"Alright, little one, stop being mischievous, we need to go."
"You'll be staying here for at least half a year. You'll have plenty of time and opportunities later, this little bit won't matter."
Guimei looked at Wang Zhong, who was darting around the street, and stopped him with his hoarse voice.
Hearing this, Wang Zhong suppressed his excitement, returned to Guimei's side, and followed him towards a certain place.
Although he didn't run around, Wang Zhong's gaze was still constantly scanning the surrounding shops and stalls. He didn't even pay attention to how long they had walked or where they had gone.
Until Guimei's footsteps stopped in front of a magnificent building that looked incredibly imposing just from its exterior.
The opulent facade, the constant stream of pedestrians entering and exiting like a flowing river. In just a short while, Wang Zhong saw at least a hundred people pass by, and among them, at least ninety percent were Soul Masters, while the remaining ten percent were either rich or noble.
The treasures and jewelry they wore practically screamed "I'm rich."
Some people arrived in carriages, and although the occupants were not visible, the decoration and luxury of the carriages clearly indicated their association with wealth and status.
After lingering at the entrance for a moment, until Wang Zhong's astonishment completely subsided, Guimei then led him inside.
The grand gate was wide enough for three carriages to pass side by side, but here it was merely a doorway. Passing through the gate, they entered a dazzling hall. The towering, thick stone pillars were two meters in diameter and nearly tens of meters long, truly reaching from the ground to the heavens.
Approaching a stone pillar, Wang Zhong reached out to embrace it, forming a large circle with his arms. His small face was filled with shock. It was so big, so long, so thick!
The grandeur of the architecture here far surpassed even the Pope's Tower he had seen.
"Hahaha, what a country bumpkin! How can he look so out of his element!"
Seeing Wang Zhong's silly actions, the rich and noble people who frequented this place couldn't stand it.
A sturdy and handsome young man with short, fiery red hair similar to Yan's, his expression arrogant and flamboyant, held a beautiful woman in his right hand. As he walked in, he burst into laughter and mockery.
Wang Zhong glanced at him, then turned back and continued to circle the pillar again. In his mind, he was thinking:
"I wonder if I could lift this pillar right now."
Ignored, completely ignored, Wang Zhong's behavior made the handsome young man's face turn extremely displeased.
However, he was already a twenty-year-old adult with a relatively mature mind. The disregard from a child wouldn't truly anger him, but it would certainly make him uncomfortable.
"Hey, kid, don't you know that your country bumpkin-like ignorance is an eyesore in this Grand Soul Fighting Arena where everyone who comes and goes is either rich or noble!"
"I advise you to scram quickly and don't block my way!"
Although Wang Zhong's physique was outstanding compared to his peers, he still looked like he was only eleven or twelve years old. At this age, he could be considered a child anywhere.
Wang Zhong frowned, his gaze sweeping around, but he couldn't find Guimei the Ghost Douluo.
Turning his attention back to the young man, Wang Zhong asked in confusion, "The entrance is so wide, yet you can't get through! Are you a crab?"
"Or are you a toad, small in stature but big in talk!"
"If I'm really such an eyesore to you, why don't you dig out your own eyes? If you can't see, wouldn't the world be wider!"
His fists clenched, the handsome young man's eyes seemed to spew fire, his face contorted with rage as he shouted, "Kid, say that again if you dare!"
"Who are you calling a crab, who are you calling a toad!"
He sighed heavily, and Wang Zhong leaned against the nearby stone pillar, lamenting, "So not only is your brain bad, but your hearing is also problematic."
"I'm saying all this to you, are you satisfied!"
He stomped his foot heavily, and a powerful soul power fluctuation emanated from the young man. A bull phantom, with fire on its horns and a robust body, appeared behind him. Two yellow and one purple spirit rings slowly rose beneath his feet.
"Born without a mother, a bastard! Today, I, Cao Ming, will show you what it means to wish you were dead!"
Pushing away the woman in his arms, the handsome young man's expression became extremely ferocious. At only twenty years old, he already possessed the strength of level thirty-nine, making him a true prodigy.
Being called a prodigy naturally meant he was arrogant and overconfident.
Wang Zhong narrowed his eyes slightly, a fierce glint starting to flicker within them.
As for his parents, Wang Zhong truly didn't know them. But his teachers who raised and educated him, whether it was Ying Yan Yang or Bibi Dong, were the people he respected and loved the most!
"Sir, please stop!"
"In the Grand Soul Fighting Arena, fighting outside the ring is forbidden in any form!"
A woman in a work uniform, with graceful steps and a swaying posture, approached Cao Ming. She completely ignored the surging soul power emanating from him. With a sweet smile, she tried to persuade him.
Although the woman showed no trace of soul power, the moment she appeared, Cao Ming, gritting his teeth, suppressed his surging soul power.
The Grand Soul Fighting Arena belonged to the Spirit Hall, and no one dared to act presumptuously here!
"Kid, you're very good, very good!"
"You'd better never leave Spirit City!"
Glowering fiercely at Wang Zhong, Cao Ming abruptly flung his sleeves and strode past Wang Zhong. He didn't even glance at the woman he had pushed aside earlier.
Yet, even so, the woman struggled to her feet and limped after him, her steps uneven.
She had sprained her ankle! But she still pursued him resolutely.
Because she was just an ordinary person with some looks, while Cao Ming was a proud son among Soul Masters. Even with a close relationship, their statuses were inherently unequal. She had no right to complain or accuse; all she could do was endure.
Even if she was eventually abandoned by him, she could only accept it.
The existence of spirits had created an unimaginable chasm between ordinary people and Soul Masters. Things like status, position, wealth, and power, which were unattainable for ordinary people, were easily within reach for Soul Masters. If one also possessed talent, it was even more extraordinary.
Witnessing this scene, Wang Zhong rested his head against the pillar, his eyes slightly lowered. Although he had long known about the inequality between Soul Masters and ordinary people, what he saw before him, as a child who had not yet grown up, made him feel a strange sense of incomprehension.
Why was it like this?
Wasn't the power possessed by Soul Masters meant to protect those they cared about? Why had it changed meaning for them?
For two people in a close relationship, the one with powerful strength did not protect the weaker one; he became an abuser, inflicting pain upon them, even arrogantly trampling on that closeness with a sense of self-righteousness.
And the reason was because he was the stronger one!
Unhappy, Wang Zhong was truly unhappy at this moment!
This unhappiness stemmed not from words or actions, but from beliefs and ideals, just like Lu Xiaoshuang.
Lu Xiaoshuang sought to protect everyone; Wang Zhong sought to protect a select few.
Cao Ming demonstrated before him that power could be used to inflict harm on those close to him, while Wang Zhong had always believed that power was the foundation for protecting those close to him!
Harm, protection! The two were diametrically opposed!
"Tsk! If I can't have a good fight with someone like that, I'll be very uncomfortable!"
Leaning against the stone pillar, Wang Zhong murmured to himself, stroking his chin.