The appearance of Pope Bibi Dong undoubtedly brought the entire competition to a climax.
As His Holiness the Pope, who is usually high and mighty, it would be extremely difficult for ordinary Soul Master to even catch a glimpse of him.
But now, they have appeared in this competition, and the group of Soul Master participating in the competition are as excited as if they have been injected with Blood One.
At this moment, the intensity of the entire competition has reached its peak, needing no further explanation.
Everyone wanted to demonstrate their strength in front of His Pope's Palace and the two Titled Douluo.
After Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo appeared, they landed on a high platform. They would be the witnesses to this competition.
Meanwhile, in another location behind Bibi Dong, Hu Liena and the other two were gathered.
Yan's gaze quickly locked onto Xiao Yan in the arena, his eyes flashing with fury.
The humiliation of a year ago, he will repay Xiao Yan a hundredfold today.
Xiao Yan, who was talking with Zhu Zhuqing, soon felt Yan's burning gaze. He turned his head and met her eyes.
Seeing the anger in Yan's eyes, Xiao Yan remained calm and ignored him.
Instead, they focused their attention on the two people beside Yan.
Hu Liena and Xie Yue are siblings, and they do bear a slight resemblance.
As the captain among the three, Xie Yue's strength is unfathomable.
Sensing the faint pressure emanating from the three, Xiao Yan knew perfectly well that their strength was undoubtedly that of Soul King.
"Laugh!"
On the spacious plaza, a powerful Soul Douluo -level expert, exuding a profound aura and dressed in a formal suit, soon appeared in mid-air, his sharp eyes sweeping across the entire area.
"I, Ji Yue, the current Martial Soul Hall, hereby declare the Spirit Hall Elite Student Preliminary Competition officially open!"
As Ji Yue finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in a deafening roar.
"All participants, please assemble on the stage!"
As Ji Yue finished speaking, the Soul Master who had registered for the preliminary rounds gathered in the central square.
The participants in the competition were assigned seats at the very front of the entire square.
Xiao Yan glanced at the list and saw that there were probably several hundred Soul Master had registered for the competition, but he didn't know exactly how the competition format would be arranged.
The hundreds of Soul Master who signed up were insignificant compared to the overall strength of Spirit City.
After all, this is a battle for the young.
Similarly, the students who dare to sign up for this competition all have a certain degree of confidence in their abilities.
At a glance, the hundreds of people who signed up all possessed strength levels that had broken through to the Soul Ancestor realm or above.
After all, this is a glorious moment for the Spirit Hall, and this competition is in preparation for the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament six months later.
It is also to select the most outstanding talents for the Spirit Hall.
Therefore, those whose strength has not reached the Soul Ancestor level all know that they are not even qualified to participate.
Hundreds of young people at the Soul Ancestor level—these are the future pillars of the Spirit Hall.
Looking at the group of Soul Master standing neatly in front of her, Ji Yue couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. With a wave of her hand, streams of light jade tablets flew directly towards the group.
"There are a total of 278 contestants. I'll skip the drawing of lots for you."
A strange smile appeared on Ji Yue's face, and she suddenly spoke:
"In the Soul Master World, strength is the foundation for one's survival, but teamwork, coordination, and luck are equally indispensable. Therefore, there is no absolute fairness..."
As Ji Yue spoke, a faint energy shield suddenly rose around the entire plaza, enveloping all two hundred-plus participating students within it.
"Next, the competition rules will be announced."
"In the first match, the jade tokens in your hands will randomly emit a color of light. Soul Master who emit the same color of light will become teammates, and no one may attack their teammates."
When you suffer a fatal injury, the jade pendant will shatter to form a protective shield, but you will also be disqualified from continuing the competition.
"Within the time limit of one incense stick, each person must defeat at least one opponent. Those who fail to defeat an opponent are eliminated; those who lose their jade token are eliminated; and those who attack or harm their teammates are eliminated."
Ji Yue's announced rules were simple and clear, but they caused a huge uproar at the scene.
"What's going on? The rules of the competition are so... chaotic!?"
"Yes, weren't the previous competitions always one-on-one? Why are the rules so different this year?"
"..."
A cacophony of voices discussed the matter, and every now and then, people would glance at the platform where the Pope and his two companions were located.
Unfortunately, neither the Pope nor the Titled Douluo spoke.
This demonstrates that the new rule was approved by His Holiness the Pope.
"Is everyone okay with this?"
Ji Yue's gaze swept over the group of bewildered teenagers in the arena, her smile quite eerie.
Even he was quite surprised when he first heard about this rule; indeed, this new rule originated from the Pope.
That was the Pope's exact words.
"Once Soul Master enters the battlefield, enemies will be everywhere. Only by learning to survive in the chaos can one be considered a qualified Soul Master and make an effective contribution."
Although this selection method is rather brutal, it also has one significant advantage.
That is...
Fast enough!
Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, each person must ensure their own "survival" while also killing at least one other person, which means...
Every moment is fraught with danger!
Enemies could be coming from any direction.
Similarly, because of the ironclad rule that "teammates must not attack each other," they can completely trust their "teammates."
If a team can be assembled quickly, the survival rate will undoubtedly be greatly increased in such a chaotic battlefield.
"It's a team battle with no limit on the number of players?"
Among the crowd, Yan, a member of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, was somewhat surprised to hear Ji Yue's words.
However, with the confidence of being Soul King, coupled with the cooperation of the three of them, Yan didn't think anyone would dare to provoke them.
"Don't let your guard down." Xie Yue noticed Yan's nonchalance, but a quick glance around revealed several pairs of malicious eyes.
The first phase of the chaotic battle means that some people will definitely want to take this opportunity to join forces and eliminate some powerful enemies who pose a threat to the final battle.
Xie Yue and his two companions were clearly everyone's target.
"Alright, then I announce..."
Ji Yue's gaze swept across several directions on the field, and in one of them was the location of Xie Yue and the other two.
"The match begins!"
As Ji Yue finished speaking, the more than two hundred jade tablets suddenly emitted various colors of light.
Seeing the color that the jade pendants in their hands were glowing, Xie Yue and Yan's expressions changed, while Xiao Yan noticed the colors of his and Zhu Zhuqing's jade pendants, as well as the surrounding light, and his expression also darkened.