Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 118 - The First Battle?

After 108 cannon shots were fired in unison, the Xingluo Emperor led his officials to step back slightly. The seats had already been arranged, and after the Emperor and Empress took their seats, the Emperor waved to the Prime Minister beside him.

The Prime Minister immediately understood and issued the order to begin the competition.

Qian Lingyun scratched her head, thinking: [Prime Minister, an empire with both an emperor and a prime minister—it's neither modern nor ancient, neither Eastern nor Western; it's truly baffling!]

But the old man on the stage couldn't hear Qian Lingyun's complaints; he simply shouted in his previous loud voice:

"According to the competition rules of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the first round will be an elimination tournament. A total of 133 advanced soul master and soul master academies have registered for this tournament. After drawing lots, one academy will receive a bye in the first round."

"A total of sixty-six matches will be played. The first round will be a knockout tournament. The loser will be eliminated from the competition."

The host announced that the two teams competing in the first match were the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy team from the Douling Empire and Shrek Academy.

As expected, the atmosphere in the entire Xingluo Square immediately reached its peak.

"Shrek, Shrek, Shrek..."

The shouts of Shrek Academy echoed in almost every corner of the square, making Qian Lingyun's head buzz.

"The Holy Maiden doesn't seem surprised by this scene at all!" Feng Ling patted Qian Lingyun's shoulder and chuckled.

"What's so surprising? Of all those people here, how many are Soul Masters? And how many of them actually know Shrek Academy?" Qian Lingyun glanced disdainfully around the plaza and muttered, "They're just echoing those who know what's going on!"

"That's true..." Feng Ling nodded wistfully, continuing to turn her gaze back to the competition arena.

"You've already seen Shrek Academy's strength. How do you think they'll win?" Qian Lingyun asked with a slight purse of her lips and a teasing expression.

"Win? I don't know, but I think we'll see soon," Feng Ling said.

The host's voice rang out once again, "Let's first welcome the team members from Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy to the stage."

Further back in the players' area, a team of pale-faced young players emerged. As they walked out of the players' area, they even seemed to be walking unsteadily.

"How can you win if you're cowardly before even fighting!" Feng Ling shook her head unhappily, seemingly having some reservations about the students of this academy.

She thought that even if she lost, she shouldn't show weakness to others. Losing fair and square is not shameful; what is shameful is feeling like you've already lost before the game even starts.

"Alright, the team members from the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy of the Douling Empire have made their appearance."

"At this moment of great anticipation, let us now welcome the Shrek Academy team, the number one academy on the continent and the true kings among academies!" The host's resounding voice pierced the clouds, and Star Luo Square instantly transformed into a sea of ​​cheers for Shrek.

Amid cheers, the Shrek Academy team members took to the stage one by one. Just like in the original story, Bei Bei was the first to go on stage, followed by He Cai Tou, Xu San Shi, Jiang Nan Nan, and Xiao Xiao, Huo Yu Hao, and Wang Dong, who had been taught a lesson by Qian Ling Yun in the assessment arena.

Once both sides reached their respective positions, the referee raised his hands. At that moment, the Xingluo Square, which housed hundreds of thousands of people, instantly fell silent.

Almost everyone stared wide-eyed at the wide arena. At the same time, the 108 Star Luo Empire Soul Masters who were already prepared below the arena all pressed down on the metal pillars in front of them.

One hundred and eight metal pillars simultaneously shone brightly, and instantly, beams of white light shot into the sky, tracing arcs as they converged in the air. They ultimately gathered twenty meters above the arena.

When all 108 beams of light converged, a white light curtain descended, enveloping the entire arena. The protective shield was complete. This also meant that the first match of this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament was about to begin.

At Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, the seven people quickly lined up. Qian Lingyun could recognize at a glance that this traditional formation was also called the three-two-one-one formation.

Simply put, the strong attackers and defenders are positioned at the front, the agile attackers and controllers are positioned on the flanks, and the support units are positioned at the rear.

If I had to describe them in four words, it would be "mediocre".

On the contrary, Shrek's strange formation attracted the attention of many people, including Feng Ling.

Feng Ling let out a soft exclamation, but after looking at it for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out.

In her view, Huo Yuhao, with his second-ring cultivation level, stood at the very front of the formation, arrogantly dominating the scene. The other six people were all behind him, forming a fan shape, like stars surrounding the moon, making him stand out.

For a moment, Feng Ling even went through the seven-in-one combination technique, a trump card in the competition, in her mind, but she still didn't understand it.

Qian Lingyun knew the situation, but... she was too lazy to explain. A lie is a lie, and if the logic doesn't hold up, it will be seen through sooner or later. Although Tianling had some strength, they had been intimidated by Shrek's reputation, which is why they suffered a great loss.

"The match begins!"

With the referee's loud shout, both teams released their martial spirits almost simultaneously.

The seven students from Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy were truly formidable. Their yellow and purple soul rings shone with dazzling brilliance.

Of the seven, five were at the fourth level, and only two were at the third level.

The young man at the head of the group had four dazzling spirit rings, clearly indicating that he was the most powerful in the group. Regardless of the era, reaching this level at the age of twenty is quite impressive.

At that very moment, an indescribable aura of terror suddenly appeared on the competition stage.

The crimson spirit rings illuminated the entire arena in an instant. A chilling, murderous, and ferocious aura suddenly erupted.

Six blood-red spirit rings appeared on Huo Yuhao, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, but was actually only twelve.

Feng Ling suddenly leaned forward and slammed her hands on the railing in front of her.

She looked at Huo Yuhao with suspicion. She had already sensed the auras of the other contestants before; Huo Yuhao had only been a two-ring Great Soul Master, how had he suddenly transformed into a six-ring Soul Emperor? And a Soul Emperor with six hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings at that…

Wait, something's not right!

Feng Ling examined him closely for a while longer, and keenly noticed that despite the terrifying pressure of the spirit rings, Huo Yuhao's aura was still only a weak second-ring. She then exclaimed in realization, "An illusion?!"

"That's right. In the far north, there lives a kind of ice silkworm soul beast. It is nothing but a useless piece of trash with no offensive power, but it has the talent of disguise and simulation."

As she spoke, Qian Lingyun looked up and met Feng Ling's gaze, then murmured, "His soul skill comes from that soul beast."

"So that's how it is. I was wondering how there could be someone more talented than the Holy Maiden in the world. Six hundred-thousand-year soul rings, humph! Even the Supreme Sect Master doesn't have such strength."

Feng Ling snorted softly, her hands involuntarily tightening around the railing in front of her. When she pulled her hands back, Qian Lingyun inadvertently noticed that there were marks on the metal railing where she had been gripped.

Suddenly, a pair of enormous blue-gold wings appeared on the field, spreading out behind Huo Yuhao with dazzling brilliance. The perfect combination of blue and gold shimmered with a dazzling light.

Two figures overlapped amidst endless radiance, and the red soul ring vanished into thin air, replaced by a giant golden vertical eye floating in mid-air.

A dazzling tri-colored light burst forth almost instantly, spanning most of the competition venue and engulfing the Tianling Academy team members.

"They were standing too close and got wiped out in one fell swoop." Qian Lingyun pouted, somewhat speechless. In any case, she couldn't think of any other way to describe the team members from Tianling Academy.

(End of this chapter)