Every contestant taking part in Soul Fighting had a private preparation room where they could rest.
The room Tian Chen entered was roughly a hundred square meters in size.
Its furnishings were lavish in the extreme, with precious woods, jade, and ornaments that were clearly expensive at a glance.
The spacious sofa was made from the hide of an unknown beast, its long white fur exceptionally soft. Sitting on it felt like sinking into it, yet it still provided excellent support.
Various beverages, alcoholic drinks, and foods were laid out on the jade table.
None of this amounted to much to Tian Chen, however. As the Second Worship's only grandson, he had seen even more extravagant things.
Even the carpet in his room was made from the pelt of a ten-thousand-year Ice Bear. He would not feel the slightest bit ill at ease here.
Tian Chen casually propped his legs on the jade table and leaned back against the soft sofa, closing his eyes to rest.
This was not because he lacked confidence in the upcoming Soul Fighting match.
With a top-tier Martial Soul and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, his overall strength was certainly no weaker than that of an ordinary Soul Elder.
Not to mention that he also possessed a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, which closed the gap between his Soul Rings and a Soul Elder's to almost nothing.
He did not believe anyone in the Soul Grandmaster bracket here could defeat him.
He was only doing this out of a habit formed during his earlier days fighting Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest. He felt there was nothing wrong with the habit, so he had kept it.
Before Tian Chen had rested for long, a clear female voice came from outside the door, reminding him to enter Soul Fighting Arena Five for his match.
"Got it. I'll be right there."
Tian Chen answered first, then pushed open the door and followed the staff member toward the fighting platform.
Walking one behind the other, the two reached a fighting platform brightly illuminated by Soul Tools after about three minutes.
The young female staff member escorted Tian Chen all the way to the platform entrance, bowed respectfully to him, and only then slowly withdrew.
The surrounding spectators had clearly had their interest piqued by the previous match. The moment they saw Tian Chen step onto the platform, cheers rose one after another.
Of course, Tian Chen currently had little reputation in the Soul Fighting Arena, and he had received little applause when he walked out earlier at the announcer's introduction.
Most of the spectators were merely brimming with excess excitement stirred up by the previous match.
"Next, let us welcome Soul Grandmaster Tian Chen's opponent, Soul Grandmaster Huyan Li, who has won on four consecutive days! I'm sure you have all noticed that Soul Grandmaster Huyan Li's Martial Soul is the Elephant Armor Sect's direct-lineage Martial Soul-the Diamond Mammoth. With his powerful Martial Soul and his own outstanding strength, Soul Grandmaster Huyan Li has practically crushed his opponents in his previous four matches. Facing Soul Grandmaster Tian Chen this time, can this young genius from the Elephant Armor Sect win once again and seize five consecutive victories?"
Diamond Mammoth?
Hearing those words, Tian Chen, who had been rather uninterested, immediately perked up and narrowed his eyes at the contestants' entrance opposite him.
Soon, amid enthusiastic cheers and applause, Tian Chen's opponent, Huyan Li, stepped onto the fighting platform.
He knew Huyan Li in the original story was a big fat fellow, but only after seeing him in person did he realize he must have had quite a misunderstanding of the word "fat."
Though he looked only about ten years old, he had already reached an astonishing height of 1.7 meters, and his weight was even more astonishing.
By Tian Chen's estimate, Huyan Li had to weigh at least a hundred kilograms.
After stepping onto the fighting platform, Huyan Li likewise studied Tian Chen seriously.
However, he did not look down on Tian Chen simply because he looked young.
It had to be said that no Soul Master born into a great clan was simple. Though Huyan Li was not particularly quick-witted, growing up under his elders' influence had at least taught him the basics of reading expressions and observing people.
A Soul Grandmaster even younger than himself could hardly have an ordinary background, no matter how he looked at it.
He took a step forward, planted his legs apart, and looked at Tian Chen with a solemn expression as he spoke.
"Huyan Li. Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth. Level twenty-three Defense System Battle Soul Master. Please instruct me."
"Tian Chen. Martial Soul: Golden Crocodile King. Level twenty-one Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
Faced with Huyan Li's formal introduction, Tian Chen returned the courtesy just as solemnly. After all, this was the most basic etiquette between Soul Masters.
With their introductions complete, the surrounding spectators had been thoroughly fired up. Amid such a heated atmosphere, the referee dared not waste any time and immediately announced the official start of the match.
Upon hearing the referee's command, Huyan Li tore off his shirt, revealing a body covered in fat.
His already imposing body swelled again amid a thunderous cry of "Martial Soul Possession!" His somewhat flabby fat rapidly took on definition, turning into exaggerated, terrifying muscles. A layer of dark-yellow keratin emerged over his skin, gleaming with a metallic luster.
At the same time, his nose extended and lengthened, while his upper lip curled upward and two tusks a full foot long protruded.
Two Yellow Soul Rings slowly emerged beneath his feet, while his small eyes, glinting fiercely, continually sized Tian Chen up.