As his voice fell, Xu Tianhao led the Seven-Person Squad as they turned and embarked on their journey.
Following closely behind the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team were the participating teams from other top Spirit Master academies and various Sects within the Sun Moon Empire.
The various teams gathered together, forming a grand and majestic procession that advanced toward the Star Luo Empire.
Although this tournament was filled with powerful experts, there could only be one final champion.
For all the participating teams from the Sun Moon Empire, their stance was extremely clear.
All the participating teams belonging to the original Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent, whether they were academy teams or Sect teams, were enemies they needed to confront together.
Because of this, the various academies and Sects within the Sun Moon Empire set aside all internal competition and estrangement at this moment, uniting closely.
Everyone was of one mind, presenting a united front against outsiders.
All for the sake of defending the Sun Moon Empire's glory in this tournament, suppressing the Three Great Empires, and taking the final championship.
At the same time, far away in Star Luo City, Ma Rulong and the other official members of the Sun Moon Empire team had already made thorough preparations.
As the official team members, they had arrived in Star Luo City half a month ago to complete their rest and adaptation training.
They were only waiting for the arrival of the preparatory team led by Xu Tianhao; once the teams successfully merged, they could immediately turn their blades toward all the participating teams of the original Three Great Empires of the Douluo Continent with their strongest posture.
On the road to the tournament grounds, a luxuriously decorated carriage engraved with top-tier defensive soul tool arrays moved steadily forward.
Inside the carriage, the space was spacious and the furnishings elegant. Xu Tianhao sat upright, his gaze falling on Kong Deming beside him.
Seeing his teacher's ruddy face and hale and hearty appearance, Xu Tianhao did not hide the excitement and joy in his heart.
Because half a month ago, Kong Deming, who had been focused on his cultivation and accumulating strength for many years, finally broke through his Bottleneck and took that crucial step.
Now, Kong Deming was a Rank 95 Super Douluo.
One must know that in the long history of the Sun Moon Empire, while many native Titled Douluo had been born, there had never been a single Super Douluo.
And Kong Deming had become the first Titled Douluo in the history of the Sun Moon Empire to break through to the Super Douluo Realm.
This achievement was not only Kong Deming's personal Peak but also a milestone for the entire Sun Moon Empire's Spirit Master's world.
It completely rewrote the cultivation history of the Sun Moon Empire's native Spirit Masters!
The Sun Moon Empire now possessed its own Super Douluo!
With this Breakthrough, Kong Deming's strength had surged, reaching a brand new height in both his spirit power foundation and his control over soul tool power.
With such a super powerhouse, comparable to a Limit Douluo, accompanying and protecting them the whole way, Xu Tianhao's confidence naturally grew even stronger.
He also had absolute certainty regarding the journey of this tournament.
With Kong Deming present, Xu Tianhao didn't worry about anyone using schemes or tricks in the shadows.
His personal safety was absolutely guaranteed, allowing him to devote himself entirely to the competition.
Besides Kong Deming's Breakthrough, the seven of them also had significant Breakthroughs.
Xu Tianhao's spirit power Rank had now reached Rank 59, only a single step away from breaking through Rank 60 and becoming a Spirit Emperor.
Among the Seven-Person Squad, the one with the most outstanding cultivation and the most startling progress was undoubtedly Ye Guyi.
Relying on her purification ability against Evil Soul Masters, her spirit power had increased rapidly, and she had already broken through to the Rank 65 Spirit Emperor Realm.
Now, Ye Guyi's cultivation was far ahead of the others, making her the undisputed combat pillar of the squad.
Following closely behind Ye Guyi were Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen; their spirit power Ranks were the same as Xu Tianhao's, reaching Rank 59.
After them was Xu Tianzhen, whose spirit power cultivation had also reached Rank 55.
Meng Hongchen and Nana had the lowest cultivation, but they had also reached Rank 53.
Among the seven, except for Xu Tianhao who was only twelve years old, the other six were all only fifteen.
In other forces on the continent, Spirit Masters of this age would mostly still be in the Spirit Elder or Spirit Ancestor Realms.
But Xu Tianhao and the others had all broken through to the Spirit King level. Such cultivation speed and spirit power Rank were rare even among the new generation of Spirit Masters in the entire Douluo Continent.
With their current strength, even if many powerful Sect teams joined this tournament, they were completely fearless.
Moreover, besides them, there was also an official team led by Ma Rulong ahead of them.
Ma Rulong and the others had spent three years studying at Shrek Academy, and their strength was even more formidable than it was during the same period in the original story.
Furthermore, every member had similarly reached the Spirit King level or above, with Ma Rulong being a six-ring Spirit Emperor.
Whether it was the preparatory team or the official team, they all displayed top-tier strength that crushed their peers.
With the current strength of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, looking across the entire tournament, there was almost no team that could easily contend with them.
To say that the Sun Moon Empire had already reserved the tournament championship in advance was by no means an exaggeration.
...
In the western part of the Star Luo Empire, deep within the vast Black Wood Forest, sat an unremarkable medium-sized Sect.
The Mingluo Sect was built against a mountain, with a continuous stretch of dark blue-black halls.
Although it was only a medium-sized Sect without a top-tier Titled Douluo presiding over it, the Mingluo Sect had a Legacy of a hundred years, with over a hundred Disciples.
The Mingluo Sect held a place in the Sect Jianghu of the Star Luo Empire, and their days could be considered stable and smooth.
At this moment, on the Sect's plaza, an atmosphere that was both tense and stirring was spreading.
As the opening day of the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Combat Competition drew closer, the Mingluo Sect, as one of the participating representative teams of the Star Luo Empire, was making its final preparations.
Fourteen official and substitute members were lined up in an orderly fashion, wearing uniform ink-colored Sect combat suits.
The young Spirit Masters' faces were brimming with the passion and longing of youth. Among them, the strongest was only a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, with most concentrated in the two or three-ring Realms.
Although their strength was not considered top-tier on the stage of the continental tournament, this was a rare opportunity for their Mingluo Sect to send a representative team to the grand event after many years.
Every one of them longed to prove themselves on the field and win glory for the Sect.
Standing at the very front of the line was the current Sect Master of the Mingluo Sect, Luo Tianchi.
Luo Tianchi was nearly seventy years old, with long gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard.
At this moment, he stood with his head held high, his gaze sweeping over every Disciple before him, his eyes filled with gratification and entrustment.
As the pillar of the Sect, Luo Tianchi's cultivation had reached Rank 88.
This was already a top-tier level among the ordinary Sects of the Star Luo Empire and was the foundation that allowed the Mingluo Sect to stand securely.
"Children, for this tournament, we do not ask to become an overnight sensation, only that we fight steadily and show the character of our Mingluo Sect!"
Luo Tianchi's voice was deep and powerful: "Carry the glory of the Sect and go witness the true splendor of the continent!"
"We obey the Sect Master's command!" the fourteen Disciples shouted in unison, their Aura piercing through the clouds.
However, the moment this shout fell, a sudden change occurred.
The originally clear sky was suddenly shrouded by a layer of eerie ink-black.
It wasn't ordinary cloud cover, but a dark Aura that seemed like a living thing, sweeping over the entire Mingluo Sect at an extremely high speed.
The sunlight was completely cut off, and the world instantly fell into a deathly silent darkness, while even the air became viscous and cold.
A nauseating, sickly sweet and evil scent poured into everyone's nostrils like a tide.
"What's happening?!"
"An enemy attack?!"