Chapter 222: Disciples of the Upper Three Sects Join the Heaven Dou Second Team
Three days later, the finals officially began.
The venue was located in the heart of Spirit City, on an open space next to Pope's Hill, a special area Spirit Hall had designated for the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament finals. The arena had a diameter of over one hundred meters, entirely constructed from granite and reinforced with a large number of soul devices—strong enough to withstand any attack below Soul Emperor level without sustaining damage.
Around the arena were the VIP stands, spectator seats, and the resting zones for the competing academies. Each academy had its own designated rest area.
Early in the morning, Tianshui Academy's team was led by Spirit Hall staff, along with other participating academies, to the competition grounds and assigned to their respective areas.
The day before, Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er had returned to the hotel where the Tianshui team was staying. Upon seeing them return, Shui Yue'er pouted and complained that her sister and brother-in-law were biased for not taking her with them.
Shui Bing'er couldn't help messing up Shui Yue'er's dark green hair into a bird's nest in frustration. Her little sister only ever thought about boys—just like her dolphin spirit, she had no understanding of the pressure Shui Bing'er had faced when visiting Spirit Hall. She had no idea what kind of terrifying people Qian Renxue's family consisted of.
There were a total of thirty-three participating teams. The finals would be conducted in five elimination rounds. The first four rounds had a one-day break between each, allowing winning teams time to recover. The final round, which would decide the top three, had a three-day break before it.
According to the tournament rules, in the first round of the finals, the three seeded teams—the Heaven Dou Royal Academy First Team, the Star Luo Royal Academy Team, and the Spirit Hall Team—were given a bye, leaving the other thirty teams to compete for fifteen qualifying spots.
In the second round, there would be eighteen teams, and the top seeds from each division would also get a bye.
In the third round, ten teams would remain, with the second seeds from both empires receiving a bye, reducing to six.
In the fourth round, six teams would compete to decide the top three.
In the final round, the top three would battle in front of the Pope's Hall for the championship.
Three of the thirty-three teams had not yet arrived: Heaven Dou First Team, Star Luo Royal Academy, and Spirit Hall—each of them having been given a bye.
Because Tianshui Academy had ranked first in the Heaven Dou Division during the promotion rounds, they only needed to win the first round to get a three-day rest period.
Their first match was against an academy even weaker than the Heaven Dou Four Elements Academies. Tianshui easily crushed them.
In the second match, Divine Wind Academy faced Longkui Academy. After a relatively intense battle, Divine Wind won thanks to Feng Xiaotian's Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Slash.
The third match was between Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Second Team and Blazing Fire Academy. The Four Elements Academies were closely tied, and when Tianshui, Divine Wind, and Thunderclap heard the matchup, they all sighed in pity for Blazing Fire. Had their luck been better, Blazing Fire—now with four Soul Ancestors—could have placed much higher.
"Hm?"
When Heaven Dou Second Team appeared, the other Heaven Dou teams were slightly surprised. There were two unfamiliar faces among them. Gu Chen, Tang San, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong—these were known. But now there was one unfamiliar man and one veiled woman.
The man had long black hair, a tall build, not exactly handsome, and barely any expression—as if his facial muscles were stiff. He wore the academy uniform and walked behind Gu Chen.
The woman also wore the Heaven Dou uniform but had a black veil over her face. She had a slender figure and long, flowing blue hair. Her eyes, the same color, showed no emotion—only loneliness and sorrow.
These two were Yu Tianheng and Ye Lingling from the Heaven Dou First Team.
Qian Renxue activated his Purple Demon Eye and scanned the Second Team's spirit power levels. As expected, Gu Chen and he were tied at level 54. Tang San was at 42, Dai Mubai 43, Xiao Wu 43, Ning Rongrong 43, Yu Tianheng 43, and Ye Lingling 42.
Undoubtedly, this was a powerhouse team. In past tournaments, only Spirit Hall's seeded team would match them—one Soul King, six Soul Ancestors.
Since Heaven Dou's First and Second Teams were from the same academy, members could be interchanged. In his previous life, Blazing Fire and Divine Wind had merged to form the new Divine Wind Team—a team of seven Soul Ancestors that made it to the semifinals. This time, the Shrek Seven Devils took full advantage of that flexibility by bringing in Yu Tianheng, with his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit, and Ye Lingling, with the continent's top healing spirit.
The grand prize of this year's tournament was two 100,000-year soul bones. Ning Fengzhi, Bone Douluo, and Tang Xiao had personally convinced Yu Tianheng to join. Despite his pride, at level 43 he had no reason to refuse.
The three elders agreed: if Heaven Dou Second Team won, Gu Chen, Tang San, and Yu Tianheng would fight 1v1 duels to determine the bones' distribution. Any method was allowed. First place picked first.
Gu Chen was brimming with confidence—he'd already beaten Tang San once.
Tang San was equally sure of himself. If hidden weapons were allowed, what was Gu Chen compared to the Tang Sect?
Yu Tianheng figured he couldn't beat Gu Chen, but he had a shot against Tang San. Tang San's spirit power was lower, and his Clear Sky Hammer had no rings.
As for Ye Lingling, she was just a support. Her position as the top healer had already been overshadowed by Ah Yin, and she was constantly suppressed by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. She had no choice but to join quietly.
They considered bringing Dugu Yan, but her Jade Phosphor Serpent poison was no match for Gu Chen's Devourer Spider Emperor. Against Qian Renxue's Blue Silver Emperor and Domain's vitality, her poison would be ineffective. So she stayed behind.
The Shi brothers, who wielded the Xuanwu Turtle spirit—not inferior to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—had fought Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu, but lost. Thus, the decision was made to recruit members from Heaven Dou First Team.
Apart from the seven chosen, the only possible addition was Zhu Zhuqing—due to her and Dai Mubai's Nether White Tiger fusion, which could rival a Soul King's power. Otherwise, she wouldn't have qualified for the team.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen