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Among all the participating teams, most were dressed in fine attire. While they wore their respective academy uniforms, none of them matched the sophistication and elegance of Shrek Academy's uniforms.
However, adorned in their golden, silver, red, white, and other colorful uniforms—decorated with intricate patterns and emblems—the young soul masters strode into the coliseum like heroes, heads held high and chests puffed out.
They exuded youthful vigor and an air of dominance, as if ready to take on the world.
Today was the opening ceremony, marking the first day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Aside from the ceremony itself, there would only be one match—a preliminary round-robin battle between Tian Dou Imperial Academy's secondary team and a randomly selected opponent. This match had a slight exhibition quality to it, as merely an opening ceremony wouldn't satisfy the audience's appetite for excitement.
The tournament offered cash prizes, distributed directly. Each victory in the preliminary rounds rewarded the winning team with five hundred gold spirit coins. Advancing to the main rounds granted an additional three thousand gold spirit coins. If a team reached the finals, the Tian Dou Empire would bestow the title of baron upon its members, along with a thousand gold spirit coins per participant, whether official or reserve. The final championship prize was even more substantial.
Though the members of Shrek Academy weren't short on money, why turn down free cash? Moreover, Li Luochen had explicitly instructed them to perform brilliantly!
After providing them with top-tier resources and training, far surpassing other teams, failing to perform well would result in extra practice sessions! Additionally, the custom-designed dueling uniforms Li Luochen had personally funded came at a cost. After securing their winnings, the team members were required to repay Li Luochen. Truly, Li Luochen was as stingy as a "iron rooster," unwilling to part with even a single feather.
As for cultivation resources, Li Luochen didn't charge them for those—after all, the costs for such resources were astronomical. Collecting payment for the uniforms alone was sufficient.
Upon reaching the main arena's rest area, Shrek Academy encountered an interesting academy: Canghui Academy.
These were the same Canghui Academy students they had met during their journey to the Star Dou Forest to obtain spirit rings. They still wore their pale moon-colored robes, embroidered with the characters "Canghui" inside a green circle on their shoulders. The difference this time was that their uniforms featured silver-thread embellishments, making them appear more dazzling than before.
Of course, compared to the uniforms designed by Li Luochen, their outfits were merely flashy. In terms of sophistication and class, Shrek Academy's uniforms remained unmatched.
It must be said, the little-bearded man (Li Luochen) truly had excellent taste.
Unlike the original storyline, Shrek Academy was now a renowned advanced soul master academy on the continent, rivaling or even surpassing the Four Elements Academies. A small academy like Canghui posed no threat.
Canghui Academy didn't dare provoke Shrek Academy—they were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. With Shrek Academy's teachers present, challenging them would be akin to courting death.
Thus, upon seeing Shrek Academy, they simply stepped aside. Though they possessed a secret weapon and weren't afraid of Shrek Academy, they knew full well about the presence of several Soul Douluos and one Title Douluo backing Shrek Academy.
They dared not use their secret weapon against Shrek Academy. What if the Title Douluo, known for his ill temper, decided to visit Canghui Academy? They understood the consequences of such an action.
They were well aware of their own headmaster's nature—he would abandon them without hesitation to save his own life.
"Oh? It's you, Shi Nian." Flender's voice broke the silence.
An elder in his sixties approached. He too wore the pale moon-colored robes of a soul master, but his embroidery was golden.
"I didn't expect this old fellow to have joined Canghui Academy. It seems the quality of participants from Canghui this year must be quite good," Flender remarked casually. By now, he could clearly sense Shi Nian's strength—a seventy-fourth-level Soul Sage.
His spiritual power had reached the level of a Soul Douluo. Shi Nian possessed a spirit-type soul, which might explain his heightened spiritual abilities.
On the other hand, Shi Nian, despite his formidable spiritual power, felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at Flender. It was as though he were being stared down by a mighty Owl, leaving him deeply uneasy.
"Principal, do you know this elder?" Ma Hongjun, though apprenticed to You Tianshang, remained close to Flender and thus asked directly.
"This old man is called Shi Nian. His spirit is highly unusual—it's a tangible yet intangible type capable of creating various illusions, causing opponents to lose themselves within them. At his current strength, he can trap opponents in illusions so powerful that they'll self-destruct.
We refer to his spirit as 'Brutal Dream.' This old man is extremely insidious. Don't let his calm exterior fool you—he holds grudges and repays even the smallest offenses.
All of you, be careful around him. When I first met him, his soul power was already in the sixties. Now he's at seventy-four, with spiritual power rivaling a Soul Douluo."
Upon hearing Flender reveal his exact strength, Shi Nian immediately began sweating profusely. Though he and Flender had always been at odds, he knew Flender's capabilities well.
Could it be that Flender had encountered some fortune? He resolved to interrogate someone from Shrek Academy later. That burly young man leading the group seemed to radiate a weaker aura, likely an easy target. The young man beside him, whose soul power neared the Soul Douluo level, was probably the leader. As for the burly youth, his soul power likely didn't exceed the Soul King level—Shi Nian believed he could handle him and extract information when the time came.
"Hmph! Let's go!" Shi Nian signaled, and Canghui Academy departed.
Li Luochen suddenly smirked. Moments earlier, he had sensed Shi Nian probing his strength. In response, Li Luochen deliberately suppressed his aura to the level of a Soul King. Shi Nian possessed a gemstone-type head soul bone—a perfect fit for Ning Rongrong.
He had forgotten to retrieve it earlier, but this tournament provided an opportunity. Li Luochen planned to distribute a significant number of soul bones as rewards to deserving students.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar, however, didn't need any more soul bones—they already possessed several. In the future, they would undoubtedly acquire hundred-thousand-year soul rings, so there was no need to allocate additional soul bones unless something better came along.
Still, Li Luochen couldn't help but pity Shi Nian. Of all people to pick on, he chose the strongest one. Tsk tsk tsk.
"Oh, by the way, don't worry about Shi Nian's abilities. His powers, though strange, rely heavily on spiritual strength. If you possess a head soul bone, you can resist his control. Alternatively, if your spiritual strength is strong enough, you can forcibly break through his illusions, causing his own spiritual power to backlash and harm him. However, among you, only Hongjun currently possesses such spiritual strength.
The rest of you would be unlucky if you encountered him alone. Therefore, for the time being, avoid wandering off alone. Stay close to your teachers. With us around, Shi Nian won't dare make a move."
Li Luochen's words prompted the students to nod in agreement. Given his immense prestige, they followed his instructions without question.
Next, it was time to enter the competition arena. Their first opponent would be… Tian Dou Secondary Team!
"Ah, so nothing's changed? Is this how things work?"
"Mm, Deputy Leader Qin, you take charge of the arrangements," Li Luochen delegated command of the team to Qin Ming, choosing to listen rather than lead. After all, Qin Ming's tactical expertise far surpassed his own.
Li Luochen's approach was straightforward: fight if you can win, retreat if you can't. He had no concept of teamwork.
Qin Ming, on the other hand, excelled in this area. Thus, he was entrusted with command.
"Alright! Yu Tianxin, Dai Mubai, Niu Dun, Yang Wu, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, Jiang Zhu—you're up. Remember, resolve the battle within one minute."
The named individuals stood up promptly.
"Yes! ×7"
Oscar & Ma Hongjun: "Shrek will win!"
Everyone: "Shrek will win!"
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