As dawn broke, Star Luo Plaza in front of the main gate of Star Luo Imperial City was already a scene of solemnity and bustling excitement.
A colossal arena, spanning hundreds of meters in both length and width, stands majestically. Around the arena, one hundred and eight metal pillars, each engraved with runes, are inlaid with level seven soul guide cores, forming a protective shield that covers the entire arena.
The plaza was divided into several areas, with the Star Luo Empire in armor scattered throughout, maintaining order while also demonstrating Star Luo Empire's power.
As the bugle sounded, students from various colleges entered in turn.
They had already drawn lots before entering the arena, and now they all know who their next opponents are.
Today's match is a knockout round; if you lose, you're immediately eliminated from the competition.
Therefore, today's competition may be even more intense than the later rounds.
Kong Xuan and others arrived at the competition area, led by Ren Jun and Ma Sheng. Their positions were determined according to the order of appearance in today's competition.
Ahead of them was the Shrek Academy team.
At first glance, there are only six people!
Shrek Academy's green uniforms are highly recognizable and can be spotted in a crowd at a glance.
As the top academy on the continent, Shrek Academy naturally receives a lot of attention in every competition, and this time is no exception.
However, both the contestants and the audience were extremely surprised when they saw them.
Because in their minds, Shrek Academy should be "strong and well-equipped," and in previous years they had unabashedly exuded their powerful aura.
However, this time, Shrek Academy only had six people standing in the battle zone, and one of them was clearly a teacher leading the team.
Looking at these Shrek Academy students, they are clearly very young. They're not even twenty years old, probably not even fifteen. Are these reserve team members?!
Those unaware of the inside story naturally couldn't guess that Shrek was now reaping the consequences of its outrageous actions. They simply believed that sending reserve players into battle was due to Shrek's confidence!
Meng Hongchen stood close to Kong Xuan and whispered, "It seems Teacher Ren was right. Shrek Academy only has five reserve members available for the battle now."
Kong Xuan nodded, his gaze sweeping across the group ahead as he assessed their identities.
The two tallest should be Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, and the other one can be identified as Dai Huabin from Huo Yuhao's reaction.
The remaining pink-haired boy must be Wang Dong, who is disguised as a boy. He even glanced at Meng Hongchen beside him, since she fell in love with Wang Dong at first sight in the original novel.
However, at this moment, Meng Hongchen's mind was clearly entirely on Kong Xuan, and she only glanced at Wang Dong, the pink-haired little boy, at most.
As for the last remaining girl, judging from her height, it's clear she's not Xiao Xiao, who possesses Twin Martial Souls. Her short, golden hair undoubtedly belongs to Ning Tian.
Because Huo Yuhao was lured to Sun Moon Academy by Kong Xuan, the members of the Shrek Academy's reserve team have also changed this time.
It seems that the previous Inspection Corps mission was also due to the lack of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, which resulted in two members of the reserve team being absent. It's just unknown which two unlucky guys are dead and crippled.
"Hehehe, I wonder if those five Shrek students can even get through the first elimination round today."
Xu Wei looked on with a smug expression.
Xu Tianyi looked ahead to the side of the Shrek Academy Shrek Academy, where their next opponent, Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, was located.
"Although they're two players short, even the reserve team members were handpicked by Shrek, so advancing shouldn't be a problem."
Never underestimate your opponent!
Xu Wei did not refute Xu Tianyi's words, but listened to them.
Xiao Hongchen laughed and said, "If Shrek Academy has this lineup, then we've already secured the championship this time, haven't we?"
His voice was not quiet; in fact, it was somewhat unrestrained. Everyone around heard it, including the Shrek Academy students standing right in front of them.
Bei Bei and the others clenched their fists, forcing themselves not to turn around, and kept the "humiliation" in their hearts.
Through the voice transmission Soul Tool, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire's voice resounded throughout the entire Star Luo Plaza.
With his announcement, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament officially began.
As is customary, the first match of the knockout stage is always played by the Shrek Academy, who have consistently held the championship title.
In many people's eyes, this was just an exhibition match, showcasing Shrek Academy's strength and also better stimulating the atmosphere of the competition.
At Star Luo Plaza, the eyes of nearly 100,000 spectators were all focused on the arena.
However, when the two teams stepped onto the ring, a commotion arose in the audience.
The elimination rounds are a team competition, but Shrek Academy only sent five people to fight!
Looking at the five cold-faced teenagers opposite him, he could tell at a glance that they were several years younger than him.
Despite their numerical and age advantage, the students of the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy were far from happy.
Unaware of the reason, they assumed the Shrek students were confident that their five reserve members could defeat them.
The title of the number one academy on the continent has brought tremendous pressure to the students of the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy.
It could be said that the moment they learned about their opponent, they knew they would be stopped there.
As soon as the referee announced "The match begins," both sides released their Martial Soul almost simultaneously.
Without Huo Yuhao present, the Shrek's reserve team members naturally couldn't "borrow the tiger's might" like in the original story and directly win the match with a single Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Although there were only five people, it was still a lineup of two Soul Ancestor and three Soul Elder.
On the other side Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy was not a powerful academy to begin with, and its main team consisted of only five Soul Ancestor and two Soul Elder.
Upon seeing the opponent's Soul Ring, the Shrek members were immediately filled with confidence, feeling that they could fight.
The Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, on the other hand, felt that their goal was simply not to lose too badly to these reserve team members.
At the rear of the group, Ning Tian held the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, its first and Third Soul Ring flashing in succession, increasing his teammates' speed and strength by forty percent respectively. This was the powerful support ability of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
With this boost, Bei Bei instantly charged towards his opponent, determined to use his strength to shatter those doubtful voices.
Xu Sanshi and Dai Huabin followed closely behind, while only Wang Dong stayed by Ning Tian's side to protect him.
The moment the two sides clashed, the sheer power of the Shrek Academy was immediately apparent.
Although both are Soul Ancestor, their strengths are worlds apart. Bei Bei defeated the opponent's strongest captain with a single strike and remained completely calm even when surrounded.
Especially after their two teammates arrived from behind, the three of them actually started to dominate the seven opponents.
Within the competition area, many students were astonished by the strength of these Shrek Academy's reserve team members.
Xu Wei also suppressed his smile and analyzed seriously, " Old Xu is absolutely right, these people are indeed very strong and not easy to deal with!"
As fellow reserve team members, Xu Wei had clearly come to regard Bei Bei and the others as rivals.
Xiao Hongchen's expression also became serious. "This Soul Ancestor from Shrek probably already possesses the combat power of Soul King."
Kong Xuan glanced at the fearless Bei Bei, then turned his gaze to Ning Tian at the very back.
An idea suddenly popped into his mind, and he laughed, "The number one auxiliary Tool Martial Soul from ten thousand years ago was not just a name without substance."