The Spirit Hall specially constructed a massive arena for the finals of this Soul Master Tournament, located in the heart of Spirit City. The
circular arena, a hundred meters in diameter, was entirely constructed of solid granite and reinforced with numerous soul tools, capable of withstanding any attack from soul masters below the Soul Emperor level.
Only the wealthy and powerful Spirit Hall could afford to spend so many resources to build such an arena; the two great empires lacked such resources.
Less than a kilometer from this arena was the Papal Palace. According to information provided by the Spirit Hall, the first four rounds of the competition would be held on this arena.
In the fifth round, only three teams remained, and the competition would then take place in the square in front of the Papal Palace.
Pope Bibi Dong would also be present to observe and personally crown the final champion.
This was an unparalleled honor for any soul master or academy, regardless of their personal feelings towards the Spirit Hall.
Early in the morning, all participating academies had already arrived at the competition venue.
Each academy had a separate rest area built around a massive arena.
Around the arena, besides the rest area, was a VIP judging panel where envoys representing the two great empires would sit as judges for the finals. The Spirit Hall had also sent a Platinum Bishop as a judge. The Shrek
Academy team had just arrived at their rest area when Flander was called to draw lots.
After drawing lots, they would know who their opponents would be in the first round.
Qian Renxue was invited to the VIP judging panel as one of the judges for the competition.
Soon after, Flander completed the draw, and Shrek Academy was to face Blazing Fire Academy. However, to everyone's shock, Blazing Fire Academy announced their withdrawal after the draw, deciding not to participate in the subsequent matches.
Except for Blazing Fire Academy and a few insiders, everyone was puzzled by Blazing Fire Academy's decision.
Why would such a strong academy withdraw before the competition? If they didn't want to participate in the finals, why did they come to Spirit City in the first place?
The Shrek team was equally perplexed, unable to understand Blazing Fire Academy's intentions even if they racked their brains.
The master suddenly smiled and said, "That's right. We originally had a bye in the second round, and now that Blazing Fire Academy has forfeited, Shrek Academy doesn't need to fight in the first or second round. You can have more time to conserve your energy, and you don't have to worry about revealing your strength too early. You can also learn about the other academies' trump cards by watching the matches."
Ma Hongjun laughed loudly, "That's awesome! We can directly enter the top ten without even playing. Blazing Fire Academy really did a good thing. Blazing Fire Academy is so strong, yet they forfeited. What a pity... That girl named Fire Dance is so beautiful, with such a great figure..."
"Get lost!" Dai Mubai slapped Ma Hongjun on the back of the head.
Ma Hongjun cried out in pain, "Can't I even praise a girl's beauty?"
The Shrek academy members were all speechless.
The master smiled and said, "Alright, stop fooling around. Let's all stay in the rest area. We can cultivate our soul power and observe the other academies. We must know ourselves and our enemies to win every battle."
"Yes, Master," the students replied.
They all sat down, waiting for the match to begin.
"Teacher!" Tang San suddenly called out.
"What is it, Xiao San?" Grandmaster asked.
Tang San looked towards the Spirit Hall Academy's rest area and said, "Look, there's no one in the Spirit Hall Academy's rest area."
Grandmaster and the others looked over and indeed found it empty; there wasn't a single student or teacher in sight.
Grandmaster said, "That's strange. Why haven't the Spirit Hall Academy teams shown up yet?"
Liu Erlong said, "Even if they got a bye in the first round, they should at least be here watching, right? Are they so arrogant that they're confident of victory without even knowing their opponents?"
"Isn't this attitude too arrogant? Are they looking down on all our academies?" Ma Hongjun said indignantly.
Tang San remained calm and said, "Perhaps they really do have the strength to surpass all the academies, which is why they disdain coming to watch the match."
Dai Mubai said regretfully, "In any case, our wish to learn about the Spirit Hall Academy team has been dashed
. We didn't expect them to be so mysterious; they still haven't appeared in everyone's sight at this moment." The Shrek Academy teachers had been inquiring in Spirit City for three days but still hadn't found out a single piece of information about the Spirit
Hall Academy's new team. On the way here, everyone was talking about how they would see the Spirit Hall Academy's new team once the competition started.
Unexpectedly, the Spirit Hall Academy team didn't even show up for the first round of the competition.
The master pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps they deliberately didn't appear to create psychological pressure on the various academies."
Flander said, "Don't guess. The Spirit Hall Academy got a bye in the first round, but they'll definitely appear in the second. They won't be able to hide it anymore then."
Ma Hongjun sneered and said, "That's right, I want to see what those guys are capable of."
The master said, "Well, everyone, don't overthink it. The competition is about to begin. You need to watch carefully. The winning team in each match may become your opponent next. So, when watching the competition, you need to put yourself in their shoes, imagine yourself as their opponent, and think about how to counter their spirit skills."
"Understood, Master," Dai Mubai and the others replied.
The finals didn't have a complicated opening ceremony. Only a cardinal went on stage and directly announced the start of the finals.
Then, the cardinal announced the pairings and order of appearance for each academy, and the competition officially began.
Around the perimeter of the arena, in addition to the private rest areas for each academy, there was also a public rest area.
To be precise, this was a spectator section, reserved for those not affiliated with any of the major academies.
Those seated here were primarily wealthy and influential individuals from Wuhun City, who had paid a fee to obtain their spectator status.
At the very front of this section, Ao Tian and six girls, including Gu Yuena, sat together.
All six girls wore veils, concealing their stunning beauty; otherwise, they would have caused quite a stir in the arena. Ao Tian,
however, wore no veil. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed, but his mind wasn't on the match; he was trying to connect with the ethereal Heavenly Dao, increasing his affinity with it.
This had become an integral part of his cultivation.
The reason they were here, instead of in the Wuhun Hall Academy's designated rest area, was to avoid being disturbed.
The Wuhun Hall Academy team was the most feared and sought-after team by all the other academies; if they appeared in their rest area, they would undoubtedly attract the attention of everyone.
In the words of Xiao Wu and the other girls, they didn't want to sit there and be stared at like monkeys.
So they discussed it and came to this public spectator area, where they could watch the battles without attracting everyone's attention.
Although they were very confident in their abilities, they hadn't yet participated in a single battle with any other academy since the preliminaries began; Gu Yuena had been their sparring partner.
Therefore, on the first day of the competition, Xiao Wu and the others volunteered to come and watch, to get a better understanding of their opponents.
.............
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