Douluo V: Daily Intelligence - I Want All of Tang San's Opportunities

Half an hour later, the preliminary rounds of the Chosen Ceremony in the Kingdom of Barak officially began.

This normally quiet royal city seemed to be injected with some kind of vitality overnight, with the streets and alleys crowded with soul masters, merchants and commoners who came from all over the country to watch the excitement.

There were several times more guards at the city gate than usual, and their voices were almost hoarse from shouting, but they still couldn't stop the crowds from pouring in.

The temporary meeting place in the city center was already full of people, and even the restaurants and inns along the street were packed with people.

At this moment, the VIP seats were packed. In addition to Kundera, Palace Master Chen and other key figures, there were also many nobles, both big and small, whom Su Yuntao had only met once or twice. This time, almost all the prominent nobles in the Barak Kingdom had come.

Su Yuntao sat on the right side of the judges' panel, holding a cup of tea that had already been refilled three times, his gaze sweeping over the sea of ​​heads below the stage.

He noticed that several rows of exquisitely dressed young women, wearing brightly colored dresses, were sitting in the back of the VIP section, chatting quietly in twos and threes, their eyes occasionally glancing at the young Soul Masters waiting in the audience.

Kundera, who was standing next to him, glanced in the same direction and chuckled softly:

"The nobles of the Barak Kingdom are all eyeing this. The Chosen One Ceremony is not only a place for the Spirit Hall to select talents, but also a good opportunity for them to find a son-in-law."

Su Yuntao withdrew his gaze, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and realized that what he said was indeed true.

The Spirit Hall wanted to recruit people, and these nobles were equally discerning; those who emerged from the preliminaries were all exceptional individuals.

They don't openly compete with the Spirit Hall for people, but you can't stop someone from having feelings, right?

What's even more interesting is that the Spirit Hall didn't stop it; in fact, they were happy to see it happen.

Winning over a Soul Master is just winning over one Soul Master; once that Soul Master marries into a family, you might be winning over an entire family.

In an inconspicuous corner on the east side of the ring, Ma Hongjun and Oscar squeezed into the crowd, standing on tiptoe to peer at the stage.

Ma Hongjun was not tall, and his front was completely blocked by several tall, burly men, so he had to crane his neck to look ahead, muttering to himself:

"What a terrible location! We should have come earlier. Now I can't even see the platform."

Oscar, standing next to him, didn't have as much trouble. He was half a head taller than Ma Hongjun, and could see the situation in the ring by turning his body slightly to the side, but he could only see a general outline.

He patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder: "Don't push. Someone will let us know when it's our turn. What's the rush?"

Ma Hongjun then stood up straight again, but her gaze was quickly drawn to several brightly colored skirts in the VIP section, and she stopped talking:

"Noble ladies are so beautiful! If I could marry them all, I'd gladly join the Spirit Hall!"

Oscar followed his gaze, sighed helplessly, and waved his hand in front of him:

"Wake up, it's not dark yet."

Ma Hongjun snapped out of his daze and rubbed his face vigorously: "Oscar, how far do you think we can go this time? Can we even get past the first round?"

Oscar paused for a moment, his tone unusually serious, unlike his usual casual manner.

"Our soul power is not bad among our peers, but we are still young. There are many great soul masters under the age of 15 who are above level 20. It won't be easy for us to get past the first round."

He paused, then lowered his voice further:

"However, our young age is also an advantage. Those older, more experienced opponents will likely not see us as a threat when they see two kids. As long as they lower their guard, it's not impossible for us to slip through the first round."

After listening, Ma Hongjun nodded vigorously: "And what about the second round?"

Oscar glanced at him, his tone more serious than before:

"The second round is tough. Those who make it to the second round are all tough guys who fought their way through the first round. At that point, luck won't work; you can only rely on your hard skills."

Ma Hongjun grinned, patted Oscar on the shoulder, and said with certainty:

"Haha, don't worry, leave it to me. I'll carry you to a spot in the next round!"

"You two little brats dare to covet a spot in the next round? Forget the second round, I doubt you'll even make it past the first!"

Suddenly, a sneer came from the side. A young soul master wearing a brown short jacket had squeezed next to them at some point, arms crossed, with an undisguised mockery on his lips.

Ma Hongjun turned around and glared at him:

"Why do you care whether we can make it through or not?"

The man wasn't angry. He smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I admit I was wrong. I want to see how you guys advance."

"you……"

Before Ma Hongjun could say anything more, Oscar patted his arm:

"Ignore him. We'll know if it works or not after we try."

Ma Hongjun snorted and turned his gaze back to the ring, but his resentment was still evident on his face. Oscar stood next to him and didn't say anything more.

As the two were lost in their own thoughts, a middle-aged deacon dressed in the Spirit Hall's standard robes walked onto the arena.

He walked to the center of the arena, cleared his throat, and his voice, amplified by the soul-guided amplifier, resounded throughout the entire venue:

"Ladies and gentlemen! The preliminary rounds of the Chosen Ceremony in the Kingdom of Barak are about to begin! First, please allow me to introduce the judges for this competition."

He turned sideways and gestured towards the VIP section:

"Seated at the center of our VIP section is His Majesty Kundera, the King of our Kingdom of Barak!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from the audience, and someone shouted "Your Majesty!"

Before the sound could even fade, it was drowned out by cheers from even more people.

Kundera sat in the center of the jury and nodded slightly to the audience. Although he did not stand up, the smile on his face was noticeably deeper than usual.

"His Majesty the King has actually come in person!"

"The Chosen One Ceremony has been held in the Kingdom of Barak for several years, but it is rare to see His Majesty personally attending like today."

Before the murmurs had subsided, the deacon continued his introduction:

"Next up is Chen Jingyuan, the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall's Barak Branch, a Level 63 Soul Emperor!"

The applause rang out again, slightly softer than before, but still enthusiastic.

Although many people in the audience did not recognize Hall Master Chen in person, the titles of "Branch Hall Master of the Spirit Hall" and "Level 63 Soul Emperor" were enough to make most people put down what they were doing and applaud seriously.

Hall Master Chen also stood up and nodded to the audience, more formally than Kundera, but he didn't say much.

The Spirit Hall deacon finally turned his gaze to Su Yuntao and continued:

"The last one is Viscount Su Yuntao of our Barak Kingdom."