I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: Seven Kill Shock the World
----------------------
The next day.
As Chu Chengzhou had expected, the final round's match saw Bacarl Academy also forfeit.
In the fourteen matches of the advancement tournament, Lan Ba Academy achieved a perfect fourteen consecutive victories. Among all fifteen participating teams, Lan Ba Academy ranked first in the Tian Dou Division advancement tournament, earning the best possible result and leaving the other academies thoroughly convinced—albeit begrudgingly.
Of course, this acknowledgment was limited to their strength alone.
Regarding the extremely unpleasant conduct of a certain member of Lan Ba Academy—those who had been hung from trees were understandably dissatisfied.
But dissatisfaction was one thing; few dared to express it openly.
After all, someone so malicious was likely petty-minded. What if they held a grudge over your disapproval?
With the advancement tournament concluded, Emperor Xue Ye, utterly satisfied, delivered yet another stirring speech of encouragement and motivation.
Why was Emperor Xue Ye so pleased? For one simple reason: the top five rankings in the advancement tournament were occupied by the five academies that advanced from the Tian Dou Division preliminaries.
However, unlike the preliminaries, the rankings among these five academies shifted slightly during the advancement tournament.
Lan Ba and God Wind remained in first and second place, respectively, with Thunderbolt third, Sky Water fourth, and Blazing Fire fifth.
In team battles without using their Spirit Fusion Techniques, Sky Water's strength was inferior to Blazing Fire's.
This was because Huo Wu, the fiery young lady of Blazing Fire Academy, possessed an innate ultimate skill: Ring Fusion. It allowed her to simultaneously release the soul power of multiple soul rings when activating her offensive soul skills, amplifying their potency.
Under stationary conditions, Huo Wu could be considered a devastating artillery cannon. The explosive power of the Blazing Fire team far surpassed that of Sky Water.
However, the advancement tournament was an individual competition. Shui Bing'er, the captain of Sky Water's team, was the strongest control-type soul master at her level. Her Ice Phoenix martial soul was exceptionally formidable, reversing their performance against Blazing Fire Academy.
You say Huo Wu is also a control-type soul master?
Though nominally a controller, she was more accurately a brute attacker masquerading as one. Aside from her third soul skill, Repelling Flame Ring, her other three soul skills were all aggressive attacks. Where was the semblance of a control-type soul master?
With the advancement tournament successfully concluded, the finals were soon to begin. That would be the true battle to determine the strongest advanced soul master academy on the continent.
As the ruler of Tian Dou Empire—and one not renowned for martial prowess—Emperor Xue Ye naturally couldn't leave Tian Dou City.
After his speech, Emperor Xue Ye announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent him as the Tian Dou Empire's envoy to participate in the judging work for this tournament.
Furthermore, the fifteen participating academy teams from Tian Dou Empire, accompanied by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe himself and escorted by five hundred Royal Knights, would travel to Spirit City, located at the center of the continent and the border between the two empires. There, the finals would be hosted by the Spirit Hall.
Each academy team was given only three days to adjust. Afterward, the fifteen teams, along with their teachers and the escorting knights—a group of nearly a thousand people—set off for Spirit City.
All cities on the continent were controlled by the two great empires and their subordinate kingdoms and duchies, except for one: Spirit City, the headquarters of the Spirit Hall.
This city belonged entirely to the Spirit Hall, symbolizing one of its most sacred halls—the Pope's Hall, which was located within Spirit City.
The newly constructed Pope's Hall was hailed as the grandest building on the entire Douluo Continent.
It was precisely because of this new Pope's Hall that Spirit City became a holy site for all soul masters and served as the Spirit Hall's de facto capital.
Traveling by carriage from Tian Dou City to Spirit City took about twenty days. The duration of the finals wasn't particularly long due to the knockout format. With thirty-three teams competing, even accounting for rest periods between rounds, the champion would be decided within just over ten days.
The Spirit Hall placed immense importance on this finals event. During the advancement tournaments of the two empires, Spirit City had already designated a specific area as the venue for this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament finals.
Simultaneously, Spirit City issued a decree: during the finals, non-soul masters were forbidden from entering to watch the matches—even nobles were not exempt. This added an air of mystery to the final stage of the tournament.
After three days of rest, the teams from Tian Dou Empire participating in the finals—over a thousand people in total—departed in a grand procession.
The infrastructure level of the Douluo Continent was quite low, especially in terms of transportation.
To ensure the participants received adequate rest, the Tian Dou Empire specially prepared several luxurious, giant carriages exclusively for the competitors' use.
These carriages even incorporated some basic soul-guided technology, providing excellent shock absorption and ensuring a smooth ride.
Notably, Flender and Ma Hongjun were absent from the carriage carrying the Lan Ba Academy team.
The day after the advancement tournament ended, Ma Hongjun, who had been diligently cultivating, finally broke through to Level 40. Flender took him to Sunset Forest to obtain his fourth soul ring.
With over twenty days until the finals began, and considering Flender's ability to fly as a Soul Sage, their journey speed was fast enough. As long as Ma Hongjun's luck wasn't too terrible, he could still return in time to participate in the finals after obtaining his fourth soul ring in Sunset Forest.
After setting off, Chu Chengzhou, who harbored a slight persecution complex, instructed the carriage carrying the Lan Ba Academy team to stay close to "Big Brother" Xue Qinghe's carriage.
In the original storyline, while the Tian Dou Division teams were traveling to Spirit City, the Spirit Hall sent Chrysanthemum Elder Yue Guan, Ghost Elder Gui Mei, and a large group of henchmen to ambush Tang San halfway.
Chu Chengzhou didn't know if he'd receive the same "treatment" as Tang San, but just to be safe, it was better to stay near his "Big Brother" Xue Qinghe.
It wasn't due to Xue Qinghe's true identity but rather because Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin—whom Ning Fengzhi brought along—were in Xue Qinghe's carriage.
With Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, a Level 96 Titled Douluo, present, even if two Level 95 Titled Douluos were to appear, there was nothing to fear.
Uh… Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin together might still struggle against the full might of Yue Guan and Gui Mei?
Though Yue Guan and Gui Mei weren't individually that strong, their Spirit Fusion Technique, Two-Pole Static Domain, could simultaneously restrain even two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts like the Sky Azure Bull Python Da Ming and the Titan Giant Ape Er Ming. Their combined strength rivaled that of a Level 97 control-type Titled Douluo.
Even with Ning Fengzhi's support, the Level 96 Chen Xin might not necessarily defeat Yue Guan and Gui Mei at their peak.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed.
Inside the carriage, Chu Chengzhou, who had been meditating and cultivating using the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption technique, experienced a surge of soul power. His cultivation broke through another level.
'Level 50!'
Feeling the heightened soul power coursing through him, Chu Chengzhou opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.
Once a weakling with barely any innate soul power, he was now a Level 50 quasi-Soul King at the age of 15!
Compared to Yu Xiaogang, who also started with minimal innate soul power and was still languishing in the lower ranks of the Nuoding Academy with his cultivation forever stuck at Level 29 as a Soul Grandmaster, Chu Chengzhou could only say one thing: having cheats really does make life easier!
Reaching Level 50 meant he should go hunting for his fifth soul ring. However, upon reflection, Chu Chengzhou decided to delay it for now and wait until after the Soul Master Tournament.
They were almost at Spirit City, and the finals wouldn't last long. If he went to Great Star Dou Forest now to hunt for a suitable fifth soul ring, the tournament might end before he returned.
Moreover, without him on the team, Xiao Wu might not be able to defeat Hu Liena's Spirit Fusion Technique.
A delay of just half a month or so wouldn't have much impact.
Besides, from the start of the preliminaries until now, over three months had passed. On the journey to Spirit City for the finals, not only had Chu Chengzhou broken through to Level 50, but the others had also made significant progress.
Ma Hongjun, who had already gone soul-hunting, wasn't the only one. Xiao Wu's cultivation had reached Level 53 as a Soul King, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had both advanced to Level 44 Soul Ancestors, Oscar was now a Level 43 Soul Ancestor, and even Tai Long, who had moved up from substitute to main player after Dai Mubai's withdrawal, had been influenced by the atmosphere and reached Level 39 as a Soul Elder just two days prior.
'We're almost at Spirit City. Could it be that the Spirit Hall's ambush isn't coming? Was I just being paranoid?'
Lifting the carriage curtain and glancing outside at the darkening sky, Chu Chengzhou mused to himself.
As it turned out, he had indeed overthought things. Though he had entered Bibi Dong's radar, the Pope, who was halfway through her Rakshasa God Trials, had no intention of taking him seriously.
In Bibi Dong's view, this young man's talent and strength were commendable, but based on the Spirit Hall's intelligence, Chu Chengzhou was already 19 years old. Aside from having slightly stronger spiritual power and unique martial souls and soul skills, there was nothing particularly extraordinary about him. Moreover, since he hadn't incurred any deep grudges with the Spirit Hall, there was no need to take drastic action against him.
The assassination attempt? That was orchestrated by the Star Luo Empire, wasn't it? Emperor Dai Yutian admitted to it. What did it have to do with the Spirit Hall?
Furthermore, Bibi Dong was well aware that Emperor Xue Ye wouldn't have let Crown Prince Xue Qinghe lead the delegation to Spirit City without making security arrangements. Ning Fengzhi and one of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Sword and Bone Elders would undoubtedly accompany them covertly. Even if the Spirit Hall wanted to make a move, without tearing apart their facade completely, success was unlikely.
Additionally, news from the Tian Dou Spirit Hall indicated that this young man was close not only to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect but also to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. With such connections, there was even less reason for Bibi Dong to make a move.
Take Tang San from the original storyline, for example. If his second martial soul hadn't been the Hao Tian Hammer and he hadn't had irreconcilable enmity with the Spirit Hall, perhaps, considering Yu Xiaogang's relationship, Bibi Dong might have treated him as a personal disciple!
Three days later, the teams from the Tian Dou Division arrived at Spirit City.
Due to Spirit City's special regulations, Xue Qinghe ordered the Royal Knights to remain stationed outside the city and personally led the fifteen soul master teams into Spirit City.
Compared to sprawling metropolises like Tian Dou City or Suotuo City, Spirit City's scale was significantly smaller, even less than a tenth of Tian Dou City's size. Nevertheless, the impression it left on soul masters was profound.
Though compact, Spirit City's walls were built to imperial standards.
The towering eighty-meter-high walls were constructed entirely of hard granite. From the outside, they appeared majestic, with a thickness exceeding thirty meters.
Most uniquely, Spirit City wasn't shaped like a typical quadrilateral city but instead formed a hexagon, meaning it had six walls.
On each wall was a massive relief sculpture identical to those on the Spirit Hall tokens, symbolizing six powerful martial souls.
The patrolling guards on the walls weren't ordinary soldiers but soul masters dressed in Spirit Hall uniforms.
Using noble soul masters as city guards was something only the Spirit Hall could afford.
Upon entering Spirit City, the feeling was one of vast emptiness.
There were few pedestrians on the streets and even fewer shops. However, the shops that existed catered mostly to soul masters' needs, selling items like expensive soul-guided tools.
A red-robed bishop with a soul power level above 70 greeted the Tian Dou Division teams upon arrival. Under his guidance, the teams were quickly settled into a hotel on the western side of Spirit City.
According to information from the Spirit Hall, the matches would officially begin in three days. After the journey, these three days of rest were sufficient for the academies to adjust.
Just before the finals began, Flender and Ma Hongjun—who had obtained his fourth soul ring and advanced to Level 41 Soul Ancestor—finally returned.
With all team members present, that night, Liu Erlong gathered everyone from Lan Ba Academy.
Scanning the group, Liu Erlong said: "The finals are about to begin. Let me reiterate the rules.
The finals consist of thirty-three teams, including three seeded teams selected by the two empires and the Spirit Hall.
The tournament will have only five rounds, shorter than the preliminaries and advancement stages.
However, due to the intensity of the matches, there will be a one-day rest period between each round.
Before the final fifth round, there will be a three-day adjustment period.
In the first round, the three seeded teams will automatically advance, leaving the remaining thirty teams to compete for fifteen spots. Losers will be directly eliminated.
In the second round, according to the rules, the top-ranked academies from the two empires' advancement tournaments will also receive a bye.
In other words, after winning the first round, we'll get ample rest time. This is the purpose of the advancement stage—to prevent seeded teams capable of winning the championship from facing each other too early.
At that point, sixteen teams will compete for eight spots advancing to the third round, plus our two teams that received a bye, totaling ten academy teams.
In the third round, the second-place teams from the advancement tournament will receive a bye, leaving the remaining eight teams to compete for four spots alongside them.
In the fourth round, there will be no byes, with six teams competing for three spots.
In the fifth round—the final round—the three remaining teams will first send seven members each to determine the strongest individual team in a one-on-one battle.
Then, the two losing teams will face off in a seven-versus-seven team battle. The winner will then challenge the victor of the individual battles to decide the ultimate champion. Do you all understand?"
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison.
The finals' arena was located in the center of Spirit City. The fully granite-built competition platform had a diameter of one hundred meters. The massive platform was more than sufficient for the participating academy teams to showcase their abilities.
Moreover, the platform was reinforced with numerous soul-guided tools to prevent damage.
According to the Spirit Hall's information, this arena could withstand any attack from below Soul Emperor-level soul masters without sustaining damage.
Directly in front of the competition platform stood the Pope's Hall. From here, the hill where the Pope's Hall was located was less than a kilometer away.
In the Spirit Hall's announcements, it was declared that the final three-way showdown would take place in front of the Pope's Hall.
At that time, the Pope would personally appear and crown the final champion.
For most soul masters, this was an unparalleled honor.
Early in the morning, all participating academy teams were led by designated personnel from the Spirit Hall to the competition venue.
Each academy had a separately constructed rest area surrounding the competition venue.
On the side opposite the Pope's Hall was the VIP judges' section, where representatives from the two empires observed the matches. Of course, the Spirit Hall's people were also present.
Shortly after arriving and before settling in, Liu Erlong was called away to draw lots.
Not long after, Liu Erlong returned.
"Erlong, who's our opponent in the first round?"
Flender approached her.
"It's Sky Water Academy!"
Liu Erlong replied with a somewhat strange expression.
After entering the finals, the thirty-three participating academy teams represented only three factions: Tian Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, and the Spirit Hall. Starting with an internal battle felt awkward, as if it was somehow improper.
"Sky Water Academy?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned.
"Tsk, seems like the young ladies of Sky Water Academy aren't very lucky,"
Ma Hongjun remarked, clicking his tongue.
"Principal Erlong, did Sky Water Academy surrender in advance?"
Oscar asked.
Sky Water Academy surrendering wasn't unprecedented.
During the preliminaries, Sky Water Academy had surrendered, and in the advancement tournament, they lost to Lan Ba Academy. In Oscar's view, it wasn't impossible for Sky Water Academy to surrender again.
"What are you thinking? After working so hard to reach the finals and traveling for so many days, do you think they came to Spirit City for tourism? How could Sky Water Academy possibly surrender outright?"
Liu Erlong rolled her eyes.
Liu Erlong's guess was correct—Sky Water Academy had no intention of surrendering.
Though their draw was unlucky, pitting them against Lan Ba Academy, home to the great demon Chu Chengzhou, in the opening match, after all, Chu Chengzhou was only a Soul Ancestor. With their Spirit Fusion Technique, Ice Snow Drift, who knew who would emerge victorious?
However, once their Spirit Fusion Technique was exposed, even if they won the first round, their opponents in subsequent rounds would be prepared, making it unlikely for them to achieve good results.
The Ice Snow Drift Spirit Fusion Technique required significant preparation time and couldn't be used instantly. Opponents wouldn't give them the chance to activate it.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou, with his sharp perception and formidable spiritual power, detected a hostile gaze directed at him.
Turning toward the source of the sensation, Chu Chengzhou saw a sultry figure in the Spirit Hall Academy team's rest area. She was squinting her eyes and glaring at him with ill intent.
'Level 52 Soul King?'
Looking at the hostile Hu Liena, Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow.
If he remembered correctly, in the original storyline, Hu Liena during the Soul Master Tournament should have been a level 51 Soul King, right?
Had this little butterfly effect caused the little fox's soul power to increase by one level?
Noticing Chu Chengzhou had noticed her gaze, Hu Liena smirked. A faint blue glow emanated from her forehead, and a subtle ripple of soul power and spiritual force flashed briefly. In an instant, an intangible spiritual force descended upon Chu Chengzhou's consciousness.
Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull soul bone technique: Spirit Control, manipulating one's spiritual power to perform mental attacks or cast illusions.
In the original storyline, Tang San's spiritual attack soul bone technique, Purple God Light, wasn't the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull soul bone technique. Instead, it was a combination of the soul bone's inherent skill and the Purple Extreme Demon Eye technique he cultivated from the Tang Sect's secret arts.
Hu Liena hadn't cultivated the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, so her soul bone technique retained its original effect.
The moment Hu Liena acted, Chu Chengzhou sensed a formidable spiritual force invading his consciousness.
'So strong?'
Chu Chengzhou was inwardly shocked.
The source of this spiritual power was undoubtedly Hu Liena, but its intensity far exceeded his expectations of her.
Though weaker than him, it was comparable to an ordinary Level 70 soul master.
Though Hu Liena was a spirit-type Soul King, her spiritual power shouldn't exceed that of a typical Soul Emperor. How could she possibly reach this level?
Could it be… this little fox had absorbed a head soul bone?
And not just any soul bone—but the sixty-thousand-year Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull that the Spirit Hall offered as one of the rewards for the champion team in the original storyline?
Without overthinking, Chu Chengzhou didn't resist the incoming spiritual force. He wanted to see what tricks this little fox had up her sleeve.
Since Chu Chengzhou neither resisted nor concealed his spiritual power, Hu Liena, whose spiritual power was slightly weaker than his, successfully pulled his consciousness into an illusion.
The next moment, Chu Chengzhou felt his vision go black, and his consciousness appeared in a space devoid of light, color, or sound.
'Copying my black room technique?'
Chu Chengzhou felt a bit disappointed.
He had expected the little fox to arrange something more entertaining—like a seduction scene—but never imagined it would be a black room?
Outside, seeing that this lecher's consciousness had been locked into her "black room," Hu Liena's face flashed with a hint of smugness.
"You bastard, you locked me in a black room back then. Now the tables have turned—it's my turn to lock you in one. Taste the flavor of a black room!"
This black room technique, learned from Chu Chengzhou, was one of the applications of the head soul bone skill: Spirit Control.
Hu Liena: Thank you, teacher! Praise the teacher! The teacher is the best!
------------------------------------------------------
Double Chapters Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)