Blazing Fire Academy Team Arrives in Heaven Dou City

Xie Chong paused. "Everyone, have a seat. Sit in a circle so it'll be easier for me to explain."

Huo Lei, Huo Wu, and the other six immediately sat down in a circle, deliberately leaving an empty spot. Taking advantage of the moment, Xie Chong gathered some small sticks and pebbles from nearby.

Xie Chong walked over to the vacant spot and sat cross-legged. He took out a piece of chalk from his Storage Ring and drew two connected circles on the stone-paved square.

"These two circles represent the two great empires." He then drew a smaller circle beside the two large ones, connected to both of them. "This represents Spirit Hall."

"Between the two great empires, there are nearly a hundred Advanced Soul Master Academies in total. Every academy has one tournament slot, while each empire has an official Advanced Soul Master Academy that occupies two slots. Those two official academies each have a main team and a secondary team. The main team advances directly into the final rounds. This is also to preserve the dignity of the imperial families of the two empires. The secondary teams, along with the Soul Master teams from the other academies, will participate in the Preliminary Round."

Xie Chong then explained the divisions of the Preliminary Round and the slots they would compete for.

"Oh, right! Before the Grand Finals, there's also a Promotion Round. The so-called Promotion Round is essentially a ranking competition for the teams that have already entered the finals. Their rankings determine the order in which they will appear in the Grand Finals."

Xie Chong slapped his forehead and added this explanation for the eight of them.

Xie Chong continued by explaining the differences between the Preliminary Round and the Promotion Round, as well as the reasons for the tournament format.

"Teacher Xie, wait a moment." This time, Huo Wushuang spoke up. He asked in confusion, "Teacher Xie, you just said that each of the two great empires has one seeded team, and there are fifteen teams each coming through the Preliminary Round and Promotion Round. That should make thirty-two teams in the Grand Finals. Where does the thirty-third team come from?"

Xie Chong smiled faintly. "I forgot to mention that there is another team directly admitted by Spirit Hall. You could also say that it is the most competitive team. Although Spirit Hall is not an Advanced Soul Master Academy, it has its own specialized institutions for training Soul Masters. In the previous three Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournaments, aside from Star Luo Empire winning one championship, the other two championships were both won by teams sent by Spirit Hall. They will also be your strongest opponents in the future."

The eight members of the Blazing Fire Academy Team exchanged looks, but there was no worry in their eyes. Instead, they were filled with intense curiosity and interest.

Most fire-attribute Soul Masters had bold and straightforward personalities, brimming with passion and vitality. They craved battle and longed to face powerful opponents.

Xie Chong went on to discuss matters such as the Promotion Round rankings and the elimination format used in the Grand Finals. Huo Lei grew sleepy as he listened from the side. He had no interest in such things. In his view, as long as they won every match, that was enough. Before absolute strength, none of this mattered.

"Lastly, I hope everyone will work together and achieve good results, bringing glory to yourselves and to Blazing Fire Academy." After finishing his explanation of the competition details, Xie Chong did not forget to encourage the eight before him.

Over the next dozen or so days, the Blazing Fire Academy competitors began tactical drills under Xie Chong's guidance.

Blazing Fire Academy was not far from Heaven Dou City. Two days before the opening ceremony of the Soul Master Tournament, Xie Chong led the eight members of the Blazing Fire Academy Team to Heaven Dou City.

Jin Shan and Lin Yin had left Blazing Fire Academy ahead of time because they needed to book a hotel. If they were late, there would be no rooms left. However, the organizers had arranged upscale hotels for every competing team, so they would not actually need to worry about food or lodging.

Two days later, in Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The opening ceremony for the Heaven Dou Empire division of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was held with grand ceremony in Heaven Dou City.

As the grandest Soul Master Tournament in the Soul Master world, it attracted more than just Soul Masters. From the imperial family and nobles to commoners, every resident of Heaven Dou City regarded this tournament as the greatest festival.

The opening ceremony was held at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena within Heaven Dou City. The tickets for the ceremony had sold out a month earlier, and their prices were many times higher than the normal admission fee for watching Soul Battles.

As the main venue of the Heaven Dou division, the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena had stopped all Soul Battle matches a month earlier for internal renovations. All the subsidiary arenas within the Great Soul Arena and the central Soul Battle arena had been merged into one, forming an enormous competition venue.

Other than the VIP area, which remained on the north side of the entire venue, the renovated Great Soul Arena could accommodate eighty thousand spectators at once.

Although ticket sales brought in considerable revenue, they also came at a tremendous cost.

For the period to come, all Preliminary Round matches for the Heaven Dou division would be held here.

Before dawn, while the sun had yet to rise, the renovated Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena was already flooded with spectators. They had arrived early not to enter the venue sooner, since every ticket had an assigned seat, but to catch a close-up glimpse of the young Soul Masters competing on the opening day.

Among them were quite a few young women yearning for love. All of them longed to marry a young and powerful Soul Master.

Some nobles who had purchased VIP tickets had also gathered outside. They likewise hoped to recruit powerful Soul Masters.

At this moment, with the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena at its center, nearly a third of Heaven Dou City was deserted. From several days ago, every hotel in Heaven Dou City had been fully booked. The city's population had surged dramatically. This showed just how appealing this continent-wide Soul Master Tournament was to the public.

For this tournament, Heaven Dou City had mobilized a full five thousand city defense soldiers to maintain order. Only then had they managed to prevent unrest as much as possible.

"Wow, there are so many people!" Huo Wu looked utterly excited. Huo Lei and the other Blazing Fire Academy students also looked all around them. It was their first time seeing such a grand and lively scene.

There were many teams participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, nearly thirty in total. They represented their respective academies, and the spectators' eyes were drawn to the handsome young men and beautiful young women among the Soul Master teams.

Most teams participating in the Soul Master Tournament were dressed splendidly. Blazing Fire Academy was no exception.

The eight members of the Blazing Fire Academy Team and their accompanying teacher, Xie Chong, all wore brand-new academy uniforms. Their tops were primarily gold and red, accented with black, embroidered with golden flame patterns. They wore black trousers below, while all their accessories were gold. As the only woman on the team, Huo Wu wore a short gold-and-red skirt and walked at the front, drawing countless sidelong glances from male onlookers.

"Wow! Look, it's the famous Blazing Fire Academy, one of the Five Great Elemental Academies! The girl at the front is so beautiful!" Some male spectators could not help shouting.

The women, meanwhile, focused on the men from Blazing Fire Academy, especially Huo Wushuang and Huo Lei in the second row. "Wow! Look! Those two boys in the second row from Blazing Fire Academy are so handsome! Those red eyes are just too wild. I can barely stop myself from pouncing on them."

Under everyone's gaze, the Blazing Fire Academy Team strode into the Great Soul Arena with high spirits, smiling faces, and heads held high.