Spectating

After reviewing all the newly unlocked features, Zhang Yang exited the [Forging Bench] page and navigated to the [Soul Ring Age Enhancement Function] interface.

After all, his level had increased, and the age of his soul rings would naturally see an increase of about a hundred years or so.

Entering the [Soul Ring Age Enhancement Function] interface, Zhang Yang used his mind to touch his third ring to inspect the specific details.

But the moment the specific information popped up, Zhang Yang was directly startled.

"Third Soul Ring:"

"Age: 2281 years."

"Source: Molten Heart Stone-Throwing Ape."

"Enhanceable: 5219 years."

"5219, my third soul ring can actually be enhanced by over 5,000 years!" Zhang Yang exclaimed in disbelief.

He could hardly believe his own eyes.

7,500 years—this number even exceeded the limit for the fourth soul ring of the vast majority of soul masters.

This sounded incredible, but in fact, it was entirely reasonable.

Although this soul bone appeared to be merely a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Because it was a torso bone, it belonged to the most precious part among the six categories of soul bones, and its boost to physical fitness was the most prominent.

Therefore, Zhang Yang's physical fitness had naturally improved significantly, and the limit for the soul ring age he could absorb would naturally rise accordingly.

Moreover, as Zhang Yang's age and soul power increased, the boost the soul bone provided to him would only grow stronger.

Now, at 8 years old and level 32, Zhang Yang's physical fitness was already formidable enough to absorb a 7,500-year soul ring.

It was foreseeable that by the time Zhang Yang reached level 40, his physical fitness would be fully capable of attempting to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

By then, Zhang Yang would become the first soul master in history to possess a ten-thousand-year fourth ring.

Even Tang San would have to settle for second place behind Zhang Yang, picking up his scraps.

After finishing all the updates, Zhang Yang browsed the system for a long time, and after confirming there were no omissions, he hurriedly started the game again.

"Can't delay any longer; while the high-yield bonuses of the new season are still active, I need to get into the map and rake in the Haf Coin."

Zhang Yang quickly equipped his gear and nimbly entered the game.

In this game, only high-tier loot and Haf Coin were worth living for.

Martial Soul Hall Academy arena.

Zhang Yang entered from the north gate, followed the spectator passage up to the stands, and soon spotted Xie Yue and the other two sitting in the front row of the center section.

"Senior, Senior Sister." After greeting them, Zhang Yang sat down next to Xie Yue.

"You're here." Xie Yue nodded, while Hu Liena waved at Zhang Yang quite enthusiastically.

"Good thing you weren't late today; the sparring match is about to start." Yan, who was sitting in the row behind, patted Zhang Yang on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I could never be late when there's a show to watch." Zhang Yang crossed his arms, his words filled with schadenfreude.

Soon, two teams of young people wearing the Martial Soul Hall Academy high-level department uniforms arrived at the center of the arena.

The 14 soul masters from the two teams stood in the middle of the field, facing each other, with an academy teacher acting as the referee.

"Harvey, Xiao Yu is not a puppet attached to you. She has her own thoughts, and any decision she makes does not require others to chime in," said a male soul master with a buzz cut and plain features.

"Cut the crap, let's see what you're really made of," a young soul master with medium-length golden hair and an arrogant, wild expression said disdainfully.

"I am now reiterating the match rules: no lethal blows, no receiving soul master support before the match, and no use of any weapons other than your martial soul. Do you hear me clearly?" The referee looked at both team captains.

Seeing both nod, the referee waved his hand to signal them to retreat: "Each side, back up 30 meters."

There was originally supposed to be a pre-match handshake to show that everyone was an alumnus, with friendship first and competition second.

But seeing the fire-and-water stance between the two sides, the referee handled it flexibly.

As the space opened up, both teams activated their Martial Soul Possession simultaneously according to the referee's instructions.

In just a single breath, 44 soul rings lit up on the field, with yellow and purple light scattering everywhere—it was truly spectacular.

Zhang Yang nodded from the sidelines; it was worthy of being the Martial Soul Hall Academy, as every soul master on the field was at least a 3-ring Soul Elder.

And the two who had just exchanged words, as team captains, were even Soul Ancestors with four soul rings: "Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple."

The surging battle intent from both groups, carrying the soul power released from activating their martial souls, collided fiercely in the center of the arena.

Sitting in the stands, Zhang Yang could even smell the thick scent of gunpowder on the field.

"Academy Representative Team Selection Match, Harvey Team versus Shao Kang Team, match, begin!"

As the referee announced the start, Harvey, with his Howling Moon Wolf martial soul activated, immediately charged toward the opposite side, and his teammates were not to be outdone, following their captain as they rushed forward.

The Shao Kang Team on the opposite side reacted just as quickly. Shao Kang held his great hammer martial soul and charged toward the enemy with his teammates, while following closely behind them were six rays of yellow light.

Zhang Yang looked up and discovered it was a long-haired girl holding a scepter-type martial soul.

"Is that the female soul master?" Zhang Yang tilted his head and asked Xie Yue beside him.

"That's right, she is the heroine of this story."

Xie Yue Squad nodded and said, "I heard from the seniors that Harvey has been pursuing Qiao Yu for a long time, but Qiao Yu only has eyes for Shao Kang, who is in the same class."

"For this selection tournament, Qiao Yu joined Shao Kang Team early on, only to be relentlessly harassed by Harvey."

"Later, Harvey even confronted Shao Kang, demanding that he kick Qiao Yu off his team, but Shao Kang refused."

"Because of this, the two of them have developed a grudge."

"Harvey even boasted that if he ran into Shao Kang on the arena floor, he would cripple Shao Kang's hands and ensure he could never be a Soul Master again."

"Who would have thought that enemies would cross paths; they really did end up facing each other."

Xie Yue described the ins and outs of the situation in detail, while Zhang Yang watched the battle on the field, happily enjoying the drama.

Beside them, Hu Liena said indignantly, "Hmph, that Harvey actually dared to openly threaten to cripple a classmate. He truly doesn't know what's good for him."

Zhang Yang looked at Xie Yue, "He is indeed arrogant, but doesn't the academy do anything about it?"

Xie Yue shook his head, "I heard the teachers from the advanced division already warned Harvey, but it seems he didn't take it to heart."

"He's got some nerve." Zhang Yang turned his gaze back to the arena.

At this moment, the battle between the two sides was intense, with the Soul Elder rankers from both teams already locked in combat.

As for the team captains, they had just exchanged their first blows.

As an agility-type Soul Master, Harvey kept using his speed to land sneak attacks on Shao Kang.

Shao Kang, meanwhile, was observing Harvey's movements, waiting for the right moment to land a heavy blow.

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't particularly interested in such a low-level skirmish.

What he was interested in was observing how a seven-person team coordinated their soul skills during combat and how they managed the pacing between different types of Soul Masters.

After all, Zhang Yang would eventually need to assemble his own seven-person team for dungeon raiding.

How to choose the Martial Souls for the other six teammates, how to balance the team composition, and how he himself should command them.

These were all things Zhang Yang needed to learn.

He couldn't rely on Xie Yue's command forever, whether in the real world or while raiding dungeons.

Soon, following a powerful fourth soul skill from Shao Kang, Harvey, having miscalculated, was unable to dodge and took the hit head-on.

As Harvey flew out of the arena spitting blood, the match finally came to an end with the victory of Shao Kang Team.

The referee announced the end of the battle, and a healing-type Soul Master outside the arena cast a healing soul skill, while several school staff members carried Harvey onto a stretcher and rushed toward the nearby infirmary.

The other injured students also received care from the healing-type Soul Master's skills.

Under the gaze of hundreds of spectators, the support-type Soul Master named Xiao Yu walked gracefully to Shao Kang's side, whispering words of concern.

Furthermore, Xiao Yu's hands were slightly raised, as if she were ready to support Shao Kang at any moment.

Shao Kang clutched his chest, breathing heavily, and responded to Xiao Yu from time to time.

Soon, seemingly persuaded by Xiao Yu, Shao Kang draped his arm over her shoulder. Xiao Yu gripped his arm with one hand and wrapped her other arm around his waist.

Supporting each other, the two walked off the arena step by step.

Seeing this scene, Yan felt a bit moved.

Yan really wished he could participate in such a battle of honor alongside Hu Liena.

It was the best catalyst for romance in the world.

Unfortunately...

Seeing that the show was over, Zhang Yang stood up and said helplessly, "It's so nice to be able to fight openly and honestly. It's a pity we can't join this tournament."

The academy representative team selection required "a team of at least seven official members" and "at least one Soul Ancestor of level 41 or higher."

Xie Yue Squad met neither of these hard requirements, so they had no qualifications to sign up.

"Wait for the next session." Xie Yue looked at the arena below, "By then, I will make the entire continent see the strength of the new generation of Martial Soul Hall."

"Five years from now..." Zhang Yang calculated his own cultivation progress in his mind, and a grin like Uulu's couldn't help but appear on his face, "Then I really have a lot to look forward to."