Before the Soul Master Tournament was established, the gap between students from the continent's various academies had actually been very small.
Back then, an academy's strength was judged by the theories it published and how often it "showed its face" on the continent. The so-called established academies were simply those that had been around longer and published more soul master theories.
But with the arrival of the Soul Master Tournament, the gap had grown increasingly apparent.
The established academies had built up enough of a reputation to enjoy a natural advantage in recruitment, allowing them to select more gifted prodigies.
The ordinary advanced soul master academies, meanwhile, could only accept the students left over after that selection.
At first, there had still been some prodigies among those rejected applicants. They had only been eliminated because their martial soul attributes did not suit the established academies.
Thus, when the first Soul Master Tournament was held, there had actually been little difference in strength between the academies' battle teams. The established academies' teams had only stood out because they had accumulated more academic achievements and possessed a sufficiently rich stock of tactics.
With the conclusion of the first Soul Master Tournament, the entire system of advanced soul master academies across the continent had suffered a tremendous shock.
Only when the tide receded could one see who had been swimming naked!
Those advanced soul master academies with shallow foundations were ruled out by the truly gifted prodigies, leaving them to choose from mediocre students who had been sifted through again and again.
As this vicious cycle continued, the gap between the academies grew wider and wider.
The Heaven Dou Second Team's strength far surpassed that of the other battle teams. This had not happened in the previous two tournaments, but from now on,