As the Soul Fighting Tournament got underway, Ming Zhao took a seat near the front of the stands, having secured himself quite a good spot.
Soul Masters were certainly different from ordinary people. Ordinary people had to queue up the night before to enter the Soul Fighting Arena and watch the matches, and even then, they might not get tickets.
Soul Masters, however, enjoyed more privileges. Not only were there no restrictions on their ticket purchases, but they also had a dedicated VIP entrance. With the Soul Emperor cultivation Ming Zhao had displayed, he was already above the common crowd in Star Luo City, so naturally, he had no trouble buying a ticket and entering the arena.
Nor did he have to jostle in line with that mob of lowly ants.
Listening to the clamor of tens of thousands of spectators around him, Ming Zhao narrowed his eyes and released his Soul Power, condensing it into a barrier that blocked out the noise.
The louder they got, the more Ming Zhao wanted to refine them all and silence them for good.
To suppress his urge to kill, he had no choice but to reduce the noise himself, lest these squawking ants spoil his mood.
When the time came, the front gates of the Soul Fighting Arena boomed open, and teams filed in from outside, like classes marching in formation at a university sports meet. The spectators around him cheered wildly, overjoyed, but Ming Zhao felt a peculiar sense of strangeness.
The main thing was, it would have been one thing if it were just the formations that resembled a sports meet, but there was even an announcer introducing the academy teams one by one as they entered the arena.
Well now, the resemblance was even stronger.
The first to enter the Soul Fighting Arena was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. As the runner-up in the previous tournament, it had taken the lead spot in Shrek's absence. Ming Zhao also spotted Meng Hongchen in the team, looking around.
He didn't need to think to know that the girl was definitely looking for him.
Was she actually trying to find him among more than a hundred thousand people?
Haji Meng, you've earned my recognition.
Ming Zhao was a little amused. He extended his mental tendrils and lightly touched Meng Hongchen with them, giving her a few hints.
As if guided by a sudden inspiration, she looked up and met Ming Zhao's mismatched eyes, one red and one silver.
"Found you!" Meng Hongchen broke into a smile and gave him a little wave.
Her action also caught the attention of Xiao Hongchen beside her. This foolish onii-chan's face darkened, and he followed Meng Hongchen's gaze. He, too, had mismatched eyes, though his were green and blue, and they met Ming Zhao's.
Ming Zhao was not nearly as gentle with Xiao Hongchen. His gaze was arrogant and cold, and a trace of spiritual pressure belonging to the Limit Douluo realm traveled along it.
It was very difficult to determine someone's precise realm from spiritual pressure. On the Soul Master's path, which had yet to develop the Soul Spirit System, this field was still a wilderness, and most Soul Masters failed to notice the importance of spiritual power.
Thus, Xiao Hongchen couldn't tell what that trace of pressure represented. He only felt the pressure on him increase sharply, and a hint of fear arose toward that cold, arrogant man.
It was fear born of the gap in their strength.
That man... was stronger than him.
Upon realizing this, Xiao Hongchen felt annoyed at his own fear, but his aversion to Ming Zhao lessened considerably.
After returning yesterday, Xiao Hongchen had pulled his younger sister Meng Hongchen aside and questioned her repeatedly, asking about everything she knew of Ming Zhao, for fear that his innocent sister had been deceived by someone from the Douluo Three Kingdoms.
Now, most of the information Meng Hongchen had given him about the man remained unverified.
Where he came from, whether he had any faction backing him, whether he had some secret motive for approaching Meng Hongchen, and what his age and cultivation were-all remained unchecked.
What Xiao Hongchen could be sure of, however, was that the man was quite strong. He looked only a few years older than Xiao Hongchen, yet he was stronger.
Having sufficient strength was only the first hurdle to getting close to Meng Hongchen. Xiao Hongchen certainly didn't want his sister falling for some waste stuck at level twenty-nine, unable to break through to Soul Elder in his entire life.
As for the rest...
As long as the man continued to approach Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen would eventually uncover his background and see his true face.
Xiao Hongchen snorted and looked away, no longer watching Ming Zhao.
In those few seconds of meeting the man's gaze, the pressure from it had left him drenched in sweat. If he kept staring, he might even wet his pants, and that would be far too humiliating. Xiao Hongchen didn't like the feeling of being suppressed, either.
Lao Xiao would bow to no one in this life.
After the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy came the academies that had names in this tournament in the original story.
Star Luo Royal Academy.
Di'ao Academy, Dou Ling Academy, Tianzheng Academy, Qianling Academy... and so on.
There were 132 teams in all, and every one was present except Shrek Academy.
Ming Zhao's gaze swept back and forth across the arena before settling on Tianzheng Academy-or rather, on a reasonably pretty girl with golden hair and golden eyes among its members.
Yu Mengdi, Martial Soul: angel.
The presence of light and holiness was unmistakable. She was probably from a pure angel lineage, but not the Six-Winged Angel of the Qian Family's direct line. She was likely a descendant of the Angel Legion after its disbandment. Her Martial Soul couldn't even compare to Ye Guyi's Holy Angel, much less Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel.
Ming Zhao was somewhat interested in her.
Not because of her Angel Martial Soul, but because of her personality.
Someone with an Angel Martial Soul had actually grown jealous after seeing during a match that Jiang Nannan was more beautiful than her?
Was that the sort of attitude an owner of an Angel Martial Soul should have?
"As I see it, this woman is quite fated to walk my demonic path," Ming Zhao said, nodding approvingly.
There was nothing wrong with envy. Only by envying others would one grow dissatisfied with what one possessed, and only then would one want to plunder what belonged to others, or even destroy it.
As long as there was such a seed, sooner or later it could grow into a tree that reached the heavens.
Yu Mengdi's personality was her greatest treasure. She might even become a Fallen Angel protector at Ming Zhao's side before Ye Guyi did.
In the future, she and Ye Guyi could be his two winged guards, bringing death, fear, and calamity to the Douluo Continent under the name of the Evil Twin Wings.
"I want this one!" Ming Zhao smiled faintly and stretched out a finger, tapping lightly through the air to attach a trace of spiritual power to her.
Once the tournament ended, this excellent Fallen Angel prospect would surely be his for the taking.
Sure enough, the Soul Fighting Tournament was plainly a giant talent recruitment market. The matches hadn't even begun, and Ming Zhao, the CEO, had already sent out an offer.
Come to think of it, Ming Zhao actually even wanted to imitate the God of Destruction and recruit seven Deadly Sin Douluo of his own.
Yu Mengdi was envy.
Ye Guyi was pride.
Meng Hongchen was lust.
That left sloth, gluttony, wrath, and greed.
"Come to think of it, shouldn't the Seven Deadly Sins Gods belong to the God of Evil? Why did they become the God of Destruction's subordinates?" Ming Zhao rubbed his chin and fell into thought.
Besides, his subordinates all had titles. Shouldn't he, someone who had broken through to Titled Douluo long ago, decide on his own title too?