The Finals Begin

Three days later, the much-anticipated Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament finals began.

Huo Tianchen gathered everyone together, including the substitutes and several teachers. After carefully looking over them all, he said, "The finals are about to begin. I'll go over the rules one more time. There are thirty-three teams participating in the finals. Of them, three are seeded teams, sent by the two great empires and Spirit Hall respectively. Without a doubt, the team sent by Spirit Hall Academy poses the greatest threat to you. They will also be your biggest obstacle to ultimate victory."

"There are only five rounds in the finals. They will take less time than the preliminary and advancement rounds. However, because the matches will be intense, there will be one day of rest and adjustment between every round. Before the fifth and final round, there will even be three days for adjustment. In the first round, the three seeded teams will receive byes, while the remaining thirty teams will compete for fifteen advancement spots. The losers will be eliminated directly. This brutal elimination format will surely force every Soul Master team to fight even harder. You must not let your guard down in the slightest. At this point, every team will reveal its hidden abilities and hold nothing back. Even teams you have defeated before may very well bring you some surprises."

"According to the rules, the first-place academies from the advancement rounds of the two imperial regions will receive byes in the second round. In other words, after we win the first round, we will have ample time to rest during the second round. That is the significance of the advancement round. At that time, sixteen teams will compete for eight places in the third round. Together with our two teams receiving byes, there will be ten teams in total."

The teams receiving byes in the third round would be the second-place finishers of the advancement rounds. The remaining eight teams would compete for four places to enter the fourth round alongside them. There would be no byes in the fourth round. Therefore, only the top two teams in the advancement rounds could benefit during the finals, and the earlier a team received a bye, the more advantageous it would be, because it could avoid being eliminated too early.

"In the fifth round, the final round, only three teams will remain. The three teams will first each send seven members to compete in a round-robin elimination format like the advancement round, determining the team with the strongest individual strength. Then the two losing teams will fight a team battle. The winner will challenge the winner of the previous individual matches to determine the final champion. Do you all understand?"

Huo Tianchen said sternly, "You are the strongest team I have ever led. For this tournament, you have given it your all. You have fought harder than the students of any other academy. I believe you can make it to the very end."

"Xiaofei, I don't know what you are worried about. I only know that you are a student of Blazing Academy. If anyone wants to hurt you or harm a student of Blazing Academy, they will have to step over my corpse. In these finals, you can give it everything you have. After graduation, you will become the Vice Dean of Blazing Academy."

Xiaofei said solemnly, "I will do my utmost to fight for the championship for us and let everyone know the true strength of Blazing Academy."

For the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, Spirit City had specially opened up a dedicated venue. It was located in the very center of Spirit City. The enormous arena had a diameter of a full hundred meters and was built entirely from granite. A vast number of Soul Tools had also been used to reinforce the massive platform and prevent it from being damaged.

Directly in front of the arena stood the Papal Palace. The hill where the Papal Palace was located was less than a kilometer away. The final three teams would compete before the Papal Palace. At that time, the Pope would personally appear and crown the final champion.

Early in the morning, all the participating academies arrived at the competition venue under the guidance of Spirit Hall personnel. Every academy had its own separate rest area. On both sides stood enormous spectator stands, occupied by representatives from the two great empires who had come to observe the ceremony, while the Spirit Hall referee panel sat at the front.

Early that morning, Dean Huo Tianchen went to draw lots. Before long, he returned with a smile on his face. The others hurriedly asked, "Dean, how did the draw go?"

"Skywater Academy. Our opponent in the first round is Skywater Academy."

The matches began soon afterward. Blazing Academy's match was the third one. The finals seemed to move at a rapid pace, with nearly every match ending in less than half an hour. At last, it was Blazing Academy's turn.

The seven members of Blazing Academy entered the arena, and Skywater Academy entered from the opposite side. Shui Bing'er suddenly said, "Little Brother Xiaofei, I didn't expect you to finally take the field. Is this your strongest lineup?"

Huo Wu said domineeringly, "Whether it's our strongest lineup or not, you'll find out soon enough."

Everyone from the Heaven Dou Region was focused on Blazing Academy. After all, it was well known that Blazing Academy had four Soul Ancestors, but aside from those four, three completely unfamiliar faces had appeared. Did Blazing Academy really dare use the finals to train newcomers? Or had they been hiding their strength all along? Everyone was filled with doubts. Blazing Academy lined up in a row with Huo Wushuang at the lead, and Skywater Academy did the same across from them.

The referee stepped between the two teams. "Prepare for the match. You may release your Martial Souls. The rules are the same as before. The losers will be eliminated directly, while the winners will advance to the top sixteen. Blazing Fire Advanced Soul Master Academy versus Skywater Advanced Soul Master Academy. Ready."

Huo Wu said forcefully, "Blazing Academy, release your Martial Souls. Let's give them a surprise."

The seven of them released their Martial Souls at once. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple Soul Rings appeared before each of them, while the phantom images of their Martial Souls rose behind them. A massive Fire Phoenix instantly appeared behind Wang Xiaofei, staring disdainfully at the people opposite him. The fluctuations of Xiaofei's Soul Power were even greater than Huo Wushuang's. Level forty-nine Soul Power, higher than Huo Wushuang's. This was also the highest Soul Power level among the students present. And he appeared to be under fifteen years old.

Once the opposing side had also finished releasing their Martial Souls—

"Begin!" At the referee's command, this highly anticipated match finally began.

Xiaofei immediately used Martial Soul Possession. The Fire Phoenix flapped its wings and soared into the sky as his second Soul Ring lit up. "Second Soul Skill, Sparks Like Rain." Countless feathers shot from the phoenix toward Skywater Academy's students. Every feather was like a sharp sword.

Sword Douluo, who was watching from the stands, looked at the rain of fire and smiled. "Interesting!"

The other members of Blazing Academy charged toward Skywater Academy at high speed. The four students with Fire Crane Martial Souls flew toward the four corners around Skywater Academy and began releasing their Soul Skills. Their Soul Skill was also Sparks Like Rain. Huo Wushuang directly unleashed his first Soul Skill, Fire Dragon Impact, and charged into Skywater Academy's formation. Huo Wu used her Fourth Soul Skill, Huowu's Blazing Sun, an attack skill with an extremely large area of effect.

The opposing side relied on Shui Bing'er's Fourth Soul Skill, Ice Ring Armor, and her instant-cast First Soul Skill, Ice Seal, to hold on desperately. However, Xiaofei's rain of fire seemed endless. Not only did it possess terrifying heat, it also carried slashing damage. Ice and water vanished rapidly.

Huo Wu's Huowu's Blazing Sun had already finished charging. The moment Huo Wu released it, it would slam directly into Skywater Academy's members. By then, even if Skywater Academy did not die, they would surely be severely injured.

Shui Bing'er decisively chose to surrender. Everyone from Blazing Academy withdrew their Soul Power, and the match ended. None of them had expended much energy. It could be said that they had won with ease.

Shui Bing'er walked over and asked, "Did Blazing Academy become this powerful because of you? And with your strength, that rain of fire just now should have been able to continue for a very long time, right?"

Before Xiaofei could speak, Huo Wu said directly, "Of course. Xiaofei's strength is far more than that."

Shui Bing'er said somewhat sadly, "If I had known, I should have kept you at Skywater Academy back then." Then the group left in disappointment.

Huo Wu raised her brows, gritted her silver teeth, and snapped furiously, "What? Xiaofeizi, you actually wanted to go to Skywater Academy before?" Huo Wu rolled up her sleeves and punched Xiaofei, while the others watched from the side. Half a minute later, Huo Wu left looking refreshed, while Xiaofei was left battered and bruised.

The people in the stands were all shocked by Blazing Academy's performance. Especially that Wang Xiaofei—his strength was somewhat terrifying. A mere Second Soul Skill had looked even stronger than many people's Fifth Soul Skills.

Yu Xiaogang, wearing a grave expression in the stands, asked Tang San beside him, "Little San, what do you think?"

Tang San thought for a moment and replied gravely, "Xiaofei's move is practically impossible to counter. It may look like a simple phoenix feather attack, but those feathers are like blades and swords, with extremely powerful slashing and piercing ability. Even the Blue Silver Cage probably would not hold them off for long. And Xiaofei can clearly control the density of the feathers, making it very difficult to deal with. Coupled with his deep reserves of Soul Power, I doubt many teams could withstand it. Shui Bing'er reacted quickly enough, releasing two Soul Skills in succession, yet she still could not block it. And the flame damage from Xiaofei's Soul Skill is incredibly powerful, far stronger than Fatty's."

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

Ning Fengzhi said in the stands, "Uncle Jian, what do you think of that move?"

Sword Douluo shook his head. "Wang Xiaofei's move should be a Soul Skill from the Fire Phoenix, but he has transformed the feathers in that Soul Skill into something like blades and swords. I estimate that only those few Soul Kings from Spirit Hall can withstand it. Teams at the Soul Ancestor level simply cannot stop this move. Don't forget, this is only his Second Soul Skill. How terrifying will his Fourth Soul Skill be? In terms of actual combat strength, Wang Xiaofei can nearly rival a high-level Soul Emperor."

Ning Fengzhi nodded. "What a terrifying genius! Now I really want to see what his Fourth Soul Skill is like."