The Tournament! Tang Ya vs. Tang San?!

"Of course."

Tang Ya nodded.

"We've seen the Sun Moon Continent with our own eyes, and we've seen what Soul Tools eventually became."

Ma Xiaotao took over.

"Even the Soul Master cultivation system is different from what it is now."

Qian Renxue looked at them.

Their clothes, their way of speaking, and their unfamiliarity with Heaven Dou City were not things they could have faked.

She gradually began to believe them.

But crossing ten thousand years still felt impossible to her.

Just then, the Golden Rankings in the sky lit up again.

The Snow Empress's name and introduction reappeared.

Qian Renxue stopped and looked up.

"A six-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year Soul Beast?"

Her expression grew grave.

"To think a Soul Beast like that still exists on this continent."

Tang Ya stepped beside her.

"Big Sister Qian, you've never heard of the Snow Empress?"

Qian Renxue shook her head.

"I only know the Far North is extremely dangerous. I've never heard of the Snow Empress."

Tang Ya told her what she knew.

"The Snow Empress is the foremost of the Far North's Three Great Heavenly Kings."

"She's a Heavenly Snow Woman, born of heaven and earth."

"We went to the Far North before. We even saw the palace of ice and snow she rules."

"She's incredibly strong. The Emperor Sword, the Emperor's Palm, and Emperor's Cold Heaven are all techniques she created herself."

Qian Renxue turned to Tang Ya.

"You've been to the Far North?"

"Mm."

Tang Ya nodded earnestly.

"I went there with the sect leader."

Qian Renxue looked back at the Golden Rankings.

Six hundred and ninety thousand years.

A seven-hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation.

The Tribulation-Transcending Pill.

The divine Snow Empress Sword.

She had never expected this lively young woman to know so many secrets.

Everything Tang Ya said matched the Golden Rankings exactly.

That changed Qian Renxue's assessment yet again.

Perhaps these people around Long Yuan truly came from that distant age.

And perhaps what Long Yuan had said was not entirely a joke.

With that thought, Qian Renxue immediately recalled Bibi Dong's ranking.

Twelfth place.

Tang Chen was eleventh.

Now the Snow Empress stood in tenth.

Then could Long Yuan's claim that he was number one be true as well?

Qian Renxue pressed her red lips together and stopped herself from thinking further.

A clamor of voices rose ahead.

The three of them walked down a street and reached a towering building.

The enormous circular structure covered a vast area, and many Soul Masters had gathered at its entrance.

Quite a few wore the uniforms of different academies and were talking among themselves.

Ma Xiaotao looked up at the sign above the entrance.

"What's this place?"

Qian Renxue pointed ahead.

"The Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena."

"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament will be held here soon."

Tang Ya's eyes lit up.

"The Continental Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?"

"They still hold that tournament ten thousand years from now."

"I didn't expect the tradition to last so long."

Ma Xiaotao surveyed the surroundings too.

"Are all the contestants academy teams?"

"That's right."

Qian Renxue nodded.

"Advanced Soul Master Academies from across the continent will each send a team."

"Contestants must be under twenty-five."

"It's a team competition, with one team ultimately crowned champion."

Tang Ya watched the Soul Masters streaming in and out.

"So anyone under twenty-five can compete?"

Ma Xiaotao turned and looked Qian Renxue up and down.

"Then why aren't you competing?"

Qian Renxue's brows twitched.

"Why would I?"

"You seem pretty strong to me."

Ma Xiaotao raised a hand to her chin.

"Or are you too old?"

For one brief moment, the street happened to fall quiet.

Qian Renxue's face darkened at once.

She was twenty-three this year.

Heir to the Angel Martial Soul.

Young mistress of Spirit Hall.

Her status and talent alike were enough to make her peers across the continent look up to her.

Yet Ma Xiaotao had called her too old.

Qian Renxue stared at her, slowly curling her slender fingers into a fist.

"Any Soul Master under twenty-five can enter the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."

"I'm only twenty-three."

Ma Xiaotao paused.

"Twenty-three-year-olds can still compete?"

She thought it over seriously.

"Ten thousand years from now, contestants have to be under twenty."

Qian Renxue's fist tightened further.

Tang Ya sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tugged Ma Xiaotao's sleeve.

"Stop talking."

"Why?"

Ma Xiaotao still had not caught on.

"I just think Big Sister Qian looks very mature."

Qian Renxue turned and walked away.

"Mature doesn't mean old."

Tang Ya hurried after her.

"Big Sister Qian, don't be angry."

Ma Xiaotao stood where she was and blinked.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Tang Ya glanced back and glared at her.

"Of course you did."

"Girls care about their age more than anything."

Ma Xiaotao looked at the golden figure ahead and finally realized what she had said.

She rushed to catch up.

"Qian Renxue, I didn't mean it like that."

Qian Renxue did not slow down.

"Then what did you mean?"

Ma Xiaotao answered earnestly:

"I just think you look more mature than we do."

Qian Renxue stopped short.

"How is that any different from what you said before?"

Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth but could not find an answer.

Tang Ya raised a hand to her forehead.

She suddenly thought it would be best if Ma Xiaotao said a little less.

Tang Ya caught up with Qian Renxue, then glanced back at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

More and more Soul Masters were entering the arena.

Teams from the various academies had already arrived in Heaven Dou City ahead of the tournament.

She took Ma Xiaotao by the arm.

"Big Sister Xiaotao, let's enter the tournament too."

Ma Xiaotao stopped.

"You want to enter the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?"

"Yes!"

Tang Ya's eyes shone with anticipation.

"The Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago will all be there."

"Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong—they're all renowned figures in history."

"We've gone to so much trouble to reach this era. Of course we should fight those ancestors ourselves."

Tang San most of all.

Tang Ya had inherited the Tang Sect, yet she knew little about the real Tang San.

The Tang Sect Records portrayed Tang San as nearly perfect.

She wanted to see with her own eyes what Tang San had really been like ten thousand years ago.

Ma Xiaotao looked toward the arena again.

The idea appealed to her too.

Ma Hongjun was her ancestor.

If she could defeat Ma Hongjun in the tournament, she would remember it for the rest of her life.

"Sure."

"I want to see just how strong the Shrek Seven Devils were ten thousand years ago."

Qian Renxue turned around.

Her pale gold dress swayed gently with the movement.

"If you want to enter the Soul Master Tournament, you'll need an academy first."

"Individual Soul Masters can't register. Only advanced Soul Master Academies can send teams."

Tang Ya blinked.

"We have to join an academy?"

"That's right."

Qian Renxue pointed into the distance.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy is the empire's best advanced Soul Master Academy."

"Given your ages and abilities, you shouldn't have any trouble getting into Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"There's also Skywater Academy."

"Skywater Academy only admits female students, and every Soul Master on its team is a woman."

"If you join them, you'll qualify to compete as well."