Douluo Continent: I, the world's greatest immortal master, have taken Ning Rongrong as my disci

Chapter 77 First Victory in the Soul Master Tournament: A Stunning Debut

"Damn it, Captain, something's wrong! The master's predictions were all wrong!"

"The opposing team isn't Soul Masters, but Soul Sect Masters—everyone's a Soul Sect Master! And they're Soul Sect Masters with ten-thousand-year Soul Rings!!!"

On the field, all seven members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team were dumbfounded when they saw the spirit ring configuration of the Peach Blossom Academy team members.

They often spar and hone their skills against strong home teams, but they've never seen anything like this before.

Those five pitch-black, ten-thousand-year-old soul rings on the other side were truly terrifying.

Last night, the master told them that there should only be one or two Soul Masters among the students of Peach Blossom Academy!

"Didn't your masters teach you that being distracted is a major taboo on the field?"

When the second team of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy was stunned by the ten-thousand-year soul ring, the one-minute time limit for activating martial souls had already passed.

The members of the Peach Blossom Team, who had long disliked Shrek Academy, were not going to be polite to them.

[The nine treasures transform into crystal, possessing two qualities: power and speed!]

[Hell Thrust!]

【Nine Netherworld Hundred Claws!】

Ning Rongrong snorted coldly, and the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda, radiating golden light, appeared behind her instead of in her palm. It was much larger and instantly buffed her teammates.

Zhu Zhuqing's spirit cat evolved, and her martial soul carried a terrifying hellish aura. Under Su Ran's year of training, her first two soul skills also underwent a transformation.

The thrusting distance and speed of Nether Thrust have been increased by 40%, and the attack power of Nether Hundred Claws has been increased by 30%.

With Ning Rongrong's boost, these two soul skills alone are equivalent to nearly doubling their effectiveness.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Zhuqing's figure darted across the Soul Arena. Before the powerful attack-type Soul Masters of the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team could react, she had already moved from the side to the vicinity of the Royal Second Team's captain.

hiss--

In a short while, dozens or even hundreds of purplish-black Nine Nether Claws were unleashed, slashing towards the control-type Soul Master and captain of the second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

As expected, with Zhu Zhuqing's current strength, as an agility-type Soul Master who focuses on efficiency, she directly took down the opposing captain in one move. The captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team had his clothes torn, his body covered in blood, and he lay on the ground, unable to get up again.

Zhu Zhuqing did not end her attack, but instead turned to look at the opponent's support.

The teacher said that the chance for an agility-type Soul Master to launch a surprise attack is usually only the first time, and once successful, the best effect should be achieved to create more space for the team.

When the assistant met Zhu Zhuqing's icy gaze, beads of sweat the size of beans immediately appeared on his forehead, and he weakly said:

"Could you... not hit me?"

"No."

Zhu Zhuqing said calmly.

Her figure flashed by once again.

The opposing team's support player immediately fell to the ground.

"court death!"

"Focus fire on Zhu Zhuqing!"

"I'll say it again, change strategy, focus fire on Zhu Zhuqing first!"

"Oh no! Watch out ahead! They're attacking!"

"The five of us are surrounded by three enemy soldiers!"

When the five offensive-type Soul Masters of the second team of the Tiandou Royal Academy discovered that Zhu Zhuqing had appeared in their team, they reacted and surrounded Zhu Zhuqing. Once the encirclement was successful, Zhu Zhuqing would definitely lose her fighting ability.

However, the other four teammates of the Peach Blossom Team had already formed a tacit understanding. When Zhu Zhuqing suddenly thrust forward, Xiao Wu also activated her third soul skill - teleportation, directly heading towards the wolf spirit master in the second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Team. She performed a waist-bow smash, making him dizzy and his bones shatter.

The Leopard Soul Master attempted to rescue his teammates and focused on Xiao Wu, but was instantly controlled by Xiao Wu's second soul skill, Charm.

boom!
Tiger's Roar!
Wang Sheng unleashed his sonic soul skill at mid-range, sweeping away turbulent currents.

Meng Yiran's Undead Serpent Staff hovered in mid-air, spitting out three dark black serpent blades to coordinate with Wang Sheng in launching a mid-range attack.

This is the first soul skill of the Serpent Staff, which was considered to lack mobility more than a year ago. After the evolution of the martial soul, the damage of the Serpent Blade has been improved, and it can release three serpent beams at the same time for mid-range attacks.

The Tiger Roar Storm, combined with the Serpent Blade attack, completely disrupted the opponent's formation. The Soul Master who was charmed by Xiao Wu was at the center of the sonic attack and was so shocked that he bled from all seven orifices.

"Third Soul Skill, Tiger King Triple Slash!"

Wang Sheng's figure was like a tiger descending the mountain, burly and fierce. His third soul ring flashed, and his tiger claws grew, transforming into two green and yellow axe teeth. Each swing brought with it a small storm tornado that could cause terrain interference. He charged directly into the second team's offensive formation and began hacking away.

However, it wasn't just random swinging and slashing. His advances and retreats were powerful, and each axe strike was precise. With one slash, a powerful attack-type Soul Master's Soul Skill was cleaved in two. If Wang Sheng hadn't held back a bit of his strength, he probably would have been cut in half.

Su Ran could see that Wang Sheng's three consecutive strikes contained the fierce power of Tiger Fist. Although he had told them not to use their ultimate techniques, Wang Sheng's Tiger Fist was already highly developed, and the intent of the fist had been integrated into every movement of his, turning into instinct, which was uncontrollable.

For a moment, the second team of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy was completely powerless to resist.

The captain, support, and three offensive-type Soul Masters were rendered powerless, leaving only two offensive-type Soul Masters, whose Martial Souls were War Lion and Fierce Tiger, trembling on the field, terrified by the terrifying combat power of the Peach Blossom Team.

"Do you want to fight again?"

Wang Sheng's second strike with his tiger-tooth axe landed on the forehead of the Fierce Tiger Soul Master from the second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He stopped in time, but blood still flowed out.

The Fierce Tiger Soul Master trembled violently, like a tiger cub encountering its king, so frightened he wet his pants and stammered:
"I I I..."

"Not going to talk? Not talking means you don't want to admit defeat." Wang Sheng swung his hand back, using the back of his tiger-tooth axe to smash them away, sending them flying and making them vomit.

……

silence.

There was silence.

The entire arena, filled with eighty to ninety thousand spectators, was completely silent.

This was a one-sided, crushing defeat.

Moreover, two students from Peach Blossom Academy hadn't even activated their martial spirits and were just standing at the back watching the show.

"Xiao Gang... let alone testing out their fourth soul skill... it seems like they didn't even use their third soul skill much before they wiped out our second team in seconds!"

Flander was completely stunned.

Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun also recalled the fear of being dominated by Taoyuan Academy on the field. After a year apart, their teamwork had become even more tacit, and even their first and second soul skills had been strengthened.

How is this done?
"Su Ran, is it possible that there's even a way to evolve a Soul Master's Soul Skill? How is that possible?!"

Yu Xiaogang's face turned ashen. Martial Soul evolution? Soul Skill evolution? Do you know how much I yearn for evolution? Yet he had taught five students who had achieved Martial Soul evolution, and even Xiao Wu had completed her transformation!
"Was I wrong? When Xiao Wu dragged me to Taoyuan Academy to become a disciple, I shouldn't have hesitated. Instead, I should have joined Taoyuan Academy like Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong."

Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, who was radiant on the field, with a complicated expression. He could tell that her condition... was indeed excellent. Tang San murmured to himself:
"In that case, perhaps I could be in that team too?"

A faint voice cried out in Tang San's heart:
How can I win?

Can it be done with a soul bone and a Haotian Hammer?
What would happen if my teacher were Su Ran?

……

"Master, if we lose in the end, we shouldn't have to have our tongues cut out and our legs broken along with yours, right?"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun gasped in shock; the confidence they had painstakingly built up over the past year was crumbling again.

"Shut up!"

Yu Xiaogang's jaw was clenched, his heart filled with a sense of crisis. If Taoyuan Academy really made it to the finals, would the team he had trained really have a chance to beat them?

Yu Xiaogang glanced at the team leader of the second team of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. The team leader immediately understood, checked the injuries of the second team students, and protested to the referee on the spot.

"Referee, I have a complaint. They are not competing, they are killing people. Our players have broken bones and are on the verge of death! They have violated the rules of the game. I demand that they be penalized."

Seeing the miserable state of his teammates from the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy's second team, the referee was also somewhat shaken and looked at the Peach Blossom Academy team with a serious expression.

The Soul Master Competition is a joint event between two great empires to select elite and genius Soul Masters, and killing participating Soul Masters is not allowed.

Facing the referee's judgmental gaze, team captain Ning Rongrong showed no fear whatsoever:
"Excuse me, are they dead?"

"Besides, if we really wanted to kill them, why would we only send five people? And my teammates didn't even dare to use their fourth soul skill, just because they were afraid of accidentally killing them?"

"Besides the courtesy that Rongrong mentioned, as a teacher at Taoyuan Academy, I have another question. I want to know whether the Soul Master Competition is for selecting Soul Master geniuses and competing based on strength, or whether it is used to cheat and take care of the weak?"

If it's all about cheating and favoring the weak, then there's no point in having a Soul Master Tournament. They could just feign death in every match to be declared the loser and coast into the finals.

What do you think, Master?

"Or is it that this esteemed master of unparalleled theory is planning to renege on his debt because he can't handle the game?"

Su Ran calmly stood up at this moment. Although it was just a normal tone, his voice had already spread throughout the entire venue. Even Meng Shenji and Salas in the VIP seats could hear it clearly, and their expressions turned very ugly.

Ning Fengzhi, however, revealed a gentle smile:

“Your Majesty, I think this makes a lot of sense. Although the original intention of the Soul Master Competition is not to advocate killing, it cannot restrict the strong teams from displaying their strength. If the weak teams know they are no match, they should surrender voluntarily.”

"..."

On the competition field, feeling Su Ran's gaze, Zhao Wuji and Flander coughed but didn't dare to say a word.

Yu Xiaogang and the leader of the second team were also taken aback by these words.

Su Ran's words were quite profound. If the referee dared to rule against Taoyuan Academy, it would mean that Su Ran's proposed plan was valid, the entire Soul Master Competition would lose its fairness, and everyone could follow suit in the future.

Make it to the finals by lying down? Are you kidding me?
Who can bear this infamy?
The master, who cherished his reputation greatly, waved his hand and said:

“I, Yu Xiaogang, am not the kind of person who can’t accept defeat. If we lose, we accept it.”

"Xiao San, Mu Bai, let's go."

"I hope your Peach Blossom Academy can maintain this momentum and not be eliminated in the qualifiers."

……

Seeing that all the teachers who had raised objections had left, the referee took a deep breath and announced:

"Peach Blossom Academy wins the first match of the first round of the preliminary rounds!"

【Ding--】

[The Peach Blossom Spring team has achieved its first victory in the Soul Master Tournament, completing the achievement "A Stunning Debut," rewarding the host with a 0.2-level increase in Soul Power, a 5% increase in the age of all Soul Rings, and a random 10,000-year Soul Bone.]

[The student performed well, defeating a larger force with fewer enemies; Wang Sheng achieved a four-kill streak—rewarding the student with 7 Hundred-Year Enhancement Pills for All Soul Rings…]

(End of this chapter)