Douluo: The Peerless King of Beast Tamers

Chapter 171: Level Breath-Restraining Ring, Appearance
In the luxurious and quiet room of the Star King Hotel, Zhou Sichen, dressed in a simple yet elegant golden robe, sat quietly in front of the window, looking through the gauze curtains at the city outside the window that was brightly lit but gradually quieted down under the cover of night.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the entire hotel was immersed in a deep silence. Only the wall clock was ticking slowly, as if counting down for this late-night meeting.

Finally, when it was late at night and everything was silent, a black shadow suddenly appeared in Zhou Sichen's room like a ghost.

The black shadow was tall, and although shrouded in darkness, he exuded a calm and powerful aura.

Zhou Sichen felt this breath, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile, and said softly: "Master Xuan, did you get the things?"

Xuan Zi, the strong man from Shrek Academy, raised his hand and waved it lightly. Two golden metal rings were like nimble flying birds, drawing two graceful arcs in the air and fell steadily into Zhou Sichen's hands.

Xuanzi's voice was deep and powerful, breaking the silence in the room: "These two level seven closed breath-retaining rings need to be returned. Xu Jiawei agreed to change the information of Gu Yi and Xiao Tao to help us hide their true cultivation level."

Zhou Sichen took the metal ring and examined it carefully. His smile grew brighter, as if everything was within his expectations. "I knew that His Majesty was a smart man. It would be a hundred benefits for him to cooperate with us."

Xuan Zi frowned slightly, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Zhou Sichen: "But the spies from Sun and Moon must have received the information in advance. Isn't it too late to change it now? What if they are prepared in advance..."

Zhou Sichen seemed to have expected Xuanzi to have such concerns. He waved his hand calmly, his eyes revealing confidence and calmness: "It's not too late. After all, other than Sun and Moon, other colleges don't have the ability to get first-hand information."

"Even if Sun and Moon know the truth, they don't have solid evidence. How can anyone believe it based on just one family's words? In the eyes of other schools, this is just a plot by Sun and Moon to alienate us."

Zhou Sichen weighed the two level seven breath-retaining rings in his hand, as if he could sense the powerful force contained in them. "With these two things, even Titled Douluo masters cannot see through their true cultivation, and they can also help them conceal their spirit rings."

"In this way, we can let Sister and Xiaotao perform in the next competition. Their strength will surely surprise everyone."

Mr. Xuan has always had full faith in Zhou Sichen's wisdom and strategy, and he never questioned Zhou Sichen's decisions.

At this moment, he just nodded slightly, his eyes revealing firm support: "No matter what you do, as long as I am here, you don't have to worry about it. Leave all the other problems to me."

Zhou Sichen's face showed admiration and gratitude when he heard this. He gave a thumbs up and praised: "Master Xuan is so domineering! With you here, we have the most solid backing."

When Xuan Zi heard Zhou Sichen's praise, a barely perceptible hint of pride flashed across his face, and he snorted in a rather arrogant manner.

Immediately afterwards, his figure seemed to be swallowed by the darkness and disappeared in the room in an instant.

Before leaving, he did not forget to leave a message: "I won't bother you anymore. Xu Jiawei prepared a table of delicious food for me. It can't be wasted."

Hearing what Master Xuan said, Zhou Sichen couldn't help but shook his head and smiled.

Afterwards, he straightened his clothes, stood up and slowly left the room, came to Ye Guyi's door, raised his hand and knocked on the door...

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is time for the round of 16.

The competition rules for this stage have changed compared to the previous ones. There will be four games per day, which will be held over four days.

In the first two days of the competition, the two competing academies need to engage in a team battle, and the winning academy will accumulate five points.

After the team battle, you need to continue the competition in a one-on-one mode. You can accumulate one point for each one-on-one match you win.

After the team battles and one-on-one matches are over, the final decision on which college will advance to the quarterfinals will be based on the number of points.

There is no doubt that Shrek Academy, as the champion of the previous session, has once again become the focus of everyone's attention. They will be the first to appear on the stage to face the strong opponent of this round - the Douling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy with five Soul Kings.

This academy is the number one academy in the Douling Empire and its strength should not be underestimated.

But what is different from before is that this time the Shrek Academy students who took to the field are no longer the pre-selected players, but the regular players who have been hiding their true colors and have never played before.

After all, the gap between the strength of the qualifying players and that of Douling Academy is too big.

Shrek Academy was determined to win the championship, so naturally they would not let them lose in any game, so the starting players finally had their moment to debut.

As the game time draws closer, the audience's enthusiasm becomes more and more intense, and the atmosphere on the scene is like a ignited flame, burning more and more vigorously.

The round of 16 to the quarterfinals is a knockout match, which means that if you lose the match, you will completely withdraw from the stage of this tournament.

And every time a game is won, the college's ranking will move forward a big step.

In such a fiercely competitive environment, there is no doubt that every participating college will do their best to fight for honor.

After watching more games, the audience will naturally become more appreciative. They know very well that the next games that are about to begin will be a battle between dragons and tigers.

The most intense showdown is right before their eyes, how could they not want to witness it with their own eyes?
In Xingluo Square, the number of spectators today is several times more than in the past. All of these spectators have managed to squeeze in through various relationships and channels.

Some of them came to support their favorite academy, while others came to enjoy a wonderful soul master showdown. At this moment, they were all excited and waiting for the game to begin.

"16 to 8, the first match, Shrek Advanced Soul Master Academy vs. Douling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, please enter the waiting area to prepare for the game."

On the competition stage, as soon as the referee's loud and clear voice fell, the cheers of the audience were like a surging tide, one wave higher than the other.

The sound waves seemed to break through the sky, and the entire Xingluo Square was shrouded in this enthusiastic atmosphere.

The atmosphere was pushed to a climax in an instant, so much so that the troops responsible for maintaining order had to be fully vigilant and prepare for all possible emergencies at all times.

On the top of the imperial city, the Star Luo Empire Emperor Xu Jiawei arrived here early as if nothing had happened.

He would definitely attend every Shrek Academy competition.

Next to the emperor, Xuan Zi followed closely behind him. Xu Jiawei looked at the lively scene below the stage with a faint smile on his face. He turned to look at Xuan Zi and laughed:
"Master Xuan, facing the Douling Academy, your Shrek regular players should finally play, right? This game is sure to be very exciting."

Xuan Zi's mouth corners slightly raised, and he let out a hearty laugh, which was full of confidence: "With the seventh-level breath-retaining ring that Your Majesty gave me, Si Chen will definitely arrange for all seven regular players to play. Today's game will definitely open Your Majesty's eyes and let him feel the true heritage and strength of Shrek Academy."

Hearing this, Xu Jiawei's thick eyebrows instantly raised upwards, and a gleam of irrepressible anticipation flashed in the depths of his deep eyes.

As the emperor of the Xing Luo Empire, he has a very clear understanding of the structure of the soul master world, and he also knows exactly how powerful this generation of the Shrek Seven Devils is.

In his heart, Zhou Sichen is like a mystery, hiding unfathomable strength, and can be described as a "hooker"-like existence.

And even if Zhou Sichen is not counted, just the two Soul Saints, Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, are enough to make Shrek Academy stand out among the many participating teams, and the championship position seems to be already in its pocket.

This is why Xu Jiawei no longer has too much expectation for the battle between Xingluo National Academy and Shrek Academy, because in his mind, the answer to the victory or defeat is already clear. However, when he thought about not being able to witness the true strength of the two Soul Saint girls from Shrek Academy in today's battle, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

But he also knew very well that both Ye Guyi's Holy Angel Martial Soul and Ma Xiaotao's Fire Phoenix Martial Soul possessed extremely powerful strength and were natural nemesis of evil soul masters.

In this complex world of soul masters, once they reveal their Soul Saint-level strength in the competition, it will definitely arouse deep fear and vigilance from the Sun and Moon sides.

Therefore, hiding one's strength a little is actually a very necessary and wise move.

Xu Jiawei shook his head lightly, a relieved smile appeared on his face, and he laughed and said, "It's a pity that I don't have the opportunity to see the full strength of your Shrek today. It's a bit regrettable."

Xuan Zi waved his hand slightly, his eyes showing confidence and calmness, as if everything was under control: "Your Majesty, don't feel sorry, there will always be opportunities. Shrek Academy has a very deep foundation. Even if they hide their strength, future matches will surely allow Your Majesty to see more exciting duels."

……

Inside the battle zone, there is a quiet yet tense atmosphere.

Led by Zhou Sichen, the seven people including Ye Guyi, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, Gong Yang Mo, Ling Luochen and Dugu Xianmeng, were either standing or sitting, with different postures, but all looked leisurely.

There was no trace of tension or panic in their eyes, as if the upcoming game was just a relaxing performance.

Zhou Sichen raised his head slightly, looking deep into the distance, as if thinking about the strategy for the game.

Ye Guyi stood quietly by the side, his posture upright, exuding a cool and noble temperament.

Ma Xiaotao stretched her muscles from time to time, her fiery eyes flashing with eagerness.

In the rest area of ​​Shrek Academy, seven members of the preliminary team were sitting quietly in their seats, enjoying the various delicacies placed in front of them.

Last night, Zhou Sichen's notice came very suddenly, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

The notice said that they would not be required to play in future games.

This news is like a double-edged sword for them, with both advantages and disadvantages.

The good thing is, of course, that they don't have to bear that tremendous pressure any more, and can spend the rest of their time enjoying the joyful atmosphere of the competition and relaxing.

The downside is that they lost a great opportunity to show themselves in this competition.

If you want to truly become famous, you may have to wait until the next competition in five years.

But they knew in their hearts that all this was for the glory of Shrek.

In the previous games, they had tried their best and did their best, and now they have no regrets.

They looked at each other, their eyes conveying understanding and support, and raised their glasses together to toast each other's efforts and contributions.

Behind them, in the rest area of ​​the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy, the Sun Moon team was staring at the seven Shrek preliminaries sitting in front of them, their brows slightly furrowed.

There is no Sun Moon Academy match today, but as long as there is a Shrek Academy match, they will definitely go to watch it, and regard it as an important opportunity to gather intelligence.

Now seeing that the seven Shrek Academy preliminaries were all in the rest area, while the regular players were nowhere to be seen, they instantly understood that the regular players of Shrek Academy could no longer hold back and were about to take the stage.

At this moment, an indescribable expectation arose in the hearts of Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen and others.

They had already mastered the detailed information of all the members of Shrek Academy in advance. While marveling at the strength of their opponents, they were also full of curiosity and desire for the performance of the Shrek Academy's group of terrifyingly powerful regular players.

After all, in their hearts, the only real opponent has always been Shrek Academy.

Sharing the same expectations as everyone at Sun and Moon College are teachers and students from other participating colleges, as well as countless enthusiastic spectators.

Their eyes were all focused on the seven regular players of Shrek who were waiting in the waiting area.

From the beginning of the competition till now, Shrek's main players have been keeping a low profile. Now they are finally going to step onto the stage to show their talents. How can this not make everyone look forward to it?

"Players from both teams, come on the court." Under the watchful eyes and anticipation of everyone, the referee's loud and majestic voice suddenly rang out.

Hearing the referee's voice, Zhou Sichen turned slightly, gave his teammates a firm and confident look, and then led the starting players slowly towards the center of the competition field.

The dark green uniforms they wore seemed to be flowing with mysterious magic under the sunlight, instantly attracting countless pairs of eyes.

The color is deep and rich, as if symbolizing the long history and profound heritage of Shrek Academy.

On the other side, seven people from Douling Academy also entered at the same time. They walked in step with solemn expressions.

On the competition stage, fourteen players from two teams stood facing each other, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

The seven people from Douling Academy all had solemn expressions on their faces at this moment. Although they had anticipated before the game that Shrek Academy might send out its regular players, they never expected that Shrek would be so decisive and send out all seven regular players at once.

In their opinion, generally speaking, each academy should try to hide its strength in the early stages of the game, like a lurking cheetah, waiting for the final critical moment to unleash a fatal blow.

But Shrek was completely different. They had sent out preliminary players before, seemingly just to train newcomers and give the younger generation some training, rather than to hide any important strength. This caught everyone in Douling Academy off guard.

Gu Zhujian, the captain of Douling Academy, glanced at the Shrek Seven Devils in front of him. Looking at their handsome faces and calm expressions, he was actually a little panicked for a moment.

There was no other reason. The Shrek Seven Devils on the opposite side all looked normal, with a kind of indifference and confidence in their eyes, as if the outcome of this game had already been determined and they didn't need to care at all.

Just the aura released from their surfaces gave everyone in Douling Academy a great sense of oppression, as if an invisible mountain was pressing on their hearts.

Looking into Zhou Sichen's eyes at close range, Gu Zhujian's heart tightened, but he still pretended to be calm, and managed to squeeze out a stiff smile on his withered face, and said:
"I hope I can learn something from Shrek Academy through this competition."

Zhou Sichen's calm face revealed a warm smile, which was as warm as the spring sun, yet elusive: "Yes."

These two short words seemed to contain endless profound meaning. They were like a response to the Lone Bamboo Sword, and also like a certainty about the outcome of the game.

There was a flash of cold light in Gu Zhu Jian's eyes. Faced with such an almost ignoring answer, a surge of anger surged in his heart, but he still suppressed it, just kept a smile on his face, and did not refute.

He thought to himself, even if the Shrek Academy's regular players were very strong, so what? They at Douling Academy also had a trump card that they hadn't used yet! It was still unknown who would win this game.

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(End of this chapter)