"Look! Shui'er's coming out!" someone shouted. In an instant, the atmosphere throughout the arena boiled over.
"Miss Shui'er, we love you!"
"..."
Countless spectators screamed wildly, their voices almost lifting the roof off the entire Great Soul Arena.
Hearing this, Luo Chen was also deeply puzzled. Who was this Shui'er?
He looked toward the other side of the stage and saw a girl with shoulder-length, silvery-blue hair slowly approaching.
The girl wore a pale blue dress. Even the flying luan mask on her face could not hide the exquisite beauty of her features.
Why does she look so much like Shui Bing'er? Luo Chen hesitated inwardly for a moment. Sigh, should I fight her or not?
Only a second passed before the thought of making money gained the upper hand over Luo Chen's indecision about fighting.
Aside from the old village chief, Luo Chen muttered inwardly, no one can stop me from making money. At worst, I'll go a little easier on her.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, Shui Bing'er also raised her head slightly to look at her opponent in the individual match.
Their eyes met in midair, then parted.
Compared with Luo Chen's inner calm, Shui Bing'er seemed rather restless.
As she looked at the masked youth, an inexplicable sense of familiarity suddenly rose within her.
This person's build...
Why does he feel... a little like Luo Chen?
She frowned slightly, but quickly suppressed the thought. It must be my imagination.
"Both contestants, take your positions!" The referee walked onto the stage, stood between them, and announced loudly, "This match is a one-on-one Soul Master Tournament bout. Killing your opponent is strictly prohibited. There is no time limit. A contestant loses upon surrendering or becoming unable to fight!"
"Now," the referee sharply swept his hand down, "I declare the match officially begun!"
The moment the referee finished speaking, Luo Chen and Shui Bing'er moved at the same time, both undergoing Martial Soul Possession.
On Shui Bing'er's side, a layer of pale blue ice crystals spread outward from beneath her feet. At the same time, crystalline patterns of ice appeared on the surface of her skin.
Immediately afterward, a pair of translucent ice-blue wings slowly unfurled behind her. In an instant, the temperature across the entire stage plummeted, and even the ground became covered in frost.
The spectators in the front rows could even feel a bone-piercing chill.
"Look, it's Miss Shui'er's Ice Phoenix!"
"No matter how many times I see it, it's still so beautiful!"
"..."
Meanwhile, two yellow soul rings slowly appeared behind Shui Bing'er.
On Luo Chen's side, the instant he underwent Martial Soul Possession, a powerful, sinister chill erupted from within him.
Dark green carapace patterns surfaced on his skin, and a scorpion tail shot skyward from his sacrum!
Immediately afterward, two soul rings slowly appeared behind him. Unlike Shui Bing'er's, however, his first ring was yellow, while his second was purple.
After seeing that Luo Chen's second soul ring was a thousand-year soul ring, the crowd fell briefly silent before bursting into discussion.
"Here comes another simulated soul ring."
"I don't get it. That happened ten years ago. Why is someone still doing this today?"
Someone said, "If you ask me, he just wants to scare Shui'er into losing without a fight!"
At these words, Shui'er's fans throughout the arena immediately became furious and shouted:
"Shui'er, don't believe that Demon Scorpion has a thousand-year soul ring!"
"That's right! It's just a mimicry soul ring meant to make you lose without a fight. Don't fall for it!"
"Miss Shui'er, defeat this fraud!"
The furious cries and insults of Shui'er's fans, who had lost all reason, came wave after wave, almost lifting the roof off the entire Great Soul Arena.
Of course, the spectators refused to believe that Demon Scorpion's second soul ring was a thousand-year soul ring because they had encountered far too many false alarms involving thousand-year second soul rings.
As it turned out, ten years earlier, an earth-shattering incident involving a thousand-year second soul ring had also occurred at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
Back then, a Soul Master surnamed Ming had registered for an individual contest at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
At first, no one paid him any attention, and few gold soul coins were even wagered on him. But when the Soul Master surnamed Ming underwent Martial Soul Possession, the brilliant purple of his second soul ring instantly drew everyone's eyes.
"Am I seeing things? His second soul ring is purple?!"
"Ten years is white, a hundred years is yellow, and a thousand years is purple. My heavens, his second soul ring is actually a thousand-year soul ring?!"
"Am I about to become someone who witnesses history?"
"..."
Honestly, the spectators could hardly be blamed for their excitement. Back then, Soul Master theorists unanimously believed that the limit for a Soul Master's second soul ring was around seven hundred years. Anyone who forcibly absorbed a soul ring beyond that limit would undoubtedly explode and die.
Yet now, someone with a thousand-year second soul ring was standing there perfectly unharmed. His very existence challenged the scholars' understanding. They believed that once they thoroughly understood it, they would certainly be able to guide Soul Masters toward better development.
Soon, news spread that a thousand-year second soul ring had appeared at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
In an instant, all the renowned martial soul theory scholars set out for Suotuo City.
Even the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall and the emperors of the two great empires, Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire, condescended to visit Suotuo City.
Their purpose was simple: to discover the secret behind this person's thousand-year second soul ring.
If it truly involved an entirely new cultivation method, it would bring a revolutionary transformation to the entire Soul Master world.
When the Soul Master surnamed Ming learned of this, he immediately realized that things had gotten out of hand. He hurriedly fled under cover of night, but was ultimately captured and brought back.
After a bout of loving torture, the Soul Master surnamed Ming finally revealed why his second soul ring was a thousand-year soul ring.
As it turned out, a special soul beast called the Color-Changing Lizard Dragon lived in his region. Absorbing its soul ring provided no active skills, only a passive skill, Camouflage.
Camouflage's effects were extraordinarily heaven-defying. It allowed Soul Masters to freely adjust the colors of their own soul rings.
In other words, as long as a Soul Master hunted down a Color-Changing Lizard Dragon and obtained the passive soul skill Camouflage, they could change their own soul rings into ten thousand year soul rings or hundred thousand year soul rings to frighten people who had never seen the world.
The Soul Master surnamed Ming had entered the Soto Great Soul Arena's contest because he wanted to frighten his opponents with his soul rings, making them lose without a fight so he could collect the prize money.
When everyone learned this, they did not believe it at first. But after witnessing the Soul Master surnamed Ming turn his second soul ring blood-red, they all left in utter disappointment.
Some of the martial soul theory scholars, in particular, were still clamoring as they left about hunting down Color-Changing Lizard Dragons to investigate why they could change soul ring colors.
From that point onward, an entirely new type of soul ring called the "mimicry soul ring" became widely known throughout the Soul Master world. Whenever a Soul Master displayed a soul ring configuration that defied common sense in a Soul Fighting Arena, the spectators' first reaction was that it was fake-a scam.