novelhk Chapter 733 The Finals, Martial Soul City
Chapter 733 The Finals, Martial Soul City
Chapter 733 The Finals, Martial Soul City
The injuries sustained by Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Dai Mubai caught the Shrek Seven Devils off guard and put the team in a dangerous situation.
Fortunately, they were lucky enough to get a bye on the second day, thus escaping the watchful eyes of the academies in the five kingdoms and duchies who all hoped to achieve good results.
Aside from Tang San, whose injuries were more severe and required two or three days of rest to fully recover, Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai, whose injuries were less severe, only needed one day of rest, and some were even able to participate in the competition on the third day.
As the saying goes, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit," the Shrek Seven Devils learned a lesson from their miscalculation and unexpected defeat against the Beast Academy.
So, starting from the third day of the qualifying rounds, the Shrek Seven Devils stopped holding back and went all out in almost every match, sending out all the main players they could.
The people who appeared changed, and naturally, their strengths changed as well.
On the contrary, the teams that qualified from the preliminary rounds of the five kingdoms and duchies suffered.
In the following rounds of the qualifying matches, Yu Tianheng basically led the Shrek Seven Devils.
With his thunderous attacks, Blue Lightning Tyrant Yu Tianheng always managed to take down at least four opponents each time, before the second opponent, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, or Ma Hongjun, would finish the match.
Even without Tang San's appearance, the Shrek Seven Devils could easily secure victory by sending out only two or three members at a time when facing the advanced soul master academies of the five kingdoms and duchies.
As time went by, Tang San recovered even faster than expected. In less than three days, his injuries were completely healed, and he was full of energy again.
However, the blow from Meng Yiran was still lingering, making him inevitably somewhat depressed and unable to be happy no matter what.
To spare Tang San's feelings, Yu Xiaogang, Flander, and the other Shrek Academy members stopped assigning him combat missions. Helpless, Tang San had no choice but to go from being a key player to an observer.
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the qualifying rounds have already passed.
Today is the eighth day of the competition.
In the first seven rounds, the Shrek Seven Devils suffered one defeat and missed one round, but then won five consecutive victories, finally salvaging some face and regaining their confidence.
Today, the Shrek Seven Devils' opponent is the Plant Academy, an academy that they find somewhat incomprehensible.
Facing this academy, the Shrek Seven Devils' lineup remained unchanged, but Yu Xiaogang made some adjustments to the order of appearance based on Tang San's suggestion.
The original first character to appear, Blue Lightning Tyrant Yu Tianheng, was replaced by Brothel Phoenix Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun's martial soul is the mutated Evil Fire Phoenix. The evil fire inherent in the martial soul contains top-level fire attributes and is the nemesis of plant-type martial souls, making him the perfect choice to lead the charge.
Of course, Yu Tianheng's thunder is also the nemesis of plant-type martial souls, so Yu Xiaogang thought it over and arranged for him to appear second.
Shortly after the match began, those following the game were taken aback.
In the first three matches, Shrek Seven Devils' opponents, the Plant Academy, were surprisingly defeated by Ma Hongjun, who managed to defeat all three of them in one match.
Moreover, the three people from the Plant Academy were the three strongest Soul Masters in the team, while Ma Hongjun was only a level 39 Soul Venerable.
Defeating an opponent with Soul Master-level strength using Soul Venerable-level power was, undeniably, a huge show of bravado for Ma Hongjun, the phoenix of the brothel.
Although these opponents with plant-type martial souls are the most troublesome control-type soul masters of all soul master paths, unfortunately, their martial souls are too easily countered by Ma Hongjun.
The two sides don't even need to fight. As long as Ma Hongjun releases his Evil Fire Phoenix, he can ensure that the opponent's soul skills are completely ineffective against him.
No matter how strong your soul skill is, it is meaningless when your martial soul is completely countered by your opponent.
For three consecutive matches, Ma Hongjun simply stood there, protected by the Phoenix of Fire, while simultaneously amplifying the Phoenix Fire Line, spewing flames from his mouth to sweep away his opponents.
Once a shot is hit, the game is over.
Of course, Ma Hongjun's ability to defeat his opponent was not only due to the natural advantage of his martial soul attributes, but also because the students of the Plant Academy were too complacent and careless.
After defeating three opponents in a row, Ma Hongjun was overjoyed, but he had also reached his limit, so he substituted Yu Tianheng for him.
Facing the four remaining Soul Master level opponents from the Plant Academy, Yu Tianheng easily defeated them with his fierce and explosive lightning attacks.
With this, the Shrek Seven Devils have achieved a six-game winning streak and are currently ranked sixth in the qualifying rounds.
For the next two days, the Shrek Seven Devils continued their winning streak, losing two more teams in the qualifying rounds until they finally stopped their winning streak when they encountered four familiar rivals from the same region.
Of the four teams that qualified from the Heaven Dou City regional qualifiers, the Shrek Seven Devils first encountered Tianshui Academy, then the Spirit Hall Second Team and Blazing Fire Academy, and finally Shenfeng Academy.
Despite facing these old rivals, the Shrek Seven Devils refused to give up and chose to participate in every match.
However, after being brutally beaten by Meng Yiran, the Shrek Seven Devils learned their lesson.
When encountering the Spirit Hall's Second Team, Blazing Fire Academy, and Heavenly Water Academy—three teams with Soul King-level combat power—they would mainly launch probing attacks, no longer engaging in direct confrontations. In fact, they would immediately concede defeat if they sensed any risk of injury.
Therefore, although the Shrek Seven Devils lost three matches, they preserved their full fighting strength, allowing them to go all out to face the Divine Wind Academy and ultimately achieve victory.
In the match against Shenfeng Academy, Tang San finally shone brightly, narrowly defeating Feng Xiaotian's Gale Wolf Slash with his Chaotic Cloak Dance.
Although he only won one match, he defeated Feng Xiaotian, the most crucial player for Shenfeng Academy.
Feng Xiaotian's defeat dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Shenfeng Academy team, causing them to fall into a slump and completely collapse in front of Dai Mubai, Yu Tianheng, Xiao Wu, and Ma Hongjun, who appeared after the Shrek Seven Devils.
The Shrek Seven Devils fully demonstrated their individual strength to their opponents.
During this period, the Spirit Hall Second Team, Blazing Fire Academy, Heavenly Water Academy, and Divine Wind Academy also fought against each other.
In the match between the Spirit Hall's second team and Tianshui Academy, the two closely related sides agreed to a decisive battle, with Feng Xian and Shui Bing'er engaging in a one-on-one duel to determine the final victor.
Feng Xian's strength is formidable, almost on par with her eldest sister, Ruiwen, while Shui Bing'er's strength is also considerable, nearly equal to her good friend, Huo Wu. Their battle is sure to be a spectacle.
However, without the advantage of the fusion skill of her younger sister Shui Yue'er and vice-captain Xue Wu—Ice and Snow Falling—Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix was also weaker, and she ultimately lost to Feng Xian.
As for Shenfeng Academy, they were defeated by Jin Yue'er, Zhu Zhuqing, and Bai Chenxiang. Among them, Feng Xiaotian's two-headed Gale Wolf lost to Bai Chenxiang's Golden-Winged Roc in the wind attribute contest.
In addition, Shenfeng Academy also lost to Chihuo Academy and Tianshui Academy.
Up to this point, facing several old rivals who also qualified from the Tiandou City region, Shenfeng Academy had suffered a complete defeat, which dealt a heavy blow to Feng Xiaotian.
Feng Xiaotian could accept losing to Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and even Bai Chenxiang, and felt it was only natural. But losing to Tang San was something he found hard to accept.
But no matter what, a loss is a loss. No matter how unwilling he is, he can only swallow this bitter pill. If he wants revenge, the only way is the finals in a month.
Only family members know their own affairs.
Given the current strength of Shenfeng Academy, Feng Xiaotian didn't think they could go very far in the finals, so he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The qualifying rounds were coming to an end soon.
A total of 14 matches across 15 rounds, with a 14-game winning streak.
The Spirit Hall's second team remained undefeated, undoubtedly becoming the number one team among all fifteen teams in the Heaven Dou Empire's qualifying rounds.
Following closely behind is Tianshui Academy, then Blazing Fire Academy, Beast Academy, Shrek Seven Devils, and Divine Wind Academy.
Although these strong teams were overshadowed by the Spirit Hall's second team, they all proved their true strength with their results.
The title of the top five academy teams in the Heaven Dou Empire naturally fell to them, and no one questioned it anymore.
What no one knew was that, apart from the Shrek Seven Devils, the other academy teams were all affiliated with the Spirit Hall.
This also means that almost all the young elite soul masters in the Heaven Dou Empire's soul master world have been captured and brought into the hands of the Spirit Hall.
…………
The qualifying rounds have ended.
As usual, Qian Renxue, disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of Tiandou, gave a passionate and inspiring speech, and rewarded and promised prizes to the top-ranked teams in the qualifying rounds.
The finals are about to begin.
That will be the real battle to determine who is the strongest team in Douluo Continent.
Emperor Xueye, the current emperor, is bedridden. Qian Renxue, disguised as the crown prince, needs to handle imperial affairs and naturally cannot leave Tiandou City without permission.
Therefore, after the speech, Qian Renxue announced on the spot that Prince Xuexing would represent the Tiandou royal family as the envoy of the Tiandou Empire to go to the venue of the finals to participate in the judging of this Elite Soul Master Competition.
The fifteen elite teams selected from the Heaven Dou Empire region will be personally accompanied by Prince Xue Xing to Wuhun City, located at the border of the two empires, for the final competition.
The finals will be hosted by the Spirit Hall.
Each team has only three days to make adjustments.
Three days later, a total of fifteen teams, along with their respective team leaders and instructors, totaling over a thousand people, will depart together for the venue of the finals, escorted by more than a hundred Royal Knights soldiers.
The finals of this year's Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies will be held in Wuhun City, the headquarters of the Spirit Hall.
Wuhun City is located at the border of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, but neither of the two empires owns the city; instead, it belongs to the Wuhun Hall.
As the most powerful soul master force on the Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall holds an extremely high position, with the responsibility of maintaining order in the soul master world, suppressing evil spirits, and protecting the peace of the continent.
With its formidable strength and unparalleled status, the Spirit Hall, a transcendent force of spirit masters, is one that even the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires dare not easily provoke.
They even allocated a piece of land the size of a kingdom, duchy, or province at the location of the Spirit Hall's headquarters as its exclusive administrative region, while the two great empires were not allowed to interfere.
As the headquarters of the Spirit Hall, Wuhun City is a place that the Spirit Hall has established for itself, much like a capital city. It is also a holy land in the hearts of all spirit masters across the continent, and naturally holds an extraordinary status.
Most importantly, the two most prestigious halls of the Spirit Hall—the Douluo Hall and the Pope Hall—are located within Spirit City.
The Douluo Hall, located atop the central mountain in the very heart of Wuhun City, is the highest-ranking institution within the Wuhun Hall. It is the highest hall for all soul masters across the continent and a symbolic entity.
This is the place where Title Douluos are conferred their titles, and it is also their burial ground, where all the deceased Title Douluos on the continent are buried. To be buried here after death is undoubtedly the highest honor.
The Papal Palace is located halfway up the central mountain of Wuhun City. Its status is second only to the Douluo Palace, and it is the residence of the Pope, the supreme ruler of the Wuhun Palace.
This newly built Papal Palace is said to be the most magnificent building in the entire Douluo Continent.
The existence of the Papal Palace is why Wuhun City has become a sacred place in the hearts of all soul masters.
"The qualifying rounds are over. Although the results weren't as good as expected, it's okay. The qualifying rounds aren't the most important thing. The important thing is the finals."
Back at the camp, Yu Xiaogang gave the Shrek Seven Devils a few brief instructions:
"The finals will be held in a month, at the headquarters of the Spirit Hall, Spirit City."
"You will have three days to rest. After three days, the Empire will arrange a special convoy to escort the fifteen participating teams to Wuhun City."
"Take this time to rest. Dismissed."
After saying that, Yu Xiaogang waved his hand, and the Shrek Seven Devils immediately dispersed and returned to their respective barracks.
"Flander, come with me, I have something to tell you."
After the Shrek Seven Devils left, Yu Xiaogang turned around and looked at Flander behind him. Before Flander could speak, he pulled him into his room without saying a word and slammed the door shut.
Tang San returned to his barracks and reflected on the gains and losses of the qualifying rounds, only to find that there wasn't much to reminisce about.
The qualifying rounds were individual competitions, unlike the preliminary rounds which were intense and dangerous. Apart from getting a good beating from Meng Yiran at the beginning, the later matches were basically meaningless and tasteless.
Throughout the entire qualifying rounds, I didn't feel the same pressure as in the preliminary rounds, and my own skills hardly improved.
This made Tang San feel like he was wasting his time.
As his thoughts raced, Tang San gradually formed his own plan.
He made a decision: after the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, he would follow his father to a secluded place to cultivate diligently, and he would not leave seclusion until he achieved certain results.
At the very least, he must master all the secret techniques of the Haotian Sect passed down by his father, and incidentally, refine some of the Tang Clan's terrifying hidden weapons for self-defense.
By then, at least you'll have the ability to protect yourself.
For now, let's get a few simple concealed weapons for self-defense.
The finals will be held in Wuhun City, which is not a good place. After all, it is the stronghold of evil forces, so we have to be careful.
After letting out a long sigh, Tang San decided to focus his attention on the task at hand. He took out a pile of metal parts from the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlit Night, placed them on the table, and then began to assemble them one by one.
(End of this chapter)