The Body Enters the Tournament

Mu Yuan listened to this and sighed inwardly.

Long Aotian and Wei Na were already Soul Elders, yet they were only ten and a half years old.

Wei Na's Innate Full Soul Power was not actually all that astonishing.

After all, Dai Huabin had possessed Soul Elder cultivation when he enrolled at Shrek Academy at eleven, and he had not merely just entered the Soul Elder rank.

In terms of cultivation speed, Wei Na could only be considered among the first tier, not quite at the very top.

Long Aotian, on the other hand, did not seem to have Innate Full Soul Power.

Having needed to cultivate several more levels of Soul Power, along with overcoming a major bottleneck, yet still reaching Soul Elder at ten—Long Aotian's early-stage cultivation speed was absolutely among the best on the continent.

Of course, pills such as the Soul Ascension Pill and Mystic Water Pill might have contributed to this.

But in the Body Sect, as long as one did not overuse medicinal drugs, that was nothing unusual.

Reaching Three-Ring sooner meant raising one's martial soul quality sooner to the level corresponding to Three-Ring.

That was the key.

Reach Three-Ring earlier, and enjoy a martial soul of that quality earlier.

"Come with me, all of you."

Du Busi led the three of them into the house.

Although this estate did not gather all the Body Sect's members, quite a few were still here. Some disciples who disliked running around had remained in the estate to cultivate diligently.

Du Busi summoned everyone.

"This Sect Master intends to have Sect Disciples participate in the next Soul Master Tournament."

The moment those words were spoken, the disciples erupted into an uproar.

Several elders revealed puzzled expressions.

"Sect Master, our sect's inheritance..."

To be honest, whether the Body Sect could even gather a total of fourteen age-appropriate main and reserve competitors was a question.

Seven main team members between sixteen and twenty, and seven Reserve Members between eleven and fifteen.

Could they gather them all?

That was far from certain.

Not to mention that they also had to account for the fact that Body Martial Souls were not adept at combat in the early stages.

If they participated in the Soul Master Tournament, they might very well fail to win the championship. And if they could not win, would competing not be pointless?

Du Busi said, "You need not worry about the candidates. The disciples our Body Sect has recruited recently are enough to form a team."

He looked toward the younger generation.

"Xiao Ye is already a Soul King. He will be exactly twenty when the next tournament arrives, so he can compete. With another four and a half years, it is not impossible for him to break through to Soul Emperor and even complete a Martial Soul Second Awakening."

"Furthermore, Aotian and Wei Na can both compete as reserves. In four and a half years, both of them can break through to Soul Ancestor."

Hearing Du Busi's words, the elders began to consider the matter seriously.

The Xiao Ye Du Busi mentioned was an orphan who had joined the Body Sect at ten. His martial soul was blood. Having been warned by Shrek Academy, he had not dared to cultivate normally. Only after arriving at the Body Sect had he begun cultivating at full capacity. Now, after five and a half years, he had already become a Soul King.

Besides Xiao Ye, there were another three fifteen-year-old Sect Disciples who were Soul Ancestors. Breaking through to Soul King in four and a half years would not be a problem for them.

There were also five age-appropriate Soul Elders. If they worked hard enough, they might not fail to break through to Soul King before the tournament.

With that, it would not be impossible to assemble a team whose main lineup all possessed Soul King cultivation or above.

As various thoughts flashed through their minds, the elders' expressions eased.

They began considering Du Busi's intentions in doing this.

"Sect Master, our Body Sect has always kept a low profile. Why make such an unnecessary move?"

Low profile?

Mu Yuan mocked inwardly.

The Body Sect had done few things only because it had few people. One had to know that among the matters the Body Sect truly participated in, not a single one was minor.

"The Soul Master Tournament is one of the grandest events in the Soul Master World. I want the sect to make an appearance at the tournament, so that those with Body Martial Souls may learn of the sect's existence," Du Busi explained his thoughts.

The elders fell silent.

They could refute other reasons.

But if it was for recruitment, they would support it with both hands and feet.

The sect had far too few people!

"Sect Master, are you confident?"

An elder spoke up.

People only remembered the champions, never the runners-up.

Thus, he was asking whether the sect was confident of taking the championship.

"I have faith in Xiao Ye and the others."

Du Busi knew that winning was possible, but not guaranteed.

Even so, he had decided to compete this time.

This was also preparation for the tournament after next.

The next Soul Master Tournament would begin in four and a half years, while the one after that was more than nine years away.

In nine years, Long Aotian, Wei Na, and Mu Yuan would all have grown up. That would be the championship lineup he had the greatest confidence in.

This time, he would first let the three serve as Reserve Members, allowing them to adapt to the tournament and prepare early.

Of course, the Body Team would also go all out in this tournament and contend for first place.

Soon, everyone finalized the arrangements for participating this time.

"Wei Na?"

Du Busi looked at Wei Na.

Wei Na said, "Teacher, is the sect planning to establish an academy eligible to compete?"

Du Busi nodded.

"But if the royal family takes the lead in completing the procedures, it would be no different from announcing our relationship to the world. And if I take the field, then—"

Du Busi raised a hand, not allowing Wei Na to continue.

"There is no need to hide it anymore."

Since they had decided to promote the sect through the tournament, they naturally needed to give it a fixed address, so Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls who wished to join would have somewhere to go.

Hearing this, Wei Na did not hesitate and said directly, "In that case, I will inform Father of the sect's plans as soon as possible and prepare a suitable academy for the sect at the fastest possible speed."

"It need not be too large. The academy will only recruit disciples with Body Martial Souls—that is, Sect Disciples. In the future, the sect will also be responsible for operating the academy."

Wei Na could not help rolling her eyes.

What difference was there between this academy and the sect?

The Soul Master Tournament was an exchange between academies; sects were not allowed to compete.

Now that the Body Sect wanted to participate, it was already breaking the rules. The academy itself would openly recruit only Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls—they were not even pretending anymore.

I'm a sect, but I'm also an academy.

A shell academy.

By setting such a precedent, other sects might very well follow suit in the future.

Though somewhat speechless, Wei Na still went to do it.

She could also understand that even if the tournament committee refused to accept such an arrangement, they would most likely not reject the Body Team this time. Instead, they would make it clear beforehand for the next tournament.

But if that truly happened, the Body Sect's disciples could simply join ordinary academies.

A sect determined to compete could not possibly be cut off from the tournament no matter what.

Wei Na could imagine that the true future direction would not be how the Soul Master Tournament prohibited sect participation, but rather the emergence of competition between sect and academy teams.

Then it would no longer be the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, but the Youth Soul Master Tournament.

"The candidates will be finalized as soon as possible. When the time comes, Yu Gu and I will personally train you," Du Busi said sternly.

Du Busi acted decisively. Since he had decided to do it, he would finish it as quickly as possible.

First, Xiao Ye, the three Soul Ancestors, and Mu Yuan's group of three were selected.

Afterward came the selection among the age-appropriate disciples.

Those who wished to compete could register, and suitable team members would be chosen through matches.

For a time, the estate became quite lively.