Night fell.
Li Changsheng lay on the bed, arms and legs spread wide, his gaze calm.
All around him, walls built from piles of books boxed him in completely.
The Soul Guidance Lamp's light swayed gracefully, leaving half the room in shadow as it fell across one side of Li Changsheng's face.
"So boring..."
In all his ten thousand years, Li Changsheng had never felt this bored.
Before awakening his Martial Soul, he'd had no choice but to read books. He'd brought things like Go from his past life into this world, taught others the rules, and then played against himself.
Later, everyone he'd taught had died, and he'd lost the desire to communicate with anyone. From then on, he stayed home, reading books every day.
After that, the advent of soul master newspapers let Li Changsheng learn about the state of the continent without ever leaving home.
Now he had a Martial Soul, and he was already a One-Ring Soul Master.
Why did everything feel so dull?
No, it wasn't that everything was dull. Li Changsheng had simply stayed cooped up for too long, and his thoughts had grown somewhat numb.
<Notice. You might as well go to the Soul Fighting Arena and stretch your limbs.> <Notice. Or continue cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.>
The mechanical voice of the God of Wisdom always sounded at just the right moment.
Li Changsheng froze for a moment, then abruptly sat up as if he'd been at death's door and suddenly jolted awake.
The walls of books around him came crashing down, scattering across the floor and beneath the bed.
Thankfully, this room was on the ground floor. Otherwise, after all these days, Li Changsheng would probably have been kicked out already.
But then Li Changsheng suddenly thought of a question:
"Can a One-Ring Soul Master compete in the Soul Fighting Arena?"
The answer was yes!
A ten thousand years ago, of course not.
It was still quite rare now, but the Soul Fighting Arenas in bustling cities had developed a competition called the Exchange Battle.
It was open only to One-Ring and Two-Ring Soul Masters, and only students from Soul Master Academies could participate.
In this era, if academy students wanted to fight one another, they couldn't just find an empty patch of ground, take their stances, and start swinging. That was far too likely to end in disaster.
Gradually, many Soul Fighting Arenas began setting up special platforms exclusively for students from Junior and Intermediate Soul Master Academies.
All they had to do was pay a little money, and a dedicated referee would be provided, greatly improving their safety.
The nearest city to Spirit Soul City was Nuoding City.
Nuoding City had no Soul Fighting Arena!
Yet Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy, in Nuoding City, had plenty of soul masters.
Where there were people, friction was bound to arise—especially among proud soul masters.
So many students from Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy came to Spirit Soul City to fight.
Of course, only a small portion did so, and they tended to be the sort who were especially afraid of getting hurt.
Although students were strictly forbidden from fighting among themselves, as long as nobody died, it generally wasn't a serious problem. After all, there was such a thing as sparring.
But what if their opponent went for the kill?
There were plenty of soul masters who sounded nicer than anyone else, yet struck harder and dirtier than the rest.
At the same time, many soul master students came here to hone themselves through actual combat.
Even children of only a few years old loved to fight.
A large part of that was due to Shrek Academy.
Over these ten thousand years, Shrek Academy's school rules had become something many people believed in.
Actual combat was the best way to test one's abilities.
And that was indeed true.
If not for the advent of Soul Tools, which had gradually blurred the limitations of combat between soul masters, the situation today would probably have been that Battle Soul Masters grew more and more powerful while support soul masters became increasingly insignificant.
Li Changsheng smiled faintly. Using his Second Martial Soul to beat up some little kids seemed like a pretty good idea.
Besides, he'd always wanted to stand in the Soul Fighting Arena and fight for real.
Once the thought came to him, he acted on it.
After all, there were still three days before he had to go to Shrek Pre-Academy.
Li Changsheng had awakened his Martial Soul. He didn't want to stay cooped up in his hotel room, bored out of his mind.
After leaving the hotel,
Li Changsheng spent some soul coins at a roadside stall to buy a mask that completely concealed his face.
Then, before entering the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena, he put it on.
Nobody seemed surprised.
Many people, like Li Changsheng, put on masks before entering the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena to hide their faces.
Among them, he could even see some children about his own height.
As he passed the Sea God Awakening Hall, the Martial Soul Awakenings were still underway, though they seemed to be nearing the end.
Li Changsheng reached the registration desk.
He took out ten Gold Soul Coins and handed them to the staff member.
The staff member only glanced at Li Changsheng, confirmed the fee, and handed him a form to fill out. It asked for his name, age, birthplace, and Martial Soul. This was just like ten thousand years ago; nothing had changed.
Li Changsheng took the form and quickly filled it out.
He wrote that he was seven years old.
He did it to throw people off.
As for his name, he didn't write Li Changsheng. Instead, he wrote the three characters for "Nameless."
Of course, Li Changsheng only considered the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena a game. A game that cost ten Gold Soul Coins. He'd be leaving in three days, and if he ever got the chance to fight in an arena elsewhere, he could register again then.
The staff member then brought out a black ball for testing Soul Power.
Unlike the one Su Xinhe had used, this black ball was crudely made, like a Soul Power testing tool with only its core engraved.
"What's my Soul Power Level?"
Li Changsheng pressed his hand against the black ball.
A chill washed over him.
He felt the ebb and flow of the inner power from the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
In the blink of an eye, the Soul Power test was over.
"Thirteen!"
Li Changsheng stared eagerly at the Soul Power Level displayed on the black ball.
After absorbing his Soul Ring, his Soul Power had leaped straight from Level Ten to Level Thirteen!
A three-level leap was quite impressive.
But Li Changsheng wasn't stunned for long.
I, Li Changsheng, am a genius boy of ten thousand years! A mere three-level leap is nothing. Don't be so surprised.
"Given your age... are you here to participate in the Exchange Battle?"
The staff member took Li Changsheng's completed form and gave him a calm once-over.
Li Changsheng nodded. "That's right."
"Then you need to write down your academy." The staff member pointed to a separate field beside the name section, one that had apparently been added specifically for this.
Academy:
Li Changsheng took the form back and froze for a moment, then wrote down Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy.
It wasn't as if anyone would check.
The staff member then handed Li Changsheng an iron badge.
This was the Iron Soul Fighting Badge.
The Soul Fighting Arena had barely changed in ten thousand years, and its ranking system was still the same.
Afterward, Li Changsheng took the Iron Soul Fighting Badge and entered the waiting area.
In the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena, soul masters could be seen in action on many platforms.
But most were Soul Elders, and the place wasn't nearly as lively as the Exchange Battle for the geniuses at the Pre-Education Academy had been.
Of course, the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony still underway at the Sea God Awakening Hall had something to do with it.
He entered the waiting area.
It was extremely luxurious, hardly any different from those private rooms.
Many soul masters were sitting on leather sofas, chatting with one another.
When Li Changsheng entered, they only glanced up at him. They showed little reaction, as if they didn't think much of him.
Li Changsheng also spotted a child who was a soul master, still wearing a uniform. He seemed to be from Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy.
Li Changsheng found a seat and sat down by himself.
Then he watched a Soul Fighting match taking place beneath the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, waiting for his turn.
About five minutes later, Li Changsheng heard an announcement, accompanied by a projection on the Soul Power screen.
"Nameless, from Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy, and Wang Hehe, also from Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy, please proceed to the 1084 Soul Fighting Platform for a One-Ring Soul Master Exchange Battle."
At the announcement, Li Changsheng stood up. Across the room, among the students from Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy, a slightly chubby boy stood up too.
He wasn't wearing a mask. His pudgy face made his age obvious.
He looked about eleven or twelve, a head taller than Li Changsheng.
Wang Hehe spotted Li Changsheng as well.
His enormous eyes, like a tiger's, flashed with a glint. Then, with the heavy tread of a tiger, he strode out, each step seeming to stir up a gust of wind.
Li Changsheng wore a mask, his expression beneath it as calm as still water. His lips barely moved, as if he were saying:
"Goodness, lucky you didn't provoke me. You've managed to keep your life..."
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