Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Ever since Ning Rongrong saw Shen An with Zhu Zhuqing that day, she had beco unusually quiet. She spent her days holed up in her room, doing who-knows-what, only coming out to eat at altis without saying a word to anyone. The most interaction she had was occasionally petting Tom.
On the other hand, Zhu Zhuqing seed much more cheerful. Her usually cold expression had softened, especially when she looked at Shen An. Shen An, of course, noticed this. As a transmigrator from Earth, he was still cautious about age differences. She's too young—can't cross that line, he thought.
Tonight was Shen An's usual day to visit the Soul Fighting Arena. He had made an agreent with the arena to accept challenges from anyone of the sa rank every three days. This day was always the most lively at the arena. Although Shen An was only a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster, his bold claim of being invincible within his rank had drawn a lot of attention.
Those who had challenged him before knew how formidable he was and were eager to see if anyone could finally defeat him. Those who hadn't witnessed his skills firsthand thought he was just a product of the Soto Soul Fighting Arena's hype—perhaps sowhat skilled, but nothing to worry about. There were also the thrill-seeking spectators who were willing to buy standing tickets just to watch the spectacle. Such a scene was rare even in the Soul Fighting Arena.
anwhile, Tom, who was idling around backstage, suddenly spotted a familiar face.
"Hehehe."
Tom winked one eye, his mouth curling into an exaggerated grin. His body seed to lt into a puddle as he stealthily slipped into the crowd.
Among the incoming crowd was Yu Xiaogang, known as the "Master." As soone who prided himself on his knowledge, he understood the importance of knowing one's enemy. With the Soto Soul Fighting Arena's heavy promotion of Shen An, he naturally wanted to gather so useful information for his disciple. Once he identified Shen An's weaknesses, he could devise a strategy to counter them.
Flender had ntioned that Tang San currently stood no chance of defeating Shen An, even citing Dai Mubai as an example. Yu Xiaogang found this ridiculous. Tang San had just advanced to the three-ringed Soul Elder rank and had easily defeated Dai Mubai without even using his powerful external soul bone.
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Flender, your teaching skills have declined over the years," he muttered to himself. He decided it was up to him to restore the glory of Shrek Academy.
But first, he needed to assess Shen An's strengths and weaknesses. Yu Xiaogang cast a critical gaze toward Shen An on the stage. He was young, with a smug smile that was as annoying as that cat's. Wait—cat?!
Yu Xiaogang suddenly realized that a blue-furred cat was sitting right beside him, staring intently at the arena as if nothing else existed. It was Tom.
A chill ran down Yu Xiaogang's spine. This was too creepy. Why did the cat appear just as he was thinking about it? mories of Luo Sanpao being toyed with by Tom flashed through his mind. Suppressing his fear, he stiffly turned his head away, preparing to quietly leave his seat.
As soon as he turned around, a cat's head suddenly appeared in front of him, sticking out its tongue and making faces. Four additional cat paws materialized behind it!
"Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!"
"Ahhhhhhh!" Yu Xiaogang scread in terror. How did this cat appear out of nowhere? This was too damn scary!
The spectators in the audience turned their attention toward the commotion. Who was causing such a ruckus before the fight had even started?
They saw a rather plain-looking middle-aged man screaming hysterically, with a well-behaved blue cat sitting beside him.
"Huh? Isn't that Brother Shen's cat? Quick, bring it over here. That cat is precious—we can't let that lunatic harm it," a concerned spectator said, pulling Tom away and handing it over to the arena staff.
Tom walked away triumphantly, glancing back at the terrified Yu Xiaogang. "That's what you get for bumping into . This Cat Emperor never forgets a grudge."
It took Yu Xiaogang a while to regain his composure. He stood there, humiliated and furious, unsure whether to sit, stand, or leave. The people around him pointed and whispered, making him feel as if the entire world was against him. With a cold snort, he left his spot, deciding to find another place to watch the fight.
"If this place doesn't welco , I'll find another. The arena is big enough—sowhere else, no one will bother ," he muttered to himself.
The fight began. This ti, the challenger was a control-type Soul Grandmaster with a Thorny Blood Vine martial soul. Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up.
"This martial soul is similar to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass. It'll be a good opportunity to observe how Shen An deals with this type of opponent and find his weaknesses. Once we know them, defeating him won't be a problem," Yu Xiaogang thought to himself.
Shen An looked at the opponent, a soul master in his early twenties. To be honest, this guy posed no real challenge to him. But earning fa points? That's always worth it.
What happened next left Yu Xiaogang utterly stunned. As both sides released their soul rings, Shen An's two rings appeared—one yellow and one purple.
"How is this possible? How can soone have a thousand-year soul ring as their second ring?!" Yu Xiaogang stared in disbelief.
As a self-proclaid master of soul theory, he knew that the optimal soul ring configuration was yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, and red. But Shen An's second soul ring had already broken this limit.
According to Yu Xiaogang's research, the maximum limit for a second soul ring was 764 years. Exceeding this would cause the soul master's body to explode. Yet, Shen An's second soul ring was already purple. This made Yu Xiaogang's mind reel.
The audience erupted in cheers. No matter how many tis they saw it, they were always amazed. A thousand-year soul ring as the second ring? What a prodigy!
"Wait, no—not only has his second soul ring broken the limit, but his first soul ring has too! The yellow has a hint of purple, aning it's close to a thousand years!" Yu Xiaogang exclaid.
Unlike the excited spectators, Yu Xiaogang felt as if his entire worldview was crumbling. Shen An's soul rings were a direct challenge to his theories, proving them wrong.
This was a devastating blow to Yu Xiaogang, who had always wanted to make a na for himself in the soul master world and prove his worth. His eyes filled with bloodshot veins as he glared at Shen An.
"If only it were my disciple, Tang San, who had broken the limits. Then the world would praise for being such a great teacher. But why does it have to be the owner of that damn cat?" Yu Xiaogang thought bitterly.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I'm a master of soul theory. I need to stay composed. This is just a minor setback," he reassured himself.
"So what if he has two soul rings that broke the limits? He's just an exception," Yu Xiaogang muttered, trying to convince himself.
He focused intently on Shen An's fight against the control-type Soul Grandmaster. Flender had repeatedly emphasized Shen An's strength, but seeing it firsthand was a different experience.
"Soul ring limits are just one aspect of my research. There are still nine other core areas to explore," Yu Xiaogang thought.
His plan for today was to observe Shen An's fighting style, find his weaknesses, and help Tang San defeat him in the future. And, of course, get revenge on that damn cat.
Yu Xiaogang widened his eyes, carefully watching the battle.
As the host, Doudou, announced the start of the match in her sweet voice, Yu Xiaogang's eyes were imdiately drawn to the arena.
A green sword aura illuminated the stage, its sharpness and speed unmatched as it shot toward the Thorny Blood Vine user. The layers of blood vines were sliced apart like paper. In a flash, Shen An's figure moved like lightning, and his Nine-Leaf Sword Grass was already resting on his opponent's neck.
Yu Xiaogang gulped, his throat dry. "What the hell? When did Shen An put his sword to the guy's neck? I didn't even see it!"
If he couldn't even see Shen An's movents, how was he supposed to study him? This was impossible!
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