Gold Badge Registration, the Name Earth Tiger

After the team match ended, everyone rested in the waiting area.

Ma Hongjun sprawled across a bench, rubbing the singed ends of his hair. Oscar leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, while Ning Rongrong fanned herself with a little fan and chatted idly with Xiao Wu.

Tang San sat in a corner reviewing the team battle they had just fought. Zhu Zhuqing stood by the window, silently gazing toward the arena, while Dai Mubai leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, occasionally glancing at Zhu Zhuqing's profile.

Yun Tian checked the time. There was still nearly two hours before the next team match.

He stood up and dusted off his clothes.

"I'm going to fight a solo match. I'll be back soon."

Xiao Wu looked up at him. "Brother Yun, didn't you not register earlier?"

"I'll register now." Yun Tian waved a hand and turned to leave the waiting area.

The Shrek Seven Monsters' waiting area was located midway down the backstage corridor of the Soul Arena. The registration desk was just past two passageways ahead.

Yun Tian walked down the corridor for about two minutes, turned a corner, and saw the long row of counters.

Several people were lined up at the solo match registration windows for the afternoon matches. Most were young Soul Masters in their early twenties, looking down at the match sheets in their hands with varying expressions.

Yun Tian did not get in line.

He walked straight to the counter and placed his identity token and badge on the countertop.

The person in charge of registration was a young woman in her twenties with short hair cut to her ears, dressed in the Soul Arena's standard uniform. She was looking through a stack of forms with her head lowered.

She casually reached out for the badge, then her whole body suddenly froze.

Golden light reflected from the countertop into her eyes, making her blink instinctively.

The next second, she saw the lettering and patterns engraved on the badge clearly. The forms in her hand dropped onto the counter with a slap.

"A... a Gold Soul Badge?!"

Her voice was not loud, but it was enough to make the staff at several nearby windows and the Soul Masters waiting to register turn their heads at once.

Their gazes all landed on the brown-haired boy standing before the counter. He looked only twelve or thirteen, wearing Shrek Academy's dark green uniform, his expression as calm as if he were buying a meat bun rather than presenting a golden badge that most Soul Masters would never obtain in their entire lives.

The short-haired woman's lips trembled. She hurriedly stood up, held the badge in both hands, and examined it again carefully to make sure her eyes had not deceived her.

Then she looked up at Yun Tian, her voice carrying a respect that had been utterly absent before. "Please... please wait a moment. I'll go get the supervisor."

She hurried away from the counter, heading toward the offices deeper backstage.

Yun Tian leaned against the counter as he waited, his hands in his pockets, completely ignoring the curious and astonished looks around him.

He could feel several pairs of eyes sizing him up, accompanied by quiet murmurs.

"A Gold Soul Badge at that age?"

"Could it be fake?"

"Shrek Academy? Never heard of it."

About three minutes later, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

A slightly plump middle-aged man in a dark gray robe strode over. His temples were streaked with gray, his complexion rosy, and a gilded badge hung from his waist. At a glance, he was clearly someone of standing within the Soul Arena.

The short-haired woman followed behind him, pointing at Yun Tian before the counter with an awed expression.

After approaching, the middle-aged man first looked Yun Tian over, then turned his gaze to the Gold Soul Badge on the counter.

He picked it up and examined it carefully for several breaths, then flipped it over to inspect the serial number and official seal on the back. The suspicion on his face that it might be counterfeit gradually disappeared.

"Earth Tiger." He suddenly spoke, his voice low but carrying a tone of certainty. "You're that Earth Tiger."

Yun Tian raised an eyebrow.

He had not expected this supervisor to call out his alias directly.

He had indeed used the name "Earth Tiger" while fighting Soul Battles around the world, but most of those matches had been in different towns and cities. He never stayed in one place for long. By all rights, a Soul Arena in a small place like Soto City should not have identified him so quickly.

"You know me?"

The supervisor smiled and respectfully pushed the Gold Soul Badge back before Yun Tian. "Three years ago, at the Gold Soul Challenge in the southern district of Heaven Dou City, a level-thirty Soul Elder challenged three four-ring Soul Ancestors across levels and won four matches in a row. You used an earth-element armor Martial Soul, under the alias 'Earth Tiger.' Our Soto City Soul Arena's chief referee happened to be among the spectators that day. After returning, he spoke about that battle three times in a senior staff meeting."

Yun Tian thought back. He had indeed fought a match in Heaven Dou City three years ago. He had only recently broken through level thirty at the time and was testing the combat effectiveness of the new Soul Skill that Earth Tiger Armor had gained through fusion.

He had not expected that Soul Battle's impact to have reached Soto City.

"That was me." He did not deny it.

The supervisor took a deep breath, and the courtesy in his eyes turned into genuine respect.

The Gold Soul Badge alone was shocking enough, but there was no shortage of Gold Soul Badge holders who had accumulated their achievements through time and resources.

But Earth Tiger, who had been a level-thirty Soul Elder and defeated four-ring Soul Ancestors across levels four times in a row, was different.

Records of battles that crossed such a gap would be specially marked in the Soul Arena archives. They belonged on the dangerous list of those whose "combat power far exceeded their current level."

"What do you plan to—"

"I'm registering for a solo match." Yun Tian put away his badge, his tone casual. "A cross-level match. I'm a four-ring Soul Ancestor registering for a five-ring Soul King match."

The supervisor's pupils contracted.

He had been a Soul Arena supervisor for over twenty years and had seen countless overconfident young people, but someone who, as a four-ring Soul Ancestor, voluntarily requested to challenge a five-ring Soul King was something Soto City's level of Soul Arena might not see even once in several years.

"Are you sure? Five-ring Soul Kings are all veteran Soul Masters in their forties or fifties, with extensive experience."

"I'm sure." Yun Tian cut him off. "The sooner, the better. I don't have much time today."

The supervisor fell silent for two seconds, then nodded. Turning to the short-haired woman, he instructed, "Check for an open match this afternoon. Five-ring Soul King level. Find an opponent with above-average combat strength. Shrek's Earth Tiger, cross-level challenge, scheduled for Arena Two in one hour."

The short-haired woman agreed repeatedly and hurried off.

The supervisor turned back to Yun Tian. After hesitating, he still asked one more question. "That alias of yours, 'Earth Tiger'... the rumors outside are rather exaggerated. They say your armor's defense is invincible among those of the same rank. Can you let us see it for ourselves today?"

The corners of Yun Tian's mouth lifted slightly. He picked up the golden badge from the counter and tucked it into his clothes. "You'll know when you see it."

He turned and headed back toward the waiting area. The looks gathering around the counter had not dispersed yet, but the murmurs had already dropped several notches.

The Shrek group sitting in the waiting area still had no idea what had happened, except for Tang San and Xiao Wu.

The two exchanged a glance and read the same thought in each other's eyes: Brother Yun was about to make a big scene again.