Although there were some minor hiccups along the way, the overall situation remained stable.
Unlike large cities like Heaven Dou City and Suotuo City, Spirit City is only a small city in terms of scale, a city composed entirely of Soul Master, and only Soul Master can enter.
Therefore, upon entering Spirit City, one will find that the city is not as bustling as imagined; in fact, it is quite empty, with few shops and pedestrians.
After entering the city, the Pope returned to the Pope's Palace with his men. The Heaven Dou Empire's participating team was arranged to be located on the west side of Spirit City, led by Xue Qinghe.
However, after arranging for everyone to rest, Xue Qinghe went directly to the Pope's Palace. Xuan Ming, who had not been seen since the attack, also left with the Pope after entering the city.
"Has something happened to Brother Xuan Ming?"
Upon seeing Gu Yuena return to the Imperial Fighting Team's rest area, Ning Rongrong and her group quickly surrounded her.
"He's fine, but he won't be going on stage until the final match," Gu Yuena said.
"The final match?" Dugu Yan was taken aback.
"But without him, we..."
"I'll lead you in the fight," Gu Yuena said.
"You?" Everyone was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to their senses.
Oh right! They almost forgot!
Gu Yuena is a formidable opponent on par with Xuan Ming!
The Soul Ring and Soul Power Level are exactly the same!
Even using only the Blood Spear, Xuan Ming might not be able to defeat Gu Yuena!
The Pope's Palace.
After leaving the Heaven Dou Empire's Soul Master team, Xue Qinghe transformed back into Qian Renxue and made his way to the Elder Hall, where he sought out Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"Grandpa Golden Crocodile, what exactly are you trying to do?" Qian Renxue asked.
Golden Crocodile Douluo turned around. "You knew everything?"
"If they hadn't been so eager to silence me, I would have suspected that this was a show orchestrated by that woman herself!" Qian Renxue said in a deep voice.
Even after hearing the Purple-Robed Douluo confess with her own ears, she still refused to believe it, thinking it was a scheme set up by the Pope to seize power!
However, a few days ago, Snake Lance and Porcupinefish Douluo entered the group under the pretense of welcoming the guards, and then seized the opportunity to kill Purple-Robed Douluo!
Murder to silence them!
This shattered her last illusions.
" Xiao Xue, this matter is very complicated, you shouldn't get involved," said Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"Why!" Qian Renxue pressed, "Back in Sunset Forest, didn't we already...?"
"That's just one side of the story," Golden Crocodile Douluo interrupted in a deep voice. "Don't forget who Bibi Dong is! Once we went that far, there was no turning back!"
"It was because of you that the Great Enshrined forcibly stopped it. But as you saw, that kid was completely out of control!"
"He can turn against the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the Seven Great Families today, and he can turn against us tomorrow too!"
"You believe him? Xiao Xue, you're so naive!"
Qian Renxue's face turned pale, but she still stubbornly bit her lip. "But Xuan Ming... he's different from others, and the Pope..."
"Different?" Golden Crocodile Douluo sneered, " Xiao Xue, you've been blinded by your emotions."
"The thing that the Great Enshrined and I regret most is that we didn't kill that kid with one blow back then in the Worship Hall, but instead let you take him to Heaven Dou City, allowing him to live until now!"
"Now, we won't let this mistake continue!"
Qian Renxue felt a chill run down her spine. "Grandpa Golden Crocodile, about this matter..."
"Enough!" Golden Crocodile Douluo interrupted in a deep voice, " Xiao Xue, you are no longer a child. It's time to shoulder the responsibility of being the successor of the Six-Winged Angel Clan!"
"This is also the Great Enshrined's intention; there's no room for discussion on this matter!"
Chapter 283 Ten Thousand Snakes Binding Kill
After a short break, the highly anticipated finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament finally began.
The finals were not as grand as expected; everything was kept simple, and the atmosphere was not even as intense as some of the Great Soul Arena in big cities.
In the first round, the Imperial Fighting Team will face the first place team in the Star Luo Empire Division's qualifying round—a team with four Soul Ancestor and three Soul Elder, whose strength is second only to the Star Luo Royal Academy.
Under the referee's direction, the players from both sides took to the playing field.
Soon, the audience noticed that only six members of the Imperial Fighting Team were on the field, one of them was missing.
The audience erupted in uproar, especially those from the Star Luo Empire faction.
"What happened? Why is the Imperial Fighting Team missing one person? I heard they were attacked on the way. Could it be that a member was injured and unable to participate?"
"That can't be right. They'd play even if they were injured in such an important competition. Maybe they have some special tactics involved?"
"Special tactics? Losing a player in a team battle is a huge disadvantage! The opponent is strong; isn't Emperor Dou cutting off its own arm?"
"Could it be that there's internal conflict within the team, and someone is deliberately absent?"
There was much discussion below the stage, and the Star Luo Empire team on stage was equally puzzled.
According to their intelligence, while the Imperial Fighting Team possesses strong individual skills, their teamwork is extremely poor. In the Heaven Dou Preliminaries, they relied on their captain to turn the tide against every strong opponent.
The captain of the Imperial Fighting Team is none other than Xuan Ming, the renowned star Soul Master of the Great Soul Arena and the youngest holder of the Diamond Soul Fighting Badge.
"What are they doing?" Huo Wu asked, puzzled.
" Huo Wu, have you seen Gu Yuena's Soul Ring?" Huo Wushuang suddenly asked.
Huo Wu was slightly taken aback.
Like Xuan Ming, Gu Yuena has never revealed her Soul Ring, nor has she used a single Soul Skill in previous matches. She only occasionally uses some spear techniques that resemble Self-Created Soul Skill, and they look very similar to Xuan Ming's moves...
Huo Wu's expression froze. "You mean..."
"The finals are an elimination tournament. If we lose here, the Imperial Fighting Team Imperial Fighting Team go straight home. We wouldn't be so arrogant if we weren't absolutely certain of victory," Huo Wushuang said.
The team match was chaotic and he couldn't quite grasp the situation, but during the previous qualifying rounds, he felt very clearly that Gu Yuena's every attack seemed to be an attempt to suppress her own power!
To be able to easily suppress him in a direct confrontation, and even suppress her own power at the same time, Gu Yuena is definitely not Soul Ancestor, but at least Soul King!
As soon as the referee finished speaking, both teams instantly unleashed their Martial Soul.
The seven members of the Star Luo Empire team released intertwined light from their Martial Soul, creating a menacing aura.
On the Imperial Fighting Team's side, although they were missing one member, the Martial Soul light released by the remaining six members was by no means weak. In particular, the moment Gu Yuena's six Soul Ring of yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, black, black, the entire arena fell into an eerie silence.
Immediately afterwards, gasps of surprise erupted from the stadium.
"Six... six Soul Ring! She's actually Six-Ring Soul Emperor!"
"How is this possible! How could the Imperial Fighting Team have Soul Emperor?!"
Whether it was the participating teams from the two great empires or the Soul Master watching from the Spirit Hall, they all showed disbelief when they saw the six Soul Ring swirling around Gu Yuena.
Reaching the Soul King within the age range required for the competition is already incredible enough, but now they've actually witnessed a Soul Emperor!
The faces of the participating teams from the Star Luo Empire instantly turned extremely ugly. They had originally thought that the Imperial Fighting Team's strength had been greatly reduced due to the Xuan Ming, which was a good opportunity for them to win.
Unexpectedly, Gu Yuena, who suddenly appeared, possessed such a terrifying Soul Power Level and Soul Ring Configuration.
"The match begins."
The referee finally came to his senses and gave the starting command.
At the moment the match began, all members of the Imperial Fighting Team retreated, leaving only Dugu Yan standing at the forefront.
The opposing Star Luo Empire team was still in shock from Gu Yuena's terrifying level and Soul Ring, and dared not launch an attack rashly.
And this is exactly the effect that the Imperial Fighting Team wanted.
" Rongrong!" Dugu Yan called out.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda rose up in front of Ning Rongrong. With a solemn expression, she clapped her hands forward, and like Huo Wu, all four of her Soul Ring lit up at the same time.
Ring Fusion!
Its function is to release the Soul Power that can be released when using several Soul Ring' output skills at the same time in an instant. In other words, it can be said to release a large amount of Soul Power in an instant to use a Soul Skill.
Four beams of nine-colored light emanated from the lower four levels of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and directly merged into Dugu Yan's body.
Instantly, Dugu Yan's Soul Power increased dramatically, and at the same time, her black Fifth Soul Ring finally flashed for the first time in this competition.
Fifth Soul Skill: Ten Thousand Snakes Binding Kill!
As the Fifth Soul Ring shone brightly, the ground trembled violently! Countless venomous snake phantoms surged forth from the ground like a tide!
These small snakes are tiny yet densely packed, their scales shimmering with a ghostly green, and their movements resemble a churning sea of poison.
They continuously spewed out nauseating poisonous mist, sweeping towards the Star Luo Empire team at extremely high speed, like a green storm carrying the aura of death!
The Star Luo Empire team members finally came to their senses and tried to dodge, but the snakes were too fast and too numerous, leaving them no time to react!
In an instant, the phantom of the venomous snake engulfed them, tightly Entanglement and bound like countless strong threads.
The Star Luo Empire team members who were entangled felt a small but powerful force constantly squeezing their bodies, as if countless invisible hands were trying to crush their bones!
At the same time, the venom is injected into the body rapidly, like fine needles piercing through pores and blood vessels, reaching the internal organs and causing excruciating pain!
"Ah!" The Star Luo Empire team members screamed in agony.
The body swelled rapidly under the corrosive effects of the venom, and the skin turned an eerie bluish-purple.
In just a few breaths, their faces turned deathly pale, their lips purplish-black, and they were on the verge of death!
"Referee! They're killing people!" the Star Luo Empire team shouted immediately.
The Star Luo Empire Soul Master in the VIP seats also stood up.
The referee frowned and instantly appeared in front of the Imperial Fighting Team, his gaze wary and stern. " Imperial Fighting Team, what's going on? The tournament clearly stipulates that you cannot intentionally harm your opponent's life!"
Dugu Yan remained calm and raised her head indifferently. "Referee, we are just playing a normal game. Besides, they are not dead yet. They can take the antidote within fifteen minutes and rest."
"If the person isn't dead, how can it be considered murder?"
A burly middle-aged man representing Star Luo Empire roared, "This isn't considered intentional homicide? Look at how our team members have been tortured! The Imperial Fighting Team must be disqualified!"
The atmosphere below the stage was tense, and the Heaven Dou Soul Master stood up to confront each other.
At the stalemate, a cardinal from the Spirit Hall slowly rose and calmly said, "Competitions are inherently risky. If you can't withstand Soul Skill attack, you can only blame your own lack of strength. If you disqualify yourself for this, what fairness is there in the competition?"
" The Imperial Fighting Team's attack did not result in any death, therefore it is not a violation. The match continues."
The cardinal's words silenced both sides. Although the Star Luo Empire faction was still dissatisfied, they were unwilling to offend the Spirit Hall for the sake of a single match.
But the game continues?
Everyone looked toward the arena. The Star Luo Empire team members had completely lost their fighting ability, collapsed on the ground convulsing and spitting out black blood.
"Just a heads-up, if we don't administer the detoxifying agent soon, they'll really die. And that won't be my problem," Dugu Yan said coldly.
The burly middle-aged man's facial muscles twitched, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, but seeing his teammate's life in danger, he could only grit his teeth and growl, "We... surrender!"
The referee immediately announced, " The Imperial Fighting Team wins this match!"
Only now did the Heaven Dou team understand why Dugu Yan had been holding back her anger all this time—she had been waiting for this opportunity to win a resounding victory for Emperor Dou in the finals with such a powerful and impressive performance, and to finally vent her anger at being doubted and looked down upon!
Seeing Dugu Yan's behavior, Dugu Bo became even more worried.
Ever since the attack on the road, he had a bad feeling. The waters of Spirit City were far deeper than he had imagined!
If the granddaughter were weaker, at least the Spirit Hall wouldn't have been so concerned about her.
But this performance now... after the competition...
The Pope's Palace.
Since returning to Spirit City, Bibi Dong has been trying to understand the situation of the Pope's Palace, and after several days of probing, she has roughly figured it out.
Although Golden Crocodile seized the Pope's power by leveraging the authority of the Elder Hall, this has led to instability within the Spirit Hall.
After all, she is the rightful Pope. Although Golden Crocodile Douluo is highly respected, he is ultimately just an elder, not the Pope. Legally, Golden Crocodile has no standing.
Golden Crocodile was able to seize power because she wasn't in Spirit City, but now that she's back, many people below are starting to waver again.