Inside a luxurious private box at the Heaven Dou City Great Soul Arena!
"Your Highness, this is the Soul Ancestor named Feng Yu whom I mentioned before! He has already won six consecutive matches in the Soul Fighting Arena! There are also four promising Soul Elders who each have a match today!"
A middle-aged man in lavish clothing addressed the young man before him with great respect!
"Is that so?" The young man took the stack of documents!
The first profile belonged to someone named Feng Yu!
Age twenty-four, rank forty-five Soul Power, Martial Soul: Feng Yu Bow!
Seeing the young man studying Feng Yu's profile, the middle-aged man continued, "As it happens, there is another rank forty-five Soul Ancestor today whose Soul Power matches Feng Yu's, and who also has a bow-type Martial Soul. Their match will be the third Soul Ancestor bout!"
Arranging an opponent with the same type of Martial Soul and having his candidate defeat them would surely make the talent he had chosen look even better!
The young man put down the documents. "Rank forty-five at twenty-four is barely acceptable. His age is a pity, though. If he were a little younger, he could participate in this Soul Master Tournament!"
"It is indeed a pity, but a Soul Master like this is also easier to recruit!" the middle-aged man said!
"You may go. Have the attendants wait outside. I want some peace and quiet!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" The middle-aged man bowed respectfully and withdrew!
Only after he left did the young man sigh. "Ah, what a hassle!"
He glanced helplessly at the stack of documents in his hand!
"Why isn't there a single true genius?"
Inside the Soul Fighting Arena, Liu Erlong parted ways with Su Ling as soon as they entered and headed to the betting area!
"There it is!"
On the screen before her, Su Ling's alias appeared: Moon in the Water!
"His opponent is a rank forty-five fellow with six consecutive wins. Good, very good!"
The stronger his opponent, the higher the odds would surely be, judging by Su Ling's past record!
Just as Liu Erlong expected, the odds on Su Ling were generous, and she decisively wagered all ten thousand Gold Soul Coins she had!
"One win is all I need!"
The Soul Ancestor matches were scheduled somewhat later, so Su Ling remained in the waiting area!
Occasionally, he checked the system notifications!
Upon entering the Great Soul Arena, he had received two notifications!
One informed him that Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was inside the Great Soul Arena!
For goddesses with whom he had yet to establish initial affection, the system would notify him whenever it detected them within five hundred meters. Those notifications would only stop once initial affection was established!
Besides Qian Renxue, there was also a woman named Feng Yu'er! Her goddess overall rating was ninety-two!
Yet despite looking around, Su Ling failed to spot any particularly outstanding woman!
There were very few female Soul Masters in the waiting area-only three. They were reasonably attractive, but none reached goddess level!
Out on the arena floor, one match after another began and ended! The young man in the private box was growing sleepy!
"Unless there's someone truly dazzling next time, I'm not coming!" The young man yawned, clearly dissatisfied with the several competitors listed in the documents!
"Feng Yu, I hope you don't disappoint me."
The individual Soul Ancestor matches began. When the second bout started, Su Ling entered the staging area.
Before long, the fight ended. Once the arena was cleared, the beautiful host announced loudly, "Next is the third Soul Ancestor match! Please give a warm round of applause for rank forty-five Soul Ancestor Feng Yu! He has achieved six consecutive victories in the Soul Ancestor division, defeating his opponent with an overwhelming advantage every time!"
"And his opponent today is another rank forty-five Soul Ancestor, Moon in the Water! We all know that Feng Yu's Martial Soul is the Feng Yu Bow. As for Moon in the Water, his Martial Soul is also a bow!"
"When two Martial Souls of the same type collide, who will emerge victorious? Let us wait and see!"
"Please welcome Moon in the Water!"
As opponents, Su Ling and Feng Yu used separate entrances, so their staging areas were different as well.
Feng Yu, Feng Yu'er... could they be the same person?
He studied the man entering from the opposite side, dressed in a fitted red outfit with black lines. He appeared to be about a hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall.
His build was also somewhat slender.
Feng Yu had a lovely face and fair, dewy skin. His entrance caused a stir; evidently, he had quite a few fans.
Could this really be someone passing herself off as a man?
Su Ling checked the system again. Initial affection had already appeared.
Feng Yu'er: five points!
Huh? Qian Renxue has affection points too? Why only one?
She's watching this match too!
Could it be because of the woman in front of me?
Su Ling knew that, in her position as Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue treated worthy people with courtesy and recruited talent. Presumably, she had come to evaluate the competitors.
For example, she had tried to recruit Tang San during the Advanced Soul Master Tournament.
Having attracted Qian Renxue's attention ahead of time, Su Ling felt that coming to fight today had been the right decision.
"Both contestants, release your Martial Souls."
Su Ling released the Five Elements War Bow. With its five elements balanced, it displayed no particular elemental attribute, but the four Soul Rings around him sent everyone in the arena into astonished discussion.
"A black fourth Soul Ring? How is that possible?"
"It must be fake."
"He's bluffing. Maybe he used some special method to change his Soul Ring's color."
Inside the private box, the young man who had originally come to observe Feng Yu stood up as well.
Who else could she be but Qian Renxue?
"Interesting. I didn't expect an unexpected gain today."
Feng Yu's Soul Rings had the usual colors: two yellow and two purple. When he released his Martial Soul, a phoenix cry even rang out. Red feathers were engraved all over the bow.
Thus, the Feng Yu Bow also possessed a fire attribute.
Neither contestant wasted words. The host announced directly, "Begin!"
Feng Yu'er raised the Feng Yu Bow and fired a fiery-red arrow to test him. Seeing this, Su Ling also fired an arrow, aiming it directly at hers.
A thunderous boom rang out as the two arrows collided halfway between them.
Feng Yu looked at Su Ling, surprised by his archery. Only someone who had honed their marksmanship to the utmost could accomplish such a feat.
"You're very good!" Feng Yu remarked, then continued, "I wonder whether you can do the same with this."
Whoosh!
Three arrows condensed on her Feng Yu Bow, then shot toward Su Ling with three sharp whistles.
Su Ling calmly fired three arrows of his own.
Three bangs rang out once again.
Feng Yu'er's three arrows were destroyed by Su Ling once more.
"Keep going," Su Ling said evenly.
Both bow-wielding Soul Masters specialized in ranged attacks, so they remained more than forty meters apart. Neither advanced a step, yet their exchange was still quite a spectacle.
"You're worthy of my full strength." Feng Yu'er raised the Feng Yu Bow. Flames swirled around it as three Soul Rings lit up.
She fired an arrow, which instantly transformed into a phoenix and charged toward Su Ling.
Seeing this, Su Ling decided to test the ice attribute he had just acquired.
It was still his first Soul Skill, Condensed Water Arrow, but after converting it to the ice attribute, the water arrow became an ice arrow.
The ice attribute also suited Su Ling's alias, Moon in the Water.
Compared with the phoenix Feng Yu'er had conjured, Su Ling's arrow looked rather unremarkable.
With a tremendous bang, the ice arrow and phoenix collided, once again in the center of the platform.
Feng Yu'er frowned slightly. Her third Soul Skill had actually been destroyed by her opponent's first Soul Skill without causing him any harm.
Su Ling lifted his hand slightly. "Keep going!"
His strategy for this battle was simple: neutralize every move his opponent made.
"You!"
Feng Yu'er grew a little angry and unleashed her fourth Soul Skill. Gathering her Soul Power, she fired an arrow into the sky.
The next instant, the airborne arrow exploded like a firework.
The burst of fiery light transformed into at least a hundred tiny arrows, each about ten centimeters long.
Hundreds of arrows hurtled toward Su Ling as though Feng Yu'er could control them.
Clearly, this was an area attack, though it differed somewhat from Su Ling's fourth Soul Skill.
It was impossible for Su Ling to counter them one arrow at a time.
But he certainly would not stand still and let his opponent attack him.
And so, Su Ling moved.
Facing hundreds of tiny arrows, Su Ling darted about the Soul Fighting Platform, effortlessly dodging every one.
No matter how tricky their angles, they could not hit him-not even the hem of his clothes.
With speed that already surpassed the Soul Ancestor level and his minor accomplishment in the movement technique Carefree Journey, Su Ling moved through Feng Yu'er's rain of arrows like a fish in water.
He was also closing in on Feng Yu'er. As he swept past her, he said softly, "Your archery is pretty good. Do you have anything stronger?"
At that moment, Su Ling could have sent her off the platform with a single punch. Instead, he refrained and retreated.
Then he told Feng Yu'er again, "Keep going."
It was not that Feng Yu'er was too weak. Anyone who could achieve six consecutive crushing victories in the Great Soul Arena was naturally no slouch.
She had simply been unlucky enough to face Su Ling.
Compared side by side, they looked like an elder toying with a junior.
"I've lost!" Feng Yu'er immediately withdrew her Martial Soul. She knew her opponent's archery far surpassed her own, and she could not match him in other aspects either.
Rather than continue and suffer humiliation, she might as well concede.
"What? Feng Yu conceded? My Gold Soul Coins! I bet everything I had!"
[Ding... Liu Erlong's affection +5. Obtained White Chest ×2, Yellow Chest ×1.]
Su Ling had won. Liu Erlong calculated that her ten-thousand-Gold-Soul-Coin stake would return more than thirty-five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
The materials for making Su Ling's Weighted Training Gear would cost only fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins, leaving her with twenty thousand.
[Ding... Qian Renxue's affection +1. White Chest ×1.]
Qian Renxue's affection is far too low.
But why hasn't Feng Yu'er's affection increased?
As the host announced his victory, Su Ling walked over to Feng Yu'er, step by step.
"Your archery is quite good. We both have bow-type Martial Souls. If you want to learn, I have some more advanced archery techniques. I can demonstrate them for you."
"Really?" Feng Yu'er looked at Su Ling with hope written all over her face.
Su Ling nodded and smiled. "Of course. What's the greatest number of arrows you can fire at once?"
"Three!" Feng Yu'er replied.
"You can increase that. Multiple Arrows, successive arrows, and my signature technique-I can make arrows turn after firing them without even using a Soul Skill. Of course, I have even more powerful signature techniques. If you're interested, come find me after we leave," Su Ling said.
"Thank you!" Feng Yu'er bowed to Su Ling, also thanking him for showing mercy earlier.
[Ding... Feng Yu'er's affection +10. White Chest ×5, Yellow Chest ×2.]
After speaking, Su Ling headed toward his entrance passage. The next match was about to begin, so he could not remain on the arena floor.
As Su Ling left the arena, a middle-aged man who looked about forty approached him outside. Upon seeing Su Ling, he first bowed.
"Hello. My young master greatly admires your archery and would like to invite you to his private box. Would you be willing to come?"
"Sorry, I'm not interested." Su Ling refused outright.
Without even thinking about it, he could guess that the person inviting him was probably Qian Renxue.
But how could Su Ling let her have her way so easily?
He could not be too eager with Qian Renxue. Being aloof might produce unexpected results instead. Besides, he had yet to display his true strength.
He would take it one step at a time, until Qian Renxue could no longer stop herself-until she developed a desire to have him at all costs. That would be ideal.
Su Ling wanted to see just how Qian Renxue treated worthy people with courtesy. Surely, it would be very interesting.
Before you continue