Douluo: Starting from the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon

Chapter 326 The Power of Heavenly Struggle
Xingluo Team 2 was defeated by Tiandou Team 2, and Xingluo Team 1 was defeated by Tiandou Team 1.

In this tournament, the two great empires seemed to be sworn enemies, meeting each other as soon as they entered the knockout stage and ending up with the same result.

The millennia-old feud between Tian Dou and Xing Luo has always seen Xing Luo Empire consistently outclass Tian Dou Empire. But will the outcome of the two matches in this tournament mark the beginning of a reversal in the power dynamics between the two empires?
In the Soul Arena, the Soul Masters of the Heaven Dou Empire were filled with longing, while the Soul Masters of the Star Luo Empire felt a sense of gloom in their hearts.

Preparation zone.

Xue Qinghe, accompanied by Serpent Spear Douluo and Porcupine Douluo disguised as attendants, slowly arrived at the area where the Star Luo Royal Soul Master Academy was located.

"Gentlemen of Xingluo, given what happened last night, for your safety, why don't you wait until after the competition and leave Wuhun City with your Xingluo team? What do you say?"

He slowly explained his purpose:

"After all, if two accidents happen in succession, it will seriously affect the normal progress of this competition. As one of the four organizers of the competition, it is our responsibility and obligation to ensure the smooth running of the competition."

"What do you all say, fellow members of Xingluo?"

What Xue Qinghe said was only the superficial reason.

Last night, the Star Luo Sect defeated the Heaven Dou Sect, and then the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, a sect affiliated with Heaven Dou, was killed last night.

Today's match results were reversed, with the Heaven Dou Royal Academy defeating the Star Luo Royal Academy. If the Star Luo Royal Academy members had chosen to leave today and something had happened to them, then the Heaven Dou Empire would have been the most suspicious of all the forces, without exception.

Regardless of the truth, these two incidents will inevitably intensify the conflict between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, and thus provoke a war between the two empires.

The situation on the mainland is currently volatile and unpredictable, so it is not advisable to take any rash actions before the situation becomes clear.

Moreover, Xue Qinghe already planned to launch a palace coup and seize the throne of Tiandou shortly after the competition ended.

If the Star Luo Empire were to use this incident as a pretext to join forces with the Sea God Empire to invade, the empire he had worked so hard to build would face disintegration amidst internal and external troubles.

The highest-ranking official of the Star Luo Empire in Wuhun City is Crown Prince Dai Mubai, but he is currently unconscious. The only person who can represent the Star Luo Empire is an elder of the White Tiger Sect, a level 92 Title Douluo.

It was a robust old man wearing a white robe, on which a lifelike tiger was embroidered with gold and silver threads.

The Star Luo Empire was also involved in last night's events, and he himself was one of the participants. He just arrived a little late, and when he got to the scene, all that was left for him was ruins.

Although both parties are aware of this, they will pretend not to know as long as it is not brought up.

In fact, Elder Dai himself shared the same idea as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan: to leave this shameful place as soon as possible.

But what happened last night still haunted him, so he dared not leave Wuhun City, fearing he would suffer the same fate as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Who knows how many forces would join forces to deal with them this time?

But to save face, Elder Dai couldn't tell the truth and could only feign politeness:

"As one of the four organizers of the competition, the Star Luo Empire will naturally wait until the competition is successfully concluded before leaving."

"It is your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan of Heaven Dou, one of the three upper clans and one of the four sponsors of this competition, who, merely because they lost a match, disregarded their responsibilities and left Spirit City, leading to this incident that has disrupted the stability of the competition." Because of Yu Xiaogang, Xue Qinghe had a very poor impression of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and therefore agreed with Elder Dai's words. However, he was representing the Heaven Dou Empire at this moment, so he could only say:

"Elder Dai is right, but Qinghe thinks you should say this in front of Yu Xiaogang, the honorary elder of the Spirit Hall. I think Elder Yu would be happy to have a talk with you."

The fact that Yu Xiaogang, the newly promoted honorary elder of the Spirit Hall, comes from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and is the son of the clan leader Yu Yuanzhen is no secret, and Elder Dai naturally knows this.

Recalling the strength displayed by Pope Bibi Dong of the Spirit Hall on the day the elimination rounds began, and the rumors of Bibi Dong's doting affection for Yu Xiaogang, Elder Dai snorted coldly and dared not say anything more.

However, their confrontation involved the reputations of both empires, and Elder Dai, unwilling to concede easily, launched a scathing attack on the Heaven Dou royal family's weakest point:
"The Royal Academy belongs to the Imperial Family, but your Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, whether it's Team One or Team Two, doesn't have a single royal disciple."

"With a weak ruler and powerful ministers, what if your Heavenly Dou Empire were to change dynasties one day?"

In response, Xue Qinghe simply smiled faintly and said noncommittally:

"This is our internal affair, so there's no need for Elder Dai to worry about it."

"Strange? What kind of look is that?" Elder Dai noticed that after he said those words, Xue Qinghe's gaze towards him became somewhat strange.

What he didn't know was that it was precisely because the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family was weak that the Spirit Hall's infiltration plan chose the Heaven Dou Empire, rather than the Star Luo Empire, whose royal family was exceptionally powerful.

……

The second round of the knockout stage is a 22-to-11 format.

Of the 22 teams, Lin Rong is certain that 12 teams possess a Divine Successor. This means that in the 11 matches of the second round, at least one match will feature a duel between Divine Successors.

Neither the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex seed team nor the Star Crown seed team has a God Inheritor, so there will be at least two matches between God Inheritors in the second round of the knockout stage.

As it turns out, luck, though seemingly intangible, does have a real impact on all aspects of life.

In the remaining six matches of the second round of the knockout stage, there were two duels between the inheritors of the divine power.

The reason why these two matches featured a showdown between those who have inherited divine powers is that there are not just twelve, but thirteen teams that possess such powers.

That was a team Lin Rong hadn't anticipated: the Body Sect's seed team.

In the round of 22 to 11, there will be at least two matches featuring a showdown between the thirteen teams that possess a God's successor.

The match between the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex Seed Team and the Star Crown Seed Team is a duel without a God-inheritor, therefore at least three matches in the second round of the knockout stage will be duels between God-inheritors.

The Heavenly Dou Royal Seed Team vs. the Star Luo Royal Seed Team has already had one match. Of the remaining two matches, one of them is an internal battle between the two teams from the Four Elements Academy.

Since all four academies were on their own, the relatively weaker Feng Shui team conceded defeat, allowing the stronger Feng Huo team to advance to the third round of the knockout stage.

(End of this chapter)