A Hot Commodity in the 2v2 Arena

Tang San returned to his room with Xiao Wu and Yu Xiaogang supporting him.

His left arm had not fully healed from its earlier injury, and now he was hurt again.

The three barely spoke along the way.

Xiao Wu occasionally glanced at Tang San's pale profile. She wanted to say something, but swallowed the words.

They entered the room.

Tang San leaned against the headboard. Some color had returned to his face, but the troubled confusion and resentment in his eyes had not faded.

He looked down at his injuries, then up at Yu Xiaogang.

At last, he could no longer hold back the question caught in his throat.

"Teacher, what exactly is Qin Yun's martial soul?"

"I've fought him twice, and I still haven't even seen the martial soul itself."

"I can't make sense of how he fights."

"He conjures poisonous mist out of thin air, sets off explosions with a snap of his fingers, and starts fires with who knows what..."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower.

"My hidden weapons... Why did they obey him?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at the defeated Tang San.

"There are countless kinds of martial souls," he said. "No one has ever dared claim to know every form they can take."

"I've never seen a martial soul like Qin Yun's either. I couldn't find a single similar account, even after searching through the records."

"But Xiao San, remember this."

"Just because you can't see through him now doesn't mean you never will."

"You have Twin Martial Souls. That alone means your potential far exceeds that of most people."

"The gap between you is considerable right now, but your path has only just begun, while he's been walking his for years."

"Don't let this one defeat consume you. Some scores can only be settled with time."

Tang San lowered his eyes and said nothing.

After a long silence, he gave a quiet "Mm."

Yu Xiaogang stood, then glanced back at him.

"Skip tonight's lesson and give your injuries time to heal."

"I'll let Flender know."

In truth, Yu Xiaogang had no answers either.

But comforting Tang San was all he could do.

At dusk.

Flender stood on the training ground with his hands behind his back, watching the others arrive one by one: Dai Mubai, Qin Yun, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar.

Tang San was absent. Yu Xiaogang had excused him.

Flender asked no questions. He swept his gaze over the group and lifted his chin.

"Come with me. I'm taking you somewhere tonight."

Night fell, and the streetlights of Suotuo City began to glow.

Flender led them through several bustling streets and past a crowded market before stopping in front of an enormous circular building.

The building stood seven or eight zhang tall, with heavy gray stone walls and several soul-powered lamps hanging from its eaves.

Cast-iron letters above the entrance read: "Suotuo Great Soul Arena."

Flender turned to face them, folded his arms, and looked at each of them in turn.

"Soul masters must hone their abilities in real combat."

"Starting today, arena combat will be a regular part of your training."

"You'll each complete one 1v1 match and one 2v2 match every day. No exceptions."

"Support-type soul masters can find a partner for the 2v2."

His gaze rested on Qin Yun for a moment before he added:

"Except Qin Yun."

"His training doesn't follow the usual path. I won't require him to fight a fixed number of matches."

Ma Hongjun immediately muttered under his breath.

"Talk about special treatment."

Flender heard him. He turned his head and said slowly:

"If you were as strong as he is, you'd be exempt too."

Ma Hongjun promptly shut his mouth and shrank back.

The others were about to disperse and fill out their registration forms when Ning Rongrong stepped out of the group. She jogged up to Qin Yun and looked up at him.

"Senior! I want to team up with you for the 2v2."

Qin Yun glanced at her.

It was remarkable that this young lady had yet to throw a tantrum.

He nodded slightly. "All right. But once we're in the ring, you follow my lead."

Ning Rongrong broke into a delighted smile. "No problem!"

Not far away, Oscar looked down at the registration form in his hands. His pen hovered above the paper without touching it.

He appeared to be considering what to write, but he could not stop glancing at Ning Rongrong as she smiled up at Qin Yun.

A young man's feelings were hard to hide.

Oscar knew he was a food-type support soul master, nowhere near Qin Yun's strength.

Even so, seeing Ning Rongrong so eagerly invite someone else to fight beside her left a small, sharp ache in his chest.

Meanwhile, Dai Mubai tried to invite Zhu Zhuqing to team up with him.

She refused.

Zhu Zhuqing walked over to Qin Yun too.

She stopped in front of him. "Senior, you're very strong. Would you take me into an arena match for training?"

Her tone was cool, but she sounded more earnest than usual.

Dai Mubai's expression darkened at once.

His heavy gaze settled on Zhu Zhuqing.

Then it shifted to Qin Yun, something churning deep in his eyes.

Qin Yun had no intention of worrying about Dai Mubai's feelings.

He nodded to Zhu Zhuqing. "No problem."

"Go fight your 1v1 first. Once Rongrong and I finish our 2v2, I'll come team up with you."

Zhu Zhuqing gave a small nod.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Then she turned and left.

Ma Hongjun sidled up to Dai Mubai and gave him a light jab with his elbow, teasing him in a low voice.

"See that, Boss Dai?"

"Girls like a guy who's strong."

"What good does standing here and glaring do? You don't even dare go over and compete with him." He grinned slyly, the flesh at the corners of his eyes bunching together.

Dai Mubai turned and shot him a glare as cold as a blade.

Ma Hongjun wisely swallowed whatever else he had been about to say and raised both hands in surrender.

Dai Mubai looked away.

He turned back toward the white-clad figure in the crowd. His chest rose and fell, but in the end, he said nothing.

He had fought Qin Yun before. It was a memory he would rather forget.

At the time, he had assumed this shabby little academy held no real experts. He thought the fierce power of his White Tiger Martial Soul would overwhelm anyone there.

Instead, Qin Yun had sealed his throat with nitrogen and clogged his meridians with poisonous mist in their first exchange.

Dai Mubai had fallen to his knees before he could even fully unleash a soul skill.

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's choice now, he wanted nothing more than to charge over.

But the fist clenched inside his sleeve loosened and tightened again. In the end, all he let out was a barely audible sigh.

By then, Qin Yun had led Ning Rongrong through a side entrance to the registration hall.

Qin Yun's Soul Power Level was now forty-four.

The Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring he had condensed, together with the transformation of his first three soul rings, had propelled him to level forty-four.

Arena matches were assigned according to the highest-level soul master on a team.

Ning Rongrong had yet to reach level thirty.

That meant their opponents could well be two level-forty soul masters.

Qin Yun did not mind. It would make for good training.

He also had another reason for bringing Ning Rongrong.

Through her, he hoped to strike a deal with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.