Chapter 204: Group Stage

"Teacher, which group are we in, and which teams are in the same group."

Zhao Tianhe's expression darkened; the groupings were announced directly without a draw, and that was what he found hardest to accept.

To be precise, aside from the teams in the same group protesting the behind‑the‑scenes manipulation, the other teams all took a spectator's attitude.

Among the thirty teams, four Soul King‑led teams were all placed in one group, and another team was the All Soul Sect's Divine Wind Academy team.

No matter how you look at it, this is no coincidence.

The Spirit Hall intends to use this competition rule to eliminate the most threatening teams.

Of these five teams, at least three will be eliminated.

Among the Xingluo Empire's entrants, there are also two Soul King‑led teams.

"Besides us, there are the Thunder Team, the Shenfeng Team, and, in the Star Net Competition Zone, the Baiguang Team and the Tianxing Team."

The Thunder Team and the Shenfeng Team are old rivals, so I won't go into detail; I'll focus on the Baiguang Team and the Tianxing Team.

The Baiguang Team has a level‑52 strong‑attack Soul King, whose martial soul is the Ice‑Armored Beast, whose strength and defense are both outstanding;

The Tianxing Team's Soul King is a level‑51 control‑type, whose martial soul is Tianxing; with him in the match, the Tianxing Team can easily crush opponents. In the Preselection and Promotion Match, the Tianxing Team won over the Baiguang Team with a large margin.

Both Soul Kings are twenty‑four years old; breaking through to Soul King before twenty‑five sufficiently demonstrates their talent.

Compared with the Spirit Hall's golden generation who can reach Soul King at twenty, they may be a bit behind, but in the Soul Master Competition, it's strength that's measured, not age.

A team with a Soul King means its presence can threaten the Spirit Hall's entrant teams; on the Spirit Hall's home ground, how could there be no behind‑the‑scenes manipulation?

Because they were placed in the same group, the four other teams' conference rooms all wore grim expressions.

But their protests were outright rejected by the Spirit Hall.

In the Tianxing Team's conference room, after the Team‑leading Teacher named the same‑group opponents, the members all wore grim looks.

"In terms of overt strength, the Tiandou Royal Team is the weakest; although they have a Soul King, they only have two Soul Ancestors, and the rest are at Soul Elder level.

Next is the Shenfeng Team, an All Soul Sect lineup; as the FiveElementsAcademy of the Tiandou Empire, they're not easy to handle.

The greater threats to us are the Thunder Team and the Baiguang Team; as long as we devise proper tactics, advancing from sixteen to eight won't be a problem."

"That's what they say, but compared with other groups, our group's strength is clearly over the limit, undoubtedly raising our promotion difficulty considerably," Xing Yu said.

He is the only Soul King in the team and also the captain of the Tianxing Team.

"This is clearly the Spirit Hall's behind‑the‑scenes manipulation; how could such a coincidence happen?"

"Regardless, as long as we're strong enough, the championship will still be ours."

"Right, as of now, our team is the strongest among the thirty teams."

The Tianxing Team members each voiced their opinions, all believing their team's strength is sufficient to handle any opponent.

"Here are the data on the other four teams; take a look."

Tian Xing took the documents handed over by the Team‑leading Teacher; his target is the captains of the other four teams.

"The Tiandou Royal Team's captain should be the strongest, but his members are far weaker; the group stage rule is Team Soul Battle, so his personal strength will be diluted in Team Soul Battle. We only need a solid tactic; dealing with the Tiandou Royal Team should be the easiest."

Xing Yu expressed his view, which is also the view of the Tianxing Team members.

The competition arena is tight; on the second day after arriving at the Spirit Hall, the intra‑group round‑robin begins.

The Spirit Hall, based on the groupings, set up six arenas to run matches simultaneously.

The Tiandou Royal Team is in Group Five, so they will fight on Arena Five.

A team must play two matches in one day, a high‑intensity format.

The first match pits the Shenfeng Team against the Baiguang Team: an All Soul Sect squad versus a team with one Soul King and six Soul Ancestors; on paper, the Baiguang Team is stronger.

The three teams watching from the stands all observed their match, providing an opportunity for mutual insight.

One strong‑attack, one control, double support, double defense, and one agile‑attack—that's the Baiguang Team's member configuration.

The double‑support pairing will let the Baiguang Team's captain unleash greater power.

"The match begins!"

The referee announced the start, and brilliant Soul Rings filled the arena.

"Brothers, give the Tiandou Empire's team a lesson," the Baiguang Team's captain shouted loudly.

He has five interwoven Soul Rings flashing—two yellow, two purple, one black—the optimal configuration; the deep Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring puts great pressure on the Shenfeng Team.

But previously Feng Xiaotian defeated Lei Ying, giving the Shenfeng Team's members great confidence; facing this Soul King‑led team, they believe they can win.

"According to the tactics set yesterday, don't lose formation," Feng Xiaotian told the members.

Huo Wushuang's Soul Rings flickered; his short‑term burst is certainly ample, and his mission is the heaviest—to block the Baiguang Team's captain.

Watching from the stands, Tie Li quickly grasped their tactic: contain the Baiguang Team's Soul King, support Feng Xiaotian in eliminating the Baiguang Team's double‑support Soul Master, but they have two defense‑type Soul Masters, making it very difficult.

"Boss, who do you think will win this match?" Tuo Yu asked Tie Li.

But on Tuo Yu's face, the usual expression was gone, replaced by a solemn look.

Considering the overall strength of the five teams, our team, which has several Soul Elders, is the weakest among the five major teams.

Tuo Yu and the others are under great pressure; under such pressure, the biggest worry is a shift in mindset.

"The Baiguang Team has a higher win rate."

When Tie Li finished speaking, Huo Wushuang was brutally eliminated; the Baiguang Team's captain immediately used a Ten Thousand Year Soul Technique, a single‑target attack brimming with destructive power.

Huo Wushuang couldn't withstand that blow; with Huo Wushuang gone, the situation fell into complete passivity.

The Shenfeng Team's Team‑leading Teacher immediately sent a healing‑type Soul Master forward to treat Huo Wushuang's injuries.

A team playing two matches in one day makes the members' condition extremely critical.

All thirty teams each have a healing‑type Soul Master, all at least four‑ring level.

When the situation turned passive, captain Feng Xiaotian immediately forfeited this match; they also had to preserve their condition for the next opponent.

The second match is the Tiandou Royal Team versus the Tianxing Team.

"Our luck is good; we got the weakest team right off the bat," a Tianxing Team member let out a strange laugh.

(End of chapter)