In the blink of an eye, three days passed quietly.
For this All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament, the Sun Moon Empire had specially constructed a new competition venue in the eastern suburbs of Ming City.
The massive main arena was laid out in a ring shape, with tiers of stands capable of accommodating one hundred thousand spectators.
The surrounding spirit guidance facilities were fully equipped, everywhere displaying the Sun Moon Empire's immense financial resources and the importance it placed on this event.
The morning sunlight slanted down from above the eastern stands, cutting into the arena and dyeing the entire venue in a layer of pale golden halo.
The audience seats were already packed, with voices from all over the continent mingling together, noisy and enthusiastic.
The one hundred and sixty-eight competing teams, led by guides, entered the preparation area one after another. The various Sect attire and academy uniforms intertwined, like a colorful long scroll.
In the midst of this dense crowd, the Spirit Pagoda's preparation area was particularly eye-catching.
Although this was the Spirit Pagoda's first time participating in this event, the attention they received was no less than that of those veteran powerhouses.
Many competing teams cast their gazes toward that area from time to time, their eyes filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and even faint vigilance.
This was not only because the Spirit Pagoda was currently a red-hot emerging power on the continent, but also because of Huo Yuhao, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda.
In the previous Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament, Huo Yuhao's performance was still talked about by many to this day.
That year, with his Spirit Emperor cultivation, he turned the tide and displayed terrifying combat power far exceeding his cultivation level; otherwise, the championship that Shrek Academy had occupied for Ten Thousand Years might have changed hands.
Five years had passed, and Huo Yuhao was only eighteen years old, still meeting the age standard for competition.
No one knew how strong he had become, but even fewer would doubt that he had the ability to end the entire competition single-handedly.
It was unknown whether it was a deliberate arrangement by the Sun Moon Empire, but in the preparation area, right next to the Spirit Pagoda team's area was the Shrek Team's preparation area.
On the Shrek side, there were several familiar faces who had interacted with the Spirit Pagoda group before. At this moment, they nodded to each other and exchanged a few pleasantries, so the atmosphere was not too distant.
The captain of the Shrek Team this time was Bei Bei. He walked over, looked at Huo Yuhao, hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Yuhao, are you leading the team for the competition this time?"
Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head: "I'm not competing; I'm just here to watch the excitement."
Upon hearing this, Bei Bei's slightly tense shoulders noticeably relaxed.
A look of relief appeared on his gentle face, as if a heavy stone pressing on his heart had been removed.
Huo Yuhao not competing meant that the biggest variable on Shrek Academy's path to the championship had been eliminated.
However, before he could fully relax, Huo Yuhao's next sentence made his heart, which had just settled, jump back up again.
"The one leading the Spirit Pagoda this time is Jin Li; she has already achieved a Breakthrough to Spirit Saint."
Bei Bei's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he turned his head to look at the bright figure not far away.
Jin Li was talking to several of her teammates, her golden-red long hair dazzling in the morning light, making her look as if she were wrapped in a layer of burning flames.
Bei Bei withdrew his gaze, and a sense of frustration welled up in his heart.
As the captain of the Shrek Team, his cultivation was already the highest in the team, yet he was currently only a level 68 Spirit Emperor.
He smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It seems Shrek Academy has gained another formidable rival this time."
Huo Yuhao looked at him and said indifferently: "Shrek's honor is too heavy; sometimes letting go is not necessarily a bad thing."
Bei Bei was silent for a moment upon hearing this and sighed softly.
As the captain of the Shrek Team, the pressure on him was indeed immense.
Shrek Academy had occupied the championship throne of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament for Ten Thousand Years, a record that pressed on the shoulders of every generation of competitors like a heavy mountain.
If Shrek did not win the championship in this tournament, the "Number One" title that had continued for Ten Thousand Years would end in his hands.
Just thinking about this possibility was enough to keep him tossing and turning at night.
However, Bei Bei's gaze then swept over the Spirit Pagoda group beside Huo Yuhao. Apart from Wang Donger and He Caitou, the cultivation aura of the others seemed to be below Spirit Emperor.
He calculated silently, his gaze condensing slightly, feeling that as long as they fought with all their might, they were not completely without a chance of winning.
Just as Bei Bei was about to say something, his gaze inadvertently glanced toward the direction of the preparation area entrance, and he froze on the spot.
At the end of his line of sight, a group of people wearing black robes were slowly walking into the preparation area.
However, the person walking at the very front of the team had their hood blown off by a gust of wind as they turned a corner, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.
It was an extremely young face, with skin as fair as jade and features so exquisite that it seemed the Creator had favored them specially.
A head of black hair was simply tied into a ponytail hanging behind her head, with a few strands of loose hair falling across her forehead, unable to hide those dark blue eyes.
But those eyes, which should have been agile and bright, currently appeared somewhat hollow and listless, as if something important had been extracted, leaving only a beautiful empty shell.
Bei Bei's body began to tremble slightly. His gaze was locked tightly onto that face, his lips moved a few times, and finally, he squeezed out a few barely audible words from deep in his throat: "Xiaoya... Xiaoya..."
Those two words carried a suppressed tremor. As he moved his feet, he was about to dash toward that direction.
However, just as he took half a step, a great force pressed down heavily on his shoulder, making him unable to move as if he had been nailed to the spot.
Bei Bei turned his head abruptly and saw Huo Yuhao's left hand resting steadily on his shoulder; clearly, it was he who had restricted his movement.
Bei Bei's tone became agitated immediately: "It's Xiaoya! I've been looking for her for years! Let me go over!"
Huo Yuhao knew that Bei Bei was emotionally agitated, and he was afraid that whatever he said, the other party would not listen.
He did not rush to explain, but with a slight movement of his mind, the intense emotion belonging to Bei Bei was instantly extracted by him.
The excitement and eagerness on Bei Bei's face receded rapidly like the tide, replaced by a sudden, cooling calmness.
Until his expression stabilized, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his mouth: "That is the Holy Spirit Cult's team."
Bei Bei did not show surprise at Huo Yuhao's method; they had once been teammates who fought side by side, and he clearly knew some of the abilities of Huo Yuhao's Mental-type Spirit Ability.
What he cared about more at this moment was the name Huo Yuhao had just mentioned, his tone filled with confusion and faint unease: "Holy Spirit Cult?"
Huo Yuhao explained simply: "This competition allows Sects to participate, and the Holy Spirit Cult counts as a Sect."
"It's just that... the Holy Spirit Cult is composed of Evil Soul Masters."
"Evil Soul Masters?!"
Bei Bei's voice could not help but rise a few octaves, carrying an unconcealable shock.
That exclamation seemed particularly abrupt in the preparation area, instantly attracting the gazes of many people around.
Even a middle-aged man among the group of black-robed people in the distance turned his head slightly and cast a glance toward this side.
That person's gaze swept over Bei Bei, then stopped on Huo Yuhao's face.
Huo Yuhao recognized him; it was the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, who had once fought against him.
The moment Zhang Peng's gaze landed on Huo Yuhao's face, he shuddered involuntarily, clearly recalling the scene when he had been frozen by Huo Yuhao.
He quickly withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and his pace inevitably quickened.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.