Back when he was in the Nuoding City registrar's office, he had secretly investigated the other party's background.
Born into a commoner family, with mediocre Innate Soul Power, and his Martial Soul is a bamboo with little offensive power.
How can someone like that be compared to him?
He possesses the innermost secrets of the Tang Sect, is well-versed in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, and has mastered the Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and the Hundred Separations of Hidden Weapon.
Moreover, his teacher was the Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, the number one theorist in mainland China!
The Grandmaster's "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul " had already pointed him in the right direction for cultivation.
The absorption limit of each Soul Ring was also calculated by the Grandmaster with painstaking effort.
Despite these advantages, he has only just reached the threshold of level 30 Soul Elder and still has to risk entering this forest to strive for his Third Soul Ring.
What does Xiao Xuan have?
Without the backing of a prestigious family, without bloodline inheritance, and without Grandmaster to guide them.
If someone manages to reach the level of Soul Grandmaster in their twenties by graduation, relying solely on the guidance of ordinary mentors and figuring out their own cultivation, they are already considered extremely lucky.
How could he possibly become a level 40 Soul Ancestor before everyone else?
As for the Soul Ring Configuration, or even the ability to kill a renowned Eight-Ring Soul Douluo head-on, that's utter nonsense!
Tang San's clenched hands remained clenched for a long time.
Any one of these three things happening to Xiao Xuan would mean that the common sense of cultivation that he had always believed in was wrong.
This also means that the commoner who was inferior to him in terms of background, talent, and mentorship had left him far behind.
Tang San didn't believe it.
Having lived two lives, possessing the Tang Sect Secret Arts, and receiving meticulous instruction from Grandmaster, how could he be inferior to even Xiao Xuan?
It's just that their Martial Soul are similar; how can that prove they are the same person?
Moreover, these words came from the mouth of a woman who was extremely frightened.
"As expected, it was just nonsense."
Tang San made up his mind, finally loosened his grip, and his expression calmed down again.
He turned to look at Zhao Wuji, his tone resolute.
" Teacher Zhao is right. The remaining aura here is fierce and domineering, the ground is scorched black, and large areas have collapsed. This is definitely not something an ordinary Soul Master could have caused."
Miss Meng must have been so terrified by that unseen, terrifying Soul Beast that she lost her mind and began hallucinating.
As he spoke, he glanced at the empty grass.
Thunder Vine's body disappeared without a trace, and he ultimately gained nothing.
A hint of regret flashed in his eyes, but he quickly looked away and lowered his voice:
"Even Soul Douluo- level powerhouse died here, which shows how terrifying that Ferocious Beast is. If we stay any longer, and it turns back, none of us will be able to leave."
He paused, his tone becoming more urgent.
" Xiao Wu's fate is still unknown. Teacher Zhao, let's leave as soon as possible and search for Xiao Wu in another direction!"
Zhao Wuji nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Tang San's words were calm and reasonable.
The sight of the corpse of Dragon Duke Meng Shu before him made him even more hesitant to linger.
"Good! Mubai, lead everyone to form a defensive formation and retreat!"
He didn't look at Chao Tianxiang, who was slumped on the ground holding her husband's body, and told everyone to turn around and leave.
Dai Mubai and the others immediately followed.
The group hurried across the scorched clearing and disappeared into the surrounding dense forest, their retreat even more rapid than their arrival.
A few days later, the majestic city walls of Suotuo City appeared at the end of the official road.
According to the original route, Xiao Xuan was supposed to go to another remote Soul Beast forest to collect the second batch of two-thousand-year-old Lone Bamboo as the main material.
While passing through Suotuo City, he planned to rest for a while, but overheard an auction announcement in a teahouse or tavern.
Two weeks later, the city's largest auction house will feature a century-old Soul Bone as its grand finale item.
It is said that this Soul Bone came from a rare plant-based Ferocious Beast.
In its lifetime, it was most adept at concealment and environmental mimicry, Soul Bone it left behind likely also possess the ability to manipulate light and shadow and disguise its presence.
Xiao Xuan was tempted.
He is now a level 43 Soul Ancestor with Soul Ring Configuration. If he were to reveal this to others, it would inevitably attract attention.
After returning to Heaven Dou City, he still needs to contact Qian Renxue, who is disguised as Xue Qinghe.
Now that I've accepted the intelligence and secrets they provided, I'll inevitably have to do things for them in the future.
If he could use this Soul Bone to conceal his Soul Ring or disguise it as an ordinary configuration, it would be much easier for him to act among various forces.
However, the starting bid for this Soul Bone is 100,000 Gold Soul Coin.
But he only had ten or twenty thousand Gold Soul Coin on hand.
The difference is too great.
If you want to legally earn this much money in just a few days, the Soto Great Soul Arena is undoubtedly the fastest place to go.
If you keep winning and make good use of the betting odds, you can earn a considerable income in addition to the Soul Fighting bonus.
Xiao Xuan immediately changed his plans, bought a mask from a small shop in the city to cover most of his face, and headed straight for the Soul Fighting Arena.
The registration hall was noisy, and the smell of sweat mixed with alcohol was overwhelming.
Behind the circular counter, the deacon took the Soul Power measuring stone from him.
Watching the indicator surpass level forty and finally stop at level forty-three, the deacon looked up and glanced at him again.
According to the rules of the Soul Fighting Arena, contestants can only participate in duels of the same or higher rank.
Once Xiao Xuan's cultivation level of 43 was registered, he could only enter the Soul Ancestor sequence and could no longer participate in the Soul Elder group competition.
"Code name?"
The deacon picked up the seal and examined the boy in front of him, who was dressed in a black robe and wearing a mask.
Black Bamboo.
Xiao Xuan used his Soul Power to lower his voice slightly.
"Half an hour later, in the seventh Soul Fighting Arena."
The deacon stamped the Iron Soul Badge with a dark red seal and handed it back.
Xiao Xuan took the badge, walked into the waiting corridor, stopped by a sheltered stone pillar, and began to ponder with his arms crossed.
The winning prize money alone wouldn't be enough to raise over 100,000 Gold Soul Coin in just a few days.
Betting on yourself to win is not a long-term solution.
The longer the winning streak, the lower the odds offered by the bookmaker.
Even after seven or eight consecutive wins, betting 10,000 Gold Soul Coin and winning, you can only earn back a little over a thousand gold coins.
He doesn't have that much time.
To make this money, he first needs to convince everyone that he will never lose.
First, let's get ten consecutive wins.
He must win decisively in every game, convincing gamblers that he has no rivals in his class.
During this period, there's no need to place heavy bets; just focus on building momentum.
Once everyone is betting on him to win, his opponents will be completely underestimated, and the odds for an upset could rise to 1 to 20, or even 1 to 50.
The game we should really bet on is the eleventh game.
Before the market opened, through several underground bookmakers and individual investors in the city, he spread out his 20,000 Gold Soul Coin and bet them on his opponents.
Once on stage, he restrained his strength, feigned exhaustion, and revealed a weakness, resulting in a narrow defeat.
Those gamblers who were certain of his victory, and the bookmakers who offered high odds on an upset, would pay for the Soul Bone on his behalf.
In this one match alone, there's a chance to take home over 200,000 Gold Soul Coin.
"A ten-game winning streak built momentum, the eleventh game brought the victory..."
Beneath the mask, Xiao Xuan revealed a faint smile.
The gates in front slowly opened, and cheers from inside the stadium surged into the passageway.
"The first match of the seventh division! Newly promoted Soul Master Black Bamboo versus level 45 Power Attack-type Battle Soul Master—Mad Bear Iron Mountain!"