Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 48 Pre-match Preparation

After Xuanzi left, with the help of the flying soul tool, the Shrek Academy students finally arrived at Xingluo City, the venue for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, in the evening.

Following the flow of people, they passed the city wall, which was a hundred meters high and a hundred meters thick. It looked quite imposing and majestic, but to true high-level soul masters, it was just a decoration with no real protective value. It was simply used to demonstrate national power and historical heritage. Then, the group entered Star Luo City.

With the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament approaching, the number of people in Star Luo City has reached over ten million during this period.

For Xingluo City, which is just a city, even as the capital of a country, such a large flow of people still seems a bit crowded.

Furthermore, due to the sudden increase in the flow of people, the original regulatory force of Xingluo City has reached its limit, and even the mobilization of troops from other regions can only barely maintain the superficial stability.

In the shadows of the city, people from other countries and forces naturally lurk and thrive. These outsiders with different intentions gather here during the largest event on the entire continent.

However, the Grim Reaper's achievements were limited this time. Although they still lost a powerful Soul Emperor like Dai Yueheng, the main team members also suffered injuries.

However, this did not affect the mood of the Shrek Academy students much, because in their view...

Apart from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and other main teams originally from the three kingdoms of Douluo Continent, Shrek Academy's current team configuration means they don't need to worry too much about other academy teams.

Moreover, for the sake of the competition's entertainment value, although it is not openly discussed, it is a common practice in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament.

The competition will not allow the original Ace Academy of Douluo Continent to directly confront Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in the early stages of the competition.

Led by Wang Yan, Huo Yuhao and his group first arrived near Xingluo Square. This huge square could accommodate all the participants in the competition and could also support a large number of spectators.

Due to the importance attached to this competition, one-third of the city's garrison force has been deployed here to patrol day and night for the past few days to prevent anyone from deliberately sabotaging the competition.

There are also many Title Douluo powerhouses hiding nearby. It can be said that this is the safest place in Star Luo City right now, without exception. Even the imperial city where the Star Luo Emperor himself resides does not receive as much attention as this place.

However, since the competition has not yet started, in order to ensure fairness, the Shrek team and the other participants from other academies can only watch the competition venue from afar outside the square, and cannot go inside to conduct an on-site inspection.

As for Ma Xiaotao and the other members of the regular team, although they had participated in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament five years ago, the previous tournament was not held in Star Luo City due to the rotation of each year.

Therefore, they were quite unfamiliar with the venue for this competition, which is why they came here first, led by Wang Yan, to scout the location and observe the other competitors.

Besides Shrek and his group, there were many other teams from other academies and countries outside the square, all with the same goal as Shrek.

Meanwhile, the varying strengths of the students from other academies and teams relieved Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who had been feeling quite pressured, as they were part of Shrek Academy's reserve team.

Xu Sanshi then said with a grin, "Hey, I thought it would be much more difficult. I think most of the main players on the teams have about the same soul power as me, or even some are not as strong as me."

"Maybe this time, we won't even need the senior students to lift a finger. Beibei and I can sweep through the previous rounds with just a few punches and kicks."

Beibei said with a look of disgust, "Go away, don't drag me into this. We haven't even fought yet, why are you already celebrating? Be careful you don't fail and lose all face."

"Hehe, I'm not afraid. Even if we really capsize, you'll be there for me. We'll lose face together." Xu Sanshi put his arm around Bei Bei's shoulder and said cheekily, "After all, we're a team."

Because of Dai Yueheng's unexpected death and Ma Xiaotao's personality being unsuitable for leading the team at this time, Wang Yan handed over the position of captain of the regular team to Gongyang Mo, the support-type soul master with the strongest soul power left in the regular team.

Gongyang Mo's somewhat effeminate voice rang out, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Alright, junior brothers, stop fooling around."

After stopping Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who were still bickering, the banter helped to ease the gloom that had hung over the Shrek Academy students due to the mission failure.

"Alright, the venue for this competition isn't anything special. There aren't any unusual simulated competition venues. In that case, let's head back to the hotel and everyone should get some rest."

"After dinner, we'll have a pre-battle meeting," Wang Yan said to the slightly more relaxed group.

After this on-site investigation, Wang Yan felt a little relieved.

Although he hadn't seen the main teams from the four major empires yet, he hadn't seen any dark horses among these more ordinary teams.

Most members of the academy are only at the third ring level, some of the more outstanding ones are at the fourth ring level, but there are very few at the fifth ring level, let alone the sixth ring Soul Emperor level.

Although the results of this observation are not absolute, it has eased Wang Yan's tension, which was originally due to his responsibility of leading the team in this competition. After all, the Shrek Academy's current main team has a luxurious lineup of one Soul Emperor and four Soul Kings.

With the addition of Soul Masters Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan, the substitute players are actually sufficient.

Shortly afterward, everyone returned to the hotel where they were staying for the competition.

The hotel specifically used to accommodate the participating teams from advanced Soul Master academies of various countries is a hotel belonging to the Star Luo Empire's royal family, named Star Emperor Hotel. It has seven floors, and each floor is quite luxurious.

Meanwhile, the facilities are all complete, and the standards of all kinds of meals and accommodations are quite high. As the defending champions and the number one soul master academy on the continent, Shrek Academy's rooms are located in the most luxurious rooms on the top floor of the Star Luo Empire.

Besides Shrek Academy, only four other top academies in the major empires enjoy such treatment.

After enjoying a lavish dinner, and having traveled using flying soul tools all the way, coupled with the previous wear and tear, everyone was not in very good condition. So after dinner, everyone spent some time meditating to adjust their condition.

Afterwards, Wang Yan led the group to the meeting room assigned to the Shrek Academy students by the Star Luo Empire to discuss the tactics and preparations for the upcoming competition.

Standing up, Wang Yan smiled slightly at everyone present: "I am very confident in this competition. I believe that with the abilities of everyone here, we can continue the glory of Shrek Academy."

"Although we have indeed suffered some losses, it does not mean that our enemies have become stronger. Based on today's observations, among the contestants, those who can reach the Soul King level are extremely rare, let alone Soul Emperor level experts."

"At least before the knockout stage, I believe our academy will not encounter those strongest teams. In that case, in order to conceal the strength of the main team members, and at the same time to buy time for the injured members of the main team to recover."

Wang Yan then looked at Bei Bei, paused for a moment, and said, "Bei Bei, as the captain of the reserve team, I hope that your reserve team will participate in the early stages of this elimination round and win as many victories as possible."

"As for the reserve team members' appearances, personnel deployment, and tactical arrangements, I will treat this as a test for this competition, and you will be responsible for all of it personally."

Upon hearing this, Bei Bei was initially startled, then immediately nodded and replied, "Okay, Teacher Wang, but what if the other side has a Soul King level or higher expert?"

Wang Yan waved his hand: "I have confidence in your strength. You are all students from Shrek Academy. You should know that not every academy has the ability to equip its students with the best spirit ring configuration."

"Is hunting thousand-year-old soul beasts easy? Most advanced soul master academies don't even have teachers with the cultivation of a Soul King. As a result, their soul ring configurations are naturally not very strong and cannot be compared with yours."

"Furthermore, having you play doesn't mean you have to defeat every opponent. If the intensity of the match is too high, I will definitely make adjustments to the starting team members and have them take the field to resolve the situation."

"So your task in this competition is to accumulate experience and hone your skills as much as possible in preparation for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Competition."

Hearing this, Beibei relaxed a little, nodded, and replied with a smile, "Yes, I guarantee I will complete the mission."

At this moment, Gongyang Mo frowned and asked in a soft voice, "Teacher Wang, is there any other news from the academy?"

"The registration process will end tomorrow. Since our main team only has five members, hasn't the academy asked Elder Xuan to bring any other reinforcements?"

Wang Yan's smile froze, but he still shook his head and continued, "The academy has already contacted me. According to the academy, when the main team needs to participate in team battles, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi will be responsible for filling the personnel gaps."

"With their strength and spirit ring configuration, although they haven't cooperated with you many times, their combat experience is definitely enough to support team battles and is more than enough to improve and complete the structure of a team."

Upon hearing this, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were both taken aback. Xu Sanshi even pointed to himself and exclaimed, "Huh? Me?"

Wang Yan nodded, noticing their worries, and reassured them, saying, "Don't worry, with your skills, you're already at the level of main players for other teams. You just need to seize opportunities during battles and assist the other members of the main team."

"I believe that you are all fifth-year students, so doing this should not be difficult for you."

Gongyang Mo nodded, acknowledging the two's abilities as the acting captain.

Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief and calmed themselves down.

Wang Yan then continued, "That's all I have to say, Bei Bei. You're in charge of the rest of the time. The main team members can go back and rest now. Recovering from your injuries as quickly as possible will be the best help for the upcoming matches."

Upon hearing this, everyone on the main team except Ma Xiaotao got up and left. However, Ma Xiaotao did not follow Wang Yan's instructions and remained seated, silently watching the others.

Given her current personality and status, it's quite normal for her to ignore the orders of Wang Yan, who is inferior to her in both strength and position.

Seeing this, Wang Yan didn't say anything more. After all, he couldn't command Ma Xiaotao now, and Ma Xiaotao was the only remaining ace in the Shrek Academy team, so he had to be careful and could only let things take their course.

Beibei cleared her throat, looked at Wang Yan who had already sat down and seemed not to be preparing to express any opinion, and then stood up to give instructions to the reserve team.

"Since our reserve team is leading the way in this competition, we must also show the spirit of Shrek Academy."

"Moreover, since our operational objective is simply to ensure that the main team members take as few actions as possible to avoid giving other teams more intelligence, our reserve team can fight with full force without having to engage in strategic concealment."

"At that time, everyone should go all out and show the others that our Shrek Academy reserve team is far superior to their regular team!"

"The first match is an elimination round. As the champions of the previous tournament, we will be the first to fight, and it will definitely be a team match. Although it is nominally an elimination round, this competition is more of an exhibition."

"We need to leverage the reputation of Shrek Academy to create a lively atmosphere for the entire competition. Therefore, in addition to combat strength, the most important aspect is the entertainment value. As a result, the Star Dou Empire is unlikely to assign us opponents that are too powerful."

"And that is our opportunity."

"Sanshi, no matter who the opponent is in this competition, their strongest captain is in your hands. You must use the Xuanming Swap to switch places with him as soon as possible."

"You'll be in charge of holding off the rest of the opposing team. I remember your Xuanming Displacement can't be reused for a short time. Once you can use it again, switch me to your position immediately."

"Then."

While Shrek Academy was discussing tactics, the other participating academies were also mobilizing their staff, but that's another story.

(End of this chapter)