Soon, the class bell rang.
Su Ming and Hu Liena didn't linger in the classroom. They stood up and left side by side.
When Yan saw them, he couldn't hide the jealousy in his eyes.
Seeing Yan like this, Xie Yue could only pat him on the shoulder helplessly. "Brother, though I don't have much faith in you, I still have high hopes for you."
Yan clenched his fists, hating even more!
The two left the academy, crossed the bustling streets of Spirit City, and headed straight for the Great Soul Arena.
It was a magnificent building, with crowds milling in front of the entrance. They were all Soul Masters who had come to spar or watch the matches.
Once inside, the two went to the registration window.
"Hello, sorry for the trouble, but could you register us for a match?"
The staff member looked at the two. "Certainly. Please provide your Soul Power Levels and Martial Souls. We require accurate information. If an accident occurs because of inaccurate information, our arena won't be held responsible."
The two immediately gave their information.
The staff member looked surprised when they heard Su Ming was at level thirty-nine.
But they didn't say anything more, only offering a reminder. "Are you sure this information is accurate?"
"Yes."
After receiving their confirmation, the staff member said no more.
"Please choose a name for your doubles team," the staff member said, as was customary.
Hu Liena turned to Su Ming, a playful smile on her lips, and suggested, "How about combining the names of our Martial Souls? We could call ourselves the 'Su-Na Duo.'"
Su Ming's expression was indifferent. "Whatever."
The name was entered into the system, and the Su-Na Duo was officially formed. The two received their iron badges for the doubles competition.
Afterward, they each applied for a badge for the singles competition as well.
After receiving their badges, Hu Liena showed no intention of starting her matches right away.
She put away her badge and said to Su Ming, "My teacher wants me to absorb my fifth Soul Ring now. She said our matches will only carry weight after I've absorbed it. So... you'll have to suffer alongside me."
According to the Great Soul Arena's ironclad rules, if the members of a doubles team were different levels, the matching system had to assign them to the higher-level Soul Master's division.
That meant that even though Su Ming was only a three-ring Soul Elder, they would still have to compete in the Soul Ancestor bracket, against opponents between levels forty and forty-nine.
And if Hu Liena broke through to level fifty or higher, their opponents would be even stronger!
There was no denying that this would be a major test for Su Ming.
But Su Ming wasn't afraid. He liked this kind of challenge.
"I'll head off first. You can compete in the singles matches on your own today," Hu Liena continued.
Su Ming nodded slightly.
After Hu Liena left, he headed to the waiting area for the singles competition.
He submitted his registration information.
Before long, Su Ming's name rang out over the hall's broadcast system, summoning him to the seventh arena.
Su Ming strode onto the platform.
A tall, burly man was already standing across from him. His name was Tie Lei, a veteran level-thirty-eight Power Attack System Soul Master who had already won several times in the Soul Elder singles division.
When Tie Lei saw that Su Ming, who had stepped onto the platform, was just a twelve-year-old kid, he sneered, his eyes full of contempt. "Has the Great Soul Arena run out of people? They've sent up a kid who hasn't even grown his first whiskers. Looks like this match is a free win."
The spectators in the stands were likewise surprised and skeptical at the sight.
Wasn't the age gap between these two a little too big?
It was like an old man bullying a child!
The referee stood in the center, his expression unreadable.
"Both sides, get ready. The match won't begin until I say so."
Then the referee raised his right hand. He paused for a second before bringing it down sharply. "The match begins!"
At the referee's command, Tie Lei roared and instantly activated Martial Soul Possession.
His Martial Soul was the Rock Giant Bear. With a roar, his body swelled to two and a half meters tall.
A layer of hard, granite-like stony hide appeared on the surface of his skin. His hands transformed into enormous bear claws, and three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—spiraled out.
Nearly everyone who managed to win repeatedly in the arena had the optimal Soul Ring Configuration.
Without the optimal configuration, they couldn't win many matches.
He stomped off the ground and charged straight toward Su Ming, accompanied by a heavy whoosh.
Su Ming stood his ground and released his Martial Soul without hesitation!
A pure black Evil Phoenix spread its wings behind him, cutting through the air. The powerful aura it exuded, together with his level-thirty-nine Soul Power, made Tie Lei freeze for a moment.
Three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose from beneath Su Ming's feet.
"Not bad, kid. I underestimated you." Tie Lei's expression darkened a little. He hadn't expected this unassuming kid to have even higher Soul Power than he did.
But he didn't stop moving. So what if Su Ming had higher Soul Power? Countless people had still lost to him!
"First Soul Skill, Explosive Claw!"
Tie Lei used his Soul Skill at once, intending to deal Su Ming a heavy blow!
As Tie Lei charged toward him, the first yellow Soul Ring on Su Ming's body lit up.
"First Soul Skill, Evil Fire Chaos Origin!"
Su Ming swung his right hand. A mass of viscous, pure black Evil Fire shot from his palm and struck the Rock Armor on Tie Lei's chest with pinpoint accuracy.
At first, Tie Lei didn't think much of it. But the next second, his expression changed drastically.
The mass of black Evil Fire didn't explode. Instead, it spread instantly like a parasite clinging to bone.
Tie Lei was horrified to discover that his vaunted Rock Armor had not only failed to block the flames, but the Soul Power inside his body had also begun to be devoured by the black Evil Fire at a terrifying rate.
Su Ming watched in silence, evaluating the devouring power of his first Soul Skill.
Ever since his Martial Soul had fully evolved into the Evil Phoenix, his first Soul Skill had changed along with it.
Before, his Evil Fire had still carried the burning heat of ordinary flames. Now, it had transformed into a cold devouring force!
Once the Evil Fire attached itself to an enemy, it would keep devouring their Soul Power as long as it remained alight!
Su Ming carefully sensed the energy the Evil Fire fed back to him. He could tell that it devoured Soul Power incredibly fast—more than three times faster than before!
He had just used a Soul Skill, and only a few seconds had passed, yet nearly a fifth of the Soul Power spent on that skill had already been replenished.
At this rate, Tie Lei's level-thirty-eight Soul Power would be completely drained in less than three minutes!
He also discovered that the more extreme his Evil attribute became, the stronger the Evil Fire's devouring effect grew!
So this is the improvement that comes from a qualitative change in a Martial Soul?
"Damn it! What the hell is this?!"
Tie Lei roared in agony. He circulated his Soul Power with all his might, trying to shake off the Evil Fire, but the more Soul Power he released, the more fiercely the flames burned.
Seeing that the test had produced the results he expected, Su Ming's dark eyes narrowed, and the second yellow Soul Ring on his body immediately blazed with light.
"Second Soul Skill, Evil Phoenix Falling Feather Kill!"
The pure black Evil Phoenix Martial Soul behind Su Ming abruptly beat its wings.
In an instant, thousands of black feather blades shot toward Tie Lei below like a torrential downpour, blotting out the sky.