Chapter 27: The Great Soto Arena

Two months had passed since Qian Yunyu and her party departed from Gengxin City. During these two months, all the Spirit Halls within the Star Luo Empire had been thoroughly purged. Led by the three Saintesses of the Spirit Hall, the four-month mission to weed out internal corruption was completed to perfection. This stern and肅殺 campaign not only stirred up a massive commotion within the Spirit Hall but also revealed its profound hidden strength to the two great empires.

Even though many had been purged—including several formidable Soul Saints—it was expected that the Spirit Hall would suffer a significant blow to its vitality. Surprisingly, Spirit City continued to supply a steady stream of talent to the various branch halls. Overall, rather than being weakened, the Spirit Hall seemed to be growing ever stronger. This served as a testament to the depth of their foundation. While other factions felt both shocked and wary, they also speculated that what had been revealed might not be the true extent of the Spirit Hall’s power, but merely what they were intended to see.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, a massive bird-type spirit beast with a deep blue body glided slowly through the air. This giant bird was none other than the Nine-Nether Azure Luan. On its back sat eight young men and women—Qian Yunyu and her companions, returning from the Star Luo Empire. Because some in the group had broken through the fortieth-rank threshold, they had returned to the forest to obtain their next spirit rings.

"Chuantao, you’ve done well, breaking through right after completing the mission," Yan said, patting Sun Chuantao on the shoulder with a grin.

Sun Chuantao scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Brother Yan, it’s all thanks to everyone’s help that I could progress and break through so quickly. Especially the Little Highness—without her shields, I never would have gained such enlightenment in the heat of fearless combat."

Li Yue’er echoed this sentiment enthusiastically. "Exactly! It was because of the Little Highness’s shields that we could fight without distraction. In these four months, my own spirit power has increased by five ranks!"

Xu Yu nodded in agreement. "Me too. My spirit power level has also gone up by five."

Hearing their conversation, Qian Yunyu turned to look at the three, smiling gently. "I didn’t do much. The credit belongs to your own hard work."

Hu Liena looked at Qian Yunyu with a tender smile. "But the Little Junior Sister’s contribution cannot be overlooked, can it? Yue’er is right; because of that focused fighting, it wasn't just the three of them who improved—my brother, Yan, and I all saw significant gains."

"Alright, since you all say so, I’ll shamelessly accept the credit!" Qian Yunyu said, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head with a playful, haughty air.

Qian Renxue looked at her lively younger sister and smiled tenderly, gently patting her head. "Yu’er, the mission is finished. Where would you like to go next?"

"Eh?" Qian Yunyu blinked in confusion. "Aren't we going back after finishing the mission? Mother, Father, and Grandfather must be waiting for us."

"Mother sent a letter saying there is no rush to return and that we are free to travel around for a while."

"Is that so? How come I didn't know Mother sent a letter?"

Qian Renxue sighed helplessly and explained, "It arrived last night. You said you wanted to keep your master, the Geo Archon, company and told us not to disturb you, so I didn't mention it."

"Yu’er, since Mother said we could travel, is there anywhere you want to go? Just say the word; you decide."

"Hmm... let me think..." After pondering with her arms crossed, Qian Yunyu’s eyes lit up. "Sister, let’s go to Suotuo City."

"Suotuo City?" Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow at the name, then nodded. "Very well, let’s go to Suotuo City. It is one of the most prosperous cities in the Kingdom of Balak, outside of the capital. Our Spirit Hall branch there suffered the least damage during the purge; the hall master, though primarily concerned with self-preservation, still possesses a sense of justice."

Qian Renxue was satisfied with the choice. Compared to the Gengxin City branch, which was almost entirely wiped out, the Suotuo City branch was a breath of fresh air.

Qian Yunyu added, "As the captain of the Angel Team, I want to take everyone to the Great Spirit Arena in Suotuo City for battles. My master once said that the best way to improve one's strength is through actual combat. Four months of fighting is clearly not enough, and the Great Spirit Arena is the best choice."

Although Qian Yunyu had rarely left the Spirit Hall before, her practical combat experience was immense, as her master, Zhongli, had taught her how to fight whenever he visited the system space. Her current combat awareness was by no means inferior to that of Title Douluo who had lived for decades; after all, she was a disciple taught by the God of War.

However, the others in the team lacked such sharp combat intuition and required more real-world experience. As for why she chose Suotuo City—it was, of course, to suppress the protagonist group led by Tang San. If she wasn't allowed to kill Tang San, surely she could give the protagonist group a sound thrashing, right? *Hehehe...*

Thinking this, a sinister, mischievous smile crept onto Qian Yunyu’s face. Seeing this, everyone else shuddered.

*Who is the unlucky one targeted by the Little Highness this time?* they thought, feeling a mix of pity and schadenfreude. *Well, good luck to them; hopefully, they won’t be tortured too badly by the Little Highness!*

...

At the Suotuo City Great Spirit Arena, Tang San and his companions from Shrek Academy had just won their match against the Emperor Fighting Team and had been upgraded to a Gold Spirit-level team at the exchange counter.

Manager Ao of the Great Spirit Arena was in high spirits, patting his chest and promising Tang San’s group that they would never encounter a team like the Emperor Fighting Team again. But in the next moment, his confidence was shattered.

A staff member ran over and whispered a few words in Manager Ao’s ear. The manager’s face immediately turned sour, and he looked at Tang San and the others, unsure of how to speak.

Tang San, skilled at reading people, noticed the manager’s hesitation and asked proactively, "Manager Ao, what happened? If there is something, just say it. Perhaps we can help."

Manager Ao was waiting for those words. With a bitter face, he said, "This morning, a team arrived out of the blue. They haven't participated in any matches, but after watching your bout with the Emperor Fighting Team, they issued a challenge to you."

Hearing that a team was challenging the Shrek team, Tang San analyzed calmly, "That team must be even stronger than the Emperor Fighting Team, otherwise you wouldn't be in such a difficult position, Manager Ao."

Manager Ao nodded. "They are indeed very strong. They are a Purple Gold Spirit team, yet only five of them are fourth-rank Spirit Ancestors, while the remaining two are merely Spirit Elders."