Chapter 36: Registering at the Great Spirit Arena
Fine clothes make the man, just as a fine saddle makes the horse.
After the two took a bath and changed their clothes, it was as if they had become different people.
The travel-worn air of sleeping in the open and the fatigue of the long journey were gone, replaced by a touch of noble elegance befitting children from wealthy families.
After leaving the inn, they chose the best-rated restaurant, requested a private room, and ordered a mountain of food from the menu.
They were both Soul Masters and practiced Breathing Techniques; their daily energy consumption was naturally high, so there was no such thing as waste.
On their journey, they had mostly eaten roasted meat with dry rations. No matter how good Lin Yang's cooking was, eating it every day had become tiresome; now was the perfect time for a change of pace.
After handing the checked menu to the waiter, the waiter said with a smile,
"Honored guests, our specialty is Martial Soul-style barbecue. Would you like to try..."
"No."
Before he could even finish, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu refused with expressionless faces.
The waiter's expression stiffened, and he nodded quickly. "Understood!"
Perhaps the chef of this restaurant was a lifestyle-type Soul Master, as the food was served extremely fast.
Soon, a large table full of delicacies was piled up in front of the two.
The two didn't stand on ceremony and immediately picked up their chopsticks to eat.
During this meal, the various flavors—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—greatly satisfied their long-starved taste buds.
After eating, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu took a stroll around Suotuo City.
While relaxing, it also allowed them to get to know the city, as they would be staying here for a while.
According to Lin Yang's original plan, he should have chosen an intermediate Martial Soul academy to enroll in, preferably the Heaven Dou Intermediate Spirit Academy.
That way, he would have the chance to advance directly to the Tiandou Royal Academy and then find an opportunity to contact Dugu Bo to obtain the Immortal Herbs from him.
But he had changed his mind now and decided to settle down in Suotuo City for the time being.
On one hand, he was currently at rank twenty-seven, not far from rank thirty.
It would be better to wait until he obtained his Soul Ring at rank thirty before going directly to the Tiandou Royal Academy.
At the same time, he could use this period to better train Xiao Wu.
At least until she mastered the Transparent World, he wouldn't take Xiao Wu running around everywhere.
Moreover, the Barak Kingdom bordered the Fasno Province; if they wanted to return to Red Maple Village, it would be quite convenient.
While Lin Yang was lost in thought, Xiao Wu nudged his arm with her elbow.
She was holding a stick of candied haws in each hand and handed one over.
"What are you thinking about? I've been calling you for ages. Here."
Lin Yang took the candied haws and said casually,
"I'm thinking about how to get you to master 'Through Vision' as soon as possible. I have some ideas now."
Xiao Wu's expression stiffened. Thinking of all the previous pain, she gave Lin Yang a harsh glare, as if saying,
"You really are a devil."
However, she quickly thought of something and discreetly glanced at the candied haws in Lin Yang's hand, her eyes hiding a sense of anticipation.
"Don't look at me like that, it's all for your own good!"
Lin Yang said in a mock-serious tone and took a bite of a hawthorn berry.
Suddenly, his expression stiffened slightly.
A burst of sourness and sweetness instantly exploded on the tip of his tongue. His cheeks involuntarily tightened, and even his back teeth felt sore and weak from the acidity.
"Hahaha..."
A string of silver-bell-like laughter suddenly rang in his ears. Xiao Wu held up her bitten candied haws and laughed heartily.
Clearly, she had also experienced that intense sourness just now.
"Serves you right!"
Xiao Wu made a face, and the resentment she had accumulated recently dissipated instantly.
However, Lin Yang wasn't angry or annoyed at this moment. Instead, he looked at Xiao Wu with a smile and gave her a thumbs up.
"Nicely done!"
Lin Yang's unusual reaction made Xiao Wu even more nervous. she quickly tried to defend herself,
"Hey, are you okay? I... I just ate one too."
"What could be wrong with me? Come on, let's go check out that area over there."
Lin Yang inconspicuously tossed the candied haws into a nearby trash can.
In his heart, however, he made a mental note against this itchy-skinned Little Rabbit.
He even let out a dark "Jie Jie" laugh internally.
"Stupid rabbit, you should enjoy this brief moment of happiness while it lasts."
The Little Rabbit suddenly shivered and instinctively looked at Lin Yang.
Finding that his expression was normal, she comforted herself in a low voice,
"It should be fine. It was just a sour hawthorn berry; this guy shouldn't be that petty."
After comforting herself several times, the Little Rabbit put the matter out of her mind and went hopping off to find the next novelty.
Lin Yang followed unhurriedly, various "inhumane" training plans flashing through his mind.
After returning to the inn, the two went back to their respective rooms.
In the dead of night, with only scattered starlight outside the window, a faint glow spilled into the inn room.
Lin Yang sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed and mind focused, entering a deep state of meditative cultivation.
Lying across his lap were 'Scarlet Edge' and the External Soul Bone that encased it, 'Concealed Edge'.
The faint silver light surrounding him was Ah Yin's Blue Silver Domain.
A warm, pale red Soul Power flowed out from his body, brushing over the blade and bone on his lap like a rhythmic breath.
Wisps of barely perceptible Soul Power were silently and continuously saturating Concealed Edge.
And in the darkness, Concealed Edge emitted a faint, matte glow.
The night passed in silence.
The next day, after Lin Yang and Xiao Wu had breakfast, they packed their things and left the inn.
Yesterday, they had already scouted out a small courtyard for rent.
Lin Yang saw that the surrounding environment was decent and rented it immediately, even paying three months' rent in advance.
Today, he and Xiao Wu moved in directly.
The rooms only had some basic furniture. Lin Yang spent money to buy some common daily necessities, and once set up, it looked quite decent.
In the afternoon, he took Xiao Wu toward the city center.
Before long, a grand and magnificent building appeared before them.
In terms of sheer scale and splendor, even the City Lord's Mansion of Suotuo City was not as luxurious as this building.
This was the city that never sleeps within Suotuo City—the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena!
The entire Great Spirit Arena was oval-shaped, over a hundred and twenty meters high, looking like an egg standing on end.
It included one main arena and twenty-four sub-arenas, which could accommodate up to sixty thousand people at once.
It was the battleground for various factions within Suotuo City.
It was said that the daily ticket revenue of the Great Spirit Arena alone was at least several hundred thousand gold coins.
With such massive profits, yet no faction dared to eye it, its deep background could well be imagined.
Walking up to the Great Spirit Arena, the first thing that caught the eye was a tall stone tablet, which was a death list.
Lin Yang didn't even look at it and led Xiao Wu straight through the main entrance.
Arriving at the front desk, Lin Yang stated their purpose to the staff: the two of them were here to register for Martial Soul combat.
The front desk staff, used to such things, efficiently helped them process the registration.
The procedure wasn't complicated; they only needed to fill in their name, age, and Martial Soul, then pay ten gold coins as a registration fee to receive the lowest-level Iron Spirit Combat Badge.
The levels above that were Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond.
Of course, neither Lin Yang nor Xiao Wu revealed their true information. Not only did they wear masks, but both their names and ages were faked.
Lin Yang went by 'Blade Ghost', and Xiao Wu went by 'Charming Rabbit'.
In addition, Lin Yang had altered his physique, and Xiao Wu was covered by 'Blindfold'.
To outsiders, they looked like two teenagers of fourteen or fifteen years old; no one would ever associate them with their true identities.
Besides individual battles, the two also registered for two-on-two combat, with their team name being 'Ghostly Blade Rabbit'.
"This name was chosen so carelessly."
Xiao Wu pouted; she had originally wanted to call it the 'Yang-Wu Duo'.
"It's just a name, don't worry about it so much."
Afterward, the two were arranged by the staff to test their Soul Power.
Lin Yang was still at rank twenty-seven, but over on Xiao Wu's side, she had already broken through to rank seventeen.
"Hmph, are you surprised? I just broke through last night," Xiao Wu said, tilting her chin up proudly.
"Intense Competition, who doesn't know how to do that?"
She had learned the term 'Intense Competition' from Lin Yang.
A smile curled at the corner of Lin Yang's lips. Not bad.
As expected, pressure creates motivation.
If he didn't push her hard, this rabbit would simply be wasting her talent.