By the time the sun was high, all participating academies and spectators had arrived.
"Silence!" At this moment, a huge voice rang out, spreading rapidly throughout the venue.
Hearing this voice, all the soldiers stood at attention, simultaneously raising their long spears. A murderous aura instantly spread, causing the previously chaotic Star Luo Plaza to fall silent.
Everyone's gaze turned towards the Imperial City tower, and the huge announcement rang out again: "His Majesty arrives!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" All the Star Luo Empire citizens present knelt down in a rush, and the academy students from other countries also bowed slightly, showing respect.
They were not bowing to the emperor, but to the secular imperial power.
"All my subjects, rise!" Emperor Xu Jiawei said, his voice amplified to reach everyone's ears.
Everyone straightened up, their gazes converging on Emperor Xu Jiawei on the Imperial City tower. There were many Star Luo Empire citizens present, but half of them were seeing their emperor for the first time, their eyes filled with various intertwined emotions, needless to say.
Emperor Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "The Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition is the most important event in our Douluo Continent's Spirit Master's world. I am honored that, shortly after my ascension, I can witness this competition being held in my Star Luo Empire. On behalf of the Star Luo Empire, I welcome the representatives of various academies, led by Shrek Academy, who have come from afar. I hope you will display your rightful demeanor in the month-long competition ahead."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The academies, led by Shrek Academy, bowed again in thanks.
Emperor Xu Jiawei smiled in their direction, nodded, and then announced loudly: "I declare the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition officially open!"
As the emperor's words fell, the emotions of the spectators were instantly ignited, and they cheered in unison, "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom..." At the same time, the cannon fire, signifying the official start of the competition, began to roar, lasting for one hundred and eight rounds before stopping. The atmosphere in Star Luo Plaza reached its climax; even the soldiers on duty on the Star Luo City walls could hear the cheers from here.
After announcing the start of the competition, Emperor Xu Jiawei's duties for this stage were over. He retreated slightly, sitting with the empress in specially arranged seats, then waved to the chief minister beside him. The chief minister immediately understood and issued the order for the competition to begin to his subordinates.
That loud voice from before immediately rang out again, "According to the rules of the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition, the first stage of the competition will be a knockout round.
This year, there are a total of one hundred and thirty-three participating advanced Spirit Master academies and advanced Soul Engineer academies. After drawing lots, one academy received a bye in the first stage, so a total of sixty-six matches will be held in the first stage of the competition. The first stage is a knockout system; the losing team will directly end their journey in this competition.
The opening match of this competition is about to begin. Now, let us welcome the two teams for the opening match. They are the Heavenly Spirit Advanced Spirit Master Academy representative team from the Douling Empire, and the Douluo Continent's top academy, with countless honors, having almost swept all the competition championships for nearly the past thousand years, the Shrek Academy representative team."
As the host's words fell, the spectators in the venue began to cheer in unison: "Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!"
Listening to the cheers of tens of thousands of people, individuals with different mindsets had different feelings. However, Zhu Ziyang was not in the mood to enjoy this intoxicating cheer; he was cheering on Huo Yuhao, who was about to go on stage and was trembling with nervousness.
That's right, Huo Yuhao was going to be on stage for this first match, and his role was extremely important, affecting whether Shrek Academy could display its morale and deterrence.
"Brother Ziyang, can I really do it?" Huo Yuhao asked Zhu Ziyang, looking at him somewhat unconfidently.
"Don't worry, you just need to act according to the plan, and the rest can be left to Sister Nannan and Teacher Xiaoya!" Zhu Ziyang patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder very firmly and said.
"Nannan, Xiaoya, you are the key to the success of the plan, good luck!" As the team leader, Wang Yan said to Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya with a solemn expression. He initially didn't want to agree to Zhu Ziyang's suggestion, but considering they only had three main team members, they needed to hide as much information about the reserve members' strength as possible.
Moreover, according to Zhu Ziyang's plan, it might even fill other academies with unknown fear of them, thereby giving them a psychological advantage when they meet in the future!
"Go!" Zhu Ziyang shouted, then stretched out his palm. Seeing this, the others also stretched out their hands and stacked them on his, cheering in unison.
Subsequently, Huo Yuhao walked at the very front, followed by Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, and further back were Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Wang Dong, who were on stage to prevent unexpected situations. The seven walked onto the arena, facing their opponents across it, their faces showing no expression.
This lineup was very peculiar, not just to their opponents, the Heavenly Spirit Academy team, but even to the other academies present and the emperor on the city tower, who were all very confused and didn't understand what Shrek Academy intended to do.
The referee took his place, gestured for both sides to come forward, and the team members quickly gathered in the center, approaching the referee. As they got closer, the referee and the Heavenly Spirit Academy members clearly felt the youthfulness of the Shrek Academy team. The referee was startled, the Heavenly Spirit Academy was angry, yet the Shrek Academy members remained expressionless.
The referee composed himself and said in a deep voice, "First round, knockout, team battle. Both sides can use most spirit tools for the match. However, during combat, if one side concedes, the other side must not continue to attack. Soul Engineers cannot use high-damage equipment like fixed-soul tools for battle. Do you all understand?"
"Understood!" As the captain of the reserve team, Bei Bei answered coolly.
"Understood!" The captain of the Heavenly Spirit Academy, a slender young man, also replied, but his gaze remained fixed on the Shrek members. He couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. Although the Shrek Academy students were all very young, they were Shrek Academy! Wasn't Shrek Academy known for its monsters? These young competitors might just be a group of monsters!
See, this is the advantage of having a big name; you don't even need to speak, and your opponents will automatically conjure up a series of reasons for you.
The referee nodded and said, "Good, both sides retreat to the sides of the arena. Listen for my command to start the match. Before I announce the start, no one is allowed to release their Spirit prematurely. Otherwise, they will be disqualified."
The Shrek members returned to the edge of the arena, forming a one-two-four formation, placing Huo Yuhao at the very front, with Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya standing behind him, and further back were Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Wang Dong. For a moment, everyone, tens of thousands of gazes, fell on Huo Yuhao. Everyone wanted to know, how could this teenager, who looked at most thirteen or fourteen years old, represent Shrek Academy, and even stand at the very front!
Huo Yuhao, being watched by so many people, naturally couldn't control his nervousness, but when he thought of Zhu Ziyang's encouragement and Wang Yan's trust, his nervousness dissipated by more than half.
"Yu Hao, it's up to you now!" Tang Ya, standing behind Huo Yuhao, naturally sensed his nervousness and spoke up to encourage him.
"I know!" Huo Yuhao said, a determined light in his eyes.
The arena activated, a spirit power barrier separating the World on and off the stage. The opposing Heavenly Spirit Academy formed a traditional three-two-one-one formation, watching the Shrek members with serious anticipation, while Huo Yuhao and the others maintained their one-two-four formation. If Huo Yuhao were replaced by Ma Xiaotao or Zhu Ziyang, this formation would be a very standard strong-attack assault lineup.
Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao was not Zhu Ziyang or Ma Xiaotao, and this formation was not a strong-attack assault lineup, but only the Shrek Academy members understood this. The opponents and spectators all took it for granted.
Seeing that both sides had taken their positions, the referee announced loudly: "Match start!"
As the referee's command was given, everyone's gaze began to fix on every move of both sides on the arena. The Heavenly Spirit Academy members immediately released their Spirits and spirit rings. Four Spirit Ancestors and three Spirit Elders; their overall strength could only be considered average among all academies. In contrast, the Shrek side's actions were very puzzling; they didn't release their Spirits and spirit rings immediately, but instead cast their gaze towards the member at the very front.
Everyone's gaze once again converged on Huo Yuhao.
Ma Xiaotao and Zhu Ziyang, below the stage, were also watching the stage. Ma Xiaotao said, "Do you think the plan will succeed?"
"I believe in Nannan!" Zhu Ziyang said with a faint smile.
On the arena, Huo Yuhao, the focus of everyone's gaze, felt a sudden calm in his mind, recalling Zhu Ziyang's teachings, and then, he moved.
As Huo Yuhao moved, an indescribably terrifying aura suddenly appeared on the arena. Crimson light illuminated the entire arena in an instant, and various terrifying and powerful auras filled with majesty, coldness, and domineeringness suddenly erupted.
Then, a scene that made everyone's eyes widen occurred. Five crimson spirit rings slowly rose from Huo Yuhao's body. The terrifying pressure unique to a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring instantly penetrated the spirit power shield, falling upon the front-row spectators, causing their faces to instantly turn pale.
Even the aftershocks of a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring made people feel fear, let alone the Heavenly Spirit Academy team who faced this pressure directly. The seven of them, almost simultaneously, had their Spirits crushed by this terrifying pressure. Their already not-so-strong fighting will instantly collapsed completely, and they all stood frozen in place.
At this moment, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya made their move. Huo Yuhao had successfully completed the first step of the plan; now it was their turn to work.
Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya simultaneously released their Spirits and spirit rings. Tang Ya immediately released her third Spirit Ability. This Spirit Ability, from a thousand-year Life Spirit Grass spirit ring, was called "Wrath of Life." Its effect was simple: it could enhance the power of one of a companion's Spirit Abilities by fifty percent.
Wrath of Life fell on Jiang Nannan, or more precisely, on Jiang Nannan's fifth Spirit Ability. As Tang Ya released her third Spirit Ability, Jiang Nannan also directly used all her amplification skills: her first Spirit Ability, third Spirit Ability, and the Spirit Ability from her Moon Shadow Rabbit Right Leg Bone. Her state was instantly maximized, then she used her fourth Spirit Ability, and in the blink of an eye, she rushed to the front of the Heavenly Spirit Academy team, her fifth spirit ring shining brightly.
Jiang Nannan leaped into the air, a silver full moon appearing behind her. The full moon emitted a soft yet icy silver glow, illuminating her, like a Valkyrie of the moon. Then, her right leg curled up, her left leg straightened, and the moonlight energy transformed into purple-glowing flames that gathered on her left calf and foot. Finally, the entire silver moon embedded itself into her delicate body, causing her entire body to be illuminated by the dreamy moonlight, like a giant arrow, with a terrifying momentum like a meteor descending, irresistibly smashing into the Heavenly Spirit Academy team.
"Boom—"
As Jiang Nannan landed, after a huge bang, the seven members of Heavenly Spirit Academy finally woke up, but it was too late. They had taken Jiang Nannan's full-power strike, not one of them escaped, all were injured and lost their combat ability.
The match ended just like that, taking less than a minute. The scene instantly erupted in an uproar, because everything happened too quickly. They were still immersed in the terrifying deterrence of the five hundred-thousand-year spirit rings, and the battle was already over. They hadn't even seen Jiang Nannan's cool aerial kick!
Only the other academies fully witnessed everything. Whether it was Huo Yuhao's five red spirit rings or Jiang Nannan's Spirit Ability, powerful enough to defeat seven people with one kick, they all looked at each other, filled with shock and solemnity.
"Referee, you can announce the result of the match!" Huo Yuhao said coldly, acting aloof, which was Wang Yan's request.
"Oh, oh!" The referee also snapped out of it and said repeatedly, "I declare Shrek Academy victorious!"
Ignoring the shouts of the audience, the Shrek members maintained their aloof demeanor, walked off the arena, went to the rest area, and then, taking Zhu Ziyang and the other two, left the venue directly. They didn't even want to stay and watch the matches. Their proud and cold actions made the audience exclaim even more, "This is Shrek Academy!"
After returning to the hotel, everyone immediately dropped their act and burst into laughter. Tang Ya laughed and said, "Yu Hao, you looked so funny just now, I almost thought you were a hidden, aloof CEO!"
"Teacher Xiaoya, please don't tease me, I was so nervous I almost died!" Huo Yuhao said with a helpless expression, being made fun of by Tang Ya.
"Very good, you simulated it very well, successfully fooling everyone. Not bad, not bad!" Zhu Ziyang also said with a smile, patting Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
Zhu Ziyang and Wang Yan's plan was to intimidate their opponents through Shrek Academy's deeply ingrained reputation of a thousand years and Huo Yuhao's second Spirit Ability, simulation. Once the opponents were intimidated, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya would then work together to finish them off. This way, they could win the match and hide the information of other students to the greatest extent.
The specific step was to have Huo Yuhao simulate a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring. For a Spirit Master, nothing is more intimidating than a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring. Although Huo Yuhao himself did not have a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, Zhu Ziyang did. Therefore, the hundred-thousand-year spirit rings Huo Yuhao displayed on the arena were the five spirit rings of Zhu Ziyang's Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon Spirit, simulated through his Spirit Ability.
Jiang Nannan, responsible for defeating the opponents, her fifth Spirit Ability, Silver Moon Charge Kick, was a powerful area-of-effect Spirit Ability. It once kicked and exploded a twelve-thousand-year Spirit Beast. Such immense power was also Zhu Ziyang's confidence in choosing her to finish the job. Coupled with the auxiliary effect of Tang Ya's third Spirit Ability, it produced the stunning blow that amazed everyone earlier.
It is believed that after today, both Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan will be frantically studied by people from various academies, and this is exactly what Wang Yan and Zhu Ziyang were happy to see.