Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena

Zhang Fei listened and nodded repeatedly, the excitement already rising in his heart.

He certainly knew what the Great Spirit Arena was.

It was a practical combat platform jointly founded by the seven most prestigious spirit master clans on the entire continent, and almost every major city had one.

After registering as a spirit master, one accumulated points through one-on-one, two-on-two, or even team spirit battles, winning gold soul coins and earning corresponding badges.

The badges were divided into eight grades, from lowest to highest: iron, copper, silver, gold, purple-gold, sapphire, ruby, and diamond.

According to the nature and rules of the combat, spirit battles were mainly divided into three categories: exhibition matches, life-and-death matches, and wager matches.

The most common spirit battle was the exhibition match, which focused on sparring and stopped at the point of realization, forbidding killing blows, with the aim of enhancing practical combat experience.

Spirit masters who participated for the purpose of training, like Zhang Fei, generally took part in exhibition matches.

"When are we going?" Zhang Fei asked, eager to try as his eyes shone.

"Finish your morning training first. In the afternoon, go register and sign up for the competition yourself. It won't be over until you get the gold spirit badge."

"Got it!" Without a second word, Zhang Fei turned around and hoisted the stone lock on the ground with one heave.

Strange to say, the stone that had just felt heavy enough to make his shoulders ache now seemed somewhat lighter.

He took a deep breath, straightened his waist, and steadily lifted the stone lock over his head, channeling all that excitement in his heart into his arms.

To be honest, Zhang Fei had long wanted to change opponents.

Sparring every day with two Titled Douluo like She Long and Pufferfish—called sparring, it was actually just getting beaten up.

Zhang Fei was always defending, dodging, getting beaten, getting back up, and getting beaten again.

Constantly facing the crushing suppression of the Titled Douluo level, that utterly hopeless combat from start to finish made him despair of victory, truly grinding down his spirit and nearly shattering his Dao heart.

To be honest, Zhang Fei didn't even know what level he was at among his peers now, and he couldn't wait to test his edge.

As soon as the training ended, Zhang Fei took a cold shower, changed into a clean and crisp black fitted outfit, and rushed out of the Crown Prince's Residence in a flurry.

The afternoon sun was pleasant, and people bustled back and forth along the busiest central street of Heaven Dou City.

Zhang Fei walked with light steps, crossed two long streets, and a building so magnificent it was breathtaking appeared before his eyes.

Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.

It stood in the most bustling central district of Heaven Dou City, covering a vast area. Its exterior resembled a crouching primeval behemoth, with blue-grey giant stones piled into a rounded dome and a tens-of-meter-high arched gate opened wide at the front.

The area in front of the gate was a continuous stream of carriages and horses, exceptionally lively.

There were both aristocratic spirit masters in lavish attire surrounded by retinues, lone wolves full of baleful qi, and even quite a few academy disciples wearing uniform team outfits.

Zhang Fei looked up at the building, his heart involuntarily beating faster.

This was the world of spirit masters.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The lobby was brightly lit and buzzing with voices.

Straight ahead was a long row of reception counters, behind which hung a huge crystal screen rolling with match information, win-loss odds, and brief introductions of popular contenders for today's various spirit battles. Row after row of dense subtitles flipped past, dazzling to behold.

Zhang Fei walked over to a counter with fewer people.

Seated behind the counter was a young female receptionist with a pretty appearance and a professional smile on her face. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Register for spirit battles."

"Alright, please provide your martial spirit, age, Soul Power Level, and pay a registration fee of ten gold soul coins."

Zhang Fei thought about it; his identity and age were already well known in aristocratic circles, so there was nothing to hide. Thus, he replied, "Golden Dragon martial spirit, nine years old, rank-22 assault-system battle spirit master."

He was actually only eight and a half, but rounding up wasn't excessive, right?

Yet even so, upon hearing this, the female receptionist's smile froze on her face, and her fingers holding the pen trembled slightly. "Y-You... what did you say? Nine years old? Rank 22?"

Her voice unconsciously raised a pitch, causing people at several neighboring counters to cast sidelong glances.

"What, is that not allowed?" Zhang Fei raised an eyebrow, fished the black card given by Ning Fengzhi back then out of his bosom, and slapped it on the counter. "Ten gold soul coins, swipe the card."

Recovering her wits, the female receptionist hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, no, it's not that it's not allowed, it's just... please wait a moment!"

She swallowed hard, lowered her head, and registered furiously as the tip of her pen scratched across the paper in a rustling blur.

"Please provide your spirit battle code name."

Zhang Fei pondered for a moment, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc.

"Dragon Travels the World."

"Alright, Mr. Dragon Travels the World. This is your badge. Because this is your first time participating in a spirit battle, the badge grade is the lowest-tier iron spirit badge. Please keep it safe." The female receptionist took out a palm-sized iron badge and handed it over.

Zhang Fei reached out and took it. The badge was iron-grey, carved with an intricate pattern on the front and a series of numbers on the back.

The female receptionist asked, "Do you need to sign up for today's spirit battle?"

"Directly sign up for a one-on-one exhibition match."

"Alright, you have been successfully registered. You can wait for notification in the contestants' lounge; your turn is expected within half an hour."

Zhang Fei nodded, put the iron badge into his storage ring, and turned to walk toward the contestants' lounge.

The contestants' lounge was a circular hall with seats arranged all around, filled with spirit masters waiting to go on stage.

Some closed their eyes to rest, others nervously rubbed their hands, and others still gathered in groups of three or five to discuss tactics in low voices.

Zhang Fei found a corner to sit down and looked around with keen interest.

Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the interior layout of the Great Spirit Arena was visible.

The central area was the main spirit arena, exceeding a hundred meters in diameter, with the ground paved from special dark iron rock—a stage that only spirit masters with silver spirit badges or higher, or immense renown, could ascend to.

Meanwhile, five slightly smaller auxiliary spirit arenas were distributed around it, from which bursts of roars and audience cheers were currently echoing.

He leaned against the back of his chair and waited quietly.

"Mr. Dragon Travels the World, the opponent for your spirit battle has been matched." A staff member walked over respectfully. "It is a spirit master with the Ironback Ape martial spirit, code name Iron Mountain, rank 26, currently on a three-match win streak. Your match will take place in the third auxiliary spirit arena, and it will be your turn next. Please follow me."

Zhang Fei stood up, followed the other person through the long contestant passageway, and arrived at the entrance of an auxiliary spirit arena.

This auxiliary spirit arena was circular, about fifty meters in diameter, with the ground paved from hard bluestone rock.

The surrounding spectator stands extended upward in a ring, pitch-black with people—roughly estimating, there were at least three to four thousand.

"Next, let us invite the two contestants of the seventh one-on-one exhibition match to take the stage!"

A hot-bodied female host holding a sound-amplifying Soul Tool stood in the center of the venue, her voice carrying across the entire arena through the Soul Tool.

"First, it is the spirit master who has already achieved a three-match win streak, Iron Mountain! Martial spirit, Ironback Ape!"

At the other end of the passageway, a burly giant as stalwart as an iron tower strode out.

This person was close to two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick back, and his exposed arms were knotted with muscles.

As he entered, he pounded his chest with both arms, producing a dull roar.

A wave of cheers and whistles rang out from the spectator stands, with quite a few gamblers waving the tickets in their hands and shouting Iron Mountain's name.

"And his opponent is a newcomer making his debut. Please welcome—Dragon Travels the World!"