Soto City Grand Arena

Qingxi took two steps back, dodging Meng Shenji's outstretched hand. The Soul Rings around her also vanished.

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

The room was clean and tidy, decorated mostly in white. Two brand-new uniforms lay on the white bedsheets, and every sort of daily necessity had been provided.

Dugu Yan set the school badge on the counter and leaned against the doorframe. "I'll be off. Also, a teacher will come to get you tomorrow morning. The school isn't too strict, so if you don't like those classes, you don't have to attend."

"Mm, you should get some rest too." Qingxi nodded, and she and Dugu Yan wished each other good night.

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

Under the night sky, streetlamps stood every few meters along the forest path. She followed the mountain trail down until, at last, she saw a boundless lake.

Beneath the moonlight, the lake shimmered, reflecting a full moon. Reeds swayed, grass covered the shore, and fireflies danced freely through the air.

She crossed the wooden bridge and came to the lakeshore. The evening breeze brushed her cheeks, and her heart was as calm as the water.

"This is a good place to cultivate..."

She murmured softly, then turned and entered the woods. Before long, the sound of trees crashing to the ground rang out.

Qingxi emerged from the woods carrying a tree. The Universe Staff transformed into a blade, and she chopped the trunk into suitable planks. She built a small wooden cabin by the lake, then set up a barrier and a spirit-gathering formation around it so outsiders couldn't see the cabin.

She cultivated the Chaos Art inside until dawn began to break. Only then did she rise, leave the lakeside, and climb back over the wall into her dormitory.

She changed into her uniform and had just finished tying up her hair when someone knocked at the door.

When she opened it, she saw a middle-aged woman wearing glasses and holding a black-covered book. The woman gave her an appraising look. "You're the new student? Come with me."

Qingxi was full of questions, but she followed anyway.

After they passed through a curved, loop-shaped corridor, she saw a white-and-blue building about twenty meters tall, imposing and grand without losing its elegance.

Then she was made to sit through a full day of cultural studies, art, Soul Fighting...

Classes ended near dusk. Dugu Yan was leaning against the doorway, and when she saw Qingxi come out, she quickly waved. "How was it?"

"What do you think?" Qingxi gave her a cool look and headed for the path down the hill behind the dormitory.

"Don't be upset. I found someone to build you a house. If you don't like the classes here, you can skip them tomorrow."

"Do you think I'd go back?"

"I don't like them either. I still haven't finished the books you gave me, and music, chess, calligraphy, and painting aren't my thing." Dugu Yan followed close behind Qingxi.

Most of the students here were nobles. Although it was a Soul Master Academy, it also placed great emphasis on cultivating noble manners and decorum.

As they spoke, the two had already reached the lakeshore. Qingxi stepped through the barrier.

Dugu Yan watched Qingxi disappear before her eyes and guessed it was one of her special formations. She stepped through the barrier herself, as though passing through a screen. A small wooden cabin appeared before her; judging by the timber, it had only just been built.

Rich spiritual energy filled the space within the barrier, and the spirit-gathering formation flowed on without end.

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

With such an excellent cultivation environment, Dugu Yan had nothing more to say. She sat down a short distance from Qingxi, crossed her legs, and entered meditation.

Another half month passed. When Qingxi awoke from cultivation, Dugu Yan was no longer beside her. She checked her cultivation level; she was only one step away from the Soul Separation stage.

Just moments ago, a terrifying aura from the sky had seemed to lock onto her.

If she hadn't hurriedly stopped cultivating and sealed part of her power, the heavenly tribulation might already have descended.

That tribulation had been murderous and fiercer than any she had ever faced. She couldn't help feeling a shiver of dread.

Qingxi raised her hand, and the Universe Staff appeared in her palm. She sighed, suppressing her desire to cultivate Soul Power.

The time wasn't right yet. She had to test the method that person had told her about.

By her reckoning, the agreed-upon date with the Suotuo City Auction House was fast approaching.

She rose and formed a Dust Cleansing Art hand seal, refreshing her clothes in an instant, then left the lakeside.

There was still half a month to go. Qingxi didn't head to the auction house early, but instead found a place to stay in Suotuo City.

During that time, she didn't dare cultivate either, since the heavenly tribulation could descend at any moment. With nothing else to do, she wandered around the city and eventually found herself at a vast plaza.

At the sound of a bell, the commoners who had been strolling around the plaza hurried toward a building: a towering, oval structure nearly a hundred meters high and covering an immense area.

"Hurry up, the Soul Fighting match is about to start."

"I heard the Mad Battle Team is competing tonight. Bet on them and you're sure to win."

"If we're late, we won't get good seats."

"Soul Fighting?" Qingxi paid the admission fee and followed the crowd into the Soto City Grand Arena.

Inside the arena, the first thing she saw was a huge memorial stele standing in the middle of the main hall. It was covered in densely carved names, all of Soul Masters who had died in the arena.

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

There were three types of Soul Fighting here. The first was an ordinary sparring match between Soul Masters, in which killing was forbidden. The second was a fight to the death, where killing was allowed. The third was a betting match. These were always fights to the death, with the arena acting as referee. Both sides sent out the same number of Soul Masters to compete, and these were the only matches on which spectators could place bets. Teams usually consisted of seven to ten fighters.

Matches came in one-on-one, two-on-two, and team formats. The arena had a main venue and twenty-four branch arenas. Only Soul Masters with more than five consecutive wins and Silver Soul Fighter rank could compete in the main venue.

Soul Fighters had eight different ranks: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. The matches used a points system.

To her surprise, the highest recorded rank so far was only Purple Gold Soul Fighter.

But after she took a closer look at the rules, she understood why.

At the Iron Fighting Arena, each win earned one point, while a loss cost one point. It took 100 points to advance from Iron to Bronze. If a fighter won more than five matches in a row, each subsequent consecutive win would earn ten points. After more than ten consecutive wins, a victory in the eleventh match would award 100 points at once.

Advancing from Bronze to Iron required 1,000 points, but the base points awarded rose to ten, and a loss cost ten points. The bonus for consecutive wins followed the same ratio as in the Iron Fighting Arena, and the same pattern applied to the higher ranks.

In other words, unless you kept winning, reaching the next rank was extremely difficult. It took almost ten consecutive wins to advance a single rank.

Competitors also received extra rewards. Each win at the Iron Fighting Arena earned ten Gold Soul Coins; at the Bronze Fighting Arena, 100; at the Silver Fighting Arena, 500; at the Gold Fighting Arena, 1,000; at Purple Gold, 2,000; at Sapphire, 3,000; at Ruby, 4,000; and at the highest rank, Diamond Soul Fighter, 5,000 Gold Soul Coins per match.

She made a rough calculation. If she kept winning until she reached Diamond Soul Fighter, she could earn at least 100,000 Gold Soul Coins—a considerable fortune.

For comparison, her Soul Master subsidy from Spirit Hall was 100 Gold Soul Coins a month. In six years, that came to only 7,200 Gold Soul Coins. The Suotuo City Soul Fighting Arena was clearly rolling in money.

Of course, she had made plenty from her earlier auction too. But the Mysterious Iron, Lapis Lazuli, and other rare metals she'd asked Duke Drell to purchase for her, along with the various herbs, would also cost a small fortune.

Especially the thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Soul Awakening Grass, or its seeds, that she'd asked him to look for. A mature plant would be worth as much as a Three Pure Green Spirit Lotus, costing at least a hundred million Gold Soul Coins.

Qingxi sighed and raised her hand. The phantom image of a small flower, half green and half red, appeared in her palm. The flower was nearly mature, and she was about to enter the Soul Separation stage, yet this True Spirit still hadn't developed a mind of its own.

She put the flower away and continued wandering around the arena.

After watching several one-on-one matches in the branch arenas, she made her way to the team-match area. At that moment, two teams were fighting a team Soul Fighting match.

District Thirteen's arena was packed. At a glance, there were at least ten thousand people. The cheers and roars made the blood surge.

"Let's congratulate the Bee King Team on winning this Soul Fighting match! We'll take a ten-minute break. Doudou will be right back!" A female Soul Master with flight abilities announced the results from above the stage.

"Bee King Team! Bee King Team!"

"Bee King, kill them all!!"

The audience applauded like thunder. Their deafening cheers and shouts turned the match into a revel for gamblers.

On the arena floor, seven ferocious-looking Soul Masters stood over the defeated. They snapped their opponents' necks with a twist of their hands, then raised their fists to bask in the crowd's cheers and praise.

Qingxi looked at the lifeless fighters on the arena floor and frowned slightly. There was something cruel about this kind of fight to the death. So this was a betting match?