The next day, as dawn's first light broke.
Deep within the Heavenly Dou Royal Hunting Ground, at the center of a vast, meticulously modified training field, stood a massive circular arena constructed from sturdy Azure Stone. Surrounding the arena were thirteen simple viewing stands arranged in a fan shape, already filled with people—the members and leaders of the other thirteen teams participating in the advancement competition.
The air was thick with a solemn, tense atmosphere, tinged with curiosity and anticipation. There were no boisterous spectators, only the scrutinizing and evaluating gazes of fellow Soul Masters who were also competitors. In such an environment, the tension was even more palpable, as every performance in each battle would be observed and remembered by potential opponents.
Today, the first round of the advancement competition would feature four matches. The most anticipated one, without a doubt, was the opening match—the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy's first team versus Blazing Academy!
The referee was an elderly man with a steady aura, clearly a Soul Saint-level expert assigned by the empire to ensure the fairness and safety of the competition. He stood solemnly at the center of the arena, his gaze sweeping over the preparation areas of both sides.
On Blazing Academy's side, all seven team members were present. The captain, Huo Wushuang, wore a grave expression, while the vice-captain, Huo Wu, had a frosty look on her delicate face, her beautiful eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit. The other team members were also eager and ready, their pride as members of Blazing Academy preventing them from showing fear before the battle had even begun.
However, when everyone's attention turned to the preparation area of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy's first team, the entire venue erupted in suppressed exclamations of shock and disbelief!
In the preparation area of the Heavenly Dou first team, only a single figure was seen stepping out calmly.
The person wore simple, white martial attire, stood tall and straight, had golden hair and blue eyes, a handsome face, and an expression of serene calm. It was Marco. Alone, he walked unhurriedly toward the arena, with no one behind him.
"What's going on? The Heavenly Dou first team... only has him?"
"Where are the others? Did they forfeit? Or..."
"This is a joke! This is the advancement competition! It's an arena format! How can he fight alone?"
"Does he intend to... take on our entire Blazing Academy team by himself?!"
The stands immediately buzzed with commotion! Among the academy teams from the four great kingdoms and duchies, aside from a few well-informed individuals, most of the students were seeing Marco for the first time, and it was also their first time witnessing such an "absurd" entrance. A single person participating in a team competition? This was simply unheard of!
"Arrogant! So arrogant!" a burly student from an academy in the Barak Kingdom couldn't help but growl. "Does he think he can single-handedly defeat Blazing Academy? Does he think the elites of our kingdom are made of mud?" He clearly regarded Blazing Academy as part of the kingdom's academies.
"Exactly! Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu from Blazing Academy are famous geniuses! Their Martial Souls are top-tier fire attributes! Who does he think he is?" a female Soul Master from the Silvers Kingdom also frowned, feeling that the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy was being overly presumptuous.
"Hmph, have the people from the Heaven Dou City division become so complacent from winning too easily that they've started looking down on everyone?" a student from a kingdom academy remarked sarcastically.
Listening to these discussions, the teams that had fought their way out of the Heaven Dou City division—such as Divine Wind Academy, Heaven Water Academy, and Shrek Academy—had rather interesting expressions on their faces.
At the Heaven Water Academy side, Shui Yue'er was so excited she nearly jumped up. Grabbing her sister Shui Bing'er's arm, she whispered gleefully, "Sister, look! I told you! Marco is going to fight alone again! Now we're in for a show! Let these guys see what real strength looks like!"
Shui Bing'er helplessly patted away her sister's hand, her cool eyes sweeping over the chattering students from the Kingdom Academies as she thought to herself: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. She had personally experienced Marco's unfathomable power.
In the Shrek Academy area, Dai Mubai snorted coldly, "That guy still loves showing off so much." Tang San's gaze was profound, his Purple Demon Eyes faintly glowing as he stared intently at Marco on the stage, lost in thought. Xiao Wu curled her lips, "What's he being so cocky about?" though a hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes.
Just then, a student from the Heaven Dou division who knew the inside story finally couldn't help but retort to a nearby Kingdom Academy student who kept chattering mockingly, "What do you know? Weak? You're calling our Heaven Dou division weak? Do you even know who that person on stage is? Do you know what he's done?"
The Kingdom Academy student froze for a moment, then stiffened his neck and said, "Who is he? Just a student from Heavenly Dou Royal Academy? No matter how strong he is, can he really take on seven people alone?"
"Take on seven people alone?" The Heaven Dou student sneered, his voice rising involuntarily and drawing the attention of many around them. "Let me tell you! This Marco Lee is the champion of our Heaven Dou division's preliminary rounds! Do you know his record? Throughout the entire preliminary rounds, he fought alone! He alone represented the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy's first team in the competition!"
"What? He competed alone?"
"You must be joking! How is that possible?"
Gasps of astonishment echoed around them, and the Kingdom Academy students all showed expressions of disbelief.
"Impossible?" Seeing that he had attracted attention, the Heaven Dou student became even more enthusiastic. Lifting his head proudly as if showing off his own treasure, he said endlessly, "Let me tell you!" Over a dozen matches in the preliminary rounds, Lord Marco never lost a single one! And in most matches, he didn't even use his Martial Soul! Just with his fists and legs alone, he completely dominated all his opponents!"
"He didn't even use his Martial Soul?!"
"That... that's too exaggerated!"
More skeptical voices arose, though they now carried a tone of astonishment and doubt.
"Exaggerated?" The Heaven Dou student snorted coldly, pointing toward the Elephant Armor Academy direction. "See Elephant Armor Academy? Their defense is reputed to be the strongest! Their captain Huyan Li, with his Diamond Mammoth Spirit—impressive, right? During the preliminary rounds, Lord Marco still didn't use his Martial Soul! Just punched, one blow after another! Shattered Huyan Li's so-called absolute defense shield! Nearly knocked him right off the stage!"
He then pointed toward Heaven Water Academy, his voice filled with immense reverence, "And Heaven Water Academy's captain Shui Bing'er and vice-captain Xue Wu! They performed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Ice and Snow Drifting! Its power was earth-shattering, capable of altering the weather! And what was the result? Lord Marco finally used his Martial Soul and Soul Rings! Guess what happened? Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Black, Black, Black! He confronted it head-on and shattered their Martial Soul Fusion Skill with a single strike!"
This Heavenly Dou Academy student was extremely eloquent, vividly recounting Marco's glorious achievements in the preliminary matches. Particularly when mentioning the terrifying Soul Ring configuration and breaking the Martial Soul Fusion Skill at the end, his voice trembled with excitement.
Silence! Deathly silence!
Those kingdom academy students who had just been discussing and mocking the Heavenly Dou division as "weak" now stood with mouths agape and eyes wide like strangled ducks, their faces filled with shock and disbelief!
Participating alone? Complete victory? Not releasing his Martial Soul in most matches? Soul Ring configuration of Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Black, Black, Black? Breaking through Martial Soul Fusion Skills head-on?! Even the defense-renowned Elephant Armor Academy couldn't withstand his fists?!
Each piece of information hammered at their hearts like heavy blows! They finally understood why the Heavenly Dou division members had such expressions, why Blazing Academy treated this as a formidable enemy, and why that black-clad youth dared to step onto the arena alone!
This wasn't arrogance! This was... confidence born from absolute strength!
In that moment, all the students from the kingdoms completely changed their perspective when looking at the solitary black figure standing on the arena. The previous contempt and mockery disappeared, replaced by intense shock, disbelief, and a trace of... awe!
Even some of the kingdom team leaders now wore solemn expressions, whispering among themselves—clearly Marco's information had delivered a tremendous impact to them.
On the arena, the elderly referee evidently heard the discussions from the stands. He took a deep look at Marco standing calmly opposite him, a flash of admiration in his eyes, then solemnly announced: "First round of the advancement tournament, first match! Heavenly Dou Royal Academy Team One versus Blazing Academy! Competition format: individual arena battle! First contestants from both sides, enter the arena!"