Perhaps to accommodate more spectators, or perhaps for other reasons, the Sun Moon Empire had placed the venue for the Elite Competition on the vast plain outside Mingdu City.
Even though there were strength requirements for the participating sects, more than one hundred and sixty teams had arrived in Mingdu. Including the leading teachers and reserve disciples, nearly two thousand people were all arranged to stay at Mingyue Hotel in Mingdu.
Although this was also their first time participating, the rooms assigned to the Holy Spirit Cult were still slightly better than those of other teams. The seven disciples had already changed out of their usual cloaks and were now wearing black uniforms, though the bamboo hats on their heads still concealed their appearances.
Lin Xiao didn't want to comment too much on the Holy Spirit Cult's aesthetic sense. Sensing something, he stood up and opened the door. Outside stood Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng, and Ma Xiaotao.
"Sixth Offering."
"Mm." Zhang Peng nodded. "You are still in charge of the Elite Competition, but there are many sects near the competition area. The Cult Master was worried something unexpected might happen, so he sent the Saintess and me to protect all of you."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao cupped his hands. "Thank you to the Cult Master, thank you, Sixth Offering and Saintess."
After speaking, Lin Xiao turned back to look at the few disciples in the room, though their faces were all hidden by bamboo hats, making their expressions impossible to see.
"It's about time. Let's go."
More than ten thousand soldiers clad entirely in silver armor stood in two lines, stretching all the way from the main entrance of Mingyue Hotel to the competition venue outside the city.
Every soldier exuded an invisible aura of killing intent, enough to show how seriously the Sun Moon Empire regarded this Elite Competition.
Along the way, it wasn't just the Holy Spirit Cult group departing; people from other sects and academies were also setting out around the same time. Many kept casting frequent glances at the Holy Spirit Cult group, who refused to show their faces.
"Calm your minds, keep walking forward."
Although their expressions couldn't be seen, Lin Xiao could feel that these disciples were not used to being stared at like this. Their bodies had already tensed up, as if they were ready to strike at any moment.
The competition venue was located to the east of Mingdu. Though the sky was still early, the vast plain was already packed with people. For ordinary people and other soul masters, the Elite Competition could be considered a rare continent-wide festival for the entire Douluo Continent. Many had arrived very early to secure good spots.
More than a hundred soul guidance screens had been set up around the competition stage, allowing even distant spectators to clearly see the details on the stage.
The audience from Mingdu and those who had come from other places in the Sun Moon Empire were already accustomed to the existence of soul guidance screens. However, some sects that had come from the three great empires were seeing such soul guidance devices for the first time.
Curious gazes kept sweeping back and forth across the soul guidance screens, followed by low discussions within their teams.
In the contestant rest area on the east side, many academies had already arrived. When Lin Xiao approached, the first thing he saw was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and Shrek Academy sitting in the front row.
As the champions of the previous Soul Duels Grand Competition, although they were also arranged in the front row, the seating area given to Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was noticeably much larger than Shrek Academy's. It was unknown who had designed it, but the arrangement was quite deliberate.
After sweeping his gaze across the rest area, Lin Xiao noted that the people from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had already known about the Holy Spirit Cult for some time and didn't show much reaction.
In contrast, the Shrek Academy group looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Lin Xiao noticed Huo Yuhao and the others staring intently in their direction, and he slightly raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that they weren't participating as the Tang Sect, but instead under the banner of Shrek Academy.
Perhaps the results of the last Soul Duels Grand Competition had caused a series of changes, and some of them did not join the Tang Sect as they originally would have.
But compared to these things, what Lin Xiao paid more attention to was that among the Shrek Academy group, he only saw one young "man" with long pink-blue hair. He didn't see anyone who looked similar to him, nor did he see any unfamiliar faces.
Perhaps because the Radiant Dragon Butterfly of Light between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had never appeared, the person who should have been here, Wang Qiu'er, had become someone else entirely.
Or perhaps because of the changes with Electrolux, the person called "Wang Qiu'er" never appeared at all.
Lin Xiao could no longer guess what exactly had happened. His gaze lingered for a moment on the leading teacher, Wang Yan, before he walked toward the Holy Spirit Cult's designated area.
"Yuhao, are both of those people titled Douluo?" Wang Yan's breathing was slightly hurried as he asked Huo Yuhao through their mental sharing.
"Yes, and both are extremely powerful. That woman behind them is also unusual; it feels like she can completely block my spiritual detection."
Wang Yan hurriedly lowered his head and flipped through his notebook. "Holy Spirit Sect… to be able to send two Titled Douluo to lead a team for the Elite Competition, such a sect shouldn't be so unknown."
The defeat in the previous Soul Duels Grand Competition had clearly left Wang Yan unable to let go even now. Before coming to the Elite Competition this time, he had done thorough preparation, researching not only various academies but also some sects.
However, regarding this "Holy Spirit Sect," there was still very little information available.
Huo Yuhao no longer looked at Lin Xiao's group, but his mental power never relaxed. "Teacher Wang, I'm afraid they…"
The others didn't know what exactly Huo Yuhao said to Wang Yan, only that Wang Yan's expression suddenly changed dramatically. Several times, he wanted to turn back to look, but forcibly restrained himself.
Scorpion Tiger Douluo also took a look around before sitting down beside Lin Xiao. Seeing him sitting there with eyes closed in meditation, he remarked, "I see that among the disciples of these sects and academies there are several with remarkable skills, yet you remain remarkably calm."
Lin Xiao opened his eyes and gave a small laugh. "Sixth Offering may not know this, but although the opponents for the first match are decided by random draw, some matches are deliberately placed very early. That means fewer people will be watching the later matches."
Scorpion Tiger Douluo quickly understood what Lin Xiao meant. To outsiders, the draw might appear fair, but in the eyes of soul masters, how could there be true fairness? Naturally, the Sun Moon Empire would save the most exciting matches for later.
He glanced at Ma Xiaotao beside him, saw that she was still in a stable state, and then slightly adjusted his posture, leaning back comfortably in his seat.
"Dear citizens of the Sun Moon Empire and honored guests from afar, welcome everyone…"
On the stage, Juzi gave a brief opening speech in her capacity as Imperial Regent Consort. The voice transmission soul guidance device carried her voice far and wide, clearly another display of the Sun Moon Empire's soul guidance technology, drawing yet more surprised and doubtful gazes.
The cheers from the surrounding audience grew louder and louder. Regardless of Xu Tianran's personality, during the years he had been regent, the development of the Sun Moon Empire was obvious to all, and he enjoyed considerable popularity among the common people.
This was only the first day. Lin Xiao's thoughts had already drifted far beyond the present, already thinking about what would come after the Elite Competition.
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