Chapter 106: The Competition Begins

The next day, Tang Wulin and the others arrived at the players' seats to prepare for battle.

At this time, the Star Net Plaza was already crowded with people; not only were there citizens of the Star Net Empire, but many foreigners had also traveled from afar to watch this once-every-five-years feast.

Many of them, upon arriving, immediately looked toward the direction of Shilake Academy, and couldn't help but be stunned.

Nine people—this number is already too few compared to other academies' fourteen, and moreover, several of the children are clearly under fifteen at a glance; what is Shilake Academy thinking?

On the imperial city wall, the current emperor of the Star Net Empire, Xu Jiawei, accompanied by civil and military officials, came onto the wall; his position was the exact center of the main gate's city wall, the ideal spot for watching the battle.

Looking at the surging crowd below, Xu Jiawei sighed to the beautiful woman beside him:

"Empress, I have waited twenty years for this grand event; it reminds me of when I was young—if not for the imperial family's rules, I would have truly wanted to go up and fight myself."

He only became emperor a few years ago; this is his first time overseeing the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, which holds deep symbolic meaning for him.

"Speaking of which, I heard that the captain of Shilake Academy this time is Dai Hao's eldest son; I originally wanted him to come watch, but after thinking, I decided against it—these past years the Ri Yue Di Guo has become increasingly restless, and only with Dai Hao guarding the western borders can I feel at ease."

The empress merely listened gently; as the mother of a nation, she cannot casually interject in discussions involving state affairs, otherwise she might invite criticism.

After about half an hour, the audience had finally finished entering; at this moment the Star Net Plaza was packed to capacity, fortunately there were iron railings separating the crowd and guards constantly patrolling to maintain order, which kept things from becoming too chaotic.

"Silence!"

A huge voice suddenly rang across the entire venue; hearing it, all the soldiers stood at attention and simultaneously raised their spears, instantly a killing intent spread throughout the field, and the previously noisy Star Net Plaza fell silent.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived."

Immediately, the entire crowd of the plaza knelt down together on the ground.

Countless people performed this action simultaneously, the visual effect was extremely shocking.

Xu Jiawei stepped forward and began to speak.

Tang Wulin felt extremely nervous, to the point that he barely heard any of these words; he only felt that in the blink of an eye, Xu Jiawei shouted: "I declare, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Soul Tournament officially begins!"

One hundred and eight salute cannons roared on the city wall, unveiling the opening of this grand event.

A huge voice sounded, announcing the rules of this tournament; at the end, he declared:

"Please welcome the competitors for our first match: the teams are respectively the representative team from Yao Yang Academy of the Tian Hun Empire and the representative team from Shilake Academy."

In an instant, a huge cheer echoed throughout the venue.

"Shilake! Shilake! Shilake!"

This earth-shaking sound made the reserve team members' faces turn pale; they had never seen such a scene before, and for a moment they were at a loss what to do.

Wang Yan quickly comforted them: "Don't be afraid; these cheers are not pressure on you, but encouragement. Compared to you, your opponents are the ones who are truly afraid—you just need to fight normally."

As he spoke, he furtively wiped the sweat seeping from his forehead.

Although he doesn't need to go on stage, he is actually the most nervous now, because he fears that these children will be afraid.

Mindset greatly affects the display of strength; if one loses to an opponent they shouldn't have lost to because of mindset, that truly becomes a laughingstock.

The reserve team members nodded; Tang Wulin gripped Huo Yutong's small hand tightly, feeling his nervousness ease a little.

He looked around, and unexpectedly his gaze met that of a girl from the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy opposite; seeing him look over, the girl smiled and waved at him. "?"

Tang Wulin's mind was full of doubt; he didn't understand the purpose of the girl's gesture.

As far as he knew, the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineer Academy and Shilake Academy were mortal enemies; is this some new kind of provocation? This is just a cognitive difference caused by their upbringing.

Because at Shilake Academy he and Huo Yutong always appear together, anyone with eyes can see their relationship; plus, Shilake Academy's tasks are heavy, so there are actually very few girls who actively show goodwill toward Tang Wulin.

Consequently, although Tang Wulin knows he is good-looking, he doesn't have a clear sense of just how striking he is, nor does he realize how lethal his gradually maturing appearance is to girls.

Naturally, he cannot understand the meaning of Meng Hongchen's action.

Soon, amid the referee's calls, the Shilake reserve team walked onto the competition stage together.

Seeing them, their opponents' eyes were filled with doubt.

Even though their hearts were already full of nervousness, they could not imagine why Shilake Academy would send a team with an average age of thirteen.

Not to mention the opponents and spectators, even Xu Jiawei on the city wall was stunned.

"Why are all of Shilake Academy's competitors so young? Where are Dai Hao's children?"

The smiling Hongchen in the players' seats also furrowed his brow.

He originally thought there would probably be a reversal later, but he didn't expect Shilake to actually send this bunch of kids under fifteen to fight.

You know the first round is an elimination match—aren't they afraid?

At that moment, the girl beside him poked him.

"Brother, did you see that male kid standing at the end of the Shilake team? He's so handsome."

Smiling Hongchen: "?"

No matter what people think, the match is still a match and must continue.

The referee glanced at both sides' personnel and said: "First round, elimination, team battle. Both sides may use most soul tools for the match, but during combat, if one side admits defeat, the other must not continue attacking. Soul engineers may not use fixed soul tools and similar high-lethality equipment in battle—do you all understand?"

Bei Bei replied in a deep voice:

"Understood."

The captain of Yao Yang Academy also nodded in succession; his team's expression remained relatively calm thanks to him.

"Okay, both sides retreat to the edges of the field. Follow my command to start the match; before I announce the start, no one may prematurely release their martial soul. Otherwise, they will be judged defeated."

Under the referee's direction, the two teams retreated together to the edge of the stage.

Under the gaze of the multitude, the referee raised his hand and then brought it down sharply.

"Match begins!"

This cry heralded the official opening of the tournament's curtains.

(End of chapter)