Xu Peinian rewarded them with some gold and silver, then dismissed his subordinates, put on a mask, and entered the Great Soul Arena.
Before long, another monster with a winning streak would be born in this Great Soul Arena.
"Next, please welcome the third one-on-one spirit battle of our Sixth Soul Arena! Both contestants in this match are promising newcomers. On one side is Soul Elder Zhu Zhuqing, who has won twelve consecutive matches. On the other is a member of the Imperial Fighting Team, an agility-attack Battle Soul Master with the Ghost Leopard Martial Soul and a holder of the Silver Soul Badge—Osler!"
The host's commentary was impassioned, his saliva flying everywhere.
"Their strengths are extremely close, and they are both agility-attack Battle Soul Masters. Will this be a clash of titans, or a complete one-sided crushing? Let us wait and see! Now, please welcome the two contestants to the stage!!!"
The soul arena was nearly packed with spectators this time.
"Zhuqing, fly without fear! Bamboo shoots will always follow you!"
"Ahhh!!! Osler, my male idol!"
"Mommy, step on me!"
"..."
The supporters on both sides were roughly equal in number, creating a balanced standoff. Shouts rose and fell without end, while some fanatical fans even jumped high into the air, spouting bizarre nonsense.
Wearing a mask, Xu Peinian sat among the crowd without joining the other spectators' cheers. He simply watched quietly as Zhu Zhuqing emerged from the spirit battle passage.
Zhu Zhuqing wore a black mask that covered everything above the bridge of her nose as she unhurriedly walked from the passage onto the Spirit Arena.
The cool, mysterious aura radiating from her made countless male spectators revert to their ape-like ancestors and begin shrieking uncontrollably.
On the Spirit Arena.
Standing opposite Zhu Zhuqing was a blond young man dressed entirely in black, his delicate features beautiful enough to rival a woman's.
Osler, member of the Imperial Fighting Team. Ghost Leopard Martial Soul. Level thirty-six agility-attack Battle Soul Master. Soul ring configuration: two yellow, one purple.
The intelligence on each member of the Imperial Fighting Team that his subordinates had previously provided surfaced in Xu Peinian's mind.
On the surface, Osler's strength was nearly identical to Zhu Zhuqing's. Both possessed level thirty-six Soul Power, both had two yellow and one purple soul rings, and both were agility-attack Battle Soul Masters.
Yet everyone present except Xu Peinian knew that Zhu Zhuqing was no longer an ordinary agility-attack Soul Master. She had refined the top-grade immortal herb Black Jade Divine Bamboo and was already transitioning toward the assault-attack type. Her physical strength far surpassed that of a Soul Master like Osler.
If Osler did not realize that, he would definitely suffer badly for it.
"Both contestants are ready. The spirit battle begins now!"
With a sweep of the host's hand, the audience instantly erupted. The two fighters on the Spirit Arena moved as well.
The speed boosts from the Ghost Leopard and Nether Civet Martial Souls allowed the two Soul Masters to exchange more than ten clashes within mere moments of the battle beginning.
Anyone too weak would not even be able to catch their figures with their eyes.
If events had followed the original story, Zhu Zhuqing would only have been a Soul Grandmaster at this point. Her attack power and Soul Power would both have been far inferior to the Ghost Leopard's, with only her speed barely surpassing his.
But Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power was now equal to his, and even when confronting an assault-attack Soul Master of the same level head-on, her attack power would not fall short.
Osler realized this after exchanging blows for a while. The girl opposite him was actually stronger than he was, and her speed even faintly surpassed his.
If this dragged on, he would undoubtedly lose.
Unwilling to continue a prolonged battle, Osler's purple soul ring immediately burst with brilliant light.
His figure vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he was already above Zhu Zhuqing's head.
Osler's leopard tail abruptly solidified and slashed down at Zhu Zhuqing with razor-sharp force.
Faced with the sudden attack, Zhu Zhuqing did not panic.
At Spirit Hall Academy, she had undergone special training while enduring the weakening effects of Xu Peinian's first soul skill, Dreamland Gravity. In her current peak condition, dodging this strike was no difficulty for her.
On the contrary, his impatience had exposed a flaw.
The leopard tail struck Zhu Zhuqing's back, but no solid sensation of impact came through. Osler's expression changed abruptly.
The next second, a black, blade-like shadow pressed against his throat.
In that instant, Zhu Zhuqing had simultaneously unleashed her first soul skill, Hell Stab, and her third soul skill, Nether Slash, reversing the situation and defeating her opponent in a single move.
"I... I surrender."
Osler's Adam's apple bobbed as he conceded in a trembling voice.
The entire arena fell silent.
It had all happened too quickly. In the eyes of many spectators, the Ghost Leopard had only just vanished into the air one moment, and the next, Zhu Zhuqing had a weapon at his throat.
"Announce it."
Zhu Zhuqing parted her lips slightly and spoke three indifferent words to the host.
"Ah, oh."
The host let out several meaningless noises before finally raising his microphone and shouting:
"Let us congratulate the winner of this spirit battle, Zhu—Zhuqing!"
"Mommy, I love you!"
"Zhuqing, Zhuqing, you're the best!"
"My Gold Soul Coins! You useless trash, Osler!"
The cheers in the arena immediately drowned out the wails.
Meanwhile,
In an office at the top floor of the Great Soul Arena.
Several high-ranking figures had gathered there.
"Arrange for Yu Tianheng to fight that new cat next."
"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"They're both Silver Soul Fighters and Soul Elders. What's inappropriate about it?"
"But..."
"Enough. Arrange it that way."
Xu Peinian stood and stretched his limbs before leaving the venue and heading toward the adjacent branch soul arena.
His own spirit battle was about to begin, so he had no time to keep watching Zhu Zhuqing's next match.
One hour later.
Zhu Zhuqing knelt on one knee, her body covered in charred scars from electric shocks.
"Ah, what a pity. Contestant Zhu Zhuqing has failed in her attempt to achieve fourteen consecutive victories. Let us congratulate Battle Soul Master Yu Tianheng on achieving twelve consecutive victories!"
The host's words stabbed into Zhu Zhuqing's heart like sharp blades. The taste of defeat hurt her thousands, even tens of thousands of times more than the wounds on her body.
She limped down from the Spirit Arena when her opponent's voice suddenly reached her ears.
"You did well to manage to injure me."
His haughty tone made Zhu Zhuqing secretly clench her teeth.
But a loss was a loss. Zhu Zhuqing was not someone who could not accept defeat.
"Boss, I say you should've humiliated her properly. You didn't see how smug she was after beating me last match. In the end, she's nothing special."
Osler's mocking laughter came from behind her. Zhu Zhuqing suddenly clenched both fists, but after her chest rose and fell for a moment, she relaxed them again and left without a word.
Xu Peinian's battle had also ended not long ago, and only now did he arrive at the Sixth Soul Arena.
The moment he entered, he saw Zhu Zhuqing's battered and dejected appearance.
Then he looked at Osler, who had his nose raised even higher than the actual victor, Yu Tianheng, and Xu Peinian roughly guessed what had happened.
Before you continue