Soul Duel Begins

The Heavenly Spirit Great Soul Arena was quite large.

Inside, it was divided into a main Soul Duel Arena and twenty-four subsidiary arenas, all lavishly decorated.

Various soul-tool spotlights were scattered throughout the venue, their colors specially adjusted.

They maximized sensory stimulation, releasing dopamine in the audience and making people unconsciously excited and addicted.

The entire venue could accommodate one hundred thousand spectators at once, and it also had one hundred VIP boxes.

This was both a stage for soul masters to spar and exchange pointers, and an arena where various factions displayed their strength.

Here, soul duels were broadly divided into three categories.

One was sparring, where participants tested each other's skills and were forbidden from seriously injuring or killing anyone.

Another was a deathmatch, used to settle irreconcilable disputes.

The last was a wagered duel.

The Great Soul Arena acted as the referee, while both sides of the wager sent out equal numbers of soul masters to compete. The final winner would receive everything stipulated in the wager.

In essence, however, wagered duels were deathmatches.

When nobles or clans developed major conflicts, they often chose this method to resolve them.

The wager between Bei Yuxuan and Luo Du was one such case.

"There are also three types of match formats: one-on-one, two-on-two, and group battles.

"The number of participants in group battles can be negotiated by both sides, though according to arena rules, it is generally limited to seven to ten people."

As Lu Chen followed Bei Yuxuan inside, he listened to him explain the rules.

The group crossed the lobby and entered through a large door.

Before them was a service counter, beside which stood a soul power testing machine.

Quite a few soul masters were filling out forms at the counter.

"Brother Lu, you need to fill out your information here before entering a match," Bei Yuxuan said.

Lu Chen nodded and stepped forward.

Registering for a soul duel was very simple. One only needed to fill out a form containing one's name, age, martial soul, and soul power rank.

After paying a registration fee of ten gold soul coins, one could receive the lowest-ranking Iron Soul Duel Badge.

This price had not changed in ten thousand years.

"Big Sister Ya, you aren't even competing. Why are you filling this out?"

Seeing Tang Ya writing away furiously, Lu Chen could not help asking curiously.

Tang Ya blinked and lowered her voice. "Soul Duel Badges are accepted throughout the country. Since I can register and get one now, of course I can't miss the chance."

Lu Chen smiled helplessly. "You really won't let even the slightest bargain pass you by."

Tang Ya rolled her eyes at him. "You don't run a household, so you don't know how expensive daily necessities are!

"Ten gold soul coins are nearly enough for an ordinary family's living expenses for three months.

"Besides, you eat so much. Who knows when we might run out of money.

"When that happens, I can still use this badge to enter soul duel matches and earn some money."

"Big Sister Ya really does think things through," Lu Chen said with a flattering smile.

"Of course!" Tang Ya raised her chin proudly.

The forms were simple, and the two quickly received their badges.

Just then, a finely dressed young woman approached Bei Yuxuan and respectfully said,

"Young Master Bei, the VIP room is ready. Please follow me."

Bei Yuxuan nodded, then turned to Lu Chen. "Brother Lu, let's go."

After the group left, a middle-aged man slowly approached the counter.

"Manager Song!" The young woman at the counter immediately bowed respectfully.

Song Yuan said in a low voice, "Bring me the registration information for those two young people just now."

"Yes!"

The young woman did not dare say more and hurriedly handed over the two forms.

"Tang Ya, ten years old, Blue Silver Grass martial soul, Level 21 Great Soul Master... With such a trash martial soul, she dares wager against Young Master Luo?

"Has the eldest young master of the Bei family been kicked in the head by a donkey?"

Song Yuan shook his head disdainfully before flipping open the next form.

"Lu Chen, nine years old, Body Martial Soul?!"

Song Yuan's expression changed. "Could he be from the Body Sect?"

But when he looked further down, he froze.

In the soul power rank column, it clearly read: Level 10... Soul Scholar?

A string of question marks instantly filled Song Yuan's mind.

What kind of bizarre combination was this?

With that level of strength, they dared come here for a wagered duel?

"I really don't know what Young Master Luo was thinking. He specifically summoned me to inspect this kind of trash..."

Setting down the documents, Song Yuan shook his head and left.

The young woman at the counter was about to organize the pair's forms when a slender jade-like hand suddenly pressed down on them.

"Guests' information is forbidden for outsiders to inspect!"

The young woman had barely finished speaking when she looked up and saw who it was. She immediately froze. "P-Princess!"

Vina made a silencing gesture and said softly, "I only stopped by while passing through this time. I don't want my identity exposed."

"Understood! Understood!"

The young woman nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with respect.

Vina picked up the documents, and Chen Lü and Jiang Yixi immediately leaned in from behind her.

When they saw Lu Chen's information, all three of their eyes suddenly lit up.

"Body Martial Soul!"

"Haha, this old man's guess was right after all!"

Behind them, Du Bushi, wrapped in a black conical hat, grinned broadly.

Chen Lü shook his head. "Unfortunately, it doesn't state which body part his Body Martial Soul is."

Different body parts for a Body Martial Soul meant vastly different potential.

Jiang Yixi suddenly asked curiously, "Huh, he's already nine years old. Why is he only a Soul Scholar?

"Could it be that he also cultivates the Body Sect's secret techniques and is specifically tempering his body?"

"The key point is that a mere Soul Scholar actually dares enter the Soul Duel Tournament.

"And it's even a life-and-death soul duel against Luo Du." Vina found it rather unbelievable.

Although Body Martial Souls were powerful, they still needed matching soul skills.

Du Bushi had naturally noticed this as well, and the interest in his eyes deepened.

"This little fellow is rather interesting."

The VIP room was on the third floor. It covered more than fifty square meters and was just as luxuriously decorated.

A U-shaped sofa set stood in the middle of the room.

Directly in front of it was an entire wall of transparent glass, allowing them to clearly see the battles in the main arena below.

On either side of the glass was a controllable soul-tool display screen.

They could capture the details of both sides' battle more clearly.

"Young Master Bei, this is your private room. If you need anything, you may instruct us at any time."

After bowing to Bei Yuxuan, the attendant turned and left.

"Brother Lu, please sit." Bei Yuxuan's attitude was extremely humble now.

The stakes this time were too great. If he wanted to keep that seventy-thousand-year Silver-armored Giant Bear left arm bone, he would have to rely on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen naturally saw his concerns. Smiling, he patted Bei Yuxuan's shoulder and said with certainty,

"Don't worry. Below Soul Elder, I am invincible."

He was not boasting.

Great Soul Masters generally only had two hundred-year soul rings, and their soul skills had limited power.

With his martial arts boxing techniques and formidable body, if not complete domination, then an easy victory was still no problem.

Seeing him so confident, Bei Yuxuan relaxed considerably.

"Of course I believe in you, Brother Lu."

Then he added, "However, my wagered duel with Luo Du will not take place immediately.

"Both sides must first be placed into the soul duel rankings. Only when we are matched against each other can the wager officially begin."

"What does that mean? Does Lu Chen have to waste some stamina first before he can face them?" Tang Ya asked, confused.

Bei Yuxuan nodded. "Since it is a wagered duel, the rules are naturally more brutal.

"And the arena's matches proceed in tiers.

"The Soul Scholar division battles are held first, followed by the Great Soul Master division, and finally the Soul Elder division.

"These are also rules set by the arena to attract customers.

"If Brother Lu wants to fight through two divisions, he must first complete all matches in the Soul Scholar tier before he qualifies to participate in the Great Soul Master division.

"Of course, in the Great Soul Master tier, he will not need to fight continuously. He can choose someone and directly challenge them."

"But don't worry, Brother Lu. Later, I'll spend money to make arrangements with those Soul Scholars and have them surrender immediately.

"That way, you can directly face the wagered duel contestants."

Hearing that, Tang Ya sighed in relief. "That's good, then. You won't have to waste your strength for nothing."

However, Lu Chen waved his hand, his tone relaxed.

"There's no need to make things so troublesome. We'll follow the rules. I can use the chance to warm up."