Ten Thousand Year Fourth Ring, Huo Lei's Thoughts

The Preliminary Round was somewhat similar to soul fighting; the tournament gave both sides one minute to summon their Martial Souls.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team and the Shrek Team released their Martial Souls simultaneously. When all their Soul Rings appeared before the audience, cries of astonishment immediately spread through the stands.

Huo Lei's attention was entirely on Tang San. His feelings were complicated at that moment, because Tang San's fourth Soul Ring was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

"What a pity! Even though I was a transmigrator and knew all the timelines, transmigration was random, and I could do nothing about it. If you transmigrated well, you started high; if you transmigrated poorly, you started low. Some people were born into wealth and privilege, while others were born ordinary. Perhaps only I could understand my own helplessness! Why wouldn't I want my fourth Soul Ring to be a Ten Thousand Year one? But many things could not be achieved simply because you wanted them to be. Timing, location, and circumstances—none could be lacking."

"My innate advantages were excellent. I had Twin Martial Souls, but there was no way I could have asked my father, who had only been a Soul Sage at the time, to risk entering the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Before Dugu Bo, a Soul Sage was nothing more than an ant. Talking about Whale Rubber in Douluo One was like talking about smartphones with Qin Shi Huang—it simply couldn't be explained."

"Even if I had gone out myself to look for Whale Rubber, never mind whether I could find any, I didn't have much money on me. Even if I had money and managed to buy it, eating Thousand Year or Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber still wouldn't let my fourth Soul Ring cross the five-thousand-year threshold. And even if it could, my soul wouldn't be able to withstand it. Besides, when Tang San absorbed his fourth Soul Ring, he had not only eaten immortal herbs, but also had the support of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and an External Soul Bone. He had even borrowed the power of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. If even one of those conditions had been missing, he could never have succeeded.

"What did I have? It was already fortunate enough that an orphan like me had survived. Now I had this level of strength, family, teachers, friends, and companions. I should be content. When I had just turned sixteen, as someone with no immortal herbs, no Soul Bones, no system, and no treasure land, being able to absorb a five-thousand-year limit Soul Ring was already impressive enough. After all, even someone like Qian Renxue, who had reached the pinnacle from the moment she was born, still only had a Thousand Year Soul Ring as her fourth ring."

"Ah... forget it! It was only a fourth ring. For a genius, the most important thing was being able to grow. If they couldn't grow, then no matter how great their talent was or how high the age of their Soul Rings, it was useless. The one who laughed last was the winner. It was better to look further ahead."

Huo Lei sorted through his complicated thoughts, counseling himself. Yet seeing Tang San's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring still stirred up emotions within him.

"Xiao Lei, what's wrong? Were you shocked by Tang San's Ten Thousand Year fourth ring too?" Huo Wushuang gently bumped Huo Lei, who was lost in thought, with his shoulder.

"Oh! A little. I didn't expect Shrek Academy to have such a talent." Huo Lei came back to his senses and smiled as he went along with his brother Huo Wushuang's words.

"Everyone had secrets. Huo Lei couldn't reveal that he was a transmigrator. It would be fine if he said nothing, but if he told them, it might create a rift between them. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble. He would seal away the secret of being a transmigrator forever." Huo Lei looked at his sister Huo Wu and brother Huo Wushuang, a faint smile appearing on his face. Family was hard to come by, so he should cherish it.

Tang San's fourth Soul Ring caused the entire venue to erupt. Gasps and discussions rose one after another.

Huo Lei's golden eyes swept toward the VIP platform, where everyone wore different expressions.

Xue Ye looked excited.

Ning Fengzhi looked somewhat surprised.

Salas narrowed his eyes slightly.

Jin Shan and Lin Yin looked equally shocked, their faces full of disbelief.

The members of the various academy teams wore similar expressions, all deeply astonished.

Huo Lei turned his gaze back to the competition stage. All seven members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team had three rings, the optimal Soul Ring configuration of two yellow and one purple. But things could not be compared. As the saying went, "Comparisons kill people, and comparisons discard goods." Compared to the Shrek Academy team, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team was simply unbearable to watch.

When Huo Lei saw the seven members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team all standing there in a daze, he unconsciously smiled and shook his head. "A team like this, performing like this—Tang San and Dai Mubai alone could handle them. Heaven Dou Second Team is practically handing Shrek Academy free points."

From start to finish, the battle lasted less than a minute before Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team lost to Shrek Academy.

The referee on the stage announced loudly, "First match of the first round of the Preliminary Round: Shrek Academy wins."

Boom! A huge uproar instantly erupted from the audience. There was praise, doubt, and, above all, shock. The dignified Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team had actually been crushed by an unknown Soul Master team in less than a minute. The impact this brought to everyone was simply too great.

After the match ended, everyone in the arena began leaving one after another.

"Let's head back to the hotel!" Xie Chong called out to everyone, leading the Blazing Fire Academy members quickly into the competitors' passage and away from the venue.

Back in the hotel room, Xie Chong looked at everyone seated on the sofa. "Today was only the beginning. Tomorrow will truly pull back the curtain on this Preliminary Round. The round-robin matches will begin in full then and continue for an entire month. Tomorrow, you'll face Northern Star Academy. They aren't worth worrying about. Your real opponents are the other four elemental academies, and of course, Shrek Academy will also be a formidable opponent."

"That Tang San is really a monster. He actually managed to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his fourth Soul Ring. I have no idea how he did it." Huo Lie sighed.

"Don't overthink it, everyone. A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring certainly offers a great advantage, but our overall strength is also very strong. Besides, we have Huo Lei as our trump card." Xie Chong's face was full of smiles, without a trace of concern.

Everyone's gazes turned toward Huo Lei, their eyes instantly filling with confidence.

"Everyone just needs to perform normally. When we face the other four elemental academies and Shrek Academy, I will naturally take the field." Huo Lei smiled at everyone.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Esteemed guests of Blazing Fire Academy, I am a hotel attendant. Someone outside is looking for Mr. Huo Lei, so I came to inform you." A young male hotel attendant's voice sounded from outside the door.

The people from Blazing Fire Academy looked at Huo Lei with curiosity.

Huo Lei stood and looked at Xie Chong. "It might be my teacher and Lin Yin looking for me. I'll go take a look."

Xie Chong nodded in agreement.

Huo Lei walked out of the room and asked the hotel attendant, "What does the person looking for me look like? Where is he now?"

The attendant respectfully replied, "In reply to Lord Soul Master, he is an elderly man with golden hair. He is currently in the hotel lobby on the first floor."

Huo Lei said, "All right, thank you. Go on with your work."

The hotel attendant bowed slightly, then turned and left.

"So it really is my teacher looking for me." Huo Lei looked delighted as he headed downstairs.

The hotel lobby on the first floor was very spacious, with sofas and tea tables specially arranged for guests.

Huo Lei swept his eyes across the lobby and spotted Jin Shan seated in a corner, drinking tea.

Huo Lei quickly walked over and sat opposite Jin Shan. "Teacher, how long have you been here? Why did you choose such a secluded corner? Did you need something from your disciple?"