Su Yan sat amid the roaring crowd, sandwiched between 2B and Nihilister as he watched the match below.
Two Spirit Elders were clashing in the arena. Fire and ice flashed across the stage as they traded blows, each exchange drawing a louder roar from the stands.
A fresh throb of pain pulsed through Su Yan's stomach.
He resisted the urge to rub it.
Half an hour had passed since his own match, and the girl responsible for that ache was sitting a few rows away among a group of Spirit Masters in matching uniforms, cheering for the fight below with bright-eyed enthusiasm.
He still found it hard to believe that such combat prowess had been hidden in such a delicate frame. When they had first been matched, he had even felt a flicker of concern after seeing how nervous she looked.
That concern had lasted until her Berserker Gorilla Martial Soul appeared.
With one burst of speed, she had already been in front of him. After that, most of the tricks he had spent the month sharpening fell apart beneath brute strength.
Every barrier he materialised only slowed her down. She smashed through them in a barrage of punches, breaking apart anything he tried to use to attack, defend, or force distance.
The ache pulsed again.
In the end, he had become one more obstacle sent flying.
Su Yan sighed as the girl noticed him staring. After recognising him, she gave him a wide, enthusiastic smile and waved.
Su Yan gave a faint smile and returned the gesture, careful not to move too suddenly, before looking back toward the stage.
Below, the match had settled into a clear pattern: an agility-type Spirit Master against an assault-type Spirit Master.
The assault-type Spirit Master's Martial Soul was a snow bird. He kept launching spikes of ice mixed with blasts of snow and wind, forcing his opponent to keep moving as frost slowly crept across the arena floor.
When the female agility-type Spirit Master noticed the spreading frost, her third Soul Ring lit up. Rings of fire appeared around her calves, and a visible wave of heat rolled outward from her legs, melting the encroaching hoarfrost before it could fully take hold.
The assault-type Spirit Master's expression immediately darkened.
He forced it back under control a moment later, but by then she had already moved.
Her speed nearly doubled. She shot across the arena in a blur of heat and motion, one leg lashing toward the male Spirit Master's head.
The kick missed by a hair. Rather than force the exchange, she used the momentum to retreat, opening the distance between them again as the crowd erupted into another wave of cheers.
Watching her move brought Su Yan's second loss in the arena back to mind.
His opponent then had also been an agility-type Spirit Master, one with a Panther Martial Soul. They had completely dominated him in movement and reaction speed. Any obstacle he placed in their path was dodged around. Any sudden barrier he materialised near their route was avoided before it could become a real obstruction.
Like water slipping around a rock, they flowed past everything he tried to use to trap them.
The worst part had been when they got close. Su Yan had panicked, and the flurry of attacks he unleashed had, in Nihilister's words, looked like the flailing of a wet cat.
Su Yan sighed and refocused on the match below.
In his opinion, the female Spirit Master was more likely to win. She had held the initiative through almost every exchange, and the assault-type Spirit Master's reaction when the spreading hoarfrost was melted had been too obvious to ignore. Combined with the fact that he still had not used his third Soul Skill, Su Yan suspected there was some condition tied to it.
Maybe the skill needed enough frost on the arena floor before it could be used properly. Maybe it was strongest only after the field had been prepared.
Either way, the female Spirit Master had noticed the danger before it fully formed and cut it off at the root.
Just as Su Yan suspected, the match ended a few minutes later in the agility-type Spirit Master's favour. Even at the end, the assault-type Spirit Master never used his third Soul Skill.
"2B, you did put a bet on her, right?"
2B nodded once.
"Yes. The bet was placed on the female Spirit Master. I have also placed the bet for the following match."
Su Yan raised a brow.
"Already? I thought you would wait until this match was over."
"The next match had already been listed," 2B said. "We observed both competitors before placing the bet."
Su Yan hummed.
"I agree that's the right strategy, but what made you think one of them was likely to win?"
"Instinct."
Su Yan almost jumped as Nihilister's voice came from much closer than expected.
She had leaned in at some point, her eyes still fixed on the arena below.
"I don't feel any real danger from them," she said, sounding almost disappointed. "But one of them reminds me of that sword-swinging Pilgrim."
Su Yan blinked. "Scarlet?"
"Was she the one with the stupid hat?"
"I mean, it's a big hat, but I would not call it stupid."
"I would."
Su Yan stared at her for a moment.
Nihilister did not look the least bit apologetic.
She was clearly being difficult on purpose.
Su Yan ignored her and looked back toward 2B, waiting for her answer.
"Their movements were controlled," 2B said. "No wasted motion. Stable breathing. Weight balanced for immediate acceleration. The other competitor appears strong, but strength is the only clear advantage I observed."
A man sitting behind them froze.
The next moment, he shot to his feet and hurried toward the betting counters. Several others nearby followed almost immediately.
Su Yan watched them go, then slowly looked back at 2B.
"Right. We probably shouldn't have been discussing that so openly. That was my bad."
2B shook her head.
"It should be fine. They will not move the odds by much now. From what I have seen, people who find useful information usually spread false rumours soon after."
Su Yan chuckled.
"Probably trying to convince people to bet on the other side as well, I'd imagine."
Since both 2B and Nihilister agreed on the likely winner, Su Yan stopped worrying about it. Over the past month, the two of them had built up an impressive streak when it came to betting on matches.
His coin pouch could certainly attest to that.
A few people around them noticed the weight of it, but none of their gazes lingered for long.
Two weeks earlier, a group of thugs had tried to steal from 2B and Nihilister after a successful round of bets. Nihilister might have let them crawl away with broken pride and bruised bones if they had only wanted money.
Unfortunately for them, the Spirit Master among the group tried to get handsy.
By the time the guards arrived, the thugs were bloodied, battered, and very sincerely regretting several recent life choices.
Since then, the two of them had earned a reputation, and most people had developed the good sense to leave them alone.
They continued to wait as the arena below was cleaned and the crowd was given time to place bets for the next match. By the time the betting counters began to quiet down, a new announcer stepped onto the stage.
She was different from the usual announcer.
The woman wore a light blue silk dress, and her long black hair fell smoothly down her back. She walked to the centre of the arena with the calm confidence of someone who had done this many times before.
Three spotlights fell upon her at once.
The crowd gradually quieted.
For a few moments, she waited until every eye was on her before giving an exaggerated bow. When she spoke, her voice carried cleanly through the arena.
"Ah, my dear guests, I, Lan Yuxi, welcome you once again to our monthly special event. Tell me, have you all missed me?"
The stands erupted.
Her name rang out from every direction, mixed with whistles, cheers, and what Su Yan was fairly certain were several heartfelt confessions of love.
"Oh, my dear guests, I can feel your enthusiasm all the way from here. I hope you will continue to patronise our humble arena."
She raised both hands toward the crowd.
"For this month's special event, we have prepared a truly wonderful match. Two Spirit Kings have agreed to fight for us tonight!"
The pounding of feet and the roar of cheers sent another wave of sound rolling through the arena.
Su Yan had not seen the crowd this excited before.
Only after the noise began to settle did Lan Yuxi speak again.
"Now, my dear guests, before I welcome tonight's noble Spirit Masters, this is your final chance to place your bets. If you have yet to make your choice, I suggest you do so now."
From what Su Yan could see, a few audience members did indeed follow her prompting and hurried toward the betting counters.
He could respect the arena's hustle.
Once the last few audience members returned to their seats, Lan Yuxi continued.
One of the spotlights swept toward the left entrance.
"From the left gate, please give a warm welcome to our first fighter!"
A mountain of a man with bronzed skin and massive muscles strode out of the gate, making his way toward the stage with easy confidence as the spotlight followed him.
As he walked, Lan Yuxi continued.
"Hailing from Balak City, with the Martial Soul Iron Mountain Sword, Rank fifty-six Spirit King, Han Jue!"
The crowd answered with a roar, less from familiarity than from the simple weight of the introduction. Rank fifty-six Spirit King was already enough to stir the stands, and Han Jue's towering frame only made the name Iron Mountain Sword feel more believable.
"For our second fighter, entering from the right gate!"
A spotlight swept toward the opposite entrance.
A man in neat robes strode out. He was much shorter than Han Jue, standing a full head below him, and carried himself with a composed elegance that made Su Yan immediately think of a young lord from some well-off clan.
"From Heaven Dou City, with the Martial Soul Jiao Spine Sword, Rank fifty-four Spirit King, Ling Yun!"
Another cheer went up for him, though Su Yan distinctly noticed far more female audience members joining in this time.
Both fighters stood facing one another without another word, completely tuning out the crowd around them.
"And with both fighters now present, this humble announcer shall wisely remove herself from danger."
Lan Yuxi gave one last graceful bow before leaping backward from the stage.
Su Yan's eyes followed her for only an instant before she vanished from the arena floor. As it turned out, she was also a Spirit Master, and judging by the speed of that movement, not a weak one either.
A moment later, her voice carried through the arena once more, still bright and unhurried.
"Gentlemen, the stage is yours."
Han Jue burst into motion. He raised one arm above his head, and a massive jet-black greatsword appeared in his grasp as five Soul Rings rose around him.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.
The first two Soul Rings lit up at the same time.
He swung down.
A crushing black wave tore forward from the blade, grinding across the arena floor as it rushed straight toward Ling Yun.
Ling Yun was no slower to respond. His sword-type Martial Soul appeared in his hand, and five Soul Rings rose around him in the same configuration as Han Jue's.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.
Calling it a simple sword felt somewhat inaccurate. The blade was broad and slightly curved, almost like the body of a jiao, while a segmented metallic spine ran along its length.
His first Soul Ring lit up.
Ling Yun swung, sending several sharp arcs of energy toward the destructive wave bearing down on him. They struck it head-on, but did little to stop it. One after another, the arcs were swallowed beneath Han Jue's attack.
Ling Yun's expression did not change. Instead of retreating, he brought his sword down toward the ground.
To Su Yan's surprise, the blade split apart.
The segments separated like the spine of some metallic serpent, and just before the tip struck the arena floor, Ling Yun's second Soul Ring lit up. A red glow flashed along the length of the weapon.
The falling blade suddenly accelerated.
A sharp crack rang out like the snap of a whip, and Ling Yun's body was sent upward with it, launched high above the crushing wave as the segmented sword whipped beneath him. A moment later, the weapon snapped back together in his hand.
As Ling Yun flew through the air, a faint smile appeared on his face, as though a good idea had just come to him.
Su Yan saw him swing his sword again.
His first and second Soul Rings lit up together. The Jiao Spine Sword split apart, red light flashing along its segmented body as the arena filled with the sharp cracks of a whip. Long arcs of energy flew toward Han Jue, each one far larger and faster than the probing attacks he had sent against the crushing wave.
Han Jue's expression hardened as his third Soul Ring flashed.
A golden light spread across his body, then sank down through his legs and into the arena floor. At the same time, the Iron Mountain Sword in his hands seemed to grow heavier, a visible shimmer of energy glowing along its edge.
The incoming arcs reached him a breath later.
Han Jue swung.
For a man holding such a massive weapon, his speed was almost absurd. The Iron Mountain Sword moved in short, brutal motions, smashing the arcs apart one by one before they could reach his body.
Ling Yun's attacks were clearly coming faster than Han Jue could swing, yet somehow Han Jue endured them. Every time an arc slipped too close, the golden glow around his body flared, and the force seemed to sink harmlessly into the ground beneath his feet.
Like droplets of rain against stone, Han Jue remained unmoved.
Ling Yun remained aloft, using the recoil from his accelerated swings to keep himself suspended above the arena. Then his fourth Soul Ring lit up.
The next wave of energy arcs took on a faint red hue.
At first, the pattern seemed unchanged. Han Jue continued to stand his ground, breaking apart the incoming attacks one after another. But Su Yan soon noticed that Han Jue's expression had tightened.
A moment later, he saw it.
A thin red line had appeared along one of Han Jue's arms.
Then, as if he had finally found the opening he wanted, Han Jue stepped forward into the rain of sharp energy arcs. The gentle golden glow left his body the instant he moved, but the moment both feet planted firmly on the ground again, it returned.
Han Jue lowered his greatsword into a batter's stance. Then his first, second, third, and fourth Soul Rings flashed at the same time.
The Iron Mountain Sword swelled another size larger, and when he swung, the resulting wave of destructive force was even more terrifying than the one that had opened the match. It surged forward and completely swallowed the barrage of red-hued energy arcs.
Ling Yun's eyes widened.
He swung his blade upward, sending a large arc of energy into the air. The recoil forced him back down toward the arena stage, dragging him away from the worst of the attack.
Even so, the edge of the destructive wave still clipped him.
Ling Yun was sent tumbling through the air before crashing down onto the stage, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Su Yan thought Han Jue would take the opportunity to charge forward and finish him off, but when he looked more closely, he realised why that did not happen.
Han Jue was breathing heavily.
The Iron Mountain Sword was planted in front of him like a support, and his eyes remained fixed on the cloud of dust where Ling Yun had fallen.
The crowd held its breath.
They did not have to wait long.
A blade punched through the dust.
A small hole opened in the cloud before the force behind the strike blasted it wider, and Ling Yun's long segmented sword shot straight toward Han Jue.
Han Jue dodged left, though stumbled might have been a more apt description. The movement carried him out of the blade's path, but only barely.
When the cloud of dust finally cleared, Su Yan saw that Ling Yun was not in much better condition. The wave of destruction had clearly done more than merely clip him. He was breathing hard, his robes were torn and dust-stained, and his previously composed appearance had become far more dishevelled.
His left arm also seemed injured. The stance he held now was a far cry from the one he had shown at the start of the fight.
The two fighters stared at one another for several moments, using the brief lull to recover. Slowly, both straightened and steadied their breathing.
Then Ling Yun moved first.
He swung his sword out to the side, and his fifth Soul Ring flashed.
Four spectral copies of his Martial Soul appeared above him, hanging in the air like waiting fangs.
Ling Yun pointed his blade toward Han Jue.
All four spectral swords shot forward with immense speed.
As they closed in, Han Jue drove his own sword down into the arena floor, and his fifth Soul Ring flashed. In the next instant, a forest of stone blades erupted from the arena, each one a rough copy of the Iron Mountain Sword.
The spectral blades crashed into them and were knocked aside or dispersed on impact.
Ling Yun's eyes narrowed as Han Jue stood among the jagged stone swords.
Han Jue stepped forward, broke one of the stone blades free from the ground and gripped it in his free hand. He rested the crude weapon against his shoulder and took a deep breath before swinging it into another stone blade still rooted in the arena floor.
The resulting crash shattered both stone swords apart.
A storm of broken rubble shot toward Ling Yun.
He activated his fifth Soul Ring again, and four more spectral copies of his Martial Soul appeared around him before shooting forward to intercept the debris.
Su Yan could see the burden almost immediately. Ling Yun's eyes kept darting from side to side as each spectral blade moved along a different path, cutting apart chunks of rubble, deflecting fragments, and occasionally knocking aside the larger stone blades Han Jue sent flying toward him.
As the stalemate continued, Ling Yun suddenly pointed his blade out to the side.
His second and third Soul Rings flashed together.
The Jiao Spine Sword glowed red, then shot sideways with a sharp pop. Another pop rang out, and the segmented blade changed direction in mid-air, moving like a silver snake dancing through the battlefield.
With each sharp pop, it turned again.
The blade shot toward Han Jue at frightening speed just as he was midway through swinging another stone sword.
Han Jue's eyes narrowed. Even from that awkward position, he brought the Iron Mountain Sword around to block.
Then his eyes widened.
Two more sharp pops rang out.
The segmented blade bent almost ninety degrees, bypassing his defence entirely before stabbing into his shoulder.
The crowd gasped.
Han Jue staggered, one hand clamping over his bleeding shoulder as the Iron Mountain Sword dropped heavily to his side. He tried to tighten his grip again, but the movement only made his expression twist with pain.
Ling Yun's segmented blade remained extended, its tip still hovering near him.
For several breaths, Han Jue said nothing.
Then he exhaled and lowered his head slightly.
"I surrender."
For a heartbeat, the arena was silent.
Then the noise erupted.
Some people cheered wildly, while others groaned as though they had just watched their coin pouches bleed. More than a few spectators were still staring at Ling Yun's segmented blade, their eyes wide, as if they had not quite understood how the attack had curved around Han Jue's guard until it was already over.
Then Lan Yuxi's voice carried through the arena once more.
"Han Jue has surrendered! The winner of tonight's monthly special match is Ling Yun!"
The cheers grew even louder.
Ling Yun slowly withdrew his Martial Soul, his spectral blades fading one by one as he gave Han Jue a respectful nod.
Su Yan watched the stage for a few more seconds, still turning the fight over in his mind.
It had been overwhelming.
Compared to the matches he had fought over the past month, this was on an entirely different level. Power, timing, terrain, control, stamina, prediction—every exchange had carried more weight than anything he had personally experienced so far.
But his own impression was only one part of it.
What mattered more was how 2B and Nihilister saw it.
"So, Nihilister, 2B," Su Yan asked, still looking toward the arena, "what do you think?"
Nihilister gave a lazy snort.
"They were better than the small fry you've been fighting."
"That's it?"
"What else do you want me to say?" she asked, unimpressed. A confident smirk spread across her face. "Not like I couldn't take both of them on at the same time."
Su Yan looked toward 2B.
2B's gaze remained on the arena below.
"Their use of Soul Skills was efficient," she said. "Han Jue used terrain and defensive conditions to compensate for low mobility. Ling Yun identified that condition and attacked from angles that forced him to respond awkwardly."
After a brief pause, she added, "It was impressive."
Su Yan blinked. "But?"
"But still within my ability to handle."
Su Yan smiled as he heard their assessments, suddenly feeling a little safer about his future.
Only a little.
His mind drifted back over the month he had spent in Stonegate. Combat experience, practical testing for Bastion and Shift, money, information, and a better sense of what real Spirit Master battles looked like beyond academy walls.
One by one, he counted off the goals he had set before entering the arena.
Some had gone better than expected. Some had hurt far more than expected.
But in the end, he had achieved what he came here to achieve.
That meant it was time to move on.
Heaven Dou City. Dugu Bo. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Based on what he remembered, he should still have plenty of time.
Su Yan let out a quiet breath and pushed the thought aside.
First, he needed to collect his winnings.