The passageways to the Soul Arena opened, and both sides entered.
There were no cheers or screams, because the only spectators were Xu Bayan's group and the four people on Meriel's side.
Mu Sen was among Meriel's group, along with a man and a woman. The man was Gu Meng, the teacher leading the Hundred Beasts Team. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, tall and powerfully built, dressed in a black robe.
The other woman was a peerless beauty whose talent was no less than Meriel's. She appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen. She was the Queen's close friend despite their age difference, the third princess of the Maitexier Duchy in neighboring eastern Tiandou—Hua Yuerong.
She had thick, jet-black hair styled with a glittering diamond-mesh accessory. She wore a pink-and-white noble princess dress, and her skin was as fair and delicate as jade. Her enchanting peach-blossom eyes complemented a face as pure as water. The contrast between those two temperaments drew the eye unconsciously, while her figure and slender waist were utterly captivating.
If Meriel was a lush, glamorous red rose, then Hua Yuerong was a dewy white lotus, innocent of the world and freshly awakened by the summer breeze.
With both women present, Xiao Kong did not even take out his little book, merely glancing their way from time to time.
Just seeing them was already a profit.
At that moment, Meriel introduced Hua Yuerong to Xu Bayan.
"Your Excellency Demon Bear, this is my good friend, the third princess of the Maitexier Duchy, our eastern neighbor, Hua Yuerong. She is also the major owner behind the Seven Star Auction House."
Hua Yuerong crossed her hands over her lower abdomen and dipped slightly in a noble greeting, her voice bright and pleasant.
"Yuerong greets Your Excellency. Demon Bear Douluo's prestige has long resounded throughout the continent. Thanks to my sister's invitation, I have finally had the fortune to meet you in person today."
Xu Bayan placed his right hand over his chest in return and laughed. "Haha, you didn't expect the real man to be a scruffy, bearded fellow, did you? Are you disappointed?"
"Of course not. Your Excellency is joking. Titled Douluo are the most revered existences to all Soul Masters. How could I possibly be disappointed?" Hua Yuerong smiled faintly.
Meriel chimed in from the side. "Hehe~ Your Excellency Demon Bear possesses more than just strength. With your vigorous and imposing bearing, I think you will remain just as majestic and domineering even fifty years from now."
"Then I shall borrow the Queen's auspicious words. Haha."
Meriel continued, "The main reason Sister Yuerong came this time is that she is greatly interested in team Soul Arena battles. After hearing that Your Excellency was here, her curiosity and admiration were further stirred. Thus, she hopes Your Excellency will permit her to observe. Of course, she has not come empty-handed. She has brought a crate of the Maitexier Duchy's precious Red Jade Snake Fruit as the prize for this Soul Arena battle. This snake fruit can raise the Soul Power Level of Soul Masters below Soul Elder without any side effects."
"Of course she is permitted. Welcome. Please take your seats; the Soul Arena battle is about to begin."
With that, Xu Bayan led them to the VIP seats in the stands, while Meriel, Mu Sen, and the others sat on the other side.
At that moment, both sides had already entered the central team battle arena.
This Soul Arena platform was circular, with a diameter of one hundred meters. It was the largest and highest-standard team battle platform in the entire Great Soul Arena.
The host of this Soul Arena battle, Luoli, stood in the center of the platform. Seeing both teams of Soul Masters enter, Luoli smiled and made a gesture with her right hand. A flash of gleaming white Soul Power appeared, and a strangely shaped staff accompanied by four dazzling Soul Rings materialized in her hand.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
The staff was less than a meter long, and its shaft was fairly ordinary. What drew attention was the pair of snow-white wings with golden patterns at its tip.
When the staff was first summoned, the wings at its tip were folded. As Luoli's second Soul Ring lit up, the wings abruptly spread. Though the pair of wings only spanned about a meter when opened, they carried the beautiful female host into the air.
White Feather Staff—this was Luoli's Martial Soul, an auxiliary-type tool Martial Soul capable of flight.
Luoli flew to the host platform with her staff in hand and announced, "The prizes are being raised! The winning side will receive one Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird and a crate of Red Jade Snake Fruit provided by the Seven Star Auction House."
As her words fell, a metal pillar rose from the edge of the Soul Arena platform. The prizes for this battle were displayed atop it.
A cage and a crate.
Inside the cage was the rare Soul Beast, the Phoenix-Feathered Red Demon Bird. The crate beside it contained Red Jade Snake Fruit, capable of raising the Soul Power Level of Soul Masters below Soul Elder.
The metal pillar holding the prizes was more than ten meters tall and stood beside the host platform.
Hearing the host's announcement, both teams looked up at the prizes. Only one person's gaze remained calm, fixed on his opponents from beginning to end.
That person was Xu Huxiao.
Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Though he possessed formidable strength and confidence in claiming victory, Xu Huxiao had always maintained reverence for battle.
The opposing team, composed entirely of assault-type Soul Masters, wore matching black-and-red fitted outfits. Every one of them was tall and sturdily built, with the tallest nearly reaching one meter eighty.
They essentially had the physiques of adult Soul Masters.
Compared to their team's casual attire, their presence seemed a notch weaker.
Moreover, the Hundred Beasts Team stood in a straight horizontal line.
Yan, with his neat fiery-red hair, stood at the center of that line.
"Based on my understanding of team battle tactics, they have no fragile backline members to protect. This simple all-out charge really does create the greatest pressure and is the most effective method of combat."
Xu Huxiao watched the other side. By then, his own team had also formed up, linked according to their positions in an arrow formation.
At the very front stood Xu Huxiao, Hu Liena, and Xie Yue in a vertical line. Behind them were the Ao Siblings on either side, with Yun Ji and Bao Jingjing at the rear.
In other words, on the surface, Xu Huxiao alone was standing at the very front in this Soul Arena battle.
Both sides had completed their formations.
The battle was about to begin!
In the VIP seating area of the stands.
Gu Meng, the teacher leading the Hundred Beasts Team, walked over to Xu Bayan's viewing area with a smile.
"Your Excellency Demon Bear, forgive my presumption. I heard that Your Excellency's son is among the team below. The Hundred Beasts Team from our nation was selected from the most talented Soul Masters in the country. Fists and feet have no eyes in a Soul Arena battle, and I fear Your Excellency's young master may be injured. Might there be a Soul Master here who can replace him?"
Gu Meng kept his posture low, but the contempt hidden in his words was unmistakable.
Seeing Xu Bayan remain expressionless and silent, Gu Meng immediately cupped his hands and bent thirty degrees at the waist, saying in panic, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I absolutely did not mean to belittle your young master. I was merely considering his safety, so I..."
Xu Bayan raised a hand to interrupt him. "No need. Master Gu is worrying unnecessarily."
"Yes, yes. I have disturbed Your Excellency." Gu Meng replied repeatedly.
Just as Gu Meng was about to leave, Xu Bayan asked instead, "This team is Master Gu's work?"
"I am unworthy, but I am indeed this team's leading teacher."
"Oh, this Hundred Beasts Team looks quite imposing. It must be the result of Master Gu's excellent training. Not bad."
"Your Excellency overpraises me."
Gu Meng wagged his tail and smiled, delight written all over his face.
He had actually received praise in person from Elder Demon Bear of Spirit Hall. Once his team won this Soul Arena battle, he could use the opportunity to promote Master Gu's name once more and expand his influence.
Two entirely opposite expressions—humility and pride—were vividly displayed on Gu Meng at that moment.
Xiao Kong and Jin Huan both disdained such a fawning Soul Master, their faces showing disgust. However, seeing that Xu Bayan said nothing further, they could not easily speak up either.
But there was always someone who would speak bluntly.
"This teacher can rest assured. They are nothing but chickens and dogs; they cannot possibly injure Young Master Huxiao." Luo Ming snorted. Clearly, he was displeased by Gu Meng's sarcastic, covertly belittling words.
Xu Bayan laughed loudly but did not rebuke Luo Ming, because it was exactly what he had wanted to say. Since the other party had been so respectful, he could not make his words too harsh. Luo Ming's retort had happened to speak for him.
Gu Meng gave an awkward laugh and returned to the seats on the other side.
At that moment, the Soul Arena battle below officially began.
After receiving confirmation from both captains that they were ready, the host Luoli immediately announced,
"Five-second countdown! Five, four, three, two, one—team Soul Arena battle, begin!"
Orleans and the opposing captain, Yan, shouted at the same time.
"Brothers, summon your Martial Souls!"
Instantly, Soul Power surged through the arena as dazzling Soul Rings appeared alongside their Martial Souls.
Golden light flowed across Xu Huxiao's body, and two yellow Soul Rings pulsed continuously. His arms became covered in a solid metallic texture as the Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms possessed him.
"Come fight!"
After his roar, dragon-shaped force faintly emerged around Xu Huxiao's body. He had already entered the Martial Dao Essence Realm, doubling the power of his palm force.
Then, he took the lead and charged directly at the seven assault-type Soul Masters opposite him.
Xu Huxiao was not charging especially fast. Yan, standing at the center of the Hundred Beasts Team's formation, sneered when he saw Xu Huxiao alone before them.
"You really have a death wish. Brothers, attack together! Before my mother, I will claim the glory of victory in an overwhelming fashion!"
"Alright, charge!"
"Crush them!"
The first Soul Rings of the Hundred Beasts Team's members lit up simultaneously. Their bodies swelled as flashes of multicolored light burst forth. Lions, tigers, berserk bulls... the cries of beasts rang out, and their momentum reached its peak in an instant.
Then, using the united momentum they had gathered, they began their charge.
Faced with such beastlike berserk ferocity, an ordinary Soul Master would surely have been intimidated. Being able to wield even fifty or sixty percent of their strength would already be considered good.
But the one meeting them head-on was Xu Huxiao. The stronger his opponents were, the more intense his fighting spirit and interest became.
He would not suffer the slightest negative effect.
In the blink of an eye, only three to five steps separated Xu Huxiao and Yan. Xu Huxiao could see faint flames coiling around Yan's body, while his skin had turned a heavy earthy yellow.
This was Yan's first Soul Skill, Flame Demon Vajra Body. It granted him one hundred and fifty percent greater defense and eighty percent greater strength. This Soul Skill had reached the four-hundred-and-twenty-year limit. Combined with the powerful dual fire-and-earth attributes of the Flame Lord Martial Soul, almost no one of the same rank had been able to break Yan's defense in his previous Soul Arena battles.
Though he had learned before the match that Xu Huxiao was four levels above him, unfortunately, Xu Huxiao had not inherited the Blood Demon Berserker Bear Martial Soul. Instead, he possessed the inferior mutated Twin Arms Martial Soul.
It was considered inferior because could the attribute enhancement of merely a pair of arms possibly compare to the full-body attribute enhancement granted by his Flame Lord?
Yan's answer was, of course not!
"Kid, so what if you're four levels above me? The gap in Martial Soul and Soul Skill strength isn't something you can make up for through hard cultivation. Consider this punch a lesson bestowed upon you by this prince."
Though Yan said that, he was not the only one attacking Xu Huxiao. Wang Dahu and Wang Daniu, the brothers charging alongside him, were also closing in.
The two were blood brothers, each having inherited one of their parents' Martial Souls.
Just like their names, their Martial Souls were respectively the tiger, king of the forest, and the Ironclad Berserk Bull, famed for its strength and defense.
Upon hearing their captain's words, the Niu Hu Brothers immediately understood their mission.
Grab this kid and let the captain attack!
At that moment, the seven members of the Hundred Beasts Team still maintained their straight horizontal charging line, while directly opposite them, the closest target was only Xu Huxiao.
The scene looked exactly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
But was it truly an act of overestimating himself?
Before you continue