Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Shadow Monarch

With their spirits adjusted, the Emperor Battle Team once again arrived at the Great Spirit Arena. To avoid drawing attention, Qin Ming intentionally had them arrive a little later than usual.

Upon entering the arena, the Emperor Battle Team followed Qin Ming's training plan and began preparing for their spirit battles.

Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling headed to the registration area for the two-on-two spirit battles. At this moment, there were many spirit master teams registering for the two-on-two battles, so the two had to wait a while before it was their turn to sign up.

Due to the fact that spirit battle badges were universal across arenas, Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling continued to use the name *Shadow Begonia* for their team.

After signing up, they walked towards the spectator area of the Great Spirit Arena. Since they had quite a bit of time before their match, they decided to watch some other battles in the meantime.

Once they arrived at the spectator area, the two found random seats and sat down. No sooner had they done so than Cheng Xiao spotted a familiar figure in the arena.

On the battle stage, with the assistance of Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, Xiao Wu had completely transformed into a war goddess. Already a three-ring Spirit Elder, she easily overwhelmed her opponents after receiving the amplification from Ning Rongrong. With her third spirit ability, Teleport, and her second spirit ability, Charm, it was nearly impossible for anyone to get close to her, let alone defeat her.

"What a powerful team," Ye Lingling noticed as well. She watched Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong effortlessly defeat their opponents and softly commented.

"Yes, very powerful," Cheng Xiao replied with a smile and a nod.

As the opponents were defeated, the host on the spirit stage announced the result of the match.

"Let's congratulate the Soft Bone Glazed team for defeating the Iron Duo and winning this two-on-two spirit battle! Let's give them a big round of applause!"

Instantly, thunderous applause and cheers erupted throughout the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena. Both Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were not only strong but also beautiful, which made their battles very enjoyable to watch. As a result, the audience's reaction was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

After watching a few more two-on-two spirit battles, which felt a bit boring compared to the earlier match, Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling returned to the Emperor Battle Team's exclusive rest area. Aside from the first match with the Soft Bone Glazed team that caused a sensation, the subsequent battles lacked excitement, so they decided to leave the spectator area.

After all, their own match was coming up in just two more rounds.

"Boss, that team from earlier was pretty strong, but their spirit power levels were a bit low," Yu Feng remarked to Yu Tianheng as Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling walked into the room. Upon seeing them enter, Yu Feng waved at them with a smile.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cheng Xiao asked as he casually sat down on the sofa.

"Want to know?" Yu Feng chuckled mischievously.

Cheng Xiao raised an eyebrow, then snapped his fingers. Instantly, several shadow soldiers emerged from the darkness, surrounding Yu Feng.

Seeing the shadow spirit beasts surrounding him, Yu Feng gulped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Uh, um…"

"Just kidding, don't be so nervous," Cheng Xiao said with a smile. With a thought, the shadow soldiers dissolved into black smoke and returned to the shadows.

Yu Feng let out a sigh of relief. "That joke wasn't funny at all. You almost scared me to death!"

After catching his breath, Yu Feng cleared his throat and said, "Oslo and I participated in a two-on-two spirit battle and encountered a female spirit master with a martial spirit of the Hell Spirit Cat. She didn't look very old, but let me tell you, her figure… just wow."

Cheng Xiao facepalmed. "Focus on the important stuff."

"Uh, well, there's not much more to say. I was just telling the boss about how this young spirit master had an incredible figure," Yu Feng scratched his head awkwardly. Cheng Xiao shook his head, thinking to himself, 'So all that talk was just about Zhu Zhuqing's figure, huh?'

"Alright, Yu Feng, don't drag me into this nonsense," Yu Tianheng quickly cut in, trying to distance himself from Yu Feng's comments. He then smiled at Cheng Xiao. "Your match with Lingling should be coming up soon."

"Yeah, we should rest a bit more. It'll be our turn soon," Cheng Xiao said calmly after roughly calculating the time in his head.

...

Ten minutes later, at the spirit arena of the sixth division for two-on-two battles.

Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling's team had drawn quite a bit of attention. The Emperor Battle Team, except for their instructor Qin Ming, sat in the spectator seats, watching closely.

Of course, this match wasn't just of interest to the Emperor Battle Team; the Shrek team was also paying attention.

"In the sixth division for two-on-two spirit battles, the seventeenth match is about to begin! Now, let's welcome the Shadow Begonia team and the Blue Silver White Tiger team!"

"Shadow Begonia?" Upon hearing this name, the Grandmaster in the audience frowned. For some reason, hearing this team name made him feel uneasy.

As the host announced the names of the two teams, Tang San and Dai Mubai walked onto the spirit battle stage.

However, as soon as they stepped onto the stage, they froze. Their opponents were none other than Cheng Xiao and Ye Lingling, the very two people who had beaten them badly not long ago.

As the saying goes, "Enemies often cross paths," and seeing Cheng Xiao again made Dai Mubai's eyes burn with fury. He rubbed his eyes, confirming that this was indeed the youth who had humiliated him, and said through gritted teeth, "Well, well, isn't this a small world?"

"Small world? Are we even enemies?" Cheng Xiao retorted.

"Sharp-tongued as ever. This time, I will wash away the shame of our last encounter," Dai Mubai growled, his eyes flashing with killing intent as his fists clenched tightly, the bones cracking under the pressure.

"Don't get careless, Boss," Tang San whispered a warning. As he spoke, his eyes began to glow faintly with a purple hue.

"It seems there's some tension between the Shadow Begonia and Blue Silver White Tiger teams, but soon they will settle it on the battlefield!"

"Two-on-two spirit battle, seventeenth match, Shadow Begonia versus Blue Silver White Tiger! Both teams, release your martial spirits. Let the battle begin!"

Sensing the rising tension between the two teams, the host wasted no time, announcing the start of the match. The audience's excitement reached a fever pitch. There was nothing they loved more than a match where both sides had a grudge to settle.

"Now, I'll show you what it means to be the true Evil-Eyed White Tiger." Dai Mubai's eyes locked onto Cheng Xiao as three spirit rings rose from beneath his feet.

Seeing this, Tang San immediately released his martial spirit as well. However, his target wasn't Cheng Xiao—it was Ye Lingling standing behind him.

Tang San believed that if they could take down Ye Lingling, a support-type spirit master, Cheng Xiao would be easy to deal with. He now knew Cheng Xiao's true identity, and memories of his previous defeat flashed through his mind. But this time, Tang San was determined to emerge victorious. He would crush Cheng Xiao and prove to everyone that his master was no failure.

Taking a deep breath, Tang San's gaze became resolute as he whispered to himself, "Master, today, I will show everyone that you are not a failure."