Arrival at the Promotion Round Venue
As the group was talking amongst themselves, Xie Chong's voice rang out. "Classmates, assemble!"
At the same time, Huo Yun and Huo Yu also came with Xie Chong.
All eight members of the Blazing Fire Academy Team have arrived and are standing in a neat row.
Xie Chong's gaze swept over the six people. "A month has passed, which means you've only had about twenty days of training time. Although it's a short time, everyone has made progress, especially the brothers Huo Yun and Huo Yu who broke through, adding two more Soul Ancestor to our team. This is something to be very happy about. There are still six days until the Promotion Round. We need to get there a day early to register and familiarize ourselves with the environment, which will take two more days on the road. So, you all have three days left to train. I won't ask anything of you during these three days. Train if you want, rest if you don't. In short, I only have one request: use these three days to adjust your condition. Dismissed."
Huo Yun looked at everyone and said, "Friends, my brother and I just got back, so we won't be cultivating with you all today. We'll go back and rest first, and we can talk about it tomorrow."
After bidding farewell to Xie Chong and Huo Yun, the six people went to cultivate by the Fire Spring.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of the fourth day, the Blazing Fire Academy Team, accompanied by Huo Feng and all the teachers and students of the academy, boarded a carriage and headed towards Heaven Dou City.
Two days later, the group from the Blazing Fire Academy arrived safely in Heaven Dou City and successfully checked into the hotel arranged by the organizers.
The Promotion Round of the All-Continent Elite High-Level Soul Master Academy Tournament were not as exciting as the Preliminary Round. This was because no spectators were allowed to watch the Promotion Round.
The Promotion Round will still be divided into two empires. The thirty teams that qualified through the Preliminary Round will compete in their respective empires. The three teams that have already qualified for the Grand Finals will not participate in the Promotion Round.
The Heaven Dou Empire, including the five teams that qualified from the Heaven Dou City Preliminary Rounds, had a total of fifteen teams that had completed their registration by morning and gathered at the venue for the Promotion Round.
Although there are fewer teams, those who can get through the Preliminary Round are undoubtedly the elite of the elite.
The ten teams from the five kingdoms and duchies arrived even earlier through the Preliminary Round. While familiarizing themselves with the environment, they all carried numerous promises from their respective kingdoms and duchies. If they could achieve good results, the rewards they would receive would be even greater than those promised by Xue Ye.
After all, those kingdoms and duchies have a greater thirst for talent. Everyone hopes to have more powerful Soul Master under their command.
In the wars of the Douluo Continent, Soul Master have long been a decisive factor on the battlefield.
The number of high-level Soul Master is the fundamental measure of a power. This is why the Spirit Hall holds such a transcendent position, and even the two great empires dare not easily offend it. Even though they know that those kingdoms and duchies are secretly supported by the Spirit Hall, they dare not speak out against it.
The Royal Hunting Ground are located fifty kilometers southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire. The terrain within the hunting grounds is varied and the area is vast. It is the place where members of the royal family hunt and train. Commoners are not allowed to approach.
Normally, 10,000 Royal Knights are responsible for patrolling and guarding the area. They also train here, rotating every three months to maintain combat effectiveness.
The Royal Knights are arguably the strongest force under the control of the Heaven Dou Empire.
To avoid unnecessary trouble and conflict, the fifteen high-level Soul Master Academy teams that entered the Promotion Round were arranged to rest in different places.
The Heaven Dou Empire had made ample preparations for the Promotion Round. When the students from the Blazing Fire Academy arrived early in the morning, the first thing they saw was the massive Royal Knights.
The Royal Knights of the Heaven Dou Empire are all clad in gleaming silver plate armor. This thick armor offers extremely strong defense. Even their mounts are carefully selected Heavenly Soul Horses, possessing a certain bloodline of Soul Beast. These horses themselves have little offensive capability, but they are fast, can carry heavy loads, and have great endurance, making them the best choice for cavalry.
The horses of the Royal Knights were also armored, and their color matched that of the knights' armor. Such a cavalry unit, once it launched a charge, would undoubtedly be incredibly powerful.
The Royal Knights number 50,000, with captains of 100 or more being Soul Master. Such an army is extremely expensive, but its deterrent power is equally immense. Its existence prevents kingdoms and duchies under the name of the Heaven Dou Empire from making any rash moves.
"Please show your credentials." The group from the Blazing Fire Academy was stopped by the Royal Knights' outer guards. These credentials were the qualification certificates for advancement issued by Xue Ye to each academy.
Xie Chong handed the token to the other party, and the knight in silver armor with a red tassel on his head immediately bowed to the crowd.
"Welcome, fellow Soul Master from the Blazing Fire Academy. I am Roxon, the captain of the Third Battalion of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights. Please follow me." Roxon walked on foot, leading the group of nine from the Blazing Fire Academy, escorted by fifty fully armed Royal Knights, into the hunting grounds.
After crossing a small hill, a vast grassland came into view.
On the grassland, a large number of barracks are arranged in a circle.
Roxon pointed to the camp, "The Promotion Round of the Continental Elite Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academy will be held right in the center of the camp. Your privacy and safety can be absolutely guaranteed."
The students from the Blazing Fire Academy were led to a large area of barracks, where they were assigned five rooms to rest. The barracks were not luxurious, but they were well-equipped and clean, clearly prepared in advance.
Roxon looked at Xie Chong, "Respected team leader, Mr. Xie Chong, please stay here until the Promotion Round conclude. Like the Promotion Round, this Preliminary Round is a round-robin format, lasting half a month. The Promotion Round will officially begin tomorrow. At that time, a designated person will escort you to the competition venue. There will be no opening ceremony; Promotion Round competition will begin immediately. The outcome of the matches will be jointly determined by specialists from both the Empire and the Spirit Hall to ensure fairness."
"Oh, right! There will be a two-week break after the competition, and then we'll head to the border between the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire Empires for the final Grand Finals."
Xie Chong smiled and said, "Thank you for informing me, Captain Roxson."
Roxon immediately gave Xie Chong a standard military salute, "Your Excellency Xie Chong, there's no need for such formalities. Please, everyone, get some rest. I'll take my leave now."
Xie Chong quickly assigned rooms to everyone. Huo Wu, being the only girl in the group, naturally had a room to herself. Huo Lei and Huo Wushuang a room. The Huo Yun and Huo Yu brothers shared a room. The Huo Chui and Huo Jun brothers shared a room. Huo Lie and Xie Chong a room.
Inside the barracks, Huo Wushuang sat in a chair and sighed, "Alas! If my father weren't the dean, I would definitely have joined the army and become a glorious soldier."
Huo Lei smiled and said, "Brother, none of this will prevent you from becoming a soldier! With your current strength, joining the Royal Knights of cake. You might even be made a captain right away. I don't think that Roxson is much higher in rank than you."
Huo Wushuang said helplessly, "Huo Lei, you don't understand. Father is counting on me to take over as dean. Think about it, Huo Wu will get married eventually. You have a bright future ahead of you and will definitely not be limited to one academy, which leaves only me."
Huo Lei smiled. "Brother, don't worry about it. Whatever you do, just make a contribution. You should rest for a bit. I'm going out for some fresh air."
As soon as Huo Lei stepped out of the barracks, he saw two people walking towards him, one of whom was someone he recognized.