Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Everything is new and interesting to her.

The old man who sells sugar figurines can conjure up a lifelike little rabbit with a flick of his wrist.

The barbecue stall had sizzling, oily meat skewers that smelled incredibly delicious.

The jewelry vendor's stall was filled with sparkling beaded chains.

The uncle selling weapons had swords hanging at his door that gleamed coldly in the setting sun.

"Sister Xiaowu, slow down..." Meng Yiran was dragged around by her, panting heavily.

Xiao Wu seemed tireless, rushing to the sugar figurine stall to watch the old man blow sugar figures, then leaning over the barbecue stall to stare at the sizzling meat skewers, and then squeezing into the jewelry stall to pick up a string of beads and try them on her wrist.

"Is this pretty?" she asked Meng Yiran.

Meng Yiran, panting, glanced at it and said, "It looks good."

"What about this one?"

"It looks good too."

"What about this one?"

"All is well..."

Xiao Wu thought for a moment, then put the beads down: "Never mind, I don't have any money."

Meng Yiran: "..."

In her spiritual sea, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm cried out anxiously, "Buy it! Don't you have Gold Soul Coins? Didn't you pick up a lot of stuff from those unlucky guys who froze to death when you came back from the far north?"

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes inwardly: "That's for emergencies! How can we waste it!"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm: "..."

It suddenly realized that this transformed soul beast was a bit stingy.

The illusory image of the Ice Crystal Snow Lotus swayed gently, as if it were smiling.

As we strolled around, it gradually got dark.

One by one, the soul-guiding lamps along the street lit up, their soft light dispelling the twilight and illuminating the entire street as if it were daytime.

Xiao Wu looked up at the glowing lights, her eyes widening again.

"These lights... turned on by themselves?"

Meng Yiran was already used to Xiao Wu's ignorance and patiently explained, "The soul guide lamp has a soul guide array inside. Inputting soul power once can keep it lit for a whole day. In a big city like Tiandou City, the main roads are lit up at night."

Xiao Wu nodded thoughtfully.

Humans... are quite amazing.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly spoke: "Little Wu."

"Ok?"

"there."

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power pointed towards the end of the street.

There, a huge circular building stands majestically in the night.

The building's dome is inlaid with countless glowing soul-guided lamps, illuminating the entire building brightly, like a giant pearl embedded in the night sky.

Faintly, one could hear deafening cheers coming from that direction.

"That is……"

"The Heaven Dou Grand Soul Arena." Meng Yiran, who had been to Heaven Dou City before, was much more knowledgeable than Xiao Wu. She followed Xiao Wu's gaze and looked in that direction.

"It's the place where the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is held."

Xiao Wu gazed at the enormous building that shone brightly in the night, listening to the faint cheers that drifted over, her pink eyes reflecting the dazzling light.

Within the spiritual sea, both the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Crystal Snow Lotus quieted down.

However, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm spoke again very soon.

"Xiao Wu".

"Ok?"

"With you, Brother Tianmeng, here, you're sure to be the strongest in this Soul Master Competition!"

Xiao Wu gave a soft hum.

"I will be the best even without you."

Chapter 404 The Advancement Tournament Begins

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

The qualifying rounds of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament have finally begun amidst great anticipation.

However, unlike the bustling atmosphere during the qualifiers, the atmosphere in the qualifying rounds was completely different.

To protect the privacy of the participating Soul Masters and to avoid unnecessary trouble and security issues, no ordinary spectators are allowed to enter the qualifying rounds.

Of course, it wasn't entirely without an audience.

However, those who could sit in the audience of the qualifying matches were all high-ranking officials and nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire, members of the royal family, nobles, high-ranking members of various sects, and specially invited guests.

The qualifying rounds will still be divided into two major empires.

The thirty teams that qualified through the preliminary rounds will compete in their respective empires' regions.

The three teams that had already qualified for the finals will not participate in this qualifying round.

On the Tian Dou Empire side, a total of fifteen teams, including the five teams that qualified from the Tian Dou City preliminary rounds, had completed the registration process in the morning and all gathered at the venue for the qualifying rounds.

The venue for the qualifying rounds is completely different from that for the preliminary rounds.

It was at the royal hunting grounds of the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Located fifty kilometers southwest of Tiandou City, this place covers a vast area with diverse terrain, including forests, hills, rivers, and open plains. It was originally a hunting and training ground for members of the royal family, and no commoners were allowed to approach it on ordinary days.

The hunting grounds are patrolled and guarded by 10,000 knights of the Royal Knights, who also train there. They rotate every three months to maintain combat effectiveness.

At this moment, the atmosphere on the large training ground deep in the hunting grounds was solemn and dignified.

To avoid unnecessary trouble and conflict, and to prevent the strength of each team from being discovered in advance, the fifteen advanced soul master academy teams that entered the qualifying rounds were arranged to rest in different areas, so they almost never ran into each other.

The qualifying rounds, like the preliminary rounds, will use a round-robin format.

However, due to the reduction in the number of teams, the competition period was shortened from one month to fifteen days.

Fifteen days later, each team will have a two-week break before the final competition will be held in Wuhun City.

That is the true ultimate stage.

The qualifying rounds officially began the day after the students from various colleges arrived at the Royal Hunting Grounds.

Outside the Great Training Ground, a full ten thousand royal knights completely surrounded the entire training ground.

The knights in the front row stood on the ground, while those in the back sat upright on the backs of their mounts, their helmets and armor gleaming, their spears like a forest, their murderous aura soaring to the sky.

All fifteen participating teams were present between the large circle formed by the knights and the competition venue.

Even the teams that had a bye today were no exception.

Because they must clearly understand the strength of their opponents, every match could be crucial intelligence for future encounters.

The rules of the game are simple.

Each side sends seven players, and each player must fight until they are defeated. The winner remains on stage to face the next opponent, until all seven players on one side are defeated.

Simple, direct, and brutal.

This is a dual test of individual ability and team depth.

The draw was completed last night, so there is no need to draw again today; the matches will proceed directly according to the schedule.

Shrek Academy was unlucky; they were scheduled for the second game of the day.

Their opponents are the Botanical Academy from the Kingdom of Barak.

Below the stage, Yu Xiaogang gathered everyone around him, his gaze slowly sweeping over all ten members of the Shrek team.

Tang San, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Cinderella, Lin An, and three substitutes: Tailong, Huang Yuan, and Jiangzhu.

After the trials of the qualifiers, this team finally developed their own synergy.

"Now, I'll arrange today's lineup."

Yu Xiaogang's voice was steady, and his gaze behind his glasses was solemn.

"Ma Hongjun, you're the first one up."

Ma Hongjun's chubby face twitched, and an excited glint flashed in his small eyes. He nodded vigorously, "Leave it to me, Master!"

"Then comes Huang Yuan, Tai Long, Lin An, Zhu Zhuqing, Cinderella, and Dai Mubai."

Yu Xiaogang rattled off seven names in one breath, then paused and added, "Tang San is on the sidelines, ready to be substituted in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

Having gone through the brutal baptism of the preliminary rounds, Yu Xiaogang is no longer so arrogant.

He no longer dared to imagine, as in the original plot, that three people could defeat seven people on the other side.

This year's Soul Master Competition is truly bizarre.

None of the teams that fought their way out of the qualifiers were pushovers.

Although the Botanical Academy is not well-known, Yu Xiaogang believes that its ability to break through the encirclement of the Barak Kingdom was definitely not due to luck.

Caution is the boat.

Just then, Emperor Xueye slowly stood up from the VIP seats.

He walked to the edge of the stands, his imposing gaze sweeping over the fifteen teams below, all ready to go. He picked up the soul-guided megaphone, and his deep voice echoed throughout the entire training ground:

"The qualifying rounds officially begin today!"

"Over the next fourteen days, we hope that all academy teams will give full play to their strengths and demonstrate the style that Soul Masters should have!"

He paused, then suddenly raised his voice: