Hearing Qin Ming's words, Tang Yu thought to himself, The support-type soul masters will be directly selected, while the rest will compete in elimination matches based on strength. Those eliminated will still have a chance to issue challenges. This will give the students a sense of participation while minimizing the risk of strong students being unable to represent the academy.
The elimination matches may seem to involve luck, but in the end, strength will still decide everything.
"Heh, interesting." Tang Yu shook his head and smiled.
He stepped forward to draw his first-round appearance order and opponent.
The box in Qin Ming's hands contained 260 slips of paper, each marked with a number from 1 to 260.
If someone drew number 1, then their opponent would be the person who drew number 2.
Number 3 faced number 4, and so on.
Tang Yu unfolded the slip he had drawn. It bore the number 1.
He was a little surprised. "It's actually 1! Not bad. I like being first."
Tang Yu smiled and walked toward the Spirit Fighting Arena platform.
He did not care who his opponent was.
After all, there was a high chance that his first-round opponent would be someone he could flatten with a single hammer blow.
As long as one had 25 levels of Soul Power, one could sign up for the reserve team selection. Therefore, most contestants were two-ringed Soul Grandmasters, while fewer than a hundred were three-ringed Soul Elders.
After Tang Yu took the stage, no one paid attention to him. Quite a few students even looked baffled, thinking, Who is this guy? Do you know him?
However, when Tang Yu's opponent stepped onto the stage, the entire Spirit Fighting Arena instantly erupted.
"He's here! He's here! He's here! He's here!!"
"Who is that? He's so popular?" Tang Yu looked at the person walking toward him from across the stage, feeling resigned about his luck. "Good lord, it's him... My luck today is really something. First I drew number 1, and now I've run into the strongest student in the whole academy."
"Oh, no. He should be the former strongest student in the academy now."
The Heavenly Micro Level students outside the arena cried excitedly, "It's him! One of the Twin Stars of the Upper Three Sects' Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the strongest student of our Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Yu... Yu Tianheng!!"
"Ahhh~ Senior Tianheng is so handsome!"
A group of female students screamed excitedly.
"This kid is really unlucky! He ran into our academy's strongest, Yu Tianheng, in the first round. But who is he!? Do any of you know him?"
"Nope. I've never even seen him before. He's probably some nobody without any strength, just a nameless extra here to make up the numbers. No need to care about him."
Dugu Yan also shook her head helplessly. "Tang Yu's luck is terrible! He actually got Yu Tianheng. He'd better just surrender. If he doesn't, he's going to have a miserable time."
At that moment, amid cheers and screams, Yu Tianheng stood before Tang Yu with an insufferably smug look on his face.
There was no doubt that with Yu Tianheng's strength, talent, and background, he possessed unrivaled pride and confidence within the academy.
He lifted his chin arrogantly, unable to conceal the contempt and disdain in his eyes. "Hey, just surrender. I can't even be bothered to make a move against a nobody like you."
"A nobody? Heh, no one in Heaven Dou Academy may know me yet, but after this battle, I'm afraid I'll become famous in one fight." Tang Yu smiled faintly.
"Become famous in one fight? What do you mean by that?" Yu Tianheng was stunned. With interest, he asked, "Do you know who I am?"
Yu Tianheng knew every strong student in the academy. He had never seen someone like Tang Yu among the Heaven Dou Level students, and in his eyes, Tang Yu was merely some insignificant Heavenly Ultimate Level nobody.
Tang Yu said, "Of course I know."
Yu Tianheng assumed the bearing of a superior. "If you know who I am, why don't you avoid my edge?"
"..." Tang Yu was somewhat speechless.
You haven't even reached Soul Ancestor yet. What is there to avoid?
He said, "Because I'm not afraid."
"Not afraid? Hahaha, what a bold claim!" Yu Tianheng laughed, his face full of conceit. "So, don't tell me you're delusional enough to think you can beat me?"
"No, I just don't want to lose." Tang Yu shrugged.
"Uh... hahaha!" Yu Tianheng laughed, still somewhat restrained.
But after hearing their exchange, the students around the arena could no longer hold back their ridicule. "Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hey, hey, hey! Did I hear that right? Who is this guy!? He's so arrogant! A nobody that barely anyone in the academy even knows, and not only does he refuse to surrender, he actually thinks he can beat Senior Tianheng!? Hahaha, that's hilarious!"
"Hey! Do you even know who's standing across from you!?"
"That's Yu Tianheng, one of the Twin Stars of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! He possesses the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, known as the continent's First Beast Martial Soul, and he's the strongest student of our Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
"A nobody like you should stop asking for trouble. Just surrender now. Otherwise, Senior Tianheng will one-shot you with one move, and you'll be utterly humiliated. Hahaha!"
The corners of Yu Tianheng's mouth rose. "I'll give you one last chance. Surrender. My Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul is extremely domineering. If you fight me, you'll definitely be injured."
The students outside the arena also began shouting, "Hey! Did you hear that? Senior Tianheng is giving you a chance! Why aren't you surrendering already!? You aren't even qualified to fight Senior Tianheng! Do you understand?"
"You still want to beat Senior Tianheng? Keep dreaming!"
"You're so noisy. Can you all just shut up?" Tang Yu said, exasperated.
"Hahaha! Who do you think you are!? You tell us to shut up, and we're supposed to shut up?"
"Can you shut up now?"
Bang!
Tang Yu directly released his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, and three soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple—rose beneath his feet.
In an instant, every student who had been shouting fell silent.
The next second, the entire arena erupted even more fiercely.
"A three-ringed Soul Elder! He's a Heaven Dou Level student!"
"Wait! Look at that Martial Soul... it's the Clear Sky Hammer! This is the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul!"
"Tian Na! He's from the Clear Sky Sect!!"
The entire venue was stunned.
"What! The Clear Sky Hammer!"
Qian Renxue and the three Soul Douluo chairmen immediately rose to their feet.
Yu Tianheng was equally shocked.
The students outside the arena who had been shouting moments ago were instantly scared, now timid and submissive.
Some even apologized on the spot. "S-s-sorry! We were talking too loudly! Big brother, big brother! Please don't be angry! Don't take it to heart!"
"Heh, this truly is a world where the strong are respected." Seeing that the students who had been taunting him no longer dared to act arrogantly, Tang Yu could not help shaking his head.
Naturally, he did not care about the opinions of others. He was merely lamenting the importance of strength.
Yu Tianheng finally put away his contempt. "You're actually from the Clear Sky Sect, and you possess the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul? Interesting. You're qualified to be my opponent now."
He even began to grow excited, a competitive expression appearing on his face. "I really want to see whether your Clear Sky Hammer, known as the Number One Weapon Martial Soul Under Heaven, is stronger!"
"Or whether my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, known as the First Beast Martial Soul, is stronger!"
"Come, fight!"
"Heaven Dou Academy Student Yu Tianheng, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, level 38 Assault System Battle Soul Elder. Please enlighten me!"
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