Arena Unlocked

"You all heard him. Do as Boss Lin said and head over to the game pods to get your second martial souls."

At those words, the students of Blazing Fire and Skywater hesitantly moved toward the rows of oddly shaped game pods.

Faced with something utterly unprecedented, most of them harbored an instinctive fear in their eyes.

The two academy teams slowed their steps in unison, each courteously giving way to the other.

"Blazing Fire Academy, after you."

"No, ladies first. Skywater Academy should go first."

As they deferred to one another, the situation briefly reached something of a stalemate.

Just then, Huo Wu kicked her brother Huo Wushuang in the backside and muttered disdainfully:

"Hmph, coward."

With that, she hesitated no longer. She walked straight to an empty game pod and lay down inside.

Seeing this, everyone held their breath and waited, their eyes fixed intently on the game pod.

In less than two minutes, the pod door opened. Huo Wu opened her eyes, rose calmly, and stepped out.

Everyone immediately crowded around her, firing off questions.

"How was it? Did you really get twin martial souls?"

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Huo Wu said nothing. She merely drew a deep breath and raised her hand.

The next instant, a crimson lotus formed entirely of flames rose above her palm.

"T-twin martial souls! It really worked!"

No one knew who had said it, but the entire room instantly erupted. The fear in everyone's eyes vanished completely, and they scrambled into the game pods to begin choosing second martial souls suited to their own attributes.

Beside the counter, the system interface quietly appeared before Lin Yue, and a cold, clear electronic voice rang out in his mind:

[Minimum participant requirement met. Arena function unlocked.]

Afterward, he lowered his head to study the arena's functions and rules.

During this time, Dugu Bo and Huo Lie, Blazing Fire Academy's headmaster, came to ask him questions about the One-Word Battle Armor and the Soul Power Breakthrough Ticket, respectively.

Lin Yue patiently answered them. Once he had figured out the arena, he caught sight of the Blazing Fire and Skywater academies out of the corner of his eye. They seemed ready to leave under their headmasters' lead, so he hurriedly spoke up.

"Wait, are you two headmasters planning to leave just like that?"

Blazing Fire Academy's headmaster turned around and said with a faint smile:

"We came here for these twin martial souls. Now that all our students have obtained them, naturally, it's time to leave."

"I see."

Hearing this, Lin Yue shrugged, feigning regret.

"What a shame. I happened to have something good to tell you about..."

"In that case, bye-bye."

His words piqued the curiosity of everyone on both the Blazing Fire and Skywater teams.

For a moment, they froze in place, caught between leaving and staying.

At this crucial moment, Dugu Bo stepped forward with a smile, breaking the awkward atmosphere as he asked curiously:

"Haha, Boss Lin, don't keep us in suspense."

"Could this good thing you mentioned possibly be even more impressive than the game pods that awaken twin martial souls and let us peer into another world?"

"You can't put it that way. Each has its own benefits."

Lin Yue said unhurriedly, "This arena is a function that can hone your combat experience, skills, and team coordination, among other things."

No sooner had he finished than three people entered the shop.

Dragon Duke and Snake Granny arrived with Meng Yiran, just in time to hear the word "arena," and their eyes immediately lit up.

"Boss Lin, did you just say that the function called the arena has been unlocked?"

Lin Yue nodded in response and said:

"That's right."

"But it might be a little hard to understand if I just explain it to you."

As he spoke, he considered briefly, then looked at Dugu Bo.

"How about this? I'll spar with Dugu Bo. Once you've watched the fight yourselves, it'll be easier for me to explain."

Hearing this, Dugu Bo stroked his beard and smiled. "Very well! Then I'll have a match with you, Boss Lin."

"However, judging by these methods of yours, your strength must be unfathomable. I hope you'll go easy on me and leave this old man a little dignity, haha."

"Don't worry."

As Lin Yue spoke, he raised his hand and pressed a switch beside the counter.

The huge screen in the center of the shop immediately lit up, displaying livestream standby mode.

"All right, you'll be able to watch the battle in the arena on this screen."

"Dugu Bo, just enter any game pod and say something like 'I want to initiate a duel with Lin Yue' or issue a challenge."

Dugu Bo nodded and lay straight down inside a game pod.

After the door closed, he followed the instructions and said in a low voice:

"I want to challenge Lin Yue."

The next moment, lines of text appeared on the pale blue virtual screen, accompanied by a mechanical female voice.

[Match successful! Arena mode activated! Level locked for this match: 90!]

[You have three minutes to prepare. You may freely choose your martial soul and select your soul skills.]

[Good luck. Countdown begins!]

"Choosing my martial soul and soul skills anew... interesting."

Dugu Bo muttered, thoughts surging through his mind as he recalled the regrets of his youth. He had originally planned out some excellent soul skills, only to miss his opportunities because of various unforeseen events.

Today, with this opportunity offered by the arena, he could finally make up for those regrets completely and put together what he considered the most perfect, most powerful soul skill combination for the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul!

The three-minute countdown reached zero.

The cosmic sea of stars around him suddenly warped. When his vision cleared again, Dugu Bo found himself standing on a flat stretch of ground atop a high mountain.

On the other side stood Lin Yue, looking thoroughly interested.

"Boss Lin, this arena of yours truly is miraculous."

Dugu Bo clenched his fists hard, feeling the abundant power within his body, and could not help sighing:

"This is the first time I've experienced power at the peak of level 90. Generally, those who become Titled Douluos have gone through many fierce battles of life and death, leaving some hidden ailments or old injuries in their bodies to varying degrees. Their overall strength is inevitably affected."

Lin Yue smiled faintly. He naturally knew this, and then called out:

"All right, let's have a good, satisfying fight!"

With that, he made the first move.

"Sixth soul skill!"

"Blue Silver Armor!"

Dense, deep-blue soul power surged around him, and strands of Blue Silver Grass vines rapidly spread up along his limbs.

They overlapped across his body, forming a suit of armor fitted to his frame, its surface hardening like iron armor in an extremely short time.

But he was not finished. Lin Yue's gaze sharpened.

"Fifth soul skill, Blue Silver Overlord Spear!"

Blue Silver Grass gathered and intertwined before his right hand, all of it condensed and compressed into a long spear traced with deep-blue patterns.

Now clad in Blue Silver Armor and gripping the Blue Silver Overlord Spear in one hand, he pushed off hard. A faint ring of tremors rippled through the ground as he shot toward Dugu Bo like an arrow loosed from its bow, the spearhead aimed straight at his chest.