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*****
Time galloped by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Guang Ling returned to Nuoding City once again to celebrate the New Year with Old Jack.
Before heading to the Tian Dou Arena, Tang San left behind the subsidiary soul guide filming ball and a pile of soul guide energy storage devices for Old Jack, teaching him how to use them and leaving behind an instruction manual, mostly filled with operational diagrams.
With this, Old Jack could display footage in the village, allowing the villagers and children to witness battles between soul masters. After all, even a copper soul coin was carefully spent by the people in the small village.
The soul guide energy storage devices left by Tang San for Old Jack were all very small, only the size of a thumb, a whole box of them, enough for him to use for three to five years...
Upon returning to the Tian Dou Royal Academy, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Guang Ling were summoned by Huo Wu, who was waiting at the entrance, and they proceeded to the Tian Dou Great Spirit Arena.
"Has the Elite Tournament started?" Xiao Wu asked.
"No, we're gathering to go to the Martial Soul City. This year's tournament, whether it's the preliminaries or the finals, will be held there," Huo Wu explained the rules of this year's Elite Tournament in the continent. "I thought it was a spontaneous decision by the Martial Soul Hall, but in fact, according to Teacher Qin Ming, the royal families of the two empires and the heads of various formal academies have known about it for a long time, but they only told us during this period."
"Fortunately, you've returned in time, or else, you wouldn't have made it."
"Because we're departing this afternoon."
Tian Dou City is a considerable distance from Martial Soul City, so it's indeed necessary to depart early, especially since there are quite a few academies in Tian Dou City. Altogether, the size of the group is not small.
If they start moving, their speed won't be fast.
Arriving at the area of the Tian Dou Royal Academy within the Tian Dou Great Spirit Arena, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Yu Feng, Austin, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Ye Lingling, Ning Rongrong, Lan Yin, and others were present, along with Huo Wu, Xiao Wu, Guang Ling, and Tang San, making a total of thirteen members of the Tian Dou Royal Academy team.
In addition to this, there was also the Tian Dou Royal Academy Second Team led by Wang Chen, consisting of seven regular members and five substitutes, making a total of twelve people.
As for other areas, there were academies such as the Four Elemental Academies, Canghui Academy, Shrek Academy, Mars Academy, Xiangjia Academy, and Barak Academy.
Among them, Mars Academy, Xiangjia Academy, and others were also in TIan Dou City, but Huo Wu was not familiar with these two academies, and they were not as prestigious as the Four Elemental Academies, so she didn't take Tang San to visit them.
As for Barak Academy, it is located within the Barak Kingdom's borders and is not in Tian Dou City. At this time, they had come to Tian Dou City along with the advanced academies of other kingdoms.
Observing the different emblems and uniforms of different academies, Tang San found that there were a total of fifty-two advanced soul master academies present.
If the Star Luo Empire is equivalent to the Tian Dou Empire, then the number of advanced soul master academies must be almost the same.
Together, the two empires have only about a hundred advanced soul master academies.
According to the population census recorded by the Tian Dou Empire a hundred years ago, there were a total of three million residents in the empire...
Although this census was taken three hundred years ago, and certainly, a large portion of the population was not registered, roughly speaking, one can deduce that the proportion of soul masters to the entire population is less than one percent (assuming a school has a thousand soul masters, including students and teachers).
If you just look at this data, one in fifty seems reasonable; in a group of fifty people, there should be one soul master.
But the fact is, among a thousand people, you might not even see one soul master, because soul masters mostly stick together and pay little attention to the lives of ordinary people.
For example, in a small village like Holy Soul Village, with a population of about a hundred households, it's considered good if you see a soul master once a year—the members of the Martial Soul Hall who help awaken martial souls for the villagers.
[The road ahead is long and arduous. With just this few soul masters, it's impossible to change the situation on the continent. Either ninety-nine percent of soul masters disappear, or ninety-nine percent of the people on the continent can cultivate. Considering the ratio of one in twenty as the most optimistic scenario, it's not good at all.]
Tang San wasn't lamenting the state of affairs; he just felt that with such a proportion, achieving the goal of "conquering the stars and seas" would take not just thousands of years but much longer.
Nevertheless, it's still necessary to take the first step before considering anything else...
At the forefront of the Tian Dou Great Spirit Arena, after the impassioned speech by the Emperor Xue Ye, it was the turn of the Platinum Supreme Pontiff of the Martial Soul Hall, Salas, to speak.
Compared to Emperor Xue Ye's lengthy discourse, Salas was much simpler, merely offering congratulations to the various academies within the Tian Dou Empire for their good performance in the tournament.
Afterwards, there was a demonstration match before the departure.
This so-called demonstration match was the Tian Dou Royal Academy showcasing the strength of their first academy to the other academies.
The Tian Dou Royal Academy had two teams.
According to the usual rules, the main team is guaranteed a spot in the finals. Although the location of this year's tournament has changed, the rule remains the same.
And the team that performed in the demonstration match was naturally the Tian Dou Royal Academy's second team.
"Let the members of the Tian Dou Royal Academy Second Team take the stage!"
As the host announced through a soul guide amplification device similar to a microphone, the members of the first team of the Tian Dou Royal Academy stood up one after another, confident expressions on their faces, and walked down to the nearby passage entrance, entering the arena one by one.
"To be honest, we could also go up there, but opportunities like this are usually given to the second team," Huo Wu explained to Tang San and the others in a low voice. "Compared to our first team, the members of the second team are either born into royalty or closely related to the royal family. Although our first team is powerful, we're not entirely on the same boat as the Tian Dou Royal Family. We're mainly affiliated with families and sects, and you three are currently commoners..."
"From this perspective, although Emperor Xue Ye admires our first team more, the one he trusts the most is still the second team of the Tian Dou Royal Academy because their ancestors fought alongside the ancestors of the Snow Family to establish the dominance of Tian Dou."
"After all, we focus on cultivating martial souls. Even if we're eventually granted titles by Emperor Xue Ye, in most cases, we're just officials with titles and no actual territories. At most, we're given an estate or something similar."
"Because all the prosperous cities and towns within Tian Dou's borders already have owners, if we want our own territory, we either have to wait for a noble to make a mistake and step down so we can inherit their land, or we have to lead people to open up undeveloped deep mountains and wild forests within the empire's borders..."
"So, this demonstration match is actually to boost the morale of the second team members, allowing them to show their faces, demonstrate their strength, and prove that they have the corresponding ability to inherit the territories and status left by their ancestors."
"Of course, Wang Chen doesn't count. He's the bodyguard of the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, and he was forcefully arranged to participate just to ensure better results for the Tian Dou Second Team in the upcoming matches."
After Huo Wu explained the ins and outs, Salas began to draw the other team participating in the demonstration match, aiming to be a stepping stone for the Tian Dou Second Team.
Although Salas didn't want to do it, Emperor Xue Ye personally invited him, so he had to give face.
Then, Salas drew a piece of paper from the box with the words "Shrek Academy" written on it.
"Let the team from Shrek Academy come up!"
"Shrek Academy?"
Hearing these three words, Tang San was slightly surprised and chuckled inwardly, "Huh, I haven't even joined Shrek Academy, and Salas didn't intentionally target me this time, but it's funny how Shrek Academy still got picked. What a coincidence."
And when the seven members of Shrek Academy took the stage, almost all the teachers and students from other academies started to mock them.
It was all because their uniforms were too eccentric, being a poop green color with yellow and green mixed in.
Yu Feng couldn't stop laughing, "Haha, look, Xiang Xiang, look at how ugly Shrek Academy's clothes are. If I had to wear such clothes, I wouldn't dare to go out. They actually dare to show up in public like this, and moreover, are those advertisements on their backs, chests, and shoulders?"
"Indeed, that fat guy who looks like a ball is so ugly." Bai Chenxiang, who usually trained with Yu Feng, their relationship had also grown closer, and they had confirmed their romantic relationship.
Oslo interjected, "Being able to wear such clothes on stage is a kind of courage."
"It sounds like it's really like that. How about you change into one when we participate later?" Yu Feng put his hand on Oslo's shoulder, suggesting with a smile.
"No way! I won't!" Oslo swatted away his hand.
Admiring Shrek Academy for daring to dress like this in such a big event was one thing; having to wear it yourself was another.
These two things couldn't be confused.
"I'm not crazy. There's no need to stick little advertisements on my clothes and make myself a laughingstock."
At this time, Ning Fengzhi, as the "deputy" to Emperor Xue Ye, began to draw lots to select the venue for the matches.
This point had to be credited to Tang San's theory of diversified match venues.
At least, Tang San had already made some changes to the soul master world with his theory...
"Desert venue!"
Ning Fengzhi drew the desert venue.
Instantly, on the arena, the conventional stage descended, revealing a deep pit, and then, a hundred-meter-long and wide arena filled with yellow sand emerged from underground.
After both sides took the stage, they all felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Stepping on the yellow sand was completely different from stepping on solid ground. Whether it was walking, running, or jumping, it required much more effort and soul power.
Especially for Ma Hongjun from Shrek Academy, his legs sunk into the sand up to his knees with each step, requiring him to expend even more energy.
"Darn it, what kind of nonsense suggestion did that Martial Soul Master Theory Master make? This kind of venue completely restricts us avian soul masters. When the match officially starts, I'll have to move faster to save some soul power and fly in the sky all the time." Ma Hongjun complained. For a Soul Elder like him, flying also required extra soul power.
Later on, when his soul power was higher, it was alright. The soul power consumption of flying could be ignored, but for him, who was only at the thirty-second rank, flying continuously would consume a lot of soul power.
"Now, please exchange names, martial souls, and levels as a sign of respect," the referee said, "This is also your time to reveal your martial souls."
As members of the Tian Dou Royal Academy's second team, they naturally introduced themselves first.
Wang Chen took the lead, saying, "Wang Chen, twenty years old, martial soul: Death God Scythe, forty-fifth level close combat control-type powerhouse soul master."
Following Wang Chen, the other members introduced themselves, all of them Soul Ancestor, with none being Soul Elder.
On the side of Shrek Academy, Mu Tian stared fixedly at Wang Chen, this fellow... he had considered joining forces with him to deal with Tang San, but after learning that he was the personal guard of Xue Qinghe, he gave up directly.
Being able to side with Qian Renxue was already strange enough; it would be even stranger not to betray him, their fellow countryman, in this cruel world of Douluo.
Wang Chen had also considered cooperating with Mu Tian, but considering that he was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he gave up the idea. Their positions were different. If they cooperated, Qian Renxue would definitely find out—Qian Renxue had a strong desire for control, and Wang Chen had already figured this out over the years. He didn't dare to test it again.
Therefore, the fewer transmigrators there were, the fewer competitors there would be. It was better to eliminate them.
Next, it was Shrek Academy's turn to introduce themselves.
Dai Mubai: Seventeen years old, martial soul: White Tiger, forty-first level close combat control-type powerhouse soul master—after confirming that he had really lost his competitive edge, he indulged in self-pity for a while. After picking himself up again, he didn't return to Star Luo, but his training slackened, barely reaching Soul Ancestor.
Mu Tian: Fifteen years old, martial soul: Bright Moon, thirty-ninth level close combat control-type, physical defense-type soul master—born with full soul power, his martial soul had once been hosted by Austin Griffin. The efficiency of refining the energy of heaven and earth was not bad, but due to Austin Griffin's transfer and his own misjudgment, forcibly absorbing a thousand-year level soul ring caused his body to be injured and it took some time to recover. Afterwards, even with diligent cultivation, he was still one step away from Soul Ancestor.
Oscar: Fifteen years old, martial soul: Sausage, thirty-fifth level close combat control-type soul master, food type amplification-type auxiliary soul master—born with full soul power, he was taken in as a disciple by Yu Xiaogang at the age of seven and was trained by him. Although his martial soul was a sausage, he possessed attack-type soul skills unique to a battle soul master. His development was skewed, but with the external soul bone Eight Spider Spear and a strong physique, he could easily defeat opponents of the same level as long as their martial souls weren't particularly powerful.
Ma Hongjun: Fourteen years old, martial soul: Evil Fire Phoenix (crossed out) Evil Fire Chicken (referee correction), thirty-second level long-range output-type powerhouse soul master—Dean of Shrek, Flender's disciple, his development was not much different from the original story, except that he didn't take the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower. He was also troubled by the evil fire himself.
Then, there were auxiliary healing soul master, Zhiang Zhu; assassination-type agile attack soul master, Jing Ling; and Huang Yuan, who was relatively balanced in all aspects.
As for Tai lung, as a close combat control-type powerhouse, his type overlapped with Dai Mubai, Mu Tian, and Oscar, so he couldn't participate for now and could only be a substitute.
"Three minutes."
With the referee's command, the battle began, but Mu Tian raised three fingers towards Wang Chen, saying, "Just three minutes, and we'll knock you off this stage."
Although the distance between the two teams was a hundred meters, Wang Chen heard it and sneered, "Heh, quite boastful, aren't you? Do you think you've taken Tang San's place?"
Even though the other members of the Tian Dou Royal Second Team were trash, he wasn't, and there were also many Soul Elders on Shrek's side, with only two Soul Ancestors.
Without the Sunflower Dew from Tang San, how could Shrek defeat them within three minutes?
Did they really think the Tian Dou Royal Second Team was as useless as in the original story?
The battle was about to begin.
Both teams exerted all their strength and charged forward.
Meanwhile, the members of various advanced academies sitting in the audience observed the two sides battling amidst the swirling yellow sand.
Shrek's side was very uncomfortable in the desert environment, and the abilities of the seven members didn't complement each other very well.
Individually, they were all quite strong and could surpass the majority of soul masters at the same level. But their coordination with each other was still following the old pattern, without any outstanding tactics.
And what about the Tian Dou Royal Second Team?
Their coordination was even worse, especially since they spent much more time playing than practicing.
However, their martial soul talents were there. Surprisingly, for a moment, they were evenly matched with Shrek's seven.
For most of the lower-tier advanced academies, both these teams were formidable opponents. But for members of the Four Elemental Academies and the Tian Dou Royal First Team, apart from Dai Mubai, Mu Tian, Oscar, and Wang Chen, the rest of the people were all chickens pecking at each other.
"Tian Heng, if you were to go alone, could you defeat all fourteen of them within a few minutes?" Tang San turned to Yu Tianheng, who was sitting behind him, and asked.
"Me?" Yu Tianheng stood with his hands on his hips, confidently smiling, "In my normal state, it might take about ten minutes to deal with them. The quality of that Death God Scythe is not bad, the White Tiger is also decent, that mutated Earth Fire Lizard is a bit tricky, and then there's that Sausage... used as a weapon by that relative of Oscar, it might give me some trouble unexpectedly."
"If I activate my overclocking state, three minutes will be enough."
"Hey... Vice Captain, please don't talk nonsense. Although my surname is also Ao, I really have no relation to that Oscar. The surname Ao is quite common within the Tian Dou Empire," Oscar said.
"Sorry, I thought you and Oscar were distant relatives," Yu Tianheng apologized. After all, he didn't usually pay much attention to surnames within the Heaven Dou Empire; he just thought Oscar and Oslo's names sounded alike.
"It's not your fault, Vice Captain. After all, three hundred years ago, something happened that I don't even know about. Our branch of the Ao family, whose martial soul is the Ghost Panther, only has fragments of records left, and not many elders care about it," Oscar explained. "Three hundred years ago?"
Tang San remembered his experience in the Infinite Abyss. The Fire Phoenix from the Fire Clan had mentioned that the Martial Soul Temple had once organized an exploration three hundred years ago, and except for the three Titled Douluo, the entire army was wiped out.
Perhaps the Oslo family three hundred years ago had also participated... Perhaps one of the three Titled Douluo who survived was born into the Oslo family... Perhaps the downfall of the Oslo family was related to what that Titled Douluo obtained from the Golden Tree...
(End of this chapter)