Time flew by, and the Soul Master Tournament was just a few days away.
The Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academy is the grandest event in the entire Soul Master World.
It is jointly hosted by the two great empires and the Spirit Hall, and is held every five years.
The Soul Master Tournament is divided into three stages: the preliminary rounds, the qualifying rounds, and the final.
The competition is divided into two regions: the Heaven Dou Empire Region and the Star Luo Empire Region.
Each of these two regions has one seeded team, which can skip the qualifiers and qualifying rounds and directly advance to the finals.
Including the Spirit Hall's seeded teams, there are a total of three seeded teams that do not need to participate in the early elimination rounds.
Among them, the seeded team from the Heaven Dou Empire is naturally Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team, where Lin Mo and his team are located.
There are a total of fifteen teams from the Heaven Dou Empire region that have qualified for the finals through the preliminary rounds and qualifying rounds.
The same applies to the Star Luo Empire region.
With the two major regions combined, plus three seeded teams, a total of thirty-three teams are qualified to participate in the final competition.
After the qualifiers, there is a qualifying round. The qualifying round does not eliminate teams, but determines the order in which each team will appear in the finals.
To undertake this important task, the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena began internal renovations a month ago.
The original numerous sub-areas were combined with the main Soul Fighting Arena to form a massive competition venue.
Except for the VIP area located on the north side of the competition venue, the rest of the stands have been completely renovated and are now large enough to accommodate 80,000 spectators at the same time.
Besides the main arena, the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, there are five other sub-areas within the Heaven Dou Empire.
Teams from various colleges will compete in preliminary rounds in their respective regional divisions for the fifteen qualifying spots.
Time flies, and soon it was time for the competition to officially begin.
As members of the Heaven Dou Team One, Lin Mo and his group naturally entered the arena early and arrived at the exclusive rest area prepared for them inside the Great Soul Arena.
There are nearly thirty teams participating in the qualifiers in the main venue. At this moment, the vast majority of teams have arrived and are resting and adjusting in their designated areas.
The entire Great Soul Arena was bustling with noise, and the stands were already full.
However, in the entire Great Soul Arena, the most eye-catching team is not the Heaven Dou Empire's Heaven Dou Team One, but Shrek Academy with their dingy green outfits.
That outfit was so eye-catching that it was hard not to notice it.
Many viewers pointed and whispered, clearly having reservations about the outfit.
However, before the match officially began, an uninvited guest arrived at the rest area where Lin Mo and his team were.
Meng Shenji, one of the three members of the teaching committee of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, walked over directly and stared at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo.
Lin Mo stood up and nodded slightly. "Commissioner Meng."
Meng Shenji waved his hand, "His Majesty has arrived and is currently in the VIP lounge. He wishes to see you."
Upon hearing this, a look of understanding flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.
He didn't ask any further questions, simply nodding and saying, "Okay."
Seeing this, Meng Shenji said no more and turned to lead the way.
Lin Mo followed behind him, passing through a passage at the back of the rest area, and headed towards the VIP area.
The VIP area is located on the north side of the Great Soul Arena, in an excellent location overlooking the entire competition venue.
Meng Shenji stopped in front of a room that looked quite luxurious and knocked on the door.
Soon, a deep voice came from inside. "Come in."
Meng Shenji pushed open the door and went in first.
Lin Mo followed closely behind.
Upon entering, I saw three people standing in the room.
The person in the center wore a long, golden-red robe and a golden-diamond crown. His face was as Gu Yue, and his features bore a resemblance to Prince Xue Xing, whom Lin Mo had once seen.
This must be the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Ye.
On the left is Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect whom Lin Mo had met before, while on the right is an old man dressed in the Platinum Bishop robes of the Spirit Hall, with an indifferent expression and slightly sinister eyes.
After a moment's thought, Lin Mo guessed his identity; he was most likely Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall stationed in Heaven Dou City.
Meng Shenji stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, Lin Mo has arrived."
Xue Ye turned his gaze to Lin Mo, looked him up and down, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.
" Lin Mo, this is His Majesty."
Meng Shenji stepped aside to introduce them, then pointed to the other two, "This is Sect Master Ning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School, and this is His Excellency Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall."
Lin Mo stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty, Sect Master Ning, and Bishop Salas."
Xue Ye waved his hand, his tone quite gentle. "No need for formalities. I summoned you here today simply to see for myself the most outstanding young genius of my Heaven Dou Empire in recent years."
"Now that I see it for myself, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved. To have already reached the Soul King realm at such a young age, and to possess such astonishing combat abilities. Not bad, very good."
Lin Mo: "Your Majesty flatters me."
Upon hearing this, Xue Ye smiled, his tone becoming more solemn. "In this Soul Master Tournament, as the captain of the Heaven Dou Team One, you bear the honor of the empire."
I hereby promise you that if you can lead the Heaven Dou Team One to the final championship, the Empire will reward you and all the team members handsomely.
"And as the captain, I will personally bestow upon you an extremely generous reward, one that will not disappoint you."
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi maintained his gentle smile and remained silent.
Salas, on the right, though his face showed no obvious expression, a barely Frisk hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.
In his view, even with the addition of Lin Mo, a Soul King, the Heaven Dou Team One's overall strength could not possibly rival that of their Spirit Hall's top teams.
It's true that Lin Mo is Soul King, but their Spirit Hall team also has three Soul King in their competition.
With three Soul King and four other Soul Ancestor Masters at level 45 or above, this lineup is enough to crush any team.
Three Soul King against one Soul King —the advantage lies with my Spirit Hall!
Salas thought this to himself, but didn't show it on his face.
Lin Mo took in the reactions of the three people, but his expression remained unchanged.
He bowed slightly again, his voice calm. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty Lin Mo will do his utmost to live up to the Empire's trust."
Xue Ye nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, go ahead. Prepare well for the competition."
"Yes.
Lin Mo responded and then Meng Shenji, turning around and leaving the VIP lounge.
When Lin Mo returned to the rest area of Heaven Dou Team One, all the participating teams had already entered the venue.
Soul Fighting Arena, the clamor of the audience grew ever louder.
Before long, a master of ceremonies dressed in formal attire walked onto the central stage, channeled his Soul Power, and announced loudly, "The All-Continent Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academy, Heaven Dou Empire Regional Preliminary Round, now begins!"
The entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers.
The emcee raised his hand in a gesture of restraint and continued, "First, please welcome His Majesty the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire to deliver a speech for the competition!"
Xue Ye stood up from the VIP seats, walked to the front of the stage, delivered a brief but powerful speech, and then sat back down.
Subsequently, Ning Fengzhi and Salas also took the stage to speak.
Finally, Platinum Bishop Salas, representing the teams, drew their opponents for the first round of qualifiers.
However, Salas seemed extremely reluctant to speak. Each time a team was drawn, he simply handed a slip of paper with the academy's name on it to the emcee, who then announced the name.
"Round 1 of the preliminary rounds: Canghui Academy vs. Purple Star Academy."
"Round 1 of the qualifiers: Oakland Academy vs. Flame Radiance Academy."
"In the first round of the preliminary rounds, Heaven Dou Royal Academy will face Shrek Academy."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Great Soul Arena fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even louder uproar.
Lin Mo stood in front of the rest area. Upon hearing the two familiar academy names, he subconsciously looked at the patch of greenish-brown in the distance, his expression calm.