Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 352 Differential Treatment

Soul Masters with flying-type Martial Souls are ultimately a minority; the vast majority of traditional Soul Masters do not possess the ability to fly. Unless one possesses a cultivation level of Soul Saint or higher, they can fly by relying on their abundant Soul Power. However, reaching the Soul Saint realm before the age of twenty is almost impossible in conventional understanding.

Soul Masters, however, are different. They are fully capable of skillfully using flying soul tools, thus gaining air superiority. This gives them a natural advantage in competitions.

The four kingdoms of Douluo Continent are the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Fighting Spirit Empire.

In reality, only the Sun Moon Empire truly possesses a sufficiently large group of Soul Masters.

This competition format is blatantly biased.

The Sun Moon Empire didn't even bother to pretend; it forcefully implemented this new regulation, and the strong opposition from the other three empires and sects was useless.

Of course, the Sun Moon Empire didn't go too far. Apart from this new regulation that benefits Soul Masters, it didn't do anything else strange. The other regulations were still the same as they were originally set out, and it was still a points system.

The draw ceremony took place the day before the start of the competition, which was the third day after everyone arrived.

Because the 167 teams participating in this competition will compete in a knockout tournament with two teams facing off against each other, one team will receive a bye.

This bye opportunity was given by the Sun Moon Empire to Shrek Academy, the champion of the previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, so Shrek Academy did not need to send anyone to draw lots.

For thousands of years, Shrek Academy has never suffered a defeat in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, an undefeated legend that continues to this day. They have garnered countless honors and glories. No one has raised any objection to this preferential treatment; it is something Shrek Academy deserves.

Regardless of the specifics of the power struggle between the Sun Moon Empire and the participating parties, at least for the people of the Sun Moon Empire, the Empire's decision to hold the competition on a vast plain in the suburbs was a great boon to them. This meant that the venue could accommodate a significantly larger number of spectators.

The drawing ceremony was held the day before the start of the competition, and Ji Lin, the sect leader and team captain of Zizai Sect, naturally drew the lots.

At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight swept across the east, a strange scene unfolded on the streets of Mingdu.

Soldiers, fully encased in silver armor, stood in orderly rows, stretching from the main entrance of the Mingyue Hotel all the way to the plains outside Mingdu.

These two human walls, consisting of over 20,000 soldiers, effectively kept the civilians out. An atmosphere of impending doom permeated the air.

Compared to the previous competition hosted by the Star Luo Empire, Mingdu, as the number one city on the continent, can obviously accommodate a much larger number of people, so it is only natural that the Sun Moon Empire would mobilize a large army to maintain order.

The members of Zizaimen also changed into team uniforms designed by Ji Lin. The black trench coats were embroidered with red clouds, and the three characters "Zizaimen" were embroidered in red silk thread on the left arm.

Although people were restricted to a distance of 30 meters from each other, a large crowd still gathered on both sides of the street to watch the various participating teams emerge from the Mingyue Hotel.

Protected by the soldiers' disciplined formation, the 167 participating teams, totaling nearly 2,000 people, set out from Mingdu.

The competition venue is located in the suburbs east of Mingdu. It can be seen in the distance once you leave the Mingdu complex.

At this moment, the usually deserted suburbs were already teeming with people. At least 30,000 soldiers were maintaining order, dividing the crowd into sections and isolating them from the competition venue. To the north of the competition venue was a high platform, entirely constructed of metal, which appeared capable of holding over a thousand people. The competition venue itself looked even more imposing.

The competition platform is ten meters high and over one hundred meters in diameter, estimated to be around one hundred and twenty meters. The expansive platform itself gleams with a silvery-white metallic sheen, appearing almost as if it were constructed of metal. Even just covering it with a single metal plate would be a massive undertaking! Not to mention, the entire platform appears to be seamless.

Even more strangely, there was a ring of grooves around the competition venue. From those grooves, a transparent, slightly yellowish light curtain rose into the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.

This is the Soul Guidance Shield officially designed by the Sun Moon Empire to comply with the new rules. It has no height limit and will not be knocked off the field. To win, you must defeat your opponent head-on in a fair and square manner.

In addition to the competition arena, every hundred meters outwards from the arena, there is a ring of huge soul-guided screens supported by tall frames, so that spectators who are far away from the arena can also clearly see what is happening on the arena.

Each screen is over twenty square meters in size; this level of soul tool technology is currently only achievable by the Sun Moon Empire.

There are more than a hundred such screens around the competition area.

The athletes' rest area is located on the east side of the competition stage and is mainly divided into two areas.

Near the competition stage was a covered walkway that could accommodate about twenty participating teams. The rest were just some outdoor chairs arranged in rows on both sides of the walkway towards the back.

Judging from the reception provided by the Sun Moon Empire this time, every detail reveals the distinction between classes, with those shaded rest areas undoubtedly reserved for renowned academies and sects.

After registering their names (Zizaimen) and showing their competition documents at the registration desk, Ji Lin and his group were naturally assigned to the bench area, which was in a very remote corner.

Nan Qiuqiu was very dissatisfied with this treatment. If Ye Guyi hadn't soothed her in time, she probably would have exploded on the spot.

Even Xiaoxiao supported Nan Qiuqiu this time, and she was indignant.

Ji Lin shook his head and said, "As expected, let's vent this anger in the game."

The sky was already bright, and the rising sun from the east bathed everyone in its golden light, as if gilding all the contestants. There were so many teams participating that it took almost half an hour just to get everyone seated. The clamor of the crowd echoed from afar.

The Shrek Academy team's rest area is the very front one, and also the closest to the competition stage.

Ji Lin and his group had already spotted Zhang Lexuan and her group. They weren't supposed to have a match today, but they came anyway to observe their opponents. This tournament was different from previous ones, with many unfamiliar sects participating, so they needed to learn about their future opponents in advance.

During this time, Ji Lin saw many familiar faces.

(End of this chapter)