Douluo: The Peerless King Dong'er's Restarted Life

Chapter 264 The Competition is About to Begin, and the Rules Have Been Changed (4 words)

Mingdu is a city with a permanent population of 20 million.

As the capital of the Sun and Moon Empire, Mingdu's normal capacity has already reached the maximum capacity of Xingluo City.

After the promotional work for the Soul Fighting Tournament began, many people started heading to Mingdu.

Many sects signed up for the competition, which eventually forced the organizing committee to add a restriction that participating teams must have at least five members with more than four rings, thus curbing the number of registrations.

Even so, the total number of participating teams in this year's Soul Fighting Tournament was much greater than the previous Soul Fighting Tournament held in Star Luo City.

As the wealthiest of the four great empires, hosting a Soul Battle Tournament was nothing like the Star Luo Empire, which would prepare for it for a long time.

However, as a nation primarily composed of Soul Masters, their chosen prize for the champion was not a Soul Bone, but a Soul Tool.

The winning team in the finals will receive a level 9 soul tool, the second place team will receive a level 8 soul tool, and the third place team will receive a level 7 soul tool.

Even teams ranked fourth to tenth will receive a level six soul tool as a reward.

For the Sun Moon Empire, this can be considered a huge investment.

After all, the soul tools obtained by the top three are much more valuable than soul bones, and the level nine soul tool that the first-place winner can obtain is a strategic weapon that can threaten the empire. Its value is even higher than the rewards of the previous Soul Battle Tournament combined.

Whether you use it yourself or trade it later, the rewards for the top three are incredibly generous.

In the back garden of the Sun and Moon Empire's Imperial Palace.

Xu Tianran sat in a wheelchair, his disabled legs covered with a thin blanket.

Unlike Chen Zifeng and Gongyang Mo, who only lost half of their legs, Xu Tianran's legs were severed at the root. He usually had prosthetics made of soul tools, but he was still more used to sitting in a wheelchair.

Pushing the wheelchair from behind was a woman wearing a pale yellow dress.

"Ju Zi, how is my father?" Xu Tianran asked.

"According to the imperial physician, His Majesty has been frequently fading into unconsciousness lately, and his body... is probably not going to hold on much longer," Ju Zi replied softly.

"Although my father was diligent and conscientious, he was just an incompetent ruler who missed too many opportunities. If he were to die now, he would only be one of the many mediocre monarchs of our Sun Moon Empire in the history books." Xu Tianran closed his eyes and sighed softly.

"This world is rightfully mine, Xu Tianran's, to take!"

"How's it going with the military?" Xu Tianran asked again.

“Those who support His Highness and those who remain neutral or loyal to the Emperor are basically the same. Only a small number of stubborn ones are still resisting His Highness. Most of them are border generals or have been bought off by other princes.”

"Hmph, once I ascend the throne, I'll make them realize who truly rules the Sun and Moon Empire!" Xu Tianran sneered.

Then, Xu Tianran's tone softened, and he said, "Ju Zi, I am very satisfied with your performance in the army. Even those old generals admire you. When our Sun Moon Empire goes to war in the future, you will be my marshal."

Orange stood behind the wheelchair, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes, but she still put on a show in front of Xu Tianran, letting go of the wheelchair and bowing to Xu Tianran.

"After I ascend the throne, I will make you my empress. You don't need to be so reserved like you are now." Xu Tianran smiled faintly and said, "You saved my life back then. Although your strength is not as good as my other subordinates, you are still the one I trust the most."

Orange kept her head down and didn't say anything.

Wang Dong'er is right. People like Xu Tianran only truly love themselves.

She used to work for Xu Tianran voluntarily. Later, although she still followed Xu Tianran, her identity became that of a hidden spy.

Despite Xu Tianran's current show of trust and indulgence towards her, Ju Zi knows that a minister who had been kind to Xu Tianran died a violent death at home simply because he acted too casually in front of Xu Tianran.

And that order was given by Orange Help Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran was patient and ruthless, but after losing both legs, he became even more vicious and his personality became increasingly cold.

If Ju Zi hadn't carefully disguised herself in front of Xu Tianran, she would have followed in the footsteps of that minister.

People can't teach you everything, but you can learn something from experience. Originally threatened by Wang Dong'er, Ju Zi is now becoming more and more natural as a spy. Some of the clues for the previous attack on the Holy Spirit Cult branch were also provided by Ju Zi.

"Is the Soul Battle Tournament almost ready? And what about Mingde Hall? Has Hall Master Hongchen made any moves to align himself with the other princes?"

“Everything is ready.” Orange nodded. “Everything will proceed according to plan…”

"Hmm... As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on. I hope they will make the right choice. Are the people from Shrek Academy here too? Although they didn't win first place in the last competition, the geniuses from Shrek Academy still have some skills. Unfortunately, I'm afraid these people won't be of any use to me."

"Let the people from Shrek Academy leave when the time comes. I still have to give Shrek Academy face."

"Go and invite National Preceptor Zhongli. Tell him I have something important to discuss with him."

"Yes." Ju Zi glanced at Xu Tianran, then turned and left.

If nothing unexpected happens, Xu Tianran's plan will undoubtedly succeed.

However, Xu Tianran probably never imagined that his supposedly flawless plan had a huge hole in it all along.

Wang Dong'er even "predicted" long ago that Xu Tianran would cause trouble in the Soul Fighting Tournament, but she didn't seem to know, or rather, she only had a vague understanding of what Xu Tianran was going to do.

While helping Xu Tianran issue orders, Ju Zi also told Wang Dong'er everything she knew about the plan.

Orange did not directly sabotage the plan, nor did she deliberately leave loopholes.

She wasn't the only one involved in the plan. If she did it intentionally, it would expose her identity as a spy or cause the plan to change unexpectedly.

The registration period ended very quickly.

Compared to the Soul Battle Tournament held in Xingluo City five years ago, the arrangements in Mingdu were much more organized. The city's spaciousness meant that Mingdu was not as overcrowded as Xingluo City.

All participating teams have registered at the Mingyue Hotel, the official registration point of the Sun and Moon Empire, and their accommodation and meals are being arranged by the Sun and Moon Empire.

Mingyue Hotel is located in the city center of Mingdu and is one of the larger hotels in Mingdu. Although it is only eight stories high, the height of each floor is much higher than that of ordinary buildings, so its total height is considered relatively high in Mingdu.

Wang Dong'er had already acquired a property in Mingdu as a temporary residence for the Bright Hall.

Compared to other teams that had traveled from afar, the people from the Hall of Light had much more convenience in whatever they wanted to do, and were among the first teams to complete the registration.

According to the competition organizing committee's arrangements, the participating sects and academies were also divided into different tiers. Famous academies and sects need no further explanation, but for reclusive sects and those with little reputation, to avoid trouble caused by room arrangements, rest rooms were arranged according to the cultivation level of the team leader.

Guangmingdian naturally received a first-class room and stayed on the eighth floor of the Mingyue Hotel.

There are only eight suites on the eighth floor, which are much larger than the lower floors. They are almost like sky villas, with a living room, a large conference room, more than twenty bedrooms, and even a training ground, a garden and a swimming pool. It can be said to be extremely luxurious.

Moreover, these eight sky villas maintain sufficient privacy from one another, unlike the lower floors where you can see other teams' rooms as soon as you open the door.

As each participating team finalized their accommodations, the Sky Villas of the Hall of Light welcomed several guests.

"Wang Dong'er, is what you said true?" Du Busi asked Wang Dong'er with a frown.

Before the Body Sect team set off for Mingdu, Wang Dong'er had already told Vina that Xu Tianran was going to take advantage of the Soul Fighting Tournament to attack the participating teams. At the same time, she was also using Vina to convey this information to Du Busi.

As a grand event held every five years, the Soul Fighting Tournament attracts almost every Soul Master Academy or Soul Master Instructor Academy to register for the competition.

For the sect representatives, such a grand event is also a good opportunity to promote their sect, attract more disciples, or enhance their sect's reputation.

Although the Body Sect no longer engages in the contest for the God Sealing Platform as depicted in the original story, they have decided to emerge into the world, and using the Soul Battle Tournament as their stage is clearly very appropriate.

After Du Busi first heard what Wang Dong'er said from Vina, his first thought was not to simply not go, but rather that the Body Sect was not afraid of any conspiracy or trickery.

He became even more interested.

However, just to be on the safe side, Poison Undying still secretly came over.

In response to Du Busi's question, Wang Dong'er nodded calmly and said, "Whether it's the participation of evil soul masters or Xu Tianran's intention to take action against the participating teams, it's already confirmed information."

"Poison Sect Master, I know that your Body Sect's Soul Masters are arrogant and look down on Soul Masters who 'borrow external forces'. However, I hope you know that times have changed. Even Limit Douluo are not invincible in front of Soul Guidance Devices."

Upon hearing this, Poison Undying's expression changed.

If it were anyone else saying this, he wouldn't take it seriously, but since it was Wang Dong'er, he had to pay attention.

After all, Wang Dong'er's background truly includes a Limit Douluo.

"Since you know about that brat Xu Tianran's plan, why don't you just thwart it?"

Wang Dong'er rolled her eyes and said speechlessly, "Poison Sect Master, I am not a savior, and I have no interest in sacrificing myself to save the world."

"Besides, even if we thwart his plans ahead of time at a huge cost, wouldn't he have other plans?"

Poisonous Undying scoffed and said, "You little brat, you say you're unwilling to sacrifice your own interests, but your actions tell the opposite. Since you know this Soul Fighting Tournament is fraught with conspiracy, why bother coming? Why care about what others do?"

Wang Dong'er said calmly, "I was just fulfilling someone else's wish, and this just happened to be an opportunity."

"Then how are you going to convince others?" Poisonous Immortal asked.

“I don’t need them to believe me, I just need them to see it,” Wang Dong’er said with a smile.

Huo Yuhao had already arranged for her to use simulated invisibility to send some secret messages to the rest rooms of some of the participating teams.

Hmm... but Shrek Academy didn't send it there.

The biggest help Wang Dong'er could offer was to share some key information with the other teams.

If these people can unite their strength, they might still have the power to break through. But if they don't believe in these things and are still divided and captured, then it can only be said that this is their fate.

As for the Hall of Light... they originally came here to hunt.

"In that case, I'll lend you a hand then." Poison Immortal laughed heartily. "You're much more interesting than those guys from Shrek Academy. Alright, I'm off now."

After Du Bu Si left, Vina, who had come with him, bowed slightly to Wang Dong Er, turned and left, leaving only Xu Jiu Jiu behind.

“Dong’er,” Xu Jiujiu said, “I have almost found out the truth. In the wars when Dai Yueheng slaughtered the armies of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Fighting Spirit Empire, some unfamiliar figures did appear. They should be evil soul masters. Before this Soul Fighting Tournament, he disappeared for a period of time. If I hadn’t already planted confidants in the army, I wouldn’t have gotten this information.”

"Did you tell your brother?" Wang Dong'er asked.

Xu Jiujiu nodded: "I told him, but unfortunately he still doesn't believe me. He said that Dai Hao is his sworn brother and has a heroic spirit. As Dai Hao's son, Dai Yueheng would never collude with evil soul masters. However, I didn't tell him about planting my confidants. My confidants can still provide information now."

Wang Dong'er was not surprised at all by Xu Jiu's answer.

"Be more careful in this competition. If you encounter a team called Holy Spirit Sect, just give up."

"Yes, I will." Xu Jiujiu nodded, completely trusting Wang Dong'er's words.

"Unfortunately, I still don't have much say in the Star Luo Empire and can't do much more..." Xu Jiujiu lowered his head.

"It's alright, Sister Jiu Jiu." Wang Dong'er smiled. "I've said it before, protecting yourself is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary."

A knock sounded on the door, and a somewhat sweet voice came from outside: "Dear guests, I apologize for disturbing you. The competition organizing committee has released new competition rules. Please check them."

When the competition was announced, the organizing committee had already released the competition rules in advance, but these were only the basic rules.

Registration is now complete, and the organizing committee has distributed the full competition rules to the rest areas of each team.

Wang Dong'er opened the door and brought in the instruction manual that was placed on a special table outside.

The elimination rounds, originally scheduled to be held in the center of Mingdu City, were changed to take place in the suburbs of Mingdu, and the competition venue was restricted only by ground distance, not by height.

Clearly, this rule is extremely beneficial to Soul Masters, and it is almost undoubtedly biased towards them.

However, this is the only rule that shows a clear bias.

In addition, the scoring method for the individual elimination rounds has been changed to be based on the remaining number of players who did not participate.

In this situation, if a team can send one player to defeat seven opponents in a row, then they don't even need to play the subsequent team matches.

There are also explanations regarding other unexpected situations that arose during the match.

(End of this chapter)