One-Minute Sweep

Continental Soul Master Elite Tournament.

The Star Luo Prime Minister stepped forward and nodded to his subordinates, signaling for the competition to begin.

At once, a booming voice rang out. "According to the rules of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, the first round will be an elimination round. The first match is about to begin. The competing teams are the representatives of Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Dou Ling Empire, and the representatives of Shrek Academy—the continent's number one academy, bearing countless honors and having claimed nearly every tournament championship over the past ten thousand years."

With the host's announcement, the atmosphere throughout Star Luo Square instantly reached a fever pitch.

"Shrek... Shrek... Shrek..." Cries surged in from every direction, wave after wave like the tide, drowning out every other sound.

The thunderous cheers stirred the Shrek Team to the core. They could hardly wait to take the stage and display the grandeur of the continent's number one academy.

Just then, the host's voice rang out. "First, let us welcome the competitors from Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy!"

There were seven of them, all young faces, yet every one of them looked bloodless. Some pressed their lips together tightly, some stared blankly ahead, and some had knees that trembled slightly as they walked. Of course they knew what kind of opponent they faced: Shrek Academy, that monster academy that had claimed nearly every tournament championship for the past ten thousand years. Drawing such a lot in the very first round—forget winning, if they could finish the match standing, that would already take guts.

"Very well, the competitors from Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy have entered the arena. At this moment, beneath the eyes of all, let us welcome the representatives of the continent's number one academy, the true king among academies—Shrek Academy!" The host's impassioned voice shot into the clouds, and Star Luo Square instantly became an ocean of cheers for Shrek. Even the Star Luo Emperor, seated atop the city wall to watch the matches, could not help but rise to his feet.

In Shrek Academy's area, Yan Jingzhe encouraged them, "Go. Show Shrek's spirit in the first battle. Xiaotao, hold back and conserve your strength. Let the others finish this fight."

"Yes, Dean Yan." Ma Xiaotao looked as though she wanted to cry. She wanted to show herself off and earn glory too, but her martial uncle had spoken, so she could only agree...

Seeing Xiaotao agree, Yan Jingzhe nodded and withdrew his gaze. As for the battle onstage, sorry, but he had no interest in watching it at all. Even if Xiaotao did not act, the remaining six included one Soul Emperor and five Soul Kings. Against a group without even a single Soul King, it would be as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.

Onstage, Dai Yueheng stood at the front of the team. At the referee's command, he leaped into the air.

Fourth Soul Skill: White Tiger Meteor Shower.

White light exploded from his body, transforming into dozens of fist-sized spheres that rained down upon the opposing side. Heavenly Spirit Academy's seven members hurriedly raised defensive soul skills, but the light spheres were too dense and came from too many tricky angles. Some were struck in the shoulder and staggered back, while others were directly shaken until their soul power scattered.

Immediately after, Ling Luochan made her move. Third Soul Skill: Ice Seal. A ring of pale blue chill spread from beneath her feet, creeping across the ground toward the feet of the opposing seven. The cold rapidly condensed into ice, freezing their ankles solidly in place. Some tried to struggle, but the ice had already reached their knees.

The others rushed forward and, with one kick each, cleanly sent their immobilized opponents flying off the arena.

The entire process took less than a minute.

The referee stood at the edge of the arena, stunned for two seconds before recovering and announcing loudly, "The winners are Shrek Academy!"

"Shrek, Shrek, Shrek..." The audience erupted once more, shouting at the top of their lungs.

The seven walked down with their heads held high. "Dean Yan, how was that? We did pretty well, didn't we?"

"Excellent! You all performed very well." Yan Jingzhe smiled. "The elimination rounds will last three days. If you want to watch over the next two days, you may. It will be a good chance to assess the strength of the other academies' seeded competitors."

"After the elimination rounds, we will enter the round-robin stage. Xiaotao, you need not compete during the round-robin stage either. We'll discuss it again around the quarterfinals."

"Ah, I have to wait until the quarterfinals before I can compete." Ma Xiaotao spoke miserably.

"Your opponents are those two Soul Emperor competitors from Sun Moon Soul Engineer Academy, so do not reveal too much of your strength." Yan Jingzhe smiled. "I still want to give them a surprise."

This would also preserve some of their strength. When the quarterfinals came, a Soul Saint would suddenly appear—and one with Ultimate Fire at that. It should directly crush their confidence.

"Fine, I understand." Hearing Yan Jingzhe's arrangements, Ma Xiaotao more or less understood what he had in mind.

"Do you want to watch the later matches, or go back?" Yan Jingzhe asked everyone.

"Let's go back, Master." Huo Yuhao answered. "Rather than stay here and watch them compete, we might as well return to cultivate. With the strength of the senior brothers and sisters, winning the championship will be effortless."

"Mm! I want to go back too. The later matches may be exciting, but they won't be of much use to us!"

"I want to go shopping. I haven't even explored half of Star Luo City these past few days!"

"Fine, then everyone come back with me." Yan Jingzhe nodded, then looked at Wang Yan. "Wang Yan, I'll leave observing the strength of the other academy teams to you."

Wang Yan: "..."

He actually wanted to leave too. He did not want to waste time watching.

But he could not refuse. Someone had to do this sort of thing, and the competitors were hardly suited for it, so it could only be him.

"Understood, Dean Yan. Leave it to me." Wang Yan answered helplessly.

Only after leaving the competition grounds did everyone realize something.

There was actually not much to browse on the first day of the tournament. Many shops had closed so their owners could watch the matches, and there were few people on the streets as well.

It was not just the first day; the following days were much the same. The best time to shop was still in the evening, when the city truly became lively.

But fewer people had their advantages too. They could better enjoy the street scenery and buy things. There were not many choices, but at least they did not have to queue.

"Hehe! I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a while. If you see anything you want to buy or eat, just get it. I'll reimburse you later!" Yan Jingzhe said with a smile as they walked down the street.

"Yay, thank you, Dean Yan!" Several girls thanked him excitedly.

After leaving the group, Yan Jingzhe headed straight for the Star Luo City branch of the Treasure-Gathering Pavilion. He planned to obtain more funds there, preparing to bid on two items at the auction in a few days.

The first was the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Left Arm Soul Bone, whose soul skill was Ice Explosion. It could be used by his disciple, Huo Yuhao. The second was the Snow Empress Embryo. That was the true grand prize. Once Electrolux finished deriving the Advanced Soul Spirit Method, he could directly make the Snow Empress his Soul Spirit. At that time, not only would he gain another powerful fighter, he could also take the opportunity to gather the faith of the Soul Beasts in the Far North.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone.