A Winning Streak, So What?

In a corner of the crowd, Wang Dong'er removed her hood, her large pink-blue eyes filled with conflicted emotions.

She could not understand why this man would rather come to a place as chaotic as this than attend Shrek Academy, the hall of honor representing soul masters.

What exactly did he mean by "raising monsters, yet not knowing how to teach gods"?

The Iron Soul Arena's waiting area was even more unsightly than outside.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and medicine. More than a dozen soul masters of varying builds were crammed into the narrow room. Some polished their weapons, while others bandaged their wounds. Every face bore a vicious air that warned strangers to stay away.

Yu Chen's arrival instantly drew everyone's attention.

He was too clean.

Clean like a blank sheet of paper tossed into a pile of rags soaked in filthy blood, painfully conspicuous.

"Well, where did this pretty boy come from? Took a wrong turn, did you?" a scar-faced soul master sneered. "The VIP seats are next door. People die here."

"Look at those clothes. He's probably some young master from a great clan looking for thrills. Don't piss yourself later!"

"Hahaha..."

Amid the piercing laughter, a burly man over two meters tall rose to his feet. His knotted muscles were like granite as he blocked Yu Chen's path.

He was like a mountain of flesh, his shadow nearly swallowing Yu Chen whole.

"Kid, I'm your opponent later." The burly man bared a mouthful of yellow teeth, his voice like muffled thunder. "Iron Tower, level thirty-three assault-type Battle Soul Elder. Martial soul: Iron-Arm Bear."

With every sentence, he took another step forward. Two yellow soul rings and one purple soul ring shone around him with oppressive light.

Yu Chen watched him quietly, his expression unchanged.

"Kid, state your name. I don't kill nobodies!" Seeing that Yu Chen remained silent, Iron Tower assumed he had been scared senseless, and his ferocious grin widened.

Yu Chen finally lifted his eyes. His gaze was like that of a god looking down upon a noisy ant.

"I'll give you three seconds. Roll away yourself, or I'll help you roll."

The instant those words fell, the laughter throughout the waiting area abruptly ceased.

Everyone stared at Yu Chen as though he were insane.

A guy who had not even revealed his soul rings dared speak to Iron Tower like that?

"You're courting death!"

Iron Tower flew into a rage, feeling that his dignity had been provoked like never before. With a roar, his thick right arm instantly swelled and became covered in dense brown-black fur. His third soul ring blazed with purple light!

"Third soul skill, Frenzied Heavy Slam!"

He pushed off the ground, making the entire waiting room tremble. His massive bear paw tore through the air with a savage gust as it smashed viciously toward Yu Chen's head!

The strike was immensely powerful, enough to reduce a huge boulder to dust!

The surrounding soul masters seemed already to see the bloody sight of the white-clad youth's brains splattering. Many even revealed cruel smiles.

Yet Yu Chen did not move a single step in the face of that thunderous blow.

He merely raised his right hand casually and lightly flicked his slender index finger.

A tiny, inconspicuous black flame, like the last flicker of a candle in the wind, drifted slowly from his fingertip to meet the raging bear paw.

The flame was too small, too weak. Compared to Iron Tower's overwhelming attack, it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"That's all you've—"

Before Iron Tower could finish his mockery, his pupils suddenly contracted!

The tiny black flame made no sound of collision and stirred not the slightest ripple when it touched his protective soul power.

It simply... silently burned a small hole through the soul power barrier that could withstand a Soul Elder's full-force strike.

As though burning through a thin sheet of paper.

Then, the Black Flame Bullet arrived in an instant and landed on his enormous bear paw.

There was no scream.

No struggle.

Iron Tower's massive body abruptly froze in midair, the vicious grin on his face stiffening. Then, as if all strength had been drained from him, he flew backward with his body charred black and crashed heavily into the wall with a bang, fainting on the spot.

Beginning at the point where his palm had touched the black flame, a charred mark ran through his entire body, as though a bolt of black lightning had burned him from the inside out.

The entire place fell silent.

The soul masters who had been laughing moments ago now stood dumbfounded, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

They had not even seen what had happened.

With one flick of a finger, a level thirty-three Battle Soul Elder was just... gone?

What... what kind of flame was that?

Yu Chen withdrew his finger expressionlessly, as though he had merely flicked away an annoying fly. Without sparing Iron Tower in the corner a glance, he turned and walked out of the waiting area, leaving behind a roomful of petrified soul masters.

On the Soul Arena stage, the host held the list and stammered, "Soul Arena Platform One, Iron Soul Fighter 'Iron Tower' versus Iron Soul Fighter 'Thunder Dragon'! Please have both soul masters come to the sta... Huh? Contestant Iron Tower?"

Before he could finish, he saw the white-clad youth walk onto the Soul Arena stage alone.

"The match... can announce its result now," Yu Chen said blandly.

"Huh? B-but your opponent..."

Just then, two staff members ran out from the waiting area with deathly pale faces and whispered a few words into the host's ear.

The host's face instantly turned as pale as theirs. Even the hand holding the soul tool amplifier trembled, and his eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Yu Chen.

He took a deep breath and announced in a shaking voice, "For this Soul Arena match, contestant Iron Tower... is unable to compete due to unforeseen circumstances... The victor is... Th-Thunder Dragon!"

Whoosh—!

The audience erupted into an uproar, curses and boos rising from every direction.

"What the hell? It ended before they even fought?"

"Refund! Refund!"

However, in a private room within the VIP section, a refined middle-aged teacher dressed in Shrek Academy's dark green uniform narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the calm white-clad figure on the Soul Arena stage.

Another teacher beside him asked in confusion, "Teacher Mu, what is it?"

Teacher Mu did not answer. He only muttered to himself, "One strike... and he crippled a three-ring Soul Elder? And... that aura..."

He paused, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.

"Interesting flames... Go investigate this 'Thunder Dragon.'"

"Next match, Soul Arena Platform Two, 'Ghost Shadow' versus 'Thunder Dragon'!"

The moment the host's voice fell, scattered boos rose from the audience.

"Thunder Dragon again? His opponent never showed up last time. We waited for nothing!"

"I bet he's all show and no substance, only got here through luck!"

Amid the criticism, a thin figure sprang onto the Soul Arena stage like a ghost. He wore tight black clothing and a mask. After his martial soul possessed him, three faint afterimages trailed behind him.