At that moment, the nine students and their accompanying teacher, Wang Yan, were all seated in the hotel's conference room for their final meeting before the competition.
Looking at their youthful faces and nervous expressions, Wang Yan looked little better himself. But things had come to this, and they could only grit their teeth and press on.
Wang Yan looked at everyone and said, "As the champions of every previous tournament, Shrek Academy will be the first to compete, no matter which empire hosts it."
"So our first match is crucial. We absolutely cannot show weakness, and we must demonstrate Shrek Academy's dominance.
"The first preliminary round is an elimination round. In other words, the losing side will be eliminated immediately, with no chance to participate in any subsequent matches."
"The first match will be a seven-on-seven team battle. We won't know our opponents until tomorrow's draw."
"After the first round, the teams will be divided into groups of roughly nine for a round robin. The format of each round-robin match will be randomly selected from individual elimination battles, the two-two-three format, and seven-on-seven team battles."
Wang Yan's expression turned bitter. "Of these formats, team battles worry me the most. After all, aside from Gongyang Mo, Chen Tianyuan has the highest cultivation among us."
The academy had yet to reply, so he did not know whether they would send more students. That left Wang Yan with very little confidence. If Shrek Academy were eliminated in the first round, he truly would have no face to return to the academy.
Everyone's expression darkened at his words. The very first match was a seven-on-seven team battle. If they were unlucky enough to draw a powerful team with several Soul Kings or even a Soul Emperor, their tournament would end after a single round.
Chen Tianyuan stood up and said, "There's no point talking about this now. We'd be better off getting some proper rest. If you don't dare compete, you can let Senior Gongyang and me fight seven opponents ourselves tomorrow."
"Absolutely not!" Wang Yan immediately objected.
"You and Gongyang Mo are our true trump cards right now. We'll only consider sending you out against teams with Soul Kings or stronger opponents."
"If we reveal you too soon, the other academies will definitely be on their guard."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Wang Yan sighed. "That's enough for today. We'll settle the specific tactics after we see the results of tomorrow's draw."
Chen Tianyuan was sitting on his bed, meditating to cultivate his soul power, when someone knocked on his hotel room door.
He opened his eyes, puzzled, and muttered, "Who's looking for me this late at night?"
As he spoke, he got up and went to open the door. When it swung open, he saw a woman dressed in court attire. She looked familiar; he felt he had seen her somewhere before.
The woman said, "Mr. Chen, Her Highness the Princess requests your presence."
Chen Tianyuan was surprised. What does Xu Jiujiu want with me this late at night?
He turned to check the clock hanging in his room. It was already ten in the evening.
Chen Tianyuan immediately said, "It's a little late today. Let's wait until tomorrow's match is over."
But the woman shook her head. "Mr. Chen, Her Highness said she has something important to discuss, and it can only be discussed tonight."
Chen Tianyuan frowned at that. What could be so important at this hour?
After a long silence, Chen Tianyuan finally said, "Then let's go."
He wanted to see for himself just what medicine Xu Jiujiu was hiding in her gourd.
Outside the Star Emperor Hotel, a black-canopied carriage waited by the entrance.
The carriage wound through turn after turn before entering the imperial palace through a side gate and proceeding straight to the princess's residence.
Chen Tianyuan finally remembered where he had seen this woman before. She was the maid who had brought the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife to the princess's residence that day.
Then, guided by the maid, Chen Tianyuan followed a small path and entered the princess's residence through a side door.
The reception room was brightly lit, but there was no one in sight.
The maid told Chen Tianyuan to sit and wait, then disappeared as well.
His surroundings were quiet. Aside from the chirping of insects, he could hear nothing at all.
Bored, Chen Tianyuan yawned. Just then, two figures came downstairs.
Xu Jiujiu walked in front, dressed in a formal gown. Behind her, clad entirely in black, was Nebula Douluo Manyi.
Upon seeing them, Chen Tianyuan was about to stand and pay his respects, but Xu Jiujiu stopped him. "Little Brother Chen, there's no need for such empty formalities between us."
As she spoke, Xu Jiujiu sat down on a nearby sofa.
She looked at Chen Tianyuan and chuckled. "Little Brother Chen, I didn't expect you to dare accept an invitation this late at night."
The corner of Chen Tianyuan's mouth twitched as he silently grumbled, Weren't you the one who told me to come?
Outwardly, Chen Tianyuan remained composed. He said, "Sister Jiujiu, let's get to the point. What is this important matter you mentioned?"
Xu Jiujiu did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked at Manyi, who stood beside her.
Manyi nodded slightly, then released an invisible wave of soul power that enveloped the entire princess's residence.
Anyone below the rank of Super Douluo would be utterly unable to overhear their conversation.
Xu Jiujiu looked at Chen Tianyuan with a warm smile and said, "Little Brother Chen, you have an ultimate martial soul, don't you?"
Chen Tianyuan froze for a moment, but quickly recovered. He had never deliberately concealed his martial soul, and everyone in the academy knew about it. Investigating him would not be difficult.
He simply did not know what Xu Jiujiu meant by bringing it up.
Chen Tianyuan nodded and said, "That's right. My martial soul is ultimate lightning."
"Sister Jiujiu, did you summon me this late just to see an ultimate attribute?"
Xu Jiujiu shook her head with a soft laugh. "You misunderstand, Little Brother Chen. I really did call you here for something very important."
"Then please speak plainly, Sister Jiujiu. It's already very late, and I still need to go back and rest to prepare for tomorrow's match," Chen Tianyuan said.
Seeing this, Xu Jiujiu stopped keeping him in suspense. Her tone grew serious as she said, "Little Brother Chen, have you ever heard of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo?"
Chen Tianyuan's eyes widened. "The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo!"
But he soon calmed down. He remembered that this thing had fetched over a hundred million gold soul coins at auction. He could never afford it. Surely they weren't going to give it to him for free?
Before Chen Tianyuan could speak, Xu Jiujiu continued, "Sealed within this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo is a hundred-thousand-year soul beast undergoing transformation into human form. According to our court soul masters' research, a special method could even turn it into a martial soul. Of course, the chance of failure is very high, but a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring is guaranteed."
Chen Tianyuan understood perfectly. Inside was no ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast, but the Snow Empress, leader of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. Without a Titled Douluo of at least rank ninety-eight present to keep her in check, anyone who opened it would be frozen to death by her ultimate ice and snow.
Chen Tianyuan smiled wryly. "Sister Jiujiu, no matter how wonderful you make it sound, I still can't afford it."
Xu Jiujiu smiled. "Our imperial family purchased this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo for sixty-three million gold soul coins, but I can authorize its sale to you for ninety million gold soul coins. If this treasure went to auction, its price would certainly exceed a hundred million gold soul coins."
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