Roared to Death with One Shout!

Iron Bear looked down at Ning Yuan as he approached, like a bear staring at a rabbit that had wandered into its territory.

He grinned.

Revealing a mouthful of teeth stained yellow with blood.

"Just you?"

Iron Bear's voice rumbled like muffled thunder.

"So scrawny... have you even been weaned yet?"

He circled Ning Yuan once, deliberately gesturing with his thick arm at the difference in their builds.

"Look at you, so tiny. You're like a little bean sprout."

"You should go home and drink some milk."

A burst of laughter erupted from below the stage.

Iron Bear rubbed his hands together, a cruel gleam in his eyes.

"I won't go easy on you in a moment."

"I'll grab your arm first and tear it off bit by bit..."

"Then the other arm."

"Then your legs."

He licked his lips, his gaze assessing Ning Yuan like a piece of meat waiting to be butchered.

"And finally... I'll tear you in half from the middle."

"Got it, bean sprout?"

The audience below grew even more excited at his words.

"Iron Bear! Smash him to pieces!"

"Tear him apart! I want to see blood!!"

"Fuck, rip him to shreds!"

The more everyone around them looked down on Ning Yuan, the happier Hu Liena and the other two became.

Because they had wagered a whole lot of Gold Soul Coins on Ning Yuan winning.

[This guy's so weak, but why is he so confident? He's even more confident than Venom!]

Venom started griping again.

Ning Yuan stood where he was, utterly motionless.

Iron Bear was unnerved by his calmness and spat on the ground.

"Who the hell are you trying to act tough for—"

The host raised a hand and loudly announced, "This death match! Begin!"

As soon as his words fell, the host quickly leaped down from the arena.

Iron Bear immediately summoned his martial soul.

The ground seemed to tremble.

His already burly body swelled another two sizes, arms as thick as tree trunks. A dense layer of brown-black fur burst from beneath his skin, covering his entire body.

His palms grew larger, and his nails became thick and sharp, gleaming with a metallic luster.

Beneath his feet, one white and one yellow soul ring rose up.

The first soul ring lit up.

Iron Bear threw back his head and let out a bear's roar. Blood filled his eyes as the muscles across his body swelled another round, veins writhing across his neck and forehead like earthworms.

Strength Enhancement.

Once it was done.

Iron Bear lowered his head and charged fiercely at Ning Yuan.

Every step he took onto the arena rang out with a dull, trembling boom.

"You can't even run now!"

"Die!!!"

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

In the blink of an eye, Iron Bear had charged before Ning Yuan. His thick arm rose high, five blade-like claws spread open as they came crashing down at Ning Yuan's head...

At that moment, everyone below the stage was certain of it.

The next second, the youth in the black mask would be smashed into pulp.

Just then.

Ning Yuan, who had remained motionless all this time, took a step forward.

Then...

He opened his mouth.

A piercing shriek that tore through eardrums suddenly erupted!

Visible transparent soundwaves swept outward in a fan shape from Ning Yuan, slamming viciously into Iron Bear.

Iron Bear's hand, which was just about to smash Ning Yuan's head apart, froze instantly.

Then, the invisible soundwaves continued to spread, surging toward the surrounding audience seats.

"Ah—!!"

The spectators in the front rows instantly covered their ears and let out agonized screams.

Blood even seeped from the ears of one spectator standing closest to the stage.

The soundwaves made their eardrums throb with pain, as though countless needles were stabbing wildly through their brains.

The clamor of the entire Great Soul Arena was instantly crushed beneath Ning Yuan's shriek.

Everyone clutched their ears, their faces twisted in agony.

On the stage.

Iron Bear still maintained his raised-hand posture.

But he was no longer moving.

His eyes were wide open, his pupils unfocused.

After two breaths.

Carried by the downward momentum of his arm, Iron Bear staggered two steps forward before stopping where he stood.

Then blood simultaneously poured from the seven openings of his face.

His knees gave out, and Iron Bear's enormous body crashed to its knees on the stage.

Thud!

Then, with a bang, he pitched forward onto the ground.

He never moved again.

He was dead.

The entire arena fell silent.

Only the lingering ringing in everyone's ears remained.

Everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the scene on the stage.

A ferocious Soul Master with four consecutive victories had been instantly killed in a single move.

Meanwhile, his opponent in the black mask was still standing where he had been, his feet barely having moved.

Ning Yuan lowered his head and glanced at Iron Bear's corpse on the ground, then tilted his head.

Without even waiting for the referee to announce the result, he clasped his hands behind his head and strolled leisurely toward the contestant passage while humming an unfamiliar tune.

The passive effect of the Soul Devouring Codex activated, absorbing the Soul Power drifting across the arena.

Ning Yuan had used Agony's soundwave attack ability because he had planned it long ago.

It was to keep anyone from recognizing his true identity.

Only after Ning Yuan's figure disappeared into the contestant passage did the first stunned cry finally erupt from the audience:

"Did... did I see that right???"

Then the entire Soul Arena exploded into uproar.

"Fuck, he killed Iron Bear in one move?!"

"What kind of soul skill was that?! No soul ring even lit up?!"

"What kind of monster is he?!"

And in a corner of the audience.

The man who had mocked Ning Yuan earlier was completely dumbfounded.

He had put down everything he owned, and even borrowed three gold coins, all on Iron Bear.

Yet Iron Bear had lost so thoroughly.

His lips trembled, and regret gnawed at his guts.

"Had... had I known..."

"Fuck!"

"Had I known, I should've listened to him and bet on him to win!!!"

He raised his hand and viciously slapped himself across the face.

"Why did I... why did I have to run my mouth?!"

Meanwhile.

Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan stood there holding a pile of betting slips, staring at one another.

"Did you place all the bets?" Xie Yue asked.

Yan nodded and swallowed. "All of them."

"Everything you had?"

"Everything."

The three fell silent for a moment.

Each of them had bet one hundred Gold Soul Coins on Ning Yuan. Based on the odds, they had made a net profit of five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Yan muttered, "This money... was way too easy to make."

A few seconds later.

They burst into a fit of triumphant laughter.

But the people around them, who had lost their bets on this match, shot them disdainful looks, and the three immediately reined themselves in.

On the top floor of the Great Soul Arena, inside a luxuriously furnished office, the lights were dim and yellow.

Li Henian, the person in charge of Spirit City's Great Soul Arena, sat in a wide rattan chair, holding a cup of warm tea as he leisurely blew away the foam floating on top.

He was slightly overweight and wore an expensive silk robe. His brows carried the calmness of someone long accustomed to authority, along with a trace of barely perceptible slyness.

A fifteen-year-old youth stood before the desk.

The youth was tall and sturdy, with features somewhat resembling Li Henian's. He was Li Henian's nephew, Li Ming.

Today, he had changed into a brand-new set of fitted combat clothes, looking neat and energetic.

"Ming'er, are you ready for tomorrow's match?"

Li Henian set down his teacup and looked up at his nephew, his tone carrying the concern and reminders unique to an elder.

Li Ming grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Uncle, don't worry. I'm a level-thirty-five Soul Elder, and all three of my soul rings are the best possible configuration. Taking down those Iron Badge opponents will be easy."

"Don't get careless." Li Henian waved a hand, lowering his voice. "The reward for the Purple Gold Soul Fight is an External Soul Bone. How many eyes in all of Spirit City are fixed on it?"