The Tournament Begins

It did not take long for Xiao Chenlong's manufactured Spirit Ring to be absorbed. At the same time, a white Spirit Ring appeared around him.

Xiao Chenlong frowned slightly, but the color of the Spirit Ring soon began to change.

It shifted from white to yellow, then purple, and finally black.

Once the Spirit Ring turned black, the absorption process was completely finished.

Seeing that the absorption had ended, Xiao Chenlong immediately asked, "Is there any problem with the Spirit Ring? Did you gain a Spirit Skill?"

"Reporting to His Highness the Saint Son, there is no problem with the Spirit Ring. I have already broken through to Spirit King and gained my fifth spirit skill."

"Oh? What is your fifth spirit skill? Is it the Spirit Skill you wanted?"

"My Martial Soul is the Mysterious Armor Shield. My fifth spirit skill is Multiple Shield Armor, which is exactly the Spirit Skill I needed."

Hearing this, Xiao Chenlong nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm, very good. You may leave now. Salas, record this as a merit for him."

"Yes, His Highness the Holy Son. May I ask whether this matter needs to be kept secret?"

"No need. You can spread the word. The more people who know, the better."

Salas understood the meaning behind Xiao Chenlong's words and nodded in acknowledgment.

After successfully completing the Artificial Spirit Ring, Xiao Chenlong went to find Chrysanthemum Douluo and saw the Spirit Hall Academy Team undergoing special training.

The team's seven members coordinated quite well, and Chrysanthemum Douluo was training them with great care.

Combined with the Shadow Ninjas Xiao Chenlong had arranged, their actual combat abilities had improved to the greatest extent possible.

On the other side were Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan.

They were training as well, with the Shadow Ninjas giving them special attention. Since the Shadow Ninjas were unaffected by Charm, Hu Liena became a burden to the trio.

With one brother and one simp, they naturally did everything they could to protect Hu Liena. Yet after a single training session, her body was still covered in bruises.

The Shadow Ninjas knew nothing of cherishing beauty. Injuries at this level were already the lightest possible.

When Chrysanthemum Douluo noticed Xiao Chenlong's arrival, he brought everyone over.

"His Highness the Holy Son, what do you think of their training?"

"Mm, not bad. I hope you can win the championship of this All Continent Youth Spirit Master Elite Competition. Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!"

"Very good. I look forward to your performance. If you win the championship, I will reward you."

After dangling a tempting reward before them, Xiao Chenlong had them continue their training.

Hu Liena stepped forward at this moment and said with dissatisfaction, "His Highness the Saint Son, the training arranged for us makes my Charm ability completely useless. I don't think this kind of training suits me."

Xiao Chenlong glanced at Hu Liena. She should have been Bibi Dong's disciple, holding an extraordinary status within Spirit Hall. But now, she was merely a student with somewhat greater talent and possessed no exceptional standing.

"Hu Liena, do not be disrespectful to His Highness the Holy Son."

"Elder Ju, I'm stating the facts. I don't want to be a burden during training."

Hearing Hu Liena's retort, Chrysanthemum Douluo frowned slightly as well.

"Elder Ju, why bother arguing with a child? Since you want to change the training method, I'll grant your wish."

A flash of purple light passed through Xiao Chenlong's eyes, and Hu Liena immediately fainted.

Xiao Chenlong then used the Goat Talisman's power to weave a dream for Hu Liena.

In the dream, she would encounter all kinds of handsome men, and every one of them would betray her in different ways.

This was both a lesson for her and a precaution for the future, so that she would not become a lovestruck fool who could not move whenever she saw a handsome man.

Of course, it was also a form of training. By tempering her will and Spiritual Power, her Charm ability would naturally improve as her Spiritual Power increased through training.

That was, provided the Dream Realm did not break her.

By the time Hu Liena woke up, it was already the next day. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, and after getting up, she went to take a bath.

The scenes in the dream, where she fell in love again and again only to be betrayed each time, remained vivid in her mind.

"I really woke up, didn't I?"

Soaking in the water, Hu Liena asked herself that question. At that point, she could barely tell the Dream Realm from reality.

After bathing, Hu Liena went to find Xie Yue and Yan.

"Nana, you're awake!"

Faced with Yan's concern, Hu Liena instinctively felt disgusted and deliberately put some distance between them.

"Don't call me Nana."

"Nana, what's wrong?"

Xie Yue asked in confusion as well.

"I'm fine, Brother. Don't ask."

"All right then. His Highness the Saint Son said that if you can accept Dream Realm special training, you should go find him again."

"Dream Realm special training? Seriously? Why don't I believe that at all?"

"Shut up!"

Hu Liena's voice suddenly rose, making Yan shudder in fright.

"Nana, you..."

"Brother, I'm fine. There's no need for special training."

"I understand. Nana, watch how you speak from now on, especially when facing His Highness the Saint Son."

Hu Liena obediently nodded as well.

Time passed like a white colt flashing by, and in the blink of an eye, the opening day of this All Continent Youth Spirit Master Elite Competition had arrived.

Xiao Chenlong attended the opening ceremony as Spirit Hall's representative. The ceremony was extraordinarily lively, as competitors from the major Spirit Master academies and sects entered one after another.

The spectator stands were packed as well, with cheers and shouts rising one after another.

Naturally, there were also plenty of people opening betting pools and gambling on the matches.

Even Spirit Hall itself opened one, promoting it as legitimate entertainment for an official tournament.

The odds were not as high as those offered by private betting pools, but it was legitimate and reliable, so business was quite good.

"I never expected His Highness the Holy Son to be so skilled at business as well."

Chrysanthemum Douluo took the opportunity to flatter Xiao Chenlong again, but Xiao Chenlong did not see it that way.

"I merely borrowed Spirit Hall's influence. With Spirit Hall's name behind me, any business would be easy to run. If I had to start from nothing, it would be unimaginably difficult.

"The same goes for everything else. If Teacher had not picked me up back then, I would now..."

Xiao Chenlong did not continue, but there was a high probability that he would have been trapped in the internal struggle of repeatedly fighting Holy Lord for control of his body, until Holy Lord eventually took it over completely.

If Holy Lord were in his complete form, even the God Kings of Douluo Continent would likely be no match for him.

At that moment, the first match after the opening ceremony had already begun: the Black Tiger Sect against Plant Academy.

The Plant Academy Team in this tournament was not entirely female, but there was still a severe imbalance between the genders, with only two male students.

Although the Plant Academy Team coordinated very well, they were far inferior to the Black Tiger Sect in terms of raw strength.

The Black Tiger Sect naturally claimed victory, earning plenty of cheers and applause.

Meanwhile, on the viewing platform, the sect masters of the major sects were discussing another matter.

The Black Tiger Sect Master asked Ning Fengzhi, "Sect Master Ning, I have recently heard that Spirit Hall possesses Spirit Rings that do not require the hunting of Spirit Beasts and can perfectly match one's Martial Soul. I wonder whether this is true?"

"I have heard of this matter as well. As for whether it is true or not, that is difficult to say."