Cupid Academy.
The name sounds impressive, but it's actually just an obscure little academy. It has absolutely nothing to do with the so-called God of Love.
Cupid Academy is just a filler among the many academies around Heaven Dou City; they're very self-aware and never expected to win. They participate purely to broaden their students' horizons. And it would be a shame to miss such a grand event.
So even knowing they'd lose, even knowing they were just cannon fodder to highlight the other academies, Cupid Academy still signed up. Of course, the other academies did the same, all thinking it was all about participation.
And what if? What if
their academy got lucky and won
? Then they'd be famous and soar to great heights
! That's why academies were signing up in droves
…
When Yun Chuan's men approached the dean of Cupid Academy and said that the Blue Silver King intended to send someone to their academy to participate in the Soul Master Competition… The dean readily agreed.
There was no other way; after all, they were just a small academy. The strongest dean was only a Soul Emperor, and the strongest participating students were only Soul Venerables. And even then, their Soul Ring configurations weren't optimal. How could they possibly defy the pinnacle of the Soul Master world—a Title Douluo?
So, facing someone under a Title Douluo, they naturally agreed without hesitation. Since they couldn't resist, they might as well accept it.
...
At this moment, Yun Chuan dispatched a clone to Cupid Academy. He certainly wouldn't personally participate; sending a clone to play around would suffice. Recently, he had gained a new understanding of clones. The clone was no longer a blank shell but truly possessed some abilities.
He could imbue the clone with some of his own abilities, giving it considerable combat power. As for his main body, he could simply watch the show from the VIP seats with the imperial high-ranking officials.
Cupid Academy was located in a relatively remote outer area of Heaven Dou City, a much less desirable location than Heaven Dou Royal Academy. However, since it's an advanced soul master academy, it's naturally considered a legitimate academy. Simply put, the difference between the two is like the difference between a first-rate and a ninth-rate academy.
At this moment, Yun Chuan's clone is dressed in a simple cyan swordsman's outfit. His hair is tied back, his eyes are like cold stars, and a cyan sword hangs at his waist. His style is elegant and unrestrained, coupled with his calm and indifferent face… what a cold and aloof swordsman!
Since his alias is Dugu Qiubai (Seeking Defeat), this alternate account is naturally swordsman-based. What's the point of being called Dugu Qiubai if you don't use a sword? You might as well call him Zhang San or Li Si.
His alternate account's character design is that of a cold and arrogant swordsman. His swordsmanship is superb! He has his own unique insights into the way of the sword… Of course, the face isn't his original face; it's just a handsome face he randomly created. Although it's just an alternate account to be used and discarded, he naturally has to put effort into making this face look good in order to look cool during competitions.
Yun Chuan arrived at Cupid Academy and met the academy's dean, an elderly man who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, named Brand.
"You're Dugu Qiubai? To be honest, just because of your irritating name, if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't afford to offend the Blue Silver King, I would never have agreed to your request." Brand looked at the sharp-tongued young swordsman before him and said with a wry smile, "After all, your name is just too arrogant. And a competition isn't something one person can do alone; the most important thing is teamwork. For you to try and win the competition by yourself is really..." He shook his head, clearly not optimistic.
"Martial Soul: Azure Steel Longsword; Soul Power: Level 45; Age: 20." Brand took out a booklet, opened it, and said, "Judging from your information, your strength is not bad, but you are far from qualified to clear the competition alone. So I have a request. You must defeat the seven strongest people from our academy, that is, the team our academy sent to participate in this competition, before I will grant your request. How about it?" "
No problem."
The swordsman in blue stroked the hilt of his sword at his waist with his right hand, his dark eyes deep and calm. He maintained his cold swordsman persona. "You understand my request, right?"
"I only need six people with academy status to participate. They don't need to do anything, they just need to participate to make up the numbers. Even if they jump off the stage and admit defeat, it doesn't matter. I only need to meet the requirement of the seven participants in the competition." He said coldly.
Dean Brand's expression was a little strange, but he still nodded. If this young man didn't have the Blue Silver King backing him, he probably would have kicked this troublemaker out long ago in the face of such an absurd request.
One person clears the entire tournament?
You actually dare to dream!
Why don't you just fly to the moon?
"Follow me."
Brand led Yun Chuan to the academy's battle area.
Seven Soul Masters were already waiting there!
Yun Chuan, disguised as a swordsman in blue, glanced at them casually, a golden light flashing deep in his eyes, instantly discerning their levels.
The highest level among the seven was thirty-one, the lowest twenty-three. And all of them were close to twenty-five. Frankly, their aptitude wasn't great—standard cannon fodder. But in the Soul Master world, it was considered pretty good.
"I've already told you everything," Brand said, looking at the seven and pointing to Yun Chuan beside him. "This is Dugu Qiubai. If he defeats you, he will represent the academy in the battle alone. You just need to stand aside and watch."
Hearing this, the seven were stunned, their faces darkening. Clearly, they had known about this beforehand. They thought it was a joke, but now that the dean was here, it turned out to be true. It was ridiculous!
If one person goes on stage, do they send six people to watch the show?
"You don't need to look at him like that. If he loses, then this is just a joke," Brand said, shaking his head. He wasn't lying. If Yun Chuan was truly so weak, he would never agree to let him go on stage, because it would be the entire academy that lost face. He, the dean, would be infamous for eternity.
So no matter what, if this Dugu Qiubai was just a pretty face, all show and no substance, then even if it was a Title Douluo's request, he would refuse. After all, if someone had lost and his subordinates were inferior, a Title Douluo wouldn't be so shameless as to bully a mere dean like him, would he?
Hearing the dean's words, the seven immediately began to rub their hands together, wanting to teach this arrogant guy a lesson! Dugu Qiubai? You'll be begging for help later!
Yun Chuan calmly moved his feet and came to stand in front of them. His right hand slowly rested on the hilt of his sword...
At this moment, the seven people opposite him began to announce their martial soul configurations one by one.
"Ma Guoqiang, Martial Soul, Flaming Blade, Level 31..." The captain was the first to speak, announcing his Martial Soul and Soul Power level. But Yun Chuan coldly interrupted, "No need to announce it. To me, your only purpose is to fill in the numbers."
"Let's start!"
Hearing this, the seven were immediately enraged!
This was far too disrespectful.
The seven, their hearts burning with anger, were determined to teach him a lesson. They took their stances, their Martial Souls shining brightly! Their Soul Rings were all standard yellow-yellow-purple, clearly quite good. It was just that they were a bit old; they would probably only reach the Soul King or Soul Emperor level in this lifetime.
Yun Chuan, on the other hand, still had his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, his expression calm and indifferent.
Brand, standing to the side, frowned and said, "Aren't you going to summon your Martial Soul?"
"My Martial Soul has always been here!" Yun Chuan said calmly. After speaking, the longsword hanging at his waist flashed, and then four Soul Rings—yellow-yellow-purple-purple—appeared on it.
Without a doubt, this longsword was indeed his martial soul!
Brand finally calmed down and nodded, saying, "Your martial soul is quite peculiar; it can be summoned and carried for a long time. Presumably, it's a mutated martial soul. That's why it can exist for so long after being summoned, and the soul power consumption isn't high, right?"
Generally speaking, once a weapon martial soul is summoned, the soul master needs to constantly consume soul power to maintain its existence. The more powerful the weapon martial soul, the greater the soul power consumption required to maintain its existence.
"..."
Yun Chuan remained calm and silent, seemingly acknowledging it.
But in reality, this wasn't a martial soul at all; it was purely for showing off. It's just that his disguise was flawless, and no one else could see through it.
Brand glanced at both sides, and seeing that everyone was ready, he slowly said, "Begin."
The moment his voice fell!
"Clang!"
The sound of a sword being drawn rang out.
In the battle area, a flash of sharp light appeared at the waist of the blue-robed swordsman!
It was like a white lightning bolt sweeping across the entire arena!
"..."
Silence!
A hush fell over the scene.
The seven people opposite him stared blankly as the swordsman in blue slowly sheathed his sword, all somewhat bewildered.
What... just happened?
Why did this person look like he'd already finished fighting?
Ignoring the seven stunned people opposite him, Yun Chuan sheathed his sword and walked to Brand, who was frozen like a wooden statue,
and said, "How was it?" Looking at the young man before him, with his consistently calm black eyes, Brand felt a chill run down his spine. He nodded silently, his voice dry, "Incredible!"
Only as an observer could he have witnessed the truly astonishing scene that had just unfolded. It was a direct challenge to his worldview.
"So, can you fulfill my request?" the swordsman in blue said indifferently.
"...Of course we can. We'll be waiting for you anytime!" Dean Brand had no further questions, and his attitude even became much more respectful. There was no way around it; that's how the world is. Those with strength will earn respect wherever they go!
Yun Chuan nodded in satisfaction, maintaining his cold swordsman persona with a nonchalant nod. He then walked past him and slowly headed out of the academy.
Watching the man's dashing figure disappear into the distance, the seven students couldn't hold back any longer and protested in unison, "Dean, we're not convinced! We haven't even fought yet! How can you let him leave like that?!"
"Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!"
Brand quickly stopped them. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the blue-robed swordsman's figure gradually disappear into the distance without even pausing.
"You think the battle hasn't even started?"
"No! The battle ended long ago!"
Brand looked at the seven unconvinced students and said irritably, "Just touch your throats and you'll know."
Hearing this, the seven students reflexively touched their throats. They immediately felt a sharp pain, and when they looked at their hands, they found traces of blood!
"This is!"
The seven students were stunned.
Some female trainees took out their small mirrors and looked at themselves, only to find a thin line on their throats. If it had been a few centimeters deeper, they would have been killed by having their throats cut.
It was only then that the seven noticed small, shallow cuts on their necks and throats. These cuts, about two or three centimeters long, were seeping with a thin trickle of blood…
But how did they get these cuts? Could it be…?
A thought that the seven dared not even contemplate crossed their minds: could it have been in that brief instant…? They dared not think further.
But Dean Brand, standing nearby, spoke for them.
"No doubt about it. Just now, the moment he drew his sword, he left a sword mark on your throats! If he had wanted to kill you then, you would have been dead already!" Brand still felt lingering fear as he spoke. The reason was
simple: that sword strike was too fast.
Too unpredictable!
Even with his Soul Emperor strength, he could only catch a faint shadow, flashing past the seven like lightning before returning to his original position!
This meant that in that brief moment, Yun Chuan drew his sword, ran to the seven, and casually made a cut on each of their necks before returning to his original position!
All the movements were executed flawlessly!
The speed was astonishing.
How could such a freak not terrify him?
After discovering that the throats of the seven of them had been slit without their knowledge, these individuals, considered geniuses in their respective academies, were utterly speechless. After all, the facts were undeniable; there was no way to argue!
That unbelievable sword speed left them speechless. They could only describe it as "awesome."
This freak, a true monster.
The seven of them, mere mortals, simply couldn't muster the slightest thought to resist. So
what if they were just there to make up the numbers? Let them do whatever they wanted.
Seeing the seven of them bow their heads, clearly deeply shaken, they... Brand sighed and comforted them, "Try to think positively. The world is inherently unfair; talent is a gift from heaven, something we can't change. All we can do is accept reality and focus on being the best version of ourselves."
Seeing that the seven still seemed listless, Brand didn't try to persuade them further. He knew they were just having trouble accepting the setback. They'd be fine in a couple of days.
Thus, it was decided that Dugu Qiubai would represent Cupid Academy.
No one objected.
Several days later. In
Tiandou City, the capital of the Tiandou Empire,
the grand opening ceremony of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was held.
This most anticipated Soul Master Tournament on the entire continent had finally begun!
====================
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