After settling the tea bill, the group of six walked out of the teahouse and headed toward the Sotuo Grand Battle Arena.
As they drew closer, the awe inspired by the grand arena only grew. When
The Sotuo Grand Battle Arena was oval in shape, standing one hundred and twenty meters tall. Inside, it housed one main battle arena and twenty-four subsidiary arenas. It could accommodate sixty thousand spectators simultaneously, including one hundred VIP boxes. This was not only a place for Soul Masters to spar and exchange blows, but also a stage for various factions to showcase their strength.
As they walked toward the arena, Flandre gave Tang San and the others a brief rundown of how things worked.
Duels here fell into three categories. The first was a wagering duel — essentially a sparring match in which killing and serious harm were forbidden. The second was a life-and-death duel, used to settle irreconcilable disputes. The third was a betting duel. The Grand Battle Arena served as the arbiter, and both sides would send an equal number of Soul Masters to compete. The winner would take everything stipulated in the bet. A betting duel was, first and foremost, a life-and-death affair. Many nobles and aristocratic clans resorted to this method whenever major conflicts arose between them.
The format of the matches also came in three varieties: one-on-one, two-on-two, and team battles. For team battles, the number of participants on each side was negotiable, though per the Grand Battle Arena's rules it generally fell within a range of seven to ten.
Upon entering the arena, the first thing that caught their eye was a massive stone stele covered in densely carved names. Flandre told Tang San that these were the names of those who had died in battle here.
Registering for a duel was quite simple. One only needed to fill out a form listing their name, age, place of birth, and Martial Soul, and then they could receive an initial Iron Battle Soul Medal. Registration cost ten gold coins per person.
At the same time, a Soul Power test was conducted — similar to what Spirit Hall did — to determine each person's rank.
Flandre naturally wasn't going to pay for them. Tang San, Xiao Wu, and
What impressed Tang San was that during their registration, the staff member handling the paperwork didn't laugh at them or show any hint of surprise because of their young age. The person maintained a strictly businesslike demeanor throughout and processed everything with remarkable speed. From this simple detail alone, it was clear that the Grand Battle Arena was no ordinary establishment.
After registration came the scheduling. Flandre brought them to the wagering duel area, gave Dai Mubai a few brief instructions, and then went off into the arena on his own.
Dai Mubai told Tang San and the others that at the Grand Battle Arena, only those who had achieved more than five consecutive victories, earned a high enough Battle Soul Medal rank, or possessed an extremely high Soul Master rank were permitted to compete in the main arena. For newcomers like them, the subsidiary arenas were the only option. Winning an Iron Battle Soul match earned a prize of ten gold coins; losing earned nothing.
Before long, all five of them had been scheduled. Since they had arrived together, they were all assigned to the fourteenth subsidiary arena in the wagering duel zone. The only difference was that Dai Mubai's opponent was at the Soul Venerable level, while Tang San and the other four were matched against Great Soul Masters.
The entire Grand Battle Arena gave Tang San a sense of dazzling complexity. Every aspect of the allocation system was meticulously detailed. What they called twenty-four subsidiary arenas were each further divided into different zones — wagering duels and life-and-death duels — and each of those was split into three formats: one-on-one, two-on-two, and team battles. That meant each subsidiary arena had six separate battle stages. As for the betting duels, Dai Mubai had explained that regardless of rank, all betting duels took place in the main arena.
The arena's management model had long since reached a state of smooth coordination. Different duel zones carried different ticket prices. The one-on-one wagering matches that Tang San and his companions were about to enter had the cheapest tickets and drew the fewest spectators.
The participating Soul Masters were all gathered in a spacious room to rest and wait for their turn.
As soon as Tang San's group arrived in the rest area, they drew the attention of the other Soul Masters present. After all, they were far too young. However, while the other Soul Masters wore expressions of surprise, none of them came over to mock the newcomers. Everyone was meditating, trying to keep themselves in peak condition for the duels ahead.
Xiao Wu sat down beside Tang San and whispered, "Brother, I just asked Dai Mubai — each Soul Master can only participate in one wagering duel per day, but they can enter different types simultaneously. We're both Rank 29. At that level, winning shouldn't be too hard. Why don't we register for a two-on-two duel as well? That way we can reach the point requirement sooner. What do you think?"
Tang San smiled faintly. "No problem. We're here to improve our real combat experience anyway. More fighting experience is always a good thing."
He immediately relayed his and Xiao Wu's plan to Dai Mubai, who naturally had no objections. In fact, as if reminded by their idea, Dai Mubai's gaze drifted to Zhu Zhuqing — but unfortunately, their Martial Souls weren't of the same phase, so they couldn't team up for a two-on-two. He had no choice but to let it go.
Dai Mubai said, "Xiao San, take Xiao Wu over to the two-on-two area and register. There should still be some time before your one-on-one match starts."
Tang San nodded. Before coming in, he had already spotted where the two-on-two registration area was located. He got up and led Xiao Wu away from the one-on-one duel zone to register for the two-on-two.
(End of Chapter)