After their lengthy conversation, Yang Wei hesitated before speaking with obvious concern. "Little Xiong, how long do you plan to stay in Heaven Dou City this time? You're still only eleven years old, so you need to be extremely careful when you're out exploring on your own."
Yang Xiong smiled reassuringly. "Thank you for your concern, Brother. I plan to visit the Spirit Fighting Arena to observe the competitions and test my true combat strength against real opponents."
A hint of nostalgia appeared on Yang Wei's weathered face. "I used to participate in many battles at the Spirit Fighting Arena myself. As a power attack type Spirit Master, I performed quite well in those competitions. Unfortunately, since entering the Spirit Elder realm, I've suffered many consecutive defeats, so I haven't visited there much recently."
Yang Wei's martial soul was indeed the Iron Sword, which provided him with certain advantages in terms of raw attack power. Unfortunately, after advancing to the Spirit Elder realm, he now fought at level thirty-one and was forced to face Spirit Masters at levels thirty-eight or thirty-nine, leaving him with essentially no realistic hope of victory.
Yang Xiong smiled with understanding. "Don't worry, Brother. I know my limitations and won't participate in those dangerous death matches. I'm simply planning to enter the arena for some light sparring experience."
Yang Wei nodded approvingly. "Little Xiong, you've always been remarkably independent since childhood, but you still need to exercise extreme caution on the fighting stage. Spirit skills can be unpredictable, and desperate opponents might resort to any means when they become frantic. Any tools and weapons can be used during arena combat."
"By the way, why don't you simply stay at the Purple Star Academy for the next few days? Then we brothers can train and cultivate together like old times."
Yang Xiong smiled diplomatically. "Brother, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School owns numerous business establishments throughout Heaven Dou City. There are countless affiliated hotels alone. I plan to stay directly in one of our sect's hotels, as it will be more convenient for rest and privacy."
Yang Wei rolled his eyes at Yang Xiong with good-natured exasperation. "I almost forgot that we're both inner disciples of the sect. You, little guy, are even a core member whom the sect is cultivating with special emphasis. Naturally, finding a mere hotel poses no problem whatsoever. Even locating a private villa to rent in Heaven Dou City would be entirely manageable."
After departing from the Purple Star Academy, Yang Xiong directly located a luxurious hotel affiliated with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. When the hotel manager recognized Yang Xiong's identity as a sect disciple, he immediately arranged the most expensive top-floor suite without hesitation, even refusing to accept any payment.
Yang Xiong found himself momentarily speechless at this treatment. It seemed he was constantly enjoying the privileged status that came with being a sect noble. No wonder sect disciples developed such strong feelings of belonging to their organizations. This level of thoughtful, preferential service was genuinely addictive.
Yang Xiong spent time meditating alone in his hotel suite. Around seven o'clock in the evening, he ventured out alone toward his primary destination - the Heaven Dou City Great Spirit Fighting Arena, which represented the largest and most prestigious fighting venue in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
The massive Great Spirit Fighting Arena covered an extraordinarily large area and was divided into more than a dozen individual fighting rings. The total audience capacity was estimated to exceed 100,000 spectators, making it one of the most luxurious and famous architectural landmarks in all of Heaven Dou City.
After Yang Xiong entered the Great Spirit Fighting Arena, he carefully studied the complex rules and regulations governing arena combat before preparing to register as a participant.
All participants in the Spirit Fighting Arena received a distinctive medal upon registration. The level of each medal was determined by the quality of the minerals used in its construction. The lowest rank was the Iron Badge, designating an Iron Spirit Fighter. The ascending levels included Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond, representing eight distinct ranking tiers.
All new participants began with the Iron Spirit Fighter badge. Advancing from Iron Spirit Fighter to Copper Spirit Fighter required accumulating exactly 100 points. Each victory in combat earned one point, but losing a battle resulted in one point being deducted accordingly. If a fighter achieved a winning streak exceeding five consecutive victories, each additional consecutive win would directly increase points by ten. If the winning streak extended beyond ten games, each subsequent victory would add one hundred points. Even after earning enough points to reach Copper Spirit Fighter status and successfully advancing, if total points fell below one hundred, the Copper Spirit Fighter qualification would be immediately revoked. Advancing from Copper Spirit Fighter to Silver Spirit Fighter required accumulating 1,000 points. In battles between Copper Spirit Fighters, each victory earned ten points, while each defeat also deducted ten points. The bonus ratios for consecutive victories remained identical to those of Iron Spirit Fighters.
In essence, achieving outstanding results in the Spirit Fighting Arena required maintaining consecutive victories. The longer the winning streak, the higher the point rewards became.
However, Spirit Masters continued growing stronger over time. When a fighter reached high-level Spirit Elder status, they might dominate the Spirit Elder division completely, but upon advancing to the Spirit Grandmaster realm, low-level Spirit Grandmasters would immediately face opponents at levels forty-eight or forty-nine. The power gap between level forty-one and level forty-nine was absolutely enormous.
The Spirit Fighting Arena presented additional challenges because fighters encountered opponents with vastly different martial souls and elemental attributes. Some martial souls possessed natural advantages or disadvantages against others, significantly increasing the difficulty of maintaining winning streaks.
For example, a power-type Spirit Master might prove invincible in terms of raw strength within their level range, but when facing a Spirit Master with significantly superior speed, they could easily find themselves at a severe disadvantage.
Most Spirit Masters possessed certain natural biases in their development. Regarding speed, strength, flexibility, and defense capabilities, very few individuals achieved comprehensive excellence across all aspects.
Even greater differences emerged from the fundamental variations between different martial souls. Top-quality beast martial souls and weapon martial souls exercised natural suppressive effects over ordinary Spirit Masters. For instance, members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family generally dominated most beast soul Spirit Masters during combat encounters.
Additionally, the Spirit Fighting Arena categorized battles into Betting Fights, Gambling Fights, and Death Fights. The levels of violence and cruelty varied significantly between these different combat types. The number of participants was divided into one-on-one duels, two-on-two partnerships, and group battles, each with their own distinct characteristics and strategies.
Yang Xiong approached the registration office directly to sign up for participation. The service staff quickly provided Yang Xiong with a comprehensive form requesting information including name, spirit power level, place of birth, and martial soul details. After completing all necessary information, Yang Xiong held an Iron Spirit Fighter badge in his hand. The badge even featured a corresponding identification number that connected to each participant's personal information.
Importantly, all Spirit Fighter badge holders did not reveal their real names during arena combat, instead adopting fighting nicknames. Only the Spirit Fighting Arena administration maintained records connecting nicknames to actual participant identities.
Yang Xiong didn't hesitate and directly chose the nickname "World Hegemon." Although he intended to practice discretely during his time in this Douluo World, he still maintained certain ambitious goals for his future.
Yang Xiong's chosen nickname was quickly engraved onto his Iron Spirit Fighter badge, completing the entire registration process.
Yang Xiong immediately signed up for a Betting Fight and waited patiently for his first Spirit Master competition to begin.
After waiting a full thirty minutes, Yang Xiong's turn to participate in spirit combat finally arrived. Yang Xiong selected a silver mask to conceal his identity, placed it over his face, and walked toward the designated fighting ring following the staff's guidance.
This represented Yang Xiong's first participation in competitive spirit fighting, and he felt genuinely nervous about the experience. Although he had visited the Spirit Fighting Arena before, those occasions had been as a spectator alongside his parents. Actually preparing to enter combat created a completely different emotional experience.
Yang Xiong's nervousness increased as he approached the actual fighting ring. The entire arena measured forty meters in both length and width, providing sufficient space for ordinary Spirit Grandmasters to demonstrate their full combat capabilities. This represented the standard Spirit Grandmaster-level fighting ring dimensions.
The surrounding crowd of countless spectators created a deafening cacophony of shouting and cheering, causing Yang Xiong's heart to race with anticipation and anxiety.
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