The Curtain Rises

After parting ways with the Heaven Dou Battle Team, the atmosphere in the group finally livened up a little.

Being around peers more outstanding than themselves really put too much pressure on them.

Sure enough, as soon as they separated, Wen Tingyu immediately stepped forward and leaned in beside Luo Yun.

"Captain, what's your Fourth Soul Skill? Let us have a look."

When the others heard that, they all stopped as well and looked at Luo Yun. Naturally, he had no intention of hiding it from his teammates and teachers. They would find out sooner or later anyway.

"Martial Soul Possession. Fourth Soul Skill, Star Light Bodyguard."

A thin layer of starlight seemed to cover the surface of Luo Yun's body.

The dean had Xiong Lie try using his First Soul Skill to spray flames at him, but it could not harm Luo Yun in the slightest.

"My Fourth Soul Skill is called Star Light Bodyguard. It can greatly increase my speed and defense.

"My Third Soul Skill has also been strengthened, and it adds resistance to certain special states."

Praise poured from everyone's mouths as if it cost nothing. The effect of this Fourth Soul Skill was way too good.

Though they did not know what soul skill Wu Xing had obtained, it most likely could not compare to this. Xu Mingxi was also very happy for Brother Yun.

"Mingxi, use your First Soul Skill on me and let me try."

Starlight fell. Luo Yun felt that his speed had become even faster. His second and fourth soul rings lit up at the same time, and his figure kept flashing and shifting through the forest.

That speed shocked even Coach Yan Feng. Luo Yun was already almost catching up to him, an agility-attack Soul King.

Yun Ni, watching from the side, went numb. She was an agility-attack soul master, so how was her speed inferior to an assault-type soul master's?

She could only comfort herself with the gap in Soul Power. Otherwise, she really would not be able to eat.

Wen Tingyu also demonstrated her Fourth Soul Skill, Diamond Armor, which could cover her body in a layer of armor and greatly strengthen her defense.

Among Canghui Academy's team now, aside from Luo Yun and Wen Tingyu, the ones with the highest Soul Power were Xu Mingxi and Ye Zhiqiu at level 36. The remaining four were all level 35.

And with less than half a year left before the Soul Master Competition began, under normal circumstances, it was impossible for anyone else to reach level 40.

Everyone returned to the academy and continuously adjusted their condition. Canghui Academy also opened up its resource supply, determined to raise the students' strength a little further.

In this Soul Master Competition, Canghui Academy had finally managed to produce two Soul Ancestors, and they also wanted to taste what it felt like to become famous across the continent.

No miracle occurred. Over these four or five months, even with the academy's resource supply, they each only increased by one level on average.

Luo Yun, as the captain, was even still level 41, without the slightest increase in Soul Power.

The Soul Master Competition was divided into three parts: the regional Preliminary Round, the Advancement Round, and the finals.

Although Canghui Academy bordered the Star Luo Kingdom, it still belonged directly under the Heaven Dou Empire, so its Preliminary Round was part of the Heaven Dou City division.

To guard against any accidents, Dean Wen brought two more substitute members to meet everyone.

They were both level 31 Soul Elders. One was a boy with the Fire Wolf martial soul, and the other was a girl with the Clear Spirit Bird martial soul.

They knew they were not familiar with this team, so they quietly sat to the side.

Zhou Lingling, that terrifying social butterfly, was the one who instead took the initiative to go over and strike up a conversation.

Before long, everyone grew used to their presence.

The Soul Master Competition was about to begin, and Dean Wen repeatedly exhorted everyone, going over the competition rules who knew how many times.

"Dean, please stop. It's time to set off. If you keep talking, we're going to be late."

"Fine, fine, fine. I won't say any more. Everyone, set out."

Sitting in the luxurious carriage, Xu Mingxi lifted the curtain and looked at the open fields outside the window, filled with anticipation for the coming Soul Master Competition.

After only a few days, Xu Mingxi felt that his anticipation had been fulfilled.

He had grown up in the mountains since childhood, and afterward he had gone only to remote small towns. Even though he had entered Star Luo Royal Capital before, that place simply could not compare with Heaven Dou Imperial Capital.

Compared to the gaudy nightlife of his previous life, the construction of Heaven Dou Imperial Capital gave Xu Mingxi the feeling of a majestic presence rushing straight at him.

At least Xu Mingxi had seen the world in his previous life. The others were even worse, like country bumpkins entering the city, touching this and looking at that one by one.

"All right, children. Let's go rest first. Tonight, you can take a proper stroll."

Heaven Dou City had prepared rest areas for all participating teams. Dean Wen, familiar with the place, led everyone to the hotel to put down their luggage.

The nine-person squad scattered in a rush, leaving the hotel in groups of two and three. They intended to properly explore Heaven Dou City.

Xu Mingxi went with Luo Yun. It was the first time either of them had come to Heaven Dou City, so they casually picked a direction.

Night gradually fell. At night, Heaven Dou City glittered with lights, and pedestrians and vendors streamed past without end.

In addition, with the Soul Master Competition about to open, people from all over had gathered in the city, making it exceptionally lively.

Xu Mingxi still had piles of Gold Soul Coins left unspent in his Storage Soul Tool. Today, he was determined to be properly extravagant.

"Brother Yun, there's way too much good food in Heaven Dou City."

"Yeah, yeah. It's really delicious."

Xu Mingxi, who had no real hobbies and simply loved eating, held a charcoal-grilled Ten-Year Squid in his left hand and a Hundred-Year Pink Pig rib in his right.

He ate with great relish, his mouth shiny with oil. Though he did not know whether the merchants were using false advertising, as long as it tasted good, that was enough.

Although Luo Yun had eaten plenty of good things growing up, he had always had the King and Queen keeping an eye on him, so he truly had never eaten food from little street stalls like these. Right now, the way he ate was not one bit better than Xu Mingxi.

"You two, the food in Heaven Dou City is pretty good, isn't it?"

Huh, that voice sounded a little familiar. The two turned their heads and saw an old acquaintance.

"Ye Chenxing, why are you here?"

"My home is in Heaven Dou City. Why do you think I'm here?"

Only then did Xu Mingxi notice that beside Ye Chenxing stood a middle-aged man whose temples were already a little gray.

Seeing their confusion, Ye Chenxing took the initiative to introduce him.

"This is my father, Ye Renxin."

"So it's Senior Ye Renxin. Junior Luo Yun/Xu Mingxi greets Senior."

"Good, good, good. Seeing children like you makes me feel much younger."

Ye Renxin had also heard his son mention Xu Mingxi before, so he had some impression of him.

"You're in Heaven Dou City to take part in the Soul Master Competition, aren't you? If you have time, you can come visit my Ye Residence."

Xu Mingxi and Luo Yun quickly agreed. Ye Renxin was already a renowned physician across the continent now.

Once he obtained his Eighth Soul Ring, his healing ability would be unmatched by anyone.

Building a good relationship with an outstanding doctor brought every benefit and no harm at all. The two of them naturally understood that principle.

While everyone from Canghui Academy was still strolling through the city, their information had already been placed on the desks of the various academies.

Although Canghui Academy was not especially strong, it was not weak either. Its results in past years had almost always belonged to the second tier just below the Five Element Academies.

In the year Dean Wen and the others achieved their best results, they had even nearly made it into the Advancement Round.

A team like this would naturally draw the attention of the major academies, not to mention that this year they also had two Soul Ancestors.

But likewise, the other academies' information had also been placed on Canghui Academy's desk.

The smile Dean Wen had worn yesterday had already vanished, replaced by an extremely unpleasant expression.

He gathered everyone into a room and handed each of them a copy of the information.

"You had your fun yesterday. Today, it's time to focus. This is the information on your opponents. Take a look."

Seeing the dean's expression look so terrible, everyone's heart gave a thump. Could it be that their opponents this time were terrifying?

Xu Mingxi opened to the first page, and written there was the team information for Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Six Soul Ancestors? Xue Xiang and Shi Lin had become Soul Ancestors too?

Xu Mingxi paid no attention to the other teams and turned directly to their opponent in the first match.

Oslo Academy, captain Gu Ling, level 44 assault-type battle Soul Ancestor, martial soul Lion Tiger.

This was not the era of Tang San's generation, when the fortune of Douluo Continent surged and geniuses emerged one after another.

Feng Xiaotian, Shui Bing'er, Huo Wu, and even Hu Yanli—every one of them had the potential to reach the level of a Titled Douluo.

In past years, aside from Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Five Element Academies, any other academy that could produce even one Soul Ancestor would already be considered extremely outstanding.

Unexpectedly, in this year's competition, even Oslo Academy, a little-known academy, had produced a Soul Ancestor.

"Don't tell me my arrival caused another surge of geniuses to appear."

Xu Mingxi could not help but wonder whether he was the one who had caused the current situation.

So many seeds with the potential to become Soul Douluos or Titled Douluos—why had not a single one of them appeared in the original work?

It couldn't be that Spirit Hall killed all these people later, right?