Three days later, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City.
The grand opening ceremony of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, Heaven Dou Empire Division, was held in Heaven Dou City.
As the grandest event in the soul master world, this tournament not only attracted the attention of soul masters, but also drew interest from the royal family, nobility, and commoners alike. Every citizen of Heaven Dou City regarded this tournament as the grandest festival. The opening ceremony took place in the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena in the city. Tickets for the opening ceremony had sold out a month in advance. It's worth noting that these tickets were priced the same as the main event tickets for the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
This shows just how enthusiastic people were.
As the main venue for the Heaven Dou division, the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena had stopped all other soul battles a month before undergoing internal renovations. All the sub-arenas within were merged with the main soul battle center to form an enormous competition ground.
For the next period, all preliminary matches for the Heaven Dou division would be held here.
At dawn, before the sun had even risen in the east, the renovated Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena was already packed with a sea of people. The reason the audience arrived so early wasn't to get in sooner, since each ticket had a designated seat. Rather, they wanted to catch a close glimpse of the young soul masters competing on the first day of the ceremony.
Among them were quite a few love-struck maidens.
After all, the total number of soul masters on the continent was no more than six figures, and those who could represent advanced soul master academies were the elite among them, all under the age of twenty-five. Naturally, they became the most desirable suitors in the eyes of many young women. If one could marry a powerful soul master, she would be set for life.
As the opening ceremony began, each academy appeared before the crowd in turn, with the representatives of Heaven Dou Empire, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first and second teams, leading the way.
The first team was exempt from both the preliminaries and the promotion rounds, advancing directly to the finals. This privilege was originally offered to the Emperor Battle Team, but Qin Ming declined it, choosing instead a spot for the second team. His goal in leading this team was not only to win the championship but also to have them gain experience and grow through battling various soul masters.
After the Emperor Battle Team, the renowned Five Element Academies and other established powerhouses made their appearances, each greeted with thunderous applause.
Until it was Shrek's turn to appear when the atmosphere shifted: first, an awkward silence, followed by boundless ridicule. It couldn't be helped—the Shrek Academy uniforms were just too unique. The dung-green jackets, with the large embroidered words "Seeking Sponsorship," almost made some people die of laughter on the spot.
Every year, there were always a few academies that got eliminated in the first round. In the eyes of the audience, Shrek was destined to be this year's cannon fodder.
"How is it, Big Sister Rongrong, have you seen the boss yet?" Ma Hongjun hopped about in the crowd, searching for Tian Lin.
"Ugh, you fatty, aren't you embarrassed enough already? If my Sword Brother sees me like this, I'll never show my face again." Ning Rongrong hung her head, deeply regretting her decision. She wished she had listened to Sword Brother and left straight away. All responsibilities aside, nothing was worth enduring such an ugly uniform.
Meng Yiran simply broke away from the group, burying her head in her grandfather's arms. She regretted transferring schools for the first time.
Because of the commotion, Tian Lin also noticed the Shrek Seven Devils. Ning Rongrong didn't dare look at him, clearly worried about her image in his eyes.
"Thank goodness I didn't join that team back then," Tian Lin thought gleefully. "Just for these uniforms, Emperor Battle is better."
Still, the Shrek team hadn't been idle this past year. Everyone had improved, but most had lost their immortal herbs, so they couldn't field a full team of Soul Ancestors.
Tian Lin could easily gauge their levels now.
The strongest was Ning Rongrong, who had taken the Heavenly Mending Pill—she was already level 45. Next were Dai Mubai, the oldest, and Ma Hongjun, who had eaten the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower—both at level 41.
The rest were all Soul Elders: Xiao Wu at level 38, Zhu Zhuqing at 36, and Oscar and Meng Yiran (who had taken Tian Lin's pills) at 39.
These levels weren't low. Even the protagonist Tang San was only level 39 at this point, seemingly set back by a pill Tian Lin gave him, preventing him from reaching level 40.
Finally, there were four substitutes, between levels 35 and 37. Frankly, with this strength, Tian Lin didn't hold out much hope for them—even reaching the finals would take luck, let alone winning the championship.
The opening ceremony began with registration and team member check-in. After Emperor Battle finished registering, they didn't leave right away.
Soon, Shrek left the registration hall. Qin Ming hurried over. "Dean, Teacher Zhao!"
He had been waiting for his teachers.
"Mm, Xiao Qin, not bad. Your soul power has improved again—almost level seventy, right?" Zhao Wuji praised, patting Qin Ming on the shoulder.
"Qin Ming is just lucky. I should be able to achieve Soul Sage within a year," Qin Ming replied modestly but confidently.
Flender smiled with satisfaction. "Alright, Qin Ming, no need to be so polite. You've long since graduated. This time, we're opponents—let me see for myself how your teaching skills measure up."
While Qin Ming and Flender exchanged pleasantries, Tian Lin approached Ning Rongrong. "My dear Rongrong, why are you hiding your face from me? Don't you want to see Sword Brother?"
"Ugh, Sword Brother, you're so annoying—you know exactly why." Ning Rongrong buried her head in Tian Lin's chest, not daring to show her face. "Sword Brother, help me think of something. I'm the next heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—my embarrassment is the clan's embarrassment."
"There's nothing I can do. Every academy has its rules, and as an outsider, I can't interfere. As for the clan's reputation, don't worry, Rongrong—I'll help you win it back." Tian Lin spread his hands, helpless.
"Who are these toads, coming to embarrass themselves at the elite tournament?" At this moment, an unpleasant voice came from the side.
They recognized the familiar uniforms—it was the students of Blue Sunshine Academy.
"Who are you calling toads?" Tai Long of the Strength Clan, with his fiery temper, immediately charged forward.
"Whoever's wearing dung-green is a toad. Too bad you didn't bring matching hats, or it would've been perfect, haha!" the Blue Sunshine Academy students mocked.
"Damn it, I'll show you who's a toad!"
As Tai Long was about to attack, the Blue Sunshine Academy team prepared to fight back. Suddenly, a powerful yet cold voice rang out. "What are you all doing?"
Hearing this voice, the Blue Sunshine Academy students no longer dared to act up and quickly stepped aside. Behind them walked an old man of about sixty, dressed in white soul master robes, his face stern.
Seeing this man, Flender and Zhao Wuji's expressions changed, and they hurried to shield their students—this man was no one to mess with.
He was one of the most formidable Spirit Sages: Brutal Dream Shi Nian.