Today marked the fourth day of the competition, and early in the morning, the cheers of the audience were already echoing across the Star Luo Square.
There was only one reason for this: the first match of the day was Shrek Academy's match, and the audience's long-awaited Huo Yuhao, the Soul Saint with ten 100,000-year soul rings, was about to compete again!
Although today's match was only the first round of the round-robin stage, and only four out of the eight groups were scheduled to compete, all sixty-seven teams that had advanced from the knockout rounds were sitting in the rest area without exception.
They were here to watch the match—more precisely, they were here to see Huo Yuhao fight. They wanted to witness firsthand if this student from the Body Sect and Shrek Academy was as terrifyingly powerful as rumored.
When Huo Yuhao, dressed in his signature black outfit, appeared once again at the entrance of the participating academy tunnel, the entire Star Luo Square erupted into a frenzy.
"Shrek! It's Shrek!"
"Huo Yuhao! Huo Yuhao!"
Amid the gaze of tens of thousands, Huo Yuhao remained utterly indifferent, completely ignoring the eyes on him. He led the Shrek Academy team into the rest area, moving as if no one else was present.
Meanwhile, the tournament's host was already warming up the crowd. He first announced the list of academies that had advanced through the first round, then proceeded to explain the group stage situation.
After passionately delivering a long-winded and somewhat pointless speech, he finally exclaimed with great enthusiasm, "Now, let's welcome the representative team of the continent's number one academy, Shrek Academy, and their opponents, the Yunluo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy from the Stat Luo Empire, into the staging area. Additionally, will the team captains of both teams please come to the stage to determine the format of their match."
Huo Yuhao stood up and made his way to the stage. At the same time, the captain of Yunluo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy also approached the stage.
The captain of Yunluo Academy was a burly man with short golden hair, and his physique was quite robust. However, when he saw Huo Yuhao, a flash of fear crossed his eyes.
There was no helping it—Huo Yuhao had caused too much of a stir before, with the Sea God's Light enveloping all of Star Luo City. In the minds of the spectators, Huo Yuhao had almost become synonymous with the word "invincible."
The drawing process for the match format was simple. The referee brought a cylindrical lottery drum to the stage, allowing both team captains to inspect it thoroughly.
"Three, two, one."
A flash of light passed through Huo Yuhao's eyes as he extended his right hand and lightly tapped the table. The lottery drum was instantly sent flying into the air.
This move drew gasps from the crowd. Huo Yuhao hadn't used any soul power; he had achieved this effect purely through his own physical strength and a bit of clever force, reminiscent of the "force-transmitting-through-a-wall" technique.
The captain of Yunluo Academy waved his right hand, tapping the lottery drum in mid-air, sending it flying toward the referee. At the same time, a small ball fell out of the lottery drum.
The balls came in three colors: red, yellow, and blue. Red represented a team battle, yellow represented an individual battle, and blue represented the 2-2-3 formation. The first match of the round-robin stage would be an individual battle, as a yellow ball had fallen out.
The referee caught the yellow ball, showed it to both team captains, then signaled to Dai Jiawei, the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, atop the city wall. Afterward, he announced through his soul-powered megaphone, "Shrek Academy will face Yunluo Academy in a one-on-one knockout format. Please have both teams send out their first competitors."
A one-on-one battle? The audience's eyes lit up, and all gazes turned toward Huo Yuhao.
In the knockout round, Huo Yuhao had put on a spectacular display, single-handedly defeating seven opponents in seconds.
Could this first round of the group stage be a repeat of that scene? Would Huo Yuhao again wipe out his opponents all by himself?
Sure enough, Huo Yuhao didn't step down from the stage but stood there calmly, looking in the direction of Yunluo Academy.
"Who will be the first?"
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words, the members of Yunluo Academy turned pale. The spectators could also tell that Yunluo Academy didn't seem to have much fighting spirit; in fact, they appeared to be quite intimidated by Huo Yuhao.
And this was indeed the case. When Yunluo Academy learned they were grouped with Shrek Academy and would face them in the first match of the round-robin, their strategy was simple: preserve as much strength as possible and try to build a good relationship with Shrek Academy.
At the very least, they needed to hold out for a few rounds under Huo Yuhao's onslaught, or they would be humiliated in front of the entire Douluo Continent.
Yunluo Academy wasn't particularly strong to begin with. They had barely made it through the knockout round, and several of their key members were injured.
Now, facing Huo Yuhao, who treated the Soul Master Tournament like a speed-run game, how could they muster any fighting spirit?
This was just the group stage; losing a match wasn't the end of the world. Besides, there was no shame in losing to Shrek Academy. If they could at least last a few moves against Huo Yuhao, they might even save some face.
The first competitor from Yunluo Academy was a short but broad-shouldered and somewhat chubby student. As he faced Huo Yuhao, clad in black with a cold expression, beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.
The chubby student instinctively wiped his sweat with his sleeve, causing the audience to erupt in laughter.
The referee called the two competitors to the center and said in a stern voice, "The rules of the individual knockout match are simple: once a competitor loses, they must immediately step down. The winning side can either continue or substitute with another team member. Both sides will send out seven members, and the match will continue until one side's seven members are all defeated. Understood?"
"Understood!" "Got it."
The referee continued, "Good, now both of you step back. On my command, the match will begin. No high-lethality Soul Tools or fixed installation Soul Tools are allowed."
As he spoke, the referee had already stepped back. The Yunluo Academy student forced a smile and said to Huo Yuhao, "My name is Ma Yingjun. Please go easy on me, senior."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and replied, "I'm not your senior; I've just started my second year."
Ma Yingjun was momentarily stunned, and the other members of Yunluo Academy were equally shocked by Huo Yuhao's words!
They had assumed Huo Yuhao just looked young but was actually nearing twenty. That would've been easier to accept.
However, they hadn't expected that Huo Yuhao was only in his second year, meaning he was only around twelve or thirteen years old based on Shrek Academy's admission standards.
Damn, Shrek Academy is using child labor! This is illegal, you know?!
They weren't using amplifying Soul Tools, so the audience couldn't hear their conversation. However, from their expressions, it was clear that the Yunluo Academy student had heard something unbelievable.
"Begin!" The referee's shout signaled the start of the match, and he quickly retreated to the edge of the arena.
As soon as Ma Yingjun heard the command, he sprang into action. Though his heart was trembling with fear, his muscle memory kicked in, and he immediately equipped his Soul Tools.
He raised both arms, each sprouting three thick metal tubes. His shoulders also extended two more arm-thick metal barrels, and a pair of wings unfurled from his back. Each of his sturdy legs revealed six more metal tubes.
And then? There was no "and then."
When Ma Yingjun's attention shifted back from his Soul Tools, Huo Yuhao was already standing behind him.
"The startup time is way too long. It seems the combat effectiveness of Soul Engineers in this era is still just so-so."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's casual remark, Ma Yingjun felt his consciousness blur, and he collapsed onto the stage.