Douluo: Martial Soul Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave

Meng Shenji immediately followed up, "There does indeed need to be another Selection Tournament, but it will be for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team!"

"The second team?"

Meng Shenji continued, "As an academy directly under the Heaven Dou Empire, we have the right to register two teams. One team can advance directly to the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Although the second team must fight its way through round by round, it can still reach the finals if it performs well enough."

"What about the first team? Could it be..." Zhilin asked.

Meng Shenji said, "This Selection Tournament has already been clearly designated as the selection for the Heaven Dou Royal Team's first team. Since that has been decided, there is no need to change it arbitrarily, regardless of the outcome. Otherwise, it would undermine the authority of our Education Committee."

"Then what do you mean?" Bai Baoshan looked at Meng Shenji.

Meng Shenji chuckled. "Since Zhao Mu is the only one left on the field, then the Heaven Dou Royal Team's first team will consist of Zhao Mu alone! After all, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament only sets an upper limit for the number of team members. It does not require a minimum."

"A one-man team?"

Sorry, sorry for keeping everyone waiting so long. I've made up the two chapters!

Thank you to all the readers for your support! Thank you, thank you!

"Isn't that brat way too freakish? None of the participating students could withstand even a single one of his soul skills?!"

"You dare call him a brat? Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up? Rumor has it that even Yu Tianheng calls him Grandpa. You still dare call him a brat?"

After the Heaven Dou Team Selection Tournament ended, Zhao Mu naturally became the hottest topic among the Heaven Dou Royal Academy students because of his outstanding performance and bizarre Soul Ring configuration.

"Shh!"

In the Heaven Dou Royal Academy cafeteria, several students were gossiping about everything that had happened during the Selection Tournament when one of them suddenly warned the others and jerked his gaze toward the cafeteria entrance.

The others glanced toward the entrance. When they saw that it was Yu Tianheng, they immediately stopped chatting.

However, Yu Tianheng had already heard their earlier conversation.

Yu Tianheng clenched his fists tightly.

He was not the only one who had called Zhao Mu Grandpa. Yu Feng and the others had called him that too. Why were these people only talking about him?!

Thinking back to his performance in the Selection Tournament—oh, no, it seemed like he had not even performed at all. At most, he had used Martial Soul Possession before it was over.

Yu Tianheng felt utterly stifled. He had put so much into this Selection Tournament, all so he could win decisively, enter the Heaven Dou Royal Team, become captain, lead the team to defeat his cousin's Thunder Academy Team, and defeat the Star Luo Empire Academy Team...

The Martial Soul Hall Team?

He had never even considered that. (In the original story, Yu Tianheng had never thought he could defeat the Martial Soul Hall Team.)

Yet now, all of it had gone down the drain.

Yu Tianheng then expressionlessly and listlessly got some food, like a walking corpse, found an empty table, and sat down.

After noticing that Yu Tianheng was not going to cause them trouble, the students who had been gossiping could not help whispering again, though they kept their voices very low.

"If we can't call him a brat, what should we call him? Grandpa too?"

"Call him whatever you want. We all call him the Bear King."

"The Bear King?"

"He looks much younger than us, yet he's already a four-ringed Soul Ancestor."

"Yeah. Comparing yourself to others really is infuriating. Next to him, we feel like we're nothing."

"And his Soul Rings are really strange. Their colors are different from ours too."

"Haven't you heard the saying? The things you can't understand are usually awesome."

"Who said that?"

"Hehe, I did."

"Get lost!"

"Hehe, I heard that this Selection Tournament only approved the Bear King himself to join the Heaven Dou Royal Team."

"Isn't that obvious? Everyone else was eliminated, so naturally he was the only one selected."

"Then didn't everyone else prepare for so long for nothing?"

"Not necessarily. I heard the academy will hold another Selection Tournament in a few days to select students for the second team. The second team will also represent the academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, though it won't be a seeded team."

Hearing the chatter around him, Yu Tianheng clenched his fists again. If he were given another chance, he absolutely would not let it slip away for nothing.

"A new round of selection."

Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Dugu Yan's voice rang out.

"Second Grandfather, you went too far. You didn't even hold back against me. My head is still throbbing from the shockwaves."

"Your head is throbbing because you stayed up too late. Don't blame me for it," Zhao Mu said without mercy.

Hold back?

Thunder Roar was a sonic skill, an indiscriminate attack that did not distinguish friend from foe. How was he supposed to hold back?

Furthermore, unlike Dugu Bo, the lightning power of the Heavenly Lightning had all been absorbed by Heibai during Dugu Yan's Martial Soul Evolution. Thus, Dugu Yan naturally did not possess the same lightning resistance as Dugu Bo.

"Hmph, and now you're the only one selected for the Heaven Dou Royal Team. Everyone else failed." As the two became more familiar with each other, Dugu Yan often threw little tantrums at Zhao Mu, her young grandfather.

Zhao Mu shrugged. "Weakness itself is the original sin. Besides, didn't the academy arrange a second round of team selections?"

"That's for the second team!" Dugu Yan emphasized. Yu Tianheng was not the only one feeling stifled; she felt the same way.

Dugu Yan's strength had risen greatly, and she had wanted to use this Selection Tournament to show off properly. Yet before she could even begin, Zhao Mu had ended it all with a single move. The pain of failing to show off was no less unpleasant.

This time, I absolutely will not lose again! Dugu Yan silently swore.

Zhao Mu was not particularly concerned about it. He was on the first team, so why should he care about the second team's selection? It was none of his business.

Zhao Mu turned to Dugu Bo, who had just finished cultivating beside him, and asked, "Big Brother, did you find any books containing records of Immortal Herbs from Prince Xue Xing?"

Zhao Mu's Soul Power Level had now reached fifty. As long as he found a suitable Immortal Herb, he could condense a Soul Ring, so he had been particularly concerned about finding books that recorded Immortal Herbs.

However, Dugu Bo merely shook his head slightly. "Prince Xue Xing and the royal library do have a few Medicinal Herb Illustration Guides, but there are very few records regarding the Immortal Herbs here. They can hardly serve as useful references."

Zhao Mu could not help feeling disappointed. Over the past few days, he had also visited the Heaven Dou Royal Academy library, only to get almost the same result as Dugu Bo.

Did he really have to start with those three people?

At that moment, Dugu Yan spoke up. "Grandfather, Second Grandfather, I think I might have some information about the Medicinal Herb Illustration Guide..."

"You have information? Yan Yan, do you know where we can find the Medicinal Herb Illustration Guide we need?" Dugu Bo asked curiously.

With Dugu Bo and Zhao Mu both looking at her, Dugu Yan finally said, "It's Lingling. I remember Lingling mentioning by chance that her family seemed to have a very comprehensive Medicinal Herb Illustration Guide."

"Ye Lingling?"

Thinking of her Martial Soul, Zhao Mu suddenly felt that Dugu Yan's information might be accurate. Nine Heart Begonia was, after all, one of the most powerful Support System Martial Souls on the continent. It was only natural for her family to have some inheritance.

Having few family members did not mean they had few possessions.

Heaven Dou Empire.

Heaven Dou City.

The magnificent Crown Prince's Residence.

Inside the study.

A young man rose from his seat, then slowly walked to the window with his hands behind his back. He gazed outside while tightly holding a sheet of intelligence in one hand behind him.

The young man appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His features were handsome, and his skin was as delicate as a woman's. Dressed in luxurious noble robes, he possessed the innate dignity of one accustomed to high status. His long golden hair was neatly combed behind his head, and a gentle smile that made people feel close to him rested on his face.

He murmured to himself:

"Seven years old, Soul Power Level fifty, and a bear-type soul beast Martial Soul of unknown origin. Interesting. Could he be the variable Grandfather spoke of?"

"With a little guidance, he may not be unable to serve my purposes!"

Three days later.

At the same Heaven Dou Royal Academy Soul Fighting Arena, a new round of selection for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team officially began.

The previous format was used as usual. All the registered participants, minus one, stood upon the Soul Fighting Arena platform.

Standing on the familiar arena platform, many of the contestants still found what had happened several days ago unbelievably surreal, so surreal that it did not feel real at all.

But it should not happen again this time, right?

There had been an unfamiliar face in the previous match, which was why the result had turned out that way.

This time, the contestants looked around and confirmed that they were all veteran Heaven Dou Royal Academy students. There were no unfamiliar faces.

Everyone knew something about these veteran students. Even Yu Tianheng, the favorite to win, was only a level thirty-six Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. He was not truly invincible, so there should be a real fight this time.

At that moment, everyone on the platform was rubbing their hands together and quietly waiting for the competition to begin.

Few noticed that a proud curve had gradually formed at the corner of Dugu Yan's alluring, wicked smile.

Let this belated competition become the stage for my first return performance.