The tournament arena is three meters tall, with a diameter of one hundred fifty meters.
In previous Soul Fighting Competitions, the arena wouldn't be too small, usually maintaining a diameter of about one hundred twenty meters. However, this year's competition has expanded the arena to a diameter of one hundred fifty meters.
Even the arena within the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy has a diameter of two hundred meters, but this arena for the Soul Fighting Competition is only one hundred fifty meters.
It's not because of a lack of funds.
Rather, a larger arena presents many inconveniences for the battle.
With a two hundred meter diameter arena, the instant both sides start, they'd be at least one hundred fifty meters apart, and they could just set up a Soul-guided Cannon and fire directly.
It's too much of an advantage for Soul Guides.
The Sun and Moon Empire did consider building a two-hundred-meter-diameter arena, but other empires strongly opposed it.
Fortunately, thanks to the strong demands of the Sun and Moon Empire, the arena has still been expanded this time.
Expanded to a diameter of one hundred fifty meters.
Of course, to avoid the aforementioned issues, the rules in the competition require both sides to prepare at a position a hundred meters from the center of the arena.
This is basically consistent with the usual Soul Fighting Competition rules, only adding the option to retreat after the match begins.
The arena overall exudes a silvery metallic sheen, looking like it was constructed of metal.
...
Looking at the competition venue, the members of the Tang Sect and Shrek were secretly amazed.
"That arena could very well be an entire Soul-guiding Device," Fan Yu, the leader of both teams this time, said in a deep voice as he observed the faint patterns on the arena.
"How much rare metal would this require?" Ningtian commented, as she contended over the Forbidden Demon Crystal, the size of a fist, with Su Yu.
She deeply sensed the strength of the Sun and Moon Empire.
In the Douluo Three Kingdoms, even the Seven Treasures Glaze Sect would find it hard to build such an arena.
It's not about insufficient funds, but the squandering of rare metals.
...
Located over a thousand meters from the competition arena, beams of intense energy light shot from eight directions, converging above the arena.
Energy flowed among the eight beams.
At the point of convergence, a canopy covering the entire arena was formed.
The canopy was hundreds of meters above the arena, ensuring that even Soul Masters with flying abilities wouldn't be affected during the competition.
"How much Soul Power would it take to activate this?" Feeling the energy fluctuations emitted by the eight beams, Fan Yu was astounded within.
A kilometer away, vast amounts of Soul-guiding Device equipment were operating in each of the eight directions, gathering Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to feed into these Soul-guiding Devices.
Each individual Soul-guiding Device was at least Level 6, and when combined, they were of Level 8 grade!
Eight eighth-level Soul-guiding Devices!
This was the current top-notch technology employed by the Sun and Moon Empire using Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi for sustained energy supply.
...
The players' resting area is on the east side of the competition platform, divided into two sections. The more luxurious section is closer to the north side, slightly smaller in size, but with fewer seats inside, prepared for the top eight teams from the previous competition.
The resting area on the south side is prepared for the other players.
These are further divided into Sect and Academy resting areas.
As a team that didn't participate last time, the Tang Sect was placed in the Sect resting area, and their location was quite isolated.
"This is too much bullying!" Ningtian, the little princess of the Seven Treasures Glaze Sect, complained, having never been treated like this before.
The participating teams entered the venue in an orderly fashion, with the atmosphere on site extremely lively.
A group of five hundred soldiers dressed in golden armor arrived below the podium, transforming the main stand, with a series of clanking noises, into rows of Soul-guided Cannon Platforms, their intimidating and eerie cannon barrels uniformly facing outward.
This was the manpower of the Royal Soul Guide Team, who only accepted orders from the Emperor.
As the Royal Soul Guide Team set up the formation, a unit of carriages and horses also entered the venue. Thirty-two scale unicorns pulled a dragon chariot resembling a small palace. The dragon chariot stopped in front of the podium, and Xu Tianran was assisted out of the dragon chariot and slowly ascended the podium.
Behind Xu Tianran, Orange personally pushed the wheelchair forward. She pushed Xu Tianran to the Emperor's viewing position on the podium and sat beside him.
"Hail Your Majesty, Hail Your Highness the Empress!"
After Xu Tianran entered, Mirror Hongchen and four other elderly figures also entered one after another, ascending the podium.
...
"Silence!"
A deep voice suddenly sounded, and a powerful pressure spread instantly across the venue, causing everyone's vision to darken, as if dark clouds were looming overhead.
Su Yu felt this powerful oppressive force, and he glanced at the tall elderly man who had previously gone unnoticed, realizing that all the pressure was emanating from within him. Su Yu also already guessed the man's identity.
Long Xiaoyao.
And as Su Yu looked up at Long Xiaoyao, Long Xiaoyao also glanced at Su Yu in surprise.
"Such strong Spiritual Power, is he Kong Deming's disciple?"
...
At the moment Long Xiaoyao appeared, those hiding in the shadows, including Qian Duoduo and many Super Douluo, were shocked.
How could it be him?
The Medical Immortal Douluo had already reached the limit of his lifespan, living long enough and having naturally experienced the era of Moon.
Or rather, not only was he of the same generation, but during his weak period, it was precisely during a time when the Light and Dark Saint Dragon had disappeared from the Soul Master Realm, and was renowned as its most glorious period.
Long Xiaoyao actually joined the Sun and Moon Empire?
Long Xiaoyao's Soul Power pressure silenced the entire noisy scene in an instant.
Orange handed a microphone to Xu Tianran, and Xu Tianran's voice echoed throughout the venue.
"Welcome everyone present to my Sun and Moon Empire to participate in this Soul Fighting Competition."
"I now declare the Continental Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition open!"
With Xu Tianran's announcement of the start of the competition, a middle-aged man wearing a black gown with gold trim stepped forward.
"Next, I will read the competition rules."
The format remains unchanged, still consisting of preliminary elimination matches where losing results in complete elimination. By the end, when only thirty-six contestants remain, they will be divided into four groups, with two qualifying spots from each group in a round-robin format.
"The first preliminary match, Sun and Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy against Dragon Slayer Sect!"
According to the age-old rule of the Soul Fighting Competition, the winners of the previous edition should play in the first match. In the previous Soul Fighting Competition, it was the Sun and Moon Royal Team who were the champions.
Looking at the Sun and Moon Royal Team entering the waiting zone, the members of Shrek Academy were filled with anger inside.
In the past, it was often their Shrek team in the first match.
Yet today, it fell to the Sun and Moon Royal Team.
The previous Soul Fighting Competition unmistakably marked the beginning of the competition with the Sun and Moon Royal Team as the first baton.
For the honor of Shrek, this championship must be won this time.
Dragon Slayer Sect was a traditional Soul Master sect from the Douling Empire, while they were quite disdainful towards Soul-guiding Devices, they felt a sense of disdain towards the Sun and Moon Royal Team.
Even though the Sun and Moon Royal Team was the champion of the last tournament, this attitude persisted.
On one hand, it was disdain for the Soul Guide, while on the other, it was the disdain for the academy students from the sect members.
The earlier editions of the Soul Fighting Competition included sects, but later they somehow removed the sects, leaving only the academy to participate.
Sects cultivate their successors by dedicating everything to it, and disciples devote themselves to building the sect for life. Whereas the academy is merely a transient tavern for the students, who have to leave after graduation.
This presents a fundamental distinction.
Therefore, sects look down on academies.
...
The first match was an individual elimination match, with each side sending only one person, and losing meant elimination, until all seven were eliminated.
The Sun and Moon Royal Team sent out Su Yu.
Not because the Sun and Moon Royal Team valued Dragon Slayer Sect so much, but rather to ignite the audience's enthusiasm for last year's champions.
Su Yu was the perfect choice for that.
Dragon Slayer Sect sent out a young man who wasn't very tall.
"In an individual elimination match, until one party loses combat ability or surrenders, or the referee decides the winner, do your best not to maim the opponent, understood?"
"Understood."
Both parties stood one hundred meters apart, followed by the referee's gunshot.
"The match begins!"
With the referee's command, both sides unleashed their Martial Souls.
Circles of Soul Rings emerged.
The audience fell into silence.