chair for a while longer, digesting his lunch while also ruminating on the Reign Over the World he had learned from Mu En that morning.

A moment later, he stood up and rolled his shoulders, a glimmer of anticipation rising in his eyes.

With a new soul skill in his possession, he hadn't yet had the chance to test it in actual combat.

It would be a waste of talent not to test the waters.

He changed into a crisp training outfit, locked the courtyard gate, and headed toward the Outer Court.

The Soul Fighting Arena of the Outer Court is located in the southwest corner of Shrek Academy.

Leaving Sea God Island and walking through the tree-lined path between the Inner Court and the Outer Court, it takes about a quarter of an hour to arrive.

The architecture of the Soul Fighting Arena is square and sturdy, featuring blue-gray stone walls and arched entrances. Above, a massive soul guidance screen is embedded, displaying real-time information on current matches and contestants.

The entire arena is structured in a ring, with a fifty-meter-square fighting platform at the center, surrounded by tiered seating that can accommodate nearly a thousand spectators.

The rules are simple enough.

To meet graduation requirements, students of the Shrek Academy Outer Court must earn academic credits by participating in soul fights each semester.

The more wins, the higher the credits, and the higher the ranking.

Students of different grades can challenge one another, but to ensure fairness, the arena is divided into zones based on Soul Power Level.

One-ring against one-ring, two-ring against two-ring, and so on.

Cross-level challenges are permitted, of course, but that is a personal choice; losing results in no point deduction, while winning yields extra rewards.

Because soul fighting is a necessary path to earning credits, this place has become the liveliest spot in the Outer Court.

Every afternoon, the stands are packed. There are lower-grade students here to watch the excitement, higher-grade students here to gamble, and occasionally, one might even spot seniors from the Inner Court wandering through.

When Mu Tianyi stepped into the Soul Fighting Arena, a match had just concluded.

Students in the stands were rising to leave in twos and threes.

Some were still excitedly discussing the match, while others walked toward the exits with expressionless faces.

He looked up at the soul guidance screen.

It displayed the information for the match that had just ended:

Ye Qing (Third Grade, Level 32 Agility-type Soul Master) -- Win

He Mingqin (Third Grade, Level 31 Control-type Soul Master) -- Loss

Mu Tianyi glanced at it casually, then withdrew his gaze, preparing to head to the registration desk.

But just as he took a step, he pulled back.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a curious sight.

At the edge of the platform, two boys were huddled together, heads close, speaking in hushed tones.

One was slender with sword-like brows and starry eyes—the very same Ye Qing who had just won.

The other was short and sturdy with a round face and small eyes—the defeated He Mingqin.

There was no trace of rivalry between them; they looked entirely too familiar with one another.

Mu Tianyi paused and turned his head to look.

Most of the audience had already left, and only a dozen or so people remained in the vast arena.

Ye Qing and He Mingqin stood in the shadows by the platform, thinking no one noticed them.

But Mu Tianyi's five senses were far sharper than those of his peers.

He faintly caught a few words.

"...You won again this time. We agreed on a three-seven split, you get seven, I get three..."

"...That fall of yours was too fake. Don't act like that next time; it's easy to spot..."

"...What are you afraid of? It's not like the referee can't tell, as long as there's no proof..."

Mu Tianyi raised an eyebrow.

Oh, ho.

A fixed match?

He hadn't intended to meddle, but his feet had already moved toward them as if by instinct.

Ye Qing was in the middle of speaking when he caught sight of someone approaching from the corner of his eye. He immediately fell silent, a look of vigilance crossing his face.

Upon realizing the newcomer was just a seven or eight-year-old child, that vigilance was quickly replaced by impatience.

"Little brat, what are you looking at? Go play somewhere else."

Ye Qing waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

Mu Tianyi stopped in his tracks, standing his ground as he looked up at the youth who was a head taller than him.

His expression remained unchanged.

He Mingqin looked over as well, a perfunctory smile plastered on his round face.

"Little kid, this is the Soul Fighting Arena, not a place for games. Hurry along now, don't hold us up from our business."

Mu Tianyi did not move.

He stood there quietly, his dark eyes as calm as a deep pool, watching the two men before him.

Ye Qing frowned, feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

He couldn't put his finger on why.

It was just that being watched by this child made his entire body feel uneasy.

Despite being just a tiny tot, those eyes gave one the feeling of... being seen through.

"Two seniors, fixing matches for money—if the academy found out about this, having your credits wiped out would be the least of your worries. You might even get expelled, right?"

Mu Tianyi said with a playful grin.

The air instantly froze.

The two men's faces turned deathly pale.

Ye Qing's lips trembled as he forced a smile.

"Li-little kid, what are you talking about? What match-fixing? We were just having a normal spar..."

"A normal spar?" Mu Tianyi blinked. "Does a normal spar involve saying 'seven for you, three for me'? Or saying 'you fell too fake, don't act like that next time'?"

He paused and smiled.

"My hearing is quite good."

Ye Qing's expression darkened completely.

He stared daggers at the child who only reached his chest, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

He Mingqin was even more flustered and at a loss, subconsciously shrinking behind Ye Qing.

"What... what do you want?" Ye Qing gritted his teeth, his voice dropping to a low hiss.

He gambled that the child wouldn't dare to report them, but the threat behind those words was now laid out clearly on the table.

Mu Tianyi waved his hand, his smile gentle and harmless.

"Don't be nervous, seniors."

"If I wanted to report you, I would have gone straight to the referee just now. Would I have bothered walking over to greet you?"

Ye Qing was slightly taken aback.

He Mingqin poked his head out, watching him warily.

"I just have a small request." Mu Tianyi held up his index finger, his tone sincere. "I just obtained my soul ring and have been worrying about not finding anyone to test my soul skill on."

"Since you two seniors have such impressive strength, could you accompany me to test out my new soul skill?"

Ye Qing and He Mingqin exchanged a glance.

Then, Ye Qing's expression shifted from tension to something subtly... playful.

He looked Mu Tianyi up and down.

A seven or eight-year-old child, even if gifted, would at most be at the level of one ring.

The tension from a moment ago was purely because the words "match-fixing" were too terrifying.

Now that he thought about it, what threat could a little brat who hadn't even grown his hair out pose?

Ye Qing's eyes darted around, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

"Sparring? That's no fun." He crossed his arms, his tone flippant. "Since you have an idea, little brother, why don't we have a formal soul fight? Let's add a wager to make winning or losing more interesting."

He Mingqin immediately caught on and chimed in from the side:

"That's right, the Soul Fighting Arena has its rules; once you're on the stage, it's all about skill."

"If you win, kid, we'll each give you ten Gold Soul Coins. But if you lose..."

He chuckled twice, leaving the sentence unfinished.

But the meaning was clear enough.

If you lose, you brat, you'll keep your mouth shut, and we'll pretend the match-fixing never happened.

Mu Tianyi watched the calculation practically overflowing from the eyes of the two men, his own mind as clear as a mirror.

Trying to scam him?

He remained calm on the surface, even cooperating by flashing an innocent, naive smile.

"Alright, then let's have a soul fight."

"Two seniors, you must go easy on me."