The second day of the tournament was even fiercer than the first. Within just the first five matches, several contestants had been seriously injured, and two had died gruesome deaths. It was a clear sign—the coming battles would only grow bloodier and more intense.
The sixth match of the day drew special attention: Tang Sect vs. Earth Dragon Sect.
When the referee announced the competitors, Zhu Ziyang's expression grew unusually serious. He wasn't surprised by the Tang Sect's appearance, but the Earth Dragon Sect caught his attention for personal reasons.
The Earth Dragon Sect, hailing from Long City, the capital of the Northern Province of the Heavenly Soul Empire, was an old, well-established sect. It also had a connection to Zhu Ziyang's family—his maternal grandfather had once been a disciple of the Earth Dragon Sect, and some of its current members were distantly related to his mother, Liang Ying.
However, those ties meant little to Zhu Ziyang. His mother had never spoken of her sect, and his grandfather had long since passed away. Whatever bonds had once existed were buried with the older generation.
Tang Sect vs. Earth Dragon Sect.
The outcome, in Zhu Ziyang's mind, was obvious: Tang Sect's victory was inevitable. Even if none of their other members fought, Bei Bei alone would be enough. After all, a true dragon easily suppressed any sub-dragon—such was the natural order.
As the referee gave the signal to begin, Tang Sect's first representative took the stage. Just as Zhu Ziyang expected, it was none other than Bei Bei, Tang Sect's captain and eldest senior brother.
For Tang Sect's grand reappearance on the continental stage, this first battle had to be glorious—an overwhelming victory, preferably a clean one-versus-seven sweep. Only such a feat could remind the world of the sect that had once stood as the number one sect of the continent.
The moment Bei Bei stepped forward, his appearance alone commanded attention.
Two yellow, two purple, and three black spirit rings glowed around him—a full seven-ring Soul Saint. Pure white dragon scales rippled across his body, gleaming with light. The aura he released was majestic and sacred, a clear manifestation of his martial soul—the Holy Light Dragon.
A collective gasp swept through the spectators.
A Soul Saint, and one barely twenty years old! For a name as obscure as the Tang Sect—an organization thought extinct for thousands of years—this revelation was nothing short of astonishing.
The truth was, Tang Sect's luck had played no small part. Just half a month before the tournament began, Bei Bei had broken through to the Soul Saint realm after absorbing the spirit ring of a fifty-thousand-year Golden Earth Dragon. At that moment, he had also fully integrated the Light Holy Dragon essence left within him by Mu En, completing his inheritance. His cultivation had soared to level seventy-five, and his martial soul had evolved completely.
As the first Soul Saint to appear in the tournament, Bei Bei immediately became the center of the continent's attention—even more than Meng Hongchen the day before. All major powers began investigating the Tang Sect's origins, and even Xu Tianran, seated on the imperial dais, lowered his gaze in thought, ordering his men to look deeper into this newly reemerged sect.
Meanwhile, the members of the Earth Dragon Sect reacted with despair. Shock and frustration clouded their faces. Despite giving their all, not one of them could stand against Bei Bei.
One after another, they fell.
Finally, when their captain and young sect master, Nan Qiujiao, a Soul King with the martial soul Rouge Earth Dragon, was defeated, the Earth Dragon Sect conceded.
Bei Bei's seven-in-a-row dream went unfulfilled—but Tang Sect's dominance was firmly established.
As the Earth Dragon Sect admitted defeat, reports on the Tang Sect were delivered to Xu Tianran's hands. He skimmed through the documents, his expression shifting from curiosity to amusement. A thin, calculating smile curved his lips.
"Hehe… Tang Sect? No—Shrek Academy."
He tossed the file to Ju Zi, who skimmed it and frowned, her expression turning strange. She said nothing, merely passing it to Jing Hongchen beside her. The Master of Mingde Hall glanced through it and immediately understood their reactions.
"Your Highness," Jing Hongchen said coldly, "every member of the Tang Sect team was part of Shrek Academy's last preparatory team. What exactly is Shrek Academy playing at? Are they so confident? Or has their talent pool grown so vast that they can now field two teams?"
"Shrek Academy… truly an enigma," Xu Tianran murmured. His gaze drifted toward the resting area. Specifically—to the Shrek Academy section.
There sat Zhu Ziyang, relaxed on a sofa, with Ma Xiaotao on one side and Jiang Nannan on the other, his arms casually around both.
A flicker of jealousy and darkness flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes.
Feeling the weight of the stare, Zhu Ziyang raised his head instinctively. His eyes met Xu Tianran's across the distance.
Zhu Ziyang smiled faintly, offering a polite nod. But his eyes were cold—distant, dismissive.
Xu Tianran froze. Then he looked away, forcing his expression back to calm. But within him, a storm raged.
What had he just seen? That look—calm, lofty, detached. It was the gaze of a god overlooking mortals, the disdainful glance of a being so high above that everything below seemed insignificant.
For the first time in his life, Xu Tianran felt humiliated.
That boy… I'll make him pay for that look a hundredfold.
Zhu Ziyang, unaware that his casual indifference had earned him the Crown Prince's hatred, sat back down. Having watched Tang Sect's battle, his interest waned. He watched the following matches only idly, occasionally lifting his head.
But when the final match of the morning began, his attention sharpened once more.
The combatants were the Holy Spirit Sect and Heavenly Capital Academy.
The Holy Spirit Sect was said to be a reclusive sect from the Sun Moon Empire—mysterious and sinister. But their name alone revealed their true nature: they were the Holy Spirit Church under a different guise.
Their methods in battle confirmed it beyond doubt.
Heavenly Capital Academy, meanwhile, was a renowned advanced academy from the Dou Ling Empire, a school of decent strength that had reached the tournament's top sixteen in previous years. Unfortunately, today they had drawn the wrong opponent.
The first duel began—and ended—swiftly and brutally.
The Holy Spirit Sect's fighter and the academy's Soul King were both five-ringed cultivators, but that was where the similarities ended. The sect's disciple possessed an eerie and sinister martial soul—a corrupted power that reeked of death.
Before the Heavenly Capital student could even discern his opponent's martial soul, he was dead—his body mangled beyond recognition.
The audience gasped in horror. The academy team's faces turned pale with fury and grief, but they could do nothing. Even if everyone could tell that the Holy Spirit Sect's behavior was vile, no one dared to speak up. The sect was clearly backed by the Sun Moon Empire's authorities, and open confrontation wasn't yet possible.
"A Brain-Eater Worm martial soul, hmm?" Zhu Ziyang murmured, recognizing it immediately. He looked mildly surprised but not shocked. "Fitting. It suits the Holy Spirit Church's twisted style perfectly."
The Heavenly Capital Academy surrendered at once. There was no point in throwing away more lives.
The following days passed in the same rhythm—battles, victories, and eliminations. Each day, some teams advanced while others packed their bags and left. Such was the cycle of the tournament.
By the afternoon of the second day, the Shrek Academy team had withdrawn entirely from the rest area. Ma Xiaotao had ordered everyone to remain in the hotel for focused cultivation.
She herself, however, had other plans—often dragging Zhu Ziyang back to the arena under the pretense of "scouting opponents." In truth, she simply wanted to monopolize him.
Naturally, Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi weren't about to let that happen. After a few "friendly negotiations," Ma Xiaotao's solo outings became less frequent—though the rest area's male competitors suffered greatly.
Every day, they had to watch Zhu Ziyang enjoy the company of beautiful women—sometimes two golden-haired princesses in the morning, sometimes two red-haired sisters in the afternoon. The sight made many men gnash their teeth in envy and despair.
Soon, the first round of the tournament came to an end. Out of 367 teams, half were eliminated, leaving 184 to continue into the second round.
The second round would again span five days, but with only eighteen matches per day—it would be far less hectic than the first.
Among the survivors, sect teams made up two-thirds, while academy teams numbered only around sixty. The imbalance between sects and academies was once again clear. Most of the remaining academies were prestigious old institutions, while only a few sects were household names.
To Zhu Ziyang's mild surprise, Yang Zhenzhen's Frand Advanced Soul Master Academy also advanced. Their highest-level member was only rank forty-eight, and Yang Zhenzhen herself was just rank thirty-five—yet they'd made it through.
Luck, it seemed, was on their side. Their first-round opponents had been even weaker than they were.
And at last, in the second round, Shrek Academy would make its grand debut—opening the round's first match against Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy.
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