The preliminary rounds in Tiandou City have all concluded.
According to procedure, an awards ceremony will soon be held to award qualification certificates to the top five teams in the preliminary rounds.
However, due to the destruction of the central arena during previous matches, this process has been simplified.
Other academies that did not qualify will not participate in the final ceremony.
Only the top five teams will receive their qualification certificates on the VIP stage.
The ceremony itself is straightforward. At the host's announcement, the captains and vice-captains of the top five teams walked onto the stage.
Blue Tyrant Academy's first place was undisputed.
Divine Wind Academy and Thunder Academy had the same record of 25 wins and 2 losses.
However, Divine Wind Academy had previously defeated Thunder Academy, so the head-to-head record determined their ranking: Divine Wind Academy second, Thunder Academy third.
Heavenly Water Academy had one more win than Blazing Fire Academy, ranking fourth.
Blazing Fire Academy remained in fifth place.
Representing Blue Tyrant Academy on the stage were Ye Qiu and Dugu Yanhe. As they stepped onto the stage, they immediately felt several gazes upon them.
Among them, the most intense was Huo Wu from Blazing Fire Academy.
She hadn't fully gotten over her defeat to Ye Qiu, and although she understood their relative strength, Ye Qiu's differential treatment of other teams always bothered her.
Then came Xue Ke, Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, Xue Beng, and even Salas on the VIP stage?
Ye Qiu glanced at Salas without showing any emotion. A sense of
unease crept into his heart; could it be that Bibi Dong was about to make a move against him?
The host's words interrupted Ye Qiu's thoughts.
"Next, His Majesty, Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Platinum Bishop Salas will personally present the qualification certificates and prize money to the five teams that have entered the qualifying rounds."
The qualification certificate was essentially a handwritten note.
There was no fear of forgery; after all, the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire knew perfectly well which academy had advanced.
The top five academies received the same prize money, as this was only the preliminary round.
Each team received a reward of 10,000 gold soul coins from the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the finals, the top three prizes would be provided by the Spirit Hall.
After the awards were presented, the host handed over the speaking rights to the most esteemed person present, Emperor Xue Ye.
Emperor Xue Ye's gaze swept over the student representatives from the five academies before him, lingering on Ye Qiu for a few extra seconds, before he smiled and said:
"First of all, children, I congratulate you.
You have successfully qualified for this year's All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament."
"As the supreme ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, I am proud of you. You are the future hope of the empire. As the captains and vice-captains of your respective teams, your strength played a crucial role in the competition. Therefore, I have decided to confer upon you ten the title of Viscount. The other participating students from your five academies will be granted the title of Baron. After you graduate, the gates of the Imperial Household will be open to you at any time. Your fiefdoms will be uniformly allocated after your graduation."
"Your Majesty, isn't this inappropriate?"
Salas suddenly interrupted from the side.
Daring to interrupt when the emperor of a nation was speaking showed just how immense the power of the Spirit Hall was.
Emperor Xueye glanced at Salas indifferently and asked, "Is there something amiss, Bishop Salas?"
Salas looked at the ten people on the platform and
frowned, saying, "Your Majesty, there is no precedent for awarding titles in previous competitions. Moreover, aren't these titles too high?"
In both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the titles, ranked from highest to lowest, are Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.
To grant ten Viscount titles for just qualifying for the preliminary rounds—Emperor Xueye's generosity was enough to astonish anyone around him.
However, Emperor Xueye silenced Salas with a single sentence.
"Bishop Platinum, the conferment of titles is an internal affair of the Empire, unrelated to the Spirit Hall or this competition. I simply appreciate the rewards these children have given."
"They represent my Heaven Dou Empire in this Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."
The words fell.
Emperor Xueye looked at Ye Qiu and his group of ten again.
He said solemnly, "Here, I also want to make you a promise."
"If any of your teams achieves final victory, the entire team's title will be promoted one level, and the academy's prefix will be changed to 'Royal,' receiving financial support from the Empire."
As the captains and vice-captains of their respective teams, these young people, though worldly-wise, were still somewhat stunned by Emperor Xueye's string of rewards.
What did a title represent?
A viscount already possessed his own territory and servants, and would receive a certain amount of subsidies from the state—enough to live on.
Although many soul masters held titles, obtaining a title from a kingdom or duchy was easy, but obtaining an imperial title was not so simple, especially the directly granted viscount title. A viscount's territory could already be a small city.
Even more valuable was that Emperor Xueye had promised the ten people before him that after this tournament, they would be granted fiefdoms.
This shows that they are not merely nobles holding empty titles, but true nobles who own territories.
Salas's face looked grim. He didn't say anything more, but a sinister glint appeared in his eyes.
The captains and vice-captains of the five teams in the preliminaries were all elite young soul masters.
Each one was exceptionally intelligent.
From Emperor Xueye's promise and Salas's obstruction, they could vaguely sense the tension in the air.
Ning Fengzhi simply stood aside, smiling silently, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
Emperor Xueye seemed oblivious to the unpleasant look on Bishop Salas's face, smiling as he continued,
"The upcoming promotion tournament will still be held in the Empire."
"However, the venue will change from the Heavenly Battle Arena to the Royal Enclosure. Ten teams from the five duchies and kingdoms, having qualified through the preliminary rounds, will compete against you in the promotion tournament. I hope that all five of your academies will rank highly in the promotion tournament, giving you an advantage in the finals."
"The promotion tournament is the best stage to showcase your individual strength. The Empire will provide the three students with the most wins in the promotion tournament with the soul beasts needed for their next cultivation advancement. You can choose the type of soul beast yourself; the Empire can guarantee all soul beasts with a cultivation level below 30,000 years."
This was except for Blue Tyrant Academy.
For the other four elemental academies, Emperor Xueye's promise was even more enticing than the previous titles.
These captains and vice-captains were all around level 40, and their next cultivation advancement would require soul beasts at level 50.
While level 50 isn't as crucial as a level 30 spirit ring,
it's the first level where one can obtain a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
The strength of that first ten-thousand-year spirit ring greatly impacts each person's future.
Choosing a spirit beast according to one's needs is undoubtedly incredibly beneficial, eliminating risks and wasting time while maximizing the potential of one's martial spirit.
From level 50 onwards, a spirit master's cultivation speed decreases significantly.
Having a ten-thousand-year spirit ring as a guarantee ensures maintaining strength between levels 50 and 60,
offering immeasurable benefits for future development.
However, these considerations are irrelevant to the girls of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Even if the Empire could capture a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast for their fifth spirit ring, they wouldn't even glance at it.
What Ye Qiu can offer is a sacrifice of a thirty-thousand-year spirit beast, yielding far greater benefits.
Several of them already possess black spirit rings exceeding thirty thousand years.
Therefore, they are completely unmoved by temptation.