Reputation Emerges!

Bas panted as he stared at Lan Tian. The numbness in his right arm was spreading bit by bit, from his wrist to his elbow, then to his shoulder. Feeling was rapidly fading from his entire arm.

He gritted his teeth and tried to use Soul Power to force the numbness out, but the Numb-Bone Vine juice coating Lan Tian's scalpel had been improved and concentrated by Lan Tian himself. Its effects seeped in far too quickly to be cleared anytime soon.

"You... there's something on your blade?" Bas asked in a muffled voice, his tone full of frustration.

"A scalpel. It stops bleeding and anesthetizes." Lan Tian put the blade away and stood where he was, watching him calmly. "Your right arm can't exert any strength for now. There's no benefit to continuing."

Bas fell silent for three or four breaths. Finally, he took a deep breath and stomped the ground hard. "Fine! I admit defeat!"

He turned and strode off the Soul Arena stage. Though his expression was ugly, his steps remained steady enough.

The audience erupted again. Quite a few people howled as they slapped the railings. A rare sight like a healing-type Soul Master flattening a strength-type Soul Master head-on was more than enough to keep them talking for quite a while.

The host hurriedly announced Lan Tian's victory, then added, "Will Contestant Number Seven, Doctor Lan, continue to the next match? If you're interested, you can sign up immediately!"

Lan Tian raised a hand toward the host. "Sign me up."

When he returned to the preparation area, Xiao Ling was already waiting at the entrance to the passageway with a bright smile. She held another money pouch in her hand, but instead of handing it to Lan Tian right away, she looked him over from head to toe first.

"Doctor Lan, you're amazing! I saw that match clearly. A fighter at Bas's level has been competing in the Great Soul Arena for nearly two years. He's not among the very best, but there really aren't many two-ring Soul Masters who can force him to use two Soul Skills within three moves."

"Good luck. His style just happened to be countered by mine." Lan Tian took the pouch and weighed it in his hand. "How much this time?"

"The audience tips for this match were even higher than the last one. Twenty-one Gold Soul Coins in total."

Xiao Ling flipped open the registration book in her hand and glanced at it. "Also, several groups of spectators are asking when you'll be up again. Do you want me to arrange a slightly stronger opponent? I have a few fairly powerful two-ring Soul Masters available right now. Their best record is twelve wins and two losses—they're all tough customers."

"The stronger, the better." Lan Tian put the pouch into his storage ring. "I'm here to train, not to pick on weaklings. The harder the fight, the more I learn."

Xiao Ling raised her brows, clearly surprised by his answer. She lowered her head and made a few marks in the book. "Understood. Then I'll register you for a stronger two-ring match. Your opponent is called Stone Bear. His martial soul is the Rock-Armored Rhinoceros. He's at the peak of Level 22, with eleven wins and four losses. He's famously tough and thick-skinned, and he specializes in grinding his opponents to death. If you can take him down, you'll become famous today."

"When am I up?"

"In a quarter of an hour. Still Arena C-3. Rest for now."

Lan Tian leaned against the wall of the preparation room and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. Soul Power flowed slowly through his meridians, recovering to roughly ninety percent.

He silently reviewed the entire battle he had just fought against Bas. The other man's strengths, weaknesses, reaction habits, adaptability in battle—every detail rapidly passed through his mind.

Repeatedly summarizing experience was a habit he had formed from fighting Soul Beasts. No battle could be wasted; he had to squeeze value out of every one.

A quarter of an hour passed in an instant.

The arena attendant came to summon him again. When Lan Tian walked out of the tunnel and stepped onto the Soul Arena stage, his opponent was already waiting on the other side.

Stone Bear was more than a size larger than Bas. He stood close to two meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-bodied, with a necklace of beast fangs around his thick neck. The moment he stood on the stage, he looked like a wall.

After merging with his Rock-Armored Rhinoceros martial soul, a layer of grayish-brown keratin emerged over his skin. From a distance, it looked as though he wore natural stone armor. Even the contours of his face had become much heavier.

As usual, the host introduced both fighters. The audience buzzed with discussion again, but this time it was clearly different from the last match.

"This healing-type guy should crash and burn this time, right?"

"Stone Bear is famous for wearing people down."

"Let's see how he breaks that armor."

Many people recognized Stone Bear and began shouting.

Stone Bear himself did not underestimate his opponent. He had clearly heard from the arena attendants about Bas being taken down by Lan Tian. After stepping onstage, he did not rush to fight. Instead, he studied Lan Tian for a while before asking in a muffled voice, "Are you really healing-type?"

"The real deal." Lan Tian revealed his martial soul. A few Blue Silver Grass vines extended from his palm, then withdrew again.

Stone Bear grinned, exposing two rows of rough teeth. "Fine. Then I'll go first."

He moved before his words had even faded. Unlike Bas's explosive rushing style, Stone Bear's steps were heavy and slow, each one planted with immense solidity. His fists were held before his chest to protect his vital points, while Soul Power spread evenly across the keratin layer on his body, stacking his defenses layer upon layer.

He was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he seemed to be compressing Lan Tian's room to move, forcing him step by step toward the edge of the Soul Arena stage.

Lan Tian saw through his intentions. Stone Bear was fighting a battle of attrition, relying on his high defense and endurance to force his opponent into making mistakes under constant pressure or exhausting their Soul Power.

This style worked especially well against impatient people, but against someone like Lan Tian, who was just as capable of keeping his composure, it was far less effective.

Lan Tian was in no rush to clash head-on either. His footwork remained light as he circled about, rapidly adjusting his position within Stone Bear's range of pressure. Every so often, he darted in to test him, landing a punch on the keratin layer.

The feedback against his knuckles felt like striking a thick stone slab, making his fingers tingle faintly. Yet Stone Bear's body did not even bear a mark.

"Your fists aren't hard enough."

Stone Bear chuckled and suddenly spread his arms wide before clapping them together in front of him, trying to seize Lan Tian in a bear hug.

That crushing embrace carried tremendous force. If he got caught in it, it would be difficult to break free through physical strength alone.

Lan Tian nimbly slipped aside, gliding past Stone Bear's left armpit. At the same time, the scalpel in his right hand swept across the man's ribs.

The tip only left a faint white line on the keratin layer. It did not even cut through the surface.

Stone Bear's defense was indeed absurdly thick.

But Lan Tian noticed a detail. When Stone Bear turned, the keratin layer behind his right knee was noticeably thinner than the rest of his body. When that area moved, tiny cracks could even be seen in the armor.

It might have been the result of long-term wear from battle, or perhaps it was an innate weakness of the Rock-Armored Rhinoceros martial soul.

Either way, it was a point he could attack.

As he continued circling, he secretly began laying out Blue Silver Grass vines. Several inconspicuous vines quietly extended through the sand beneath Stone Bear's feet. Without drawing attention, they wound around behind him and wrapped around the backs of his ankles.