Against Dai Mubai

Suotuo Great Soul Arena, night fell.

Zhou Qiubai strode through the main entrance. The familiar feeling was like returning home as he headed straight for the registration desk.

As soon as he approached, he saw Deputy Manager Zhao Yan speaking quietly with a staff member.

The moment Zhao Yan caught sight of Zhou Qiubai, his eyes immediately lit up. He hurriedly waved the staff member away and approached with a beaming smile.

"Brother Zhou, you're here again!" Zhao Yan chuckled. "Last time, you brought quite the surprise to our Soul Fighting Arena. Everyone's been talking about that mysterious swordsman who defeated a Soul Elder without using any soul skills!"

Although Zhou Qiubai's arrival might cause the following events to develop beyond expectations, for now, the kid was not completely impossible to deal with.

If he truly treated the Great Soul Arena as his own storehouse to stock up from, then Zhao Yan would have no choice but to stop being polite.

Zhou Qiubai smiled faintly and nodded. "You're too courteous, Manager Zhao."

"Same rules this time? Fighting someone at the same level, or challenging above your level?" Zhao Yan asked with the same smile.

"Above my level," Zhou Qiubai answered firmly.

As if he had expected it, Zhao Yan stroked his chin. "There happen to be a few decent Soul Elders around, but... there really aren't any Soul Ancestors. Suotuo City may be prosperous, but high-level Soul Masters usually cultivate in seclusion within their sects or train in larger cities. Even when a Soul Ancestor happens to pass through, they might not necessarily come here to fight."

Zhou Qiubai remained expressionless. "It's fine. Soul Elders will do."

He was only here to test the growth in his strength after the medicinal bath. Whether his opponent was a Soul Elder or a Soul Ancestor made little difference to him. What mattered was how much of his true ability they could force out.

"Straightforward!" Zhao Yan slapped his thigh and immediately turned to arrange the match. "Please wait a moment, little brother."

Zhou Qiubai leaned against the wall and rested with his eyes closed, yet his ears caught every sound around him.

"I heard those brats from Shrek Academy came too?"

"Shrek? That backwater academy that only accepts monsters?"

"Yeah, them."

At the mention of "Shrek," Zhou Qiubai's brow lifted slightly.

Not long afterward, Zhao Yan hurried back with a somewhat unusual expression on his face.

"Brother Zhou, the match has been arranged." Zhao Yan lowered his voice. "Your opponent... is Dai Mubai from Shrek Academy, a level thirty-seven assault-type Soul Elder with the White Tiger Martial Soul. That kid has quite the background—he's from the Star Luo Imperial Family. He fights viciously. Are you sure you want this match?"

As a Great Soul Arena staff member, Zhao Yan naturally knew Dai Mubai's identity perfectly well.

As mentioned before, a Martial Soul represented a person's identity. Unless it underwent mutation, once someone revealed their Martial Soul, others could basically uncover their background completely.

Dai Mubai thought no one would recognize him after running here, but little did he know that the moment he released his Martial Soul, he had already exposed himself.

"Fight." Zhou Qiubai answered without hesitation.

"Good!" Zhao Yan said no more and swiftly handed him a number plate. "The battle begins in one incense stick's time. I'll arrange the betting now. Little brother, the odds will definitely be high this time. Do you want to place a bet on yourself?"

Zhou Qiubai accepted the number plate, a faint smile curling his lips. "Fifty gold on myself."

"Straightforward!" Zhao Yan laughed even more brightly.

Zhou Qiubai turned and headed toward the contestant passage. Watching his retreating back, Zhao Yan silently shook his head.

"Level twenty-five against level thirty-seven—a full twelve levels apart. His swordsmanship may be unusual, but the Soul Power gap is right there, and the White Tiger Martial Soul is a top-tier beast Martial Soul... Hopefully nothing unexpected happens in this match."

Arena No. 3, Section Yi. At this moment, the stands were already seventy to eighty percent full.

When the announcement rang out—"Level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster White-Clothed Guest versus level thirty-seven Soul Elder Dai Mubai"—the previously noisy stands fell silent for an instant before erupting into an even greater uproar.

"Challenging twelve levels above? Is he insane?"

"White-Clothed Guest... That name sounds familiar!"

"I remember now! The Soul Grandmaster who got ten straight wins a while back! His swordsmanship was downright strange—he never displayed a single Soul Ring from beginning to end!"

"It's him? Then this match is going to be interesting!"

Amid the audience's chatter, several young people had gathered in a corner of the VIP section.

"Boss Dai's opponent... is a Soul Grandmaster?" A girl with a scorpion braid blinked her large eyes, her face full of curiosity. "Did the Soul Fighting Arena make a mistake?"

The blue-clothed youth beside her frowned slightly. "Level twenty-five against level thirty-seven truly makes no sense, unless that Soul Grandmaster has something special about him."

"Who cares? Boss Dai will definitely deal with him easily!" the girl said with a grin. "Once he wins, we'll go celebrate tonight!"

However, the blue-clothed youth turned his gaze toward the other side of the stands.

There, a girl in a pale green dress sat alone, her face slightly pale.

"What's wrong with Rongrong?" The scorpion-braided girl followed his gaze. "She's been acting strange since earlier."

"I don't know." The blue-clothed youth shook his head.

This girl who had only recently arrived at Shrek had been unusually quiet ever since she returned today. When Flender mentioned her, she had not even argued back. It was truly strange.

It didn't match his impression of her at all!

Ning Rongrong's heart was racing.

He was here.

And he was going to fight Dai Mubai.

Ning Rongrong bit her lower lip. She did not know who she wanted to win.

If Dai Mubai won, perhaps he could help vent some of her anger?

But Zhou Qiubai...

Was the Sword Intent he displayed that day really something a Soul Grandmaster could possess?

She did not dare be certain.

Inside the contestant passage, Dai Mubai was loosening his wrists.

His golden hair draped over his shoulders, and his dark blue eyes carried traces of laziness and impatience.

He had originally arranged to have dinner with those twin sisters today, only for Zhao Wuji to force him to come to the Soul Fighting Arena to "maintain his condition." He was already in a bad mood.

Now that he had been matched against a Soul Grandmaster, he felt even more as though his time was being wasted.

"Let's finish this quickly," he muttered to himself.

At the other end of the passage, Zhou Qiubai stood quietly, his heart as calm as water.

"Both contestants, please enter the arena!"

The staff member's voice rang out.

Zhou Qiubai opened his eyes, clarity gleaming within them.

He stepped toward the lights of the fighting platform.

When the two appeared at opposite ends of the fighting platform, the clamor from the stands reached its peak.

On one side stood the golden-haired Dai Mubai; on the other stood Zhou Qiubai in white clothes.

The visual contrast between them was already striking, while the gap in their Soul Power Levels made the duel even more dramatic.

Dai Mubai frowned slightly.

He had expected a troublesome opponent, but the man before him looked like nothing more than an ordinary Soul Grandmaster.

What was special about him?

His clothes were plain, and aside from the sword at his waist, which looked somewhat unusual, there was nothing else remarkable about him.

"Hey." Dai Mubai spoke with a hint of arrogance in his tone. "Referee, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Level twenty-five?"

The referee was a middle-aged Soul Master. At this, he answered seriously, "Both sides' information has been verified. There is no mistake."

Only then did Dai Mubai seriously examine Zhou Qiubai. "You're really a Soul Grandmaster?"

Zhou Qiubai nodded.

"Interesting."