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However, Salas didn't rush to defend himself. After the draw was completed, he scanned the crowd, emanating an invisible aura of authority, and then calmly stated:
"This seat's draw is absolutely fair. To ensure impartiality, I swear upon the honor of the Spirit Hall. Does anyone have any objections?"
The soul masters present instinctively nodded. While top-tier factions were wary of the Spirit Hall, the audience wasn't. In their eyes, the Spirit Hall still commanded a great deal of credibility.
Ye Wen's lips twitched slightly. 'What audacity! If you're so confident, why not swear on your martial soul instead of using the Spirit Hall as a shield?'
'Isn't that like saying, "If I lie, my brother will get struck by lightning"? How absurd!'
At first, Ye Wen had thought Salas hadn't cheated, but now he strongly suspected this cunning man might have tampered with the results.
At this moment, Salas added, "Furthermore, I hereby announce that any student from the participating academies who makes it to the final tournament will be granted special permission to join the Spirit Hall directly."
His words caused an uproar throughout the arena.
Although the core members of the major academies wouldn't defectâthey were tied to their respective familiesâthe same couldn't be said for the other students. This was an outright attempt to poach talent from Tian Dou!
Though the Tian Dou Spirit Hall was a subordinate branch of the Spirit Hall, in the eyes of ordinary soul masters, it represented a shortcut to high-level power for those who had no hope of becoming Title Douluos. The temptation was immense.
Emperor Xue Ye's expression darkened. He couldn't believe Salas would dare snatch away his empire's future hopes right in front of himâit was practically a public act of humiliation!
At this critical juncture, when Xue Ye lacked the confidence to confront Salas openly, Ning Fengzhi subtly shook his head, giving the emperor a graceful way out.
Ye Wen sighed inwardly. 'My father-in-law sure loves stirring the pot, always wanting to meddle in everything. Does he really think having two Super Douluos in his sect makes him untouchable?'
'Oh well, what can I do? He's my father-in-law,' Ye Wen sighed again. 'I'll just have to protect him if the Spirit Hall ever comes knocking. With the Medical Alliance backing him, I'm confident I can safeguard his family. And once that happens, his wealth will essentially be mine to use.'
As for recruiting talent under the Medical Alliance's banner, Ye Wen had no interest. In this world where extraordinary strength reigned supreme, only top-tier power mattered. A horde of weaker individuals wouldn't make a difference in the final battle. These people with no hope of reaching Title Douluo status weren't on his recruitment list.
Suddenly, as Ye Wen idly watched the tournament, his fingers paused, and his gaze subtly shifted toward the direction of the Tianshui Academy.
To be clear, Ye Wen wasn't distracted by the sight of beautiful womenâhis fiancĂ©e far outshone them all.
Within Tian Dou's borders, aside from the rising star Shrek Academy, when it came to academic heritage, the true contenders were the Five Elemental Academies.
These five academies were: Tianshui (Skywater), Chi Huo (Blazing Fire), Shen Feng (Godwind), Lei Ting (Thunder), and Xiang Jia (Elephant Armor).
The Thunder Academy was backed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
The Elephant Armor Academy was supported by the Elephant Armor Sect.
There was nothing particularly notable about these two academiesâtheir members were mostly core family members.
On the other hand, Tianshui, Chi Huo, and Shen Feng each stood behind one of the three great families specializing in water, fire, and wind attributes. Each of these families boasted Soul Douluo-level experts. However, they didn't follow the path of extreme specialization, so their overall combat strength fell short of Title Douluo levels. As such, they weren't on Ye Wen's invitation list.
As for the younger generation of these three academiesâŠ
The Chi Huo students were arrogant, especially Huo Wu, who had even kissed Tang San, the protagonist, adding some drama to her character. But overall, they were rather mediocre. Even in the original storyline, despite using their ultimate techniques, they were rendered powerless against Tang San's fire immunity. However, since Tang San currently lacked the Ice and Fire Forging Body Technique, there might be some entertainment value. Still, the ceiling for this generation of the Huo family was likely limited to their elders' Soul Douluo level.
In Shen Feng Academy, the standout figure was naturally Feng Xiaotian. He was a top-tier genius with a dual-headed Gale Wolf martial soul and innate full soul power.
Butâhe was an idiotic love-struck fool! Not only was he infatuated with Huo Wu, whom Ye Wen found utterly unappealing, but he also wasted his prime cultivation years tinkering with self-created soul skills. Worse still, his family elders didn't stop him!
As a result, despite being three or four years older than Tang San, his current soul power was roughly on par with Tang San's. This was a disgrace for someone with innate full soul power. Without a special opportunity, he'd never break through to become a Title Douluo.
For these reasons, Ye Wen had little interest in these four academies.
The Tianshui Academy, however, was different.
Though the academy had a somewhat matriarchal vibe, Ye Wen didn't see anything wrong with it. Womenâespecially beautiful onesâbanding together for mutual support was perfectly reasonable.
After all, disgusting people weren't limited to the nobility.
For weak women, beauty could sometimes be both a burden and a source of suffering.
The only downside Ye Wen saw with the Tianshui Academy was their narrow-mindedness. Because their family's inherited martial souls were water- and ice-based, they only recruited female students with water-type souls. 'Couldn't they consider other female soul masters?'
Back to the point.
Most of the Tianshui team members were relatively mediocre, but the standout figures were undoubtedly the sisters Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.
Since this was a manga-inspired worldview, Shui Yue'er wasn't limited to being a mere Soul Elder cultivator due to her ordinary dolphin martial soul. Instead, she had reached the Soul Ancestor level.
But none of that mattered. The most important person was Shui Bing'er!
Though Ye Wen couldn't recall her exact cultivation level and hadn't investigated further, there was no doubt she was a Soul Ancestor above level 40, and her age wasn't much greater than Tang San's.
Even if her innate soul power was subpar, it was likely around level eight or nineâdefinitely among the top-tier geniuses. Combined with her unparalleled, side-effect-free Ice Phoenix martial soul, with proper cultivation, she was destined to become a Title Douluo!
And that wasn't even her limit. Shui Bing'er also possessed a spirit fusion technique.
Though her younger sister and fusion partner, Shui Yue'er, was somewhat lacking in overall potential, she was still destined to reach Soul Douluo level. Together, their combined strength could at least reach Super Douluo levels.
Moreover, in the original storyline, the Tianshui team was one of the few from Tian Dou capable of suppressing the overpowered Shrek Academy, even after its members had consumed immortal herbs.
This was partly because Tang San had fire immunity. But now, without the Ice and Fire Forging Body Technique, the outcome was uncertain.
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