Note: I will Try to update everyday so I hope you support the story
The day of the Grand Soul Dueling Tournament semifinals.
From the semifinals onward, it was no longer a selection of just one type of match from team battles, one-on-one, or two-on-two. Instead, all three types of matches had to be fought, and the one who won two out of three could advance.
Day one: Team Battles.
Less than five minutes before the draw was to begin, the imperial palace gates opened wide. Xu Jiawei strode out, surrounded by his guards, and walked towards the competition stage.
"Long live, long live, long live!" All the soldiers responsible for maintaining order raised their weapons and shouted "Long live!" like a mountain.
The members of the four teams all stood up and bowed to His Majesty the Emperor.
Emperor Xu Jiawei was surrounded by four elderly individuals in the center. Although there were not many guards around him, it seemed that his protective force was very weak. However, everyone knew that this guard team was actually extremely luxurious, because those four elders were likely Title Douluo-level powerhouses of the Star Luo Empire.
Among them, two were the previously seen Atlas Douluo Cheng Gang, and Heaven Scourge Douluo Huang Jinxu. The Medical Immortal Douluo was not present; her status and seniority were too high.
Since the demise of the Spirit Hall, which once commanded the strongest soul master power on the continent, ten thousand years ago at the hands of Tang San, the vast majority of strong soul masters had been recruited by the various great empires. As soul masters gained more insight into cultivating their martial souls, the frequency of Title Douluo appearing had increased significantly compared to ten thousand years ago.
However, a large portion of these Title Douluo had reached their final bottleneck through the use of medicinal aids. This method, reliant on external drugs, resulted in their true strength being considerably weaker than those who broke through on their own. Of course, even so, the total number of Title Douluo was still scarce. For every nation, a Title Douluo was a national treasure.
Moreover, even among Title Douluo, their martial souls, soul rings, and soul bones varied greatly. Their cultivation could be said to be vastly different. For example, Old Poison Dugu Bo, he could easily handle all four of these Title Douluo combined with one hand.
Xu Jiawei, escorted by the four Title Douluo, ascended the competition stage. Facing the Star Luo Plaza, he said with a smile, "My citizens, you may rise!"
"The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is our most important grand event on the Douluo Continent, held every five years. It deeply honors Us that this tournament can be held in Our Star Luo Empire. First and foremost, We must thank the academy teams from various nations. It is they who have dedicated fair and magnificent matches, allowing us to witness the daily advancements of the continent's spirit masters and soul engineers."
"Soon, the semifinals for the top four will commence, and this Grand Soul Dueling Tournament is about to draw to a close. The draw for the top four is also the final round of draws for this tournament. Therefore, We have decided to personally preside over it. We hope that Shrek Academy, Dio Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, and our Star Luo National Academy can all present a thrilling visual feast for everyone in the final matches."
Xu Jiawei spoke with impassioned eloquence. As his voice faded, it once again ignited a roar of cheers from the entire populace.
Among the four Title Douluo who ascended the stage with him, the one in the front left stepped out and called, "Please send representatives from the four teams to the stage for the draw."
With that, he himself jumped onto the stage. "From now on, all final matches will be presided over by this old man. This old man's title is Heaven Scourge, Heaven Scourge Douluo Huang Jinxu."
Upon hearing this, everyone was both shocked and awestruck. The Star Luo Empire had truly gone all out; for a mere Soul Dueling Tournament, they had actually invited a Title Douluo to act as a referee. How glorious it was to participate in a competition witnessed by a Title Douluo.
The four great academies each sent one representative to the stage for the draw: Beibei from Shrek, Ma Rulong from Sun Moon Academy, Jiang Peng from Dio Academy, and from the Star Luo National Academy, it was not Xu Jiujiu, but a female soul master. It seemed that for something like a draw, there was indeed no need for Her Royal Highness the Princess to come personally.
The draw results were also the same as in the original story.
Star Luo National Academy VS Shrek Academy.
Dio Academy VS Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
The two dueling arenas began battles simultaneously. Yuwen Tuo was not interested in the Shrek side and still hadn't arrived there. He went to watch the Dio and Sun Moon side, ostensibly to gather information on opponents. This time, Xuan Zi even agreed, because Yuwen Tuo had already told Ma Xiaotao that he would not participate in other matches, but he was willing to fight in the matches against the Sun Moon Empire.
Thus, it was natural for him to want to gather intelligence. Yuwen Tuo stood above the spectator stands, observing the battle from a high vantage point. He hadn't expected that the Dio Academy would be completely at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the team battle.
For soul duels below rank 70, especially team battles, the advantage of soul engineers over soul masters was simply too great. Even the three aces of the Sun Moon Soul Engineering Academy—Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen—had yet to enter the fray, and they had already routed Dio Academy.
Before long, everyone from Dio Academy except for Jiang Peng, who was a Soul Emperor, had already left the field.
"Is this the firepower saturation of a soul engineer? Truly astonishing. This is just a soul dueling arena. If it were a battlefield..." Yuwen Tuo pondered. On the battlefield, the destructive power that soul engineers could unleash was indeed higher than that of soul masters of the same rank.
Suddenly, someone behind him chimed in, "If it were a battlefield, such firepower saturation would become the army's nightmare."
Yuwen Tuo turned around and saw that it was Long Aotian. Although the two had never directly interacted, they had indirectly crossed paths several times through Jiang Peng and Lang Ya. "Brother Long, actually, if you also represented Heavenly Soul in this battle, this team battle might not have been lost."
"Naturally. No matter how powerful soul engineers are, they are only effective against the weak. Once a soul master's rank rises to a high level, the soul master can suppress those who rely on external objects," Long Aotian said confidently. "Brother Yuwen, I saw you watching alone in the VIP box just now and thought you were just here to cheer on Jiang Peng. So you were observing soul engineers after all."
Yuwen Tuo nodded, "Yes, soul engineers are actually a profession with great potential."
"They have potential, I don't deny that, but it is limited," Long Aotian said. "In war, it's not just a game between armies, but also a contest between top-tier soul masters. If we go to war with the Sun Moon Empire in the future, and I have already become a Title Douluo by then, I will kill all their high-ranking officials, leaving them without leadership!"
In fact, what Long Aotian was describing was a decapitation strike. Yuwen Tuo admitted that this was an excellent tactic. Unfortunately, the Sun Moon Empire had probably already allied with evil soul masters, so they no longer lacked top-tier soul master combat power.
Moreover, Long Aotian still underestimated soul tools. Yuwen Tuo remembered his original fate: in order to protect his fiancée, Weina, he died under the Sun Moon Empire's soul-guided cannons.
If Yuwen Tuo were to join the Body Sect, he would naturally rewrite this ending for him. However, he still hoped that Long Aotian would realize sooner rather than later the meaning of being careless and underestimating the enemy, which was a grave mistake for military strategists.
🚨 Note : Consider to Support this Story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access +300 advance Chapters and To Support The Daily Update