The next day's matches went ahead as scheduled. The third round would finish that morning, and the final thirty-three-person tournament would begin with the thirty winners and three contestants who had drawn byes. Everyone gave it their 百倍精神!
Luo Chen watched a few of his opponents. More than twenty of the thirty-three were Soul Grandmasters, while the remaining eight or nine were Soul Masters. Judging by rank alone, he could only be considered above average. But when it came to actual strength, he was sure he ranked first.
This round still used a draw: eleven groups of three. Ten groups would face off in pairs, with the losers eliminated. The five winning groups and the group with a bye would make six groups, which would then compete in pairs. The three winning groups would advance directly. The remaining three would each compete once against the others: a win earned one point, a draw earned zero, and a loss cost one. The two teams with the highest scores would claim the final two spots, making five groups and fifteen contestants in total.
First came the group assignments. Su Heng was lucky enough to end up with Luo Chen, and their third teammate was a Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster. Their lineup was well balanced.
This time, Su Heng's luck ran out. He didn't get a bye. Good fortune couldn't last forever, after all. Their opponents were three Soul Masters, all of them specializing in the Power Attack System.
The Power Attack System Soul Master on Luo Chen's team was named Jax. He was an Artifact Soul Master whose Martial Soul was the Demon-Subduing Staff, and he was a twenty-third-level Soul Grandmaster. When he found out he'd been grouped with Luo Chen, he was overjoyed. He'd watched Luo Chen tame beasts at the last match, sitting below the stage, and had been envious of his ability to control Soul Beasts.
"Brother Luo Chen, what exactly is your Martial Soul? It's so cool!"
Jax was in fifth grade and only eleven years old. He was very curious about a Martial Soul he'd never seen before.
"My Martial Soul is this ball!"
"Huh?" Jax didn't know what to say. He'd thought Luo Chen's Martial Soul would be something incredible, something that could control Soul Beasts. This ball didn't look all that impressive.
"But my ball can capture Soul Beasts. Maybe someday it'll even be able to catch people!"
"You..."
Before Jax could finish speaking, a sudden change swept over them! The sky gradually darkened. It had been broad daylight, yet a moon suddenly rose on the horizon. The sun and moon shone together, an exceptionally eerie sight!
The Evil Emperor, who hadn't spoken in a long time, suddenly spoke up. "This is... a sacrifice? What idiot chose to sacrifice themselves?" His voice carried a hint of anger and disdain.
As the second of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, the Evil Emperor would never consider sacrificing himself. In his lexicon, there were only godhood and death—no third option!
"A sacrifice? At this point in time..." Luo Chen pondered. It took him only a moment to think of one possibility—Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor!
Tang San's mother and Tang Hao's wife. She sacrificed herself for Tang Hao, and he became a Titled Douluo—the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent.
"Looks like the main story has started. A little late, though. Tang San, this era can only have one protagonist, and that's me. Fall behind by one step, and you'll fall behind at every step."
Luo Chen spoke to the Evil Emperor in his mind with a hint of amusement. "It should be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, a plant spirit beast tormented by love."
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor? I believe I've sensed one before. The ruler of the Blue Silver clan? Nothing more than a lowly species. After finally cultivating to this point, she still sacrificed herself for a human. What a pity."
The elite class selection matches continued as usual. Whatever earth-shattering events took place outside had nothing to do with the students. In the end, five groups won and earned the chance to enter the elite class. Luo Chen, naturally, was among them.
The following week, the elite class officially began. Its fifteen students were assigned to a separate classroom, where the three academic deans personally taught them.
Over the next few months, many things happened on the continent. Qian Xunji, the Spirit Hall pope, died! He was killed by Tang Hao, who had just become the Clear Sky Douluo. The new pope was Bibi Dong, the former Spirit Hall saintess, who declared that she and Tang Hao would never be reconciled.
But the newly ascended Clear Sky Douluo had vanished. It seemed he had disappeared from the continent without a trace.
During this period, the Clear Sky Sect's leader—Tang Hao's father—also passed away. The new leader, Tang Xiao, announced that the Clear Sky Sect would close its gates indefinitely.
From then on, the foremost of the Upper Three Sects, the Clear Sky Sect, vanished from sight. Its disciples were almost never seen on the continent.
Meanwhile, Luo Chen had returned to his hometown, with Su Heng beside him.
"Brother Chen, your home sure is far away," Su Heng said with a sigh.
A few months had made them both a little taller and more muscular. They'd once had a bit of baby fat, but after months of training, their childishness had faded, and their spirits had brightened considerably.
When winter break began, the academy gave them two months off. Luo Chen wanted to go home for a visit. For someone from Blue Star, regularly going home to see family wasn't just something to say.
Su Heng claimed that neither his father nor his mother cared about him. When he heard that Luo Chen's home was by the sea, he insisted on going with him, saying he'd never seen the ocean.
After Su Heng's relentless pleading, Luo Chen agreed to take him home.
They had arrived in Hailun City. After a few months away, the little town seemed to have changed in subtle ways.
Security was tighter, and two Soul Master guards now stood at the city gate.
After asking around, they learned that ever since Fule had become the dean of Hailun City Junior Soul Master Academy, the empire had also appointed him mayor of Hailun City.
Since taking office, he'd issued many orders and put numerous policies into effect. Hailun City was now vigorously developing its fishing industry, and its economy had risen to a whole new level!
Luo Chen stood outside the familiar yet strange home. What had happened to his family's tailor shop?
And what was this Old Luo's Fish Stew?
Just then, a young waiter came out and spotted Luo and Su, whose bearing was anything but ordinary. He immediately approached them with a welcoming smile.
"Ah, young gentlemen, what would you like to eat?" the waiter asked cheerfully.
The waiter looked fifteen or sixteen, and though he was thin, he was very sharp.
Luo Chen asked, "Excuse me, young man, who owns this place?"
"You mean our boss? His surname's Luo. He used to travel with a merchant caravan, and the boss's wife was the most famous tailor in town. Later, after the new mayor took office and started promoting tourism and fishing, our boss and his wife turned their old tailor shop into this restaurant. The boss is a great cook. His stewed fish is second to none!" The waiter spoke with animated enthusiasm.
Luo Chen understood. This was the restaurant his parents had opened. Come on, man, I'd only been gone a few months—how could they already afford to hire a waiter?
"Brother Chen, are you sure this is your house? Why does it feel like the waiter doesn't know you?" Su Heng said.
As they spoke, a woman came out carrying a bundle. The moment she recognized Luo Chen standing at the door, she set the bundle down and rushed toward him.
His mother's sudden embrace stunned Luo Chen. He kept saying, "Mom, wait, wait—I've got a classmate here. Save me some face."
The woman who'd come out was none other than Luo Chen's mother, Lin Xiaomei!
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