There were only three people seated in the first row of the VIP stands.
The person in the center wore a gold-and-red long robe and a crown inlaid with golden diamonds that seemed to reach the heavens. His face was like the moon of an ancient painting. He looked slightly older than Prince Xue Xing, and there was some resemblance between their brows.
The difference was that this man's bearing was something Prince Xue Xing could not compare to at all.Although he appeared somewhat aged, as he sat there upright, he gave people a feeling of being the origin point itself.
It was as if everything around him revolved around him.
Even Prince Xue Xing could only sit in the second row. Thus, the identity of the person seated in the center of the first row was already obvious.
Who else could sit in this position, other than His Majesty the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire?
On his left sat an elderly man who appeared even older than him.
His entire body was covered in a crimson robe. On his head was a five-pointed white-platinum crown. His eyes were half-closed, as if he were asleep. His shoulders were narrow, and his thin, tall body was as straight as a javelin.
The person seated to the emperor's right was Ning Rongrong's father, Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Today, Ning Fengzhi wore a white robe and a Seven Treasure Purple-Gold Crown symbolizing his status.
As one of the three upper sect masters among the seven great sects, he was fully qualified to sit in this position.
As for the red-robed man on the other side, judging from the five-pointed white-platinum crown on his head, it was clear that this person was a White Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall.
The supreme ruler of the Spirit Hall was undoubtedly the Pope.
Below the Pope were four Great Bishops, whose status was symbolized by the five-pointed white-platinum crown.
The man before them was clearly one of these White Platinum Bishops.
Someone capable of serving as a White Platinum Bishop was naturally an individual of extraordinary status.
This person was Salas, the hall master of the Heaven Dou City Spirit Hall, an extremely distinguished figure.
At this time, the master of ceremonies at one side of the VIP platform announced in a loud voice:
"Next, we invite His Majesty the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire to declare the opening of this tournament."
Seated at the center of the first row, wearing a crimson-gold robe, the Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire slowly stood up amid thunderous applause.
He raised his right hand and lightly waved toward the audience and the participating soul masters below. The applause quickly subsided, and the vast square fell into complete silence.
A deep and resonant voice spread throughout the venue through an amplification soul tool:
"I, Xue Ye, Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire and as the host of this tournament, hereby announce that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is now officially open."
The applause erupted once again, with cheers rising and falling in waves.
However, the smile on the emperor's face appeared somewhat forced, as if he himself was not particularly excited about this tournament.
When the applause quieted once more, the emperor continued:
"Here, I hope that all soul masters participating in this tournament will fully display their strength and achieve excellent results."
"You are all the pride of the Heaven Dou Empire."
"For the glory of the Empire, display your brilliance."
The applause rang out for the third time.
This time, the soul masters at the center of the arena all had burning light in their eyes.
For them, such a tournament was the best stage to showcase themselves.
The emperor sat back down.
The voice of the master of ceremonies rang out again:
"Next, we invite the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Mr. Ning Fengzhi, to deliver a speech for this tournament."
As Ning Fengzhi stood up, the applause arose once more, accompanied by even more focused gazes.
As the number one auxiliary-type soul master in the soul master world, who would not want to witness his demeanor?
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly and pressed his hands down in the air.
"I am very pleased to be invited as a guest for the opening of this tournament."
"As the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I have witnessed the growth of many soul masters."
"As the noblest profession on the continent, the development of every soul master must pass through countless trials."
"But what I want to say is this: a sharp blade is forged through grinding; the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold."
"Those participating in this soul master tournament are undoubtedly the elites of the younger generation. Just as His Majesty said earlier, I hope you can bring honor to the Empire and to your respective academies."
"The Empire needs talents like you. Thank you."
Listening to Ning Fengzhi's speech, a sincere smile finally appeared on the face of Emperor Xue Ye.
The master of ceremonies said:
"Sect Master Ning, as the most powerful auxiliary soul master, on behalf of the audience watching this tournament, I would like to ask you a question."
"Among the twenty-eight teams participating in the Heaven Dou City regional qualifiers, which team do you favor the most?"
Ning Fengzhi maintained his smile.
"Other than the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team, which has entered the finals directly as a seeded team, there is another team among these twenty-eight that I favor."
"I believe they not only have the strength to pass the qualifiers,"
"but also have a strong chance of winning the final championship of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."
"Oh?" the master of ceremonies said in surprise. "May I ask which team has gained Sect Master Ning's favor?"
Ning Fengzhi gave a mysterious smile.
"As for which academy this team belongs to, please forgive me for keeping it a secret for now."
"But I believe that the final champion of this tournament will certainly belong to the Empire."
At this moment, the White Platinum Bishop who had been sitting beside Emperor Xue Ye with his eyes half-closed finally opened them.
His eyes looked cloudy and dull, lacking any brilliance.
His gaze swept toward the twenty-eight participating teams on the field, as if searching for the team Ning Fengzhi had mentioned.
At this time, the audience had already begun discussing animatedly.
They all speculated about which team Ning Fengzhi favored.
Those a bit more perceptive naturally understood that it would not be the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team.
After all, their strength was inferior even to the First Team, so how could they possibly be the final champions?
But with a total of twenty-eight teams in the qualifiers, and only five able to advance in the end, how could it be easy to guess?
Ning Fengzhi sat back down.
The master of ceremonies smiled and said:
"It's truly a pity that we couldn't coax Sect Master Ning into revealing the team he favors."
"Next, we invite the hall master of the Heaven Dou City Spirit Hall, White Platinum Bishop Lord Salas, to conduct the draw for the first round of the qualifiers."
"After the draw, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team will face their first-round opponent."
"This will also be the only match today."
White Platinum Bishop Salas slowly stood up.
Led by palace maids, he walked to the side of the master of ceremonies and began drawing lots.
He seemed very unwilling to speak.
Each time he drew a pair of opponents, he handed the result to the master of ceremonies to announce.
"First round of the qualifiers: Canghui Academy versus Zixing Academy."
"First round of the qualifiers: Oakland Academy versus Flame Radiance Academy."
"..."
"First round of the qualifiers: Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Shrek Academy."
"..."
The members of Shrek Academy did not pay much attention to the other matchups.
But when they heard that their first-round opponent was actually the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, the expressions on their faces all became rather strange.
Oscar muttered, "It can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
Ma Hongjun cracked his fingers, producing a series of popping sounds.
"Great. Didn't they kick us out?"
"This time, we'll let them see what real strength looks like."
It wasn't just the members of Shrek Academy who were surprised.
The audience was also astonished.
Other academies might not have attracted much attention.
But Shrek Academy was simply too eye-catching—how could they not be noticed?
For a moment, boos rang out endlessly.
Many spectators shouted accusations of cheating.
In their view, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team was clearly picking on a soft persimmon.
And Shrek Academy didn't look like a soul master team at all—
more like a group of clowns.
After the draw concluded, White Platinum Bishop Salas swept his gaze across the entire venue and said calmly:
"This draw was conducted by this seat and contains no falsehood."
"This seat swears upon the honor of the Spirit Hall."
"At the same time, I hereby announce that any participating soul master academy students present who can enter the final tournament—"
"will be exceptionally permitted by the Spirit Hall to directly join the Spirit Hall's Sacred Hall."
As soon as these words were spoken, the audience didn't react much.
But the soul masters in the arena erupted into an uproar.
What kind of place was the Spirit Hall's Sacred Hall?
It was the highest institution of the Spirit Hall aside from the Pope's Palace and the Douluo Hall.
Across the entire continent, only the capitals of the two great empires each had one.
The Pope's Palace was exclusive to the Pope.
The Douluo Hall was more of a symbolic existence.
Thus, the Sacred Hall of the Spirit Hall was effectively the highest-ranking institution within the Spirit Hall.
Being able to enter it directly was, for a soul master, a shortcut to rapid advancement.
Not only did it offer the best待遇,
but also various training resources and the supreme honor of the Sacred Hall—
all of which held immense appeal for ordinary soul masters.
Upon hearing the White Platinum Bishop's words, Emperor Xue Ye's expression visibly darkened.
Beside him, Ning Fengzhi lightly shook his head at the emperor.
Only then did Emperor Xue Ye's expression ease somewhat.
This small detail went unnoticed by those around them.
The conflict between the Spirit Hall and the Empire seemed to be growing increasingly severe,
approaching an irreconcilable level.
Otherwise, White Platinum Bishop Salas would not have dared to openly recruit outstanding soul masters in front of the Empire's emperor.
"All right. Next, the first match of the first round of the qualifiers will be between the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Shrek Academy."
"All participating academies, please exit the field. The two academies scheduled to compete, prepare yourselves."
"Half an hour from now, the match will officially begin."
"Brother Fan, let me go out," the Fatty said eagerly.
Ignoring the scornful and disdainful looks around him, he rubbed his hands together and spoke to Ye Fan.
"No need. I'll go myself. One move will be enough to deal with them," Ye Fan replied.
Since the other academies did not have matches today, they left the resting area after exiting the field and were led by staff to a special spectator stand prepared for contestants to watch the matches.
As the symbol of the Heaven Dou Empire's royalty, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy naturally received different treatment from ordinary academies and did not rest here.
Before long, only the group from Shrek Academy remained in the vast resting area.
Flander, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong had not come,
clearly leaving this match entirely under their control.
Dai Mubai said in a deep voice, "Brother Fan, you make the arrangements."
Ye Fan smiled.
"What's there to arrange?"
"I'll go first, then Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, Jiangzhu, Tai Long, Tang San, and finally Oscar."
"You don't even need to take action. Just watch."
Before long, specialized staff arrived to urge them onto the field.
The organizers clearly did not think highly of them—only one staff member came to lead the way.
Just as they reached the passage exit,
the Shrek Academy group could already hear the master of ceremonies loudly announcing the names and martial souls of each Heaven Dou Royal Academy entrant outside.
A dedicated golden beam of light descended from a high platform set up on one side of the Grand Soul Arena, escorting the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team onto the field one by one.
Setting aside their strength,
the Heaven Dou Royal Academy members certainly looked impressive.
Their pale-gold uniforms were embroidered with the words "Heaven Dou" on the left chest,
with a pattern of seven silver stars on the back—
the emblem of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Each of them looked valiant and heroic, appearing to be in their early twenties.
Under the illumination of soul tool lights,
even in broad daylight, they seemed to radiate dazzling brilliance.
Like small golden suns, they drew the audience's attention.
"Damn it, they're clearly using us as green leaves to highlight those red flowers," Huang Yuan said angrily.
This lone-wolf soul master's build was not as burly as Tai Long's, but he was still quite sturdy.
Like Dai Mubai, he was a strong attack-type soul master.
Beside him, Jing Ling said in a sinister tone, "That's not right. We're not green leaves—we're cow dung."
"Flowers look brighter when they're stuck in cow dung, don't they?"
In contrast to Lone Wolf, this agile attack-type soul master had a somewhat wretched appearance and a tall, skinny frame with a slightly feminine feel.
Being around him made people uncomfortable.
That cold, sinister aura was like a venomous snake staring at its prey.
Even during sparring, he never allowed himself to be at a disadvantage.
He always participated in joint attacks,
but when it came time to take hits, he was nowhere to be found.
Because of this, Dai Mubai, Huang Yuan, Tai Long, and the other aggressive male students dubbed him a coward.
Fortunately, aside from his strange personality, his strength was quite formidable.
"Later, we'll let them know who the real cow dung is," Tai Long said fiercely, clenching his fist.
The lights on the field went out.
Amid a sea of boos, the Shrek Academy contestants slowly entered the arena.
At this moment, the field had already changed.
In the short half-hour earlier, the prepared arena platform had already been completed.
The platform was ten meters high, circular, with a diameter of over thirty meters.
Its area was extremely spacious.
Of course, this was only one platform.
When the qualifiers truly began tomorrow,
five platforms would be set up simultaneously here.
The twenty-eight teams would undergo twenty-seven rounds of qualifier matches.
Each team would face twenty-seven opponents.
Winning a match earned one point; losing earned none.
After twenty-eight rounds, the top five teams by points would enter the promotion round.
And entering the promotion round was equivalent to entering the finals.
This month-long qualifier stage was a severe test for any academy team.
Twenty-eight consecutive days of competition were more than enough to exhaust teams with poor endurance.
.............
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