Dugu Bo

The draw for the first round of Soul Master battles concluded quickly. On Spirit Hall's side, Bibi Dong was matched against a Soul Ancestor from the Heaven Dou Empire, while the first match on the Soul Emperor-level arena would be Tang Xiao against a Soul Emperor from the Star Luo Empire.

Di Hong was not participating in any battles, so he simply sat and watched, taking the opportunity to gauge everyone else's strength.

Aside from Bibi Dong's and Tang Xiao's matches, he had no interest in the others. The other Soul Masters' Soul Power Levels were simply too low, making their battles meaningless to watch. As for why he was paying attention to Bibi Dong's match—

The reason was simple. She was the future great villain, after all—a major character.

Watching Tang Xiao was also a way to gauge Tang Hao's strength, since Tang Hao had been taught by Tang Xiao.

In his eyes, neither battle held any suspense. Bibi Dong faced a Level 49 Soul Ancestor, while Tang Xiao faced a Level 68 Soul Emperor. Tang Xiao was already Level 70, and with his own strength, defeating his opponent would be effortless. After all, he was the future Howling Heaven Douluo and Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect. There probably were not many people at the same level who could defeat him.

Bibi Dong possessed Twin Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power, and Top-grade Martial Souls. Combined with Spirit Hall's training, her strength was naturally not to be underestimated.

The two matches drew most of the attention. One was the son of the Sect Master of the number one sect in the World, while the other was the disciple of Spirit Hall's Pope. Those two identities alone were enough to attract the eyes of most people.

Both battles were spectacular, especially Tang Xiao's on the central Soul Arena. Sand and stones flew everywhere across the arena, while lightning flashed through the air.

The Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Xiao's hand whirled with overwhelming force, his momentum vast and majestic as though he could level mountains and overturn seas. He completely suppressed his opponent. If he had not been worried about seriously injuring or outright killing the man by accident, the Soul Emperor from the Star Luo Empire fighting him would likely have been knocked straight off the Soul Arena already.

The Star Luo Empire's Soul Emperor used every trick he had, yet he could not turn the tide. Since this was merely the first official Soul Master Exchange Meet, the rewards were naturally generous. The rewards for Soul Emperors in particular made every Soul Master drool with envy.

That was because Spirit Hall had put up a Spirit Bone. Its age was not especially high, only twenty thousand years, but even a twenty-thousand-year Spirit Bone was enough to make people go wild. Of all the Soul Masters participating in this exchange meet, how many actually possessed Spirit Bones?

Di Hong had no interest in that Spirit Bone. The lowest-aged Spirit Bone on him was already forty thousand years old. There was no way he would absorb a twenty-thousand-year Spirit Bone. Besides, it was a left leg bone, which was utterly useless to him.

He already had a left leg bone.

While the battle onstage was still underway, Tang Yuehua arrived in the rest area. She had been watching the battles from the spectator stands earlier. Although the stands offered a clear view of every Soul Arena, they were still nowhere near as clear as the rest area or VIP seats.

There were many Soul Arenas, but they had been arranged well. The spectator stands were also divided by level—naturally, according to the level of the Soul Arena. Those who wanted to watch Soul Emperor-level battles could go to the Level 60 stands, so spectators would not have trouble deciding where to go.

Still, Di Hong could not quite understand it. Would this not be better off as a Soul Master Elite Competition? Look at the Soul Masters participating in these battles—there were all kinds of levels, even Soul Grandmasters. The academies in particular had some that had dragged in students who had graduated long ago. They were clearly aiming for the academy team battles.

Students at an advanced Soul Master Academy were generally in their thirties in level, yet suddenly a Spirit King in his fifties appeared—and that Spirit King looked nearly sixty years old. How were they supposed to compete with that? What academy had sixty-year-old students?

They were clearly exploiting a loophole. There had been no rules to begin with, yet they still found loopholes to exploit. There was not yet an All-Continent Soul Master Elite Competition, and it would probably be many years before one was held.

"This exchange meet may end in failure."

Although Tang Yuehua was not a Soul Master, she had noticed that this exchange meet had far too many loopholes, especially in its rules. Those rules might as well not have existed.

"That has nothing to do with us. This is Spirit Hall's affair. Even if it fails, Spirit Hall will be the one embarrassed. We're only participants."

Whether the exchange meet succeeded or failed was not worth a single Copper Soul Coin to him. All he needed to do now was handle his own affairs. Xue Ye had only one requirement for him: defeat Yin Xuan. Nothing else mattered.

In truth, he did not believe defeating Yin Xuan would completely defeat Second Prince Xue Yu. The Royal Family's internal strife was not something a single Soul Master could decide, unless that Soul Master was a Titled Douluo.

Tang Xiao's battle ended quickly, and the result was not particularly surprising. He defeated his opponent with ease.

After stepping down from the Soul Arena and returning to the rest area, Tang Xiao received a nod from Di Hong, a sign of recognition for his strength. Tang Xiao responded with a smile. Anyone with eyes could tell that he had not used his full strength in that battle, and the people around him lavished him with praise.

Xue Ye, seated in the VIP section, nodded in satisfaction as well. Whether the Clear Sky Sect was close to the Heaven Dou Empire or not, it was still within Heaven Dou territory. This victory brought honor to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Qian Xunji looked toward Tang Xiao in the rest area and could not help but ponder. The two disciples of the Clear Sky Sect were simply too outstanding, especially Tang Hao. Once the two of them matured, they would become two Titled Douluo in the future—exceptionally powerful Titled Douluo at that.

Yet he could not lay a hand on them. Spirit Hall could not bear Tang Chen's retaliation.

Tang Chen alone had allowed the Clear Sky Sect to stand almost on equal footing with Spirit Hall. The title of the number one sect in the World carried too much weight. Now, two more geniuses had appeared. Moreover, after observing Di Hong over the past few days, Qian Xunji had heard reports that Di Hong had an unusual relationship with the daughter of the Clear Sky Sect's Sect Master, one that might develop into a romantic one.

Furthermore, Crown Prince Xue Ye of Heaven Dou and Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, were both doing everything they could to bring the two together. If the empire joined hands with two of the Upper Three Sects, the threat to Spirit Hall would be far too great.

He was not overly concerned about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It was merely an auxiliary-type sect and could not stir up much trouble. Destroying them would be easy, since they had no Titled Douluo guarding them.

But the Clear Sky Sect was different. Its strength was too great, and Tang Chen was there to oversee it. If it sided with the Heaven Dou Empire, the balance of the continent could very well be shattered.

That was absolutely not something he wanted to see. Besides, Di Hong's talent was somewhat terrifying. At fourteen, he was nearly a Soul Saint. He would surely become a powerful Titled Douluo in the future.

On the Soul Arena, the people from Spirit Hall completed another draw.

"Soul Master Exchange Meet, central Soul Arena, second match: Dugu Bo of the Star Luo Empire versus Yue Guan of Spirit Hall."

Hearing a familiar name, Di Hong looked toward the Star Luo Empire's rest area. He had thought Dugu Bo was from the Heaven Dou Empire. So he was from Star Luo—no wonder Di Hong had never heard of his reputation.

A slender man in green robes slowly rose to his feet. He had long dark-green hair, and his emerald-like eyes showed not the slightest emotion. Yet a trace of melancholy lingered between his brows. No one sat beside him, and even some Soul Masters looked at him with a degree of fear.

Di Hong saw through the man's Soul Power at a glance. He was a Level 65 Soul Emperor.