Early the next morning, Jiang Hai and Zhang Peng led the Holy Spirit Sect's competitors out of the Mingyue Hotel.
Outside the Mingyue Hotel, rows of soldiers formed a long passage with their bodies.
The tournament venue was on the outskirts of Mingdu City, and at least ten thousand soldiers had been assigned to maintain order.
Beyond the human wall stretched a sea of people. Although the venue was large enough for most of them to watch the matches, the spectators still greeted these young prodigies with tremendous enthusiasm.
Facing the crowd's cheers, even Lu Genggeng and the others showed a rare surge of excitement. Under the eyes of thousands, even Evil Soul Masters could not suppress that soaring, cloud-piercing pride.
This was not Jiang Hai's first time experiencing such a spectacle, so he remained relatively calm.
The 167 teams soon assembled, numbering over two thousand competitors, all prodigies of the Douluo Continent's younger generation. Under the soldiers' protection, they set off and left Mingdu.
The venue lay in Mingdu's eastern outskirts and was easy to spot once they cleared the buildings. Countless soldiers maintained order here as well, dividing the crowd into separate sections and keeping them apart from the competition grounds.
On the northern side of the venue stood a metal platform large enough to accommodate all two thousand competitors.
The competition grounds were equally imposing. The enormous arena stood ten meters high and measured 120 meters across. Its surface was paved entirely with white metal, seamlessly joined together and brimming with a sense of advanced technology.
Pale yellow screens of light hugged the arena's edges. Once a match began, they would seal it off completely. Their presence also made it impossible for Soul Masters to be knocked out of bounds; only a contest of absolute strength would