Reborn as the Candle Dragon, I became the strongest academy guardian beast.

"Yunlan Martial Arts Hall?"

Su Chen narrowed his snake-like eyes, revealing a hint of interest.

In the world of martial arts, the strong are respected.

As the largest martial arts school in Ningchuan City, Yunlan Martial Arts School holds regular monthly tournaments, attracting a large number of martial artists with generous prize money.

The three had only recently awakened their martial spirits. Although they had fought against the insectoid race in the dungeon, they lacked combat experience between martial artists.

This is a good opportunity for them to broaden their horizons.

but……

Su Chen glanced at his massive body.

Are you sure I can get in?

Xu Liyue nodded and took a small, transparent sphere out of her pocket:

"It's okay, I asked the principal to make this for me."

"This is a space sphere; it contains a large amount of space, more than enough to fit you!"

Su Chen looked at the small ball in Xu Liyue's hand.

This tiny glass sphere does indeed contain a space comparable to a super-large stadium.

With a thought, Su Chen's enormous snake body vanished from its original spot and reappeared in the spatial sphere the next second.

The space sphere was completely transparent, and Su Chen could clearly see the outside scenery while inside it.

Looking up, Su Chen noticed that Xu Liyue was staring intently at him.

"What's wrong? Is there something strange about me?" Su Chen asked.

"No." Xu Liyue shook her head, her usually cool eyes now sparkling. "It's just that I feel, Teacher, you look so cute like this..."

Inside the spatial sphere, Su Chen's body was compressed to the size of a finger, making him look like a miniature black snake.

This is in stark contrast to Su Chen's usual imposing and dignified image.

"Teacher, let's go!"

Xu Liyue held the space sphere in her hands, her steps light and her voice cheerful, completely unlike the aloof girl she usually was.

Su Chen: "..."

Why do I always feel like my authority as a teacher has been compromised?

If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed...

……

A dozen minutes later.

The taxi arrived at Yunlan Martial Arts Hall.

As the largest martial arts hall in Ningchuan City, despite its expensive ticket prices, the hall is always packed with people for its monthly tournaments.

The arena competition is divided into three areas.

Beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

The primary arena requires participants to be below the fourth rank in strength; otherwise, there are no restrictions on identity or age.

At the entrance, a young woman in her early twenties was checking tickets.

Xu Liyue handed the three tickets to the young lady: "Excuse me, which way is the challenge area?"

The young woman paused for a moment, as if she doubted she had misheard: "You must be talking about the audience seats, right? It's on the second floor to the left."

Xu Liyue gently shook her head: "We're not in the audience seats, we're here to participate in the arena competition."

Although the principal's original intention was to give them a day off, they had already come all this way, so it would be no fun just sitting in the audience and watching.

"A tournament?" The young woman's gaze swept over the three of them in surprise.

Although the first to third level martial arts arena is called the beginner arena, it is actually not "beginner" at all.

Most of the participants in the challenge are seasoned veterans who come specifically to compete for the prize money.

Although they lack talent and haven't broken through to the fourth tier even in their thirties or forties, they have spent years hunting ferocious beasts in dungeons, living a life of constant danger and possessing extremely rich combat experience.

"To participate in the challenge, you need to sign a liability waiver first."

The young woman took out three contracts from the drawer and couldn't help but offer some advice:

"You're probably still students, right? Most of the martial artists participating in the arena are seasoned veterans; you'll be at a disadvantage against them."

"While the martial arts formations set up in the arena can prevent death, they cannot prevent injury."

"You'll need to cover the medical expenses after the injury yourselves, or...would you like to reconsider?"

"It's alright." Xu Liyue reached out and took the agreement, signing it without hesitation.

Lin Fan and Chu Yunfeng then signed their names on the contract.

"All right……"

The young woman had no choice but to accept the contract, pointing to the right: "The challenge area is just past here. Good luck to you."

"Thanks."

Xu Liyue nodded slightly to the young lady in thanks, then carried the space sphere and entered the arena.

Watching the three figures disappear into the distance, the young woman's eyes showed worry. She picked up the walkie-talkie beside her and said:

"Three students have entered the preliminary competition area. The referees should pay close attention and stop the competition immediately if any dangerous situation arises."

Even Su Chen, who was inside the space sphere, couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

Even he thought that the three of them were just here to watch the game and rest.

It seems I underestimated the extent of their involution...

……

Upon entering the stadium, the stands were already packed.

Fortunately, there were relatively fewer people on the challenger's side, and there were still quite a few seats available.

After finding a seat, Xu Liyue hugged the spatial sphere to her chest and asked, "Teacher, how's this angle? Can we see the arena?"

"Hmm, it's alright." Su Chen nodded.

Looking down from the space sphere, you can see the entire arena perfectly; the field of view is excellent.

As for other perspectives...

Su Chen subconsciously looked up.

He fell silent instantly.

Su Chen was surprised to find that his view was completely blocked by two huge mountain peaks, completely obstructed!

"Li Yue, this girl, is she really developing so well...?" Su Chen murmured in shock.

The match is about to begin.

On the challenger's side, many eyes gradually fell on Lin Fan, Xu Liyue, and Chu Yunfeng.

The faces of a few students stood out conspicuously among a group of seasoned veterans.

"Good heavens, there are actually students participating today? Since a student was seriously injured and almost died on the field last year, I haven't seen any young people who dare to participate in a long time."

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, but it's good in a way, because this means we have three fewer competitors."

"That makes sense!"

Several middle-aged martial artists laughed loudly, looking at the three as if they were lambs to the slaughter.

At this point, the referee stepped onto the stage and announced the rules simply and clearly.

The tournament is divided into three rounds: upper, middle, and lower. Each round consists of ten matches. The person who defeats the reigning champion will become the new champion. The person who stands until the end will be the winner of the match and will receive a generous prize after the match.

"The purpose of the tournament is to allow everyone to hone their martial arts skills and improve their strength through fair and just competition."

"Therefore, I want to remind everyone that deliberately attacking an opponent's vital parts, or continuing to attack after the opponent has clearly surrendered or lost the ability to resist, will result in immediate disqualification from the competition, invalidation of all results, and serious cases will be handed over to the Martial Arts Association for legal punishment."

"Please compete in a civilized manner, respect your opponents, and respect yourselves."

The referee swung his raised right arm down sharply, his voice echoing throughout the arena: "Now, the first round of the competition begins! Please welcome the champion of last month, Xu Mang, who has won all ten matches!"