The following day, as the first rays of dawn pierced the thin mist and shone upon the magnificent Star Luo City, the entire city seemed like a giant Soul Beast, suddenly awakening from its slumber and emitting a deafening roar.
The air was filled with an almost tangible heatwave, the combined force of the surging passion and eager anticipation of hundreds of thousands of spectators.
After the elimination rounds, the rest areas prepared for each college were finally opened.
The order of appearance in the round-robin tournament, for the first few rounds, is the same as in the previous elimination rounds, based on reputation.
So naturally, Shrek Academy will be the first to appear today.
Their opponents are different from those in the original story; they are not from the Yunluo Advanced Soul Master Academy of the Star Luo Empire, but from the Tiansheng Advanced Soul Master Academy of the Dou Ling Empire.
It can be said that, apart from a very few lucky individuals, none of the academies that made it through the elimination rounds were weak.
Although Tiansheng Advanced Soul Master Academy does not have any Soul King level experts, all its members are Soul Ancestor, and three of them have already reached level 49 in Soul Power, just one step away from becoming Soul King.
On the ring, they looked at their opponents, and a surge of anger rose in their hearts.
Because five of the seven Shrek Academy players were reserve members who had already appeared in the previous elimination rounds.
In their view, Shrek Academy clearly didn't take them seriously.
Even a clay figure has some temper; this feeling of being slighted is naturally unpleasant.
Therefore, even when facing Shrek Academy, the number one academy on the continent, the seven members of the Tiansheng Advanced Soul Master Academy possessed an extremely strong fighting spirit.
Among the eight academies in their group, Tiansheng Advanced Soul Master Academy only ranks in the middle.
Only two spots will ultimately advance, and they don't have much hope of advancing, so they will do their best in this battle!
At the start of the match, Zhu Yu and Tang Mingxuan, who were making their first appearance, did not make a move. They simply stood at the back, watching the show.
This is not only to train reserve players, but also to conceal their true abilities.
The remaining five reserve team members went all out, and with the assistance of Ning Tian's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, they actually managed to hold their own against the seven opponents.
However, as time went on, the disadvantage of being missing two people became apparent, and Bei Bei and the others were clearly at a disadvantage.
Just then, Tang Mingxuan made his move from behind.
Two yellow, two purple, and one black Soul Ring appeared at his feet, and an ancient zither with a simple design and a faint, dazzling starlight appeared in front of him.
The body of the zither is as deep as the night, and the strings are woven from starlight; it is his Martial Soul Starlight Lyre.
Tang Mingxuan's first and Fourth Soul Ring were lit up one after another. As he plucked the strings of his zither, melodies quickly swept across the entire arena.
The four Shrek Academy students, who had been suppressed by the opponent, suddenly seemed to be injected with Blood One, their auras surging, and they turned the tide in the blink of an eye.
All of this, of course, is thanks to Tang Mingxuan's assistance.
His First Soul Skill, Starlight Performance, provides a 20% boost to all attributes of a teammate on the field for each note played.
His Fourth Soul Skill, Starlight Resonance, can quickly restore 50% of a teammate's Soul Power and remove one negative effect.
With the combined assistance of Tang Mingxuan and Ning Tian, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's actual combat strength has reached the level of Five-Ring Soul King.
Led by the two, they quickly defeated their opponents and won the first round of the lap race!
As soon as the referee announced the result, cheers erupted from the stands as they chanted Shrek's name.
The majority of the audience for this match, held in Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire, came from the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.
At this moment, the cheers they gave to Shrek Academy were far louder than the cheers for their own country's Soul Master Academy.
Seeing this, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire on the imperial city narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "It seems that the people have a high regard for the Shrek Academy."
The queen beside her sensed the hidden meaning in her husband's words and said softly, " Shrek Academy has, after all, a history spanning ten thousand years, and it doesn't belong to any country; it's a neutral academy. The audience cheers because of its strength, and also because it's a 'living legend.'"
Xu Jiawei glanced at the Shrek Academy students walking off the stage amidst cheers, and said Youyou, "Yes, a legacy of ten thousand years, the first generation of Shrek Seven Devils becoming gods, truly a 'living legend'."
"However, Shrek Academy's ability to absorb geniuses from three kingdoms is what allowed its 'undefeated legend' to continue."
"So-called neutrality is also a sword hanging over the heads of the three kingdoms."
"The incident involving their student before the competition is the price they paid for their arrogance. Perhaps their 'undefeated legend' will be shattered in this competition."
The conversation between the Star Luo Empire and Empress was not kept secret from those around them, because the ministers present were all loyal subjects carefully selected by Xu Jiawei and were trustworthy.
The prime minister couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Sun Moon Empire is our greatest enemy at present."
Xu Jiawei turned his gaze away from the arena and smiled, "Prime Minister, rest assured, I know what's important and what's urgent."
There are eight groups in total for the round-robin competition, and each group takes turns competing.
Shrek Academy has finished its first match, so it's naturally Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's turn next.
His opponent, however, was no simple opponent; it was the Qianling Academy.
If Kong Xuan remembered correctly, this academy was supposed to be Shrek Academy's next rival, but unexpectedly, they encountered them first.
The reason this academy is considered extraordinary is because it houses a true Soul King.
Among the 67 academies that entered the round-robin tournament, teams with Soul King are already considered strong teams.
This time, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy fielded only reserve team members. Xiao Hongchen looked at Ma Sheng beside him and said helplessly, " Elder Ma, the reserve team members were just here to watch the excitement and broaden their horizons. Why don't we regular team members get a chance to play?"
Xiao Hongchen's words immediately garnered support from the other regular team members. Seeing Kong Xuan and his team defeat their opponents in no time, they also wanted to go down on the field and show off their skills.
Ma Sheng glanced at Xiao Hongchen: "What's the rush? Your time to shine will come. The less you reveal your abilities now, the greater your chances of defeating powerful enemies later."
"You should thank these reserve players, really. We're after the final victory, not here to show off."
Since Ma Sheng had said that, the regular team members all "drooped" down, thinking that they might not even have a chance to play in the round-robin tournament.
On the other side, in the Shrek Academy rest area.
Xuan Zi ate and drank heartily, taking a bite of chicken leg and a sip of wine.
Shrek Academy won the first round of the competition, and he was very satisfied with the students' performance.
However, after watching the seven members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's reserve team take the stage, he put away the chicken leg, his gaze filled with scrutiny.