After Dugu Feng and his team checked into their hotel, they received a notice from Spirit Hall.
Three days of rest, then the finals would officially begin.
The participating teams from both empires had traveled long distances, taking over twenty days by carriage to reach Spirit City. These three days were meant for rest and adjustment.
Dugu Feng and his team didn't idle around either. They spent their time meditating and cultivating, seizing every moment to improve their strength.
On the day before the competition, all team members, now adjusted to their peak condition, along with Old Snake and Shi Nian, gathered in Dugu Feng's room to discuss tactics.
Old Snake presented the latest intelligence—detailed information on all sixteen teams, including the fifteen qualifying teams from the Star Luo Empire and the directly seeded Star Luo Royal Team.
Dugu Feng had already studied each team thoroughly.
With Dugu Feng not participating, Gem Academy would have to conceal the Seven Shura Illusion Realm until the final match against the Spirit Hall Team to secure victory.
This meant they had to be extremely cautious in the preceding matches—every battle required careful planning.
"The first two rounds: in the first round, the three seeded teams—Spirit Hall Team, Star Luo Royal Team, and Heaven Dou Royal Team—will receive byes. In the second round, as the top team from the qualifiers, we will also receive a bye.
The earliest we could face either the Spirit Hall Team or the Star Luo Royal Team would be the third round.
In the first round, the only team that poses a threat to us is the Star Luo Empire's top qualifier—Nether Tiger Academy!
According to the intel, they have four Soul Ancestors, with their strongest captain, Dai Xing, reaching level 45. His Martial Soul is also the Evil Eye White Tiger.
The other team members are—"
Shi Nian began introducing the Star Luo Empire's qualifying champion.
Nether Tiger Academy was established by the White Tiger Sect of the Star Luo Empire.
The White Tiger Sect was also one of the forces behind the Great Soul Arena, maintaining close ties with the Star Luo imperial family and commanding the Spirit Master World's factions within the empire.
This Nether Tiger Academy had similarly achieved an undefeated record to claim the championship in the Star Luo Empire's qualifiers.
"What about the other academies besides Nether Tiger?" Ning Rongrong asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Shi Nian went through the data and introduced the other teams one by one.
However, halfway through, Ning Rongrong and Little Snake lost interest.
Most teams were weak, with at most two Soul Ancestors.
Such strength posed no real threat to them.
"In the finals, all teams will reveal their full strength, but we still need to hold back.
To prevent Zhang Jingyang and the others from drawing too much attention, Little Snake and Du Gu Mo—you two must go all out. No matter the opponent, finish them quickly!"
Dugu Feng concluded.
"Yes!"
Little Snake and Du Gu Mo responded firmly.
They wouldn't be participating in the final battle against Spirit Hall, so these first three rounds would be their last stage to shine.
Soon, the next day arrived.
Early in the morning, the thirty participating teams, led by a Cardinal of Spirit Hall, arrived at the dedicated competition grounds on the southern side of Pope Mountain.
This arena was Spirit Hall's internal Soul Duel Arena.
It was massive, occupying nearly half the length of the city wall.
The structure was circular, with rest areas surrounding the perimeter of the venue.
To the north of the arena was the VIP judging panel, where representatives from the two great empires and the Spirit Hall had gathered to observe the matches.
Dugu Feng and his team waited briefly in the rest area.
Shi Nian soon returned with a stern expression.
"The Spirit Hall isn't even trying to hide it—our first-round opponent is the Nether Tiger Academy!"
Although, based on the information they had gathered, Nether Tiger Academy wasn't much of a threat.
But for the top-ranked teams from the two great empires to face each other in the very first round was still unexpected.
"There's definitely foul play involved!" Old Snake chuckled.
"Foul play or not, it doesn't matter which team we face!"
Little Snake's tone was indifferent, as if he were invincible.
"Hehe, I think the Spirit Hall wants to force you into action, using the Nether Tiger Team to test your strength!" Ning Rongrong said to Dugu Feng.
Throughout the qualifiers and the advancement matches, Dugu Feng hadn't taken the field once.
Since the Heaven Dou teams couldn't push Dugu Feng to act, the only ones left were the teams from Star Luo.
In the first round, the Star Luo Royal Team and the Heaven Dou Royal Team had byes, leaving the strongest remaining team as the Nether Tiger Academy.
The Spirit Hall had blatantly arranged for the two teams to clash right away.
Dugu Feng had already guessed this was the reason.
Unfortunately for the Spirit Hall, their plan was doomed to fail.
On the VIP judging panel.
Seated in the center were powerful figures like Ning Fengzhi, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Dugu Bo.
Bibi Dong, as the Pope, had not appeared—she would only show up for the final match of the finals.
Ning Fengzhi looked at the latest draw results and sighed, turning to Chrysanthemum Douluo. "The first round pits two champions against each other, guaranteeing one will be eliminated. Surely there's some foul play here?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo smiled with a bewitching charm, his voice delicate. "The draw I presided over was absolutely fair.
Sect Master Ning, you mustn't let bias cloud your judgment just because your daughter is on the Gem Battle Team!"
Internally, Chrysanthemum Douluo cursed Salas again. If only Salas had managed to uncover Dugu Feng's Soul Power Level and Soul Skills, he wouldn't have had to resort to such underhanded tactics.
Those three Soul Bones were prepared by Bibi Dong for Hu Liena and the others—they absolutely could not be lost.
He refused to believe that, even in the finals, Dugu Feng would still dare not take the field.
One loss meant elimination.
But when he saw the seven Soul Masters from Gem Academy stepping onto the stage, his eyes widened in shock—Dugu Feng still hadn't appeared.
Ning Fengzhi immediately understood the Spirit Hall's intentions just by observing his expression.
They wanted to force Dugu Feng into action!
He sneered inwardly.
Just as that kid had predicted, the Spirit Hall—and everyone else—had focused entirely on Dugu Feng.
They had completely overlooked their true trump card: the Seven Shura Illusion Realm.
Even Zhang Jingyang and the others had barely registered on their radar.
It had to be said, Dugu Feng had a knack for manipulating people's expectations.
On the stage, the battle had already begun.
The Nether Tiger Team's four Soul Ancestors were no pushovers—they had fought their way through Star Luo's qualifiers and advancement matches.
But Little Snake was stronger.
After receiving Ning Rongrong's buffs, his power surged dramatically.
His Azure Phosphorous Finger Force relentlessly struck all seven members of the Nether Tiger Team.
He alone nearly monopolized the audience's attention.
A Self-Created Soul Skill like the Azure Phosphorous Finger Force was not only fast but devastatingly powerful.
Little Snake wielded it with masterful precision.
Forcing every Soul Master on the Nether Tiger Team to tread carefully.
But this was exactly what Little Snake had intended. With the release of Zhang Jingyang and the other two's mental-type Soul Skills, the Dark Tiger Team found it even harder to unleash their full strength.
Little Snake's performance stunned the entire audience.
This battle was between the two strongest teams from both empires, aside from the royal teams that had direct entry, drawing an exceptionally high level of attention.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was watching for the first time, as well as the Soul Masters from the Star Luo Empire, were all astonished.
They even thought it might be Dugu Feng!
After all, Dugu Feng was far more renowned.
Little Snake was practically unheard of to them.
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