Chapter 183: First Round of the Competition

The moment the seven women stepped onto the arena, they were instantly stunned by everything before them.

On the vast, open square, countless spectators were shouting and cheering, their waves of sound rising and falling. At the very front of the center stood a towering podium of golden hue, with the VIP seats behind it.

The arena spanned two hundred meters in diameter, and some academies had already formed neat formations at its center. Each entering team would be introduced by a dedicated MC.

"Next entering is the team from Lan Ba Academy. Wow! The Lan Ba Academy team consists entirely of beautiful women, not at all inferior to Tianshui Academy. Their slogan is 'How lonely invincibility is!', brimming with confidence and momentum; we hope they achieve outstanding results in this competition!"

As soon as the MC finished speaking, the crowd on the stands erupted into a frenzy. After all, most of the audience were men, and which man doesn't like beautiful women? At this moment, students from other academies present also cast glances, and the most fervent gazes came not from male students but from the female students of Tianshui Academy.

In their eyes sparks flickered; in previous competitions only Tianshui Academy fielded an all‑female team, and this year another all‑female team appeared, clearly stealing the spotlight from them.

The women of Lan Ba Academy felt the many eyes converging on them, yet they ignored it, remaining composed.

Ning Rongrong found it a bit boring, and her lively gaze began to scan the surroundings, especially toward the VIP area.

At this moment the VIP section was already filled with high‑ranking figures of the Tiandou Empire, but to her it was nothing special.

Prince Snowstar, the three senior instructors of the Tiandou Royal Academy and others sat in the second row; although their status was lofty, they were still a notch below Ning Rongrong, unworthy of her sustained attention, so she gave them a casual glance.

Then her gaze shifted to the frontmost first row, where only five people sat, all of whom she knew.

She then introduced those five individuals to the women.

The person seated at the very center wore a gold‑red robe and a crown of golden diamonds that dazzled the heavens, exuding imposing authority—none other than Emperor Snow Night.

Beside Emperor Snow Night were the two sect masters of the Three Upper Sects: Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect master Yu Yuanzhen and Qi Bao Liu Li Sect master Ning Fengzhi.

Ning Rongrong was, of course, intimately familiar with both—one was her fiancé's paternal grandfather, the other her father.

Looking further to the sides, seated beside Yu Yuanzhen was Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall.

Although Salas was merely an ordinary Soul Douluo, as the Spirit Hall's representative in the Tiandou Empire he was entitled to sit alongside Emperor Snow Night and the sect masters of the Three Upper Sects.

Naturally, this subtly implied another point: if the Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop could sit with the Tiandou Empire's emperor and the Three Upper Sects' masters, then surely the Pope—one rank above the Platinum Bishop—must be even more esteemed than the emperor and the sect masters. Though true, it irritated a few, yet there was nothing they could do; after all, the Spirit Hall's power far surpassed any of them.

Next to Ning Fengzhi sat Chen Xin, the Sword Douluo; as a Title Douluo his status was naturally lofty, so he was certainly entitled to sit there. He was there partly to protect Ning Fengzhi and partly to catch a glimpse of Ning Rongrong.

When the MC introduced Lan Ba Academy, not only Chen Xin the Sword Douluo, but also Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Fengzhi turned their gazes toward the women, each offering a kindly, gentle smile.

However, at that moment Yu Yuanzhen's eyes betrayed a hint of puzzlement, evidently because he did not see his grandson Yu Tianyun.

Since Yu Tianyun emerged from Dragon Valley, he has possessed self‑preserving strength, so Yu Yuanzhen granted him considerable freedom. The last time he saw his grandson was a year and a half ago, when he assisted him in hunting the fifth Soul Ring.

Of course, he was only briefly puzzled and not worried. Seeing his young grandson so ambitious and having found such gifted granddaughters‑in‑law, he smiled broadly.

Ning Fengzhi, seeing his joyous smile, understood his thoughts; instantly his own gaze showed a trace of melancholy, and the Sword Douluo, feeling suppressed, couldn't help but cough.

Yu Yuanzhen immediately noticed their reactions, quickly restrained himself, yet couldn't stop a grin.

Emperor Snow Night and Salas were puzzled but felt too embarrassed to inquire.

Shortly after all the competing teams entered the main arena, the MC on the VIP side gave a brief introduction of each team and then announced loudly, "Now, please invite His Majesty the Emperor of the Tiandou Empire to declare the opening of this competition."

Instantly the atmosphere peaked, thunderous applause echoing to the heavens.

Seated at the center of the VIP seats, Emperor Snow Night rose slowly, raised his right hand gently, and waved lightly toward the audience and the competing Soul Masters below; the vast square fell silent in an instant.

His resonant voice, amplified by a soul‑projector, rang through the venue: "I, Emperor Snow Night of the Tiandou Empire, on behalf of the empire and the organizers of this competition, hereby announce…" After declaring the opening and offering encouragement to the participating academies, Snow Night returned to his seat.

Then the MC's voice sounded again: "Now, please invite the sect master of Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect, under the Thunder Crown, to deliver a speech for this competition."

As Yu Yuanzhen rose, the atmosphere surged again, rivaling Emperor Snow Night's. After all, Title Douluo are exceedingly rare; to see a Title Douluo who is also a master of the Three Upper Sects was enough to stir the crowd.

Although Yu Yuanzhen was not as eloquent as Ning Fengzhi, as a sect master his speech was natural; his voice was steady and powerful, capturing every spectator's attention.

Nevertheless, the content was the usual encouragement for each team to strive for good results.

After Yu Yuanzhen's address, it was Ning Fengzhi's turn; his brief yet profound remarks earned enthusiastic applause.

Finally, the MC asked specially: "Sect Master Ning, on behalf of the audience I inquire, among the twenty‑nine teams participating in the Tiandou City regional preliminaries, which team do you favor the most?"

Ning Fengzhi wore a friendly smile and replied, "Obviously the Tiandou Royal Academy's Team One, but besides that I also favor another team. I believe they not only have the ability to pass the preliminaries but also stand a strong chance of winning the championship."

"Oh?" the MC exclaimed, then asked, "May I know which team Sect Master Ning regards as the other?"

Ning Fengzhi glanced at Yu Yuanzhen, then slowly said, "Naturally it is the Lan Ba Academy under Master Yu."

The MC was even more surprised: "So it is the Lan Ba Academy under Master Yu. Their strength indeed seems remarkable; I hope they can, as you said, bring a championship back to the empire."

The reason Ning Fengzhi said so was not only because it was true, but also because Yu Yuanzhen wished to revive his sect's reputation, so he naturally gave his support.

As for attracting the Spirit Hall's attention, now that the two sects have united, they fear the Spirit Hall no more.

With that Q&A between the MC and Ning Fengzhi, almost everyone on the podium and in the audience turned their gaze to the spot where the Lan Ba Academy women sat, while the other competing teams watched them with solemn expressions.

"Lan Ba Academy?" Salas, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them, a faint, barely perceptible cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Next it was Salas's turn to conduct the lottery ceremony. He rose slowly, and, led by a palace maid, walked to the MC's side, said nothing, began the draw directly, and then handed everything to the MC for announcement.

"Preliminary round one, …"

"Preliminary round one, …"

"…"

"Preliminary round one, Tiandou Royal Academy Team One versus Lan Ba Academy."

"…"

The audience, hearing that Tiandou Royal Academy Team One would face Lan Ba Academy, instantly became excited; after all, these were the two teams favored by the Qi Bao Liu Li Sect master of the Three Upper Sects, and no one expected to see their clash on the very first day.

Yet the faces of those on the VIP platform turned strange, most wearing irritated expressions, and even Emperor Snow Night's countenance grew displeased.

However, Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Fengzhi remained unfazed; in their eyes Salas's tricks were merely clownish antics. The Sword Douluo didn't even glance, simply resumed his meditation.

Then Salas finally spoke, calmly saying, "My draw is without falsehood. I swear by the honor of the Spirit Hall. Moreover, I hereby announce that any participant here who reaches the final championship will be granted, as an exception by the Spirit Hall, direct entry into the Soul Saint Hall."

The utterance caused an immediate uproar, and the contestants gasped in amazement.

At that moment Emperor Snow Night's expression darkened completely, like a lion about to erupt, but Ning Fengzhi shook his head, and the emperor finally forced himself to suppress his anger.

(End of Chapter)