The Soul Fighting Arena, the Name Azu, and a Head Smashed with One Spear Strike!

Several days later.

After some traveling, Ning Chengyi arrived before a magnificent building in Heaven Dou Imperial City.

The entire structure formed an enormous oval dome, predominantly grayish-white. Over a hundred and twenty meters tall, it stood with an imposing grandeur that inspired awe.

This was... the Great Soul Arena.

Ning Chengyi knew its rules inside out.

The moment he stepped inside, the clamor and commotion, mingled with the pungent stench of blood, assaulted his senses.

Nearly a hundred thousand spectators roared deafeningly, throwing their arms up in ecstatic cheers. All of it flooded Ning Chengyi's senses at once.

Ning Chengyi looked toward the stage, where Soul Masters fought bloody battles while the spectators cheered them on.

His lively eyes gradually became bloodshot. Like a beast catching sight of a beautiful woman, he was wildly excited!

"This is where I belong. I wasted five years, so I'll make my name here in one explosive debut!"

Who didn't yearn to make a name for themselves while young?!

And the Great Soul Arena was undoubtedly the best place for it.

Not to mention those five years after he had fallen from a prodigy to a cripple—the endless accusations and insults, Ning Rongrong's heartlessness, Ning Fengzhi's false sincerity... Every one of them took vivid shape in his mind. He clenched his fists, let out a long breath, then relaxed them.

He put on the crimson half-face mask with two brass horns he had bought on the way. An icy gaze showed through its eyeholes as he approached the registration desk and signed up without any trouble.

"Azu!"

That was the alias Ning Chengyi had chosen for himself.

Only he knew how he had endured the bitter and sweet experiences of those five years.

A staff member handed him a blank Soul Fighting badge.

At the Great Soul Arena, wins and losses determined the points a fighter accumulated, and those points could raise the badge's rank.

There were eight ranks in total, with iron the lowest and diamond the highest.

The remaining ranks were Copper, silver, gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, and Ruby Soul Fighting badges.

Higher ranks came with different privileges and different payouts, much like leveling up by fighting monsters.

Notably, each victory before a five-win streak earned one point. After that, each victory earned ten points, and after a ten-win streak, each victory earned a hundred points. A single loss reset the winning streak to zero.

At higher ranks, the points multiplier for each match would continue to rise.

"Take a chance, embrace a Douluo tomorrow! Place a bet, sleep with Yali tonight!"

"Sleep with Yali! Sleep with Yali..."

Ning Chengyi looked toward the gambling area, where gamblers bellowed with bloodshot eyes.

A few quick questions told Ning Chengyi who the "Yali" they were shouting about was.

She was a beautiful courtesan offered by the Great Soul Arena. Anyone who wanted to enjoy her intimate welcome had to pay a steep price. They said she raked in a fortune every day.

"I'm betting on Azu to win his first, second, and third matches after twelve!"

Amid startled looks and mocking laughter, Ning Chengyi bet on himself to win.

After watching a few matches, he found them far more brutal than he had imagined.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for him to take the stage.

His arrival drew little reaction, but his opponent instantly sent a thunderous roar through the stands.

"Pig Boom, tear him apart!"

As that shout rang out, an obese man built like a small mountain slowly climbed onto the stage. He looked at Ning Chengyi with contempt, radiating an oppressive presence.

"Pig Boom, rip him to pieces! Get your fifth straight win!"

"You fat pig, win me a mountain of money! I went all in on you!"

"Look at that Azu guy. Is he scared? Why isn't he moving?"

"Of course he is. He must've found out he's facing Pig Boom. Now he's regretting it and getting scared."

"Will the veteran Pig Boom fall to this newcomer, Azu? Or will Pig Boom claim his fifth consecutive victory and tear this rookie apart? Let's find out!"

"Now... begin!"

As the announcer's almost bestial roar rang out, the spectators erupted into frenzied cheers.

"How dare he?!"

The instant the match began, Ning Chengyi took the offensive, shattering everyone's doubts.

He hadn't been afraid. He had simply been waiting for the announcement.

Seeing Ning Chengyi dare to attack first, Pig Boom flew into a rage. He beat his chest and stamped his feet, roaring, "You're asking to die!"

This rookie was outright provoking him.

Pig Boom immediately moved to summon his Martial Soul, but Ning Chengyi was faster. In an instant, he closed to within three meters. The Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear appeared in a flash, its head smashing straight toward Pig Boom's skull!

"First Soul Skill: Mystic Edge, Leveling Mountains!"

Panic flashed through Pig Boom's eyes. Ning Chengyi was too fast for a fighter built to tank hits to react in time.

Boom!!!

The spear came down, and a cloud of bloody mist exploded outward!

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and brain matter flew clear into the stands.

The once-boisterous Soul Fighting Arena fell utterly silent!

Eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and confusion... Every gaze fixed on the boy shaking the flesh and blood from his spear.

"You didn't know your limits!"

Ning Chengyi spoke coldly, then walked out of the Soul Fighting Arena.

"One strike!"

"That spear strike was incredible!"

"Did you see that dead pig? He's minced meat!"

"That felt so damn good!"

After the brief silence came an unprecedented eruption of cheers.

"Azu!"

"Azu!"

Spectator after spectator began roaring his name.

The fact that Ning Chengyi had entered a death match made them all the more excited.

They had come to the Great Soul Arena for a thrill.

Now, Ning Chengyi had obliterated Pig Boom, a fighter with four consecutive wins, with a single spear strike. He had undoubtedly captured their attention, especially with the sheer beauty of that violence—a fluid strike without the slightest hesitation or wasted motion!

"Quick, check whether this Azu has another match!"

As soon as one spectator said that, the others reacted.

Someone immediately began checking.

When they discovered he had another two matches, they went wild.

Meanwhile, after collecting his winnings from the gambling area, Ning Chengyi closed his eyes for a brief rest.

He began reviewing the details of the fight.

The stifled anger he had carried in his heart for five years had finally dissipated when he unleashed his first Soul Skill and crushed the level-nineteen Pig Boom with one spear strike.

"That strike could have been more perfect. Unfortunately, it was my first time killing someone. I'm still not quite used to it."

Ning Chengyi drew a deep breath and murmured to himself.

What he wanted to prove was that he wasn't worthless!

The rule of the death-match arena was simple: survive.

He wanted to test himself too, but ordinary contests wouldn't give him the growth he sought. Only by tempering himself between life and death could he truly grow into a towering tree. Sparring while holding back at every turn was worse than practicing against low-level Soul Beasts.

"Death-match arena: Azu versus Hungry Tiger. Both fighters, take the stage!"

Before long, the announcement calling him to the stage sounded again.

When Ning Chengyi entered the arena, the spectators began roaring and shouting like madmen, their eyes fierce and vicious.

"Azu, a level-fourteen Soul Master, will face Hungry Tiger, a level-twenty-one Soul Grandmaster with seven consecutive wins."

"Who will emerge victorious in this match?"

"Will Azu kill his opponent with a single spear strike again, or will Hungry Tiger devour him? Let's find out!"

"Now, begin!!!"