Chapter 38: The Battle Begins, Slaying All Enemies!
The next day, in the Silves Great Soul Arena.
At this moment, the arena was extremely lively. The audience had nearly packed the entire venue, making it difficult to even move around.
What Atlas had done yesterday was simply too eye-catching. All the spectators present today wanted to witness the scene of Atlas challenging all opponents.
To see whether Atlas was truly confident or merely arrogant.
Yun Yuan's waiting room.
Bibi Dong was helping Yun Yuan massage his shoulders to relax him, while Yun Yuan closed his eyes to rest, waiting for the life-and-death soul battle to begin.
At twelve noon, Yun Yuan put on his mask and walked from the waiting room onto the arena stage.
The moment Yun Yuan appeared, it triggered cheers from the audience. They wanted to see exciting battles, and Yun Yuan could provide exactly that.
A life-and-death soul battle without limits meant they could continuously watch the same person fight.
After a while, Yun Yuan's opponent also stepped onto the stage. His title was Warhammer—a burly man whose martial soul matched his name: a hammer. A Rank 38 Battle Soul Elder.
His reason for stepping up was simple. First, fame. Defeating Yun Yuan would grant him great renown, possibly even attracting recruitment from powerful figures.
Second, money. Defeating Yun Yuan would earn him ten thousand gold soul coins. This sum was an enormous fortune to him.
With ten thousand gold soul coins, his future cultivation and life would be secure. Thus, many Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors would challenge Yun Yuan today.
As for Soul Grandmasters, there were almost none. Because Yun Yuan's performance yesterday was too exaggerated. Against opponents of the same level, he could kill with a single strike without using soul skills, which was terrifying.
Aside from those who had lost their sanity, no Soul Grandmaster wanted to challenge Yun Yuan at the same level.
After Yun Yuan and Warhammer both stepped onto the stage, the host cleared his throat and stirred up the atmosphere:
"Everyone, today's life-and-death soul battle—I believe you are all well aware of it."
"Atlas, a Soul Grandmaster, wishes to challenge all soul masters below the Soul King. Next, let us see how many challengers Atlas can face."
"Will he fall in the first match or fight until the end, slaying all enemies? All answers will be revealed today."
"Finally, let us welcome Atlas with the most enthusiastic cheers and applause!"
As his voice fell, the audience did not hold back their cheers and applause, eagerly watching the two who were about to fight.
Half a minute later, with the atmosphere fully built, the host announced the start:
"Now, the battle begins! The life-and-death fight starts!"
On the arena stage.
At the moment the host announced it, Warhammer summoned his martial soul—a massive, black, gleaming hammer appeared in his right hand.
Immediately after, three soul rings—one white and two yellow—rose around him. His gaze toward Yun Yuan was like that of a hungry wolf, as if he wanted to devour him.
Seeing the opponent take out a hammer, Yun Yuan couldn't help but recall Tang Hao, whom he had defeated a year ago.
However, the hammer before him could not compare to the Clear Sky Hammer. It was merely an ordinary hammer.
"Atlas, give me your life. As long as I kill you, I'll lack nothing."
Swinging the giant hammer, Warhammer charged toward Yun Yuan, intending to smash him into pulp.
Seeing this, Yun Yuan summoned his martial soul, the Atlas Spear, but did not release his soul rings.
Dealing with an ordinary Battle Soul Elder like this did not warrant using soul skills. At the very least, he would wait until challengers reached Soul Ancestor level.
An incandescent transparent spear appeared. Yun Yuan stepped forward, clashing with the hammer, and the two continuously exchanged blows in the arena.
Facing Warhammer's attacks, Yun Yuan defended effortlessly, without the slightest pressure. On the contrary, each of Yun Yuan's strikes made Warhammer break out in cold sweat under immense pressure.
"Third Soul Skill: Warhammer Impact!"
Warhammer retreated a few steps and began charging, his third soul ring lighting up. This meant he was about to use his strongest soul skill to end Yun Yuan.
Facing this attack, Yun Yuan became slightly more serious. Sky-Piercing Intent manifested, causing Warhammer's thoughts to momentarily stagnate.
Then, Yun Yuan's soul power surged. With a swing of the Atlas Spear, cold light flashed, and the spear blade was already stained with blood.
On the other side, under this strike, Warhammer fell, lying lifeless on the ground.
After finishing this, Yun Yuan calmly walked off the arena stage and headed back to the waiting room.
At the same time, the audience around the arena shouted Yun Yuan's name in a frenzy. Even against a Soul Elder, Atlas still hadn't used his soul rings, killing his opponent with a flash of cold light.
Inside a private viewing room.
An eerie-looking old man stared at the spear intent Yun Yuan had just released, momentarily stunned, his heart unable to calm down.
"A Soul Grandmaster… spear intent? How is this possible?!"
He was also a weapon-type martial soul master, yet even at his current level, he had only reached the Intent Realm. How could a mere Soul Grandmaster achieve this level?
Thinking of this, his heart grew increasingly unbalanced. His gaze toward Yun Yuan darkened, as if plotting something.
On the other side, Yun Yuan's waiting room.
As soon as he entered, Bibi Dong rushed forward and hugged him, her face full of excitement and pride.
"Junior Brother, you're amazing. Against a Soul Elder, you didn't even need to use soul skills."
But facing Bibi Dong's praise, Yun Yuan only smiled slightly and paid little attention.
Because he had more important things to do now, which were to comprehend slaughter and make his sky-piercing intent reach perfection.
Yun Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground, summoned the Atlas Spear, placed it across his legs, and began to meditate.
Seeing that Yun Yuan was focused, Bibi Dong restrained her playful nature and stood beside him, guarding him properly.
After more than ten minutes, Yun Yuan slowly opened his eyes. The Atlas Spear in his hand now carried a trace of killing intent, and his Sky-Piercing Intent had also changed slightly.
"Two battles are far from enough. My Atlas Spear is still not satisfied."
Next, Yun Yuan followed a cycle of entering the stage, fighting, leaving, and resting. From noon until midnight, he fought continuously.
During these twelve hours, Yun Yuan fought dozens of life-and-death battles. About half were against Soul Elders, and the other half against Soul Ancestors. However, they were all lower-level Soul Ancestors; none could force Yun Yuan to release his soul rings.
During this period, the killing intent of Yun Yuan's Atlas Spear gradually intensified, and his comprehension of slaughter continued to merge into his Sky-Piercing Intent.
After midnight, Yun Yuan faced his final opponent of the day.
His title was Twin-Armed Mantis. His martial soul was the Azure Blade Mantis, and his soul power level reached as high as Rank 48—the strongest opponent Yun Yuan had encountered so far.
After stepping onto the stage, he stared directly at Yun Yuan, speaking in a hoarse voice:
"Atlas, don't underestimate me. My strength is not like those previous trash."
"Don't end up losing your head to my sharp mantis arms without even using your soul skills."
After speaking, he summoned his martial soul, the Azure Blade Mantis. Four soul rings of the optimal configuration—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—revolved around him.
Seeing this, Yun Yuan understood that this opponent was not simple and decided to reveal his true strength.
The next moment, a scene that shocked all the soul masters and the audience appeared. Yun Yuan held the Atlas Spear, and two soul rings rose from his body—one yellow and one purple.
"This is impossible?!?"
—
End of Chapter