“Uack!”

The stadium fell silent as they watched another contestant fall to the ground unconscious. They then turned to stare at the bloody youth who heavily panted while resting against his staff.

Rao Wu forcefully swallowed his breath, and then gritted his teeth as he popped his shoulder back into place. ‘Damn it. That Steelback Ape was strong!’ Rao Wu glanced at an unconscious Steelback Ape, and then at the unconscious girl with a fat red bump on her forehead. Issuing a weak smile, he glanced at the referee. Was it just him or was this guy taking longer to declare victory? “Hey, she’s unconscious! Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Y-yes of course!” The referee stammered and then shouted, “P-point to the monsters!”

“Oh My God!” The announcer screamed with equal parts shock and excitement as the referee gave the verdict. “He won! Jungle Boy’s still going! The score is now ninety-nine human points to nine—gulp!” The announcer swallowed hard and then shouted, “Ninety-Seven Monster Points! Blazes! What a genius! What a feat! Are we witnessing the birth of a legend!? I, Sigurd Raft will never forget this day!”

The announcers scream was like a jolt through the stadium’s systems. “WHOOOO!” The crowd erupted in even louder shouts and whistles as Rao Wu stumbled back to his starting position. They could not believe their eyes. This child was looking to upend common sense.

In the last three battles, Rao Wu abandoned his previous strategy of attacking the soul trainers first, and instead battled the soul monsters with his bare body. Fortunately, none of the three filler warriors had elemental soul pets, so it suited Rao Wu’s strategy.

Raven provided support with infrequent, but well-timed stunning bolts that allowed Rao Wu to deal finishing blows when the opportunity presented itself. By the end of the battles, Raven was well and truly spent, so Rao Wu ruffled her feathers as he praised her, “Well done, Raven. You did great! You can go rest now. Your elder brothers will take it from here.”

Raven proudly flapped her wings as she said, “Those busters better not disgrace my hard work.” She then turned into a ball of light as she returned to the soul space.

Up in the podium, Bu Lu’s eyes sparked as he watched Rao Wu. “It seems like that strange bird’s finally spent.” His lips curled in a slight smirk as he pondered, “I wonder what his secondary soul pet looks like.”

‘Secondary?’ Rao Wu would have burst out laughing if he heard Bu Lu’s thoughts. Right now, Raven was undoubtedly Rao Wu’s weakest soul pet. But, even if she wasn’t, Rao Wu did not have any ‘secondary’ soul pets. He treated his soul pets with equal importance, looking to raise them together at similar strengths even if it slowed the stronger ones’ growth speed.

Rao Wu took a deep breath to steady himself as he waited for the next opponent to enter the arena. He did not mind the injuries because they had already began to close at a visible rate. Seven years of drinking Eternal Spring Water had its benefits.

Rao Wu only needed to worry about fatigue as his soul reserves had mostly replenished during the last three fights.

“Oooh! It’s the Ice Prince!” The announcer’s scream brought Rao Wu’s attention to a blue-haired child as he walked into the room. “Hailing from Afl Empire, the child destined to sit on the Ice Throne, Jurgen Ozursson! Keep your eyes peeled, ladies and gentlemen! Things are about to get chilly!”

Jurgen Ozursson’s frosty eyes coldly examined Rao Wu. His lips parted, and a shockingly soft voice escaped, “I remember you. Congratulations, you gained the right to stand at the same eye-level as me.”

Rao Wu’s brow rose as he looked at the frosty youth. “Are all geniuses this arrogant?”

“It is our right, as the strong.” Jurgen raised his hand, and two summoning circles appeared by side. Cold air poured out of the circles as two soul monsters.

“Guoo!” Shockingly, a Snow Panda emerged from the first circle. The general-rank soul monster let out a terrifying roar as it pounded its chest and then got down on all fours. Beside the Snow Panda a general-rank Ice Fairy gently sat on a floating icicle as she winked at Rao Wu. “What a cutie. You’ll make a nice sculpture.” Shockingly, both monsters were 3rd Phase soul monsters at 1st and 2nd stage respectively.

Rao Wu grinned as he rubbed his nose. “So, these are what Elites are like? Hehe, you guys are pretty strong.” What Rao Wu didn’t know was that there were levels even within Elites. People like Jurgen were different from Brian.

Brian became an elite with hardwork and a little help from a mid-size clan. Jurgen, however, was a prince, destined for the throne. The amount of resources devoted to raising the latter was incomparable to other Elites.

Jurgen did indeed have a reason to be arrogant. His strength justified that arrogance.

Rao Wu laughed as he looked at the soul pets. He wiped his face and muttered, “I had hoped to hold back until the next fight at least, but I don’t think I’ll make it through without going all-out.” With those words, Rao Wu threw the staff into the air, and then said, “Come out, boys. It’s time to run wild!”

Bam!

The crowd shot up in shock as silver-furred hand grabbed the staff. The owner of that hand expertly twirled the staff with ease, and then positioned it behind him.

“Finally—" The Silver Primate, Ju Tu muttered as he glared at the Snow Panda opposite. The bear-like creature reminded Ju Tu of the Ravager Bear in the second test, instantly igniting his fighting spirit.

A small tornado briefly shot out of the second summoning ring and then dispersed, revealing a monstrous black wolf with blue streaks running along its sides. The Nightwind Wolf, Xian Da, raised his head and released a terrible howl that shook the hearts of everyone present.

Having established its presence, Xian Da dropped his head and then glared at the Ice Fairy. “—It’s our turn.”

Up in the podium, lightning struck Twilight and Midnight’s hearts as they stared at their son in disbelief. “Is that really Xian Da?” Twilight was in disbelief, while Midnight’s chest swelled with pride as tears pooled in her usually stoic gaze.

“Our sons have grown up.”

Twilight looked at Midnight’s teary eyes with stunned eyes. Before she noticed, he quickly turned his attention back to the match, and let out a short laugh, “I’ll deal with those rebellious kids later. Who told them they could go learn weird elements!?” Despite Twilight’s words, even a child would recognize the pride and joy in those shameless eyes.

Meanwhile, in the Elite’s box, Aeriole’s lips curled in a bright smile as she whispered, “Rao Wu. You’ve really become a lot stronger.”

“Don’t think about it, Princess,” Lunzi Brooks harshly interrupted as he ran his finger along his dagger. “You won’t get to fight him. I’ll destroy him if he manages to luck his way through Ozursson.”

Aeriole frowned, but knowing Brook’s personality, chose not to engage. Only time would tell Rao Wu’s fate.

Oblivious to the many thoughts running through the crowd, Rao Wu grinned as he took out his spear from his inventory. Brandishing the spear, he said as he glanced at Xian Da and Ju Tu. “Everyone’s watching. They think you’re on the same level as those soul pets.” His lips curled up into a devilish grin as he then added, “No one knows the hell we suffered for two years. Go boys, show that popsicle, the true meaning of HELL!”

“FIGHT!”

Boom!

Following the referee’s shout, Xian Da, Ju Tu and even Rao Wu exploded forth, charging at their respective targets.

Unsurprisingly, Xian Da reached his target first. The Ice Fairy’s eyes widened in shock at the Nightwind Wolf’s absurd speed, but she did not panic. Instead, she squeezed her hand and insta-summoned a wall of blue ice.

Blue Ice was exponentially stronger than white ice. Usually, Ice Fairies only learned Blue Ice after hitting Noble-rank, but the Alf Empire fed her Noble-rank strengthening crystals from birth, which helped her cut some corners. Incidentally, the next level, Black Ice was usually learned at Monarch or Emperor-rank.

The Ice Fairy grinned as she watched Xian Da charge into the blue ice. Her eyes sparkled as she waited in anticipation of the bang when Xian Da cracked his skull.

Boom!

Shockingly, rather than a bang, the Ice Wall exploded as a gargantuan wind vortex smashed through.

“Wind!? Aren’t you a Dusklight Wolf!?”

“Did I ever say that?” Xian Da replied with a sneer as ball of wind rapidly accumulated in his open mouth. With a defiant bark, [Wind Cannon] exploded, taking the shape of a wind column.

“Uak!” The Ice Fairy screamed as the Wind Cannon smashed into her with the speed of a truck. If that was all, it would be fine, but then tiny wind blades tore at her, creating massive cracks in her icy skin.

Before the Ice Fairy could recover, Xian Da grabbed the dainty figure in his mouth, and then released a muffled warning as he gently bit down. “Don’t move. My teeth are faster than your spells.”

The crowd couldn’t even react to Xian Da’s instant victory because a stunning sight occurred in the opposite side of the battlefield.

“Second Pillar!” Ju Tu roared as he smashed his staff into the Snow Panda. Who had ever heard of soul monsters using battle techniques? Maybe on the Central Continent, but definitely not in the Eastern Continent.

The Snow Panda, who had prepared to block Ju Tu staff paled when two superimposed gigantic pillars crashed into it from above.

“Urgh!” The Snow Panda coughed up blood as it successfully blocked the attack, but it couldn’t drop its hands due to the immense pain.

Unfortunately, to the Snow Panda’s horror, veins ran up Ju Tu’s hands and neck as he spun around and then roared, “Third Pillar!” Three superimposed pillars flew out of the staff and then crashed into its exposed midriff.

BANG!

The Snow Panda vomited as it blasted past Jurgen and then crashed several feet into the arena’s wall.

Before anyone could verify the Snow Panda’s status, Rao Wu appeared in front of a stunned Jurgen with his spear. Fortunately, Jurgen at least had the smarts to have the Ice Fairy protect him with a Blue Ice shield before the battle started.

Although panicked, Jurgen quickly prepared to recall his soul pets. He first summoned a Soul Shield to strengthen the Blue Ice shield and then rapidly began the recall chant.

Rao Wu, however, grinned as he approached the shield. “Do you think this’ll protect you?”

Boom!

A terrifying aura exploded out of Rao Wu as he drew his spear back.

“Impossible!” Atop the podium, both Hao Ranhui and Bu Lu screamed as they shot to their feet.

Rao Wu’s aura rapidly condensed as a savage will enveloped the stadium. It appeared like a demon had stepped into the world, determined to crush whatever stood in its path. This terrifying will choked the audience as Rao Wu’s aura condensed to his spearpoint.

The youth then took a step forward, and roared as he stabbed at Jurgen’s shield. “[Annihilate]!” A temporary black seemed to form at Rao Wu’s speartip as the surrounding will sucked into that speartip and then exploded forward in the form of a black beam.

Within the shield, Jurgen’s eyes widened with fright as the beam pierced and then shattered the black ice first, and then his soul shield. The youth stared death in the face as the beam obscured his vision.

BOOM!

The arena wall exploded as the beam broke through the back of the shield and then smashed into it.

“Ozursson!” The referee jumped in fright. That attack was too fast. He didn’t think a children’s competition would bring about this level of danger. Oh God. Was the prince dead? He didn’t have enough lives to compensate for that kind of loss!

Fortunately, just before the referee gave up the ghost, the dust cleared, revealing a nearly unscathed Jurgen. The child only had a slight scratch on his cheek, and his straight hair had turned into a mess.

However, Jurgen was no fool. He knew Rao Wu spared his life.

“Damn. I missed,” Rao Wu muttered with an angry frown. He then waved apologetically at the child. “Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to hit you. Hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”

Jurgen’s cold eyes watered as his chest grew hot with humiliation. He sniffed, and soon tears started pouring out as he collapsed on the ground and started bawling like a baby.

“Uh…” Rao Wu scratched his cheek as he looked at the crying child. He then glanced at Ju Tu. “Did we overdo it?”

Ju Tu, likewise, scratched his cheek as he looked at the crying Jurgen. “Maybe?”

“Mm-mm-mm.”

Rao Wu turned to Xian Da, who struggled to speak clearly while biting down on the Ice Fairy. “Spit her out, Xian Da. The fight’s over.”

Xian Da, however, shook his head and pointed at the referee. His meaning was clear. It wasn’t over until the referee said so.

Rao Wu groaned and then looked at the gaping man. Why was this man’s mouth growing wider after every match? Very soon, they would be able to fit a tree in there. “Hey, it’s my win, right? I can’t really kill him.”

“Ah. Ah. Yes.” The referee rapidly regained his composure and shouted, “P-point to the monsters!”

Xian Da finally spat out the Ice Fairy, and then said to the irritated soul monster, “Go help your trainer. Losing isn’t such a big deal. Tell him to grow from it.”

Rao Wu’s lips blossomed into a bright smile as he watched Xian Da. “Oh? Our little Xian Da is now inspiring others?”

Xian Da snorted as he sat next to Rao Wu and watched the medics take Jurgen and his soul pets out of the arena. “If you let me cry every time I lost, I would never have made it this far.” The Nightwind Wolf raised his head to look at the evening sun. “Thank you, Rao Wu. Really. Thank you.”

Rao Wu smiled as he gently patted Xian Da’s side. “Don’t sweat it, bud. You made it this far because of your tenacity.” He turned and then patted Ju Tu’s arm, “You both did.”

Rao Wu’s grin widened as the next competitor walked into the arena. “Now, let’s go win this.”