Competing in Person

Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, Tang San and Xiao Wu headed to the spectator stands and casually picked a few matches to watch.

However, the Soul Master matches on the stages seemed rather dull to Tang San and Xiao Wu.

"Why is this person so stupid? Why is he just standing there like an idiot after using a soul skill?"

Xiao Wu clenched her fists, wearing an expression of frustrated disappointment. She was so anxious that she looked as though she wanted to take control herself.

Nearby, Tang San watched a match on another stage and could not help shaking his head as well.

"This person's talent for combat is far too poor. He has missed so many chances to secure victory for nothing."

For a time, the matches not only failed to entertain or relax them, but instead seemed to be raising their blood pressure.

Why is my face so red? Am I embarrassed?

Oh, so I'm just getting heated. Never mind, then.

Over the five years Tang San and Xiao Wu had studied under Fang Yuan, they had learned not only theoretical knowledge, but also the combat techniques he imparted.

Whenever the two sparred, Fang Yuan would also guide them from the side, occasionally giving them new ideas.

Over those five years, although they had always sparred against each other, Tang San and Xiao Wu had not grown more familiar with one another's fighting styles. Instead, under Fang Yuan's constant instruction, they had become increasingly unfamiliar with each other.

The other's hidden cards grew more numerous, and their own methods of response were no less varied.

As a result, their usual sparring sessions were more like playing a Soulslike game. You never knew whether your opponent's next strike would be fast or slow.

It was precisely Fang Yuan's teaching that had caused Tang San and Xiao Wu's combat abilities to far surpass those of people at the same level.

So much so that watching Soul Master battles now felt more like watching two terrible chess players play.

The longer they watched, the more they felt as though their own skill levels were rapidly declining.

"I can't take it anymore. I can't watch this any longer," Xiao Wu said, shaking her head repeatedly. "If I keep watching, I'm going to forget how to fight."

Tang San also sighed silently. The Soul Masters here not only had poor soul ring configurations, with ten-year soul rings being quite common, but their actual combat ability was poor as well. When they fought, it was like children playing house.

As for himself, not only was his second soul ring already at the thousand-year level, far surpassing his peers, but after his teacher's training, combined with the Tang Sect's secret arts from his previous life, he could basically be called invincible among those of the same rank.

All of this could be said to have been brought about by his teacher.

Only after leaving the umbrella his teacher had held over him did he realize how heavy the rain outside truly was!

"Right!"

Beside him, Xiao Wu's eyes suddenly lit up as she watched the scenes in the Soul Arena.

She turned to Tang San and said excitedly, "Since the people here are so weak, why don't we compete ourselves?

"Being able to fight personally is better than just watching here. And since these people are so bad, we can even earn money if we win."

Xiao Wu's words caught Tang San off guard.

By nature, he did not like stirring up trouble. Competing in an arena was something Tang San almost instinctively wanted to refuse.

However, when he recalled what his teacher had said that morning—that a man could not do without opponents—he hesitated.

Were stage matches not one way to find opponents and temper himself?

Thinking this, Tang San hesitated for a moment before nodding to Xiao Wu. "Alright. Let's go register."

The two arrived at the registration area of the Soto Great Soul Arena. It was a huge stone hall, and the registration procedure was written on the walls in large letters.

To register here, one only needed to fill out an identity information form and pay ten gold soul coins as a registration fee. After that, one could receive an iron Soul Battle badge.

With a Soul Battle badge, one could register to compete in the Soul Arena and be matched against opponents according to rank.

Tang San was currently level thirty, so the opponents he could be matched against were naturally all Great Soul Masters in their twenties.

Among Great Soul Master matches, Tang San's level gave him a considerable advantage. After all, level twenty-one and level thirty both had two rings. If there were not enough opponents at the same level, they could still be matched together.

Compared to him, Xiao Wu's current level of thirty-three seemed to put her at a slight disadvantage in Soul Elder matches.

But Tang San was not worried in the slightest. He often sparred with Xiao Wu, so he naturally knew that her actual combat strength already absolutely exceeded that of opponents she could encounter at this stage.

Thus, the two of them coming to compete at the Great Soul Arena could practically be called smurfing.

If Fang Yuan had not been absent and left the two of them too bored, then out of humanitarian concern, they likely would not normally have chosen to participate in Soul Battles.

The entire Great Soul Arena was divided into twenty-four sub-arenas, and each sub-arena was further divided into different sections based on match type.

Therefore, every sub-arena was divided into six isolated stages.

Ticket prices differed between the sub-arenas as well. New competitors like Tang San and Xiao Wu were naturally assigned to the area with the cheapest tickets.

Most of the opponents in their area were newcomers as well.

On the way to the waiting area with a Great Soul Arena staff member, Tang San took out two masks from his storage soul tool.

He fastened one over his face and held the other out to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu looked at him somewhat doubtfully. Seeing this, Tang San explained:

"We're both too young, yet you're already a three-ringed Soul Elder, and my soul rings are unusual as well. If we show our true faces, we might attract some trouble. It's better to conceal ourselves."

After hearing Tang San's words, Xiao Wu thought for a moment and nodded.

She took the mask from Tang San's hand and was about to put it on when she frowned.

"Do you only have masks this ugly? I want one shaped like a rabbit."

Tang San was naturally helpless about that. It was not as though he ran a mask wholesale business.

His soul tool only contained a few Old Eight-style masks. They could only provide a little concealment.

After putting on their masks, Tang San and Xiao Wu followed the staff member to the waiting area.

There were quite a few people here, but no one paid the two much attention after seeing them.

Although Tang San and Xiao Wu were not particularly old, they were already tall for their age.

Over the years, Fang Yuan had constantly given the two special meals, often obtaining soul beast meat as supplements. Their nutrition had been thoroughly made up for.

One-on-one Soul Battle matchups were determined by drawing lots. Before long, a staff member signaled to Tang San that it was time for him to enter the stage.

The sub-arena Tang San entered had a diameter of around twenty meters, enough space for all types of Soul Masters to perform at their best.

Scattered across the spectator stands surrounding the stage were some audience members, numbering around a hundred.

On the Soul Battle stage, a middle-aged man dressed in a tailcoat announced loudly, "Next will be the first match of our one-on-one Soul Battles. The two Great Soul Masters entering the stage are Battle Soul Master Tang San, who possesses the Blue Silver Grass martial soul, versus Battle Soul Master Zhu Zhuqing, who possesses the Netherworld Spirit Cat martial soul!"