Bang!
Dust billowed as Mad Bear, whose burly frame was like a small mountain, crashed onto the hard stone slabs of the Soul Fighting platform. His muscles tensed and trembled, and the violent shock from his waist spread through his bones and limbs. The Soul Power inside him churned in complete disarray.
Mad Bear struggled, trying to push himself off the ground and get up to fight again. But the slightest effort sent a searing pain through his abdomen, and a metallic sweetness surged into his throat. He could not muster even a trace of Soul Power.
The spectator stands, which had been filled with jeers and mockery, fell deathly silent in an instant.
A moment ago, everyone had been laughing at Lu Yu's small, scrawny build as he stepped onto the platform, certain that level-seventeen Mad Bear could crush the child who had only just joined the ranks of Soul Masters in three moves.
But it had taken only two blows of the staff.
One had broken bones and injured his palm with the impact; the other had smashed through his defense and dealt him a grievous blow.
The whole fight had lasted less than a minute.
"I surrender..."
Mad Bear clenched his teeth, his forehead covered in cold sweat. In the end, he could only force the words out in a hoarse voice, frustrated and unwilling to accept defeat.
The instant the words left his mouth, the deathly silence across the arena shattered!
"Holy shit! He won?!"
"An instant knockout of a level-seventeen, one-ring Battle Soul Master? What kind of monster is this kid?!"
"Lingming Stone Monkey Martial Soul? Never heard of it! That strength is ridiculous!"
Shocked cries erupted from every direction. The earlier mockery and boos vanished without a trace, replaced by a clamor of astonishment throughout the arena.
The host stood stunned for a full three seconds before abruptly coming to his senses and shouting in an impassioned voice:
"An astounding upset! The newcomer Soul Master Great Sage Equal to Heaven has defeated veteran Soul Fighting contestant Mad Bear in less than a minute! Congratulations to Great Sage Equal to Heaven on winning his first Soul Fighting match!"
With his pitch-black iron staff over his shoulder, Lu Yu stood in the center of the ring, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Being the focus of everyone's attention felt pretty good.
Lu Yu stepped down from the Soul Fighting platform without lingering and went straight to the winners' prize collection area to claim his reward: ten Gold Soul Coins.
Then he went to the betting area. Before the match began, Lu Yu had wagered three hundred Gold Soul Coins on himself to win, at odds of five to one.
Between his winnings and the victor's reward, Lu Yu had made a net profit of 1,510 Gold Soul Coins from a single Soul Fighting match, and it had taken less than a minute. That was much faster money than hunting in the Soul Beast forest. The only pity was that he could fight only one match a day.
"Forget it, I'll take it slowly! I'm invincible at my level now, so this is a business with no capital needed!"
Lu Yu rested the iron staff across his shoulders and swaggered out of the Soul Fighting Arena.
No one knew that this instant knockout, which had caused a sensation throughout the arena, was merely the beginning of a legend.
In the days that followed, Lu Yu put down roots at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
During the first week, Lu Yu kept up a terrifying winning streak.
In the second week, the Soul Fighting Arena even invited a level-nineteen Soul Master with a hundred-year Soul Ring from an academy, but the result remained unchanged. Lu Yu dominated the match and claimed victory.
Before long, the name "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" had become famous throughout the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.
No one dared mock Lu Yu's small, scrawny build anymore. Everyone remembered the boy with the black staff over his shoulder and the composed expression on his face, and they remembered his unfathomable fighting strength.
Today, Lu Yu had just won his thirtieth consecutive match and collected a winning-streak bonus of 1,500 Gold Soul Coins. Then he went to collect the money from the bet he had placed on himself.
The Soul Fighting Arena was no fool. With Lu Yu winning match after match, his odds had dropped straight to one to one. Though the odds were low, Lu Yu wagered so much that it made up for it!
He tucked the betting money into his pocket, then turned around and saw two burly men blocking his path.
Lu Yu looked up and raised an eyebrow at the two men. "Can I help you?"
"Our manager wants to see you. Come with us!" one of the men said bluntly.
Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and studied them for a moment, then nodded and gestured for them to lead the way. One man went ahead while the other followed behind Lu Yu, evidently afraid he would run away.
Lu Yu glanced back at the man behind him, at a loss for words. Looks like I've won too much, and the Soul Fighting Arena can't sit still anymore. Sigh... looks like this easy way of making money is coming to an end.
"The person you wanted is here, Manager!" The man leading the way knocked on the door and reported to the manager inside.
"Mm, let him in," a steady voice called from within.
The man opened the door and tilted his head, motioning for Lu Yu to enter. Lu Yu peered inside, then walked in with the iron staff over his shoulder.
As soon as he entered, he saw a man sitting behind a long table with his back to him. Only when he heard the door close did the man turn around.
He looked Lu Yu up and down, then said evenly, "My surname is Huang. I'm the manager of the Soto Soul Fighting Arena."
Manager Huang paused, then continued. "Do you know how much money you've cost us this past month?"
Lu Yu did not answer. He pulled over a chair and sat down facing him, resting the iron staff against his leg.
"All right, I don't suppose you called me here just to talk about your losses! I've already spent the money. If you want me to pay it back, that's impossible."
The manager stared at Lu Yu coldly, Soul Power surging around him as a faint pressure enveloped Lu Yu. Lu Yu met the manager's gaze calmly, without a trace of fear.
Though his expression was unruffled, Lu Yu was panicking inside. He could feel that the manager in front of him was very strong and could kill him without the slightest effort.
I'm done for. Could it be that he's so upset about losing that he's here to settle accounts with me?
"Hahaha!" Suddenly, just as Lu Yu was sitting on pins and needles, the manager burst out laughing, and the pressure enveloping Lu Yu vanished.
"Good lad. You've got strength and guts." The manager paused, remembering that Lu Yu's first Soul Ring was only a white ten-year Soul Ring, and sighed softly.
"Unfortunately, your talent has held you back."
"You're a smart man, so I won't say anything more. I called you here to offer you a partnership. First, we give you 200,000 Gold Soul Coins, and you go to Soul Fighting arenas in other cities to compete."
"Second, we give you 300,000 Gold Soul Coins, and you continue competing at our Soul Fighting Arena. But if there's a match we can't handle, you have to fight."
As soon as the manager finished, Lu Yu answered without even thinking.
"I'll take the second option."
What a joke. After causing the Soul Fighting Arena a loss, he wanted to take 200,000 Gold Soul Coins and walk away? Not a chance. If Lu Yu dared choose the first option, he absolutely would not make it out that door today.
All Lu Yu wanted was money anyway, and both options paid, so naturally he would choose the most reliable and safest one.
"Hahaha, a smart choice. I was right about you after all." With that, the manager took a purple card from his drawer and pushed it in front of Lu Yu.
"This is a Soul Coin card. All 300,000 Gold Soul Coins are in it. Give me your address, and I'll send someone to find you when there's a match."
Lu Yu nodded and took the Soul Coin card, examining it curiously. He told Manager Huang where he was currently staying.
"Manager Huang, if there's nothing else, I'll be going!"
Manager Huang nodded, and Lu Yu hurried out of the office, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
"Heh... Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Quite a grand title. What a pity, what a pity!" Manager Huang murmured as he watched Lu Yu hurry away.