This farce is now directed at him. He doesn't know what the Silver Dragon King is planning, but if a genius like Gu Yuena is exposed, it will make things even more complicated.
Gu Yuena nodded. "I understand."
While Xuan Ming and his group were undergoing training to improve their teamwork, all the Soul Master Academy had completed the first round of preliminary rounds and were preparing to begin the second round.
" Canghui Academy?"
Upon entering the rest area, Xue Qinghe stepped forward to introduce their opponents for the day.
Are they strong?
Listening to Xue Qinghe's earnest instructions, Dugu Yan was somewhat puzzled.
Within the Heaven Dou Empire region, aside from the Five Elements Academy, there seems to be no one who can pose a threat to their team.
"It's not that it's strong, but that it's special," Xue Qinghe said.
"I've got some information, but it's not confirmed yet. Be careful."
"Especially you." Xue Qinghe looked at Xuan Ming.
"Don't do anything reckless."
Xuan Ming frowned slightly, vaguely guessing what was going on, but didn't say anything more.
The 28 teams were divided into three groups. The Imperial Fighting Team took the stage in the first group. As the representative team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, their match was still arranged on the main stage in the center.
On the competition stage, the matches in all five arenas began simultaneously upon the referee's announcement.
What viewers love most is the initial release of all the Soul Master' Martial Soul, the appearance of each Soul Ring, and the different effects produced by different Martial Soul —the dazzling spectacle fully evokes the audience's emotions.
At Dugu Yan's call, everyone began to release their Martial Soul. Xiao Wu was the first to release her spirit, with two yellow and one purple rings. Following closely behind, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ye Lingling also released four Soul Ring, two yellow and two purple.
Finally, five Soul Ring —two yellow, two purple, and one black—slowly rose from Dugu Yan's body. The audience erupted in cheers, especially when the black Soul Ring appeared.
" The Soul King?" Salas's expression changed slightly.
"How is this possible?"
Aside from the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, is there anyone else who could reach the Soul King realm at this stage?
Seeing Salas's somewhat incredulous expression, Emperor Xue Ye smiled and looked at Ning Fengzhi beside him, " Sect Master Ning, I truly didn't expect your sect's little princess to have already reached the Soul Ancestor realm. Congratulations!"
He didn't know much about this temporarily reorganized Imperial Fighting Team, and the three education committee members didn't know the details either. Xue Qinghe had only told him that there would be a surprise, but he never expected it to be such a surprise.
With one Soul King, three Soul Ancestor, one Soul Elder, and Xuan Ming, whose strength is terrifying and comparable to Soul Emperor, plus that little girl who appeared out of nowhere, she's guaranteed to be a Soul Elder at the very least. With this lineup, winning the championship shouldn't be difficult.
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly, "Your Majesty flatters me."
"However, apart from Xuan Ming, this team is actually all girls, and all of them are stunning beauties." Xue Ye looked at Ning Fengzhi meaningfully.
Ning Fengzhi somewhat embarrassed and could only respond with a smile.
Seeing this, Xue Ye didn't say anything more, but turned to Xue Qinghe, who was watching the match from the back row, "However, Qinghe, even if Xuan Ming doesn't intend to make a move, surely he doesn't even release his Soul Ring?"
"Father, we probably won't see his Soul Ring until the finals," Xue Qinghe said.
"The finals? Why?" Xue Ye asked, puzzled.
"I suppose it's a case of hiding one's strength," Xue Qinghe said.
Xuan Ming has reached the Soul Emperor, a fact known almost exclusively to members of this team. Even the three academic committee members of the academy were completely unaware of Xuan Ming's true strength.
Regarding the previous incident at the Shrek Academy, most people believed that there was a hidden Titled Douluo behind Xuan Ming. Yu Luomian was secretly attacked by that Titled Douluo, not that Xuan Ming had the ability to do so.
In most people's minds, Xuan Ming is at most a Soul Ancestor now, after all, when he left Heaven Dou City with the Imperial Fighting Team two years ago, he had just reached level 40.
Given this premise, some people will definitely have their own ideas.
Although Xuan Ming said he just wanted to relax, he always felt that the guy had other ideas.
After all, if you really want to relax, why assemble a team that's all pretty young girls except for him?
Moreover, anyone with eyes can see that every single girl in this group is interested in him!
Chapter 235 The Evil God's Passive Protection
Back on the competition stage, seeing the five Soul Ring on Dugu Yan's body, the seven members of the Canghui Academy wavered for a moment, but quickly formed a line according to the pre-arranged tactics. The six members, excluding the captain, formed a hexagon.
"Don't move."
Five matches started simultaneously, and the other four matches had already begun. Dugu Yan was about to send Xiao Wu and Gu Yuena up to test the waters when Xuan Ming stopped them.
"What's wrong?" Dugu Yan asked, puzzled.
They have an absolute advantage in both Soul Ring and Soul Power Level, so wouldn't it be simpler to just push through?
"Step back." Xuan Ming stepped forward.
Dugu Yan was slightly taken aback, but did not ask any further questions. Gu Yuena and the others in the front row also quickly retreated to Xuan Ming's back.
Upon seeing this, the seven students from the Canghui Academy had a change in expression, not expecting the other party to be so cautious.
However, before they could change their tactics, Xuan Ming stepped forward without any hesitation.
"Stop wasting time, just get moving."
Upon hearing Xuan Ming's words, the faces of the Canghui Academy members instantly darkened. They had thought their carefully laid-out tactics would have a deterrent effect, but they hadn't expected Xuan Ming to provoke them so directly.
But they did not hesitate. All seven team members simultaneously released their gem Martial Soul, and a burst of rainbow-colored light completely enveloped their bodies.
" Xuan Ming, you shouldn't be so arrogant, and you shouldn't be so out of touch with reality," the captain of the Canghui Academy said coldly.
"If you had stayed until the finals, we might not have been able to face you, but you actually chose to come to the qualifiers and ended up running into us. Your good luck is over!"
As soon as he finished speaking, seven beams of colorful light shot into the sky almost simultaneously, transforming into a huge pillar of colorful light that enveloped the entire central arena.
What's going on?
Xue Ye was greatly surprised to see this scene in the VIP section.
"Could it be Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"
"No, it's not." Ning Fengzhi was somewhat solemn, but he still shook his head.
"This should just be an alternative Soul Skill fusion, rather than a true Martial Soul Fusion Skill. However, the power of this move is probably extremely strong."
He had just received news that someone planned to target Xuan Ming directly during the competition in order to reduce his influence. He originally thought that the Five Elements Academy would be the one to do this, after all, they had connections with the Seven Great Families behind them, but he did not expect that it would be the Canghui Academy.
"Illusion ability?" Gu Rong frowned.
" Fengzhi, Xuan Ming seems to lack the ability to counteract illusions."
Psychological attacks have always been the most troublesome and difficult to deal with!
Mental Attribute Soul Master are extremely rare, and each one possesses immense dominance within their rank!
Most Soul Master can only withstand the unpredictable mental attacks head-on, and even if they manage to block them, they will suffer great damage!
Especially for low-level Soul Master, suffering an excessively strong mental attack can cripple them!
"Should we interrupt the match?" Gu Rong asked.
Even if Xuan Ming can withstand it, Rongrong is up there too.
Ning Fengzhi hesitated for a moment, but before he could make a decision, a sudden white light shot out from the seven-colored pillar of light, forming a peculiar passage. Except for Xuan Ming, Dugu Yan and the other six walked out of it, and then jumped off the arena one after another.
"This..." Gu Rong was stunned.
The central arena remained shrouded in a seven-colored beam of light, Xuan Ming stood quietly in place.
Upon seeing the white light that had broken through their fusion technique, the seven members of the Canghui Academy were somewhat shocked, but they were also annoyed to see Xuan Ming still standing in the same spot.
" Xuan Ming, you are indeed arrogant! In that case, you shall experience our Seven Asura Illusion Realm! Endure the most filthy world within your heart until you go mad!"
Xuan Ming remained motionless, simply standing there without even making any defensive moves, allowing the illusion to invade his mind, because he was very curious about what he could see.
Filthy? Dirty? Painful?
Amidst the seven-colored light, a powerful mental shock surged into Xuan Ming's mind, and as Xuan Ming anticipated, the scene before him began to change.
But in the next instant, an Evil and icy aura instinctively erupted from Xuan Ming.
Evil God's Protection!
A violent, icy aura suddenly exploded, instantly shattering the seven-colored beam of light.
The seven members of the Canghui Academy felt an overwhelming force rushing towards them. Under the impact of this force, their bodies were sent flying backward like kites with broken strings, crashing heavily onto the arena, spitting out blood.
The spectators around the ring were stunned by this sudden turn of events, and the once noisy arena instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Xuan Ming opened his eyes, remaining silent.
He wasn't yet skilled at controlling Evil attributes. Just now, in order to experience this illusion as much as possible, he deliberately relaxed his mind. As a result, the Evil God's Protection was passively triggered by the mental impact that surged into his body!
But he didn't intend to defend against it!
Under the bewildered gaze of countless viewers, the second round of the Imperial Fighting Team's qualifiers inexplicably came to an end once again.
In the first match of the preliminaries, Shrek Academy conceded defeat outright. In the second match, almost no one saw anything. Although some suggested that the seven-colored dazzling light was the legendary Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Xuan Ming did not even release his martial Martial Soul and Soul Ring, which easily aroused everyone's suspicions. Many people even suspected that the Imperial Fighting Team was throwing the match.
However, after the competition committee inspected the Canghui Academy team members, the results they gave were quite surprising.
"Mental breakdown?"
Inside the lounge, Dugu Yan and the others were somewhat taken aback upon hearing the news.
"To say he had a mental breakdown is really just that he'd become an idiot," Xue Qinghe said.
"According to the competition committee's tests, they suffered a backlash from their own Soul Skill, and they also have a very peculiar cold aura remaining on their bodies, which overlaps with the peculiar cold aura on Xuan Ming. This has attracted the attention of the competition committee, and many people are now requesting that he be examined."
"Check? Check what?" Ning Rongrong frowned slightly.
"Who wants to inspect? The Spirit Hall?"
"It's not just the Spirit Hall; many academies, as well as the Soul Master families that make up the competition committee, have requested an inspection, saying that such a dangerous thing cannot be allowed to appear on the stage of the Soul Master Tournament, as this would be irresponsible to the participants," Xue Qinghe said.
The Evil attribute is as special as the Holy attribute. The Holy attribute evolves from the Light attribute, while the Evil attribute evolves from the Dark attribute. The former is extremely rare and almost non-existent except for the Holy Angel Family.
The latter, however, has never appeared among human Soul Master, and is even a legendary existence among Soul Beast.
Most people were completely unaware of the existence of Evil attributes. They only knew that Xuan Ming possessed an extremely dangerous aura, Canghui Academy participants who had become idiots also possessed this aura. This gave those who wanted to target Xuan Ming an excuse.
"Who will inspect?" Xuan Ming asked.
"As for the royal family, our teacher will handle it; after all, he is the Grand Preceptor of the Heaven Dou Empire. As for the Spirit Hall, it will be represented by the Platinum Bishop Salas of the Martial Soul Holy Temple," Xue Qinghe said.
"The investigation team should be here soon. Have you thought about how you're going to explain this?"
"Explanation?" Xuan Ming asked, looking puzzled.
"Who should I explain this to?"
"With..." Xue Qinghe was speechless for a moment.
Yeah, who can I explain this to?
Does Ning Fengzhi need an explanation? Or does Salas dare to demand an explanation from Xuan Ming?
"But we still need to give an explanation to the outside world," Xue Qinghe said.
" The Canghui Academy team members have all turned into idiots; they're practically out of the competition. Many other academies are using this as an excuse to cause trouble; they don't want their students to run into you on the field."
The current situation is largely due to concerns about Xuan Ming's strength. Many people don't even know Xuan Ming exact cultivation level, and given Xuan Ming terrifying performance in the Great Soul Arena, many hope to use this opportunity to kick him out.
The situation is similar for the Seven Great Families. After all, if Xuan Ming could be kicked out of the competition in this way, it would be a huge blow to his image. Once his image collapses, Xuan Ming's influence will also decrease rapidly, which would minimize everyone's losses.
Xuan Ming had been out of the public eye for half a year, and he hadn't even appeared in public Soul Fighting at the Great Soul Arena. This had already significantly reduced his influence.
However, after Xuan Ming chose to give up his seeded team spot and start from the qualifiers, his popularity even surpassed that of when he obtained the Diamond Soul Fighting Badge.
Although Xuan Ming's reputation in the Great Soul Arena was immense, it was ultimately limited to the aristocratic circle, since even the tickets to his Soul Fighting were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Now, this continent-wide elite competition for advanced Soul Master Academy has attracted not only Soul Master but also many ordinary people. As the number of participants grows, so does the discussion surrounding Xuan Ming!
When Xuan Ming possesses strength, status, and prestige simultaneously, every word he says and every action he takes has a tremendous impact!
If Xuan Ming were to openly expose what happened at the auction house on the competition stage in front of so many people, bringing the issue of the slave trade to the forefront, the reputation of the Seven Great Families would suffer an unimaginable blow!
Even the nobles who knew about this would launch a fierce attack on them in order to protect themselves and get a share of the spoils from the Seven Great Families!