Soul Arena, Instant Kill

Duan Yu had truly gone to great lengths to obtain the Immortal Herb.

Yu Tianheng wanted to pinch his cheek—no.

Ao Si Luo wanted to pinch his cheek—no.

Dugu Yan wanted to pinch his cheek—big sister could pinch it.

The point was that only Dugu Yan got to pinch it, to build a good relationship.

Through Duan Yu's efforts, he successfully became one with the members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Team and smoothly integrated into their group.

"Duan Yu, do you want to come with us to the Soul Arena in Soto City?" Dugu Yan asked.

"The Soul Arena? To fight soul battles there?"

"Yes."

Dugu Yan nodded. "We already went once last semester. According to the academy's rules, we were supposed to wait until we reached three rings before going again."

"But Tianheng felt that we couldn't learn much more at school these days, so he wanted to take us out for some experience early."

Duan Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Will it be seven-versus-seven team battles? Or everything?"

"Everything."

Before Dugu Yan could speak, Yu Tianheng walked over from the side.

"So, are you coming?"

"Sure."

Duan Yu agreed without hesitation.

To him, nothing in his current studies was more important than actual combat.

Those who kept saying theory was the foundation of combat, that one had to learn theory before entering real combat—

were merely trying to hide the flaws in their Martial Souls. True powerhouses had long since begun fighting in the arena while others were still learning theory in a greenhouse.

The next day.

Duan Yu arrived at the Soto City Soul Arena with Yu Tianheng and the other six.

Compared to Tiandou Royal Academy, the facilities here were exceptionally old.

Many buildings had long since become dilapidated after years of wind and rain.

The moment Duan Yu stepped into the Soul Arena,

the stench of blood and sweat hit him head-on.

With a single glance, Duan Yu saw two people fighting desperately for their lives in the arena.

He also saw the people in the stands who had placed bets, excitedly waving their arms.

"It's fine. Don't be nervous." Dugu Yan noticed that Duan Yu was uncomfortable because it was his first time here and spoke up.

Duan Yu nodded. "I'm fine, Sister Yan. I'll go register first."

Duan Yu took a deep breath, went to the registration desk, paid the fee, and received his first iron Soul Arena badge.

The alias Duan Yu chose for himself was "Kongming."

To avoid drawing attention, Duan Yu had asked Meng Shenji for a mask the day before coming to the Soul Arena.

The Soul Arena was not merely a place for training; it was also a place where many commoners sought to make their fortunes.

People would choose a promising contestant during the matches and place their bets on them, hoping to earn a decent return.

Duan Yu was one of those people.

After registering, he immediately bet every last bit of his wealth on himself.

Night fell.

Soon, it was time for Duan Yu's match.

Since it was his first time here and because of his height, everyone saw Duan Yu as nothing more than a child.

Under the host's announcement, Duan Yu slowly walked onto the Soul Arena. Duan Yu himself had no reputation, but his opponent was another matter.

This time, Duan Yu faced the most promising iron-tier Soul Arena contestant in Soto City.

Tie Jun, who possessed the beast Martial Soul known as the Brown Bear Martial Soul.

The moment Tie Jun stepped onto the stage, thunderous applause erupted from the stands.

Duan Yu looked at him calmly. He was a middle-aged man, and judging from the fluctuations of his soul power, he was only a two-ring Grand Soul Master.

Tie Jun froze for a moment when he saw the five-foot-tall child before him, then sneered.

"Little brat, you came to the Soul Arena before you've even been weaned? Did your parents abandon you?"

"Five seconds."

"What?"

Tie Jun had not heard clearly. He frowned. "Little brat, what did you say?"

"Five seconds until your death."

Tie Jun immediately burst out laughing. "Little brat, are you saying you want to kill me? What makes you think you can kill me?"

It was not just Tie Jun. The spectators in the stands also sneered when they heard Duan Yu's words.

"I'm dying of laughter. Whose little brat is this? Isn't anyone going to come take him away?"

"What a pity. He's so young, yet he's about to die here."

"What's pitiful about it? Since he came to the Soul Arena, he won't have died unjustly."

"Good thing I already bet everything I own on Tie Jun. Looks like I'll make another killing today."

Amid the heated atmosphere, the host immediately announced in a loud voice.

The soul battle begins!

At the announcement, Tie Jun immediately released his Martial Soul. His already burly body grew even larger, and brown fur covered his entire body.

A white and a yellow soul ring appeared beneath his feet as he charged toward Duan Yu.

His goal was clear: he wanted to tear this little brat apart.

Facing Tie Jun's attack, Duan Yu sneered and remained motionless.

Only when Tie Jun reached him did Duan Yu release his Martial Soul. A clear dragon roar rang out.

Tie Jun felt an indescribable terror suddenly rise from the deepest part of his heart.

How is this possible? How could I be afraid?

He was utterly baffled. Even if his Brown Bear Martial Soul was not among the strongest, it was absolutely a king among beast Martial Souls.

Yet reality stood right before him.

It felt as though something had gripped his heart tightly. He could feel his Martial Soul trembling.

Under that dragon roar, Tie Jun lost all will to fight.

Silver light flashed around Duan Yu. When he appeared again, he was already behind Tie Jun, and a silver dragon claw flashed across his arm.

Tie Jun stiffened in place, his pupils contracting.

A clear, unmistakable claw mark appeared across his neck.

Tie Jun stammered incoherently, still wanting to say something, but he toppled straight to the ground.

From the beginning of the match to its end, only five seconds had passed.

The stands, which had been loudly betting on whether Duan Yu would die, fell silent the instant they saw this.

Even the host, who had already prepared to congratulate Tie Jun on his victory, stood frozen in place.

"Can you announce the result now?" Duan Yu cast the host a cold glance, his tone icy.

Coming back to his senses, the host hurriedly announced the result in a stammer.

Tonight was destined to be anything but ordinary.

Duan Yu had five soul battles that night, and in every match, he bet all his wealth on himself.

In every battle, Duan Yu did not even use a soul skill. He ended the fights solely through the Spatial Dragon King's Spatial Control.

The people who lost to Duan Yu all had one thing in common: they had all been defeated in a single move, and to the audience, every defeat had seemed utterly inexplicable.

Spatial Martial Souls were too rare. In the Soto City Soul Arena, there was not a single contestant other than Duan Yu with a spatial Martial Soul.

As a result, the masked Kongming became the most talked-about person that night.

For no other reason than that his appearance that night had caused quite a few people to lose everything.