The Black Horn Soul Arena is located at the center of Black Horn City, not far from the two large black horns that were previously seen by Jiang Xiaofeng.
The soul arena is always the most popular place in a city, operating from morning to night with people constantly fighting for rankings.
The arena has three types of rules. The first is a contest where the focus is on sparring, and no one is allowed to kill their opponent, or they will be erased by the arena. The second is a life-and-death duel, used to settle deadly grudges, with both parties signing a life-and-death agreement. Life or death is determined by fate, but fortune lies with the victors!
The last type is the gambling fight, where the arena serves as the referee. The two sides bet their soul masters in equal numbers, and the final victor will claim everything in the bet. Gambling fights are essentially life-and-death battles. Many nobles and clans often use this method when they have major disputes.
The competition formats are also threefold: one-on-one, two-on-two, and group battles. In group battles, the number of participants is negotiated, but generally, it is limited to seven to ten people according to the arena's rules.
Entering the Soul Arena, the first thing that catches the eye is a large stone tablet engraved with numerous names.
Jiang Xiaofeng asked, "What is this? Why are there so many names?"
Brother Hu replied, "These are the names of soul masters who have died in the arena. Every soul master who dies here is recorded on this stone tablet!"
Jiang Xiaofeng sighed. It seems every world is the same. At least here, they still have some humanity. In his past life, death was absolute—when you died, everything was over. Only the names of the victors remained.
Registration for the arena is simple. You only need to fill out a form with your name, age, place of origin, and martial soul, and you will receive an initial Iron Soul Badge. Of course, registration also requires a ten gold soul coin fee.
At the same time, a soul power test similar to the Spirit Hall's is conducted to determine the respective levels.
"Big Brother, don't worry about this; the arena treats all soul masters equally. They will assign you opponents based on your strength, and they won't assign you opponents who are too far beyond your level."
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded and said, "I want to participate in a one-on-one sparring match. Can I sign up now?"
Brother Hu checked the time and shook his head, "Not yet. The auction will start soon. After that, you can come here and sign up for the match. However, sparring has the slowest experience gain. Only team battles give the fastest experience! Right now, the three of us only have the Iron Soul Badge; after all, our strength is what it is."
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded. The registration here was already completed, so after the auction ends, he could sign up and wait for his match.
The only problem is that it's either Golden Soul Coins or Brother Hu who has to pay, because Jiang Xiaofeng realized that he didn't even have any Golden Soul Coins on him, which was quite embarrassing.
On the carriage.
"I'll pay the ten Golden Soul Coins now and give them back to you later."
"No problem, Big Brother. It's just ten Golden Soul Coins. No big deal. We're still waiting to treat Big Brother to some good food and drinks, right, Second, Third?"
Wolf Two and Wolf Three both nodded in agreement.
At the auction hall, as soon as Brother Hu and Jiang Xiaofeng entered, a beautiful maidservant walked over to greet them.
"Mask Young Master, please follow me."
Jiang Xiaofeng nodded. Brother Hu sighed, "I've been here for years, but I've never been treated this well by Manager Li!"
The maidservant led them to a VIP box. This was the first time Brother Hu and his companions had been to such a high-end place, and now they were being treated as equals to the nobles below.
"Big Brother, your face really works wonders!"
Jiang Xiaofeng was also a bit surprised. It was just the sale of 14 Death Qi Pearls. Why were they treating him so kindly?
Inside the box, there were comfortable sofas, premium fruits, and the best viewing angles, truly a symbol of nobility.
Soon, the auction began.
Manager Li walked out, the same person from earlier.
"Welcome to the Black Horn City Auction. The items ranked today will definitely excite everyone here, because we've received a big order. There are a total of 14 Death Qi Pearls for auction—yes, you heard that right—14!"
Immediately, the crowd stirred. Normally, it's extremely difficult to acquire even one Death Qi Pearl. There are only a few released each month.
Now, 14 pearls at once—how could they let this chance slip by? Even those who already had stock of them wanted to grab another one, as these items were still incredibly useful to regular soul masters.
"Manager Li, what are you waiting for? Bring out the Death Qi Pearls!"
"Exactly! We don't want to deal with junk!"
"Right! Bring out the Death Qi Pearls!"
Manager Li wasn't foolish. The crowd wasn't too large yet, so it wasn't the right time to bring out the Death Qi Pearls—he'd wait until more people arrived.
As Manager Li had predicted, the news of 14 Death Qi Pearls being auctioned at once caused a stir in the auction hall.
Soul masters began running to the auction house, fearing they might miss out.
"14 pearls, I must get one!"
"It's mine! Don't even think about it!"
The auction continued in an orderly fashion.
Jiang Xiaofeng glanced at the items being auctioned—mostly armor, soul beast cubs, the corpses of large soul beasts, and several healing pills. However, not many people were interested in these right now. They were all focused on the Death Qi Pearls.
Jiang Xiaofeng sat down early and began cultivating. It was better to use this dull waiting time to practice.
Perhaps because everyone had come specifically for the Death Qi Pearls, the auction process was moving very quickly. There weren't many bidders, so many items were sold off without much of a contest.
Finally, the Death Qi Pearls were brought out. Though only one was shown at a time, the soul masters in the crowd were already itching with anticipation.
Manager Li said, "Please remain calm, everyone. There are a total of 14 Death Qi Pearls. Don't rush! As always, the highest bidder wins. Starting price: 10,000 Golden Soul Coins. Begin!"
As soon as Manager Li finished speaking, the crowd started bidding.
"Big Brother, the Death Qi Pearls have started! Aren't you watching?"
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head, "No need, you watch."
Brother Hu nodded and said, "Thanks for your trust, Big Brother. Second, Third, don't disturb Big Brother's cultivation."
"Understood!"
"15,000 Golden Soul Coins!"
"20,000 Golden Soul Coins!"
"20,000 is nothing, I'll offer 30,000 Golden Soul Coins!"
"30,000? I haven't gotten a Death Qi Pearl in months, 50,000 Golden Soul Coins!"
As soon as the 50,000 bid was made, the surrounding crowd quieted down. This was no small amount, especially since they were just ordinary soul masters!
Manager Li happily smiled, "This brother has bid 50,000 Golden Soul Coins. Is there anyone willing to bid higher? If not, I'll call it. 50,000 Golden Soul Coins once, 50,000 Golden Soul Coins twice... Is there a higher bid? 50,000 Golden Soul Coins for the third time... Sold! Please have this friend go to the back for the transaction."
"Got it, ha-ha!"
Manager Li said, "If you didn't win, don't worry, there are still 13 pearls. Let's continue! Same rules, starting price: 10,000 Golden Soul Coins. Begin!"
(End of Chapter)