Chapter 193

The first match of the fifth round is an individual elimination match like the promotion match, but it is participated by three teams together; although it is not the final championship battle, it is equally important.

Winning not only means gaining more rest time, but also means being able to rest and wait for the opponent, participating in tomorrow's final battle.

Because the two losing teams will still have a team match in the afternoon, to decide which team will face the team that won this morning and will compete tomorrow in the final showdown.

At the level of the top three, everyone's strength difference is not that great; continuous matches in one day will undoubtedly cause significant consumption, and even lead to injury.

And tomorrow will be the final, which is almost impossible to recover to peak condition; therefore, the team that wins the individual match below is very likely to become the final champion.

The Spirit Hall taking out three soul bones will undoubtedly make the match more intense; although on the surface Spirit Hall appears selfless, any discerning person can naturally see that these three soul bones were clearly prepared for the Spirit Hall Academy team.

Therefore, this individual promotion match becomes especially important; it not only can bring honor to the team, but also allows these genius Soul Masters to display their strength and talent before the high-level of Spirit Hall and the Pope.

If someone could be valued by the elders of Spirit Hall, that would undoubtedly be a great honor of ascending to heaven in a single step.

A row of gilded grand chairs was set up before the Papal Hall; at the gesture of Pope Bi Bi Dong, she sat in the center, to her left sat Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chenxin from the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, and to her right sat Ghost Douluo Guimei and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yueguan.

The three academies each sent their first starting member; these three people are respectively the captain of the Royal Battle Team of Tian Dou Royal Academy, Gu Xuan, the Seven Treasure Academy team's Du Gu Yan, and the Spirit Hall Academy team's Qian Renxue.

Indeed, the person fielded by the Spirit Hall Academy is Qian Renxue, not the team captain Xieyue.

At this moment, the only Soul Masters remaining on site are the high-level of Spirit Hall and the teachers of these three academies; Qin Ming can be said to have nothing at all regarding this Qian Renxue, with no clues he could provide to Gu Xuan and the others.

And Ning Fengzhi and Chenxin, seated on the high platform before the Papal Hall, each had their own guesses as they watched Qian Renxue ascend the stage.

"Your Holiness the Pope, this Qian Renxue should be the offspring of the previous Pope, right?" Ning Fengzhi turned his head and smiled at Bi Bi Dong.

However, when Bi Bi Dong heard those words "offspring of the previous Pope", her inner soul power involuntarily surged, but she quickly stabilized and said indifferently:

"Not bad, her martial soul is the Six-Winged Angel; if she weren't here, perhaps the Royal Battle Team would have the greatest chance of winning this tournament, but if she makes a move, the final victory will still belong to Spirit Hall."

Hearing Bi Bi Dong's words, Ning Fengzhi and Chenxin exchanged a glance, then Ning Fengzhi lightly said: "It seems the Pope has great confidence in her."

Bi Bi Dong did not speak much more, seemingly not wanting to say too much about Qian Renxue, merely replying: "Sect Master Ning, let's wait and see."

And at this very moment, a streak of flowing light streaked across the heavens and directly fell onto the high platform before the Papal Hall.

The Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo instantly rose to their feet, assuming a combat stance.

At this moment, Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan, who were about to step forward to draw lots, couldn't help but turn their gazes to the high platform.

The figure within that streak of light gradually became clear: a middle-aged man nearly 2.5 meters tall, clad in his own luxurious golden robe, the robe embroidered with gold and silver thread depicting a ferocious giant crocodile, extraordinarily overbearing.

The Chrysanthemum-Ghost Douluo was about to rebuke, but upon seeing the visitor clearly, he also couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on his forehead; if he had just rebuked and spoken those words, the two of them might not even survive.

Because the visitor is not an ordinary person, but a priest of the Offering Hall, one of the three great holy halls of Spirit Hall, and moreover possesses soul power reaching rank ninety-eight, second only to the Grand Offering Qian Daoliu, an ultimate expert, the Second Offering of the Offering Hall, the Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"I pay my respects, Your Excellency the Golden Crocodile." The words the Chrysanthemum-Ghost Douluo had intended to scold were not spoken; instead he spoke respectfully.

The Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't even glance at the Chrysanthemum-Ghost Douluo, slightly cupping his hands toward Bi Bi Dong: "Your Holiness the Pope, I have lingered too long in the Offering Hall; today I wish to come out for a breath of fresh air, to join the liveliness, I don't know if Your Holiness welcomes me."

Bi Bi Dong looked at the Golden Crocodile Douluo before her, tightened her grip on the scepter in her right hand, then said lightly: "Of course welcome; it is their honor that Elder Golden Crocodile wishes to attend."

Afterwards Bi Bi Dong said to the Heng and Ha Generals: "Bestow seats."

"Elder Golden Crocodile, please take your seat." The Chrysanthemum Douluo yielded his position, because his seat was the first to the left of Bi Bi Dong; now that the Golden Crocodile Douluo has arrived, he naturally must move back.

The Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded, then sat down with the ease of a general on the seat previously held by Chrysanthemum Douluo Yueguan; afterward he directed his gaze toward the three people below, his focus mainly on Gu Xuan.

This is his first time seeing Gu Xuan; besides coming personally to support Qian Renxue, he also carries a mission from Qian Daoliu: to carefully examine this kid Gu Xuan's talent and strength.

Moreover, our Holy Maiden would not have dared to join the competition were it not for this brat; fortunately, the only ones remaining in the competition now are the Seven Treasure Team and the Royal Battle Team, so the impact is minor.

The arrival of the Golden Crocodile Douluo caused a stir, but the Chrysanthemum Douluo's opening words immediately quelled it, and the match continued.

Qian Renxue's gaze never left Gu Xuan from beginning to end, leaving Gu Xuan feeling somewhat helpless, especially since Du Gu Yan was right beside him.

As the three of them stepped forward together to draw lots, Qian Renxue spoke up first: "Have we met before?"

"Feigning ignorance!" Gu Xuan muttered inwardly.

Du Gu Yan looked at Qian Renxue with some bewilderment upon hearing this, then gave Gu Xuan a displeased glance.

When did this dog of a man hook up with such a beauty?

Gu Xuan could only steel himself and admit: "A few months ago I caught a distant glimpse of you in the Star Dou Great Forest; back then I didn't know your identity, never expecting you to be a member of Spirit Hall."

Upon hearing that, Du Gu Yan's heart finally relaxed; a mere acquaintance, then it's fine!

But Qian Renxue didn't think that way; "A mere acquaintance? This brat has taken advantage of me quite a bit over the years—just wait and see how I deal with you today!"

The three stepped forward to draw lots, the purpose being to decide which team gets a bye in the first round of this individual duel; this is also the last opportunity in the match for a rest break.

After the draw, the remaining two teams will compete first; the winner continues to challenge, and so on, until each team's members are all eliminated; whichever team's member remains standing on the stage will advance first.

The two losing teams will hold a team match in the afternoon; the winner will then face the team that won in the morning to decide the overall champion.

Qian Renxue said nothing more, stepped forward and drew a wooden lot, with Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan closely following.

Afterwards the three simultaneously raised their wooden lots; the bye turned out to be the Spirit Hall Academy team.

Up to this point in the match, there naturally could be no foul play; the only explanation is that Qian Renxue's luck was simply better.

After the draw concluded, a red-clad archbishop serving as referee for Spirit Hall loudly announced: "First match, the Tian Dou Royal Academy team and the Seven Treasure team each send out one participant; the Spirit Hall Academy team prepares."

Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan exchanged a helpless glance, then each returned to their respective academy's resting area.

After a quarter of an hour, the match officially began; this quarter-hour is given for a team to arrange its formation; once personnel are set, no changes may be made midway, but after the seven combatants are confirmed, their order can be freely altered, which also adds to the spectacle.

Because Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure team is a support-type Soul Master, this match is being fought by a substitute member in her place; likewise for the Spirit Hall Academy, except they swapped out the support type and brought in Qian Renxue, which is precisely why Qian Renxue is taking the field now.

It's just that Ye Lingling of the Royal Battle Team can't be replaced, because the Royal Battle Team has no substitute...

ps: Fix the typos first, then revise.

(End of chapter)