Three years later.
Suotuo City Soul Arena.
Duan Yu stood in the highest-class private room of the Soul Arena, looking down over the entire venue.
Over the past three years, Duan Yu had fought 587 matches here without a single defeat.
He had also risen from the initial Iron Badge all the way to the highest-ranking Purple-Gold Badge.
The name "Kong Ming" had thoroughly resounded throughout the Suotuo City Soul Arena over these three years.
Quite a few people had come to challenge him after hearing his name, but without exception, all of them had lost before Kong Ming.
Today was his final match here. Once it ended, he did not plan to keep fighting.
Honestly, every match was more or less the same. There simply were no opponents worthy of making him go all out.
When he heard the host call his name, silver light flashed, and he instantly appeared on the competition stage.
The host had long since grown accustomed to this sort of thing.
"Kong Ming" was the Soul Arena's most mysterious contestant. It was not only his strength—even now, no one could figure out his abilities.
As "Kong Ming" arrived, the audience immediately erupted.
"Ahhh, it's Kong Ming! This match is in the bag!"
"For sure. I heard Kong Ming won't fight anymore after this match. I just wonder who the unlucky guy is."
"I know this one. It seems to be that blond guy."
"What blond guy? That's the Evil-Eyed White Tiger."
That was right. The one fighting Duan Yu in this Soul Arena match was Shrek Academy's Dai Mubai.
Seeing that the atmosphere had already been worked up, the host immediately announced, "The Soul Battle begins!"
Dai Mubai had spent the past year frequenting the Suotuo City Soul Arena and had long heard of this "Kong Ming."
As soon as the match began, Dai Mubai let out a roar, released his Martial Soul, and charged at Duan Yu.
At the same time, the yellow century-old soul ring beneath his feet lit up.
"First Soul Skill, White Tiger Body Barrier!"
Dai Mubai's physical strength had already increased after he released his White Tiger Martial Soul.
With the effects of White Tiger Body Barrier, Dai Mubai's burly body swelled further, his muscles bulged, and his tiger claws grew larger as well.
He knew full well how powerful "Kong Ming" was. If he wanted to win this match, he could only unleash everything he had and search for the slightest opening.
Looking at Dai Mubai after his White Tiger Martial Soul Possession, Duan Yu's lips curled upward unconsciously. Another beast Martial Soul.
Duan Yu released his Martial Soul. A clear dragon's roar rang out as usual, instantly suppressing Dai Mubai's Evil-Eyed White Tiger.
Dai Mubai hurriedly suppressed the unease deep within his Martial Soul before barely managing to stabilize himself.
Although he had released his Martial Soul, Duan Yu hid his one yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings within space, keeping them from the crowd's sight.
"Kong Ming, aren't you going to use a soul skill?"
Seeing that Kong Ming had only released his Martial Soul and still refused to use any soul skills, Dai Mubai immediately grew furious.
"Kong Ming, you'll pay for underestimating me."
With that, Dai Mubai swung a claw straight at Kong Ming.
A flash of silver passed through Duan Yu's eyes. A mere Evil-Eyed White Tiger dared to clash head-on with the Spatial Dragon King? It truly did not know its place.
Spatial Dragon Claws covered Duan Yu's hands. Without dodging or evading, he met the attack directly.
The instant they collided, Dai Mubai felt how troublesome his opponent was. He was already a level 28 Soul Elder.
With the enhancement of White Tiger Body Barrier, he could even fight an ordinary Three-Ring Soul Venerable.
But he did not know that Kong Ming was not a Three-Ring Soul Venerable at all, but a genuine Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
Facing Kong Ming's pair of dragon claws, he actually felt immense pressure. Even the surrounding space seemed to reject him.
This is bad.
Dai Mubai was stunned. He did not dare remain locked in a struggle with Duan Yu, and his second soul ring lit up without hesitation. Intense white light condensed into a beam and shot toward Duan Yu.
At the same time, countless spatial cracks rapidly formed under Duan Yu's control and rushed at Dai Mubai, colliding with that beam of light.
If Dai Mubai had been even a little slower, he would have been drawn into the spatial cracks and directly lost his ability to fight.
Duan Yu seemed to have anticipated Dai Mubai's response long ago. With a sway of his body, waves of dragon roars echoed through the arena, forcefully tearing open countless more spatial cracks.
Duan Yu raised a hand and pointed. Countless spatial elements gathered at his index finger.
A silver ray flashed through the air and shot straight toward Dai Mubai.
Even from far away, Dai Mubai could sense the terror of that finger strike.
Just as Dai Mubai wanted to retreat, he discovered that countless spatial cracks had already surrounded him. There was nowhere to retreat.
Seeing that he could not evade it, Dai Mubai took a deep breath and mobilized all his Soul Power, intending to withstand the attack head-on.
Yet the instant he came into contact with the silver light, the spatial cracks surrounding him suddenly erupted. Layer upon layer of space overlapped, forming a terrifying spatial storm.
To outsiders, this silver storm was breathtakingly magnificent, beautiful beyond compare.
But only Dai Mubai, trapped within that silver storm, understood its terror. It was nothing less than a thorned rose.
In only an instant, he felt countless spatial elements slicing through his body.
After enduring the grand baptism of the silver storm for over ten seconds, Dai Mubai could no longer hold on and collapsed straight to the ground.
The victor had been decided.
The host seemed to have expected this result. He took out a prepared script in advance and congratulated him.
"Congratulations to Kong Ming for winning once again! Kong Ming has now achieved 588 consecutive victories, ranking first in the Suotuo City Soul Arena!"
Although everyone in the audience had already known that Kong Ming would likely win this match as he always did,
they were still shocked and conflicted when Kong Ming truly achieved 588 consecutive wins without a single loss.
"As expected of Kong Ming. He reached the Suotuo City Soul Arena's Purple-Gold Badge in only three years."
"This match had no suspense from the start. No matter what kind of opponent came, Kong Ming would crush them and win.
"Still, it seems Kong Ming is leaving one-on-one Soul Battles after this match. Who knows if we'll ever get another chance to see him."
But none of that had anything to do with Duan Yu.
After the match ended, he went directly to a private room on the third floor of the Soul Arena and pushed open the door.
The moment Duan Yu entered, someone threw herself into his arms.
It was Dugu Yan.
Over the past three years, his relationship with Dugu Yan had grown closer and closer.
Looking at the victorious Duan Yu, Dugu Yan congratulated him.
"Xiao Yu, congratulations. You got the Purple-Gold Badge. Let alone us, even those geniuses from Spirit Hall don't have a Purple-Gold Badge."
Yu Tianheng, standing nearby, nodded as well. "Yan Yan is right. Purple-Gold Badges are rarely seen. Before you, no one had ever earned one through 588 consecutive victories."
"Anyway, congratulations."
The other five chimed in as well.
"Exactly. Our team has a Purple-Gold Badge holder now. That's something to brag about."
Duan Yu smiled at Dugu Yan. "Thank you, Sister Yan."
As he spoke, he gave Yu Tianheng a punch on the shoulder, then cupped his fists toward everyone.
"Then I'll thank everyone for the congratulations."
After exchanging pleasantries with the others, Duan Yu saw Dugu Yan reach out and grab his hand.
"What is it, Sister Yan?"
Dugu Yan glanced at everyone chatting enthusiastically nearby and lowered her voice.
"Xiao Yu, my grandfather wants to meet you."
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