Lin Chen slowly emerged onto the stone steps of the secluded cultivation realm. His aura was contained, deep as an abyss, making him seem no different from an ordinary soul master. Yet the faint pressure he inadvertently released sent a tremor through the heart of the academy instructor waiting outside.
After twenty days of secluded cultivation, he had fully integrated his Iceheart Domain with his life blue silver grass martial soul. The density of his soul power and his mastery of soul skills had both reached the pinnacle of the Soul Elder realm. His time in seclusion had honed his edge; his gaze was calm, but beneath it lay a fighting spirit that could split bamboo.
"Lin Chen, the dean has already ordered you to head straight to the central training grounds once you emerge. All the competing teams have assembled." The instructor stepped forward and bowed, his voice filled with respect.
Lin Chen's feat of slaying a Soul Emperor had already made him the universally acknowledged cornerstone of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. No one disputed his standing.
"Sorry for the trouble, Instructor." Lin Chen nodded slightly and continued straight toward the central training grounds without breaking stride.
Along the way, students could be seen training hard throughout the academy, waves of soul power rising and falling as everyone made their final push for the tournament ten days away. Discussions of the tournament were everywhere, invariably revolving around Lin Chen, the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, and the gifted students of the great empires' leading academies.
Before he reached the central training grounds, he heard repeated clashes of soul power and commands shouted in unison.
On the vast training grounds, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's two competing teams had already formed ranks. Their members were elite students selected by the academy, all at least level thirty, each brimming with energy and fighting spirit. Nearby, the Shrek Seven Devils stood in orderly formation, adjusting their tactical positions under Yu Xiaogang's guidance as their coordination grew increasingly seamless.
At the very front of the training grounds, the dean, vice dean, and several senior academy officials sat with solemn expressions, discussing tournament matters.
"Lin Chen!"
Su Qingyuan and Yue Huaxi were the first to spot him. Their eyes lit up, and they hurried over.
Their intensive training had brought considerable changes to both women. Su Qingyuan moved with even greater grace, her soft bone martial soul's explosive power stronger than before, gentle soul power lingering around her. Yue Huaxi's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul had stabilized at the three-soul-ring stage, with two yellow rings and one purple. Her support soul power had grown richer, and her expression carried a new steadiness.
"Sorry for the wait." Looking at the two women, Lin Chen gave a warm smile, all his earlier sharpness drawing inward.
"We only just finished our tactical training. The dean has been waiting for you to emerge so he can finalize the competing lineup," Su Qingyuan said softly. Her gaze drifted involuntarily over Lin Chen, and joy filled her heart as she sensed the transformation in his aura.
The three walked side by side toward the center of the training grounds. Every gaze immediately converged on Lin Chen, and the previously noisy grounds grew noticeably quieter.
The competing students from Heaven Dou Imperial Academy cast reverent looks his way, and the Shrek Seven Devils turned toward him as well. Dai Mubai, Oscar, and the others looked at him with approval. Though Lin Chen's talent far surpassed theirs, he had never shown the slightest arrogance. Only Tang San curled his fingers slightly, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes—resentment, and an unmistakable urge to compete.
Yu Xiaogang adjusted his glasses and let his gaze linger on Lin Chen, inwardly marveling. They had not seen each other for only twenty days, yet Lin Chen's reserves of soul power had deepened again. Such a rate of growth had long since defied all reason.
Seeing Lin Chen arrive, the dean looked pleased. He raised a hand for silence and said gravely, "Now that Lin Chen is here, we will finalize our main lineup for this year's Continental Elite Soul Master Academy Tournament!"
Under the Soul Master Tournament's rules, each academy team could register seven starters and three substitutes. After a brief pause, the dean announced, "Lin Chen will captain the main team, with Su Qingyuan and Yue Huaxi providing core support, alongside three elite students of the power attack system and one of the control system. The Shrek Academy Team will compete independently, under Instructor Yu Xiaogang's full command!"
No one present objected to the arrangement.
Lin Chen's strength more than qualified him to serve as captain. With Su Qingyuan tying down opponents in close combat, Yue Huaxi providing support through her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the elite students of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy joining them, this team stood among the very best of the Heaven Dou Empire's young soul masters.
"From today until the tournament begins, both teams will train together, build coordination, and spar with one another. You must become familiar with team combat before the competition!" the dean ordered sternly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the training grounds burst into activity.
Lin Chen wasted no time either. He immediately gathered the main team and began refining their tactics. As both a control-system Battle Soul Elder and their captain, he took full command of the battlefield's rhythm. His life blue silver grass's wide-area control formed the core, while Yue Huaxi boosted the entire team's soul power from the front line, Su Qingyuan roamed and launched surprise attacks, and the power attack students suppressed the enemy head-on. A tactical framework balancing offense and defense quickly took shape.
During their coordination drills, Lin Chen deliberately revealed a little of his Iceheart Domain's power.
The pale green domain spread, luminous white ice crystals dancing through the air as a corner of the training grounds froze in an instant. His teammates' soul power flowed without the slightest hindrance, but their simulated opponents' soul power was locked down, their movements sluggish as though they had sunk into a mire. That supreme control instantly multiplied the team's fighting strength several times over, and the expressions of the watching Shrek Seven Devils shifted slightly.
"Such control far surpasses that of control-system soul masters at his level. It is even stronger than that of some Soul Ancestors." Yu Xiaogang's brows drew tightly together, his estimation of Lin Chen rising once more.
Tang San activated his Purple Demon Eye and stared fixedly at Lin Chen's domain, trying to discern its secrets. Yet all he could sense was a profound power woven from life and ice. He could not glimpse its source at all, and helplessness welled up in him again.
Just as the two teams' coordination was steadily improving, a guard hurried onto the training grounds, his expression anxious. "Dean, terrible news! The Spirit Hall Team has arrived in Heaven Dou City. They're making a show of force in the city center right now, and they've publicly declared that they'll crush every team in the tournament and take Captain Lin Chen's life!"
The entire gathering erupted!
"Spirit Hall is far too arrogant! Do they really think the Heaven Dou Empire has no one who can stand against them?"
"They've gone too far! We have to make them pay at the tournament!"
The students of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy instantly burned with anger, their fury intertwining with their fighting spirit.
Lin Chen's gaze abruptly turned cold. White and green light flashed around him and vanished, and even the air surrounding him seemed to drop to freezing.
He had originally intended to reveal his strength gradually during the tournament, but Spirit Hall's repeated provocations had now fully ignited his fighting spirit.
"Just in time," Lin Chen murmured. His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable edge. "Since they're so eager to die, I'll grind their arrogance to dust at the tournament."
Su Qingyuan and Yue Huaxi stood at Lin Chen's sides, their gazes resolute and soul power surging around them, already prepared for battle.
The dean's face darkened. He slammed the table and rose. "Spirit Hall is deliberately provoking us to unsettle everyone! All of you, hear my orders: increase the training intensity! Starting today, everyone will train in isolation. No one is permitted to leave. Put everything into preparing for battle! Let us see just what Spirit Hall's Golden Generation is capable of!"
"Yes!"
The thunderous response rang across the training grounds. Spirit Hall's provocation had stirred everyone's fighting spirit, and the intensity of training instantly doubled, clashes of soul power and shouts rising one after another.
Lin Chen stood at the head of his team, looking toward the center of Heaven Dou City, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.
He knew very well that the Spirit Hall Golden Generation consisted entirely of geniuses nurtured with all the resources Spirit Hall could pour into them. Even the weakest was above level thirty-six. Their captain, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena even possessed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, granting them heaven-defying combat power. They were the strongest opponents in this tournament, and the blade Spirit Hall intended to use to kill him.
But he had no fear.
After the spiritual awakening brought by the Ice Heart Grass and the tempering of his secluded cultivation, his fighting strength was no longer what it had been. Moreover, he had Su Qingyuan, Yue Huaxi, and teammates who would fight shoulder to shoulder with him.
Meanwhile, at the Spirit Hall Team's quarters in the center of Heaven Dou City.
Dressed in black robes, Xie Yue held a curved blade, soul power surging around him. Beside him, Hu Liena exuded a natural allure, yet her eyes were icy. Soul masters from all over crowded around them, but none dared approach.
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Lin Chen..." A bloodthirsty smile curled Xie Yue's lips. "I heard you killed one of Spirit Hall's Soul Emperors while still a Soul Elder. Let's see whether you have what it takes to withstand a single stroke of my blade."
Hu Liena gently stroked the fox tail at her fingertips, her voice seductive yet cold. "At the tournament, I'll personally show you what happens when you offend Spirit Hall."
The Spirit Hall team members around them all wore arrogant, contemptuous gazes. An oppressive aura spread outward, driving the surrounding soul masters back.
A clash between young soul masters that would sweep across the entire Soul Master World was already an arrow poised on the bowstring.
On Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's training grounds, Lin Chen closed his eyes and once again quieted his mind, bringing himself to peak condition.
Every minute and every second of cultivation prepared him for the decisive battle at the tournament.
Only ten days remained before the tournament began.
Wind and clouds gathered, undercurrents surged, and every faction and every genius awaited the moment the tournament opened.
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