"Heh, should I thank you then?"
Gu Yuena responded silently via telepathy, unable to expose him in front of everyone, and nodded helplessly.
Xiao Wu, standing in the crowd, parted her cherry lips slightly. Only she knew Lin Bai was lying, but she didn't understand why Gu Yuena, who looked down on humans, would testify for Lin Bai.
Xiao Wu couldn't understand.
"The Spirit Hall people? Were they dealt with properly?"
Flander frowned upon hearing "Spirit Hall," but didn't blame Lin Bai. He scanned his surroundings; the place was a mess, and he saw no trace of the Spirit Hall.
Lin Bai gave Gu Yuena a look: See, this is the Spirit Hall's reputation in the Soul Master world. Flander had no doubt whatsoever.
"Dean, no problem. They don't value Gu Yuena. The people they sent are very weak. I easily defeated them."
Lin Bai's words, delivered with the confidence of a plowed garden, were incredibly persuasive. Flander believed him, smiled, and nodded, saying,
"That's good. Our academy isn't located within the territory of the two great empires, so the Spirit Hall hasn't sent any strong spirit masters to guard it. Once you're at the academy, train hard, and when you've grown up, you won't have to fear the Spirit Hall anymore."
Lin Bai chuckled and nodded. He figured that if Qian Renxue didn't bother him, he would be the one to cause her trouble. The Spirit Hall had so many spirit masters; they could even collect a complete set of nine pieces. It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to want a set, would it?
Tang San remained silent at the back of the crowd. He knew Lin Bai was lying. The enemy had left, the battle had stopped, but the aura of war lingered in the garden.
Tang San could feel the enhancement this aura provided, far exceeding any battle he had ever encountered, and even some monster hordes hadn't possessed such a powerful aura.
"Is it Lin Bai or Gu Yuena? They possess real strength, far exceeding their apparent power. Who is it? Is it really the same age as me?"
Tang San took a deep breath, channeling his killing intent to temper his body. The stagnant atmosphere around him eased, his muscles trembling as excruciating pain swept through his entire body, accelerating the circulation of his Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Yu Xiaogang, constantly watching Tang San, noticed his trembling body and looked at him with concern, protecting him from the side.
He knew Tang San's newly awakened ability could temper his body, but he hadn't guessed how intense the battle around them was. Otherwise, he would have stopped Tang San from acting recklessly; the aura emanating from a battle between Title Douluo-level beings was not so easily absorbed.
Knowing they couldn't linger here, the group quickly packed their belongings, bid farewell to the Dean of Notting Academy, and hurriedly entered the underground city. Stepping into the teleportation array, they instantly traversed over a thousand kilometers, arriving at Soto City in the Barak Kingdom.
Looking at the familiar city of Soto, Dai Mubai felt the air itself become much more welcoming, and couldn't help but sigh, "Teleportation arrays are so convenient, it's a pity ordinary people can hardly reach the thirtieth floor. Otherwise, an army could use teleportation arrays to directly reach a country's capital and end a war of annihilation in a day."
"That's easy, just send a few more Soul Masters to escort them. No matter how many monsters there are, they can't compare to the number of people in the army."
Ma Hongjun casually chimed in, he didn't care where he was, but he did miss his girlfriends a bit.
"It's useless, such a big commotion, they'd be discovered before they even reached the thirtieth floor. Otherwise, what do you think those camps in the underground city are for? They're both camps and watchtowers. It's better to have the Soul Masters break into smaller groups and find an opportunity to raid the city."
Dai Mubai calmly retorted.
Ma Hongjun snorted twice, without refuting.
"Where is this place? There are so many people."
Xiao Wu moved closer to Lin Bai and Gu Yuena, looking up at the magnificent building a hundred meters high in front of them, faintly hearing the lively cheers.
"This is the Great Soul Arena. It used to be the place for Soul Master battles. Since the dungeon appeared, the Great Soul Arena has also added functions such as auction trading, team formation, and posting bounty missions. The entrance to Soto City is near the Great Soul Arena, so they have a great advantage."
Oscar was no stranger to the Soul Arena. Even in Notting City, he would occasionally come to the Soul Arena to sell his special delicacies.
As a Gluttonous Priest, he was very sensitive to the taste of food. He had already bought a chef's profession secondary job change book from Flander. Secondary jobs could be done part-time, and his goal was to research a dish that could permanently enhance combat power.
Flander looked towards the Great Soul Arena. "We're not in a hurry to return to the academy. If you're interested, you can go and take a look."
Yu Xiaogang became interested: "I need high-quality parchment to copy the scrolls. Notting City is too small and produces too little parchment. It's a good opportunity to go and see."
The Great Soul Arena was a force jointly established by the seven noble families of the two great empires. Each city of a certain size had its own Soul Arena. With the appearance of the underground city, besides the Spirit Hall and the two great empires, they should be the most benefited forces. Judging from their past reputation, as a neutral platform, they have an advantage over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Tang San naturally went with Yu Xiaogang, and Xiao Wu and Gu Yuena, seeing the Soul Arena for the first time, were no exception.
Lin Bai also became interested. He already had a plan for improving his strength, one of his goals being to further develop his two martial souls, evolving them into god-level martial souls like the Six-Winged Angel and Sea God martial souls.
Previously, due to the scarcity of resources in Douluo Continent, even analyzing the evolution path with the Eye of Appraisal was useless. Now, the situation has changed. The materials produced by the dungeon bosses are of guaranteed quality and drop reliably, allowing Lin Bai to advance his Martial Soul step by step for the next evolution.
"Gold coins have become more important,"
Lin Bai remarked.
"Gold coins are certainly important, but Notting City is too remote; you can't even find a place to spend money,"
Ma Hongjun shook his head, not understanding why Lin Bai would think that way.
Lin Bai retorted speechlessly, "I've lived in Notting City for five years and haven't felt like I'm lacking anything. Fatty, what are you looking for that you haven't found?"
"Uh, nothing,"
Ma Hongjun stopped talking because he saw Flander's murderous gaze. With the Phoenix Envoy controlling the Phoenix Evil Flame, he no longer needed to worry about the side effects of his Martial Soul. His desire to go to brothels now was simply a lack of self-control.
Flander was naturally dissatisfied with his disciple's decadence. After several attempts to stop him, he assumed Ma Hongjun had reformed, but unexpectedly, he had secretly gone to Notting City to look for something.
"Hongjun, come find me tonight. Teacher will take you to the dungeon to level up."
Ma Hongjun's face fell, and he glared fiercely at Lin Bai. He knew that once Lin Bai arrived, he wouldn't have any good days.
Lin Bai shrugged, his mood brightening. His exhausted body felt lighter, and the aftereffects of overworking his mental energy were quickly recovering. A slight smile appeared on his lips.
*Poof!*
He broke through, his soul power reaching level thirty-five. His soul power, tempered by ultimate attributes and Dragon Blood Starlight, had just broken through, and the fluctuations were incredibly powerful, attracting everyone's attention.
(End of Chapter)