No matter the opening ceremony, it's always the same long series of procedures, with each important figure putting on airs and spouting platitudes. Emperor Xueye announced the opening, giving
an opening speech
, followed by Ning Fengzhi's address for the tournament.
Finally, the Platinum Bishop Salas of the Spirit Hall conducted the first round draw for the preliminary rounds.
The preliminary rounds use a round-robin points system.
The Heaven Dou City division has a total of twenty-eight teams, meaning each team will play twenty-seven matches.
One point is awarded for each victory, no points for a loss, and the top five teams with the highest scores advance to the knockout stage.
The other ten advancing teams are selected from the divisions of various duchies and kingdoms.
The preliminary rounds last for one month, meaning teams will compete for twenty-eight consecutive days.
This will severely test a team's endurance.
Soon, the results of the first round draw were announced.
"First round of the preliminaries: Canghui Academy vs. Zixing Academy."
"First round of the preliminaries: Auckland Academy vs. Flame Radiance Academy."
"..."
"First round of the preliminaries: Tiandou Royal Academy vs. Shrek Academy."
...
The draw results surprised the Shrek team. Although they would inevitably face Tiandou Royal Academy sooner or later, it was still quite amusing to see them matched up in the first round.
"Didn't they kick us out back then? Now's perfect, let's show them our strength.
We must win this match cleanly and convincingly, and slap them in the face,"
Dai Mubai said excitedly.
As a prince, and a prince of the Star Luo Empire at that, he was proud. Being kicked out by Tiandou Royal Academy last time had made him extremely uncomfortable.
The other team members were also holding their breath.
"We even defeated Tiandou Royal Academy's main team, this second team is nothing but clowns."
"Hongjun, Xiaosan, what do we do with them?"
Ma Hongjun smiled and sighed slightly.
"There's not much need for me to intervene before the finals.
So, Xiao San will be in charge of this match. The second team of Tian Dou Royal Academy shouldn't be too strong; they probably don't even have anyone above level 40. To crush them quickly and decisively,
Cheng Xian and Mu Bai will also play .
Add Tai Long, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu."
This lineup is more than enough to deal with them. Tai Long and his three teammates were the four best from the original Blue Tyrant Academy, and their strength is at least equal to the average strength of this Tian Dou second team.
Adding Xiang Cheng Xian and the other two Soul Masters, a crushing victory is no problem.
All eight members of Shrek Academy have reached the Soul Master level. According to the plan, not all of them need to play in the preliminaries. Before the finals, everyone except Ma Hongjun can be scheduled to play.
Ma Hongjun is being saved as a trump card for the finals.
This is why Ma Hongjun sighed; he's a little upset about not being able to play. It's such a good opportunity to shine, what a pity.
Otherwise, with his strength and good looks, he could easily win over countless female and even male fans.
After the draw, the Platinum Bishop Salas didn't leave. His gaze swept across the entire arena as he continued,
"I hereby announce that any participant from the participating Soul Master academies who advances to the final competition will be exceptionally granted direct entry into the Spirit Hall by the Spirit Hall."
This promise immediately sparked a heated discussion.
The Spirit Hall was second only to the Papal Palace and the Douluo Palace; joining the Spirit Hall was tantamount to receiving a viscount title from the Empire.
Although the purpose of the competition was to recruit talented Soul Masters, the host, the Heaven Dou Empire, hadn't even spoken yet, and the Spirit Hall, a co-organizer, was already recruiting—it was blatant disrespect for the Heaven Dou Empire.
Emperor Xue Ye's expression was extremely displeased, but he suppressed it.
The competition began.
Shrek Academy's girl group cheerleaders were the first to raise their voices, cheering for Shrek Academy.
Xiang Chengxian and Dai Mubai's names were also called out:
"Evil-Eyed White Tiger!"
"Dai Mubai!"
"Demon-Slaying Black Tiger!"
"Xiang Chengxian."
"Black and White Tigers,
unify the arena!"
Xiang Chengxian and Dai Mubai were speechless; they hadn't heard these cheers before.
It seemed that even as employees, they wanted to flatter their two bosses.
Ma Hongjun was still shaken; thankfully, he hadn't been on stage, otherwise, it would have been embarrassing for him to be called out. While his nickname accurately reflected his abilities, the way it was called out was too much of a blow to his imposing image.
As expected, the Heaven Dou Empire's second team consisted entirely of three-ring Soul Masters.
However, their lineup was somewhat overpowered.
The formation was simple: five in front and two in the back.
The first five were all quite robust, their martial souls being the Lion, Bear, Tiger, Leopard, and Wolf—five powerful offensive battle soul masters. The
last two were for control and support.
Judging from their chosen lineup, they intended to sweep Shrek Academy.
Emperor Xue Ye looked at the Heaven Dou Second Team on the battle stage and said to Ning Fengzhi beside him, "Sect Master Ning, it seems this first match will be a foregone conclusion!"
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly, not answering Emperor Xue Ye, but simply nodding in agreement.
He also believed this match was a foregone conclusion, only his target was different from Emperor Xue Ye's.
Sitting in the second row, Prince Xue Xing proudly said to those around him,
"Look, His Majesty and Sect Master Ning have already seen that this match is a foregone conclusion. Our Heaven Dou Royal Academy students are the true elites. This is only the second team. This time, our main team has only one goal: the final championship."
Meng Shenji, standing to the side, had a gloomy face and coldly looked at Prince Xue Xing.
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy was under the jurisdiction of Prince Xue Xing, and good results there would naturally bring him glory. He had long forgotten about Shrek Academy.
When Prince Xue Xing drove away Ma Hongjun and the others, he didn't care about their strength; he was just venting his anger on Xue Beng's behalf.
Later, Meng Shenji failed to file a complaint, and Emperor Xue Ye didn't take this minor matter seriously, subconsciously choosing to believe his younger brother, Prince Xue Xing.
Therefore, neither of them had any impression of the Shrek Academy members' strength.
The Shrek Academy members also began to release their Martial Souls.
Three Soul Masters, four Soul Venerables.
"Soul Master!"
"Black!"
"Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!"
...
As Tang San's fourth Soul Ring rose, the atmosphere on the scene became incredibly heated.
All the forces widened their eyes in astonishment.
From the overall strength of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team, it could be seen that the average strength of teams from advanced Soul Master academies was at the Soul Venerable level.
Soul Master students were extremely rare in advanced Soul Master academies.
Reaching Soul Master before the age of twenty-five was extremely uncommon.
Especially Tang San's incredibly powerful ten-thousand-year spirit ring, just like when Ma Hongjun displayed it before, undoubtedly shocked everyone, especially in such a grand occasion, the effect was amplified infinitely.
The Shrek Academy cheerleaders rang out at the right time.
"Shrek!"
"Thousand-Handed Asura!"
"Thousand-Handed Asura!"
"Tang San!"
"Tang San!"
...
The cheers further heightened the atmosphere, allowing Shrek Academy and Tang San's show-off effect to be fully displayed.
Prince Xue Xing's face suddenly turned cold, his wrinkled old face suddenly turning ashen.
A slap in the face,
his face that had just warmed up was instantly turned cold.
Prince Xue Xing could not control his emotions and shouted in a broken voice:
"No, this is impossible. How can it be a ten-thousand-year spirit ring?"
Meng Shenji closed his eyes in pain,
"This should have been the glory of Heaven Dou Academy. No wonder, no wonder they didn't even send out their full strength."
Meng Shenji had initially wondered why the strongest Ma Hongjun was not on the field, but now it seemed that it was completely unnecessary.
Emperor Xueye's eyes flashed with a sharp light. As the organizer with the most qualifications and advantages to recruit Soul Masters, he was naturally tempted to see such outstanding Soul Masters.
The Spirit Hall Bishop beside him also had shining eyes.
Emperor Xueye, slightly distracted, murmured,
"Shrek Academy, I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before."
Ning Fengzhi said calmly,
"Does Your Majesty not know that they originally wanted to join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but unfortunately, they were driven away by Prince Xuexing. Later, they joined another academy in Heaven Dou City, which is the predecessor of the current Shrek Academy, Blue Tyrant Academy."
Emperor Xueye was suddenly startled, only then remembering that Meng Shenji had mentioned this to him. He turned to look at Meng Shenji sitting in the second row.
Meng Shenji had been listening to their conversation, and seeing Emperor Xueye's questioning gaze, he nodded painfully and helplessly.
Emperor Xueye's gaze shifted, looking at Prince Xuexing with complicated emotions.
Prince Xuexing was on the verge of tears, his expression even more complicated than Emperor Xueye's complex gaze.
He wanted to explain something, but his face was still burning from the slap.
"Brother!"
"Hmm!"