The Seven Monsters' Changes, Tournament Rules and Format

Time passed little by little.

Half an hour later.

Huo Lei was still absorbing the External Soul Bone. Fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. The Soul Bone on his back was no longer floating, but pressed tightly against it.

A quarter of an hour later, Huo Lei suddenly opened his eyes and let out a roar. "Ah~"

His sudden shout made Jin Shan and Lin Yin, who stood not far away, both shudder. They hurriedly turned their gazes toward Huo Lei.

Jin Shan glanced at Huo Lei's back and smiled. "Looks like the fusion is about to be complete."

At that moment, the Soul Bone on Huo Lei's back gradually merged into his body and disappeared. Yet in the blink of an eye, a pair of wings with a four-meter wingspan and covered in blue feathers sprouted from his back. Arcs of electricity danced across them, producing faint crackling sounds.

With a flap of his wings, Huo Lei shot up from the ground into the air.

"Hahaha! I can fly now!" Huo Lei's excited voice rang out from above.

After circling through the nearby sky once, he landed before Jin Shan and Lin Yin.

"Teacher, Lin Yin, I've successfully fused with the Thunder Wings." Huo Lei's face was filled with an irrepressible smile.

Lin Yin stepped forward with a smile. "Congratulations, Young Master Lei. You can fly now."

"Thunder Wings! Not a bad name. Brat, aside from letting you fly quickly, what Soul Skill did these Thunder Wings grant you?" Jin Shan asked curiously, looking the wings up and down.

Huo Lei gave a foolish grin and scratched his head. "Well... I haven't had the chance to find out yet. Let me try sensing it."

Huo Lei closed his eyes and tried to sense what he had newly obtained.

A moment later, Huo Lei opened his eyes. "Teacher, let me demonstrate the new ability brought by the Thunder Wings."

Huo Lei turned toward an unoccupied area. With a slight movement of his mind, Soul Power flowed through the Thunder Wings. Two thunderballs the size of washbasins swiftly condensed on the wings, arcs of electricity coiling around them with loud crackling sounds. With a light flap of his wings, the thunderballs shot toward two trees as thick as water barrels.

The instant the thunderballs struck the trees, two explosive booms rang out. The trees were snapped cleanly in half.

With another thought, the Thunder Wings on Huo Lei's back instantly retracted. He turned to Jin Shan. "Teacher, this is the ability attached to the Thunder Wings—Lightning Orb!"

"Not bad! Not bad!" Jin Shan clapped in approval.

"Congratulations, Young Master Lei. You gained three abilities on this trip." Lin Yin stepped forward to offer his congratulations.

Huo Lei smiled in response. "Thank you!"

"This trip was truly a huge harvest. Not only did I obtain a satisfactory Soul Ring, but I also gained an even more valuable Soul Bone. We've exceeded our objective for this journey. Let's head back to the academy!" Huo Lei stretched lazily and sighed.

Jin Shan and Lin Yin both agreed, and the three began their return journey.

Shrek Academy, Heaven Dou City.

"Hahaha!"

"I finally reached level forty before the Soul Master Tournament." Oscar dashed around the room excitedly.

"Little Ao, keep your voice down. Can't you see everyone else is still cultivating?" Dai Mubai shot Oscar a cold look.

Oscar glanced at Dai Mubai and said awkwardly, "Oh? Sorry, Boss Dai. I got too excited."

At that moment, Tang San woke from his cultivation.

"Little San, you're awake? How was it? Did you break through?"

Oscar looked Tang San up and down.

"I did. I've reached level forty."

Tang San nodded at Oscar.

"Great. I wonder how the others did?" Still delighted, Oscar looked toward his companions who were still cultivating.

As time passed, before long, the others sitting on the ground in cultivation all woke up.

Tang San looked at his companions expectantly and asked, "How did everyone do? Did you break through?"

"Third Brother, I broke through." Ma Hongjun chuckled.

"I broke through too," Ning Rongrong replied.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, merely nodding.

Xiao Wu said playfully, "I'm still a little short. I'm at level thirty-nine now."

"The past two months haven't been wasted. I'm at level forty-four now," Dai Mubai said, reporting his level as well.

Tang San's face lit up with joy. "Other than Boss Dai and Xiao Wu, the five of us have all reached level forty. The Soul Master Tournament is drawing closer, so we need to add our fourth Soul Rings as soon as possible. I'll go tell the teachers now so they can make arrangements early."

Oscar, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun all nodded in agreement.

After saying that, Tang San turned and left.

Three days later.

Huo Lei and the other two returned to the academy.

After breakfast, the eight members of Blazing Fire Academy's team stood in a line at Fire Spring Plaza. Before them stood Dean Huo Feng and Teacher Xie Chong.

"Students, there are less than twenty days left before the Soul Master Elite Tournament. The academy and Teacher Xie Chong have come today to announce something. Teacher Xie Chong will serve as your team leader and accompany you to Heaven Dou City for the Soul Master Elite Tournament. During that time, Teacher Xie Chong will be responsible for any matters that arise. Teacher Xie Chong will now make arrangements and explain the details to you." After making the announcement, Huo Feng looked at Xie Chong, nodded to him, and left Fire Spring Plaza.

Xie Chong looked at the eight before him with bright, spirited eyes and spoke in a refined manner. "It is my honor to serve as your team leader this time. It is also everyone's first time participating in the Soul Master Elite Tournament, so there are some rules and formats you need to understand. Let me explain them to you."

"The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is the grandest martial soul competition in the Soul Master world. It is hosted by the royal families of the two great empires, Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire, with Spirit Hall serving as co-organizer. There are several rules that must be followed. First, the students sent by participating academies must be under twenty-five years old, and seven people must participate in every match. Second, matches are meant to be friendly contests, and injuries or crippling of opponents should be avoided whenever possible. Death is even less permitted. If anyone kills an opponent, that academy will not only bear the corresponding losses, but will also be expelled from the Soul Master Tournament."

"Teacher Xie, doesn't that condition seem rather unreasonable? During a match, everyone fights with all their strength. Deaths and injuries are difficult to avoid." Huo Wu looked at Xie Chong in confusion.

Xie Chong looked at Huo Wu and said solemnly, "What you say is true. However, you must understand that the purpose of the two great empires holding the Soul Master Academy Tournament is not to have the various academies slaughter one another, but to select talented people for recruitment. Spirit Hall and some kingdoms share the same intention. Training an outstanding Soul Master is extraordinarily difficult, and students who can participate in the Soul Master Tournament are the finest talents of their academies. Therefore, no academy wishes to see its own students killed or injured. Prohibiting the killing of opponents may impose certain restrictions, but it also provides protection for the participating students."

Huo Wu revealed a somewhat helpless expression.

Seeing Huo Wu's expression, Xie Chong smiled faintly and continued, "Aside from those two strict rules, there are also several standardized requirements, all for the sake of fairness. For example, during a match, no food or medicine made by any Soul Master other than food-type and healing-type Soul Masters may be used. Only the food-type and healing-type Soul Masters on the field may provide them. In other words, if you want supplies on the arena, an auxiliary-type Soul Master must occupy one of the spots on the field. This is also to prevent teams with food-type Soul Masters from cheating. There is another rule as well: any weapon apart from martial souls is forbidden. If discovered, you will be directly expelled from the tournament."

Good thing Teacher Xie mentioned that. I almost forgot about that rule. Looks like I'll need to put away my life-saving weapons beforehand. Huo Lei felt a trace of relief.

"Next, I'll explain the format of the Soul Master Tournament."