"Caw! Finally, back in a city!"
The three of them left the Star Dou Great Forest and arrived at a medium-sized city, Geyin City, to settle in.
As Ma Hongjun entered the city, he cheered and shouted with delight.
He drew sidelong looks from passersby.
What a sturdy little chunk, carrying such a huge axe on his back. And what a strange carriage.
"I'll take the Iron Horse to a carriage depot and buy some materials. Xiao San, Hongjun, you two can look around on your own first."
Seeing the two children gazing at the bustling city, Grandmaster gave Tang San and Ma Hongjun permission to explore freely.
"Meet at that hotel at sunset."
Grandmaster pointed to the Big Wasp Hotel not far away, establishing their meeting point.
Tang San and Ma Hongjun nodded, then set off to look around.
Geyin City lay within the Balak Kingdom, backed by a large mountain and bordered by a great river called the Geyin River, a tributary of the Barak River.
Following the Geyin River, one could see vast stretches of farmland. Farther along lay the Balak Kingdom's granary: Suotuo City.
Thanks to Suotuo City, Geyin City was exceptionally prosperous as well.
Besides that, it also faced plenty of dangers.
It was close to both the Star Dou Great Forest and the border of the Star Luo Empire.
There were also large mountains nearby, home to dangerous creatures-not only highly aggressive soul beasts, but also aberrant breeds such as the Wolf Bandits.
Wolf Bandits were hybrids of humans and the naturally lustful gale demon wolves, most commonly found in the Star Luo Empire.
They were vicious and evil by nature, with a taste for human flesh. They often invaded nearby villages, killing the men for food and capturing the women for breeding.
As a result, Geyin City housed numerous mercenary groups that ventured into the mountains to purge Wolf Bandits or hunt soul beasts for materials.
These mercenaries, who licked blood from the edge of a blade, would naturally be prime customers for Blue Silver Dewdrop.
Tang San and Ma Hongjun first enjoyed a satisfying lunch at a nearby restaurant, then began exploring Geyin City.
"Wow! So many soul masters!"
Like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, Ma Hongjun gazed around at the sights of Geyin City.
There were far more soul masters here than in other cities, towns, and villages.
"Most are around the Soul Grandmaster or Soul Elder level, with a fair number of Soul Ancestors too."
Tang San's powerful perception quickly assessed the caliber of the soul masters here.
Their cultivation was not particularly high, but they were somewhat stronger than soul masters in other towns and cities.
Unlike those soul masters who liked to hole up in big cities and enjoy aristocratic privileges, the soul masters here did mercenary work.
Soul masters themselves were divided into ranks and tiers. Those from martial soul sects occupied the upper tier, families with hereditary martial souls occupied the middle tier, and common-born soul masters occupied the bottom.
Soul masters born as commoners had very limited prospects for climbing the social ladder. Unless they achieved something noteworthy or were exceptionally gifted, they generally struggled to get ahead.
Those who did not join Spirit Hall generally became bodyguards for nobles or mercenaries, though some made names for themselves in soul fighting arenas and became stars.
"The Geyin Soul Fighting Arena. Hongjun, how about we go inside and take a look?"
Looking at the enormous arena building, Tang San asked Ma Hongjun.
He wanted to learn more about the caliber of the local soul masters as part of his investigation into them.
By now, Tang San had already had several clashes with other people.
Although he had some combat experience, he was still very interested in battles between soul masters.
"Uh, all right."
Ma Hongjun looked at the pink hotel not far away and sighed deeply inwardly. His urges in that department were not as strong as before, but they had not disappeared entirely.
Still, under the combined discipline of Grandmaster and Tang San, he could now restrain those impulses.
The two entered the soul fighting arena and watched an exciting match between Soul Elders.
A soul master with a black claw martial soul battled a soul master with a bread dragon martial soul.
"Awesome! That black claw soul master's third soul skill was so cool. Black shadows covered his whole body, taking both his attack power and speed up a notch."
"That bread dragon soul master was pretty good too. He might have looked goofy after Martial Soul Possession, but his supple body had truly astonishing defenses."
"Especially that huge tongue from his third soul skill. It could give Grandmaster's Divine Departure a run for its money."
Still hungry for more, Tang San and Ma Hongjun discussed the match they had just watched. The world's martial souls truly came in every bizarre shape and form imaginable.
They had yet to fight a proper battle against a soul master, and their sparring with each other always stopped short of causing harm.
Most of the soul masters they had encountered had fairly conventional martial souls. Black claws and bread dragons were quite rare.
"Brother San, how about we have a soul fight here too?"
Itching to try his hand, Ma Hongjun made the suggestion.
"Well..."
Tang San considered it. Not only could it increase his combat experience, but encountering more martial souls would also broaden his knowledge.
Besides, sunset was still some time away, and there was nowhere else he particularly wanted to go. Spending a little time in the soul fighting arena sounded good.
"Sure. Let's do it together."
The two happily went to register. Grandmaster had explained how soul fighting arenas worked to Tang San and Ma Hongjun.
He had also mentioned that, whenever they had the chance, they should come here to fight and accumulate combat experience.
Thus, Tang San and Ma Hongjun each signed up for a one-on-one soul fight, then registered for a two-on-two match as well.
They spent some time deciding on a name for their team.
Grass Chicken, Red Blue, Evil Silver, Tang Ma, Jun San... Finally, they settled on Blue Phoenix.
But Ma Hongjun stumbled over his words and said Blue Dream instead.
And so, under the staff member's look of utter disbelief, the Blue Dream Combo was officially established.
It left Ma Hongjun thoroughly glum.
Tang San had to comfort him by saying, "You're a phoenix with dreams and aspirations," before Ma Hongjun finally broke into a smile.
In the competitors' waiting room, the appearance of these two youngsters among the burly men and women attracted plenty of looks.
Tang San and Ma Hongjun ignored them and waited for their turns.
Their wait remained peaceful. After all, who would go looking for trouble by provoking two children for no reason?
If they were already soul masters at such a young age and dared to enter soul fights, they surely had some backing.
Who wanted to kick an iron plate?
Although the soul fighting arena was an independent force controlled by the seven great soul master families, that did not mean anyone could completely escape the consequences.
So it was best not to stir up trouble without cause.
Soon, a staff member came over and escorted Ma Hongjun out to compete. Tang San followed closely behind, intending to watch.
"Next up is the fourth one-on-one soul fight in our Seven Soul Fighting Arena. Taking the stage are two Soul Grandmasters."
"They are Battle Soul Master Ma Hongjun, whose beast martial soul is the evil fire phoenix!"
"Facing him is Tool Soul Grandmaster Xiao Ruoxue of the Rose Mercenary Group, whose tool martial soul is the cold iron vine."
"Will Soul Grandmaster Xiao Ruoxue continue her glorious run and claim her third consecutive victory, or will newcomer Battle Soul Master Ma Hongjun emerge victorious? Let us wait and see."
"Now, please welcome both Soul Grandmasters to the stage."
Before you continue