Training in the Beast Fighting Zone, Lan Xiu's Million-Coin Friendship Fee, and the Hybrid Demon King Doom Spider (4K)

Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Class 1, Year 5.

Warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the window lattice, bathing the girl's lovely face. Meng Hongchen propped her chin in both hands, her snowy white hair tied into youthful twin tails, eagerly awaiting the dismissal bell.

It was Friday. She and Lin Qing had agreed that night to have dinner together on Mingdu's food street after school and discuss the details of making her Level 6 Soul Tool Armor.

In Miss Meng's conquest plan, a boy and a girl going out together alone was no different from a romantic date. She had taken that all-important first step.

Xiao Hongchen saw every sign of his sister's budding love, but could only hold his forehead and sigh helplessly. His little padded jacket had sprung a hole and was letting in the wind-she had even gone so far as to feed her brother Ice Toad Poison!

Still, Xiao Hongchen had no time to rein Meng Hongchen in. He was wholeheartedly preparing for the selection tournament and his ultimate showdown with Lin Qing. His personal motto had quietly changed from "Xiao Hongchen is invincible among his peers" to "Until heaven and earth are settled, either of us could be the dark horse!"

After a week of school life, Lin Qing and Ye Guyi gradually grew accustomed to the pace of classes at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, fitting in seamlessly.

The angel girl was especially diligent. Every day, she hurried between the teaching building, library, and simulated cultivation grounds, cramming knowledge into every spare moment. She was charging ahead to make up lost ground, determined to catch up with Lin Qing.

"Class begins."

Their homeroom teacher, Zhou Qin, entered the classroom with the bell. His gaze swept over the thirty-two students, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Good. Year 5 was the crucial stage for securing admission to Mingde Hall. Aside from a tiny handful who remained impervious to persuasion, most of the students were studying diligently on their own.

"This afternoon is practical combat training. Everyone, line up."

Zhou Qin called for everyone to get up and set out.

Whether one was a soul master or a soul engineer, practical combat always came first in cultivation. And practical combat came in many forms, from restrained sparring between classmates to bloody struggles where only one side walked away alive.

In recent years, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had become increasingly aware that its students lacked experience in lethal combat and often suffered badly in life-or-death battles. Jing Hongchen had begun emphasizing routine training in this area, spending a vast sum to build a Beast Fighting Zone.

Soul beasts and soul masters were natural enemies. Soul beasts would never hold back against humans, making them suitable opponents for life-or-death combat.

Jing Hongchen was far from the only clever mind on the Douluo Continent. Countless people had thought of using soul beasts, yet few soul master academies across the four great empires had established Beast Fighting Zones.

Every soul beast had different habits, requiring skilled craftsmen to build enclosures with varied environments within a limited area. They had to ensure the beasts could survive reliably without diminishing their innate wildness. Add their daily food supplies, and the expense in Gold Soul Coins was destined to be astronomical.

Without exception, the soul master academies willing to build Beast Fighting Zones were their empires' foremost institutions. Those that kept ten-thousand-year soul beasts were rarer still. Only the imperial academies of the four great empires and Shrek, which possessed independent taxation rights, were confirmed to have the necessary financial and material resources.

The Sun Moon Royal Beast Fighting Zone stood at the academy's westernmost corner. Its black buildings were tall and solemn, and its metal fencing had undergone a special treatment to give it the texture of stone.

The vicious protruding points resembled rows of spears. The entire exterior looked like an ancient, weathered arena, commemorating the human warriors who had once fought soul beasts here in single combat to the death.

Zhou Qin took out a drawing cylinder, and the students drew lots to determine their order of appearance.

Once the draw was finished, Lin Qing looked down at the wooden lot marked thirty-two in his hand. Realizing he would go last, he immediately sank into contemplation.

Was this reasonable? How could my luck be this bad?

Someone hurry and invite the Auspicious Beast to turn my fortunes around!

The Year 5 students took their seats in the Beast Fighting Zone's spectator stands. Ye Guyi and Meng Hongchen firmly claimed the places on either side of Lin Qing. The two breathtaking beauties' delicate fragrances wafted toward him, slightly dispelling the sorrow of his self-doubt.

The student who had drawn number one was a familiar face: Lan Xiu, whose worldview had been shattered during the advancement assessment battle.

Four figures hovered at the corners of the arena. The Beast Fighting Zone's teachers stood ready to rescue students at any moment. Once everything was ready, the alloy gate rumbled upward.

"Hiss-"

With a piercing hiss, an enormous serpent more than ten meters long charged out of the passage. Pale red wings sprouted from its back, and a fleshy crest as scarlet as blood rose from its head. Scales densely covered its thick, lengthy body, while its tail spread into a beautiful fan.

A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent with three thousand years of cultivation!

Its combat strength was average, and it possessed no powerful innate soul skills, but its flight speed was extraordinary. Few soul beasts of the same age could catch a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

Year 5 students were accustomed to Beast Fighting Zone training. Lan Xiu steadied himself, and nine clusters of silver light shot skyward, blossoming with cold radiance overhead.

"Nine Radiances is different..."

The students in the stands keenly noticed something unusual. Previously, the Nine Radiances spheres had only been fist-sized, but they were now a full size larger. The soul guidance patterns engraved on their shells were intricate and exquisite, silver lines intertwining through an interlocking openwork structure.

Now, the aura Nine Radiances emitted was exceptionally powerful, as though it had been sublimated by a higher order of energy. It could almost be described as having shed its old bones and been reborn!

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent beat its wings fiercely. Its pale red wings traced two dazzling arcs as its winding, ten-meter-long body took flight at astonishing speed. Turning into a streak of crimson lightning, it opened its jaws and lunged down to bite Lan Xiu.

Facing a speed-oriented soul beast adept at assassination, Lan Xiu remained unhurried. His spiritual power linked with his soul tool, and three spheres precisely intercepted the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's path, releasing rings of silver light.

The serpent's head slammed into Nine Radiances' defensive line at full force. The instant the silver rings touched the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, they expanded sharply outward. The serpent felt as though its head had struck a towering wall-indestructible, yet extraordinarily elastic.

An immense repulsive force surged through its muscles and bones, shaking its entire body numb. The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's already tiny brain rattled violently inside its skull, and the world spun around it.

Lan Xiu flashed a crooked grin. Looking toward Lin Qing, who sat in the stands with his arms folded, he raised a thumb from afar.

One million Gold Soul Coins, well spent!

Boss Lin had a conscience like no other. Not only had he sublimated the rare metals used to make Nine Radiances, he had even added a brand-new Soul Guidance Array along the way. After leaving Lin Qing's room, Nine Radiances had undergone a complete transformation, gaining an additional ability on top of its basic Rebound Ray.

Repulsion Halo.

Caught off guard, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent had suffered badly. Concussion-induced dizziness washed over it, leaving it unable to concentrate as its flight became erratic.

Naturally, Lan Xiu would not give the soul beast time to recover. Nine silver stars swiftly moved into an airtight encirclement, trapping the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent at its center.

Nine Radiances fired Rebound Rays. The unending beams carried a maddeningly elastic force, shoving the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent every which way. It immediately tried to fight back, opening its bloody maw to bite one of the silver spheres.

But before its fangs could touch the sphere, Nine Radiances unleashed Repulsion Halo, once again pushing away the stubbornly resisting Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

One rebound, two shoves, repeating endlessly.

The three-thousand-year soul beast became a ball for Nine Radiances to kick back and forth. Scales shattered on its fan-shaped tail, and the fleshy crest atop its head split open.

"Boom-"

With a tremendous crash, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent slammed into the Beast Fighting Zone's floor. Web-like cracks spread across the metal ground. Its body lay limp as though boneless, its head tilted to one side, and its cold vertical pupils had turned into spinning mosquito-coil eyes.

"Winner, Lan Xiu."

The referee loudly announced the outcome.

"I, Lan Xiu, now have what it takes to rank among the top five of my generation!" Lan Xiu threw back his head and laughed.

Rebound Ray in my left hand, Repulsion Halo in my right.

What control-type soul engineer could be more infuriating than me?

One million Gold Soul Coins for a set of Level 4 Soul Tools might look like a disastrous loss at first glance, but the truth was precisely the opposite!

That was no labor fee. It was clearly a friendship fee!

Paying a premium raised Lin Qing's expectations. That way, even if Sun Moon students offered money to have their soul tools sublimated in the future, Lin Qing would instinctively compare the yawning gulf between his new and old customers!

Once the waves washed away the rest, Lin Qing would realize that Lan Xiu was his most generous customer, and his goodwill would soar!

This was the social finesse Lan Xiu's father had taught him from childhood!

Class 1, Year 5 was far too small. Lan Xiu had long since set his sights on the next two Soul Master Tournaments, and even the grand journey awaiting him after graduation from Mingde Hall.

A mere million Gold Soul Coins was only the tip of a hair on one hair of nine oxen. It could not compare with the precious friendship of Ultimate Metal!

Over the following hours, the Year 5 students entered the arena in the order they had drawn. Ye Guyi faced a six-thousand-year Sharp-Tailed Swift, Meng Hongchen fought an eight-thousand-year Plate Armored Giant Rhino, and Xiao Hongchen battled a ten-thousand-year Great Strength Gorilla...

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had honed its practical combat training strategy to the fullest. Based on each student's cultivation and soul engineer level, it selected soul beasts of similar combat strength whenever possible, placing them under enough pressure to achieve the desired training effect.

"Student number thirty-two, please enter the arena."

Practical combat training continued from afternoon until dusk. Bored out of his mind, Lin Qing was reading Don't Lose Because You Can't Express Yourself when he finally heard the referee call him. He lightly bumped fists with the two girls beside him, then leaped down into the arena.

The sunset stretched his upright figure into a long silhouette. Standing quietly between heaven and earth, the youth naturally possessed the cool resilience of a hundred-thousand-year Lone Bamboo that had taken human form.

Meanwhile, high among the clouds, three figures looked down at the ground. Lin Jiayi stood half a step behind his two companions. The dignified dean of the continent's foremost soul engineer academy, a peak Level 8 Soul Engineer in his prime, had been reduced to a smiling attendant.

There was nothing he could do. Director Lin had met the supreme powers themselves.

Kong Deming, the empire's sky-supporting pillar, and Jing Hongchen, Hall Master of Mingde Hall!

"Master Kong, you've come to watch?" Jing Hongchen nodded and bowed, his left ear faintly aching.

Kong Deming clasped his hands behind his back. "I heard Year 5 had practical combat training today, so I made a special trip to take a look.

"I have lived a hundred and fifty years and seen countless strange things, but an Ultimate Martial Soul is an unprecedented first. Never mind me-even the oldest generation of soul masters on the Douluo Continent have only heard of Ultimate Martial Souls, never seen their wielders.

"Little Jing, I would like to see Ultimate Metal in combat with its full power unleashed. It will broaden my horizons, and let me study how to train him in the future.

"Does the Soul Fighting Zone have any suitable ten-thousand-year soul beasts?"

"Well..."

Jing Hongchen thought quickly, then said after some consideration, "Yes. There is a soul beast I captured alive in the Evil Demon Forest six months ago. Because its bloodline is so extraordinarily rare, I intended to spare its life.

"But that vile beast is savage and bloodthirsty by nature. It constantly batters the fencing and indiscriminately attacks every other soul beast. Only injections of sedatives can quiet it. The Beast Fighting Zone's staff cannot bear the trouble anymore and have repeatedly submitted joint reports asking me to authorize its execution."

"Send it out. With me here watching, Ultimate Metal will come to no harm," Kong Deming said calmly.

"Yes, Master Kong."

Jing Hongchen shot Lin Jiayi a look. A single higher rank could crush a man; Director Lin ruefully carried out the Hall Master's orders. When he reappeared, he gestured to the two eminent figures that everything was arranged.

In the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's Beast Fighting Zone, the alloy gate rose for the thirty-second time.

From the depths of the pitch-black passage came an unsettling rustling, like sharp metal spearpoints scraping against the ground, shrill and grating.

"Screee-"

A savage shriek suddenly erupted, high-frequency sound waves sweeping in every direction. The students in the stands covered their ears, their faces twisting in pain. Xiao Hongchen frowned deeply. This newcomer was no ordinary beast-it far surpassed the ten-thousand-year Great Strength Gorilla!

Eight scarlet lights suddenly flared in the darkness. They were eight blazing, bloodthirsty beast eyes, fixed unwaveringly on the figure at the other end of the Beast Fighting Zone.

An enormous web shot out and immediately swelled in the wind. In the blink of an eye, it spread into a purple-black curtain that blotted out the sky, hanging overhead and covering the heavens above the Beast Fighting Zone. Its threads reflected a dark purple sheen.

"Rustle, rustle..."

The faint sound spread. Everyone who heard it felt their heartbeat involuntarily quicken. Their instincts warned them to leave immediately and run as far away as possible.

A grotesquely large purple-black spider emerged, walking upside down. Its millstone-shaped body measured more than five meters across, and a thick purple-black carapace covered it entirely.

Eight spear-like legs extended outward, making it resemble a fiend spreading four pairs of demonic wings. Drops of deep purple liquid gathered at their tips and fell as the spider slowly moved. They hissed against the alloy floor, corroding a horrifying trail along its path.

The spider's exposed abdomen was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Stark white markings contrasted sharply with its dark carapace, forming a lifelike woman's face. The corners of its white lips curled into an eerie, cruel smile.

"A ten-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider..."

One Year 5 student shrank back, crying out the soul beast's name in terror.

"No, this is definitely not a Man Faced Demon Spider." Ye Guyi shook her head. "A Man Faced Demon Spider can only shoot webs a limited number of times. It couldn't possibly squander them like this spider, weaving webs to walk high in the air."

"Guyi is right."

Meng Hongchen clenched her fists and continued, "Grandpa told me about this spider in private. It's a hybrid demon king born from a Man Faced Demon Spider and a Death Demon Spider. It possesses both demon spiders' combat abilities, though its appearance leans more toward the Man Faced Demon Spider. Its name is the Doom Spider.

"In theory, the Doom Spider is second only to a fusion of the two spider emperors, the Death Demon Spider and the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider. Even so, it's a top-tier venomous soul beast. Its Doom Poison combines the Man Faced Demon Spider's neurotoxin with the Death Demon Spider's lethal venom, which seals the throat the moment it draws blood.

"The Doom Spider has about twelve thousand years of cultivation. Grandpa originally intended to kill it for my fifth soul ring.

"However, the Doom Spider's venom is viciously potent. He was concerned that its soul ring would trigger a backlash from my cold poison. I also preferred to absorb a Vermilion-Sun Ice Toad that matched my martial soul, making it the first Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring of my life as a soul master.

"Who would have thought the academy would actually release the Doom Spider to fight Lin Qing..."