Dai Mubai returned quickly and nodded to Flandre, indicating that he had sent Oscar to comfort Ning Rongrong.
Flandre waved his hand. "Let's move out. Keep up with me."
The moment he finished speaking, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes and shot forward, heading toward the edge of the academy grounds.
The group hurried to follow.
Flandre maintained a brisk pace throughout, and it was here that the gap in strength among the five students became apparent.
Right on Flandre's heels was the Evil-Eyed White Tiger, Dai Mubai, whose Soul Power was the most profound of the group. Behind Dai Mubai was not Tang San, but Zhu Zhuqing.
Tang San's Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail excelled in its intricacy, but when it came to pure straight-line acceleration, it actually fell short compared to Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-type Soul Master. So he and Xiao Wu were side by side in third place. Ma Hongjun trailed at the rear, though he wasn't far behind Tang San.
Along the way, Flandre didn't say a single word, and neither did Tang San and the others. Their minds were still turning over the conversation that had transpired between Flandre and Ning Rongrong earlier.
Before long, Tang San realized their destination — Sotuo City.
The distance from Shrek Academy to Sotuo City wasn't far. It was only as they approached the southern gate that Flandre finally slowed his pace, allowing all five students to catch up.
Sotuo City lay within the Balak Kingdom and faced no external threats, so its gates remained open around the clock. The group of six entered the city without any trouble.
Though night had already fallen, Sotuo City seemed to have just awakened — it was even more bustling than during the day. Every shop lining the streets was brightly lit, and small vendors who only operated after dark had settled into their familiar spots, hawking snacks and trinkets of all kinds.
Tang San and Xiao Wu had lived in Sotuo City for two days, but they had never ventured out at night. Tang San took it in stride, but Xiao Wu was brimming with curiosity, her eyes darting everywhere. Whenever she spotted something interesting, she would quietly edge closer for a better look. If Tang San hadn't been holding her hand the entire time, she might well have gotten lost.
Zhu Zhuqing's face remained as cold and impassive as ever, as though nothing in the outside world had the slightest bearing on her. Her gaze stayed fixed on Flandre ahead of her, undisturbed by the commotion around them.
Dai Mubai kept his eyelids lowered, displaying his more composed side. He looked almost identical to Zhu Zhuqing in demeanor, minus the layer of frost on his face — everything about him appeared perfectly natural.
Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, could hardly keep his eyes in their sockets. While he wasn't as indiscriminately fascinated as Xiao Wu, his gaze darted about with a will of its own, homing in on the most distinctive features of the women on the street.
From girls as young as six to women as old as sixty, Ma Hongjun's eyes spared almost no one. The moment he spotted a figure that was even a little curvaceous, he immediately swallowed hard. Fortunately, he was at the back of the group, and none of the others noticed his current state.
Flandre suddenly stopped and glanced at the sky, muttering to himself, "There's still some time. Come with me."
With that, he led the five into an unremarkable tea shop along the street. The six of them gathered around a round table, and Flandre ordered six cups of the cheapest tea available.
Xiao Wu stared at the tea in front of her, thick with tea dregs, and scrunched up her nose. "Headmaster, please tell me our first lesson isn't going to take place here."
Flandre replied, "Of course not. Your classroom is over there." As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed outside.
Following the direction of his finger, Tang San spotted a cluster of towering buildings not far from the tea shop. From their vantage point, they could only make out that the structure stood nearly a hundred meters tall — immense and imposing, it appeared deeply foreboding under the cover of night. A faint glow shimmered from within the colossal edifice.
Dai Mubai's expression shifted slightly. He said in a low voice, "Headmaster, are you really sending them there on the very first day?"
Flandre said evenly, "Remember — you are all monsters, not ordinary people. And if you're monsters, then you need a monster's way of training."
He paused briefly, then continued in a solemn tone, "Each of you has a different Martial Soul, and each of you has your own methods of cultivation. What the academy can teach you is how to make better use of your Martial Soul, help you obtain superior Soul Rings, gain more combat experience, and push your potential as far as it will go. The rest covers all manner of knowledge about Martial Souls, as well as the state of Soul Masters across the continent. Among everything you need to learn, the most important of all is combat experience."
"At the same rank and level of strength, the amount of combat experience you possess will be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Only through constant real combat can you sharpen your adaptability in battle as much as possible. So, your first lesson will be combat. And that place — that is your classroom."
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance. Ma Hongjun didn't dare utter a sound, while a look of resignation flickered through Dai Mubai's Evil-Eyed gaze. They clearly both knew what that place was. Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the icy Zhu Zhuqing, however, all wore expressions of puzzlement.
Flandre continued, "A structure like this exists only in cities of the capital class. Its scale is considered a symbol of how powerful a city — or even an entire nation — truly is. Such a building is called a Grand Battle Arena. It is always named after the city in which it stands. The one before you, therefore, is the Sotuo Grand Battle Arena."
"A Grand Battle Arena is a place where Martial Souls clash — a venue for Soul Masters to do battle. Whether in the Tian Dou Empire or the Xing Luo Empire, the saying holds true: the fate of a nation rises and falls with its Battle Arena."
Tang San frowned. "Headmaster, aren't Soul Masters the most noble profession? Why does a place like the Grand Battle Arena even exist? Putting on a show for spectators with our Martial Souls — what does that make us, performing monkeys?"