Zhou Yi's appearance was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for everyone, whose morale was currently low.
For a full hour, Zhou Yi berated them until they couldn't hold their heads up, especially Inner Court Students like Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochеn.
"I was wrong about you! You call yourselves Inner Court Students? A little setback was enough to defeat you. How will you become the pillars of the academy in the future? How will you face your friends who died?"
"Don't go around claiming to be Inner Court Students of Shrek Academy anymore. I don't care if you embarrass me, but you can't afford to disgrace the academy—or yourselves."
"..."
Zhou Yi kept railing at them, spittle nearly spraying across their faces.
Ma Xiaotao could stand it no longer. No one had ever spoken to her like this before, especially someone whose Soul Power Level was lower than hers.
"Enough! We'll prove ourselves with our strength in tomorrow's match. The championship belongs to Shrek Academy!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes burned with fury as she said through gritted teeth.
"Anyone can talk big. I want to see you put your words into action." Zhou Yi's icy gaze swept over everyone.
The dejection had vanished from their faces. In its place was the heroic resolve of people ready to charge forward.
Xuan Zi sat outside the window, looking at them through a crack. He nodded with satisfaction and thought to himself, Mu En really is impressive. He deliberately sent that girl Zhou Yi over to rile these youngsters up. But she's far too good at cursing people. Even I couldn't take it after listening for a whole hour. The medicine seems to be working, though. The youngsters have regained their confidence. I'll need to stay by their side at all times, too.
Xuan Zi rubbed the wine gourd beside him, but in the end he set it down. He folded his arms across his chest and silently stood guard in the shadows.
Inside the room.
Zhou Yi sat down and said solemnly, "A total of 132 teams are participating in this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, and they have all arrived."
Meanwhile, Elder Ma had also gathered everyone from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Once Qin Chuan, Qian Renxue, and Meng Hongchen had taken their seats, Elder Ma took a puff from his pipe and said, "The first round will be decided by a draw. It's an Elimination Tournament, with each match decided in a single bout. The losing team will leave the tournament. The Elimination Tournament will run for three days."
Zhou Yi said, "The academies that remain will then be divided into groups, with about nine teams in each. They'll compete in a Round Robin. The matches will use a randomized format: individual elimination bouts, two-on-two and three-on-three team battles, and finally, group battles."
Elder Ma said, "No matter who your opponents are, we have only one goal: the championship. We're going to trample Shrek Academy underfoot."
Zhou Yi said, "You wanted to prove yourselves to me, didn't you? Tomorrow, as the previous tournament's champion, Shrek Academy will be the first to compete. The participating members will be Ling Luochеn, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong."
Elder Ma said, "Tomorrow, we'll show them just how formidable Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is—especially Shrek Academy. Our competitors will be Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, Chen Fei, Li Yan, Mika, Xiao Xiafeng, and Qin Chuan."
"Why? I'm the strongest competitor in this tournament. Why won't you let me compete?" Ma Xiaotao asked, knitting her brows.
"Hm? I'm competing? I thought I'd be saved for the finale." Qin Chuan hadn't expected to be competing so soon.
Zhou Yi glanced at Ma Xiaotao and said sternly, "Xiaotao, you're impulsive by nature and have a temper like wildfire. You can't even control your own strength, and you never know when to hold back. Every one of your Soul Skills is incredibly powerful. You're also the strongest competitor in this tournament. Your Soul Power is at level 68, and you can unleash power comparable to a Soul Saint. I want you to be the team's trump card."
Elder Ma looked at Qin Chuan and smiled calmly. "Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which can catch Shrek Academy off guard. Han Xue and Guyi are the only Soul Emperor and Soul King among us. We'll make the rest of the arrangements later."
"Although you have Twin Martial Souls, Qin Chuan, you're only a Soul Ancestor. And our opponents will only get stronger as the tournament progresses, so you'll have few chances to compete. The reserve team is really being prepared for the tournament five years from now. This time, you'll get a chance to adjust to the pace of competition. You can help the academy win glory five years from now."
Ma Xiaotao understood that Zhou Yi wanted her to lie low and strike at a critical moment, catching their opponents off guard.
Qin Chuan understood, too. Of everyone present, he was the only Soul Ancestor. There were many matches still to come, so he would probably have few chances to compete. The reason he had been included in the first match was nothing more than a consolation prize.
Ma Xiaotao was unhappy with Zhou Yi's arrangement, but she still chose to obey.
Qin Chuan, however, sneered to himself. He had killed four Soul King students from Shrek Academy's Inner Court. Tomorrow, he would show them what it meant to sweep away a crowd of opponents single-handedly.
Once both meetings had ended, everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms to rest.
Qin Chuan returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and went straight to sleep. Everything was for tomorrow; resting and conserving his strength came first.
The next morning dawned under exceptionally fine weather.
The sky was clear and cloudless, and Star Luo City was bustling with activity. With the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament underway, the enormous city, capable of holding eight million people, was now teeming with crowds.
More than twenty million people had poured into the city, all because of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.
The tournament had first been held ten thousand years ago and had a history stretching back a full millennium.
It was being held at Star Luo Square, in front of the imperial palace—a vast plaza capable of accommodating two hundred thousand spectators.
The road leading to the Star Emperor Hotel was already packed with people. Soldiers in armor, carrying spears, had cleared a path straight to Star Luo Square for the participating teams.
Early that morning, Elder Ma, Zhou Yi, and the other team leaders had already completed the draw for the Elimination Tournament. Officials from the Star Luo Empire were responsible for registering the teams and arranging the match schedule.
As the previous tournament's champion, Shrek Academy would naturally be the first to compete.
The opponent Elder Ma had drawn was a Soul Engineer Academy from the Heaven Dou Empire. Its name was... Ning'an Advanced Soul Engineer Academy. It was an obscure, unlucky little academy.
On top of the imperial city gate stood a middle-aged man with an Eight-Treasure Purple Gold Crown on his head. He had his hands behind his back and wore a bright yellow robe. A beautiful woman in elegant clothes stood beside him.
They were Emperor Xu Jiawei and the empress.
"Your Majesty, the Star Emperor Hotel has sent word that all the participating academies are ready. They're waiting for your command to enter the venue," said the Prime Minister, dressed in red, bowing as he spoke.
Xu Jiawei nodded slightly, a faint smile on his face. "Good. Pass on my order: open all the checkpoints and let the people through. Ensure everyone on the teams gets to the venue safely. If anything goes wrong at any stage, hold the person in charge directly accountable and deal with them severely."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister nodded, bowed, and went to make the arrangements.
People filled every street and alley. Without soldiers maintaining order, the phrase "packed to the brim" would have taken on a whole new meaning.
"Shrek Academy!"
"Shrek Academy!"
"Shrek Academy!"
Shrek Academy had been at the top for nearly a thousand years. Its dominance wasn't a recent thing; it had held the number one spot for a long time, crushing countless other academies' hopes. Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was one of them.
As soon as Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and the others appeared, a deafening roar of cheers surged toward them, growing louder with every wave.
Compared with the cheers that followed Shrek Academy wherever it went, the reception for Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was far more subdued.
The streets along their route were sparsely populated. People stayed silent, and some even looked at them with disgust.
"Seems like we're not very popular," Qin Chuan joked, still in the mood for it.
Everyone was used to this by now. Four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire had brazenly invaded Douluo Continent. Everyone on the continent knew about that history, so the people of the Sun Moon Empire were deeply unpopular there.
Even members of the ancient sects refused to accept advanced and powerful Soul Tools, making them difficult to promote.
"One day, the Sun Moon Empire will unify Douluo Continent," Xiao Hongchen said quietly.
Before you continue