Promotion Tournament Begins

Led by the knights, the Skywater Academy group soon arrived at a military camp.

"Everyone, this will be your lodging during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Promotion Tournament."

The knight leading them pointed at the camp as he spoke to Shui Wuchen and the others.

Shui Wuchen glanced in the direction the knight indicated and found the camp exceedingly rough and crude, far inferior to the accommodations arranged in Heaven Dou City.

Shui Wuchen did not mind. He could even stay atop a snowy mountain for months to cultivate Soul Power, but some people might not be able to accept it.

"Ah, we're staying here?"

Shui Yuer sounded somewhat dissatisfied.

"My apologies, but the conditions in a military camp naturally cannot compare to those outside."

The leading knight apologized slightly, then continued, "Also, the Promotion Tournament begins tomorrow. Please rest early today. We will return tomorrow to bring you to the designated venue for the battles."

With that, the knight quickly departed.

At that moment, Shui Bing'er glanced at Shui Yuer and smiled. "All right, this is a military camp after all, and we'll only be here for a while. Just endure it and it'll pass."

Though Shui Bing'er could not go to Shui Wuchen's extremes, she was not particularly demanding about her surroundings either. After all, she had endured hardships alongside Shui Wuchen when she was young. The military camp's conditions were nothing to her now.

"Fine."

Shui Yuer replied gloomily.

Afterward, Shui Wuchen and the others headed toward the camp. Each camp bore the crest of a different academy, so they soon found Skywater Academy's camp.

"Wuchen, you'll have a room to yourself. Bing'er, Xuewu..."

Upon arriving, Shui Yueruo began assigning rooms. Aside from Shui Wuchen, who received a room alone because he was male, everyone else shared rooms.

That evening, Shui Yueruo began arranging their tactics. Shui Wuchen listened silently from the side without speaking.

Once she had finished, Shui Yueruo finally turned to Shui Wuchen and asked, "Wuchen, do you have any suggestions?"

The Promotion Tournament's format was actually very suitable for an academy like theirs that possessed a powerful individual fighter, because no one could defeat Qing Mu in a one-on-one battle.

"No."

Shui Wuchen shook his head slightly.

Though it was called the Promotion Tournament, it did not actually eliminate any academy. Its purpose was merely to give the teams ranked first and second priority in receiving byes later on, and to let the nobles clearly observe each contestant's individual abilities.

After all, the Promotion Tournament used a one-on-one arena format. Each side sent out seven members, and the side that defeated all members of the opposing academy won.

The next day.

Ten teams from kingdoms, duchies, and other regions gathered at the Royal Knights' Grand Arena alongside the top five teams that had advanced from the Heaven Dou region. Outside the Grand Arena, ten thousand Royal Knights stood in neat formation.

"Hm?"

In Skywater Academy's section, Shui Wuchen seemed to sense someone's gaze and turned toward its source.

Almost instantly, Shui Wuchen locked onto the person watching him.

Tang San wore a faint smile as he met Shui Wuchen's gaze without concealment. Arcs of lightning seemed to flicker in his eyes.

"This person..."

Shui Wuchen looked at Tang San in Shrek's section, somewhat surprised.

Compared to a month ago, Tang San's temperament had changed noticeably. He was clearly far more composed and confident.

Shui Wuchen withdrew his gaze and thought, It seems he's improved quite a bit over the past month.

Confidence came from strength, but what puzzled Shui Wuchen was how much progress the other party could possibly have made in just one month.

At that moment, Xuewu suddenly smiled and said to Shui Wuchen, "Bing'er's brother, if we run into an opponent we can't defeat, we'll have to rely on you."

"Doesn't matter. I'll step in!" Shui Wuchen replied calmly.

Before long, the first match began. Blazing Fire Academy took the field first, while their opponents were a team from a small nation called Fabia Academy.

The result of this match was naturally beyond doubt. As an established powerhouse, Blazing Fire Academy had sent out only the siblings Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, yet they defeated all seven of their opponents.

Shui Wuchen was not particularly surprised. Although Fabia Academy also had Soul Ancestors, they had only one, and that person had only recently broken through. It was not strange for them to lose to the siblings Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.

On the contrary, if Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu had lost, that would have been their mistake.

However, Shui Wuchen's lack of concern did not mean the people from the other academies felt the same.

The siblings Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu's outstanding performance still greatly shocked the Soul Masters from the other kingdoms and duchies.

Although Fabia Academy's team was among the weaker groups of the fifteen competing teams, defeating all of them with only two people made the siblings opponents who deserved special attention in the matches ahead.

Some nobles' eyes even lit up as they pondered how they could recruit the siblings Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.

The second match was Exotic Beast Academy against an unknown academy. In the end, Exotic Beast Academy narrowly defeated their opponents under the leadership of their captain, Meng Yiran.

Watching the battle on the arena, Shui Wuchen shook his head slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed.

The teams from these kingdoms and duchies were even worse than he had imagined. Though Blazing Fire Academy and Lightning Academy were nothing special in Shui Wuchen's eyes, they were unquestionably more than a level above these kingdom and duchy teams.

One match after another ended, and soon it was Skywater Academy's turn.

Upon hearing the referee announce Skywater Academy's name, Shui Bing'er rose directly to her feet and walked toward the arena.

Shui Yueruo had arranged this the previous day. Since it was their first match, morale was important, so Shui Bing'er, the vice-captain, would secure an opening victory.

As for Shui Wuchen, he was simply too overpowered. To preserve the other academies' battle experience and ensure Skywater Academy's students had chances to compete, Shui Yueruo would not send him out unless absolutely necessary.

In Shui Yueruo's view, Shui Wuchen should not take the field except for the match against Godwind Academy. Otherwise, it would not be a battle at all, but a slaughter.

"Beautiful, could you at least let me lose with some dignity?"

After stepping onto the arena, the young man opposite Shui Bing'er saw the four Soul Rings she had released and forced himself to speak.

Skywater Academy's opponent this time was Hagen Dazs Academy from the Hagen Dazs Kingdom. Their strength placed them around the middle among the fifteen teams, but they only had two Soul Ancestors.

Clearly, the young man before her was not one of them.

Hearing that, Shui Bing'er smiled faintly and said, "No!"

First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!

In an instant, Shui Bing'er's first Soul Ring lit up. The young Soul Master from Hagen Dazs felt a chill beneath his feet, then was frozen into a block of ice.