Shui Bing'er's First Battle

"Iron Spirit Fighter Ice Phoenix, please proceed to the Eleventh Sub-Arena for your match!"

Upon hearing this, Shui Bing'er immediately rose from the sofa in the waiting area and followed the staff member to the Eleventh Sub-Arena.

Incidentally, while other Soul Masters were fighting, those waiting in the lounge were allowed to watch the matches.

After all, gathering intelligence on one's opponents and devising targeted tactics was also part of Soul Master battles.

Jiang Lan naturally chose to watch.

No matter what, this was Shui Bing'er's first Soul Master battle. He had to offer some support, at least.

Jiang Lan stood as well and closely followed behind Shui Bing'er to the viewing area reserved for competitors at the Eleventh Sub-Arena.

The viewing area overlooked the arena, offering a clear view of the battle stage below.

Though it was only a sub-arena, it was still quite large, with a diameter of twenty meters—ample room for Soul Masters to fight freely.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the Eleventh Sub-Arena had a huge audience, with more than half the seats occupied.

But on second thought, Dragon City was a border town, unlike inland cities. There was little entertainment at night, so watching Soul Masters battle was likely one of the few pastimes available to its commoners. It was only natural for even a sub-arena to draw such a crowd.

On the battle stage, a sweet-looking girl in a knee-length skirt stood at the center. Holding a soul-tool microphone, she announced in a sweet voice, "Dear audience, the fourth one-on-one Soul Master match of the Eleventh Soul Arena is about to begin."

"The two Grand Soul Masters taking the stage are newcomer Ice Phoenix, who possesses the beast spirit Ice Luan, and Battle Soul Master Zhang Han, who possesses the weapon spirit Blood Blade and has already won five consecutive matches!"

"Will Grand Soul Master Zhang Han continue his glory and claim a dazzling fourth consecutive victory? Or will the newly arrived Battle Soul Master Ice Phoenix earn his first win? Let us wait and see! Now, please welcome our two Grand Soul Masters to the stage!"

The girl's sweet voice echoed throughout the sub-arena, thoroughly stirring up the crowd.

However, most of the audience was cheering the name of the girl hosting the match.

Only some of those who had bet on Zhang Han were shouting his name.

Soon, a sturdy young man with an arrogant expression stepped onto the battle stage and waved to the audience.

Looking at the nearly packed stands, Shui Bing'er could not help feeling a little nervous.

Yet when her gaze fell upon that familiar figure in the competitors' viewing area, her nerves quietly eased considerably.

"Hmph, hiding your face like that... are you so ugly that you can't bear to be seen?" Seeing Shui Bing'er in a black robe and mask, Zhang Han could not resist throwing out some pre-match trash talk.

"Haa..." Shui Bing'er slowly exhaled a breath of frigid air, gradually calming herself down.

She knew he was trying to provoke her into revealing an opening during the fight.

Naturally, she would not fall for such a clumsy taunt.

Seeing that Shui Bing'er had not been angered by his trash talk, Zhang Han curled his lip and said no more.

"Both contestants, release your martial spirits!"

Zhang Han raised a hand, and a large blade as red as blood appeared in his grasp. Two hundred-year soul rings slowly rose around him.

Shui Bing'er released her martial spirit as well, completing her martial spirit possession. One yellow and one purple soul ring slowly rose from beneath her feet.

"A thousand-year soul ring!"

"Her second ring is already a thousand years old? How did she do that?"

"Oh my god!"

At the sight of Shui Bing'er's soul rings, the audience erupted in an uproar.

Most commoners in Dragon City could not cultivate, but that did not mean they lacked basic knowledge.

Zhang Han's expression grew extremely grave. The power of a thousand-year soul ring was not something a hundred-year soul ring could compare to.

He had to end this quickly!

The girl hosting the match froze when she saw Shui Bing'er's thousand-year soul ring. Only after someone reminded her did she recover her senses and hurriedly announce:

"The match begins!"

As soon as she finished speaking, wings spread from her back, and she flew straight into the air.

"First Soul Skill, Bloodlust!"

"Second Soul Skill, Fury!"

Zhang Han's first and second soul rings flashed in succession. His eyes instantly turned crimson, and the Blood Blade in his hand grew even redder, as though blood might drip from it.

Hm? Two enhancement soul skills? And one is a berserk-type skill? No wonder he managed five consecutive wins. With the boost of two enhancement soul skills, his strength is already no weaker than that of a low-level Soul Elder, Jiang Lan thought as he watched from the viewing area.

But control-system Soul Masters were precisely the bane of reckless brutes like him.

"Second Soul Skill, Ice Phoenix Staff!" Facing Zhang Han as he charged toward her, Shui Bing'er calmly summoned a two-meter-long staff formed entirely of condensed ice element. Its shaft was flawless white, while an Ice Phoenix with spread wings circled the staff head, its beak guarding a snowflake-like core at the center. The tip resembled two entwined phoenix tail feathers.

Shui Bing'er grasped the Ice Phoenix Staff and gave it a light sweep toward the charging Zhang Han. A bitterly cold wind blew past, and the battle stage froze over at a visible rate, even icing over Zhang Han's feet.

"My god! Ice Phoenix has such powerful ice control! He controlled Zhang Han in a single instant! Can Zhang Han break free from Ice Phoenix's control?" Flying in the air, the girl passionately commentated on the match.

"Hah!" Zhang Han gave a low shout and shattered the thin ice around his feet with soul power, then continued charging toward Shui Bing'er.

"Zhang Han has violently broken through Ice Phoenix's control! How will Ice Phoenix respond now?"

Shui Bing'er raised the Ice Phoenix Staff and pointed it at him from afar. Several ice spikes swiftly formed in midair before shooting toward Zhang Han.

Seeing this, Zhang Han immediately swung the Blood Blade in a series of slashes, shattering every ice spike that flew at him.

"Ice Phoenix has launched another attack, but Zhang Han has broken through them all! Zhang Han is already about to reach Ice Phoenix! Is Ice Phoenix, despite possessing a thousand-year second ring, about to suffer defeat here?" The girl's impassioned voice continued to ring out above the battle stage.

"Get down!" Zhang Han had already rushed before Shui Bing'er and swung the flat of the Blood Blade at her.

"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!" Shui Bing'er held the Ice Phoenix Staff in her hand and lightly tapped its tip against the ground.

The next moment, Zhang Han, who had already reached Shui Bing'er, was instantly frozen inside a huge mass of solid ice.

"Zhang Han has been sealed in ice by Ice Phoenix! Can he break free from Ice Phoenix's control?"

More than ten seconds soon passed, yet Zhang Han remained unable to escape Shui Bing'er's Ice Seal.

"I hereby announce the winner: Ice Phoenix! Record: one win, zero losses!" The girl descended from the air and declared.

"Ice Phoenix!"

"Ice Phoenix!"

Cheers rose from the stands.

Seeing the audience cheering for her, Shui Bing'er felt somewhat excited as well.

No matter how calm, steady, and rational Shui Bing'er was,

she was, at the end of the day, only an eight-year-old child, at an age when vanity ran strong.

"Ice Phoenix, please help thaw Zhang Han," the girl hosting the match said.

Shui Bing'er nodded slightly, then lightly waved the Ice Phoenix Staff in her hand. The solid ice immediately melted into a pool of cold water.

"Ah-choo!" Zhang Han's face had turned blue, and he shivered from the cold. Looking at Shui Bing'er, he hurriedly thanked her. "Thank you for showing mercy."

Shui Bing'er gave a slight nod, then turned and jumped down from the battle stage, heading toward the waiting room.