Predicament

As the match progressed, the situation became increasingly intense, with some deaths and injuries, causing several reserve players to fall silent.

Even though they had slain many Soul Beasts, the moment their lives ended still shocked them.

In the past, because Soul Beast lacked intelligence, it didn't have much of an impact. Now, even though they may have greeted each other, met a few times, or even talked, the fact that these fellow beings died in the competition inevitably makes them uneasy.

Perhaps one day, they too will take the stage, fight for it, and go mad for it.

For most Soul Master, a life that comes only once is a luxury, even dying peacefully in their old age. They have to go to dangerous places to hunt Soul Beast, and are forced to kill their own kind. They fight each other for resources. Every Soul Master has to deal with these things. Unless they reach the Titled Douluo, they will continue to fight throughout their lives.

This is the present, the future, and destiny; for Soul Master, from birth to death, it is unavoidable.

Having Soul Power is not a stroke of luck; for most Soul Master, it's Curse, nothing more.

Facing the future, they finally shed their naivety and grew rapidly. This competition was a baptism, a baptism that revealed the truth. The weak succumbed, while the strong fought back. Only through the burning of fire can pure gold be forged.

With the knockout stage over, the round-robin stage has begun. Of the 133 teams, only 67 remain, which, divided into groups of nine, is less than eight groups.

Each group needs to determine two teams, for a total of sixteen teams. Then, the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finally the final will be held.

The complete sequence of the competition is: 133 to 67, 67 to 16, 16 to 8, 8 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to 1.

In the knockout stage, they might be able to win by luck, but in the rematch stage, apart from a few teams, it will be very difficult for other teams to advance.

Sixteen teams? That seems like a lot, but it's actually quite a few.

The Imperial Team is guaranteed a spot, with four out of four teams— Sun Moon Team, Heavenly Soul Team, Dou Ling Team, and Star Luo Team—occupying a significant portion of the spots. The Elemental Academy is equally outstanding, with four out of four teams— Divine Wind, Blazing Fire, Thunderclap, and Tianshui —again securing four spots. Established academies like the Exotic Beast Academy and Blue Sunshine Academy also have a considerable number of spots. For emerging academies like Thousand Spirits Academy and Righteous Heaven Academy, the competition is even fiercer.

In other words, after the second round, every successful advancement represents a tough battle. Moreover, each group in the second round is full of hidden talents, and the minimum qualification standard is seven wins or more.

With five Soul Kings and two Soul Emperors, Shrek Academy crushed seven teams, finally encountering a formidable opponent.

In this group, besides Shrek, there are also Skywater Team from the Skywater Academy, one of the top eight teams from last year, and Righteous Heaven Team from the Righteous Heaven Academy, one of the top four teams from last year.

Both teams have multiple Soul King; Righteous Heaven Team has three, while Skywater Team has one more, for a total of four.

Because they needed to conceal their strength for the finals, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng did not use their sixth Soul Skill. The Righteous Heaven Team and the Skywater Team were not weak either. Unlike pure Soul Master, the two teams possessed a lot of soul guidance equipment, so the Shrek Team went through a tough battle.

Ye Wuqing, the captain of the Righteous Heaven Team, is a level 58 Soul King with exceptional talent, just one step away from becoming a Soul Emperor. Yu Mengdi, one of the Soul King of the Righteous Heaven Team, has an Angel Martial Soul, which is comparable to a top-tier Martial Soul even when she is at the two-wing stage.

Xixi, Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng, and even Ling Luochen, in terms of talent, are no match for the two of them.

In a team battle, Righteous Heaven Team might be able to force a draw with some of their trump cards, since Shrek Team needs to prepare for the finals and doesn't want to reveal too much.

However, Righteous Heaven Team was not very lucky and was drawn into Double Battle or triples match. In the first match, they encountered the Soul Emperor combination and were immediately defeated. In the second match, they fought hard and finally drew with Xi Xixi and Chen Zifeng. In the third match, they could only put together three Soul Ancestor. Facing Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan and Gongyang Mo, Righteous Heaven Team chose to surrender directly, ending the match 1-2.

In Single Battle, Double Battle, and triples, control-type characters are virtually invincible at the same level. Two controllers and one support make for the strongest three-on-three combination.

Compared to the Righteous Heaven Team, the Skywater Team is significantly stronger. They could even make it to the top four in this competition. Unfortunately, the Skywater Team not only faced the previous champion, but also had three Soul King —the captain, vice-captain, and control specialist—who were all Ice-type, while the remaining Soul Ancestor were all Water-type.

Fire counters ice, and ice counters water. Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen broke through the enemy's defenses during the match, ending the battle in less than half a moment.

The group stage has concluded, with two teams advancing from each group, for a total of sixteen teams. In this group, Shrek Team won all nine matches, Skywater Team was slightly weaker, and Righteous Heaven Team from the previous tournament, lost all seven matches and failed to advance.

The Skywater Team's victory over the Righteous Heaven Team was entirely expected. The Righteous Heaven Team relied on bursts of power, while the Skywater Team excelled at sustained combat. Once a prolonged battle ensued, the two types of Soul Master, with their combined Water-type and ice Water-type, could completely wear down the Righteous Heaven Team.

The round of 16 to 8 returns to the elimination mechanism, with the top 8 teams determined by combining the results of both team battles and Single Battle.

Shrek Team was drawn against Di'ao Team, which is exceptionally strong. They almost tied all seven main players in team battles and only lost one point in Single Battle.

Di'ao Academy, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy of the Heavenly Soul Empire; Di'ao Team, one of the four great imperial teams.

In this competition, all seven members of the Di'ao Team are at least Soul King, and one of them is even a Soul Emperor. Unlike Shrek, the Di'ao Team is not composed of pure Soul Master, but possesses a variety of Soul Guidance Equipment.

In reality, pure Soul Master are already very rare. Other academies have all opened Soul Guidance courses. On the other hand, Shrek, apart from the Soul Guidance Department, rarely offers Soul Guidance courses in its outer academies, and its inner academy focuses on counter-attack training rather than application.

Before reaching the seventh ring, pure Soul Master have vastly different upper and lower limits due to differences in Martial Soul type, Soul Ring age, Soul Skill type, and Martial Soul quality. Generally speaking, apart from elites, pure Soul Master Soul Engineer Masters of the same level.

The Di'ao Academy is already capable of training elite Soul Master, and its research on Soul Guidance is equally impressive. With the help of Soul Guidance equipment, the Di'ao Team even has the potential to compete for the championship.

In terms of pure Soul Master, Shrek Academy is far stronger than other academies. However, due to the continuous development of Soul Guidance Equipment, Shrek Academy has been too Oblivious in the ordinary Soul Master training stage and has fallen far behind. In the elite Soul Master training stage, other academies are gradually catching up.

At this point, the situation could still be described as one dominant power and many strong contenders, but Shrek Academy's superior position had begun to gradually waver.

In terms of combat strength, at the Soul King level, the Di'ao Team has already tied with the seven main members. However, they have fewer Soul Emperors than Shrek, resulting in a shutout. Nevertheless, the Di'ao Team has proven that Shrek Academy is not invincible and can still be defeated if they seize the opportunity.

He is the strongest, but not invincible. So, once he traps two Soul Emperors, the Soul King level can use Soul Guidance Equipment to offset the gap between them.

A direct victory would bring instant fame, or even allow one to replace the champion; this is undoubtedly more tempting than simply winning a championship.

Coincidentally, in this competition, the three major teams— Dou Ling Team, Star Luo Team, and Sun Moon Team —have no shortage of trump cards, the kind of trump cards that can rival the Soul Emperor.