Chapter 567: The Battle with Spirits Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio When Han Sen left the beast soul shop, he walked out with his desired Purple-Copper Ancient Sword and an additional Armored sacred-blood beast soul. They were both top-of-their-kind in the sacred-blood league, the ancient sword in particular. It was the best sacred-blood sword a person could get and being able to swap the berserk Inferno Bull for both of these was absolutely worth it. Han Sen was more than happy with the deal. Han Sen had even expected to make a loss when visiting these shops for a decent sword, having not expected to make such a decent trade. "Friend, how about we go and have dinner together? It would allow us to get to know each other." After he had left the shop, the curious man from earlier caught up with Han Sen and invited him out. "Sure," Han Sen agreed. If it wasn’t for this man, he may not have been able to make the exchange and get the sword. It was he who asked to trade initially, and if it wasn’t for his own interest, the merchant may not have seen the Inferno Bull and later settle for the bargain he did. Thanks to this man, Han Sen got the perfect deal and it was because of this that he did not wish to turn down the man’s invitation for dinner. The man brought Han Sen to a restaurant and quickly ordered two meals. Then, he began talking with Han Sen. The man’s name was Zhang Xiang and he said he was the organizer of an arena designed for the combat of pets and spirits. He gave Han Sen his contact details, telling him that if he ever had a pet or spirit he fancied putting in the arena for battle, all he had to do was call. "You sell tickets?" Han Sen asked, confused. Zhang Xiang smiled and said, "Sort of, but we mainly trade in the physical transaction of pets and spirits, with some gambling on the side." Han Sen’s curiosity was piqued, as Zhang Xiang sold the idea. As little as he made it sound, however, Han Sen knew it was the ’side gambling’ that made the big money. "If you have the time, you can come with me to play. There is a challenge arena, and if your pet or beast soul can overcome the trials, you’ll get a lot of money and fame. Any fights following that will only increase the money you could make," Zhang Xiang said. Han Sen was interested. He wanted to take a look at the Second Shelter’s range of pets and spirits and learn what level they might be at. He knew he wouldn’t be lacking in spirits in the future, but if he wanted to sell them for a hefty price, he’d have to establish a relationship with this place first. Zhang Xiang brought Han Sen to his arena. It was much bigger than he had expected. It was quite shocking that the little arena Zhang Xiang was referring to was actually the arena for the entire Demon Shelter. It could easily seat 100,000 people. The arena was split into several different battlegrounds, with each hosting a number of assorted pets and spirits battling it out. They were mostly pets, though, with few spirits fighting at all. Even at this time, however, there were around 10,000 people watching. Han Sen then caught sight of Son of Heaven, sitting in the rafters. There was a number of beautiful women around him, watching the biggest battleground of the arena in the middle. Inside, spirits were fighting. These spirits were the only spirits in the arena fighting; the rest were just pets. Han Sen took a look and noticed that both of the spirits were male. One was a giant Cyclops, the other was a warrior clad in heavy armor. As impressive as they looked, they were only knight class spirits. "Why are there only knight class spirits fighting? Aren’t there any royal spirits?" Han Sen casually enquired. "You must be joking! Spirits are not that easy to come by. The higher-class spirit it is, the harder it is to recognize the owner, as well," Zhang Xiang explained. "The whole arena has only ever had one royal spirit, and it has never found an opponent for it go up against. Our arena put down a substantial bounty in search of another royal spirit that could do battle with it in the arena, and the winner of such a fight would earn for themselves a free sacred-blood beast soul. But we’ve still had not any takers "What kind of sacred-blood beast soul are you offering?" Han Sen was interested, for what reason would he decline a free sacred-blood beast soul? "Brother Han, are you suggesting that you have a royal spirit?" Zhang Xiang’s eyes sparkled. "Yes, I have one," Han Sen said. "What kind of spirit? Are you really looking to put yours to the test?" Zhang Xiang looked at Han Sen excitedly. "I would first have to see what manner of sacred-blood beast soul I’d be getting," Han Sen said. "It’s a four-winged thunderbird. It is a rare, flying and mountable beast soul." Hearing this, Han Sen quickly pulled out his beast soul booklet to take a look at what it was exactly. "Brother Han, can I take a look at your royal spirit first?" Zhang Xiang was rubbing his hands excitedly as he asked. "Of course." Han Sen then summoned Snow Charmer. Zhang Xiang looked at the Snow Charmer and then his eyes almost popped out as he screamed, "A royal female spirit!" Han Sen frowned his eyebrows. Fortunately, they were in a private room. If they hadn’t been, Zhang Xiang’s grating scream would have drawn the attention of everyone. "Brother Han, I knew from our first encounter that you are a very special person! I can’t believe you have such a beautiful royal female spirit in your possession. It is so very precious - are you ever going to sell it?" Zhang Xiang was nearly leaping with excitement, his eyes not leaving the Snow Charmer for one second. It was as if she had frozen his gaze upon her. "No." Han Sen had never thought spirits were suitable for trading as they were extremely intelligent. To him, it would be no better than human trafficking. Han Sen wasn’t lacking in money, either, so there was no reason for him to ever sell it. Zhang Xiang looked disappointed, but he still happily arranged the Snow Charmer’s challenge with much excitement. Shortly after two other spirits had ended their battle, the host drummed up excitement by saying, "Our Demon Arena is heating up, as we’re getting set to a host a battle between two royal spirits. It has been a long time coming, but our royal spirit demon has finally received a challenger!" From the audiences, noise and chatter quickly erupted. "Another royal spirit actually showed up?" "Is it true? Another?" "I wonder what kind of spirit it will be; I hope it’s a pretty woman. Man, that would be awesome!" "Hmm, look at the list of challengers. It’s listed right there as ’Snow Charmer’. That sounds like a woman to me. I’m not sure what she looks like exactly, but that doesn’t sound like another ugly cyclops!" "Right! Just by hearing the name I know that it will be a beautiful female royal." "Place your bets people - who do you think is going to win?" "Of course it will be the demon - just hearing the name you can tell which of them is the strongest!" ... 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 After Son of Heaven, who was sitting in the rafters, heard the speech by the host, his eyes looked strange. He said to himself, "A royal female spirit, huh? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. It’s impossible for it to beat my demon." The demon spirit belonged to Son of Heaven. The entire Demon Arena belonged to Son of Heaven, as well. Yet the demon spirit did not come from the Demon Shelter - it was something he had spent a great deal of money procuring. Its original name wasn’t ’demon’, either: this was just a title Son of Heaven had bestowed upon it to match the arena. Son of Heaven wasn’t worried that the demon spirit might lose, however. His demon was one of the top royal spirits one could possess, and he had equipped it with a few high-level beast souls. He refused to believe another spirit might ever possibly beat his own. But this was not just a fight between two spirits: it was a show of one’s power and wealth. After all, spirits could make use of beast souls, when they were provided them by the owner of the spirit. But Son of Heaven did not believe anyone had the talent to achieve victory over him.