Xu Zhao: I'm the Crown Prince of Great Ming, the Sun-Moon Douluo! The guards were scared to tears! (Please keep reading!)

"We've also got all those young scions from the families we brought back from overseas. They're all so full of themselves—let's put them to the test, too!"

"I'm going to gather the top young talents in the Great Ming Empire and form a 'Great Ming Royal Team'!"

Xu Yu swept his hand through the air, brimming with confidence.

"I'll show the people of Douluo Continent what true paragons of talent look like!"

Xu Zhao bowed slightly and smiled.

"Father is wise.

In that case, I'll await good news from Father as I head north.

Once the team is assembled, you can send them straight to Spirit City to meet up with me."

"Go on, then."

Xu Yu nodded in satisfaction.

After leaving Diligence Hall,

Xu Zhao pondered.

Now that Father had agreed to assemble a team, he naturally had to run through the candidate list in his mind first.

"The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament..."

Xu Zhao murmured the name, recalling the tournament rules.

"Participants must be under twenty-five, and each match must have seven competitors on the field."

"Under twenty-five..."

Xu Zhao abruptly stopped and instinctively rubbed his chin, his expression turning peculiar.

Going by his bone age, he had only just turned twenty this year. He easily met the age requirement!

"If I entered the tournament myself..."

Xu Zhao pictured the scene:

A bunch of "geniuses" who were still congratulating themselves for breaking through to Soul Ancestor rank, or gasping in awe at having a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Then they suddenly came face-to-face with a Level 94 "monster."

It wouldn't just be a crushing defeat. It would be a whole different dimension of power.

Like an adult charging into a kindergarten to beat up the kids.

"Heh. It's a little twisted, but I have to admit... it'd feel great."

A playful smile tugged at Xu Zhao's lips.

If it came to the Grand Finals,

just as Spirit Hall's so-called "Golden Generation" thought victory was assured, he could step in and give them a good smack.

He wondered if Bibi Dong's usually frosty expression would crack on the spot.

After all, he was only twenty!

"Besides me, the starting lineup needs a few others who can hold their own."

Xu Zhao put the thought aside and began searching his mind for the most promising young people in Great Sun Prince Mansion.

The first name that came to mind was Lan Yiyi, who was always clinging to him.

"Yiyi..."

Thinking of the girl who looked as gentle as water but had a terrifying level of talent, Xu Zhao shook his head, helplessly fond.

Lan Yiyi.

Only twenty years old.

A Level 87 Soul Douluo!

That level of talent was rare, not just on Douluo Continent today, but even during the Peerless Tang Sect era of Douluo II.

She was a true rarity!

Even Hu Liena and Xie Yue, the standouts of Spirit Hall's vaunted Golden Generation, were only Soul Kings in the fifties at most.

Sending a Level 87 Soul Douluo to fight a bunch of Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings?

That wasn't just picking on them. It was practically a crime.

"If Yiyi entered the tournament, her aura alone would probably scare the other team into wetting their pants."

Xu Zhao chuckled, already listing Lan Yiyi as a "nuclear weapon"-level trump card.

Next, Xu Zhao turned his thoughts to the Kong family on his mother Kong Yan's side.

"That little girl from the Kong family—is her name Kong Xuan?"

Xu Zhao vaguely remembered the girl who always followed his mother around and timidly called him cousin.

She was shy, but had an exceptional talent for cultivation.

At just nineteen, she had broken through Level 50 and become a Soul King.

"And then there's the Hongchen Family..."

A glint appeared in Xu Zhao's eyes.

The reason Great Sun Prince Mansion had a Steel Fleet was not just the Kong family's contribution. The Hongchen Family's Soul Guidance Technology had played a major part as well.

And among this generation of the Hongchen Family, there was an extraordinary genius—Ao Hongchen.

"Ao Hongchen, twenty-two years old, Level 63 Soul Emperor, and an exceptionally rare Level 6 Soul Engineer."

On Douluo Continent, where Soul Tool technology was still in its infancy—or even a lost art—what did a Level 6 Soul Engineer mean?

It meant he was a mobile artillery platform all by himself!

While Tang San was still congratulating himself over the power of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow,

Ao Hongchen could probably pull out a Soul Ray Gun and a Fixed Soul Cannon and teach him a lesson.

"Putting Ao Hongchen on the team will give the bumpkins on this continent a chance to see what it means when 'technology changes warfare.'"

Xu Zhao nodded in satisfaction.

There were other promising candidates in Elder Hall, too.

Yin Chen, the grandson of the Third Offering, Golden Dragon Douluo Silver Crow.

Twenty-four years old, Level 64 Soul Emperor.

Finally, Xu Zhao thought of the new disciple Grand Pontiff Wei Kurong had recently taken under his wing.

"Yin Hong..."

The boy had endured a troubled childhood, yet possessed an exceptionally rare Martial Soul—the Body Martial Soul, his hands.

At just eighteen, he was a Level 51 Soul King.

His Soul Power Level wasn't the highest among them, but the potential of a Body Martial Soul's Second Awakening was enormous.

His close-combat skills were also terrifying. He was a rare prodigy.

"Me, Lan Yiyi, Kong Xuan, Ao Hongchen, Yin Chen, Yin Hong..."

Xu Zhao silently worked out the lineup.

Two Soul Douluo-level fighters, counting himself; two Soul Emperors; and two Soul Kings.

Then they could find a few more people to fill the slots.

That would make a team.

"What kind of tournament team is this?"

Xu Zhao couldn't help laughing. He looked toward Spirit City, his eyes filled with an imposing confidence that seemed to look down on the world.

"This is a slaughter."

"The Shrek Seven Devils?

The Golden Generation of Spirit Hall?"

"I hope they can take a hit. Otherwise... this game will be far too boring."

"So this is Longxing City?"

Xu Zhao and Lan Yiyi walked side by side down the street.

Lan Yiyi looked around with curiosity.

The buildings on Douluo Continent and Sun Moon Continent were completely different in style.

"Where's the Defense Clan?"

Lan Yiyi asked with interest.

"We can just ask someone."

Xu Zhao replied softly.

"By the way, Brother Zhao, is that hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone you mentioned real?"

Lan Yiyi reached out with both hands and gave Xu Zhao's arm a playful shake.

Her tone was slightly coquettish.

"Of course it's real. Why would I make that up?"

Xu Zhao smiled faintly.

"Hehe, I just can't quite believe it!"

Lan Yiyi pouted, sounding a little wistful.

"You know that the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone passed down in our Lan Clan isn't going to end up with me."

"Or rather, by the time it does, I'll be on my last legs—even if I haven't died!"

The Soul Masters of the Lan Clan—or, more precisely, the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Masters—were generally long-lived.

Lan Ya was Level 94 and only in her fifties, still in her prime.

If nothing unexpected happened, reaching Super Douluo rank was all but certain.

Even if she never reached Level 99, she could still live for several centuries.

It would be ages before it was Lan Ya's turn!

(After working hard on this, I finally got an update out. I hope you won't leave it to build up—thanks for your support!

The next few chapters will weave in some Clear Sky Sect plot. If you're interested, feel free to share suggestions!)