At dusk, Dai Mubai treated everyone to a lavish dinner in Soto City.
Afterward, as night began to fall, the group waited right outside the restaurant for Flender's arrival.
"Boss Dai is really generous! That meal was absolutely amazing," Ma Hongjun said, rubbing his belly with a satisfied look.
As a soul master from a commoner background, he rarely had the chance to enjoy such a rich feast.
"Why didn't you just eat yourself to death?" Dai Mubai snapped, clearly in a bad mood.
He had spent the entire day trying to talk to Zhu Zhuqing. But not only did she ignore him completely, she even gave him attitude.
As someone with a strong sense of male pride, Dai Mubai could hardly tolerate such treatment.
Ning Rongrong nudged Zhu Zhuqing's arm and curiously asked, "Zhuqing, what's going on between you and Dai Mubai?"
Xiao Wu chimed in bluntly, "Isn't it obvious? That perv Dai is trying to chase after Zhuqing, but she turned him down flat."
Their conversation wasn't exactly quiet, and Dai Mubai heard every word. But because he was wary of Tang San's hidden weapons, he didn't dare yell at Xiao Wu. Instead, he turned his head and sulked in silence.
Tang San frowned slightly and gently reminded, "Xiao Wu, didn't Teacher tell you? Don't say things that could hurt team unity."
Of course, asking her to apologize to Dai Mubai was out of the question. Tang San wouldn't let his sister suffer any grievance.
So, in the end, he merely asked her to stop talking for now.
Thinking back to the mission his teacher had entrusted him with before leaving, Tang San couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
Yu Xiaogang wanted him to become the leader of this team.
But leaving aside the three senior students like Dai Mubai, even among the newcomers, Ning Tianchen had more prestige than he did. Earning the team's genuine willingness to follow his command would be no easy task.
In that moment, the eight students unconsciously split into three separate groups.
The girls, led by Xiao Wu, were busy gossiping about all the terrible things Dai Mubai had done. Dai Mubai stood alone, stewing in his anger. Ning Tianchen and the others remained in the middle, watching the drama unfold like spectators.
This situation didn't last long before Flender arrived.
"Good," he said. "The training ground is still a bit of a walk from here. Walking there will help with digestion."
The three senior students were clearly in low spirits, but the new students were full of energy and enthusiasm.
Though Dai Mubai and the others had enrolled earlier, they hadn't actually learned much.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were considered talented, but when it came to battles at the Great Spirit Arena, their results weren't impressive. Against opponents with lower spirit power levels, they could win easily. But against stronger opponents, they had never won a single match.
Even when facing opponents of equal strength, their win rate was less than 20%.
In the world of Soul Masters, what's the use of only being able to beat the weak?
Because they couldn't win in actual combat, they eventually grew more and more resistant to going to the Great Spirit Arena.
…
In front of a grand building, Flender finally stopped. He looked up at the sign hanging above the entrance.
"Dean, the semester hasn't even officially started yet. Are you sure it's a good idea to bring everyone here now?" Oscar couldn't help but question him.
Ma Hongjun nodded in agreement but kept his face neutral, not daring to show too much emotion in case Flender noticed.
Before Flender could respond, Dai Mubai, still fuming, coldly snorted, "What's wrong with it? We're going to come here sooner or later—what difference does it make if it's a bit earlier?"
Right now, he was just looking for a way to vent. The opponents inside the Great Spirit Arena were the perfect outlet for his frustration.
"This…" Oscar was at a loss for words.
In the morning, Dai Mubai had been the one leading the opposition. Yet now, just half a day later, how had he changed his mind?
Flender raised his hand to quiet everyone and explained his reasoning. "You've all graduated from elementary Soul Master academies. Whether it's Shrek Academy or any other advanced Soul Master academy, the top priority is cultivating your real combat ability."
"The first lesson I, your headmaster, will give you is actual combat. And the building behind me will be your classroom."
"I believe you already know—this is the Great Spirit Arena, a place for Soul Masters to battle."
At this time of day, the Great Spirit Arena was bustling with people coming and going.
Seeing this, Tang San couldn't help but ask, "Are all these people Soul Masters?"
Flender shook his head. "No, most of the people who come here are spectators. They're here to watch the matches."
Ever since Tang San was young, Yu Xiaogang had instilled in him the belief that Soul Masters were the noblest and most sacred profession in the world.
If that were true, why were Soul Master battles open to ordinary people as public entertainment?
Oscar lightly patted Tang San on the shoulder and explained in a low voice, "The Great Spirit Arena needs to make money too, Little San. Don't worry too much about it."
Ning Tianchen added, "Soul Masters are naturally a combative group. Without a place like the Great Spirit Arena, their fights might break out in the streets, causing chaos and damaging public order."
He had to admit, the existence of such arenas had significantly reduced violent crime across the continent.
Suddenly, his tone shifted. "That's the positive side. But the Great Spirit Arena also has plenty of dark sides."
"At its core, the Great Spirit Arena is a service-oriented business. As long as you have money, you can enjoy any kind of service here. And the people providing those services… may very well be individuals the arena has acquired through various unsavory means."
Places like the Great Spirit Arena inevitably gave rise to things like human trafficking.
They train a group of loyal arena defenders and service staff. Most of these people are pitiful souls who were sold here.
With righteous indignation, Xiao Wu exclaimed, "The people here are too wicked! We're not going in!"
Flender glanced at her and urged, "Enough. These things happen within the bounds of the system and have nothing to do with us. What we need to do is use the Great Spirit Arena to improve our strength."
…
Once inside the Great Spirit Arena, Flender led everyone to the service counter.
"When you fight here, each person has their own Spirit Battle Badge. Winning a match earns you one point, while losing deducts one point accordingly."
"As your points accumulate, your badge will also upgrade. The ranks, from lowest to highest, are: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Amethyst, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond."
As he spoke, Flender swept his gaze across everyone. "Your task before graduation is to reach at least the Silver Spirit Battle Badge level."
Xiao Wu did some quick mental math and said with a smile, "Silver is only the third rank. That shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"It's not that easy!" Oscar explained, "The arena only matches you against opponents of the same rank. If you're a low-level Soul Elder, you won't have any advantage in the Soul Elder Arena—in fact, it's easy to lose consecutively. On the other hand, those who are high-level within their rank have a much easier time winning."
Oscar went on at length. In short, the three senior students had been fighting in the arena for a long time, and even now they all still had only Iron Spirit Battle Badges—they hadn't even reached Copper yet.
"Then couldn't someone just stay at level twenty-nine and keep winning over and over?" Ning Rongrong asked.
Ning Tianchen tapped her on the forehead with mild annoyance. "Rongrong, are you saying you don't want to level up? Besides, after a winning streak, you'll be matched against others with winning streaks too. If you want to earn higher points, you'll need real strength—there's no shortcut or trickery."
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