Star Luo National Academy

Early in the morning, Star Luo Plaza was buzzing with excitement.

As Xiao Jinchen led the group from Zhengtian Academy onto the stage, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the spectator stands.

As for the Ice Empress, she had taken his storage ring early that morning, claiming she wanted to take the Snow Empress out to properly explore the human world and go on a shopping spree.

Now, only four independent areas remained in the rest zone. With half an hour left before the matches, all four top-tier teams were already seated, waiting in battle formation.

Sunlight bathed the plaza, and a ten-meter-long red carpet stretched from the imperial palace to the front of the competition stage. Ten minutes before the draw, Xu Jiawei walked onto the stage with long strides, surrounded by his imperial guards.

"Long live!" the soldiers and citizens shouted in unison, and the competing team members rose one after another to pay their respects.

Once the plaza fell silent, Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "The semi-finals are about to begin. This is the final draw of this tournament, and I have decided to preside over it personally."

Shortly after, an old man said in a deep voice, "Will the captains of the four teams please come to the stage for the draw."

Xu Jiawei added, "To ensure the safety of the matches, the upcoming bouts will be refereed by the Empire's Guardian Douluo. Today, the proceedings will be overseen by Senior Heavenly Fiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu."

The four captains quickly gathered on the stage: Xiao Jinchen of Zhengtian Academy, Ma Rulong of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, a young man from Di'ao Academy, and Princess Jiu Jiu of the Star Luo Empire.

Xu Jiawei laughed, "I will toss four golden balls into the air, and you will all grab for them at the same time. Are you ready?"

The four of them nodded.

"Pay attention!" Xu Jiawei's eyes narrowed slightly, and four golden lights instantly shot into the sky.

Facing the golden balls in the air, Xiao Jinchen merely flicked his finger casually, and a ball flew automatically into his hand. On the other side, the student from Di'ao Academy and Ma Rulong leaped into the air simultaneously, scrambling desperately for the others. Princess Jiu Jiu, however, stood where she was, smiling without moving.

Xiao Jinchen looked at the golden ball in his hand, gave a faint smile, and said, "Number one."

Xu Jiu Jiu also looked at the golden ball in her hand, her expression stiffening instantly. It was a long moment before she spoke, "I am number one."

"Sigh." Upon hearing the number Xu Jiu Jiu reported, Xu Jiawei let out a helpless sigh and said, "It seems my Star Luo National Academy's journey ends here."

Xu Jiawei was certainly not naive enough to believe that their Star Luo National Academy had a chance to defeat Zhengtian Academy. After all, even Shrek Academy had been defeated; naturally, they did not think they had any chance of overcoming Zhengtian Academy.

Immediately following, Ma Rulong said steadily, "Number two."

With that, although the Di'ao Academy side had not yet reported their number, the results of the draw were already clear. Zhengtian Academy, also holding number one, would face Star Luo National Academy today, while the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy would naturally face Di'ao Academy.

After Xu Jiawei personally verified the draw numbers, he announced the results to the public. When the citizens of the Star Luo Empire heard that their team was to face Zhengtian Academy—the team that had once defeated Shrek Academy—waves of gasps echoed continuously from the crowd. While they might be inferior in strength, they absolutely could not lose in spirit.

"Zhengtian Academy, Star Luo National Academy, team members to the stage," the Heavenly Fiend Douluo shouted loudly.

Xu Jiawei had already returned to the imperial palace under the protection of three other Title Douluos to watch the battle from the city walls.

Xiao Jinchen let out a lazy yawn and led the group from Zhengtian Academy onto the competition stage. Once they had ascended, the opposing Star Luo National Academy climbed up as well.

Before the semi-final had even begun, the gap between the two sides was already apparent. The Zhengtian Academy side looked relaxed and comfortable, while the atmosphere on the Star Luo National Academy side appeared somewhat heavy.

On the Star Luo National Academy side, they had already begun to set up their formation. Six of them stood in a triangle—one in front, followed by two, then three. Only Xu Jiu Jiu stood at the very back, a flicker of gold passing through her eyes.

"The match begins!" Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu shouted. A streak of golden light flashed in the center of the stage, and he retreated from the arena.

The students of Star Luo National Academy reacted with lightning speed, all releasing their Martial Souls at the first possible moment.

A golden light shone from Princess Jiu Jiu's forehead; it was a diamond-shaped golden gem. Once the golden diamond appeared, it erupted with brilliant light, detached from her forehead, and floated slowly upward. Surrounded by golden radiance, a magnificent crown appeared above her head and slowly descended to rest upon her brow.

The crown looked as if it were composed of countless stars, all of them a pale gold. Starting from that diamond gem, it gathered toward the back. There were eighteen larger stars protruding upward on the crown, forming a beautiful circle of points.

The Star Crown—this was Princess Jiu Jiu's Martial Soul.

It was also the hereditary Martial Soul of the Xu family of the Star Luo royal house. Due to the author's retconning, the Star Crown Martial Soul was listed as one of the patterns on the Spirit Hall Elder tokens from ten thousand years ago.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black soul rings rose from beneath Xu Jiu Jiu's feet, and a wave of Soul Power belonging to the Soul King level immediately swept outward.

The other six people in front of Princess Jiu Jiu also released their Martial Souls. These six were all Soul King-level powerhouses; the Star Luo National Academy had formed a team consisting entirely of Soul Kings.

"Just watch from behind," Xiao Jinchen instructed Ye Wuqing and the others, walking toward the Star Luo National Academy with a relaxed expression.

Seeing Xiao Jinchen walking in their direction, Xu Jiu Jiu decisively released her third soul skill—Star Radiance Art.

A golden light shot into the sky, instantly transforming into a sky full of golden mist that enveloped all the team members on their side.

As a layer of brilliant golden light shrouded the members of the Star Luo National Academy, with Princess Jiu Jiu as the eye of the formation, a soft white glow lit up behind all seven members simultaneously. Under the guidance of this wondrous power, their originally independent Soul Powers miraculously converged and flowed together, merging into one.

This was thanks to that extremely rare soul tool—the Nine-Turn Soul Transformation Instrument.

It could not only perfectly link the team members' Soul Power but, under Xu Jiu Jiu's precise control, it could also gather the seven people's Soul Power into a single point, forcibly elevating the combat power of a specific member to the Soul Saint level for a short time.

At this moment, Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan, who possessed the deepest Soul Power reserves in the Star Luo team, received this surging power, their cultivation levels forcibly pushed up to the Soul Emperor level.

"Roar! Roar!"

Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan let out a simultaneous roar. A tiger and a lion charged out across the arena, sprinting toward Xiao Jinchen.

"Third soul skill, Demon Tiger Sharp Claws!"

"Fifth soul skill, Demon Tiger Shakes the Heavens!"

"Third soul skill, Netherworld Charge!"

"Fifth soul skill, Mad Lion Breaks the Fiend!"

As they ran, Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan both unleashed their strongest soul skills. A powerful wave of Soul Power swept out as the two formed a pincer movement from left and right, their tiger claws and lion palms striking toward Xiao Jinchen's face with a sharp, air-piercing whistle.