The Finals, Begin

The distance from the Star Dou Great Forest to Spirit City is shorter than the distance from the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire. This is not only because the Star Dou Great Forest is located between the two empires, but also because one can quickly reach Spirit City by passing through the center of the forest in a straight line.

Crimson Kite set off three days ago, a full three days earlier than the fifteen teams from the Heaven Dou Empire. This was partly to familiarize herself with her own strength on the way, and partly to thoroughly understand the rules of the competition.

Aside from the preliminary rounds and qualifying rounds, the rules for the finals are much simpler. It is mainly a knockout tournament with matches drawn by lot. With the addition of the fifteen teams from the Star Luo Empire, the competition for a total of thirty-three teams has not even reached half of the preliminary rounds.

This demonstrates its strictness; once someone is eliminated, they are eliminated, with no room for negotiation.

In the first round, the three seeded teams will compete against each other, and the 15 winning teams will advance to the next round.

In the second round, including the three seeded teams, there are a total of eighteen teams. Among the remaining teams, the two teams ranked higher in the qualifying round will receive a bye, and the remaining sixteen teams will compete to determine eight teams to enter the third round.

In the third round, only the final ten teams remain. The two teams ranked higher in the ranking tournament will receive a bye, and teams that have already received a bye will not receive a second bye.

After the third round, there will be six teams remaining, which will be the final six teams in the tournament. At this point, there will be no more teams receiving byes.

In the fourth round, the six teams will be drawn and compete against each other to determine the final top three. To ensure fairness, the final ranking of the top three teams will be determined through a combination of team battles and individual elimination battles.

In each round of the competition, one team will receive a bye until the final three teams are determined.

First, there will be an individual elimination tournament, similar to a qualifying round. The three teams will compete in a challenge format, with each side sending out eight members who will take turns on stage. The loser will be eliminated, and the winner will continue to face the next opponent.

The winning college will advance directly after all students from the other two colleges are eliminated. The other two colleges will then compete in a team battle to determine the other advancing team, which will then face the team that advanced through the individual elimination rounds in the final team battle.

The competition format is very complex, but it all comes down to skill. As long as you can persevere to the end, everything else is secondary.

Crimson Kite was currently traversing the Star Dou Great Forest, each step a fleeting moment, each moment leaving a trail of afterimages, the trails of which lingered for as long as five seconds, and her speed had undergone a tremendous change.

Scream! Scream! Scream!

The leaves rustled slightly, but there was no sign of anyone. Only a few flashes of crimson appeared, drawing a red line between the two points.

One, two, three...

As Crimson Kite passed through the trees, she herself underwent a transformation. Her white hair turned grayish-white, her crimson eyes became sky blue, and her crimson Phoenix were completely replaced with simple casual clothes.

A pure white inner shirt, a dark leather jacket, and equally dark fitted shorts. Black stockings reached just to the middle of her thighs, creating a subtle distance between them and the fitted shorts, revealing her fair skin and sparking the imagination.

Her long, gray hair became slightly disheveled as she ran, and her delicate face was meticulous and focused, as if only the word "forward" existed in her eyes.

She used the Flash Step, Dust-Wiping Steps, and Vermilion Bird Treading Clouds alternately, her feet treading on mysterious paths, her movements light and elusive, making it impossible to see Fu Hua's figure clearly in the jungle.

She didn't go directly through the center of the Star Dou Great Forest, but instead circled around the outer edge of the central area. Although this increased the time spent traveling, it would allow Fu Hua to further enhance her control over her power.

A week has passed since Fu Hua reached level 60 in Soul Power. During this time, she has been dedicated to refining her Soul Power and gaining more control over her strength.

If she could withstand a low-level Titled Douluo a month ago, now, with just her Inch Heart Fist Style, she can at least contend with a mid-level Titled Douluo.

Her strength has improved by more than just a little; it's a leap across levels. Unfortunately, her Soul Power has become too weak due to the rapid advancement, which is what's giving Fu Hua a headache.

At this moment, she was refining her Divine Body, and she could not afford to make the slightest mistake. Her divine soul was also just one step away from condensing into True God, but it was this slight difference that stopped Fu Hua from making any progress and prevented her from getting to the point.

Perhaps only a real battle can provide an opportunity, but the Divine Body is another formidable obstacle.

The fact that the divine soul and Divine Body cannot evolve simultaneously is a regret; otherwise, she might have directly confronted the Pope of the Spirit Hall.

At this point, we can only settle for second best and look for a breakthrough in the competition. Never underestimate low-level battles. Precisely because of their weakness, they can only win by using their intelligence. The variations in these battles are endless.

The opportunities she can sense are definitely significant; she just hopes that the genius Soul Master participating in this year's competition won't disappoint her!

The journey continued as usual, and it took Fu Hua three whole days to traverse the entire Star Dou Great Forest. During this time, she also fought with the Soul Beast along the way, but she did not kill them, treating it all as a kind of training for herself.

The three days were spent fighting and traveling, which made up for the time difference in departure with the participants of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

On the fourth day, Fu Hua finally set off on the official road. He bought some daily necessities and food in a small city, and also bought a fine horse. The man and the horse then embarked on the road to Spirit City.

This time, the speed was not fast, because according to Jingwei, the distance from Heaven Dou City to the Spirit Hall was a thousand kilometers, and with a large group of more than a thousand people, the travel speed would naturally not be fast.

It would take about fifteen days to reach Spirit City, so Fu Hua wasn't in a hurry.

After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Fu Hua arrived in the territory of the Star Luo Empire. Merchants were still coming and going on the official road, but there weren't many pedestrians. They were all talking about the aftermath of the Soul Master Elite Tournament.

Aside from the Star Luo Empire Royal Team, other academies of all sizes were also mentioned, but none were as dazzling as the Star Luo Royal Team. After all, in this competition, only this team could truly make it into the top eight!

They wouldn't even think about the top three; the Spirit Hall has always won those spots, and this year will likely be no different.

Simply discussing some future possibilities has become a source of amusement for them during their leisure time.

As things continued this way, Fu Hua's nerves, which had been tense recently, relaxed a lot. As the saying goes, work and rest should be balanced, but she had indeed been too tense lately.

First came the Spirit Hall, then the Titled Douluo chasing after her, and then there was that heavy matter weighing on her heart.

Everything felt like a huge boulder pressing down on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe. She had thought that she could suppress these things through continuous cultivation, but the shock of that incident was still too intense.

She was going to this competition partly to keep her promise to Dean Flanders, and partly to see if that person was really the mastermind behind everything.

Sitting upright on the back of a fine horse, its hooves trotting gently as it slowly made its way toward the end of everything, Fu Hua eyes were not as serene as they appeared on the surface.

"Hopefully, I'm just overthinking it! Giddy up!"

Fu Hua spurred her horse forward, increasing her speed dramatically. Along the way, she saw the participating teams from the Star Luo Empire, but to avoid trouble before the competition, she did not travel with them and instead took a side road.

The path was rugged and difficult for even a fine horse to traverse, so they had to dismount and lead the horse forward. When the cliffs were steep, Fu Hua had to lift the horse up until they reached a relatively flat area.

The journey took a lot of time, and with the finals just around the corner, Fu Hua still hadn't arrived.

Dean Flanders, located in Spirit City, felt anxious. Even Jingwei, who was originally Jingwei and composed, was infected by the tense atmosphere of Shrek and appeared somewhat uneasy.

But he remained convinced that Fu Hua would arrive at the last moment.

"Teacher" Tang San looked at Master with concern.

When they set off for Spirit City, Master also disappeared without a trace, and he did not reappear until they arrived at Spirit City.

After three days of rest, the finals are about to begin, but Fu Hua has still not returned to the team. As a core member of the Shrek Team, Tang San can't help but feel worried.

The Master's serious face also changed, and a trace of worry appeared in his eyes.

"Regardless, you all need to adjust your mindset. Fu Hua's name will be on the list of participating team members. If that happens..." The Master hesitated.

"No, let Jingwei do it," Flender said.

This was mentioned during the qualifying rounds, but unfortunately there was no opportunity to do so during those rounds. However, bringing it up now has received unanimous approval.

"That's the only way, but Jingwei will need to do some more disguises," the Master nodded.

The curve of her chest was just too obvious.

"Don't worry, Lord Crimson Kite will definitely come this time. She might just be delayed by her cultivation along the way," Jingwei said.

The Master nodded; they could only hope she would arrive as soon as possible.

Aside from Fu Hua, the next step is to plan for the finals.

The finals are different from the preliminary rounds and qualifying rounds. At this point, all colleges are showing their true colors. If they are still holding back, they may very well suffer an unexpected defeat.

Shrek Academy is no exception. Despite their impressive strength, they are not the strongest academy on the entire continent, especially the Spirit Hall team.

Among them, three are Soul Master above level 50, and none of them are more than 25 years old. Their genius is self-evident. All three are core disciples cultivated by the Spirit Hall.

It is said that the prize for the champion of this competition is three precious Spirit Bone, which were specially prepared for them.

However, variables are hard to prevent, and it is unknown who will ultimately win the prize.

For the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, Spirit City specially set up a venue. This venue is located in the center of Spirit City, and the huge arena is a hundred meters in diameter and is made entirely of granite.

This enormous arena is reinforced with a large number of Soul Tool to prevent damage. According to information provided by the Spirit Hall, this arena is strong enough to withstand any attack from Soul Master below the Soul Emperor level without being damaged.

Only a wealthy and powerful organization like the Spirit Hall would do something like this! At least the two great empires wouldn't be willing to expend such enormous resources.

Directly in front of this arena is the Pope's Palace, which is less than a kilometer away from the hill where the Pope's Palace is located. The Spirit Hall has announced in its notice that the final three of the finals will compete in the Pope's Palace.

The Pope will appear in person and crown the final champion.

Early in the morning, all the participating academies arrived at the competition venue under the guidance of the Spirit Hall's special personnel. Each academy had its own rest area, which was built around the competition venue. On the side opposite the Pope's Palace was the VIP judging panel, where people representing the two great empires watched the game. Of course, there were also people from the Spirit Hall.

Upon arriving here, before he could even settle in, Flender was summoned to draw lots.

The result was a mixed bag! Shrek Academy's first-round opponent turned out to be an old rival.

Blazing Fire Academy

However, Blazing Fire Academy has already announced its withdrawal, so it can be said that Shrek has directly entered the top ten.

This relieved Flender and his group, as they could wait two more days.

Where is Fu Hua at this time?

P. S.: Let's cause trouble! Let's cause trouble! Let's cause trouble! We just want to cause trouble!

PS1: Currently under update (9/10)