The Matchup! Soul Master versus Soul Elder, Enlightenment amid a Rain of Swords!

Yu Tianheng headed straight for Nightglow Tower with the tall and short brothers.

But by the time they arrived, the place had emptied out. Ning Chengyi had long since returned to his courtyard.

"Where's your manager? Tell him to come see me!" Yu Tianheng roared, his face twisted with anger.

Someone had actually beaten a member of his clan. Yu Shuo might have been a disappointment, but he was still one of theirs. If anyone was going to teach him a lesson, it could only be his own clan.

"Captain Yu, your presence truly honors our humble establishment," the manager said with a fawning smile.

Yu Tianheng snorted. "Someone injured my younger clansman, Yu Shuo, earlier. Do you know anything about it?" His clan's honor was his own dignity. He would never let anyone trample on it.

"We have already looked into the matter. Yu Shuo was at fault. If you are dissatisfied, Captain Yu, you are welcome to seek out the person responsible." The manager raised his voice a few notches, sizing Yu Tianheng up with a calculating gaze.

Seeing that the manager had no intention of giving him an answer, Yu Tianheng snorted. "If I find out you did this deliberately, don't blame me for throwing my weight around."

With that warning, Yu Tianheng left with the tall and short brothers. Disdain filled the manager's eyes. If the young master didn't have plans, you would never have had the chance to act so arrogant.

Meanwhile, Ning Chengyi sat in his courtyard, humming a tune as he polished his mask until it gleamed.

"Things need to get even hotter tonight, or I won't hook any big fish."

Night had only just fallen when Ning Chengyi appeared at the Great Soul Arena again, wearing his crimson half-mask with its twin brass horns.

When he stepped out, he was no longer greeted by the silence of his first appearance.

Instead, deafening cheers erupted.

The previously subdued spectators went wild the moment they saw him, as though pumped full of stimulants. Their eyes reddened as they beat their chests and stamped their feet, their howls rising louder and louder.

"Azu! Azu..."

"Kill them for me, Azu!"

"Show us your spear..." a burly man in sheer silk shouted, his rough voice carrying a shrill edge.

"Hey, big guy, where are you from?"

The burly man rolled his eyes at the speaker before replying, "None of your business." The man beside him broke out in goosebumps and instinctively edged away. Even his rising anger subsided, replaced by fear in his eyes.

Ning Chengyi did not respond to the audience. He simply waited for the announcer.

His opponent this time was a rank-thirty-one Soul Elder who also possessed a tool martial soul.

"Finally, someone interesting." Ning Chengyi smiled faintly. He was very interested in this opponent.

His earlier matches had failed to hone his abilities at all. His first soul skill was simply too absurdly powerful.

Ordinary Soul Grandmasters could not withstand even a single attack from him!

The moment the announcer revealed the matchup, the entire arena erupted.

A Soul Master against a Soul Elder?!

"Refund! Give us our money back! Are you kidding me?!"

"How's he supposed to fight with a gap that big?"

"The Death Arena might not have restrictions, but this is obviously targeting him!"

The spectators immediately broke into an uproar.

Some protested the unfair treatment of Ning Chengyi, while others jeered and laughed.

"Serves him right! He stole all the limelight and left us penniless! I had to sell one of my organs just to scrape together the money for this bet..."

"Exactly! Sword Venerable, kill him! Hack him to pieces!"

Up in the VIP gallery.

"Young master, what do you think of this arrangement?"

"Mm. If he wins, invite him to meet me at Nightglow Tower."

"Yes."

Inside the room, the youth in fine brocade watched Ning Chengyi in the Death Arena, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"You're dead." Sword Venerable's soul rings emerged beneath his feet as he spoke. Ning Chengyi did not dare grow careless either. This was his first time facing a Soul Elder.

His lone purple soul ring appeared in a flash, sending another wave of astonishment through the crowd.

His soul ring configuration truly defied all common sense.

Sword Venerable wasted no more words. He opened with a vicious killing strike, his blade sweeping in with the reek of blood.

Ning Chengyi exploited his spear's superior reach, keeping Sword Venerable from getting anywhere near him.

"First soul skill: Space-Breaking Blade!"

The razor-sharp sword energy was far beyond anything a Soul Grandmaster could match.

Yet Ning Chengyi did not panic in the slightest. He steadied his breathing and met it calmly.

Though he had never fought Sword Venerable before, he had witnessed stronger Soul Masters battle. A dipping thrust, like a phoenix nodding its head, dispelled the lethal attack.

"Nicely done!" All trace of contempt vanished from Sword Venerable's expression, replaced by the appreciative respect of someone who had found a worthy opponent.

Ning Chengyi did not care whether he was impressed. "First soul skill: Mystic Edge, Leveling Mountains!" The Desolation-Suppressing God-Breaking Spear flashed coldly and swept out with a space-shattering howl. Its shaft moved so fast that it blurred into a fan-shaped sweep, overwhelming the eye!

Sword Venerable was no novice either. His eyes narrowed with ruthless intent as his second soul ring lit up. With Goddess Scatters Flowers, countless sword images formed from soul power shot across the sky, instantly sealing off every avenue of escape. Their bone-chilling sword energy bore down oppressively.

"Interesting!" Ning Chengyi laughed. Though his charging sweep granted him immunity to interruption, Sword Venerable's move bypassed his offense entirely, raining swords down from above. There was nowhere to dodge. He could only withstand it head-on.

Clang after clang rang out across the stage.

The spear danced in Ning Chengyi's hands as he swung it in great, staff-like arcs to block the rain of swords. Yet sword energy still sliced through his clothes, and countless beads of blood seeped from his skin.

The spectators held their breath and leaned forward. Only after Ning Chengyi weathered the attack did they erupt into frenzied howls. "Now that's exciting! This is what a Death Arena match should be! Higher ranks crushing lower ones, blood flying everywhere—that's the good stuff!"

"It's been ages since we saw something like this! What a thrill!"

"Come on, Azu!"

"Sword Venerable will win!"

Some spectators joined the cheers, while others sneered, convinced Ning Chengyi was hopelessly out of his depth.

Others feverishly raised their bets, certain the Soul Elder would slaughter his opponent.

"I've gauged your strength. Now, please... die!"

Sword Venerable held nothing back. His two yellow soul rings and one purple ring flashed, and the pressure of a rank-thirty-one Soul Elder surged forward like an avalanche. Even an ordinary Soul Grandmaster would have been unable to endure it.

A cruel smile curled his lips. "Third soul skill: Space Severance!" Almost without pause, sword energy tore through the air with a piercing howl, ripping through the space before Ning Chengyi and reaching him in an instant.

"Bring it on!" By now, Ning Chengyi was swept up in the fight too. Soul power boiled throughout his body. Gripping his spear with grim resolve, he made his soul ring blaze with dazzling purple light.

Boom!

A terrifying impact surged through the spear shaft in an instant.

His arms trembled, but a deathly resolve filled his eyes as he stared fixedly at Sword Venerable. Ignoring the blood flowing from the webbing of his hands, he jerked his right foot back and braced himself. The bluestone stage shattered beneath him with a crash.

"What a shame. Such a shame. They're simply not on the same level!"

"The gap's too big! Hang in there, Azu!"

"I'm screwed. My kidney..."

Cries of shock rose one after another from the stands.

The spectators stared wide-eyed at the stage, torn between regret and excitement.

"It's over!" As Sword Venerable spoke, the spectators supporting Ning Chengyi let out helpless sighs.

Sword Venerable's second soul skill once again wove a rain of swords that descended from above. Ning Chengyi's gaze turned cold as frost. He drew a deep breath. He had discovered where he fell short.