Chapter 158

The qualifying round of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was not as lively as the preliminaries; to protect the privacy and safety of individual Soul Masters, spectators were not allowed to watch the qualifying round.

The qualifying round still divided the teams by the two great empires; the thirty teams that passed the preliminaries competed separately in their respective empires, while the three teams that had already advanced directly to the finals did not participate in the qualifying round.

On the the Heaven Dou Empire side, including the five teams that qualified from the Tian Dou City preliminaries, a total of fifteen teams had completed registration that morning and gathered at the venue of the qualifying round.

Although the number of teams was smaller, those who passed the preliminaries were undoubtedly the elite among the elite.

The ten teams from the four kingdoms and one principality that passed the preliminaries arrived even earlier, as they needed to familiarize themselves with the environment in advance, and they also came bearing many promises from the kingdoms or principality they represented.

If they achieve good results, the rewards they can obtain would even be greater than the promises of Emperor Xueye.

After all, they are all subordinate states of the the Heaven Dou Empire; if they can suppress the Tian Dou division's Soul Master teams in the qualifying round, it would undoubtedly prove their strength.

Moreover, those kingdoms and principality have an even greater craving for talent—who wouldn't want to command more powerful Soul Masters? In the wars of the Douluo Continent, although the number of Soul Masters is small, they have long become the decisive factor on the battlefield.

And the number of high-level Soul Masters is also fundamental in measuring a faction's strength; precisely for this reason, the Spirit Hall's status is so exalted that even the two great empires dare not lightly offend it.

The two great empires clearly know that those kingdoms and principality secretly receive support from the Spirit Hall, yet they dare only to seethe in silence.

The venue for the qualifying round is the Imperial Hunting Grounds, located fifty li southwest of Tian Dou City; the terrain within the grounds is varied and the area vast, making it a place for imperial personnel to hunt and train.

Usually, no civilians are allowed to approach here; ten thousand members of the Imperial Cavalry Regiment are responsible for patrolling and guarding, while also training here, rotating every three months with alternating drills to maintain combat effectiveness.

The Imperial Cavalry Regiment can also be considered the strongest force at the disposal of the Tian Dou imperial family.

To avoid unnecessary trouble and conflict, and also to prevent the strength of each academy entering the qualifying round from being observed and studied by other academies, all fifteen advanced Soul Master academy teams that entered the qualifying round were separately arranged to rest in different locations.

The Tian Dou Imperial Cavalry Regiment uniformly wears bright silver armor; this heavy plate armor offers extremely strong defense, and even their mounts are carefully selected Tian Soul Horses possessing a certain demonic beast bloodline.

These horses themselves have little attack capability, but they are extraordinarily fast and can carry immense loads, and with their exceptional endurance, they have always been the best choice for cavalry.

Even with armor covering the horses, plus the weight of the knights and their bright armor, it does not in the slightest affect the speed of these fine steeds—showing just how impressive these horses are.

Once such a cavalry unit launches a charge, its power is bound to be extraordinarily formidable.

The Imperial Cavalry Regiment has always been an elite unit painstakingly cultivated by the Tian Dou imperial family; it totals fifty thousand men, and all squad leaders of rank above a hundred are Soul Masters.

It is also an extremely costly army, yet its deterrent power is equally immense; at least the several great kingdoms and principalities under the nominal authority of the the Heaven Dou Empire would not dare act rashly under its threat.

Because this year's tournament produced many dark horses, the Royal Battle Team's first squad also came here to watch the matches in order to gather more information.

After all, if Du Gu Yan did not intervene, geniuses like Feng Xiao Tian and Huo Wu would indeed be able to put great pressure on Yu Tianheng and his team.

At this moment, Gu Xuan went to the Seven Treasure Academy's encampment, followed by Ye Lingling; at this time, Gu Xuan and his three fiancées were discussing the match order inside the same tent.

Gu Xuan came here for no other reason than to offer plans and strategies.

The qualifying round also uses a round-robin system, but because the number of teams has greatly decreased, the competition time has been reduced from one month to half a month.

After another half-month of rest, the final finals are held at the junction of the Tian Dou and Star Luo Empires, that is, within Wu Hun City of the Spirit Hall.

At this moment, Gu Xuan was discussing with Du Gu Yan whether she should go onto the field, when Ning Fengzhi and Prince Xue Qinghe arrived to offer condolences.

Today, Xue Qinghe wore ordinary noble attire, without any particularly luxurious adornments, giving the impression of an ordinary noble; especially standing beside the elegant Ning Fengzhi, he seemed more like an accompaniment and did not attract attention.

However, when Xue Qinghe saw Gu Xuan and the three girls lingering in a tent, his complexion slightly changed, and he himself did not understand why he suddenly felt unhappy.

Earlier, I had told Gu Xuan that cultivation is the most important thing now; so what's the deal with him openly being lovey-dovey with the three girls? Can his small frame take it? However, Xue Qinghe quickly concealed his odd feeling, after all, today he is representing Emperor Xueye to visit the various schools.

Ning Fengzhi arrived, and Ning Rongrong flew out with a hug. "Dad." Ning Rongrong's voice rang out as her lovely figure ran out from the barracks: "How did you come?"

Ning Rongrong directly flung herself into Ning Fengzhi's embrace, her face full of excitement.

Ning Fengzhi patted Ning Rongrong's little head: "Dad came to see you; you seem to be in good shape, and I hope you achieve excellent results in the qualifying round."

Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong raised her little pink fist: "Hmph, too bad I'm just a support system; I have no chance to go on stage in the qualifying round, otherwise I would definitely let you see my current strength."!!

Ning Fengzhi affectionately rubbed Ning Rongrong's head, the smile on his face like a gentle spring breeze.

"Uncle, Brother Xue, why don't you come in and sit?" Gu Xuan said, seeing that the two were not leaving.

Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe exchanged a glance, then both smiled and shook their heads; Ning Fengzhi said, "We won't sit, we still need to go condole the other academies."

Afterwards, Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe left, and Gu Xuan continued to bring the three girls back to the tent to continue their discussion.

The next day.

Unlike the preliminaries, which had multiple rings operating simultaneously, the qualifying round has only one competition ground: the drill field of the Imperial Cavalry Regiment.

All fifteen teams participating in the qualifying round will play a fourteen‑round robin, one round per day, with one team receiving a bye each day, resulting in seven matches per day, all held on this same field.

The drill field has been remodeled, with a central circle of one hundred meters in diameter designated as the competition area; compared to the preliminaries' rings, the space here is broader and naturally allows one to display one's strength more easily.

On the north side of the drill field, a temporary north‑facing south grandstand was erected, serving as both the VIP and judges' seats; this time, the number of VIPs attending the match is far less than before, with many nobles absent and not a single commoner in sight.

Looking out, aside from the first row occupied by Emperor Xueye, Ning Fengzhi, Archbishop Salas of the Platinum Hall, and a few others, the remaining seats are filled with the Heaven Dou Empire military officials in general's attire and some high‑level figures from the Spirit Hall's Wu Hun Holy Hall in Tian Dou City.

After all, team battles are rather chaotic, making many things hard to see clearly; but the qualifying round is different—each participant will display their personal strength before everyone's eyes, which is also the best opportunity to judge a Soul Master's strength.

One could say that, in the qualifying round, if one's strength is sufficient, it can even become a personal showcase.

At this moment, outside the drill field, a full ten thousand Imperial Cavalry soldiers completely encircled the field, their armor gleaming brightly.

The front‑rank Imperial Cavalry soldiers stood on the ground, while the rear rank sat astride their mounts, forming a huge circle.

Such tight defense can be described as watertight; besides maintaining security, Emperor Xueye's aim is to have his finest warriors observe the strength of the new generation of young Soul Masters, thereby stirring their fighting spirit.

This also counts as "not letting the fat water flow to outsiders"—a good opportunity to give extra rations to one's own troops.

Between the great circle formed by the knights and the competition ground, all fifteen participating teams have already arrived at the scene; even the team that has a bye today is no exception, and even if they do not compete, they still need to size up their opponents' strength.

The match rules are simple: each side sends seven participants; each competitor fights until defeated, and the victor then faces the next opponent until one side loses all seven of its members.

The draw was already completed last night; worth mentioning is that the team receiving a bye in the first round is the Seven Treasure Academy.

The teams from each different district that passed the preliminaries are grouped together; each academy has its own rest area surrounding the central arena, and the academy's instructors and team leaders watch from there.

Under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, Emperor Xueye rose from the VIP seats and, via a Soul Tool, proclaimed loudly: "The qualifying round officially begins today; over the next fourteen days, I hope each academy's team will fully exert its strength and display the bearing befitting a Soul Master—I declare…… the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament Qualifying Round, begun."

As soon as his words fell, the soldiers and cavalry outside shouted in unison like a mountain collapsing and sea surging: "Long live, long live, long live!"

The Imperial Cavalry Regiment raised their lances high; the clamor of their armor and their loud shouts instantly made some participating Soul Masters jump, clearly displaying the grandeur of a great nation.

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

(End of chapter)