Among all the teams that came to participate, most were dressed splendidly.Although everyone wore their own academy's team uniforms,not a single one was as bizarre as Shrek Academy's.
Under those beautiful team outfits of gold, silver, red, and white, decorated with various ornaments, patterns, and academy emblems,the young soul masters strode into the Grand Soul Arena with heads held high,each and every one of them looking like a hero.
They were truly spirited and valiant, carrying an air as if they looked down upon the world.
Only after squeezing into the Heaven Dou Grand Soul Arena did the Shrek Academy group finally breathe a sigh of relief,their eyes filled with helplessness.
"In the next match, no matter what, I'm not wearing this anymore. It really damages my heroic image."
Ma Hongjun took off the mask from his face and complained.
The competition did not allow the face to be covered.
At this moment, everyone genuinely had the urge to strip off their clothes and leave immediately.
Competing in these outfits was simply too embarrassing.
Fortunately, today was the opening ceremony and also the first day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.Aside from the opening ceremony, there would only be one match.
The vice team of Heaven Dou Royal Academy—that is, the second team—would draw an opponent for the first round of the round-robin preliminaries,a team battle with some exhibition-like nature.
Otherwise, with only an opening ceremony, it would clearly not be enough to satisfy the audience's interest.
This Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had prize money,and it was very straightforward.
For every victory in the preliminary rounds,there was a reward of five hundred Gold Soul Coins.
Upon entering the promotion rounds, an additional three thousand Gold Soul Coins would be awarded.
If one could enter the finals, the Heaven Dou Empire would not only bestow the title of Baron,but would also reward every participating team member—whether main or substitute—with one thousand Gold Soul Coins each.
As for the final championship prize, it was even more generous.
For the advertisements behind the Shrek Seven Devils,Flender had already given up this portion of the income,meaning all prize money earned would belong entirely to the students themselves.
This was Flender's "tyrannical authority,"using money as bait,finally forcing everyone to agree.
Dai Mubai comforted everyone, saying,"Anyway, the chances of us appearing today aren't that high. After we go back, we'll talk to Headmaster Flender again. Tomorrow, no matter what, we won't wear these clothes."
"At the very least, we have to remove the words on the back."
Hearing this, everyone nodded in unison.Ugly clothes were an aesthetic issue, but advertisements were another matter entirely.
At this moment, the Shrek Academy group was in the rest area specially provided for participating students inside the main arena.
They were not the earliest to enter, but neither were they the last.
The spacious rest area had over a thousand seats,divided into different sectionsto provide resting and waiting areas for each soul master academy.
Although there were not as many civilians here as outside,after the advanced soul master academy teams entered,the Shrek Academy group still became the focus of attention.
Even though they had tried their best to find a corner,they were still noticed by many people.
However, the quality of soul masters was generally much higher than that of ordinary civilians.Although there were quite a few disdainful glances and contemptuous expressions,there was not much discussion.
Each academy's team gathered together under the leadership of their instructors, waiting for the opening ceremony.
At the same time, each academy had one teacher conducting the final registration confirmation.
Once the list of participating students was registered,no additional students could be added or replaced in the subsequent matches.
Not long after, Flender strolled back leisurely.
"Huh? Why are you hiding in such a corner?"
Seeing the unfriendly looks from the students, Flender coughed awkwardly and said,"Well then, here is fine."
"The registration is complete. We'll enter the arena shortly for the opening ceremony."
"All of you, perk up a bit. Don't disgrace Shrek Academy."
"You are a team aiming for the championship."
"Champion? Just you lot think you can win the championship?"
"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves first."
"How annoying. How is it that we run into trash like you everywhere? The tournament's screening system is really too loose, letting garbage like this in."
At this moment, an unharmonious voice came from nearby.
The Shrek Academy students were already full of pent-up anger,and upon hearing this voice,they immediately glared viciously in its direction.
It was a team from a neighboring academy.
Speaking of which, it was quite a coincidence—there were several people in this team whom the Shrek Seven Devils recognized.
They were from Canghui Academy, whom they had encountered previously when heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain their third soul rings.
They were still wearing the same moon-white soul master robes,with the characters "Canghui" embroidered inside a cyan ring on their shoulders.The difference was that this time, their uniforms were decorated with silver threads,making them look even more dazzling.
At this moment, among the Shrek Seven Devils, only the Fatty had taken off his mask.Yet the leader of the opposing group recognized them at a glance—it was Ye Zhiqiu, whom they had met in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Who are you calling a toad?"
The first to rush out was Tai Long.
"Whoever is wearing that shit-green uniform, that's who. Hm, I think each of you is still missing a green hat. With that added, it'd be perfect."
The one who spoke was a young man who looked to be around twenty.Ye Fan and the others had never seen him before. His face was somewhat pale, his figure tall and thin, and his narrow eyes were full of disdain and contempt.
"I'll show you who the toad is!"
Tai Long swung his fist directly.
He already had a bad temper, and once provoked like this, how could he endure it?
"Tai Long, come back."
Ye Fan's calm voice sounded.
Tai Long's fist, which was about to swing out, had to stop in midair.
He turned his head to look at Ye Fan.
"Brother Fan, I—"
Ye Fan said,"Don't you know that soul master academies are forbidden from fighting each other here?"
"If a dog bites you, are you supposed to bite it back?"
Hearing this, Tai Long nodded and said no more.
That was indeed the logic.
Behind Ye Fan's mask, his face was very calm.These people simply weren't qualified to receive his serious attention—mere ants.
"Who are you calling a dog?"
The people from Canghui Academy had no cultivation of character at all.In an instant, they surrounded them,each one exuding an imposing presence that actually suggested some strength.
Dai Mubai spoke in perfect sync,
"Whoever is barking nonsense here is the dog."
"And a pack of stray dogs with no one to control them."
"Little San, although we can't take the initiative here, self-defense should still be allowed, right?"
"I don't mind sending these little white dogs home."
Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and said,"Brother Fan, but we can't just ignore it after being bitten by dogs, right?"
Ye Fan smiled faintly."If we can't bite dogs, can't we kill dogs?"
"When we get onto the arena, we'll just deal with them there."
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words,everyone around felt a chill run down their spines.
"You really think I don't dare to make a move?!"
Ye Zhiqiu suddenly clenched his fists,his soul power surging.
Just then, a deep and powerful voice rang out,
"What are you doing?"
Hearing this voice,the expressions of the Canghui Academy students immediately turned obsequious.They hurriedly parted to the sides.
From behind them, an elderly man around sixty years old walked out.
He was also dressed in moon-white soul master attire,but the embroidery on his clothes was golden.
Vice Headmaster of Canghui Academy, Shi Nian.
He slowly patted Ye Zhiqiu on the shoulder.
"Zhiqiu, getting angry with a bunch of inexperienced, underdeveloped country bumpkins—wouldn't that be beneath your status?"
At this moment, Ma Hongjun whistled.
"I wonder if you trash will still be this arrogant after losing the match."
Extremely provocative.
"Who is barking nonsense here!"
Between breaths, Shi Nian activated his martial soul, Residual Dream, instantly enveloping the Shrek Academy group.
Except for Ye Fan,everyone instantly felt an extremely peculiar emotion appear in their minds—
Intense fear,the world spinning,their bodies twisting.
Ye Fan coughed lightly,instantly pulling everyone's minds back and directly breaking the attack of Residual Dream.
Shi Nian narrowed his eyes and looked at Ye Fan.
Flender clenched a promotional poster in his hand and flung it toward Shi Nian like a sharp arrow.
"Isn't this Brother Shi? Long time no see. Didn't expect to run into you here."
Shi Nian also looked at Flender and smiled."Flender, after all these years, you're still alive."
The two looked just like old friends meeting after many years apart.
After a brief exchange of seemingly sincere conversation,Canghui Academy quickly took their people and left, heading toward another direction of the rest area.
Ma Hongjun laughed loudly."Once the master shows up, it's really different. So obedient."
"Alright, Fatty."
Flender glared at Ma Hongjun,and only then did he shut his mouth,though there was still a trace of defiance in his eyes.
Flender frowned slightly."I didn't expect that old fellow to end up at Canghui Academy."
"It seems the quality of Canghui Academy's participants this year should be pretty good.Could it be that their earlier impatience was just an act?"
Ma Hongjun, being closest to Flender as his disciple, hurriedly asked,
"Teacher, who was that old man just now?"
"You know him?"
Flender nodded and said,"That old fellow is called Shi Nian."
"His martial soul is extremely special—a kind of special martial soul that has form but no substance."
"It can create all kinds of illusions, causing people to lose themselves within them. With his current strength, it's enough to make opponents in the illusion injure themselves to death."
"We call his martial soul Residual Dream. That old fellow is extremely sinister."
"Don't be fooled by how calm he appears on the surface."
"In reality, he's extremely vindictive. All of you need to be careful."
"Although his soul power level isn't very high—only in the early seventies—he can be called the strongest Soul Saint. Even a Soul Douluo would find it hard to deal with him."
Illusions? A martial soul like that?
The Shrek Seven Devils were all shocked at the same time,their minds thinking about how they could possibly counter it.
But most of them were completely at a loss.
If not for Ye Fan's cough just now,they would have already been caught.
Flender said,
"Alright, the opening ceremony is about to begin. Prepare to enter."
"Mubai, Ye Fan, you two lead everyone in."
"Remember—take off all your masks."
Oscar froze for a moment. "Why?"
"Could it be that Shi Nian's Residual Dream is more effective against people wearing masks?"
"Of course not."
Flender waved his hand."I want the audience to see your faces. That way they'll feel closer to you and be willing to invest in advertisements."
"I'll head up to the stands first to watch your heroic bearing."
Without giving them any chance to object,the headmaster slipped away at lightning speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Sure enough, the tournament staff soon entered the rest area,organizing the assembled students to begin entering the arena.
What made the Shrek Academy group angry was thatthose staff members seemed to ignore their existence,organizing academy after academy to enter, but forgetting only them.
It was not until the rest area was left with only their teamthat staff finally came over and led them into the entrance passage.
If not for Ye Fan and Dai Mubai holding them back,the crowd, already bursting with anger, might have erupted.
Although they were the last to enter the arena,the moment they stepped inside, they were still shocked by everything before them.
Surrounding the enormous and open plazawere countless spectators shouting and cheering.
At the very front of the central fieldstood a rostrum with a golden background,and behind it was the renovated VIP area.
The wide arena had a diameter of over one hundred and fifty meters.
The academies that entered earlier had already lined up neatly in the center of the field.
For every academy that entered, a host on the rostrum gave a special introduction.
"The last team to enter is the participating team from Shrek Academy."
"Shrek Academy, formerly known as Lanba Academy, renamed Shrek one year ago."
"Look at their unique attire—how striking it is. A total of twelve students are participating."
"Their registration slogan is: 'Champion with No Opponents.'"
"What a very imaginative slogan."
"Let's hope they can deliver outstanding performances."
Listening to the host's words, the audience stands erupted in laughter,with heckling and jeering rising and falling.
"Damn it, I can't take it anymore."
As Dai Mubai walked forward, he clenched his fists tightly.At this moment, every muscle in his body was taut, ready to explode.
Ye Fan patted Dai Mubai on the shoulder.
"Calm down. What's there to get upset about? Laugh if they want—let them laugh."
Dai Mubai glanced at Tang San, took a deep breath, and barely managed to calm himself.
If it were just him alone, he probably would have erupted already.
Finally, all participating academies had finished entering.
The Shrek Academy group stood at the very back of all the teams.
This Grand Soul Arena was extremely large,with stands capable of accommodating eighty thousand spectators.
Everything was decorated in a silver-toned background.
Although it was morning,special magic-guided lighting devices were hung all around, giving not only a sense of luxury,but also a feeling of grandeur and majesty.
Everyone looked around,and their gazes ultimately settled on the VIP platform.
Among them was Prince Xue Xing, who had once driven them away at Heaven Dou Royal Academy,as well as the three Education Committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.They were seated in the second row of the VIP seats.
............................
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