The Great Soul Arena

The Great Soul Arena of Shrek City.

It stood in the western part of Shrek City, neatly mirroring Shrek Academy in the east.

Since battles in the Great Soul Arena were fierce and injuries were common, the arena employed quite a few high-ranking Healing System Soul Masters. Their services came at a price, of course.

The many hospitals nearby catered to those unwilling to accept the Great Soul Arena's treatment services.

The Shrek Great Soul Arena also had a unique feature, one found nowhere else on the continent.

There were no death matches.

Matches in most Great Soul Arenas fell into two categories: competitive bouts and death matches.

As the name suggested, death matches left both sides to rely on their own abilities, with no regard for life or death. Their prizes and betting stakes were considerably higher.

But this was Shrek.

Almost everyone admitted to Shrek Academy was a dragon or phoenix among their peers. Losing one of them in the ring would undoubtedly be a tremendous waste.

Qi Xuan approached the front desk and nodded slightly. "Please register me."

The young woman at the desk smiled warmly, her manner entirely unaffected by Qi Xuan's age:

"Certainly. Are you a student at Shrek Academy?"

Indeed, Shrek Academy students received preferential treatment throughout Shrek City, including at the Great Soul Arena.

Not only were their registration fees and prize processing fees waived, but they also had access to a dedicated communal lounge. Students of sufficiently high standing could even have private lounges of their own. Medical treatment for injured Shrek students was also entirely free-the director of the Great Soul Arena's medical department was a Healing System teacher from Shrek Academy serving in both roles.

Qi Xuan presented his freshman badge and completed his registration.

The Great Soul Arena offered many kinds of soul fighting, the main one being ranked bouts. When he registered, Qi Xuan also received an Iron Soul Badge, which represented his rank.

But Qi Xuan was pressed for time, so he asked directly, "Are there any challenge rings open to Soul Grandmasters?"

Challenge rings used a special format. The Great Soul Arena would often hire powerful Soul Masters to defend a ring and establish an initial prize pool.

A challenger's entry fee was ten percent of the total prize pool, and that fee would be added directly to the pool.

The ring champion had to accept at least one Soul Master's challenge each day. Whoever defeated the champion could claim the entire prize pool.

After defending the ring for ten full days, the champion could also choose to take the prize money.

That prize money was exactly what Qi Xuan had his sights on.

Of course, whoever claimed the prize, the Great Soul Arena would take its cut. And to ensure a high win rate, the champions were almost always one rank above the challengers.

For example, in challenge rings open to Soul Grandmasters, the champion was usually a recently advanced Soul Elder, and so on.

Thus, although Qi Xuan's Soul Power had long since reached rank thirty, he was still considered a Soul Grandmaster because he lacked another Soul Ring.

With his strength, beating a low-ranking Soul Elder would be a breeze.

"I'm very sorry, but none of the rings in the Soul Grandmaster bracket are accepting any more challenges today."

Qi Xuan frowned. "Let me see your list."

Because Qi Xuan had arrived late, most of the day's challenge matches had already ended. Lower-ranking rings generally attracted the most participants-the gap between lower ranks could still be bridged, but in higher-ranking battles, differences in rank became increasingly pronounced.

Qi Xuan flipped through the list and pointed at one name. "Can I challenge this one today?"

The staff member looked troubled. "Well... this man is already a rank-forty Soul Ancestor. He's very powerful, and lately he seems to be showing signs of another breakthrough, so no one has challenged him these past few days."

"So he can't refuse my challenge, then? Please contact him for me."

What caught Qi Xuan's attention was nothing else but that ring's prize pool-20,000 Gold Soul Coins!

Although the entry fee alone would drain all the money he had borrowed from Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, once tonight was over, he would be rich!

"Hmph! I wondered who it was, but you're just a little brat. Get back home!" The man opposite Qi Xuan was utterly scornful.

Qi Xuan was just over twelve that year and stood 1.6 meters tall, already quite tall for his age. His opponent, however, was over 1.9 meters.

Even with a mask concealing his face, his youthful voice had given away his age.

Qi Xuan shook out his hands. "Save your breath. I've already paid the entry fee."

As the ring's protective Soul Tool activated, the battle officially began.

Shi Meng, thirty-two years old, rank-forty-three Battle Soul Ancestor. Martial Soul: rock rhino.

He was not a particularly gifted Soul Master, but he had begun fighting in the Soul Fighting Arena at eighteen. His fierce approach and ruthless blows had tempered him into a blooded fighter. Finally, upon advancing to Soul Ancestor, he had become one of the arena's ring champions.

Today happened to be the tenth day of his defense. Having already made a name for himself, he had gone several days without a challenger.

All he had to do was wait a few more hours, and those 20,000 Gold Soul Coins would be his.

He had even decided how he would enjoy them.

Then Qi Xuan had arrived. Shi Meng was therefore furious, itching to teach Qi Xuan a lesson and show him just how cruel the Soul Master World could be!

White, yellow, yellow, purple. Four Soul Rings rose from Shi Meng in succession. As he charged at Qi Xuan, his skin gradually hardened into layers of rocky armor, and a stone horn sprouted from his head.

His four Soul Rings flashed one after another. Rock Armor Tremor, Iron Rock Fist, Rampaging Charge, Rhino Horn Earth-Splitting Strike-he unleashed all four Soul Skills at once, intending to finish everything in a single stroke and kill Qi Xuan instantly.

Against that massive, imposing charge, Qi Xuan's figure looked much smaller.

Watching the shards of rock flying around his feet, Qi Xuan almost wanted to laugh. Even combined, the ages of Shi Meng's four Soul Rings probably fell short of his second ring alone.

He leaped high to meet Shi Meng's assault and threw a punch.

Under Shi Meng's incredulous gaze, two purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings appeared around Qi Xuan.

Bam! Dust billowed through the ring as Qi Xuan and Shi Meng met fist to fist without the slightest flourish. There was no technique to it, only a contest of raw strength.

Crack.

At the collision, Shi Meng grunted and staggered backward, while Qi Xuan immediately closed in.

First Soul Skill, Five Thunders Orthodox Method-Crimson Palace Thunder!

Lightning coursed over his hand as he slammed it into Shi Meng's face. The tremendous force punched straight through the rock, knocking a mouthful of blood and a tooth from him!

Shi Meng felt as though he had met a colossal dragon head-on. The irresistible burst of power and impact left him unable to do anything for a moment except curl up and try to endure it.

Bam!

Qi Xuan's left fist struck his chest, leaving a deep dent. Fine cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.

Bam!

This punch landed in his abdomen, splitting the rocky armor across his front with cracks.

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!

Amid those heart-stopping impacts, Qi Xuan's fists thundered down on Shi Meng in a wild barrage. Heavy and relentless, the blows hammered the Soul Ancestor ring champion straight into the floor.

The rocky layers covering Shi Meng's body crumbled into powder. Qi Xuan had actually beaten him out of his Martial Soul transformation.

Qi Xuan cast a sidelong glance at the dumbstruck referee outside the ring. "You can announce the result now, right?"