Douluo Continent: I, an evil soul master, work nine-to-five in the Tang Sect.

Chapter 76 Monster

"The reason I said I could defeat a four-ring Soul Master was just to be considerate of the freshmen in the class, so they wouldn't be discouraged by me. To be honest, with my current strength, I could face a five-ring Soul King without any problem."

Reaching the entrance to the Soul Arena, Luo Chen smiled calmly and explained to Tai An.

"Five, a five-ring Soul King?"

Upon hearing Luo Chen's words, Tai An seemed to freeze in place. He knew Luo Chen's personality well; he always spoke only when he was 70% sure. Since the other party had already claimed that he could face a five-ring Soul King, then his true combat strength must be enough to defeat even a five-ring Soul King!

Even though he had now heard the answer he wanted from Luo Chen, Tai'an's confusion only deepened.

"A three-ring Soul Master's cultivation level is enough to defeat a five-ring Soul King... Chen Zi, you really are a monster!"

That's right! Between a three-ring Soul Master and a five-ring Soul King, there are two whole major realms to cross. Such terrifying combat power can no longer be described as "fighting beyond one's level"!

However, seeing Tai'an's surprised expression, Luo Chen simply smiled and asked in return:

"Old Tai, do you really think you can't do it? With your current cultivation as a two-ring Great Soul Master and your thousand-year soul ring, if you add the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques, I'm afraid even a four-ring Soul Grandmaster wouldn't be a match for you, right?"

In Luo Chen's view, the reason why Tai'an was so surprised was ultimately because he lacked confidence in his own strength. The reason why the Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul had never appeared in human history was because it was simply something that normal people could not withstand.

Like the Ice Jade Scorpion, a martial soul with extreme attributes, its power completely exceeds the scope of its realm. If an ordinary person were to awaken such a martial soul, they would definitely be overwhelmed and explode because they could not withstand the power contained within it!

That is, Tai'an's own Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul had a congenital defect that "autonomously" developed when it was first awakened, which prevented it from being devoured by the powerful force contained in the Martial Soul and dying right after awakening!

Now, after making up for his innate defects and breaking through to the Great Soul Master level, Tai'an's own Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul has also had a portion of its terrifying potential hidden deep within his body awakened.

Don't underestimate the potential of this "part". In Luo Chen's eyes, Tai'an, who has now broken through to the second-ring Great Soul Master, has a life force that is several times stronger than before he broke through!

The life force is almost equivalent to one's combat power. The stronger the life force, the more outrageous one's combat power. Previously, Xu Sanshi's life force had already exceeded the scope of a three-ring Soul Master, and now Tai'an's life force is almost the same as Xu Sanshi's!

If Tai'an truly unleashes the unique potential of his Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul, then even a typical four-ring Soul Master would be no match for him!

However, it was clear that Tai'an hadn't yet realized this. Upon hearing Luo Chen's unexpected praise, he was momentarily stunned before replying:

"Chenzi, are you joking? I'm only at level 24 in soul power cultivation right now. How could I possibly defeat a four-ring Soul Master? Aren't your expectations of me a bit too high?"

However, Luo Chen did not explain, but pointed to the Soul Arena in front of him and said:

"Putting aside whether you're high or not, don't you want to thoroughly test your current strength? I don't know who said they would slap me in the face and get revenge after breaking through, are you giving up now?"

Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, Tai An said he would humiliate Luo Chen in the Soul Arena after returning to the academy, and Luo Chen still remembered that.

However, upon hearing Luo Chen's words, Tai An's lips twitched. His previous words were just casual remarks made after his strength surged after breaking through to the Great Soul Master level, but he never expected that Luo Chen would remember them so well.

Now that he knew Luo Chen's true strength, Tai An was completely speechless. With his current strength, which was difficult even to defeat a four-ring Soul Master, how could he possibly fight against Luo Chen, who possessed a ten-thousand-year Soul Skill and was a whole major realm higher than him?

Are you kidding me!

However, since he had already said it, given his personality, even if he was beaten to the point of questioning his existence and unable to take care of himself, he still had to fulfill the bold words he had uttered.

"Since you put it that way, then let's give it a try. But remember to go easy on me, at least let me unleash my full power first, otherwise I don't even know if I can defeat a four-ring Soul Master!"

Although he said that, Tai'an was still a little guilty and couldn't help but add that sentence.

He was genuinely afraid that he would be defeated by Luo Chen as soon as he entered the arena, before he could even use his newly acquired soul skills. That would be too frustrating.

However, Luo Chen magnanimously nodded, agreeing to his request, and chimed in:

"Since you can't beat me anyway, do whatever you want. But remember to use your strongest power, or I'm afraid you won't even be able to withstand one of my attacks..."

"Tsk, you rascal, how come you've become so arrogant after breaking through to Soul Master? You better not let me catch you off guard, or you'll be in big trouble!"

As the two were talking, a somewhat familiar figure appeared in front of them, staring at Luo Chen with unusually intense gaze.

"I didn't expect you to come again today, Luo Chen, after yesterday's battle. Are you perhaps making a bet with someone this time as well?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Chen was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered something. The middle-aged man in front of him, whose life aura was comparable to that of a seven-ring Soul Saint, was none other than the referee in his previous duel with Xu Sanshi.

However, it was clear that the other party had misunderstood something, so Luo Chen couldn't help but smile and explain:

"No, that's not it. Who gambles with people every day? It's just that I broke through my cultivation level, so I came to the Soul Arena to spar with my friend and see how far I've come."

"breakthrough?"

After Luo Chen finished speaking, the middle-aged man couldn't help but show a look of surprise and doubt on his face. If he remembered correctly, Luo Chen was only a second-ring Great Soul Master yesterday, but today he actually said that he had broken through.

"Could it be that in just one day, you've already broken through level 30 and successfully advanced to a three-ring Soul Master?"

The middle-aged man spoke with some disbelief.

However, Luo Chen nodded, not hiding anything. But the next moment, he suddenly thought of something and asked the middle-aged man:

"I have indeed broken through, but I would like to ask if there is a more secluded place in the academy's arena, because due to some special reasons, it is not convenient to reveal my true strength now..."

"Hmm? Of course there are. There are specially set up secret fighting arenas underground in the Soul Arena, but these are usually used by senior students or inner court students, and the fees are much higher. Are you sure?"

If it were any other freshman from the outer academy, the middle-aged man might have rejected the idea outright. However, he was facing Luo Chen, who had recently defeated Xu Sanshi despite being a student of a higher level, and whose strength was undeniable.

At this moment, Luo Chen had already broken through to the third-ring Soul Master level. The middle-aged man naturally knew that after the breakthrough, Luo Chen's strength would definitely increase greatly. Therefore, he roughly guessed Luo Chen's idea: he did not want to expose his strength because of the sparring.

However, a hint of curiosity appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes. Luo Chen, who was only a two-ring Great Soul Master before, was able to defeat Xu Sanshi, a high-level Soul Venerable. So what kind of strength would he have now that he is a three-ring Soul Venerable?

"Yes, I'm sure."

Luo Chen didn't care about the cost at all, since it wasn't his responsibility to pay for it anyway.

However, after a moment of silence, the middle-aged man in front of him spoke:

"Since you want to test your actual strength, then you don't need to pay the usage fee for this venue. Consider it a free service provided by me, but only for this one time."

"Huh? Why is that?"

Upon hearing that the middle-aged man was offering the venue to them for free, both Luo Chen and Tai An showed surprise. They both understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and since the other party had said so, there must be some reason.

"Haha, there's no reason. That place is just sitting there empty anyway, so I might as well put it to some use. Consider it a little reward for my genius student."

Looking at Luo Chen and Tai An in front of him, the middle-aged man smiled first, and then casually said.

With his authority in the Soul Arena, he could naturally waive the venue fees for both of them at will. However, there was one thing he didn't mention, which was yesterday's match between Luo Chen and Xu Sanshi.

The "ticket" fees earned by the fighting arena from the students watching the matches alone were dozens of times the cost of the venue. Therefore, the middle-aged man naturally did not haggle over the venue fee.

The venue fee is far less important than making friends with a future Soul Master.

After speaking, he led Luo Chen and Tai An through the staircase of the Soul Arena and into the deeper Soul Arena below.

Compared to the upper level of the Soul Arena, which is surrounded by the audience seats, the ground and defensive facilities of this venue are obviously more solid. The surrounding walls are made of specially made soul-guided metal, which can withstand at least the attack of a Soul King!

"We've arrived. This is a training and guidance facility specially set up by the academy for senior students and inner court students. Because of the special building materials, it can even shield a certain amount of mental energy, so you don't need to worry about the privacy and safety here. Just go ahead and do your best."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man silently retreated to the outermost edge of the arena and concealed his figure. If Luo Chen hadn't been able to detect his life force through his life detection ability, he would have thought the man had already left.

However, Luo Chen didn't say much about what the middle-aged man did. As a referee in the Soul Arena, his job was not only to ensure the fairness of the competition and sparring, but also to ensure the safety of the students.

Therefore, even though Luo Chen had specifically stated that he did not want to reveal his strength, the middle-aged man still needed to make preparations outside the venue so that he could provide immediate assistance.

"Come on, go all out and let me see just how strong you really are now."

After the middle-aged man disappeared, Luo Chen beckoned to Tai An in front of him with his finger, still maintaining his calm and composed demeanor.

"Hey, Chenzi, you better watch out!"

Seeing Luo Chen's disdainful attitude, Tai'an was not annoyed by Luo Chen's provocative actions; instead, a smile appeared on his lips.

The next moment, a powerful aura emanated from him, and at the same time, the school uniform he was wearing ripped open, revealing his muscles, which had become as strong as a humanoid spirit beast due to the possession of his martial soul.

As soon as Tai'an released his martial spirit, Luo Chen clearly noticed the changes that occurred in him; his physical attributes increased dramatically almost instantly.

Tai'an, who already possessed the physical qualities of a Soul Master under normal circumstances, has become even more powerful after his Martial Soul has been attached to him.

To put it bluntly, even with the top-tier offensive martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex, Bei Bei might not be able to compare with Tai An in terms of strength!

"What terrifying power!"

The middle-aged man hiding at the edge of the venue was also somewhat taken aback when he saw this scene.

He hadn't taken the other party seriously after sensing the soul power fluctuations emanating from them, which belonged to a second-ring Great Soul Master. But now he had changed his mind.

Being able to possess physical strength that only a typical four-ring Soul Master can have at the level of a two-ring Great Soul Master, even without releasing his own Soul Skills, would be enough to easily defeat this group of outer court freshmen, right?

But what shocked him even more was yet to come. As Tai'an's figure suddenly swelled, two spirit rings of different colors rose up beneath his feet...

"A thousand-year-old spirit ring?!"

Upon seeing the purple spirit ring that appeared beneath his feet, the middle-aged man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. It was fine that the first spirit ring was yellow, but how come the second spirit ring was a purple thousand-year spirit ring?

Looking at the increasingly terrifyingly tall figure before him, the middle-aged man couldn't help but swallow hard. Now he understood why Luo Chen, who had already broken through to the third-ring Soul Master level, would specifically enter the Soul Arena to spar with a second-ring Soul Master.

"As expected, only monsters can fight monsters..."

(End of this chapter)