A month later.
During this time, a twelve-year-old Four-Ring Soul Ancestor had appeared at the Heaven Dou Empire's Great Soul Arena.
Because his Martial Soul came from the Far North, was the rare Ice Jade Scorpion Beast Martial Soul, and he was a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor whose fourth Soul Ring was even a ten-thousand-year black ring, every appearance he made caused a sensation.
Not only that, because of his extremely rare Martial Soul attribute, whenever he signed up to compete, he sparked a Soul Fighting craze.
And because he had never lost, he had accumulated enough upgrade points in just thirty days to obtain a Gold Soul Fighting Badge, and his fame spread far and wide.
"The winner of this match is-Ice Jade Scorpion King!"
"Scorpion King is mighty! Scorpion King will win! I want to marry you!"
Outside the Soul Fighting Arena, cheers rose one after another, with no shortage of Lin Qian's lovestruck fangirls among them. These people had noticed him when he first entered the city, followed him all the way home, and now followed him to the Great Soul Arena. Sticking close was their specialty.
As in every previous battle, Lin Qian remained unmoved by all this. He withdrew his Martial Soul and stood on the platform with his eyes closed, resting.
With three or four Soul Fighting matches a day, this place was practically his second home!
Today was different, however. Just one more victory would bring him to a hundred consecutive wins, and it would also be the day he retired with his work accomplished.
"Ice Jade Scorpion King, because of your outstanding record, no opponents at your level are willing to challenge you anymore. What do you think we should..."
The host meant for him to hurry up and leave, rather than stand there like a god of plague. Nobody dared to sign up anymore!
Lin Qian smiled, then declared with ringing conviction, "Since there aren't any at my level, what about higher-level Soul Kings or Soul Emperors? None of those either?"
By the end, even his trailing tone carried contempt.
The entire arena erupted.
Even the host was stunned. "Are you sure?"
"Didn't I challenge several Soul Kings above my level before, when you couldn't find me an opponent?"
"That works too... but you'll have to sign a liability waiver with us. If anything happens, the Soul Fighting Arena will bear no responsibility."
"Bring it on!"
Half an hour later.
An opponent had been successfully matched.
After Lin Qian signed the agreement with the Soul Fighting Arena, he was soon matched with an opponent: a level sixty-one Soul Emperor who had just obtained his Soul Ring.
Normally, people at this level were either cultivating or working-teaching at an academy or working at Spirit Hall, for example-and rarely came to the Soul Fighting Arena to earn money through hard labor.
And today's Soul Emperor was indeed no ordinary person. The Great Soul Arena had hired him on short notice to give Lin Qian trouble.
After all, every victory earned him a substantial cash prize. Not only that, as their rank rose, badge holders also received a cut. Lin Qian, for example, had already earned a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins with his Gold Soul Fighting Badge.
The cut had originally been established to encourage more people to participate and fire up the Soul Masters' enthusiasm. But once Lin Qian arrived, he treated the benefits like a sheep to be fleeced. Once or twice would have been fine, but why did he have to come every day?!
Oh, right. The Soul Fighting Arena's rules stated that anyone who achieved a hundred consecutive victories would receive a one-time reward of fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins.
If they let him win again, the Soul Fighting Arena would lose another fifty thousand gold coins, bringing the total to a hundred and fifty thousand. A crushing loss!
"Don't hit too hard. He's a distant nephew of the Minister of Internal Affairs. We don't want to pay that money..."
Before leaving the platform, the host whispered to the Soul Emperor.
The Soul Emperor also lowered his voice. "Don't worry. Blue Tyrant Academy still has to get by in Heaven Dou. I won't go too hard..."
Lin Qian: ":)"
Watch it. I'm still right here!
Ignoring their opponent's increasingly dark expression, the host announced once they had settled things, "Let the Soul Fighting begin! Both contestants, please release your Martial Souls!"
Hum!
The hired Soul Emperor could hardly wait and released his Martial Soul first. "Yu Wenmu. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Level sixty-one Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
He was a teacher at Blue Tyrant Academy and had received this job right after class. He had not wanted to take it at first, but the Soul Fighting Arena was offering far too much-thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins! And all he had to do was fight a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Heaven would not tolerate him passing up that money!
Intent on ending things quickly, he immediately activated his Martial Soul. A lightning dragon gathered its strength behind him, and six Soul Rings shone: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?
As far as Lin Qian knew, this member of the Upper Three Sects had its own separate sect grounds, and its members did not go out unless necessary. Their lives were not much different from those of the Clear Sky Sect, which had sealed off its mountain. Why was there a Soul Emperor here?
Could he be from Blue Tyrant Academy?
"Li Si. Martial Soul: Ice Jade Scorpion. Level forty-one Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
As he thought, he activated his Martial Soul.
"Hah!"
In a hurry to get back to teaching, Yu Wenmu no longer cared about saving face. He opened with his first Soul Skill. "Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Zzzzt!
A dragon claw wreathed in lightning struck toward his opponent. On contact, it would briefly paralyze him.
Yellow, yellow, purple, black.
Four simulated Soul Rings shone beneath Lin Qian's feet. The first lit up. "First Soul Skill, Ice Emperor's Protection!"
Crack, crack, crack!
Crystal-clear ice and snow covered his entire body. Without needing to attack, he blocked the blow.
"Second Soul Skill, Thunderous Might!"
Crackle!
The lightning struck the ice armor, with exactly the same result.
"Third Soul Skill, Wrath of Thunder!"
An even greater current coursed over the ice armor, yet it remained utterly unmoved, as though it were being tickled.
Lin Qian was growing a little weary. "Don't you have any other moves?"
"???"
Despised for the first time-and by a little Soul Ancestor brat at that-Yu Wenmu grew angry. Originally, he had intended to use the lightning's paralyzing effect to send his opponent off the platform. That way, his injuries would not be light, and even in defeat, he would have been given plenty of face.
But since his opponent was so disdainful, he could not blame Yu Wenmu for getting serious and teaching him a lesson!
"Fourth Soul Skill, Thunderstorm!"
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was uniform, its Soul Masters' cultivation system was fixed, and its moves were much the same. The first three were identical; only from the fourth onward did individual characteristics begin to emerge.
Yu Wenmu reckoned this move would be enough to knock his opponent off the platform and teach him a little lesson in passing. Yet when the storm dispersed, Lin Qian was still planted there, unmoving as a mountain.
Even more infuriatingly, he actually yawned and offered a comment. "Pathetic."
"!!!"
Yu Wenmu was truly enraged.
This was no longer a matter of face, but of a Soul Master's dignity. This person had provoked him again and again. If he did not respond with his real abilities, he might as well stop trying to make a living in Heaven Dou City, pack his bags, and return to his sect!
Especially since Liu Erlong, Blue Tyrant Academy's dean, was no gentle boss. If she learned that he had fallen to a mere Soul Ancestor, his fate...
Yu Wenmu shuddered. His right arm crackled as he began gathering power.
"Um... a friendly reminder: you'd better use your strongest move. Don't just tickle me like you did earlier!"
Yu Wenmu grew even angrier and accepted his suggestion without hesitation. The lightning on his right arm blazed ever more fiercely. This was also the strongest strike he could currently unleash.
"Sixth Soul Skill-Dragon Roar Shatters the Sky!"
Roar!
The move lived up to its name. An earth-shaking dragon roar resounded throughout the Great Soul Arena, rushing toward Lin Qian with the might of wind and thunder and whipping up gusts along its path.
He had not intended to attack, but to avoid making it look too fake, Lin Qian went through the motions of unleashing a move. His fake black Soul Ring shone.
"Fourth Soul Skill-Ice Explosion!"