Chapter 118: Blazing Fire Academy Bows Out Early
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is the largest event in the Soul Master world, hosted by the royal families of both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires and co-organized by Spirit Hall. The tournament is divided into three stages: the preliminary rounds, the advancement rounds, and the finals.
The preliminary rounds are team-based, and the competition is held in different regions based on the academy's registered address. All academies face each other in a round-robin format, with victories earning points. The final standings are determined by the total points accumulated, and the top teams advance.
The Kingdom of Sylvia has two qualifying spots, as do three other affiliated kingdoms and duchies of the Heaven Dou Empire. The Heaven Dou Empire's direct region has five qualifying spots, making a total of fifteen teams advancing to the next stage.
After the preliminary rounds comes the advancement round, where the fifteen teams that qualified compete.
The advancement round is an individual competition, which isn't particularly favorable for support-type Soul Masters, but in the Soul Master world, strength reigns supreme. This is the very reason why the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has never surpassed the Clear Sky Sect in power.
The advancement round doesn't eliminate any teams but ranks them by strength, which is used to determine which teams receive byes in the first round of the finals.
The finals follow an elimination format, with team battles continuing until the final three teams are left. For the top three, the format shifts to individual battles first, followed by a team fight between the two teams that lost the individual matches. The loser is placed in third, while the final team battle on the next day determines the champion of the tournament.
As the saying goes, "Know thyself and know thy enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles." Long before the preliminary rounds began, Xiao Yu had already arranged for people to gather information on the teams participating from the Sylvia Kingdom.
The results left Xiao Yu unimpressed. No wonder Sylvia ranked lowest among the four kingdoms under Heaven Douโout of the ten-odd participating teams, only two academies had Soul Ancestors, with their levels barely exceeding forty.
Xiao Yu found such weak teams hardly worth his attention. After hastily attending the opening ceremony, he decided to return to seclusion. As for the competition, he assigned Meng Yiran, Yang Guan, Niu Quan, and Bai Ningxin to participate, giving them some exposure on behalf of their influential families, including Dragon Duke Meng Shu, Yang Wudi, Niu Gao, and Bai He.
Team battles required seven members, so aside from the "relaxing four," Xiao Yu sent in Mi Yimei, Io, and Xie Wu, three Soul Ancestors, to hold the fort. The Nine Stars team easily steamrolled through the preliminary rounds, even against the team with two Soul Ancestors, achieving an overwhelming victory.
A month later, the preliminary rounds concluded, and unsurprisingly, Nine Stars Academy secured one of the two qualifying spots alongside the Nightglow Academy, the team with two Soul Ancestors. Both teams set off for Heaven Dou City, where the advancement rounds would be held at the Royal Hunting Grounds just outside the city.
The distance from Sylvia City to Heaven Dou City wasn't too far, but it wasn't exactly close either. They hurried as much as they could and arrived just in time for the end of the preliminary rounds in Heaven Dou City.
Upon arriving at the hunting grounds, the Nine Stars team was warmly welcomed by the Heaven Dou Royal Knights, who were responsible for maintaining order and security during the advancement rounds. After all, in public, Qian Renxue held the title of Heaven Dou Empire's crown prince. With a word from her, no one dared to slack off.
Although the Kingdom of Sylvia ranked lowest among Heaven Dou's four affiliated kingdoms, the accommodations given to the Nine Stars team were the best in the hunting grounds, even better than those arranged for teams from the Heaven Dou region.
After settling in, Huo Wu immediately asked Xiao Yu for leave to visit her family.
Over the past two years, as more and more people around her advanced to the Soul King level and Xiao Yu himself broke through to become a Soul Emperor, Huo Wu felt increasingly pressured and trained relentlessly. Her visits home became less frequent. Now that she was so close to home, she couldn't resist the opportunity to visit.
Unexpectedly, upon her return, the usually cheerful Huo Wu became sullen and downcast.
Xiao Yu, noticing her mood, wrapped his arms around her and asked gently, "Huo Wu, why are you so upset after your trip?"
Huo Wu gave Xiao Yu a somewhat resentful glance and said, "Our Blazing Fire Academy placed sixth in the preliminary rounds this year and failed to qualify from the Heaven Dou region. The Soul Master Tournament has been held for four consecutive years, and this is the first time Blazing Fire Academy couldn't even make it past the preliminaries. My dad, my grandpa, and my brother are all devastated!"
"What?"
Xiao Yu was shocked when he heard the news. In the original storyline, he remembered that it was Elephant Armor Academy that failed to qualify from the Heaven Dou region, not Blazing Fire Academy.
Thinking it over, Xiao Yu quickly realized the reason: since he had lured Huo Wu, the team's control-type Soul Master and one of their strongest members, away, Blazing Fire Academy's strength had been cut in half. Losing to Elephant Armor Academy made sense under the circumstances.
Seeing Huo Wu pout so much that she could practically hang a bottle of soy sauce from her lips, Xiao Yu couldn't help but chuckle. He gently tapped her nose and comforted her, "Don't be upset. Although Blazing Fire Academy lost, you're still here with me. When we win the championship together, your grandfather and father will be so overjoyed, they won't know what to say!"
"Deal!"
Huo Wu instantly perked up at his words. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she furrowed her brows and grabbed Xiao Yu by the collar, glaring at him fiercely. "By the way, if you dare go easy on the Spirit Hall team when you face Qian Renxue, see how I'll deal with you!"
Huo Wu had already been informed about Qian Renxue's identity by Ye Lingling. However, Xiao Yu and Ye Lingling had privately decided not to reveal to Huo Wu that Qian Renxue and Xue Qinghe were the same person for the time being.
"Why would I go easy?"
Xiao Yu replied confidently, "When I face Qian Renxue, I'll give it my all. Don't worry, I'll make sure you bring that championship trophy home!"
I really won't hold back. After all, if I lose, I can't make her your sister!
That was Xiao Yu's inner thought.
Yes, Xiao Yu was steadily walking further down the path of a scoundrel.
After successfully cheering up Huo Wu, Xiao Yu got up and headed to the team leader's tent to plan for the upcoming advancement rounds.
Representing the academy as the official team leader this time was Nine Stars Academy's vice-dean, Xuanwu, who had already reached Level 88. In a few years, Nine Stars Palace would have yet another Titled Douluo.
Xuanwu had just returned from the tournament committee with the team's bracket for the advancement round and was about to discuss it with Xiao Yu. To his surprise, Xiao Yu had already arrived, and the two of them sat down in Xuanwu's quarters to strategize for the upcoming matches.
(End of Chapter)
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