At first, Ming Zhao had planned to kill Ye Xishui and Zhongli Wu, mother and son, and take their titles for himself.
But after breaking through to the titled level, Ming Zhao had still made no move.
The main reason was that, rather than a Death God who spread death and ruled over it, Ming Zhao was more like an Evil God who spread fear, took pleasure in the fear and suffering of others rather than seeking to cause death, and exuded wickedness and evil from his very bones.
Death God Douluo did not suit him.
Evil God Douluo was much more like him.
"Evil God Douluo... once I become a god, I can just drop the word Douluo and be called Evil God. Perfect." Ming Zhao decided to call himself Evil God Douluo for the time being.
He would still kill Zhongli Wu and Ye Xishui, of course, but when he did, it would no longer be to take their titles. It would be to feast on the abundant origin of this mother and son: one was Level 98 and had a bone dragon, while the other was Level 99 and possessed a Death God Tower.
They would all make excellent nourishment when Ming Zhao made his push for godhood.
But that meant his title of Evil God would clash somewhat with the God of Evil in the Divine Realm.
"Damn it, what a bunch of ants with a way to die. They sit on their titles without doing any work. They ought to become nourishment for me." Ming Zhao was a little angry.
Someone like Ji Dong, a God of Evil? What the hell kind of God of Evil was he?
He carried the name of God of Evil but did none of the things an Evil God should do. Even the Seven Deadly Sins Gods, who should have belonged under the Evil God, had become the God of Destruction's subordinates. A salted fish who ate for free and did no work should step down and make way for someone worthy, damn it!
Even Tang San was more like an Evil God than this God of Evil!
While Ming Zhao's thoughts wandered, today's opening match began in the Soul Fighting Arena below.
In previous years, the reigning champions, the Shrek Team, had usually fought the opening match of the Soul Fighting Tournament. But after the Shrek Team withdrew this time, the team leading the way became the previous tournament's runner-up, the Sun Moon Team.
As she entered the arena, Meng Hongchen made a point of glancing in Ming Zhao's direction. Only when she saw that he was indeed watching her match attentively did she reveal a secretly delighted smile, her steps growing much lighter as well.
There was no suspense in the match that followed.
The other members of the Sun Moon Team did not make a move, simply standing with folded arms behind their captain, Ma Rulong. He alone unleashed a concentrated barrage of Soul Tools, bombarding all seven of their opponents and sweeping them aside in one wave.
Below the Soul Saint level, Soul Masters without the support of a Martial Soul Avatar were indeed inferior to Soul Engineers in terms of direct combat power.
Ma Rulong's performance was stunning enough that, after that barrage, the previously noisy Star Luo Soul Fighting Arena turned into the Star Luo Library. More than a hundred thousand people watched in silence as the Sun Moon Team walked off the stage.
Without the Shrek Team holding them down, the Sun Moon Team was the most dominant of all. A single appearance had already doubled the pressure on the other teams.
That was especially true of the teams aiming for the championship.
Ming Zhao had seen quite a few Soul Tools before and had even fought quite a few Soul Engineers, but he had never encountered a Soul Engineer like Ma Rulong, nor had he seen the Sun Moon Empire's most cutting-edge Soul Guidance Technology in Ma Rulong's hands.
Ma Rulong's performance made him even more interested in Soul Tools.
For a Soul Master like him, who lacked destructive power and had put all his skill points into killing his own kind, Soul Tools could indeed make up for a large part of his shortcomings.
As for why he was so interested in Ma Rulong, that was naturally because of the Sword of Judgment in Ma Rulong's possession, a Level 8 melee Soul Tool personally made by Jing Hongchen.
Light and darkness worked together and transformed into one another: darkness convicted, and light judged.
Items like this, which possessed two extreme attributes yet remained perfectly balanced, were Ming Zhao's favorites. Just like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it might bring him some very useful inspiration.
Ming Zhao would not let a single opportunity to grow stronger slip by.
But that would have to wait until the tournament ended. While it was underway, it was not very convenient for Ming Zhao to make a move and retrieve the Sword of Judgment he had left in Ma Rulong's keeping.
It would be fine once the tournament was over.
After the Sun Moon Team's match drew to a close, the matches that followed were not as entertaining to watch. Of the 132 teams, most were only there to make up the numbers and were not particularly strong.
Excluding Shrek, who had withdrawn, this tournament had only Ma Rulong of the Sun Moon Team and Jiang Peng, captain of the Di'ao Team. The others all had five rings or fewer.
Out of 132 teams, it would have been good if twenty had Soul Kings. The strongest members of most teams were only Soul Ancestors.
Battles at this level were naturally worth watching for ordinary people, but for Ming Zhao, they were very boring. Rather than watching matches, he was recruiting, looking to see whether there were any promising bad seeds fortunate enough to serve him.
But, as was the helpless reality of the era, apart from Shrek, the other minor academies simply did not dare accept students with special talents.
Only Shrek had the exclusive right to define what made a good Soul Master and what made an Evil Soul Master, and could recruit those unique geniuses without restraint.
"Cases like Yu Mengdi are rare after all. If I want to recruit, it looks like I'll still have to go to the Shrek talent wholesale market." Ming Zhao sighed.
He was disappointed, but not all that disappointed. He could only say he had expected it.
Over the course of several days, all 132 teams completed the first knockout round, and the tournament moved straight on to the group-stage round robin.
After watching the first round, Ming Zhao had gained some impression of these teams and was less interested in their upcoming matches. He came to the matches more to pass the time and watch a large-scale cricket-fighting contest.
During this time, Meng Hongchen also came to see him and spend time with him quite often.
Whenever the Sun Moon Team had no match, Meng Hongchen wanted to go on a "date" with him. She had even found out which hotel he was staying at.
Ming Zhao went along with it, gradually cultivating their relationship and growing closer to Meng Hongchen at a perfectly reasonable pace. With everyone else, however, he remained cold and barely bothered to acknowledge them, making Meng Hongchen feel, "He's only different with me."
It could be said that he had Miss Meng firmly in the palm of his hand.
As Meng Hongchen gradually fell for him, Xiao Hongchen frequently crossed swords with Ming Zhao as well. But the incompetent Xiao Hongchen clearly lacked the strength to disrupt Ming Zhao's plans, and in the end could only watch in frustration as Meng Hongchen sank deeper and deeper.
The other members of the Sun Moon Team naturally noticed what was going on too. But Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen's status was too high: their grandfather was a Level 9 Soul Engineer who was both the Master of Mingde Hall and the academy's dean. No one dared interfere in their private affairs.
Even their team leader, Elder Ma, was no exception.
Time gradually passed in this strange atmosphere, and before long, this Soul Fighting Tournament drew near its end, arriving at the final championship match.