Chapter 236: The Grand Opening of the Competition
The competition finally arrived as scheduled. The Sun Moon Empire, undoubtedly much wealthier than the Star Luo Empire, had constructed a Grand Soul Arena nearly twice the size of the one in Star Luo City. Equipped with soul-guiding devices and numerous guards, the order in the Grand Soul Arena was significantly better.
Although it was uncertain whether Du Qianjue would attend the subsequent matches, he was definitely interested in watching the opening ceremony. Thus, he followed the team from the Body Sect to the contestants' resting area of the Mingdu Grand Soul Arena. It must be said, the Sun Moon Empire really knew how to treat people well; as long as the Body Sect did not oppose them, the treatment they received was of the highest standard.
Not only were the accommodations in the hotel top-notch, but the location of their resting area was also among the best. Naturally, the resting area for the Body Sect also offered one of the best views of the competition.
"Do you think the opening ceremony of this edition of the Grand Competition will start with the Di Ao Academy from the Sky Soul Empire taking the stage? Under the leadership of the young sect master, the Di Ao Academy won the championship in the last competition!" Wang Yanfeng asked curiously.
In previous years, the first match of the Soul Fighting Competition was always a stage for Shrek Academy to showcase its strength, and indeed, Shrek had not tasted defeat in ten thousand years. But in the last competition, not only did Shrek lose, it had also completely disappeared within these five years.
It was worth pondering which team would be the first to take the stage in the opening ceremony of this edition. Would it be the last competition's champion, Di Ao Academy, or would the home field advantage be assertively claimed by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Guidance Academy?
"Young Sect Master, what do you think?"
Du Qianjue paused as he was eating fruit, glanced at Wang Yanfeng, and said in a calm tone, "The Sun Moon Empire may not give face to the Sky Soul Empire. Their ambition to wage war has been unmasked, and this opening ceremony of the competition is their time to bare their fangs. Naturally, they won't give this opportunity to the Di Ao Academy."
"Let's just wait and see. The first to take the stage will definitely be the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy."
Everyone looked at each other in silence, only Princess Wei na of the Sky Soul Empire, also a member of the Body Sect, had eyes full of worry. Although she was the princess of the Sky Soul Empire, she was also aware of the Body Sect's recent decision.
In this war, the Body Sect had decided not to get involved. Shrek Academy once flew the flag of neutrality, absolutely not favoring any country, but in reality, it was more inclined towards the three empires of Douluo. Under Du Qianjue's leadership, the Body Sect was now truly neutral. The Sun Moon Empire also had soul masters from the Body Sect, and in the future, the Body Sect would recruit disciples from there as well.
The soul-guiding devices previously sold to the Sky Soul and Star Luo Empires were merely repaying a favor. After all, the Body Sect was situated within the Sky Soul Empire and owed them a lot of goodwill. Now that this goodwill had been repaid, they were just onlookers.
No matter how the battle unfolded, the Body Sect would not help any empire in any way.
This was the source of Wei na's concern. Without the Body Sect's involvement, facing the Sun Moon Empire's army, the Sky Soul Empire's chances of victory were almost non-existent; they could only try to collaborate with the Star Luo Empire.
Thinking of this, Wei na couldn't help but glance at the resting area of the Star Luo Royal Academy, catching Princess Xu Jiujui's gaze. With just a look, both understood what the other was thinking.
At this moment, Xu Tianran also appeared.
Regent Xu Tianran, under the spotlight, made his entrance not only wearing the dragon robe that signified the emperor's identity but also with the pomp of an emperor.
Even the guarding soldiers were chanting, "Long live the Regent..."
One wonders if the dying old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, lying sick in bed, would feel proud or die of anger seeing his son so accomplished.
After a succinct speech, Orange, pushing Xu Tianran's wheelchair, moved to the centermost position on the high platform to watch the competition together.
"Spot on. Thinking of Xu Jiawei makes me speechless; why can't he speak as decisively as Xu Tianran?" Du Qianjue muttered to himself while snacking on fruits, inwardly criticizing Xu Jiawei's pointless chatter and appreciating Xu Tianran's style.
Although this eunuch was annoying, his style of doing things was quite appealing. As a token of my appreciation, I might just ensure that his soul accompanies mine...
Du Qianjue smiled subtly.
And in the first match of the knockout stage, the team to take the stage was, unsurprisingly, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy.
"The first match of the knockout stage features the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy team against the Shield Yu Sect team!"
Hearing the referee's announcement, Du Qianjue even took a moment to glance at the Di Ao Academy team's resting area, and sure enough, whether it was the team leaders or the contestants, all had faces filled with indignation.
They were just short of shouting, "We protest!"
Of course, even if they did, the Sun Moon Empire probably wouldn't bother responding.
The Sun Moon team emerged from the resting area with seven people heading to the waiting area.
The so-called Shield Yu Sect, whose sect specialized in defensive soul masters, wasn't very strong, barely stronger than the Iron Blood Sect that had annihilated the Tang Sect, and their younger generation lacked any remarkable individuals.
They just barely met the minimum requirement of "five soul honors or above."
An extremely easy target.
Most importantly, the first match's combat style, drawn to be especially advantageous for soul guidance masters, was a group battle.
The Sun Moon team even sent only one main contestant, the weakest among them, with six soul honor level reserves, to the stage.
The seven members of the Shield Yu Sect, faces ashen as if mourning, knew their sect's forte was defensive soul spirits, and they too utilized soul-guiding devices. However, compared to the Sun Moon team, they were far behind.
This match seemed unwinnable from the start; not only were they in for a quick elimination, but they were also an easy pick for the Sun Moon team, much to their dismay.
As the battle commenced, the Sun Moon team secured an easy victory. The continual barrage from various soul-guiding devices in the hands of the seven contestants left the Shield Yu Sect without any chance to resist, easily knocking them out.
Observing the powerful soul-guiding devices, Wei na's silence was deafening.
On the battlefield, the soul master legions of the Sky Soul Empire, when facing the soul guidance master legions of the Sun Moon Empire, would probably end up even more miserable than the Shield Yu Sect had in this match.
Such was the advantage of soul guidance masters...
(End of Chapter)