Douluo Continent: Starting from Killing Arou with a Single Sword.

Chapter 31 Battle Spirit

"In the Soul Arena, you will encounter danger at any time. Your Martial Soul level is your strength, but in the Soul Arena, there are countless people who successfully overcome levels above their own."

Flander took a sip of tea, his eyes gleaming with undeniable brilliance, and continued, "The level of a Martial Soul can demonstrate a Soul Master's strength, and Soul Rings are one way to express that. But what truly defines a Soul Master's ability?"

Flander glanced at the group, and seeing they didn't answer, continued, "A Soul Master's true ability lies in actual combat. Only through their own efforts, countless battles, participating in Soul Battles, and honing their skills can they earn titles that best reflect their strength. Do you understand?"

Several people seemed to understand. Unseen by the others, Ning Mumu's lips curled slightly, offering no comment. Flander's meaning, simply put, was to apply theory to practice and achieve the desired goal through practice.

Fighting spirits is one form of practice, and hunting spirit rings is another. There are countless methods of practice, but fighting spirits is low-cost and effective; no wonder Flander, that stingy king, came here.

"When a Soul Master of any level enters the Great Soul Arena, they are simply referred to as a Soul Master, regardless of their Soul Power. After winning their first Soul Battle, the winner will receive a badge."

"After that, each victory will earn you points. As your points accumulate, your badge level will increase. This badge symbolizes your level in the Grand Arena and represents your strength. It's also valid in all major cities across the continent. There are many benefits to a high-level badge, as you'll discover later."

The badges are ranked according to the quality of the mineral they contain. The lowest is the Iron Badge, also known as the Iron Fighting Spirit, followed by Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. There are eight ranks in total.

After saying this, Flander calmly sipped his cheap tea. The students of Shrek Academy are all geniuses; their education cannot be the same as others. Soul Battle is a form of training, and only those who consistently win deserve to be students of Shrek Academy.

Since everyone was still unfamiliar with the rules, Dai Mubai explained, "To upgrade from Iron Battle Soul to Bronze Battle Soul, you need 100 points. You will gain one point for each battle you win, but you will also lose one point for each battle you lose. If you have a winning streak of more than five battles, you will gain 10 points for each additional winning streak. If you have a winning streak of more than ten battles, you will gain 100 points for each additional winning streak."

Even if a player successfully advances to the Bronze Soul rank with enough points, they will be disqualified from Bronze Soul status if their points drop below 100. Advancing from Bronze Soul to Silver Soul requires 1000 points. In battles between Bronze Souls, each victory grants 10 points, while each loss deducts 10 points. The point gain rate for consecutive wins is the same as for Iron Souls.

"We'll group you according to your rank, or more specifically, according to the number of spirit rings you have. Once you have an extra spirit ring, you can only participate in the next group's competition. For example, you might participate in the competition for a period of time at level 29, then pause your participation after reaching level 30, and only resume it at level 39. But our goal is actual combat, so we can't do that."

Everyone seemed to understand but not quite. Dai Mubai smiled wryly and said, "I started playing Soul Battle at level 29. I've participated in 56 Soul Battles so far, with 29 wins and 27 losses, for a score of 2."

Ma Hongjun added, "So far, I have 21 wins and 12 losses out of 33 games, with 9 points."

"Alright," ignoring their surprise, Flander finished his tea, paid the bill, and stood up briskly. "It's almost time. I'll take you there first."

The group followed Flander and soon arrived at the Soto Arena. They had only seen a glimpse of the building before, but now that they were closer, they realized how awe-inspiring it was.

The Soto Grand Arena is magnificent, oval-shaped with a height of 120 meters, and divided into a main arena and twenty-four sub-arenas. It can accommodate 60,000 spectators simultaneously, including one hundred VIP boxes. It is not only a place for Soul Masters to exchange skills and techniques, but also a venue for various forces to showcase their strength.

As they walked, Flander explained the rules: "Here, spirit battles are divided into three categories. One is a game of skill, which is mutual sparring, but killing is prohibited. Another is a life-or-death duel, which, as the name suggests, can result in death and can be used to resolve irreconcilable disputes. The last type is a wager."

The Grand Soul Arena serves as the referee, with both sides sending an equal number of Soul Masters to compete. The final winner receives everything stipulated in the bet. These bets are, in essence, life-or-death battles. Many noble families and clans frequently resort to this method when significant conflicts arise between them.

The competition formats are threefold: one-on-one, two-on-two, and group battles. The number of participants in group battles is negotiated and stipulated, generally limited to seven to ten people according to the rules of the Grand Arena.

After saying that, the group entered the Soul Arena. The first thing they saw was not the arena itself, but a huge stone tablet covered with names.

"These are people who died in the Soul Arena," Flander explained.

"Sister," Ning Luoluo felt a lump in her throat, an inexplicable sadness.

Ning Mumu patted her shoulder and comforted her, "It's okay."

Ning Luoluo's fear of death was deeper than that of the others present. She was Ning Luoluo, and also Zhu Zhuqing; the shadow cast by her family since childhood and the pressure exerted by her sister could both lead to her death.

"Let's register first." Flander stopped in front of the registration desk and winked at him.

Registering for the Soul Battle is very simple. You only need to fill out a form that includes your name, age, place of birth, and Soul, and you can receive your initial Iron Soul Battle Badge. Of course, registration also requires each person to pay ten gold coins as a registration fee.

Seeing that Flander had no intention of paying, Ning Mumu took out twenty gold soul coins first, and the other three followed suit, quickly registering their names.

After giving Dai Mubai a few instructions, Flander left. Dai Mubai's heart churned with unease at the irresponsible dean, but his expression remained unchanged.

He told everyone that in the main Soul Arena, only those with more than five consecutive wins, a high-level Soul Badge, or an extremely high Soul Master level could participate in Soul Battles. Newcomers like them could only compete in the branch Soul Arenas. A winning Iron Soul Battle would earn a reward of ten gold coins, while a loss would yield no reward.

"Oh, right, each Soul Master can only participate in one one-on-one battle per day," Dai Mubai reminded him. "Of course, you can also participate in other types such as two-on-two battles. If you have extra time, you can participate in more Soul Battles."

"You can do that?!" Ning Luoluo exclaimed in surprise.

"Mumu, how about we play a 2v2 match?" Ning Mumu said. "We still have time, let's sign up first and level up faster."

A flawless version after careful inspection!

After telling Dai Mubai, the two went to the 2v2 registration area together. Tang San and Xiao Wu followed suit and also went to the 2v2 registration area. Shi Yu, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai remained silent.

"The registration fee is ten gold coins, and you will receive a total of ten gold coins for each win." The staff member was efficient and quick, operating in a businesslike manner. Since the two had already registered, they only needed to show their Iron Soul Badges; no further information was required.

Please come up with a name for your group.

"Name?" Ning Luoluo looked at her sister. "Sister, what should we call you?"

"You can choose it." Ning Mumu really didn't like choosing names; she found it too troublesome.

"Hmm," Ning Mumu thought for a moment, "Let's call it 'Let the Curtain Fall,' it sounds very domineering!"

"OK."

This chapter is mostly about rules, so please read it at your own pace.

The rules section references the original text of "Douluo Continent".

(End of this chapter)