A few days later.
Led by Qin Ming, Gu Ling finally arrived at Heaven Dou City, the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.
As the most prosperous city in the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City far exceeded Notting City in scale. The wide streets bustled with traffic and endless rows of shops, and nobles and soul masters dressed in luxurious attire could be seen everywhere.
However, Gu Ling did not stay in the city for long.
That very day.
Qin Ming led him straight to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. As for the matter of the so-called noble status, just as Qin Ming had said before, it caused Gu Ling no trouble at all.
Twelve years old, with soul power above level thirty.
Bone Dragon Martial Soul, thousand-year second soul ring, five-thousand-year third soul ring!
When Gu Ling displayed his Martial Soul and three soul rings, the attitudes of the several teachers in charge of evaluations at the academy practically changed on the spot.
What rule about only recruiting nobles?
Naturally, special exceptions could be made in the face of true genius, not to mention that Qin Ming, a teacher of the Imperial Dou Team, was personally vouching for him.
Thus, Gu Ling successfully completed his enrollment procedures that very day and was brought directly into the Imperial Dou Team by Qin Ming.
On the training ground.
Qin Ming gently waved his hand toward the group not far away and said with a solemn expression:
"Come over here, everyone."
"Starting today, our Imperial Dou Team will have a new member."
Hearing this, the few people who had been training stopped. Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling already knew Gu Ling, naturally, but the rest were seeing him for the first time.
Qin Ming first pointed at Yu Tianheng and introduced him to Gu Ling:
"Yu Tianheng, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, power-attack type."
Then came Dugu Yan.
"Dugu Yan, Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, control type."
"Ye Lingling, Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, support type. You already know these three."
Gu Ling nodded slightly, and Qin Ming went on to introduce the remaining people.
"Shi Mo and Shi Mo, they are brothers, both with the Black Tortoise Martial Soul, defense-system soul masters."
The two exceptionally sturdy youths nodded toward Gu Ling simultaneously.
"Yu Feng, Wind Chime Bird Martial Soul, agility-attack type."
A slender young man smiled and waved at Gu Ling.
Finally.
Qin Ming pointed at another black-robed youth.
"Osler, Ghost Leopard Martial Soul, also agility-attack type."
After introducing everyone, Qin Ming briefly introduced Gu Ling to the rest.
However, there was no need for him to elaborate on Gu Ling's soul ring configuration. When the yellow, purple, and purple soul rings truly appeared before their eyes, the reactions of Yu Feng, Osler, and the Shi family brothers were no better than Yu Tianheng and the others' when they first saw them.
Especially upon learning that Gu Ling's third soul ring was a full five thousand years old, the gazes the few of them cast toward him noticeably turned quite strange.
Was this any ordinary new team member? This was clearly a monster!
After brief introductions, Qin Ming quickly got down to business, saying in a deep voice:
"Although you are all among the most outstanding students of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, true combat capability can never be honed solely through training at the academy."
"Therefore, starting today, the primary training location for the Imperial Dou Team for the foreseeable future will still be the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena."
Naturally, Gu Ling had no objections to this.
Actual combat was inherently one of the fastest ways to improve combat experience.
So that very evening.
Qin Ming led the group to the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
This place was more massive than any soul arena Gu Ling had ever seen. The huge building resembled a primordial beast crouching in Heaven Dou City, with countless spectators and soul masters continuously entering and exiting through the entrances. Just standing outside, one could hear the faint sounds of cheering echoing from within.
Upon entering.
Qin Ming briefly explained the soul arena rules to Gu Ling. Soul fighting was mainly divided into three types:
One-on-one.
Two-on-two.
And seven-person team battles.
The Imperial Dou Team originally had exactly seven people.
Therefore, the team battle lineup was basically fixed.
As for two-on-two, since Ye Lingling was a support-system soul master and previously had no fixed partner, she was usually paired with other members in rotation according to Qin Ming's training schedule for the day.
Now that Gu Ling had joined, Qin Ming directly arranged a fixed partner for her. He pointed at Gu Ling and Ye Lingling:
"From now on, the two of you will team up to participate in two-on-two soul battles."
Hearing this, Gu Ling had no objections and nodded slightly. Ye Lingling was clearly startled for a moment, but quickly gave a slight nod.
Qin Ming's consideration was very simple. Gu Ling possessed extremely formidable offensive capabilities, encompassing close combat, ranged attacks, mobility, and crowd control.
Furthermore, his Bone Dragon Martial Soul possessed exceptionally superior defense; the only thing he lacked was recovery capability.
And Ye Lingling was the exact opposite.
The Nine-Heart Begonia possessed almost no direct combat capability, yet it possessed terrifying therapeutic effects.
One was responsible for beating enemies to death, while the other was responsible for ensuring the former was hard to be beaten to death. The combination of the two was evidently extremely suitable.
Facts proved that.
Qin Ming's judgment was entirely correct.
On the first day, Gu Ling participated in a one-on-one soul battle for the first time. His opponent was a level-thirty-three power-attack-system soul elder, and the battle ended in less than half a minute.
He didn't even use his third soul skill, relying solely on Void Dragon Assault to suddenly cross space and appear behind his opponent, followed by a single bone claw strike that blasted him directly off the soul fighting stage.
The second match.
The third match.
The fourth match...
The results were practically indistinguishable.
Soul elders of the same rank found it difficult to pose a genuine threat in front of Gu Ling.
The attack trajectory of the first soul skill, Spatial Rift Bone Spikes, was completely unpredictable, while the second soul skill, Void Dragon Assault, granted him breakthrough abilities akin to teleportation.
As for the third soul skill... once unleashed, many people didn't even have time to release their complete soul skills before being driven into a dead end by the massive volume of bone spikes.
The two-on-two matches were even more exaggerated.
Gu Ling was responsible for the offense while Ye Lingling stood in the rear. Most of the time, Ye Lingling didn't even have time to truly utilize her healing soul skills before the battles were already over.
In just a few short days.
Gu Ling participated in dozens of soul battles without a single defeat!
As his winning streak grew longer, the strength of the opponents arranged for him by the soul arena also began to rise continuously, yet the outcome still did not change drastically—until the seventh night.
Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, two-on-two soul fighting zone.
Just as Gu Ling and Ye Lingling walked into the waiting area, a staff member delivered the matchup information for tonight.
Gu Ling took it casually, and after a single glance, his expression immediately turned somewhat strange.
Ye Lingling naturally noticed the change in his complexion and asked softly:
"What is it?"
Gu Ling did not answer; he simply handed the matchup information in his hand over to her.
Ye Lingling looked down, and the next moment, a trace of distinct astonishment appeared in her quiet eyes. Their opponents for tonight's two-on-two match turned out to be none other than Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Three figures, who stood out noticeably from the surrounding ordinary spectators, were slowly walking in at that moment. Walking at the very front was a young man who looked to be in his twenties.
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