The main venue of the Heaven Dou City Great Soul Arena.
The circular grandstand, capable of holding 80,000 people, was packed to capacity, filled with a deafening roar of voices. Colorful flags, embroidered with the emblems of different colleges, fluttered in the breeze.
The flags of the Elephant Armor Sect's Mammoth, Thunder Academy's Lightning, Blazing Fire Academy's Lie Yan, Skywater Academy's Waves, Godwind Academy's Hurricane, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Heaven Dou Star Moon, and many more smaller academies whose names I don't know, densely covered half of the stands.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, Heaven Dou City Division Preliminary Rounds, opens today.
In the contestant passage, teams from various academies entered one by one. The noble sons of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy stood tall and proud, the burly men of the Elephant Armor Academy walked with heavy steps, the team members of the Blazing Fire Academy exuded a scorching aura, and the girls of the Skywater Academy, dressed in blue and white dresses, attracted many eyes.
When it was Godwind Academy's turn, a murmur arose from the stands.
Thirteen people, all wearing matching light blue and white team uniforms with the hurricane emblem of the Godwind Academy embroidered on their chests. Leading the way was Feng Xiaotian, followed by twelve team members, the group neat and moving in unison.
" The Godwind Academy has arrived. They have very close ties with the Pill Pavilion."
"I heard their dean has already broken through to the Titled Douluo level."
"They were already a strong academy, I wonder how strong they'll become this time?"
Just as everyone was discussing it, a different exclamation arose.
"Look, over there— Shrek Academy!"
The discussion suddenly shifted direction.
Feng Xiaotian glanced to the side. The Shrek team was walking out from the other side of the passage, their team uniforms green and blue, the style incredibly tacky, with huge advertising slogans printed on their chests and backs. Dai Mubai, walking at the front, was expressionless, with Tang San following behind him. The rest of the team wished they could shrink into the ground, all sneaking around in the back.
Feng Xiaotian could hear everyone complaining about the Shrek Academy.
"What kind of clothes are those? They're so ugly!"
Shrek? Never heard of him.
"Look at the words on the back—'For herbal medicine, look for the Heaven Dou Hall '? Are they here for a competition or to sell medicine?"
Laughter erupted from the stands.
Feng Xiaotian withdrew his gaze, his lips twitched slightly, but he remained silent.
The opening ceremony was brief yet solemn. After a short speech by Xue Ye, the preliminary rounds officially began.
The opening match is between the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team and Shrek Academy.
The referee signaled for both teams to take their positions and began introducing the players entering the game.
" Shrek Academy, Power Attack System: Dai Mubai! Control System: Tang San! Agility Attack System: Xiao Wu!..."
The names were announced one by one. When Tang San stepped forward and nodded slightly to the audience, Feng Xiaotian was also sitting in the contestants' seats, watching him intently.
Tang San, Thousand-Hand Asura, was his old rival in the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena. His Self-Created Soul Skill had given him a lot of inspiration.
The trajectory of the Hidden Weapon, the angle of the Blue Silver Grass, the rhythm of the movement... those details are like a key, unlocking the places that were previously stuck.
His own " Break the Surface at One Point " and " Wind Shadow Chain " techniques were already in their rudiments, but those battles truly perfected them.
By the time Feng Xiaotian came to his senses, the competition had already begun.
In less than a minute, all seven members of Heaven Dou Second Team were down. Tang San's control of the Blue Silver Grass was terrifyingly precise. Combined with Dai Mubai's frontal assault and Xiao Wu's flanking maneuvers, Heaven Dou Second Team didn't even have a chance to retaliate.
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
The laughter from the stands fell silent. Those who had been mocking Shrek's jerseys just moments before were now speechless.
Feng Xiaotian withdrew his gaze. In just a few months, the other person had already reached level 43. Quite an improvement.
But that's about it.
"That Tang San's Spiritual Power is much stronger than it was in Suotuo City," Jiang Lin said.
"Hmm." Feng Xiaotian nodded. "It won't affect anything."
His gaze shifted to the schedule. Godwind Academy's first opponent was Iron Rock Academy.
In the afternoon, Godwind Academy faced off against the Iron Rock Academy.
Iron Rock Academy is a long-established academy in Heaven Dou City, renowned for its defense and strength. All seven team members possess either strength-type or defensive-type Martial Soul, and they have consistently achieved excellent results in the preliminary rounds.
The players from both sides enter the arena.
The referee signaled for both sides to release their Martial Soul and began introducing the players entering the arena.
" Iron Rock Academy, Power Attack System, Tie Hu!..."
Seven students from the Iron Rock Academy simultaneously released their Martial Soul — Iron Rock Bear, Stone Armor Turtle, Steel Shield, Iron Arm Ape... and their Soul Ring lit up.
Team leader Tie Hu is Soul Ancestor of level 43 with two yellow and two purple stats. Most of the other team members are Soul Elder of level 35 with two yellow and one purple stats.
The spectators in the stands nodded in agreement. Iron Rock Academy's roster was considered above average in the preliminary rounds.
It's Godwind Academy's turn.
" Godwind Academy, Control System, Jiang Lin! Agility Attack System, Lu Hanxiao! Defense System, Zhong Yue!..."
After the referee announced the names, only three people released their Martial Soul.
The remaining four people— Feng Lingtian, Bai Yu, Cheng Luo, and Lu Qing —simply stood there, their Martial Soul unreleased and their Soul Ring unlit.
Jiang Lin's Spirit Eyes lit up, and four Soul Ring— two yellow, one purple, and one black—slowly rotated in front of him. Zhong Yue's Black Tortoise: Wind Armor condensed into a tortoise shell in front of him, also consisting of two yellow, one purple, and one black rings.
Lu Hanxiao's Snowy Owl wings spread behind him, the ice blades not fully solidified, only maintaining their most basic form—his Soul Ring were two yellow, one purple, and one black.
The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted in chaos.
"Am I seeing things? Three Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?"
"Their Fourth Soul Ring is already ten thousand years old? How is that possible?"
"Those four people didn't even release their Martial Soul? What does that mean?"
The seven students from the Iron Rock Academy looked grim.
"Three against seven?" Captain Tie Hu gritted his teeth. "Who do you think you are?"
"We have to teach them a lesson," Vice Captain Shi Chui clenched his fist. "Let them know the price of underestimating us."
The referee's whistle rang out.
The match begins.
The Power Attack System Soul Master from the Iron Rock Academy was the first to charge forward. His Martial Soul was a pair of iron fists, Fourth Soul Ring lit up, condensing a layer of dark golden light on his fists—he intended to punch through Zhong Yue's defenses.
" Zhong Yue, directly ahead." Jiang Lin's voice rang out in the Spirit Eyes projection.
Zhong Yue's tortoise shell blocked that direction half a second in advance. His iron fist slammed into the tortoise shell, producing a dull thud, but the shell remained completely still.
The Power Attack System Soul Master was bounced back by the recoil, staggering two steps upon landing, and half of the dark golden light on his fist shattered.
His eyes widened in disbelief. His full-force attack hadn't even breached the opponent's shield?
The Agility Attack System Soul Master from the Iron Rock Academy circled around from the flank. His Martial Soul was the Ironback Wolf, making him the fastest among all the team members. His target was Bai Yu, who was standing at the back—in his view, this girl, who hadn't even released her Martial Soul, was the breakthrough point.
" Lu Hanxiao, three steps to the left rear," Jiang Lin said.
Lu Hanxiao's figure vanished from his spot and reappeared three steps to Bai Yu's side the next second. The Cold Wind · Wing Slash drew an arc in mid-air, precisely cutting into the Ironback Wolf Soul Master's charging path. The ice blade did not strike him, but merely blocked in front of him, forcing him back.
After landing, the Ironback Wolf Soul Master found that his path of attack was completely blocked—if he rushed forward another half foot, the ice blade would slice directly into his chest.
He looked up at Lu Hanxiao, who had already retreated to his original position, the ice blades on his wings not even fully solidified.
"They... can predict it all?" Tie Hu's voice tightened.
"Not everyone." Shi Chui stared at Jiang Lin, his voice trembling slightly. "It was that Jiang Lin. He could see our movements, anticipated them before we even made a move, and planned everything."
Iron Rock Academy launched wave after wave of attacks, but each wave was precisely blocked.
Zhong Yue's tortoise shell was like a wall, blocking all routes of frontal attack. Lu Hanxiao's speed overwhelmed the entire field; the Agility Attack System from the Iron Rock Academy couldn't even touch him.
Jiang Lin stood at the very back, his silver Spirit Eyes shining steadily, like a chess player who calculated every move clearly.
Only three minutes.
All seven students from the Iron Rock Academy collapsed to the ground.
The other four people from the Godwind Academy — Feng Lingtian, Bai Yu, Cheng Luo, and Lu Qing —did not move an inch from beginning to end, not even shifting their positions.
The entire room fell silent for a moment.
"Only three people were used?"
"Those four people didn't even release their Martial Soul... What color are their Soul Ring?"
"This year's Godwind Academy are just too strong."
Tie Hu got up from the ground, looked at the four figures opposite him who hadn't moved from beginning to end, and then looked at Jiang Lin, Zhong Yue, and Lu Hanxiao. His face was very ugly, but not angry—it was fear.
Seven against three, they lost. If those four had also joined the fight, they wouldn't have lasted three minutes.
He glanced at Feng Xiaotian. The captain of the Godwind Academy sat in the players' seat and never stood up from beginning to end.
Tie Hu turned around and led his teammates off the stage.
In the VIP section, Platinum Bishop Salas shifted his gaze from the three black Soul Ring to the four members of the Godwind Academy who hadn't even released their Martial Soul.
The four people stood there motionless, their Martial Soul not released, their Soul Ring not lit up, and not even their Soul Power fluctuations leaked out.
He couldn't see anything.
Salas withdrew his gaze, his finger slowly tracing the schedule, finally stopping at the Shrek Academy, which had just made a splash that morning.
"Trying to hide your strengths? That won't do." Without looking up, he instructed, "Next round, place Shrek Academy against the Godwind Academy."
The attendant immediately understood and replied in a low voice, "Yes."
Salas offered no explanation.
His gaze returned to the field, pausing briefly on the list of players from the Godwind Academy.
Three people. Three people with ten-thousand-year-old Fourth Soul Ring.
Like Godwind Academy, Shrek Academy deserves our close attention.