Chapter 110

Another day passed, and the day the cycle tournament officially began arrived.

But the faces of the Shilake people were not good.

Because last night the draw revealed the results, their opponent is Zheng Tian Academy, one of last year's top eight.

No one expected that the thing they worried about yesterday would happen on the first day; it was truly a case of being cursed to the core.

Fortunately, they did not draw the dreaded 2‑2‑3 format, but instead drew the individual elimination format, a competition style for which Shilake has certain countermeasures.

Wang Yan was briefing the reserve team members on the enemy's information.

"Since I didn't anticipate any mishaps with the main team before I arrived, I mainly studied the teams that made the top eight last season, so Zheng Tian Academy happens to be one of my research subjects."

"Five years ago, Zheng Tian Academy entered the top eight as a dark horse, and the reason they didn't reach the top four was that their opponent was assigned to the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy at the time; in other words, they had a chance to advance to the top four."

"And this time, the captain of their main team is undoubtedly Ye Wuqing, who was the reserve team captain in last season's tournament. According to my investigation, he is called a once‑in‑a‑millennium genius of Zheng Tian Academy; Xuan Lao gave him high praise, saying that if he were training at our Shilake Academy, he would certainly reach the Soul Emperor level before twenty and would represent Shilake Academy in battle."

Hearing that, the reserve team's faces grew even worse.

According to Wang Yan's description, Ye Wuqing's talent is not far behind Dai Yaoheng's; even though the reserve team and main team exchanged battles and Dai Yaoheng's squad lost both times, there were extremely special reasons for that.

In the first match, the core members Ling Luochen and Gongyang Mo of their team were eliminated right at the start, and with Huo Yutong's interference and He Caitou essentially nonexistent, Dai Yaoheng's squad was forced into a 4‑versus‑7 situation from the outset; even so, before Huo Yutong defeated Xixi, the situation remained extremely tense.

The second match was even more unusual: not only did Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong unleash their strongest Soul Fusion Technique, they also forcibly conscripted Gongyang Mo to provide over‑drawn support, which allowed them to defeat Dai Yaoheng's team.

One could say that without Huo Yutong, Dai Yaoheng alone could have wiped out the remaining six‑person squad; that gap is far from ordinary.

Wang Yan sighed.

"I know you're under a lot of pressure, but there's no choice; since we've met them, we have to go up. Yutong, it's yours now."

Huo Yutong nodded; according to the plan, she was the first to go, and she would use the reserve team's strongest strength to weaken the opponent as much as possible.

"Please have both sides' team members enter."

Soon, the referee's shout rang out, and Huo Yutong rose and stepped onto the arena.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on her.

Only two days had passed since the first match, and everyone still remembered the awe‑inspiring Soul Fusion Technique from two days ago, and also recalled that Huo Yutong was one of its users.

They now all eagerly wanted to know what strength this seemingly delicate girl actually possessed.

Opposite Huo Yutong, the first contestant sent by Zheng Tian Academy for this match also stepped onto the arena.

He was a tall, upright youth, his gaze intensely fixed, with faint violet light swirling deep within his eyes.

His name is Tang Xiaolei, and he is one of the three Soul Kings of Zheng Tian Academy.

The Shilake reserve team felt nervous upon learning they would face a top‑eight from last season, and the people from Zheng Tian Academy felt no less nervous.

One should know that Shilake holds the ten‑thousand‑year champion record, and their previous match was a crushing victory; even though this time their participants are oddly young, Zheng Tian Academy will not look down on them at all and sent a Soul King first to probe.

When he saw his opponent was Huo Yutong, Tang Xiaolei's gaze shifted slightly, becoming more serious. Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin are the key students that Zheng Tian Academy's supervising teachers have emphasized; if they can eliminate her, that would be ideal, and even if they cannot win, they must extract as much information as possible.

"Both sides, state your names."

"Shilake Academy, Huo Yutong."

"Zheng Tian Academy, Tang Xiaolei."

After both contestants announced their names, the referee raised his hand high.

He also presided over yesterday's match, and in fact he was eager to know what kind of strength this seemingly young child, Huo Yutong, truly possessed.

Then he slammed his hand down.

"The match begins!"

Tang Xiaolei immediately released his martial soul, a large purple bow appearing in his hand, with two yellow, three purple, and five soul rings soaring upward.

His martial soul is called the Purple Splendor Bow, a wondrous martial soul that can turn his soul rings into arrows. Though it has severe limitations—once all his soul rings are fired, his soul power is depleted until the soul rings are fully replenished—this restriction yields terrifying destructive power; in terms of instantaneous burst, even Ye Wuqing, captain of Zheng Tian Academy's main team, pales in comparison.

In contrast, Huo Yutong moved very casually, as if she didn't even regard Tang Xiaolei, strolling forward while soul rings slowly floated around her.

Her movements weren't fast at all; they were even a bit sluggish, appearing harmless at first glance, yet the entire arena erupted in a huge scream.

The reason lay in the soul rings rising around her.

Red, red, red, red, red, red—yes, six soul rings, all ten‑thousand‑year old.

What does that mean? It means she is a Soul Emperor with all ten‑thousand‑year soul rings!

In the spectator seats of the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy, Xiao Hongchen sprang up from his seat, his eyes filled with disbelief, and he didn't even mind spilling his drink.

Yet no one mocked him, not even Ma Rulong, who usually looked down on him.

Because their expressions at that moment were no better than Xiao Hongchen's.

When did Shilake Academy become so perverse?

Even the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy reacted this way, let alone the others.

Xu Jiawei on the city wall couldn't help rubbing his eyes, unable to believe what he had seen.

Just after Shilake's match ended the day before yesterday, he obtained the registration data of Shilake members, and the form clearly listed Huo Yutong's age as twelve.

A twelve‑year‑old Soul Emperor, and a completely red Soul Emperor at that; she can no longer be called a prodigy—she is a monster.

Off‑topic, the Purple Splendor Bow martial soul really caught my eye; setting aside its strength, the design of using soul rings as arrows is fascinating. In the early Douluo era, I loved the eclectic bloom of bizarre martial souls, but ever since entering Dou 3, the Buddha abandoned the martial soul and soul ring system, focusing on bloodlines and combat techniques, reverting to the old path and turning soul master battles into pure stat contests.

(End of Chapter)