"Wooden Man!"
"Wooden Man!"
"Wooden Man!"
The spectators roared with a thunderous chorus. After defeating Mad Bear in their last bout, Wang Zhong had achieved nine consecutive victories over nine days, accumulating one hundred points and seamlessly advancing to the Bronze Dou Soul rank.
He was now about to face his first opponent as a Bronze Dou Soul.
However, when his opponent stepped onto the stage, Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow. This was too much of a coincidence.
His opponent was none other than Cao Ming, whom he had encountered at the entrance when he first entered the Soul Fighting Arena.
With an arrogant air of superiority, Cao Ming strode onto the stage with his arms crossed, his gaze towards Wang Zhong brimming with confidence.
What kind of match could a shorty who had just been promoted to Bronze Dou Soul pose against him?
Cao Ming didn't frequent the Soul Fighting Arena every day; he only participated in a match when he had the time. He had naturally heard much about the "Wooden Man's" winning streak, but he paid it no mind.
A Soul Grandmaster of Iron Dou Soul rank was nothing but trash. Either their martial soul was weak, or their soul ring configuration was poor. He himself could achieve victory in such a manner.
"Little shrimp, you're facing me in your first Bronze Dou Soul match. That can only mean your luck has run out."
"I don't know how you managed to win all those previous matches, but I assume it was due to an optimal soul ring combination, a decent martial soul, and a sprinkle of good fortune that allowed you to triumph over that pack of trash."
"But, it all ends here!"
He stomped his right foot down. Behind Cao Ming, a powerful and robust black bull silhouette with flames burning on its horns emerged, letting out a long roar.
"Moo!"
The bull's roar was powerful and resonant, deep and heavy. The soul power that accompanied the sound carried the searing heat of flames, truly astonishing.
"That guy is Cao Ming!"
"A bull with flaming horns, the Blazing Horn Bull, that must be him."
"I've heard this guy's martial soul is a mutated one. Not only is his strength immense, but the flames on his bull horns are also incredibly fearsome; they can burn through giant rocks."
"Cao Ming has been in the Grand Soul Fighting Arena for quite some years. With his points, he should have been promoted long ago. Why is he still in Bronze Dou Soul?"
"Promoting from Bronze Dou Soul to Silver Dou Soul is not simple. Though Cao Ming is strong, there are those who are stronger. He hasn't just lost before; he once lost sixteen matches in a row. His points have been accumulated and deducted, deducted and accumulated, naturally not enough!"
On the screen above the stage, the information of the two fighters was also displayed. Wang Zhong's identity as "Wooden Man" was widely recognized by many spectators, as he had been active in the Grand Soul Fighting Arena for both individual and team battles.
The information displayed for the other fighter, as some audience members had predicted, was indeed Cao Ming. However, there was an additional piece of information on the screen: Cao Ming's points had reached nine hundred and ninety-nine. If he won this match against Wang Zhong, he would be promoted to Silver Dou Soul.
"As expected, Cao Ming's strength is truly formidable. Even without frequent participation and previous losses, his points are on the verge of promotion."
"Wooden Man is in danger this time!"
"Nonsense! Up to this point, none of Wooden Man's matches have lasted longer than a stick of incense. He hasn't even revealed his full strength. Who can be so sure Cao Ming will definitely win!"
"Exactly! Perhaps, like before, Wooden Man can deal with Cao Ming without much effort!"
"Uh, you two, how much did you bet on Wooden Man?..."
Someone, looking at the two excited individuals, couldn't help but ask.
In the Grand Soul Fighting Arena, bets could be placed on favored soul masters before official matches, with profits to be made. The odds for the contestants were determined by their strength and recent performance.
The odds between Wang Zhong and Cao Ming were two hundred and fifty percent, meaning 2.5.
In other words, purely based on the data, Wang Zhong was more likely to lose than win this match! This was the result obtained even though Wang Zhong had been on a winning streak and hadn't used his full strength.
From this, one could indirectly infer Cao Ming's considerable strength. If Cao Ming were truly weak, such odds would not have appeared.
Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose from beneath Cao Ming's feet. Simultaneously, immense soul power surged towards Wang Zhong like a tide. That soul power, heavy and burning, was truly incomparable to his previous opponents.
"He's not just arrogant on the surface; he has the capital to back it up."
Feeling the oppressive force bearing down on him, Wang Zhong's lips curved into a smile beneath his mask. He felt this soul battle might be very interesting.
"Cao Ming, level thirty-nine, Assault-type Battle Soul Grandmaster, Martial Soul: Blazing Horn Bull."
"Wooden Man, level thirty-four, Assault-type Battle Soul Grandmaster, Martial Soul: Tree. I request your guidance!"
Wang Zhong cupped his fist towards his opponent. However, Cao Ming merely kept his arms crossed, stating his martial soul and soul power level without the slightest intention of taking Wang Zhong seriously.
"Heh, this Cao Ming is truly outrageously arrogant!"
In the spectator stands of the arena, a man in fiery red clothing let out a cold sneer as he watched the two individuals in the ring.
"No, Big Brother, what does Cao Ming's arrogance have to do with us? He's not our opponent."
Around the man sat a whole circle of people dressed in the same fiery red attire. There were men and women, and judging by the style of their clothes, although there were minor differences, the fundamental design was extremely similar, like school uniforms.
A man standing beside his "Big Brother" said, with a great deal of incomprehension, "What does it have to do with us?"
"You understand nothing!"
"Although we defeated the Wooden Man team in our last encounter, both Big Brother and I could tell that four members of the Wooden Man team—Mu Zhan, Wooden Man, Mu Ren, and Mu Yue—were not using their full strength."
"The reason Big Brother came to watch Wooden Man's soul battle is to ascertain his true strength."
Another man, standing beside Big Brother, spoke with extreme disdain, causing the previous speaker's face to turn red with anger.
"Hu Bao, if you speak to me like that again, believe it or not, I'll beat you until you cry!"
"Oh? Hu Niao, you've grown bolder. Do you want to spar with me!"
"I'll say it again, my name is Hu Fei, not Hu Niao!"
The two faced each other, foreheads touching, almost nose to nose.
The "Big Brother" looked at the two before him, placing a hand on each of their heads and separating them. He said with helplessness, "You two clowns, can you stop being so embarrassing."
"We are outside now, not in the academy. Mind your image!"
"You are currently representing Blazing Academy!"
With Big Brother's intervention, no matter how much they disliked each other, the two had to back down.
Hu Bao glared at Hu Fei and asked, "Big Brother, why did the Dean want us to travel all this way to Spirit City to participate in soul battles? Couldn't we do it in the Heaven Dou Empire?"
"You know nothing!"
Hu Fei shot him a glare and mocked, "Spirit City, as the holy land for soul masters worldwide, attracts countless pilgrims. The number and quality of soul masters here are among the highest on the entire continent."
"Participating in soul battles here allows us to recognize our own shortcomings, hone ourselves, and perhaps even scout who will be participating in the competition from Spirit Hall Academy next year."
"If you don't understand this, you're just blabbering pointlessly."
In a few sharp words, Hu Bao was so enraged that he almost exploded, wishing he could fight Hu Fei right then and there for three hundred rounds, to show him why fire was so red.
"Alright, you two, stop fooling around. The soul battle is about to begin."
"I have a premonition that we will encounter this 'Wooden Man' in the soul battle arena again in the future."