Opening Ceremony

The day of the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament's opening ceremony arrived quickly. Liu Tianran and Xu Xiaoyu got up early, stood side by side before the mirror brushing their teeth and rinsing their mouths, then changed into Eastsea Academy uniforms and headed out.

In the first-floor lounge, teachers and students from the various participating academies had already gathered. Liu Tianran and Xu Xiaoyu quickly found where Eastsea Academy's group was among the crowd.

"Ah, we're a little late."

Skysea Stadium was a massive venue capable of holding eighty thousand people. It was also the largest stadium among all the cities of the Skysea Alliance.

When Eastsea City's team arrived at Skysea Stadium, the largest stadium in the eastern Federation, the students were all astonished by its scale, even Gu Yue. Only Liu Tianran, who had seen it before as a local, and several teachers remained relatively calm.

For the Eastsea Economic Circle, the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament was the greatest event of the year, and it drew the attention of the entire Federation. Every year, the tournament produced outstanding talents. As the host, Skysea City put tremendous effort into its preparations, hoping to recruit promising newcomers into the city before and after each tournament.

In truth, the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament had originally been intended to select and nurture exceptional talents for the Skysea Alliance, producing both pillars of the Federation and strengthening the alliance itself.

The Federation was filled with competing factions, and the Skysea Alliance itself was a powerful force. Especially in economic terms, it could be considered one of the alliance's major giants.

Unfortunately, the Skysea Alliance had always lacked talent. In its competition with the major inland cities, it had consistently been crushed. After all, many inland cities possessed great clans with inheritances stretching back thousands, even tens of thousands of years, with deep reserves of talent and formidable foundations.

After recalling some relevant details from the original story, Liu Tianran explained a little about how seriously the Skysea Alliance regarded this tournament and the background behind it to his teammates.

Following Eastsea City's team into the stadium, Liu Tianran and the others also saw teams from other cities.

Among them, the students from Skysea City's local teams stood out the most. Their faces were filled with high spirits and fighting intent. Though they could not match most inland academy teachers and students, they were still among the strongest within the alliance.

"Class monitor, tell me, if we beat them before the finals, do you think they'll still be so spirited after the tournament ends?"

He Qing watched the Skysea City students pass in front of them, looking eager to give it a try.

"All right, don't overthink it. Teacher Lin told us to head to the preparation room."

"Okay, coming."

[Little geniuses of the Skysea Alliance, are you ready to face the inequalities of this world head-on?]

As Liu Tianran pondered this, the stadium stands had already filled with spectators, and amid the noisy clamor, the opening ceremony began.

At that moment, the broadcast echoed throughout the venue, reaching the lounge where Liu Tianran and the others were resting.

"Greetings, young talents." At that moment, a loud and authoritative voice reverberated through the stadium, instantly drawing the attention of every contestant present.

The speaker was Skysea City's governor. Rather than standing beside the draw machine in front of the screen, he was seated on the main platform with its broad view. His figure was projected onto the enormous screen through high-definition cameras, clearly displayed before everyone's eyes.

"First, on behalf of the Skysea Alliance, I welcome you all.

"To demonstrate how much importance we place on this tournament, we have specially invited Saint Craftsman Li Ziming of the Forging Masters Association to attend this opening ceremony. Please welcome him with a round of applause!"

Amid the applause, a man stepped onto the stage. He had handsome features and a tall, straight figure. His short platinum-blond hair gleamed brilliantly beneath the lights, as though metallic luster flowed across it, making him exceptionally distinctive.

"That is... Saint Craftsman Li!"

No one knew who let out the first cry of surprise, but it instantly shattered the silence within the venue.

Li Ziming's advancement to Saint Craftsman had, over the past year, swept through the entire Soul Master world like a hurricane and become one of the hottest topics of recent times.

Not to mention that those able to participate in the Skysea Grand Tournament were all young talents carefully nurtured by the major powers of the Skysea Alliance. They were well-informed, so naturally, none of them could possibly be unaware of Li Ziming's name.

"And here is another piece of good news for everyone.

"To inspire all contestants, Mr. Li Ziming and the organizers have decided that, in addition to the precious resources officially prepared for the champions, the individual champions of both the youth and junior divisions of this Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament will each receive a custom-made set of Battle Armor."

"I hope that all of you will give it your all in the upcoming round-robin matches, display your absolute peak condition, and strive to stand out from the crowd."

The instant the host finished speaking, an uproar erupted.

"It really is Saint Craftsman Li Ziming! The Skysea Alliance actually managed to invite him here this time!"

"Battle Armor custom-made by a Saint Craftsman? Damn it! Why didn't my year have such amazing rewards?"

"Quick! Get those brats from the family over here! Even if they can't win, it would still be good if they could show their faces before a Saint Craftsman!"

"Where's the registration desk? I want to sign up!"

Many contestants wore stunned expressions as discussions broke out one after another.

Even the proud and arrogant teachers and students of Shrek Academy, who considered themselves geniuses, had their gazes instantly turn fiery. Their eyes were filled with excitement and longing as they looked at the platinum-haired man, a reaction even stronger than when the ceremony had first begun.

They could not help turning their eager, expectant gazes toward their team leader, Shen Yi.

"Go. This is an extremely good opportunity."

Shen Yi understood that such an opportunity was not something one encountered easily. The value of a chance to have Battle Armor custom-made by a Saint Craftsman was immeasurable. Even she herself wished she could go onstage and compete.

Many Soul Masters from major powers, seated in the VIP rooms and accompanying their younger generation to the competition, also looked at those juniors with envy.

After all, the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament was merely a competition among young people. They had originally come only to make an appearance and perhaps see if there were any promising seedlings.

More than the people of the Skysea Alliance, they understood the importance of Battle Armor to Soul Masters, and naturally understood the status and capabilities of a Saint Craftsman even better.

They also knew exactly what an extraordinary stroke of fortune it was to have the chance to become acquainted with a prodigy who had become a Saint Craftsman at the age of twenty-one.

Saint Craftsmen were generally extremely busy. Their orders alone could be booked years in advance. Even at Shrek Academy, they were not qualified to speak with a Saint Craftsman, much less commission one to forge Battle Armor.

This sudden surprise also set the thoughts of every Soul Master present racing. Their eyes as they looked at Li Ziming were filled with eagerness and expectation—perhaps this was their perfect opportunity to approach a Saint Craftsman and obtain Battle Armor.

After the commotion subsided somewhat, Skysea City's governor saw that the atmosphere had been properly stirred up and began the next part of the proceedings.

"Everyone, today marks the beginning of the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament. We have specially invited a team from Shrek Academy to exchange pointers with last year's champions.

"Given Shrek Academy's formidable strength, this exchange will be conducted across age groups. The seven champions of our Skysea Alliance youth division will challenge Shrek Academy's seven-member junior team.

"Now, please welcome both sides to the stage."

Several people raised their eyes toward the center of the stadium, where a raised platform had already been built. Seven young men and women in silver uniforms walked onto it with high confidence. They were the previous Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament champions.

"Hey, look! Isn't that the little fatty who was talking to the captain earlier?"

Beside them, Xu Xiaoyan suddenly raised her hand when she saw the seven boys and girls appearing on the other side. Tang Wulin looked over as well.

All seven wore green tracksuits and appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old. However, two of them stood out in particular: Xu Lizhi and the blond-haired girl called Xinglan, both of whom looked to be around ten.

"So those two are students of Shrek Academy!"

Tang Wulin paused before speaking. Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, and the others were also stunned. They were all around ten years old too, so how could those two already represent Shrek Academy in a match?

"There's nothing to envy. Given the chance, I'll take you to challenge the legendary students of Shrek Academy someday."

Wu Changkong interrupted Tang Wulin and the others' thoughts in a serious tone before continuing, "Focus on the match. I mean it. We just need results first."

A few words from Wu Changkong pulled Tang Wulin and the others out of that inferiority-driven comparison and back into reality.

On the platform, the two academy teams had already exchanged bows. The obvious age difference between the two sides sent countless spectators in the stands into a frenzy.

At the head of Shrek Academy's representative team stood a boy of around fifteen. His aura was as deep and heavy as abyssal waters, and he quickly became the focus of the entire venue.

While Tang Wulin concentrated on the two teams onstage, preparing to absorb experience from this seven-versus-seven team battle for use by his own group,

Liu Tianran was also recalling information about Shrek Academy's representative team.

[Aside from Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi, that captain's Martial Soul should be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. There is also a girl whose Martial Soul is the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, but I really don't know anything about the other three. After all, they were just background characters.]

Very soon, after the referee announced the start of the match, both sides released their Soul Rings and Spirit Souls. Then, the boy with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul filled the sky with lightning, concealing everything happening on the platform.

About a minute later, the match ended.

The seven representatives of the Skysea Alliance were all lying on the competition platform. The Shrek Academy team still maintained their original formation, with the youngest, Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan, positioned at the back. Ye Xinglan seemed not to have made a move from beginning to end.

As the entire stadium fell silent, the members of Shrek Academy's representative team gave a slight bow to the audience below the stage, then casually left the competition platform.

"If you win the championship, I'll give you a chance to challenge them publicly."

Behind Liu Tianran came Wu Changkong's cold voice. Wu Changkong stepped out from the crowd and came before Liu Tianran, Tang Wulin, and the others, saying,

"They are merely students of Shrek Academy's Outer Court. Only the two younger students at the back may already be designated Inner Court disciples."

"Challenging Outer Court students can prove your abilities, but those two are your greatest rivals."