The Great Soul Arena, in the name of the Golden Crow!

Spirit City.

The Pope's Palace.

Within this grand, cavernous hall.

A woman in a brilliant golden gown, wearing the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown, sat with her eyes slightly lowered, reviewing the documents on her desk.

Her beauty was peerless, her bearing noble, with an air of authority that made others afraid to look her in the eye.

She!

Was none other than the newly appointed Pope of Spirit Hall.

And Bibi Dong, one of Spirit Hall's three love-addled fools!

Suddenly...

Tap, tap, tap...

A series of soft, measured footsteps broke the deathly silence of the hall.

A man with feminine features and skin as fair as jade swayed his way inside.

He was one of Bibi Dong's two trusted enforcers.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan!

Yue Guan bowed slightly, his fingers poised like an orchid.

In his unmistakably soft, feminine voice, he reported:

"Your Holiness, an urgent secret letter has arrived from the temple in Heaven Dou City."

"Bring it here."

Bibi Dong did not even raise her head.

She merely extended a slender, fair hand.

Yue Guan hurried forward and placed the encrypted letter in Bibi Dong's palm with both hands.

Bibi Dong casually opened it, her gaze sweeping swiftly over the paper.

"Interesting... a Soul Master with twin martial souls has actually appeared in the Heaven Dou Empire this year."

"And not only that, he actually overloaded a testing crystal designed to measure soul power below rank 10 until it burst."

Bibi Dong's red lips parted slightly, interest flickering in her eyes.

At those words, a trace of astonishment flashed through Yue Guan's eyes. He quickly lowered his head and asked:

"Then, Your Holiness, should I go personally and bring this child back to Spirit City?"

"According to the information they sent, this child is unwilling to join our Spirit Hall for now."

Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh and released a pulse of soul power from her palm.

With a soft pop.

The secret letter instantly turned to powder, sifting down between her fingers.

"To prevent any other sect or faction from claiming him."

"Yue Guan, go there yourself!"

"If he remains obstinate and refuses Spirit Hall's invitation, then simply... finish him off!"

Bibi Dong slowly raised her head, a chilling murderous intent lurking within her beautiful eyes.

"Yes! Understood!"

Yue Guan's heart tightened.

Having received his orders, he became a blur and swiftly vanished from the hall.

"I hope you'll be good and join my Spirit Hall!" Bibi Dong leaned back into her throne, her gaze as cold as a blade.

A monstrous prodigy capable of upsetting the balance of the continent.

If she could not obtain him, she could only destroy him completely.

Left to another faction, he was bound to become a stumbling block in her future plans.

But little did she know.

By then, Lu Xuan had already left Nuoding City.

Several days later.

"What did you say? Someone took him away?!"

Inside the Pope's Palace.

Bibi Dong sprang to her feet.

A terrifying pressure of soul power swept through the entire hall, leaving Yue Guan below the steps drenched in cold sweat.

"Y-yes, Your Holiness!" Yue Guan knelt on one knee and hurriedly reported.

"By the time I arrived, the child had long since disappeared."

"Based on the clues, the person who took him away appears to have been a female Titled Douluo with red hair!"

"A red-haired female Titled Douluo?"

Bibi Dong's brows knitted tightly as information on the continent's known powerhouses flashed through her mind.

"Ling Yuan from the Elder Hall?"

"No, if it were Ling Yuan, there would have been no need to report it! It definitely wasn't her! Then who else could it be?"

Bibi Dong's exquisite face twisted slightly with rage, and she slammed her hand onto the armrest:

"Damn it! Since when has another unknown powerhouse of this caliber appeared on the continent?"

"Investigate! Mobilize every covert contact we have. I want every detail about this red-haired female Titled Douluo dug up!"

Bibi Dong barked sharply.

Time slipped by.

Three months quietly passed in relentless training, day after day.

Over those three months.

Under Leng Yaozhu's positively hellish, strict instruction.

Lu Xuan finally managed to grasp the basics of movement techniques and combat skills!

Continuing to shut himself away and train in isolation was no longer of any use.

It was time to head to the Great Soul Arena for real combat!

And so.

After spending three months holed up at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the two finally stepped out of that secluded paradise.

Beside them was Dugu Bo, willingly serving as their guide and bodyguard.

The three traveled swiftly and soon arrived in Heaven Dou City.

With Dugu Bo leading the way.

They reached Heaven Dou City's Great Soul Arena.

It was an extraordinarily grand, oval-shaped building.

Even from several streets away.

They could feel the frenzy and hear the uproar spilling out from within.

The Great Soul Arena.

This enormous enterprise had branches in cities large and small throughout the two great empires.

There was even one in Spirit City!

On the Douluo Continent, a rumor had long circulated.

An immensely terrifying, secretive faction controlled the Great Soul Arena from the shadows.

Even the two great empires and Spirit Hall had to show it some respect.

However, that rumor was largely a mixture of truth and falsehood.

Still, there was most likely truth to the claim that this organization had a powerful force behind it.

Otherwise, a place that raked in gold by the bucketful each day and gathered countless desperate outlaws.

Could never have remained standing amid the competing powers pressing in from every side.

"Here are the 10 Gold Soul Coins for registration." Dugu Bo took the coins out of his soul tool and handed them to Lu Xuan.

Leng Yaozhu reminded him from beside them, "Remember, don't give your real name when you register. Think of an alias."

The Great Soul Arena was a place where dragons and fish mingled; concealing one's identity was a necessary means of self-protection.

"All right, I understand."

Lu Xuan nodded, took the coins, and walked toward the registration desk.

As for his alias, he did not need to hesitate at all.

In the name of the Golden Crow, he would begin his own journey to fame in this Great Soul Arena!

Since Lu Xuan was a newly registered Iron Soul Fighter with no record whatsoever.

His first one-on-one soul fight was naturally assigned to Branch Soul Fighting Arena No. 21, an out-of-the-way venue with relatively dated facilities.

The stands here were not very large.

There were also very few spectators watching, most of them lowly gamblers who could not afford tickets to the main arena.

At the center of the fighting platform stood a middle-aged man in a crisp tailcoat.

He cleared his throat and began introducing the upcoming soul fight in a booming voice amplified by soul power:

"Ladies and gentlemen! Next, we will hold the first one-on-one soul fight in our Soul Fighting Arena No. 26! Two Battle Soul Elders will be taking the stage!"

"They are—Golden Crow, a Battle Soul Elder whose beast martial soul is the Golden Crow!"

"And Lin Yi, a Battle Soul Elder with the weapon martial soul, the Gale Spear, who has already seized three consecutive victories!"

"Will Battle Soul Elder Lin Yi sweep through like a blade splitting bamboo and successfully claim his fourth straight win?"

"Or will the newcomer, Battle Soul Elder Golden Crow, stun us all with his first cry, end his opponent's winning streak, and take victory?"

"Now, please welcome both Battle Soul Elders to the stage!"

Only a few scattered cheers came from the spectators in the stands.

Just a handful of gamblers who had wagered heavily on Lin Yi shouted his name at the tops of their lungs.

As for that Golden Crow they had never even heard of?

Most people had no interest in him.

After all, he was a newcomer without a single fight to his name.

Without showing his strength, there was no chance anyone would favor him.

Amid the sparse applause.

Lu Xuan drew a deep breath.

And walked onto the fighting platform with steady steps.