Douluo: The blue phoenix cries loudly, and the wind whistles through the air

Chapter 203 Why are you targeting us!
The advancement certificates were quickly delivered to Shrek Academy.

Because of Tang San and his group's behavior, the royal family lost face, so how could Xue Ye have a good attitude?
Xue Ye simply handed the certificate to Tang San and turned to leave without saying a word. This was in stark contrast to the treatment given to the Seven Treasures Team.

The Shrek Academy members frowned slightly, until Ning Fengzhi walked past them without distributing the corresponding bonuses, at which point Tang San finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Ignoring the occasion, he questioned, "Sect Leader Ning, did you forget about our academy's prize money?"

The prize money is rightfully theirs, so why shouldn't they be awarded it?
Before Ning Fengzhi could speak, Salas interrupted, "If I remember correctly, Shrek Academy has not yet paid the medical expenses to the Royal Fighting Team 3, nor has it compensated Flame Radiance Academy for its losses."

"This 10,000 gold soul coins will be paid by the organizing committee to the two teams mentioned above. This is a decision made by the entire organizing committee. Do you understand?"

Tang San's face was gloomy, but he dared not openly offend the organizing committee.

Next, Salas, representing the Spirit Hall, distributed extra rewards to the top three teams that advanced.

They weren't anything particularly valuable, including cultivation resources and tokens for entering the Soul Hunting Forest.

After the awards were presented, the host briefly enlivened the atmosphere before handing the floor to Emperor Xueye.

Xueye did not speak immediately, but his gaze swept over the five teams, lingering on Wu Qi and Feng Xiaotian for a few more seconds.

Both of them are Soul Kings, and the Empire's chances of winning the championship depend entirely on them.

About a minute later, he smiled and said, "First of all, I would like to congratulate you on successfully standing out on the stage of the preliminary rounds after passing through layers of selection."

"As the supreme leader of the empire, I am proud of you."

After a few official remarks, Xueye immediately made a promise: "The captains and vice-captains of each team will play a crucial role in the competition."

"Therefore, I have decided to confer the title of viscount upon the captains and vice-captains of each team, and the title of baron upon the remaining team members."

"This decision shall take effect immediately upon your graduation and the date you report to the Empire. Your fiefdoms will be allocated uniformly after your report."

It's impossible for Xueye to give away a title for nothing.

Reporting to the Empire is tantamount to joining the Imperial Family and becoming a member of the bureaucratic system.

For those with powerful backgrounds, this is of no concern.

Those who could possibly be interested are probably only commoner Soul Masters like Oscar and Chen Ping.

According to the rules of the Heavenly Dou Empire, only military merit can earn one a noble title.

The mainland today can barely be considered a peaceful and prosperous era, and it is basically impossible to be ennobled based on military merit.

Especially when consolidating power on a snowy night, they would not easily bestow titles.

It can be said that in the past ten years or so, no new nobles have emerged. At most, there are those like Wu Qinan, who have been promoted in rank due to military achievements.

The fact that the Heavenly Dou Empire promised so many titles at once shows its determination to attract talent.

Moreover, these are all real titles with fiefdoms, not just honorary titles.

Bishop Salas's face darkened as he gazed at the snowy night and coldly snorted, "Your Majesty, isn't this somewhat inappropriate?"

"There has never been a precedent for bestowing titles based on the Soul Master Competition before, but this time..."

Xueye casually replied, "When did the Spirit Hall get to interfere in the Empire's decisions?"

Although Salas was dissatisfied, he couldn't show it in public.

Most of the audience members present understood that the atmosphere between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire was extremely tense.

In recent years, Bibi Dong's behavior has become increasingly domineering, causing great harm to many forces, including the Heaven Dou Royal Family. Her efforts to recruit talent are undoubtedly aimed at regaining her former glory.

Xue Ye's actions were clearly a signal to the outside world, indicating that she was choosing between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Royal Family. Soon, Xue Ye suppressed her anger and smiled, saying, "The upcoming qualifying matches will be held in the Royal Enclosure. Each team has one month to prepare."

"During this month, I hope you will not slack off. Necessary training is essential. Of course, cultivation requires a balance between work and rest, so you should not be too hard on yourselves."

"The qualifying rounds are a stage to showcase your individual abilities, and I hope you can achieve even better results."

The preliminary rounds were held separately, while the qualifying rounds were held together by the Empire and the five major kingdoms.

Each kingdom and duchy was secretly vying with the Empire, and Xueye certainly didn't want the Empire's forces to be outdone.

Next, he promised the benefits of helping the Soul Hunter.

For Wu Qilai, a 30,000-year-old soul beast was not worthy of becoming his sixth soul ring, so this promise was meaningless to him.

……

The qualifiers have concluded, and all teams have exited the competition in an orderly manner.

As the members of Team Qibao walked out of the arena, they were greeted by many other teams.

During the qualifiers, the Qibao team rarely went all out, which earned them a good reputation among the teams.

Now, they have set a new record in the qualifiers, and they may well break history again in the knockout stage.

Teams that win all their qualifying matches have appeared before, so the records that everyone is most interested in are those that demonstrate individual skill, such as winning six or seven matches in a row.

It's important to understand that as the competition progresses, a Soul Master's Soul Power and Physical Strength will decline significantly. To date, the best record is a one-versus-five victory achieved in the Star Luo Region.

If a player in the Tiandou region manages to defeat six or even seven opponents in a row, it would, to some extent, put the Xingluo Empire ahead of them.

Of course, no one would falsify such a record.

Teams that are defeated by a single opponent in a five-on-five or more battle will be forever branded with shame in the tournament.

Unless the academy decides to close down, it's impossible for them to cooperate with others to achieve such an absurd record.

Before long, Wu Qi saw the Wind and Fire Team and the Tianshui Team waiting for them not far away.

The three teams have a very close relationship. They met to discuss their plans for the qualifying rounds and avoid revealing too many of their trump cards, which could allow other teams to take advantage of them.

……

After a brief conversation, Shui Bing'er spoke first, "Our Tianshui team isn't very strong in one-on-one situations, so the qualifying rounds aren't the stage for us to shine."

Her meaning was clear: she would continue to forfeit the match against the Qibao team in the qualifying rounds.

Team Wind and Fire, however, was unwilling to give up.

Their individual strength is also quite good, and many people regard Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang and others as role models, so they naturally want to spar with them and find out the gap in strength.

Since both schools are sister schools, Wu Qi had no reason to refuse such a request.

"In that case, we won't stay any longer. A month of qualifiers is exhausting enough; let's go back and rest."

"If there are any other matters that need to be discussed, let's talk about them in a couple of days?"

The members of the Seven Treasures Team were eager to return to their sect to receive their rewards, and naturally did not want to stay here any longer.

The Tianshui and Feng Huo teams were also very tired and wanted to rush back to rest.

(End of this chapter)