Douluo Continent: Starting from Tianshui Academy

Chapter 45 The Gold-Plated Debacle: Soto's Battleground

After several days, Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing finally arrived at the bustling city of Soto. To conceal their identities, Ye Liangchen disguised himself as an ordinary-looking handsome man using a dream mask, while Zhu Zhuqing put away her cat ears and tail headdress.

"Brother Chen, this city is so bustling!"

"Soto City, as the second largest city in the Barak Kingdom and a granary, is naturally very prosperous."

Upon arriving in Soto, Ye Liangchen naturally had to stay at the best Rose Hotel. Using another alias, he booked the most luxurious room at the same Rose Hotel as before, planning to stay for two days before leaving.

That morning, Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing strolled around the city, then found a luxurious restaurant, ordered a table full of delicious food, and enjoyed a wonderful meal.

Just then, a woman walked in through the restaurant entrance, went to a private room not far from Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing, and began to order food.

"Boss, I want this, this, and this."

The woman was not tall, about 1.65 meters, and wore a light blue dress. She had long, smooth brown hair and was very pretty with fair skin. She looked both beautiful and cute.

This person is Ning Rongrong, one of the Shrek Seven Devils. Dai Mubai, Tang San and others went to the Soul Arena for Soul Training. She and Oscar were only support Soul Masters and could not fight in Soul Battles. They could only practice running at school. She took advantage of this break to come to the restaurant to eat by herself.

After ordering, Ning Rongrong glanced casually and spotted Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing dining a few meters away. She was immediately attracted by Ye Liangchen's charisma. Upon seeing Zhu Zhuqing's voluptuous figure, the woman looked down at her own plain appearance and sighed.

"Those two are quite young, yet they possess exceptional bearing. Who could they be?" Ning Rongrong stared at Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing, wondering which faction's disciples they belonged to.

"Brother Chen, that woman is watching us," Zhu Zhuqing whispered to Ye Liangchen.

"Don't pay attention to others, just enjoy your meal."

Ye Liangchen turned his head and glanced at the woman. He found that she was very pretty, even cute, but she was too short. Compared to Zhu Zhuqing's tall and voluptuous figure, she was far inferior.

Cuteness is worthless compared to sexiness.

Ye Liangchen prefers big things and isn't interested in that petite beauty.

"Brother Chen, I think the other person was attracted by your aura."

Seeing that the woman was staring in their direction, Zhu Zhuqing thought to herself that Ye Liangchen had already disguised his appearance, but his aura was still impossible to hide.

"Stop joking, let's eat! I'll take you to Soto City for a look around later."

Ye Liangchen stopped the kitten's teasing and turned to look at the pretty girl.

With long brown hair, a light blue dress, fair skin, a pretty and cute face, and a pair of beautiful eyes with a hint of light blue light, she exuded an air of nobility and was clearly a rich young lady.

Could this be Ning Rongrong from Shrek Academy? At this time, that girl should be here by now.

Judging from the situation, she probably couldn't stand the simple meals at the academy and came to the hotel alone for a meal. Ye Liangchen had already guessed the truth based on the woman's appearance.

Now, the kitten among the Shrek Seven Devils has been taken away by Ye Liangchen, leaving only Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu is often seen being affectionate with Tang San, while Ning Rongrong is very lonely and has to be on guard against the other three wolves in the academy at all times. It's unknown how long she can hold on.

A short while later, Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing finished their meal, paid the bill, and left the restaurant.

"Little kitty! Let's go to the Great Soul Arena to watch the Soul Battle competition." Ye Liangchen suggested to Zhu Zhuqing that they go watch the Soul Battle competition.

"Brother Chen, I'll do as you say."

"I heard you can bet on the matches at the Soto Arena, let's go place some bets."

"Brother Chen, will this work?"

"Sure, I'll take you to make big money today and let you experience the joy of finding money on the street."

Ye Liangchen planned to make some money in the Soul Arena. After all, he had already reached the fourth level of the Refining God Technique. As long as he opened his divine sense, he could perceive the strength of the contestants participating in the Soul Arena. Making some money was too easy.

Tang San and Xiao Wu are probably also competing in the Soul Arena now. Given that they are both below the Soul Master level, they generally have a hard time finding opponents. Therefore, placing a bet would be like picking up money.

Zhu Zhuqing followed Ye Liangchen's arrangement and even took out a veil to put on, covering her beautiful face.

The Soto Grand Arena is renowned throughout the empire. Established jointly by several powerful families, it boasts an immense and luxurious interior. More than a fighting arena, it's an amusement park and a money pit, offering a wide array of services. If you have the money, you can indulge yourself. However, the primary reason people come here is to watch various gambling matches, including deathmatch battles. Many nobles frequently gather to witness these life-or-death duels between spirit masters, seeking visual thrills.

When Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the entrance of the Soul Arena, it was noon. The Soul Battles at the Soto Soul Arena were gradually becoming lively. In the evening, there were even more spectators. The Central Soul Battle was about to begin, which would be the most exciting moment.

Suddenly, Ye Liangchen saw a girl with two rabbit ears on her head, wearing a pink dress, pulling a man in blue clothes, registering at the Soul Arena counter.

Ye Liangchen was taken aback. Wasn't this Tang San and Xiao Wu? He hadn't expected them to come.

Tang San and Xiao Wu have arrived, so Dai Mubai and Fatty Ma should be here too. Ye Liangchen glanced around and, sure enough, about 20 meters ahead, there was a red-haired fat man and a blond man—it was them. They were currently observing the young women passing by, and when Fatty Ma saw a pretty woman, a lewd look appeared in his eyes.

Zhu Zhuqing also saw Dai Mubai at this moment. He had seen Zhu Zhuqing once when he fled, so she knew what he looked like.

"Brother Chen, let's slow down."

Zhu Zhuqing concealed her aura, pulled Ye Liangchen along, and deliberately stopped at the entrance of the Soul Arena. After seeing Dai Mubai and the others leave, she walked towards the Soul Arena counter.

Ye Liangchen understood Zhu Zhuqing's meaning; she was afraid that the other party would sense the aura of his martial soul. The two families' martial souls were very familiar with each other, and they also had a martial soul fusion skill that allowed them to sense each other's aura.

Seeing that the kitten showed no emotional fluctuations after seeing Dai Mubai, it seems that she no longer wants to acknowledge Dai Mubai and has completely let go.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

When Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the counter, a sweet-looking waitress greeted them with a professional smile and asked them a question.

"We want the most luxurious VIP room to watch the Soul Fighting match."

Ye Liangchen glanced at the price of the top-tier VIP room, which was as high as 5000 gold soul coins. There were only ten such top-tier VIP rooms, which were specially used to entertain wealthy and noble families. The others were all ordinary VIP rooms.

Seeing this, Ye Liangchen took out several large bags of gold soul coins and placed them on the counter.

"Okay...sir, please wait a moment, I'll process it for you right away."

Seeing Ye Liangchen's generosity and noticing the two men's elegant attire and extraordinary demeanor, the waiter, who suspected they were from a prominent family, spoke to a young woman nearby.

The woman ran towards a large hall in the distance, and a moment later, a bespectacled manager led two young and beautiful women toward Ye Liangchen.

"Honorable guest, my surname is Ao, and I am the manager of Soto City. Welcome to the Soto Grand Arena."

Manager Ao saw that a big business had arrived, so he personally arranged the best service for him. The Soul Arena has always been very attentive to wealthy people who come to the Soul Arena.

"Thank you, Supervisor Ao."

Ye Liangchen remembered that this Manager Ao was at the Soul Saint level, but he didn't expect him to come and receive him personally. Money really can make the devil turn the millstone.

"You're too kind, sir."

"Xiaohe, Xiaofang, take this gentleman and lady to the Star Cruises VIP lounge."

Supervisor Ao sensed Ye Liangchen's imposing presence and concluded that he was no ordinary person, so he instructed two women to receive Ye Liangchen and his companion.

"Yes, supervisor."

"Sir, Madam, please come with us."

Two women led Ye Liangchen and his companion toward the most luxurious VIP room in the distance.

Soto City truly lives up to its reputation as a money pit; as long as you have money, you can enjoy the best service here.

Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing followed two beautiful waitresses through a maze of turns to a luxurious hall. There were several huge screens in front of them, used to project matches from various fighting arenas. They could see all the arenas in the Soto Fighting Arena in action.

The entire Soto Arena has one main Soul Arena and hundreds of sub-arenas. In addition to the ten top-tier VIP rooms, there are hundreds of regular VIP rooms, all located in the best view locations to facilitate guests' viewing of the Soul Battles.

Two waiters poured Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing expensive wines and teas, and also set out various exquisite fruit platters and pastries, which looked very expensive.

After finishing all the work, the two women stood quietly on either side, like two maids, glancing at Ye Liangchen from time to time with a strange look in their eyes.

"Ladies, you may leave for now. We'll call you if we need anything."

Ye Liangchen took out 20 gold soul coins and threw them to the two waiters as tips, since he had plenty of money anyway.

"Thank you, sir. We'll head out now. If you need any assistance, please press the button on the wall. We'll receive a notification and come back to serve you."

The two young women excitedly pocketed the gold soul coins, quietly left the VIP lounge of the Tianxing, and then closed the door.

The two women originally wanted to provide Ye Liangchen with another special service, since this top-tier VIP room also included such services. However, when they saw that Ye Liangchen was accompanied by a stunningly beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure and exquisite face that far surpassed their own, they immediately realized that this young master didn't fancy them.

"Brother Chen, this time we spent 5000 gold soul coins, that's such a waste."

Seeing Ye Liangchen spending money like water, Zhu Zhuqing was speechless. Does having money mean you can be so willful?

"Zhu Qing, what's a mere 5000 gold soul coins? I'll place a bet later and I guarantee I'll win it all back, plus a profit."

Now that he had encountered Tang San and Xiao Wu about to have a Soul Battle competition, how could Ye Liangchen miss such a money-making opportunity?

"Then I'll wait and see!"

Looking at Ye Liangchen's calm demeanor, Zhu Zhuqing felt as if everything was under his control, and this time he might reap great rewards.

At this moment, a match is underway on the Soul Fighting Arena. Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhuqing are enjoying fine wine and various pastries while quietly watching the Soul Fighting Match.

Although Zhu Zhuqing was born into royalty, this was the first time she had ever experienced such a luxurious lifestyle, and she felt wonderful at the moment.

(End of this chapter)