Heaven Dou City
He arrived home, pushed open his bedroom door, and plunged headfirst onto the large bed, his consciousness sinking into his mind.
The system panel silently appeared before him, a translucent screen unfolding across his vision.
[Host: Li Hanche] [Age: Six] [Martial Soul: Dark Nether Ice Soul Spear] [Soul Power: Level 17] [Body Tempering: Nine-Turn Tyrant Body Art · First Turn · Copper Skin (Mastery)] [First Soul Skill: Frost Armor] Condenses a layer of frost armor over the entire body. It is not the thick, heavy bone armor found on an Ice-Armored Dire Bear, but a thinner, closer-fitting layer that more closely resembles frost and snow in texture. Thin, yet bitterly cold. Cold enough to freeze stiff any fist or kick that touches it, and make weapons brittle upon contact. If an enemy punched him, their hand would go numb from the cold first. Moreover, this layer of Frost Armor would thicken as his soul power increased and become more solid as his body-tempering realm improved. With the first turn of Copper Skin at mastery, Frost Armor's hardness was already close to that of true ice. Once he reached the second turn, Iron Bones, and the third turn, Silver Blood, even he could not imagine how far this armor's defensive power would grow. [Technique: Frost Heaven Record, a top-tier ice-element technique] Seven Heavens · First Heaven · Frost Condensation (Mastery) Draws the icy chill of heaven and earth into the body and transforms it for personal use. The total amount and quality of soul power increase with one's realm. At the current mastery of the first heaven, the temperature within thirty zhang of the user plummets whenever soul power circulates, and every breath turns to ice. Note: During the journey to the Far North, icy energy entered the body, bringing the first heaven to complete mastery. [Movement Art: Treading Snow Without Trace] Realm: Entering the Hall Tread upon snow without leaving a trace; ride the wind without resisting it. Silent and soundless in short-range shifts and evasions; rides the wind during long-distance sprints. At the current realm, the user's form is like a phantom within thirty paces, making it difficult for ordinary Soul Masters of the same level to catch with the naked eye. When used in conjunction with Mind-Clarity and Nature-Seeing Art, it allows the user to approach at close range without being noticed. [Note: Through repeated tempering in actual combat during the Great Soul Arena winning streak, the realm has naturally risen from Beginner's Insight to Entering the Hall. After equipping the gravity bracelet, movement-art training efficiency has doubled. Breaking through to the mastery realm of "Treading Snow Without Trace" is within reach.] [Mental Cultivation Art: Mind-Clarity and Nature-Seeing Art] [Realm: First Layer · Mind-Clarity (Stable)] [Passive Effect · Mind-Clarity: Automatically activates when the mind is disturbed, keeping the spirit clear. Resistance to illusion-type soul skills doubled.] [Active Perception: Releases spiritual power, covering a radius of thirty zhang. Every movement within the area—breathing, heartbeats, footsteps, killing intent—can be perceived with perfect clarity.] [Derived Eye Art · Frost Eyes: Spiritual power is poured into the eyes, causing the pupils to glow with a faint icy-blue light. Dynamic vision is greatly enhanced, allowing the user to capture subtle movements at high speed. When making eye contact with an opponent at close range, the user can impose an extremely brief mental pressure, causing a momentary daze. The effect diminishes against those with greater spiritual power.] [Note: Mind-Clarity and Nature-Seeing Art has tempered the mind day and night, steadily increasing total spiritual power. The battle of wills against the Ice-Armored Dire Bear in the Far North, the baptism of killing intent in life-and-death battles at the Great Soul Arena, and Sword Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's spiritual-pressure training—under these threefold trials, the realm of "Mind-Clarity" has become completely stable.] [System Evaluation: Six years old, Level 17, a 2,100-year first soul ring. Copper Skin at mastery, Frost Eyes newly awakened, movement art at Entering the Hall. Can crush ordinary Level 30 Soul Masters across levels and contend head-on with Soul Masters above Level 30 who do not possess top-tier Martial Souls. The name "Little Brother Needs More Practice" has begun to spread within a small circle of Heaven Dou City's Great Soul Arena scene. Overall evaluation: Has surpassed the category of "genius" and entered the range of "monster."] [System Note: The transmigrator next door already has a hundred-thousand-year first soul ring. Your 2,100 years only count as lower-middle among monsters. Don't get cocky. Keep training.]
From Level 15 after absorbing his first soul ring in the Far North to Level 17 now, he had gained two levels.
The speed was not particularly fast, but every level had been painstakingly earned through the dual tempering of the Frost Heaven Record and the Nine-Turn Tyrant Body Art.
The solidity of his foundation was unmatched among Soul Masters of the same level.
He closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually steadied.
Tomorrow, the Great Soul Arena.
Little Brother Needs More Practice. It was time to push that name even higher.
On the day of his hundredth victory, the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena personally delivered a bronze Soul Arena badge to the waiting room.
Bronze Soul Arena. Advancing from Iron Soul Arena to Bronze Soul Arena required one hundred victories and one hundred points.
Over the several decades since the Heaven Dou City Great Soul Arena had been established, there had been people who achieved this, but at six years old...
When the manager placed the badge on the table, his hands were still trembling.
Li Hanche picked up the badge, glanced at it, and casually tossed it into his storage Soul Tool alongside the one-million Gold Soul Coin card and the prince's token.
Heaven Dou City was neither too big nor too small. A piece of news only needed half a day to travel from one end of the streets to the other.
A six-year-old child wearing a ghost mask, called "Little Brother Needs More Practice," had won one hundred consecutive matches at the Great Soul Arena and fought his way from Iron Soul Arena to Bronze Soul Arena. The news spread faster than the wind.
In teahouses and taverns, gamblers kept lowering Li Hanche's odds until, eventually, no one was willing to bet on his victory anymore. Even if they won, they would not earn more than a few copper coins.
Some people began betting on how long it would take before he lost. The dates wagered on shifted from next week to next month, then from next month to the month after that, yet no one ever won that bet.
Even more sleepless was another piece of news. Someone had personally seen the ghost-masked child fight a Level 39 Soul Elder on the deathmatch stage for the time it took an incense stick to burn.
Unable to defeat him, the other party had voluntarily conceded.
After that news spread, more than half of those who had originally wanted to challenge him disappeared overnight.
Xue Qinghe heard the news in the imperial study.
He had just returned from the morning court when his personal maidservant bowed and presented him with a confidential report.
He opened it and read through it, his gaze lingering for a long while on the lines mentioning "one hundred consecutive victories," "Bronze Soul Arena," and "defeated a Level 39 Soul Elder."
"Go summon Li Hanche."
By the time Li Hanche entered the prince's study, Xue Qinghe was seated behind his desk, reviewing memorials.
He had already changed out of his crown prince's ceremonial robes into a moon-white robe, his long hair secured with a jade hairpin. He did not look up, as though he had not noticed anyone enter.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Li Hanche walked up to him himself.
"Big Brother."
Xue Qinghe's brush moved across the memorial for a few more strokes before he finally raised his head. His gaze was different from usual—calm in a way that sent chills down one's back.
"You've been showing off too much lately. Go to the academy and settle down for a while."
Li Hanche opened his mouth, intending to say something.
"Big Brother, I need to train—"
Before the words could leave his mouth, he met Xue Qinghe's eyes.
"Oh, understood!"
Seeing his expression of I don't accept this, but I don't dare say it, Xue Qinghe nodded in satisfaction. If she did not show him a little color, he truly would not know his place.
Still, this younger brother she had acknowledged halfway through really was a genius.
Six years old, yet capable of challenging a Level 39 Soul Elder across ranks!
What had she, Qian Renxue, been doing at six? The inheritor of the Angel Martial Soul with surpassing Innate Full Soul Power at Level 20, the most talented individual in Spirit Hall's history, the Pope's...
At six, she could not defeat a Level 39 Soul Elder. That was a fact.
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