The Soto Great Soul Arena dominated the heart of the city, its enormous, imposing oval structure standing out starkly among the surrounding buildings.
It was both a symbol of the Balak Kingdom's strength and a gladiatorial arena where Soul Masters fought for fame and fortune.
Glory and danger coexisted here. Countless Soul Masters risked their lives within its walls, settling superiority with their martial souls and winning renown for themselves.
A saying circulated among the common folk:
If you're a real man, step onto the Soto Soul Fighting Arena; if you're a woman, get off the stage while you still can!
When Li Hanqiu and his three disciples arrived at the Great Soul Arena,
they had not even entered before the stink of sweat and alcohol, mixed with the clinking of Gold Soul Coins, came surging through the doors.
Inside, deafening roars rose in a chaotic din, making it impossible to distinguish cheers from curses.
Li Hanqiu led Zhu Zhuqing and the other two into the hall after paying the admission fee.
Tang San followed quietly at his side.
Xiao Wu stood on tiptoe and looked around, her eyes brimming with excitement and curiosity.
Zhu Zhuqing trailed half a step behind. Her expression remained composed, but her fingertips kept pinching her sleeve, betraying her nervousness.
What no one noticed was that, a short distance behind the three,
Dai Mubai lowered the brim of his hat and blended into the crowd entering the arena.
He wore an inconspicuous gray outfit, his blond hair stuffed entirely into his hood. His mismatched red and blue eyes kept darting toward the three ahead.
More precisely, his gaze lingered on Zhu Zhuqing.
They entered the Great Soul Arena, which contained several fighting stages.
These were divided according to different criteria, including the number of participants and their cultivation ranks.
Li Hanqiu registered each of them.
He signed Tang San and Xiao Wu up for a two-on-two match, and Zhu Zhuqing for a solo bout.
"Zhu Zhuqing." Before the fighting began, Li Hanqiu called her aside.
"This is your first time at the Great Soul Arena. Unlike Tang San and Xiao Wu, you won't have someone watching your back.
"We're only here to get some practice. Winning or losing doesn't matter. Just don't get hurt."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
The match began soon afterward. Under Li Hanqiu's encouraging gaze, Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and stepped into the ring.
On the fighting stage, Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes.
Opposite her stood a tall, thin man in his early thirties. His soul power was at level thirty-one, and his martial soul was the Black-Spot Python.
The tall, thin Soul Master had mounted the stage with a greasy smile plastered across his face, his narrow eyes roving over Zhu Zhuqing's shapely figure.
"Heh heh, little girl, you don't look like you're even of age yet. So tender.
"I'd hate to scratch that delicate little face of yours. Admit defeat and get down while you still can!"
"Get lost!"
Zhu Zhuqing stared coldly at the tall, thin Soul Master, unwilling to waste another word on him.
At the same time, the referee struck the gong.
Clang! The gong rang out sharply.
Zhu Zhuqing moved first. Her body stretched into motion as she surged forward three steps, her claw blades aimed straight at her opponent's throat.
Rather than retreating, the tall, thin man advanced with a "heh heh."
The next instant, a Yellow Soul Ring lit up around him.
Then he twisted his body and slid two feet across the ground like a real snake.
Zhu Zhuqing's first two strikes missed.
But she reacted swiftly. As her first two claw strikes missed, she sharply twisted her wrist for the third, aiming straight at the tall, thin man's throat!
By the third strike, Zhu Zhuqing had already closed in beside him.
Just then, the man chuckled again and flipped his sleeve. A cloud of black smoke burst out with a puff.
Zhu Zhuqing's vision went black, and a foul, fishy stench flooded her nose. Her footing faltered, and the man slipped behind her.
"Hahaha, little girl, off you go!"
He drove a palm toward the center of Zhu Zhuqing's back.
The strike was vicious, carrying a poisonous gust. He plainly had no intention of stopping at a harmless touch.
Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth, forcibly rallied her soul power, and spun around with a claw strike.
But the black smoke obscured her vision. Her strike went two inches wide, tearing away only half his sleeve.
The blow struck her back first. With a muffled grunt, she stumbled three steps, the soul power around her weakening drastically.
This poisonous mist can suppress my soul power? Zhu Zhuqing clenched her teeth, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.
The man lunged again with a savage grin. "Hahaha, little beauty, it's too late to realize that now. Die!"
Outside the ring, Li Hanqiu's expression darkened slightly.
"Stop."
His voice was not loud, yet it carried with unmistakable clarity through the noisy arena.
The man froze briefly, then turned and saw a young man in blue robes. He paid him no mind whatsoever.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Get lost!"
Frost filled Li Hanqiu's eyes. In the next instant, he had stepped onto the fighting stage.
He walked toward the tall, thin man, soul rings spreading silently beneath his feet.
One ring, two rings, three rings.
The man still wore a contemptuous expression when the first three appeared.
At the fourth, his smile froze.
Then the fifth soul ring began to glow faintly.
!!!
The chaotic noise in the hall stopped as though someone had seized it by the throat. Several nearby spectators stared, their eyes practically popping out.
"A... a Soul King?!"
An organizer hurried over, about to shout for him to stop, only to see the five brightly shining soul rings.
He stood rooted to the spot, at a loss, while Li Hanqiu merely cast him a sidelong glance.
The man's legs buckled, and he scrambled away on all fours.
"And you. You dared hurt my disciple. You may escape death, but you won't escape punishment." Li Hanqiu fixed his gaze on the tall, thin man again.
With that, he gathered soul power in his palm, without visibly using any soul skill.
He simply compressed the soul power into a dense sphere, then tossed it at the tall, thin man.
The man's eyes widened, his pupils abruptly contracting as he stared at the sphere of densely condensed soul power.
The next instant, the sharp crack of breaking bones rang out, and excruciating pain swept through his body.
The man watched helplessly as that immense force bent his hand backward and snapped it, unable to break free.
"Aaaah-!"
Li Hanqiu clasped his hands behind his back and stared coldly at him. "Get lost!"
"Yes! I... I'll get lost right away..."
The man with the snake martial soul did not dare make another peep. Gritting his teeth and cradling his broken hand, he scrambled off the fighting stage.
He left a shocking trail of blood behind him.
Li Hanqiu turned and helped Zhu Zhuqing up.
"Where are you hurt?"
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. Her little face was pale, but she still tried to hold herself together. "I'm fine... Teacher, I can fight."
"I know." Li Hanqiu brushed the dust from her clothes. "But there's no need. Risking your life against scum like that isn't worth it."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded softly, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Then she lowered her eyelids, hiding the trace of bashfulness in her eyes.
Within the crowd,
Dai Mubai stared fixedly at the fighting stage from beneath his hat brim.
When Zhu Zhuqing was driven back by those underhanded tactics and fell into danger, he had nearly rushed forward.
Fortunately, Li Hanqiu had intervened and resolved the crisis.
Seeing this, Dai Mubai let out a long breath.
His body, poised to spring, stilled, and the glow of his White Tiger Martial Soul faded layer by layer.
Even the beastlike features on his body slowly disappeared, and his crimson eyes returned to normal.
Only his fists remained tightly clenched, the lingering fright yet to subside.
He looked toward the space below the stage, where Li Hanqiu shielded Zhu Zhuqing behind him. Li Hanqiu crouched down, anxiously asking where she had been hurt.
Li Hanqiu... doesn't seem as bad as I thought...
Dai Mubai slowly unclenched his fists.
He bit his thin lip and, for the first time, began to wonder whether he had misunderstood Li Hanqiu.
Meanwhile, on the two-on-two fighting stage,
the entire arena erupted again as soon as Tang San and Xiao Wu appeared.
The two youngsters, one specializing in control and the other in powerful attacks, worked together seamlessly.
Even though their opponents were two burly level-forty Soul Ancestors,
when those men first saw that their opponents were two little Soul Elders in their thirties, one of them a girl,
they could not stop grinning as they stepped onto the stage.
The battle broke out in an instant. As it went on, their smiles gradually vanished.
Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Continuous Steps struck harder with every blow, their force frightening.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass pressed in at every turn like a spiderweb woven in advance, forcing them to step into the Blue Silver traps themselves.
For a time, the two Soul Ancestors were toyed with until their heads spun. Neither lasted twenty exchanges before both collapsed.
"Next!"
Xiao Wu stood on the stage with her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
Tang San also stood behind her with smiling eyes, his gaze sweeping lightly across the arena as though searching for someone.
But after looking around and finding no sign of Li Hanqiu, Tang San's face instantly fell.
He took Xiao Wu's hand and walked off the stage, his expression dark.
He paid no attention whatsoever to the thunderous cheers around them.
To him, since his teacher was absent, he had no obligation to waste his feelings wearing a smile for anyone else.
Without his teacher watching, he could not be bothered to smile.
Elsewhere, Zhu Zhuqing had finished her first solo match, and it was time for a doubles match.
Tang San and Xiao Wu finally arrived as well.
Zhu Zhuqing stood below the stage with her head lowered.
"Teacher, I don't have a teammate."
"Yes, I know. Then let's forget it," Li Hanqiu said.
"But..."
"No buts."
As they spoke, a voice sounded beside them.
"I'll team up with you."
At the voice, the teacher and his three disciples all turned their heads.
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