Blue Silver Sacrifice, Haotian Secludes

The second day of the tournament proceeded as scheduled. The third round would be completed in the morning, and the thirty victors, along with the three who drew empty lots, would advance to the final thirty-three-to-fifteen knockout stage. Everyone brought their "hundredfold spirit" to the arena!

Luo Chen observed several of his opponents. Among the thirty-three, over twenty were Great Spirit Masters, while the remaining eight or nine were merely Spirit Masters. In terms of rank alone, he was only upper-middle tier, but when it came to actual combat strength, he considered himself number one.

This round also utilized a lottery system, with eleven groups of three. In these eleven groups, ten would face off in pairs, with the losers eliminated. The five winners and the one who drew a bye—six groups in total—would then compete in pairs. The three winners would advance directly, while the remaining three would play a round-robin; a win earned one point, a draw zero, and a loss negative one. The top two teams from the final three would secure the last two spots, making for a total of five groups and fifteen people.

First came the grouping. Su Heng was fortunate enough to be placed with Luo Chen, and their third member was a Power Attack-type Great Spirit Master. The configuration of the three was quite reasonable.

This time, Su Heng's luck ran out; he failed to draw a bye. It seemed good fortune did not last forever. Their opponents were three pure Power Attack-type Spirit Masters.

The Power Attack-type Spirit Master on Luo Chen's team was named Jax. He was a Tool Spirit Master whose spirit was a Demon-Subduing Staff, and he was a level 23 Great Spirit Master. He was thrilled to be on the same team as Luo Chen; he had watched from the sidelines during the previous matches and deeply admired Luo Chen's ability to command spirit beasts.

"Brother Luo Chen, what exactly is your spirit? It's just too cool!"

Jax was in the fifth grade and only eleven years old, so he was naturally curious about spirits he had never seen before.

"My spirit is this ball right here!"

"Ah?" Jax didn't know what to say for a moment. He had assumed Luo Chen's spirit would be something formidable capable of controlling spirit beasts; this ball didn't look particularly impressive.

"This ball of mine can capture spirit beasts. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even be able to capture people!"

"You..."

Before Jax could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred! The sky gradually darkened. It was broad daylight, yet a moon suddenly rose on the horizon. The sight of the sun and moon shining together was eerily strange!

The Evil Emperor, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke: "This is... a sacrifice? Which fool would choose to sacrifice themselves!" His voice carried a trace of anger and contempt!

As the second of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, such a thing as a sacrifice was absolutely impossible for him. In his dictionary, there were only two choices: becoming a god or death. There was no third option!

A sacrifice? At this point in time... Luo Chen pondered, and in an instant, a possibility crossed his mind—the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin!

Tang San's mother and Tang Hao's wife. By sacrificing herself to Tang Hao, she allowed him to become a Titled Douluo, the youngest in the history of the continent.

It seems the main plot has begun, though a bit late. Tang San, there can only be one protagonist in this era, and that is me. One step late means being late at every step.

Luo Chen spoke to the Evil Emperor in his mind with a playful tone: "It should be a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor trapped by love."

"A hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor? This Seat seems to have sensed it before. The ruler of the Blue Silver clan? A low-level species. To cultivate to that point only to sacrifice oneself to a human in the end... what a pity."

The selection for the elite class continued as usual. Whatever happened in the outside world had nothing to do with the students. Eventually, five groups emerged victorious and earned their spots in the elite class. Luo Chen, naturally, was among them.

In the second week, the elite class was officially established. The fifteen students were assigned to a separate classroom, with the three major committee members teaching them personally.

Over the following months, many things happened on the continent. The Pope of Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji, was dead! He had been killed by the newly promoted Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao. The new Pope was the former Saintess of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, who declared that she and Tang Hao were irreconcilable enemies.

However, the newly promoted Clear Sky Douluo had vanished, seemingly disappearing from the continent without a trace.

The sect master of the Clear Sky Sect—Tang Hao's father—also passed away during this period. The new sect master, Tang Xiao, announced that the Clear Sky Sect would be closed indefinitely.

From then on, the Clear Sky Sect, the head of the Upper Three Sects, faded into obscurity. One could hardly find a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect on the continent anymore.

At this time, Luo Chen had returned to his hometown, with Su Heng following by his side.

"Brother Chen, your home is quite far," Su Heng remarked with a sigh.

A few months had made both of them grow a little taller, and their builds had become more robust. The baby fat they once had was gone, and after months of tempering, their childishness had faded, replaced by a significant boost in their spirit and vitality.

The academy had given them a two-month winter break, and Luo Chen wanted to go home for a visit. For someone from the Blue Star, "going home to visit" was more than just empty words.

Su Heng claimed that he was unloved by his parents, and upon hearing that Luo Chen's home was by the sea, he insisted on tagging along, saying he had never seen the ocean before.

After much pestering, Luo Chen agreed to take him along.

They arrived at Hailun City. Having been away for several months, the small town seemed to have undergone subtle changes.

The defenses were tighter, and there were even two Spirit Master guards at the city gate.

Upon inquiring, they learned that ever since Fule became the principal of the Hailun City Primary Spirit Master Academy, the Empire had also appointed him as the Lord of Hailun City.

Since taking office, he had issued many orders and implemented various policies. Hailun City was now vigorously developing its fishing industry, and the economic level had improved by a significant margin!

Luo Chen stood before his familiar yet strange doorstep. Why was his family's tailor shop gone?

And what on earth was this "Old Luo's Stewed Fish"?

Just then, a waiter happened to step out. Seeing the distinguished-looking Luo and Su, he immediately approached with a smile.

"Oh, two young masters, what would you like to eat?" the waiter asked cheerfully.

The waiter looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, thin but very sharp.

Luo Chen asked, "Young man, may I ask who the owner of this shop is?"

"You mean our boss? Our boss's surname is Luo. He used to be a merchant, and the boss's wife was the most famous tailor in town. Later, after the new city lord took office and promoted tourism and the fishing industry, they turned the old tailor shop into this restaurant. The boss has great skills; his stewed fish is simply unrivaled!" the waiter said, beaming with excitement.

Luo Chen confirmed it—this was indeed his parents' shop. Wait, buddy, I've only been gone for a few months, and the family can already afford to hire a waiter?

"Brother Chen, are you sure this is your house? How come it feels like this waiter doesn't recognize you?" Su Heng said.

Just as they were speaking, a woman walked out carrying a package. Upon seeing Luo Chen's face at the door, she immediately dropped the package and rushed toward him.

Luo Chen was stunned by his mother's sudden action and kept saying, "Mom, wait, wait! My classmate is still here, save me some face."

The person who had come out was none other than Luo Chen's mother, Lin Xiaomei!