Underground Duel Arena

This place was, after all, over a hundred times more prosperous than somewhere like Nuoding City.

The people on the streets were generally half a head shorter, their skin tanned wheat-brown by the abundant year-round sunshine.

With his fair skin and striking dark blue hair, he looked like a flower blooming among flowers as he walked through the crowds, drawing plenty of looks wherever he went.

Dusk deepened, and the sea breeze swept in from the end of the street, carrying a chill.

Several young women passed him, chatting and laughing, still dressed in skimpy swimsuits. One or two of the bolder ones openly cast him flirtatious looks, alluring smiles on their lips, the two soft mounds on their chests bouncing.

Jiang Che's ears reddened. He hurriedly looked away, silently repeating, Do not look upon what is improper, over and over, his steps unconsciously quickening.

"This should be the place, right?"

Jiang Che reached a narrow, dark alley.

He took the mask he had bought on the way and put it over his face.

To avoid anyone coming after him afterward, it was better to conceal his identity when visiting the Black Underground Duel Arena.

The alley smelled unpleasant, a mixture of fishiness and garbage.

Enduring the stench, Jiang Che approached a wooden door.

He opened it, revealing another door of iron behind it.

Jiang Che tried pushing it. Even with his current strength, he could not budge it, and he discovered that it could only be opened from inside.

A hatch opened in the iron door, and a burly man's gruff voice came through.

"Pass!"

Jiang Che slipped his pass inside.

He had spent quite a few Gold Soul Coins to buy this pass.

Jiang Che had already asked around about the merchant who had sold it to him; he had an excellent reputation.

If he really had been swindled, he could always go tear the man's house down.

Jiang Che was not worried about him running away. The merchant had operated in Nuoding City for decades and would not abandon the business he had built over his lifetime for five Gold Soul Coins. Besides, Jiang Che had also found out where his hometown was.

The hatch closed. A moment later, a brass lock turned, and the iron door opened from within.

Inside was a narrow passage, oil lamps set into the stone walls on either side. Two burly men in black stood in the shadows, one on each side. The one on the right returned his pass and lifted his chin expressionlessly. "Straight to the end."

Jiang Che stepped inside.

The passage took two turns, and a rumbling din like muffled thunder began reaching his ears.

After another twenty or thirty steps, the instant he lifted the final curtain, a wave of sound struck him head-on.

What an enormous Underground Arena.

The vaulted ceiling soared overhead, and dozens of glazed lamps lit the entire space as brightly as day. More than a dozen black stone fighting platforms were staggered across the center.

Spectators of every description packed the space beyond the surrounding railings.

On raised platforms on either side stood oxhide drums twice a man's height. Bare-chested drummers swung their arms in full arcs, pounding until the ground trembled, yet even the drums could not drown out the frenzied screams filling the arena.

Chaos. Waves of heat.

The smells of alcohol and rouge mingled, making people's temples throb.

This Underground Arena had been around for decades, and rumor had it that the Heaven Dou Imperial Family backed it.

Jiang Che pushed through the crowd for a few steps, catching sight of a noticeboard on the wall out of the corner of his eye. The rules were written on it.

Once he read them clearly, his throat could not help tightening.

Soul Master deathmatch: reward of 3 Gold Soul Coins per victory.

Soul Grandmaster deathmatch: reward of 6 Gold Soul Coins per victory.

The winning side must pay a 1% cut of the stakes.

Rules: there are no rules. Kill your opponent at any cost.

"3 Gold Soul Coins!"

He could earn 3 Gold Soul Coins from a single fight. Three Gold Soul Coins were enough to cover a family's expenses for several years.

As for killing his opponent at any cost, Jiang Che had long since prepared himself mentally.

If he wanted to gain Skill Points quickly, he had to be ready to go around with his head tucked into his belt.

Besides, with the top-tier Martial Soul Blue Silver Emperor and physical attributes comparable to a Soul Elder's, he had enough to be invincible among One-Ring Soul Masters.

He strode toward the entrance to have his rank tested.

Jiang Che placed his palm on the crystal ball. The steward beside it did not even lift his eyelids. "Name? You don't have to use your real one."

Although Jiang Che was only eight, his rank-seventeen Soul Power had already allowed his body to develop extremely well, and he stood a meter and a half tall.

Jiang Che lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, "Eleven."

"Already taken. Think of something a little more complicated," the steward said flatly.

Jiang Che continued, "Xuebi."

Jiang Che was confident that no one would have chosen this name.

If someone had, he would have to suspect that someone else had transmigrated from Blue Star just like him.

The steward beside him registered the name and casually tossed him a white wristband.

A white wristband represented a One-Ring Soul Master.

A yellow wristband represented a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster.

A purple wristband represented a three-ring Soul Elder.

Jiang Che slipped the wristband onto his wrist and vaulted onto the nearest empty fighting platform.

Jiang Che stamped his feet. He had only just steadied himself when a middle-aged man with a long, thin face leaped up opposite him.

The man grinned as soon as he stepped onto the platform, revealing a mouthful of tobacco-stained teeth. "Oh, first time here, little brother?"

Jiang Che nodded calmly.

Above the fighting platform, the referee warmly introduced the two contestants.

"Today, we have another newcomer at our Black Kui Underground Duel Arena-Xuebi!"

"And on the other side, we have Disha, who has cut off three ears!"

"Let's hope the two of them give us a spectacular duel."

"Ears" was slang in the Black Kui Underground Duel Arena. Three ears meant he already had three lives on his hands!

The spectators outside the fighting platform were wildly excited.

"Disha, slaughter this brat who doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is!"

"Disha, I've bet one Gold Soul Coin on you. Don't disappoint me!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The long-faced man smiled and exchanged pleasantries while edging toward Jiang Che's side.

Meanwhile, Jiang Che seemed to be looking around carelessly.

The rules said to kill the opponent at any cost, so there was no need to announce their Martial Souls or Soul Power.

One step, two steps, three steps.

A vicious glint flashed through the long-faced man's eyes. A white Soul Ring flashed beneath his feet, and a sickle appeared in his hand.

Excited shouts rose from below the fighting platform. "Kill him! Kill him!"

"Ha ha, kid, be smarter in your next life! First Soul Skill: Frenzied Blade!"

Bam!

The long-faced man was sent flying by a kick.

Before he could react, a short blade struck him square in the forehead.

Many of the spectators outside the fighting platform looked stunned at the sight.

After defeating the long-faced man, Jiang Che pulled the short blade from his forehead and walked calmly off the platform.

"Pah! You cost me a Gold Soul Coin!"

After the long-faced man died, quite a few people climbed onto the platform, spitting on his corpse and punching and kicking it.

[Ding-!]

[Killed a rank-15 Soul Master. Gained 1 Skill Point.]

[Current Skill Points: 156]

Before long, Jiang Che stepped onto the fighting platform again.

Soon, another young man in his early twenties stepped onto the platform.

The young man's head was covered in blood, and his face was filled with delight and frenzy. Clearly, he had yet to come out of his previous bloody fight.

The next instant.

Both moved at once, charging toward each other.

Then.

[Ding-!]

[Killed a rank-14 Soul Master. Gained 1 Skill Point.]

[Current Skill Points: 157]