After several days, the three of them returned to Dragon City and stayed at the same inn again.
Following a brief day of rest, on the evening of the next day.
After dinner, Shui Qinghan brought Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er to the entrance of Dragon City's Great Soul Arena.
As a fortress city on the northern frontier, Dragon City naturally qualified as a main city. Having a Great Soul Arena was nothing unusual.
"Lan'er, Bing'er, you are both Second-Ring Great Soul Masters now. You barely meet the minimum qualifications to participate in Soul Fighting. Therefore, for the next period of time, the two of you must take part in one one-on-one and one two-on-two match every day. Real combat will allow you to quickly familiarize yourselves with and master your newly acquired Soul Skills." Shui Qinghan stopped and spoke calmly.
"You cannot become strong by shutting yourself away."
"Teacher, isn't this a little too early?" Jiang Lan asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, wouldn't it be better to wait until Mom breaks through to Title Rank?" Shui Bing'er nodded in agreement.
Once their Soul Ring configurations were exposed, the secret method of Limit-Break Absorption would inevitably draw the covetous attention of many factions.
Only once Shui Qinghan broke through to Title Rank would she be able to suppress those petty figures with ill intentions.
Even powerful factions such as Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects would have to sit down and negotiate amicably instead of daring to use force.
After all, no faction wanted to face a Titled Douluo who was willing to go down with them.
"Don't worry. The academy has already bought up nearly all the Whale Rubber on the market. Even if the secret of Whale Rubber is exposed, it won't matter. We can use that secret to earn some resources for you instead." Shui Qinghan raised a hand and rubbed their heads, smiling softly.
"Besides, I've prepared things to conceal your identities. Those major factions may not be able to find us anytime soon."
As she spoke, Shui Qinghan took two masks and black robes from her Storage Soul Tool and handed them to Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er.
Jiang Lan reached out and accepted the mask and black robe Shui Qinghan handed him. The mask was a black smiling human face that concealed the entire face. The robe was extremely loose and came with a hood; when worn, it would be difficult to make out the wearer's build or gender.
"You'll handle the Soul Fighting registration yourselves," Shui Qinghan said.
"Yes, Teacher! Mom!" the two replied. They put on their masks and black robes, then entered the Great Soul Arena.
"We're here to register for Soul Fighting." Jiang Lan walked up to the counter, placed twenty Gold Soul Coins on it, deliberately lowered his voice, and spoke.
"Certainly. Please fill out these forms." Seeing Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er in black robes and masks, the arena receptionist was unsurprised as she pulled out two forms.
Jiang Lan picked up one of the forms and gave it a cursory glance. It required information such as name, age, birthplace, and Martial Soul.
"Can we use aliases for our names?" Jiang Lan asked in a lowered voice.
"Yes."
Jiang Lan nodded slightly, looked at his own attire, then wrote down five words with a sweeping stroke: "Mysterious Masked Man."
For his age and birthplace, Jiang Lan casually filled in twelve years old and Dragon City.
As for the Martial Soul section, Jiang Lan did not make something up. Instead, he wrote the name of his Martial Soul—Lord of Tides.
No one would recognize it anyway.
Shui Bing'er glanced at the form Jiang Lan had filled out and followed his example, writing down an alias—Ice Phoenix.
For her age and birthplace, she likewise wrote twelve years old and Dragon City.
As for the Martial Soul section, Shui Bing'er wrote Ice Luan.
The receptionist collected the forms, then took out a white crystal. "Please test your Soul Power."
Jiang Lan nodded, raised his hand, placed it on the Soul Power Testing Crystal, and infused it with Soul Power.
In an instant, the white Soul Power Testing Crystal became as dazzling as a diamond. Intense light filled nearly ninety percent of the crystal.
"Soul Power, Rank 26." The receptionist recorded his Soul Power Level.
After testing his Soul Power, Jiang Lan tossed the Soul Power Testing Crystal to Shui Bing'er beside him.
Shui Bing'er caught it and infused Soul Power into the crystal.
The white Soul Power Testing Crystal immediately lit up with bright white light, filling eighty percent of its space.
"Soul Power, Rank 24." After recording Shui Bing'er's Soul Power Level, the receptionist took out two Iron Soul Fighter Badges and handed them over. "Please keep your Soul Fighter Badges safe. If you lose them, you'll need to register again."
After saying that, the receptionist asked in a businesslike tone:
"Would you two like to register for a match or a death match?"
"A match."
"Very well. Please proceed to the waiting area and wait briefly. The Great Soul Arena will match you with opponents of comparable strength," the receptionist said.
After leaving the one-on-one Soul Fighting area, Jiang Lan brought Shui Bing'er to the two-on-two Soul Fighting area to register.
"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. If you win a match, the two of you will receive a total of ten Gold Soul Coins," the receptionist said.
Jiang Lan took out ten Gold Soul Coins and placed them on the counter.
The receptionist accepted the registration fee and continued, "Please choose a name for your team."
"Let's call it the Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix Team," Jiang Lan said after thinking for a moment.
Jiang Lan had originally planned to call it the Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix Team, but due to internet culture, that name had become a seemingly complimentary term that was actually insulting.
If they used that name, it felt like he was insulting himself, so he simply changed it to Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix.
Fun fact: Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix was not an idiom, merely an internet buzzword. Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix, on the other hand, was a proper idiom.
"Very well, the Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix Team has been registered." As she spoke, the receptionist collected their Iron Soul Fighter Badges and used a Soul Tool to engrave the words "Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix Team" onto them.
"Would you two like to register for a match or a death match?" the receptionist asked after returning their Iron Soul Fighter Badges.
"A match."
"Very well. Please proceed to the waiting area and wait briefly."
After taking their Iron Soul Fighter Badges and leaving, Shui Bing'er reached out and tugged at Jiang Lan's sleeve.
"Little junior brother, what does Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix mean?"
"Crouching Dragon refers to a hidden dragon, while Young Phoenix refers to a young phoenix," Jiang Lan explained.
"So that's what it means. It suits us perfectly." Shui Bing'er smiled.
Laughing and chatting, the two arrived at the waiting area.
The moment Jiang Lan and Shui Bing'er entered, they immediately attracted the attention of the other Soul Masters.
It could not be helped. With both masks and black robes, they were simply too conspicuous.
However, the Soul Masters merely glanced at them a few more times before looking away.
Some Soul Masters participating in Soul Fighting did not wish to reveal their identities or Martial Souls, so concealing their identities was perfectly normal.
After entering the waiting area, the two did not continue talking.
Before long, the voice of a Great Soul Arena staff member came through the Soul Tool broadcast in the waiting area.
"Iron Soul Fighter Ice Phoenix, please proceed to the Eleventh Sub-Arena for your match!"
Before you continue