Clothes made the man, just as a saddle made the horse.
After bathing and changing their clothes, the two looked like different people.
Gone was the travel-worn look of people who had eaten in the wind, slept under the stars, and endured exhausting journeys. Instead, they had gained something of the distinguished air of wealthy young heirs.
After leaving the inn, they chose the best-reviewed restaurant, asked for a private room, and went on an ordering spree with the menu.
They were both Soul Masters and practiced Breathing Styles, so their daily consumption was high to begin with. Waste was not an issue.
Throughout their journey, they had mostly eaten roasted meat with dry rations. No matter how good Lin Yang's cooking was, eating it every day had grown tiresome. This was a good chance for a change of taste.
After taking their marked menu, the server said with a smile,
"Dear guests, our signature dish is soul-style roasted meat. Would you like-"
"No."
Before the server could finish, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu refused with expressionless faces.
The server's expression stiffened, and they nodded very quickly. "Of course!"
Perhaps the restaurant's chef was a utility-type Soul Master, because the dishes came out extremely quickly.
Before long, the table before them was piled with food.
Neither stood on ceremony. They simply picked up their chopsticks and dug in.
Over the course of that meal, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors thoroughly replenished their long-shriveled taste buds.
After eating, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu wandered around Suotuo City.
Besides relaxing, this would help them get to know the city. After all, they would be staying here for some time.
According to Lin Yang's original plan, he should have been choosing an intermediate Soul Master academy to enroll in now, preferably the Heaven Dou Intermediate Soul Master Academy.
That would give him a chance to advance directly to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, then find an opportunity to approach Dugu Bo and obtain immortal herbs from him.
But he had changed his mind and would settle in Suotuo City for now.
For one thing, he was already at rank twenty-seven, not far from rank thirty.
He might as well wait until he obtained his Soul Ring at rank thirty and go straight to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
He could also use this time to train Xiao Wu more effectively.
At least until she mastered the Transparent World, he would not take Xiao Wu running all over the place.
Besides, the Balak Kingdom bordered Fasinuo Province, making it somewhat easier if he wanted to return to Red Maple Village.
While Lin Yang was thinking, Xiao Wu nudged his arm with her elbow.
She held a skewer of candied hawthorn in each hand and offered him one.
"What are you thinking about? I've been calling you forever. Here."
Lin Yang took the candied hawthorn and said casually,
"I was thinking about how to help you master the Transparent World as soon as possible. I've got some ideas now."
Xiao Wu's expression stiffened. Remembering all the suffering she had endured before, she shot Lin Yang a vicious glare, as though saying,
You're a real devil.
But something soon occurred to her. She unobtrusively glanced at the candied hawthorn in Lin Yang's hand, anticipation lurking in her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. It's all for your own good!"
Lin Yang spoke with the air of an old elder, casually biting a hawthorn off the skewer.
Suddenly, his expression stiffened slightly.
A burst of sweet-and-sour flavor exploded on his tongue. His cheeks involuntarily tightened, and even his back teeth ached with sourness.
"Hahaha..."
A string of silvery, bell-like laughter immediately rang out beside his ear. Holding up the candied hawthorn she had bitten into, Xiao Wu laughed heartily.
Clearly, she had just experienced that same invigorating sourness herself.
"Serves you right!"
Xiao Wu made a face, and all the resentment she had accumulated lately vanished in an instant.
But Lin Yang was neither angry nor annoyed. Instead, he looked at Xiao Wu with a beaming smile and raised his thumb.
"Nicely done!"
His unusual reaction only made Xiao Wu more nervous, and she hurriedly defended herself.
"Hey, are you all right? I... I ate one just now too."
"What could be wrong with me? Come on, let's look over there."
Lin Yang inconspicuously tossed the candied hawthorn into a nearby rubbish bin.
Inwardly, however, he marked a heavy black mark against this little rabbit who was itching for punishment.
An ominous keh-heh-heh even rang out in his heart.
Foolish rabbit, enjoy this brief spell of happiness while you can.
The little rabbit suddenly shivered and instinctively looked toward Lin Yang.
Only after finding his expression perfectly normal did she quietly reassure herself.
It should be fine. It was only a sour hawthorn. Surely he wouldn't be that petty?
After reassuring herself several times, the little rabbit promptly put the matter out of her mind and skipped off to find the next interesting novelty.
Lin Yang followed unhurriedly behind her, all sorts of "inhumane" plans surfacing in his mind.
After returning to the inn, they each went back to their own room.
Late into the quiet night, only scattered starlight outside the window cast its faint glow into the inn room.
Lin Yang sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed and his mind focused as he entered deep meditative cultivation.
Resting across his legs were Crimson Interval and the External Soul Bone wrapped around it, Concealed Edge.
The faint silver light enveloping him was Ah Yin's Blue Silver Domain.
A gentle stream of pale red Soul Power flowed out of his body, brushing over the blade and bone on his legs like a breath.
Wisps of barely perceptible Soul Power silently and continuously permeated Concealed Edge.
And in the darkness, Concealed Edge gave off a faint, muted sheen.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu packed their things and left the inn.
The day before, they had already found a small courtyard house available for rent.
Finding the surroundings quite pleasant, Lin Yang rented it outright and paid three months' rent.
Today, he and Xiao Wu moved straight in.
The rooms contained only basic furniture. Lin Yang paid for some everyday necessities, and once everything was arranged, the place looked quite decent.
That afternoon, he took Xiao Wu to the city center.
Before long, a grand, imposing building appeared before them.
In sheer grandeur and splendor, even Suotuo City's city lord's residence could not match this building's lavish magnificence.
This was Suotuo City's sleepless city-the Soto Great Soul Arena!
The entire Great Soul Arena was oval, over a hundred and twenty meters tall, like an egg standing upright.
It contained one main Soul Fighting Arena and twenty-four subsidiary arenas, with room for as many as sixty thousand spectators at once.
It was where Suotuo City's various powers competed.
It was said that ticket sales alone brought the Great Soul Arena at least several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins a day.
Despite such enormous profits, no faction dared set its sights on it. The depth of its backing could well be imagined.
As they approached the Great Soul Arena, the first thing that met their eyes was a tall stone stele bearing a list of the dead.
Without so much as looking at it, Lin Yang led Xiao Wu straight through the main entrance.
At the reception desk, Lin Yang told the staff why they had come: the two of them wanted to register for Soul Fighting.
The receptionist took it in stride and briskly processed their registration.
The procedure was not complicated. They only needed to fill in their names, ages, and Martial Souls, then pay ten Gold Soul Coins as a registration fee to receive the lowest-level Iron Soul Badge.
The higher ranks were copper, silver, gold, purple gold, sapphire, ruby, and diamond.
Of course, neither Lin Yang nor Xiao Wu revealed their real information. They not only wore masks, but also gave false names and ages.
Lin Yang called himself "Blade Ghost," while Xiao Wu called herself "Charming Rabbit."
In addition, Lin Yang had altered his physique, and Xiao Wu was concealed by Invisibility.
To outsiders, they were simply two youngsters of fourteen or fifteen. No one would ever connect them to their true identities.
Besides individual matches, they also registered for two-on-two Soul Fighting under the team name "Gui Mei Blade Rabbit."
"That name's really slapdash."
Xiao Wu pouted. She had wanted to call them the "Yang Wu Duo."
"It's just a name. Don't worry so much about it."
Afterward, the two had their Soul Power tested under the staff's arrangements.
Lin Yang was still at rank twenty-seven, but Xiao Wu had already broken through to rank seventeen.
"Hehe, surprised? I only broke through last night." Xiao Wu proudly lifted her chin.
"As if anyone doesn't know how to join the rat race."
She had learned the term "rat race" from Lin Yang.
A smile curled at the corners of Lin Yang's lips. Not bad.
Sure enough, pressure bred motivation.
Without a ruthless push, this rabbit was simply squandering her talent.
Before you continue