Soto City Grand Arena

Qingxi took two steps back, dodging Meng Shenji's reaching hand, and retracted the spirit rings manifesting around her.

"My sister is shy. Since you've seen her, I'll take her back to get some sleep." Dugu Yan took Qingxi's hand, bid the three elders farewell, and left.

The room was clean and tidy, decorated primarily in white. Two brand-new school uniforms lay on the white bedsheets, and all sorts of daily necessities were provided.

Dugu Yan placed the school badge on the counter and leaned against the doorframe. "I'm heading off. A teacher will come to pick you up tomorrow morning. The school isn't very strict; if you don't like those classes, you don't have to attend."

"Understood. You should get some rest, too." Qingxi nodded, and she and Dugu Yan exchanged goodnights.

With no one else around, she extinguished the lights, climbed out the window, and left the courtyard.

Under the night sky, streetlamps were set every few meters along the forest path. She followed the mountain trail downward until she finally caught sight of an endless lake.

Under the moonlight, the lake shimmered, reflecting the full moon. Reeds swayed, grass stretched out, and fireflies danced freely.

She followed the wooden bridge to the water's edge. The evening breeze brushed against her cheeks, and her mood remained as calm as the lake's surface.

"A fine place for cultivation..."

She murmured to herself, turned, and walked into the woods. Before long, the sound of trees cracking and falling echoed through the air.

Qingxi carried the trees out of the forest, transformed the Universe Staff into a blade, and chopped the logs into suitable planks. She built a small cabin by the lake and set up a barrier and a Spirit Gathering Array around it so that outsiders would be unable to see the structure.

She practiced the Chaos Art inside the cabin until the sky began to pale, then rose to leave the lake and climbed back over the wall into the dormitory.

She changed into her uniform, and just as she finished tying her hair, a knock sounded at the door.

She opened the door to see a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, clutching a black-bound book, and eyeing her with a scrutinizing gaze. "You're the new student? Come with me."

Qingxi was filled with confusion, but she followed nonetheless.

After walking through a circular, loop-shaped corridor, she saw a white-and-blue building about twenty meters high—magnificent and imposing, yet not lacking in style.

And so, she was scheduled for a full day of cultural studies, art classes, spirit fighting lessons...

By the time classes ended, it was nearly dusk. Dugu Yan was leaning against the doorframe; seeing her emerge, she waved quickly. "How was it?"

"How do you think?" Qingxi gave her a cold look and headed toward the path leading down the mountain to the backyard.

"Don't be upset. I had someone build you a house. If you don't like the classes here, you don't have to go tomorrow."

"Do you really think I'll go again?"

"I don't like them either. I haven't even finished the books you gave me, and the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting aren't for me." Dugu Yan followed closely behind Qingxi.

Most of the students here were nobles. Although it was a Spirit Master Academy, it placed heavy emphasis on cultivating noble etiquette and upbringing.

As they spoke, the two reached the lakeside, and Qingxi stepped into the barrier.

Dugu Yan watched Qingxi vanish before her eyes, guessing it was one of her special formations. She stepped into the barrier, feeling as if she had passed through a screen, and a small wooden cabin appeared before her—the timber looked freshly cut.

Abundant spiritual energy filled the space within the barrier, the Spirit Gathering Array pulsing with endless life.

"Don't disturb me unless it's important." Qingxi sat cross-legged to the side and quickly entered a meditative state.

Seeing such an excellent environment for cultivation, Dugu Yan didn't say anything more. She sat down not far from Qingxi and entered her own meditation.

Another half-month passed. Qingxi awoke from her cultivation, but Dugu Yan was no longer by her side. She checked her cultivation level; she was only one step away from the Division Spirit stage.

Just a moment ago, a terrifying aura in the sky had locked onto her.

Had she not immediately halted her practice and sealed a portion of her cultivation, the heavenly tribulation would surely have descended.

That tribulation, filled with such murderous intent, was unprecedented in its ferocity, leaving her heart palpitating.

Qingxi raised her hand, the Universe Staff appearing in her palm. She sighed, suppressing the urge to continue cultivating her spirit power.

Now was not the time; she had to test the method that person had mentioned.

Calculating the time, the date agreed upon with the Soto City Auction House seemed to be approaching.

She rose, cast a 'Dust Cleansing Art' to refresh her clothes, and left the lakeside.

With half a month remaining, Qingxi did not go to the auction house early, but instead found a place to stay in Soto City.

During this time, she dared not cultivate, as the heavenly tribulation could descend at any moment. She found herself with plenty of leisure, wandering the city until she inadvertently arrived at a vast plaza.

Accompanied by the tolling of a bell, the commoners who had been strolling through the plaza began to run toward a massive, oval-shaped building nearly a hundred meters tall.

"Hurry, the spirit fight is about to start!"

"I heard the Mad Battle Team is appearing tonight. Betting on them is a guaranteed win."

"If we're too slow, we won't get good seats!"

"Spirit fighting?" Qingxi paid the entrance fee and followed the crowd into the Soto City Grand Arena.

Upon entering, the first thing she saw was a massive monument standing in the center of the main hall, engraved with a dense list of names—all spirit masters who had died in the arena.

Qingxi picked up a brochure for the Soto City Grand Arena from the counter.

There were three types of spirit fights here. The first was a standard sparring match between spirit masters, where killing was forbidden. The second was a life-or-death battle, where killing was permitted. The third was a gambling match; the primary rule of a gambling match was that it was a life-or-death battle, with the arena acting as the referee. Both sides would send an equal number of spirit masters to compete. This was the only type of match where betting was allowed, and it typically involved 7 to 10 participants per side.

Spirit fighting formats were divided into one-on-one, two-on-two, and team battles. The arena was split into a main arena and twenty-four branch arenas. Only those with a winning streak of more than five matches and a point total reaching the Silver Spirit Master rank were permitted to compete in the main arena.

Spirit fighters were divided into eight different ranks: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple-Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. The matches utilized a point-based system.

To her surprise, the highest fighting rank currently recorded was only that of a Purple Gold Fighting Master.

However, after reading a small rule regarding the matches, she understood why.

In the Iron Fighting Arena, each victory earns 1 point, while a defeat deducts 1 point; advancing from an Iron Fighting Master to a Bronze Fighting Master requires 100 points. If one achieves a winning streak of more than five matches, each subsequent victory adds 10 points directly. If the winning streak exceeds ten matches, the eleventh victory grants a one-time bonus of 100 points.

Advancing from Bronze to Silver requires 1,000 points, but the base points earned become 10 per win, with 10 points deducted for a loss; the winning streak point ratios remain consistent with the Iron Fighting Arena, and subsequent ranks follow the same logic.

In other words, unless one maintains a winning streak, reaching the next rank is extremely difficult. It essentially takes ten consecutive wins to advance a rank.

Participating in matches also offers additional rewards: each victory in the Iron Fighting Arena awards 10 Gold Soul Coins, 100 in the Bronze Fighting Arena, 500 in the Silver Fighting Arena, 1,000 in the Gold Fighting Arena, 2,000 for Purple Gold, 3,000 for Sapphire, 4,000 for Ruby, and a single match for the highest-ranked Diamond Fighting Master yields 5,000 Gold Soul Coins.

She made a rough calculation; if one were to win consecutively up to the Diamond Fighting Master level, they could earn at least 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, which was no small fortune.

Taking her own Spirit Hall soul master subsidy as a reference, which was 100 Gold Soul Coins per month, it would take six years to accumulate 7,200 Gold Soul Coins, showing just how wealthy the Soto City Fighting Arena truly was.

Of course, she had also acquired a significant amount of money from her previous auctions, but the Mysterious Iron, Lapis Lazuli, and other rare metals, as well as various medicinal herbs she had entrusted Duke Drell to purchase, would also be a considerable expense.

In particular, the thousand-year or ten-thousand-year Soul Awakening Grass or seeds she had asked him to find would be worth as much as a Three Pure Green Spirit Lotus if they were finished products, requiring at least hundreds of millions of Gold Soul Coins.

Qingxi sighed and raised her hand, causing a phantom image of a small, half-green and half-red flower to appear in her palm. Seeing that the flower was nearing maturity and she was about to split her spirit, this true essence had still not yet birthed its own intelligence.

She put the flower away and continued to wander around the Fighting Arena.

After observing a few 1v1 matches in the sub-arenas, she arrived at the team competition area, where two teams were currently engaged in a team battle.

The District Thirteen Fighting Arena was packed with people; at a glance, there were at least ten thousand, and the shouting and cheering were enough to make one's blood boil.

"Let us welcome the Bee King Team to their victory in this fighting match! Take a ten-minute break, Doudou will be right back!" A flying female soul master announced the victory from above the stage.

"Bee King Team! Bee King Team!"

"Bee King, kill them all!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the spectator stands, accompanied by deafening cheers and shouts; it was a carnival for gamblers.

On the arena floor, seven fierce-looking soul masters stepped on the defeated, raised their hands to snap their opponents' necks, and held their fists high to accept the cheers and adulation of the crowd.

Qingxi looked at the people on the arena floor who had already lost their breath and frowned slightly. Such death matches were somewhat cruel; was this what gambling battles were all about?