In the conference room, Xu Jie gave a detailed explanation of all the procedures for this Soul Master Tournament.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament has a total of 133 teams. The first round is the preliminary round, which is an elimination tournament conducted by drawing lots. Losers are eliminated immediately, and the first round consists entirely of seven-on-seven team battles.
The first round was all done by random draw, and because there were so many teams, the probability of drawing a strong team was not high.
After the first round, all teams will be divided into eight groups, with eight to nine teams in each group. A round-robin tournament will be held, meaning that teams will play against all opponents in their group, and only the top two teams will advance.
Of course, there will be seeded teams in the group stage, which are the top eight teams from the previous Soul Master Tournament. All other teams are randomly selected.
There are three types of round-robin tournament formats: single-elimination tournament, 2-2-3 cooperative battle mode, and 7-on-7 team battle. A draw is held before each match to determine which strategy to use.
The so-called "2-2-3 strategy" means that two matches are played in two-on-two format first, and then a three-on-three match is played last, for a total of three rounds, with the best of three rounds.
After the round-robin stage, the semifinals begin. The sixteen teams are drawn into a cross-group format, with the first-place team from each group playing against the second-place team from the other groups. After a round of elimination matches, the top eight teams will be determined.
After reaching the quarterfinals, there were no longer group divisions; all matches were decided by random draw, with the quarterfinals going to four, the semifinals to two, and finally, the finals.
The next morning, all members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy Team arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena.
The entire Soul Fighting Arena was packed with people. Even outside the plaza, there were several huge screens where spectators could watch the Soul Fighting Arena taking place.
After Xu Zhengyang and his group entered the Soul Fighting Arena, Xu Jie and Ma Rulong drew lots on behalf of their teams. They drew a team from the Heaven Soul Empire, which, according to previous information, was of average strength.
Everyone seemed very relaxed during the elimination rounds. Seven-on-seven team battles were the best way to use Soul Tool, and no matter how strong the opponents were, they posed little threat to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy Team.
As scheduled, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the runner-up last time, will appear in the second match, while the first match will be the appearance of the defending champion Shrek Team.
Xu Zhengyang and his group all stayed in the stands, ready to watch the first match of this Soul Master Tournament.
As the referee announced the start of the match, Shrek Academy versus Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy Team, the players from both sides slowly walked into the center of the Soul Fighting Arena.
The seven members of Shrek also walked into the center of the Soul Fighting Arena.
Xu Zhengyang stared intently at the Shrek Team. Just like in the original novel, the seven members who appeared were Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, He Caitou.
Of the seven people, Xu Zhengyang had only met Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan before; he had only run into them by chance in Shrek City.
When the seven members of Shrek appeared, everyone present was puzzled. Whether it was the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy Team participating in the competition or the audience, they all felt that the lineup in front of them was too young.
The seven members of Shrek all looked extremely young, around fourteen or fifteen years old, especially Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao, who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.
Everyone was puzzled. This was an elimination tournament; losing meant elimination. Weren't they afraid?
Only Xu Zhengyang knew that the current Shrek Team's problem wasn't whether they were afraid or not, but that they only had these seven people. The other main players were either severely injured or had already returned, and the academy hadn't sent any more regular players to support them.
At this moment, Xu Zhengyang stared intently at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He knew very well that these two were the ones who had the greatest influence on the entire Shrek Team.
Although Huo Yuhao currently appears to be only at the second level of Earth, his actual combat ability is far beyond what is shown on the surface. Not only does he possess Twin Martial Souls, but he also has Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Million-Year Soul Ring at a young age, not to mention a top-tier Soul Bone.
However, Huo Yuhao was still too naive at this moment, lacking the shrewdness he displayed when he went to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but he still appeared exceptionally strong.
Xu Zhengyang especially sensed that Huo Yuhao was not as composed as he was in the original story, and his eyes were trembling slightly, as if he was enduring some kind of pain.
As for Wang Dong, his background is too powerful; Xu Zhengyang doesn't want to provoke him unless absolutely necessary.
As the referee announced that the match was in preparation, both sides set up their formations. Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy used an offensive formation, while Shrek Team's formation was very strange. Huo Yuhao stood at the very front of the formation, his face full of arrogance, while the other six were all behind him, maintaining a fan shape, like stars surrounding the moon.
After both sides were ready, the referee gave a loud shout, and the match officially began.
But at that moment, Huo Yuhao exuded an extremely terrifying aura, an aura filled with cold cruelty and killing intent, appearing extremely insane.
Suddenly, six Soul Ring Soul Ring appeared on Huo Yuhao's body, all of them blood red, causing the audience to erupt in a cacophony of gasps.
Huo Yuhao actually displayed six Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. In particular, when the six blood-red Soul Ring lit up at the same time, even all the audience members present felt a terrifying sense of intimidation.
Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring is the ultimate pursuit of Soul Master, and is priceless. It is unbelievable that a twelve or thirteen-year-old youth would have six Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Meanwhile, the seven members of the Tianling Academy felt an extremely terrifying aura. Even their souls seemed to tremble, and they all huddled together unnaturally, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.
Just then, a pair of enormous blue-gold wings appeared behind Huo Yuhao, radiating dazzling light and intense golden flames.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Dong's figures merged rapidly in that instant, and the blood-red Soul Ring disappeared in that instant, replaced by a huge golden vertical eye.
Before anyone could react, the golden vertical eye emitted a terrifying light, instantly striking the seven members of the Tianling Academy.
The seven students from the Tianling Academy seemed to be frozen in place, completely unable to move, like statues. Their Soul Ring and energy had vanished, and even their Martial Soul seemed to be sealed.
Huo Yuhao stood with his hands behind his back, looking extremely arrogant. "The match is over!"
The referee then realized that all seven members of the Tianling Academy had fallen to the ground, clearly incapacitated.
The entire Soul Fighting Arena fell silent instantly, as if everyone was shocked. Even Ma Rulong and Ma Rufeng, who were beside Xu Zhengyang, stared intently at Huo Yuhao, their eyes filled with shock and even a hint of fear.
Huo Yuhao turned around with his hands behind his back. "Please remember, I come from the Shrek Academy, from the Tang Sect!"
As Huo Yuhao finished speaking, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the crowd. Both Shrek and Tang Sect were among the top forces in the entire Douluo Continent, legendary figures. Even though Tang Sect had declined, it was once a dominant force on the Douluo Continent.
At this moment, Xu Zhengyang's lips twitched slightly. Huo Yuhao really knew how to put on a show. Even though he had exhausted his Soul Power and was in pain, he still insisted on pretending.
Thinking of this, Xu Zhengyang whispered a few words to Ma Rufeng, leaving even Ma Rufeng completely bewildered.
Xu Zhengyang and the others sat near the contestants' passage, mainly for their convenience when they went on stage later, as the second match was the Sun Moon Team's game.
Just as the Shrek Team was about to walk into the passage with high spirits, Xu Zhengyang Xu Zhengyang pointed at a man in black. This man looked very thin, his eyes were darting around, and there was a faint fluctuation of Soul Power on his body, indicating that he had just done something.
A conference like this, with hundreds of thousands of people, is naturally not so clean, and there are bound to be some shady characters. These people are very good at theft and theft, and Xu Zhengyang had already noticed his unusual behavior.
Xu Zhengyang shouted, "You audacious thief! How dare you steal in broad daylight? And you think you can escape?"
Xu Zhengyang's voice was loud, instantly attracting the attention of countless people, and many also noticed the man in black.
At that moment, Ma Rufeng unleashed a terrifying aura, nine Soul Ring appeared instantly, and his Titled Douluo aura was fully revealed.
"How dare you steal from my Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy! You're courting death!"
With a sudden wave of his hand, Ma Rufeng Ma Rufeng the man in black like a lamb to the slaughter and pulled him close.
Ma Rufeng is Titled Douluo powerhouse and a Level 9 Soul Engineer. Capturing a mere ordinary person would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Before Ma Rufeng could say anything, the entire scene erupted into commotion once again, with everyone's attention shifting from Ma Rufeng and the man in black to the Shrek Team.
Originally, the Shrek members were very close to Ma Rufeng. At this moment, Ma Rufeng suddenly unleashed the strength of Titled Douluo. People within dozens of meters around him felt his powerful aura, which made it impossible for anyone to defend against.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong of the Shrek Team, who were originally full of vigor and looked very proud, were stunned and fainted before they could even react to this terrifying power.
Everyone present was immediately filled with doubt. How could the Shrek genius, who had been so spirited just moments before, suddenly faint? Moreover, only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had just made their move, had fainted; everyone else around Huo Yuhao was completely unharmed.
Even Ma Rufeng was completely bewildered. He had only unleashed his aura to catch a thief; he hadn't attacked the Shrek Shrek members. How could they have fainted?
The referee for this match, also Titled Douluo powerhouse, was puzzled. He knew very well that Ma Rufeng had not attacked Huo Yuhao and the others; he had only displayed his aura and caught a thief. Huo Yuhao's current situation was quite different from the arrogant genius he had been just moments before.
Just then, two figures quickly appeared beside Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao. They were the two team leaders of the Shrek Team, and their expressions were extremely grim.
Ma Rufeng quickly interjected, "Gentlemen, I don't know what happened either. I caught a thief, I didn't lay a hand on either of them."
The Shrek team leader glared at Ma Rufeng resentfully before quickly leading Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong away from the Soul Fighting Arena.