The Soul Contract Master Tournament
Day Three.
Out of the original 100 contestants, only 25 remained. Because the number of contestants was odd, a draw would be held—one lucky individual would be selected to advance directly to the final round!
The remaining 24 contestants would be split into 12 pairs to compete simultaneously.
Winners would advance!
Then the 12 would be divided into 6 pairs, and then 6 into 3, until only 3 contestants remained. Along with the lucky draw recipient, they would form two teams of two.
After those matches, the final two contenders would face off—
To decide the ultimate champion!
Before the matches began, each of the 25 remaining contestants stepped forward one by one to draw a slip of paper from a box. Before long, the lucky one was chosen.
It was none other than Zhu Zhuyun, a fellow student of Baiyun Academy.
It was worth mentioning that, up to this point in the tournament, 22 of the 25 contestants who had made it to the finals were all students of Baiyun Academy. The remaining three were wildcards—individuals who had managed to obtain contract stones distributed by Baiyun City and begun walking the path of the Soul Contract master by sheer luck.
There wasn't a single spectator who questioned whether there had been behind-the-scenes manipulation. After all, Soul Contract masters were still a fledgling class, and Baiyun Academy—with its incredible strength and extraordinary faculty—was a beacon of excellence. That their students had outperformed all others came as no surprise.
Otherwise, why would so many people go to such lengths just to qualify for admission into Baiyun Academy?
After all, it was a school founded by gods. The headmaster and vice headmaster were both deities themselves. Even if they didn't personally teach classes, the curriculum was said to have been compiled by those very gods—their knowledge and wisdom passed down. For mere mortals, such teachings could benefit them for a lifetime.
The matches began.
After two intense rounds—first the twelve, then the six—only four remained: Hu Liena, Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and the lucky Zhu Zhuyun.
The four drew lots once more to determine their next matchups, which ended up being:
Hu Liena vs. Zhu Zhuyun.
Huo Wu vs. Shui Bing'er.
As expected, the final champion would be born from Baiyun Academy.
In the VIP section—
"Ah Cheng, who do you think will make it to the final match?" Qian Renxue asked with a spark of curiosity in her eyes.
Thanks to their future daughter, Klee, serving as the bond between them, their relationship had advanced by leaps and bounds over the past six years.
From not even having met, they were now close enough to hold hands and call each other by affectionate nicknames.
"Hard to say,"
Ye Cheng shook his head and replied, "If this were a battle between soul masters, there's no doubt Hu Liena would win it all. But this is a Soul Contract Master Tournament. What matters most is the synergy between human and beast. A soul master's personal strength doesn't count for much here."
"So I can't say for sure who will win." He turned his gaze to the stage, smiling. "Let's just keep watching."
"Mm." Qian Renxue nodded in agreement and shifted her gaze toward the center of the arena, where two battle platforms stood.
Compared to Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, who had already faced each other before, the match between Zhu Zhuyun and Hu Liena was far more intriguing.
Ye Cheng and Qian Renxue's attention was naturally more focused on this matchup.
On Arena One—
Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuyun stood facing one another from a distance. Though the match had yet to officially begin, a palpable tension already filled the air!
Although they were both students of the same academy, cliques naturally formed. It was clear that Zhu Zhuyun and Hu Liena did not belong to the same faction. As such, while they weren't outright enemies, their relationship could at best be described as casual acquaintances. Naturally, they didn't share the light-hearted rapport of the two women on the other platform.
Zhu Zhuyun's contracted soul beast was a three-headed dog with white fur and blue markings. Its three heads alone were enough to indicate its extraordinary lineage—a contract she had obtained through her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing.
Legend said that three-headed hounds were the gatekeepers of Hell. Whether the legends were true or not, any beast that made it into myth and folklore was extraordinary by default—undoubtedly a divine-level soul beast!
In this world, the proper name for the species was the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Hound, a major clan among soul beasts.
Although Zhu Zhuyun's three-headed hound was still relatively weak at the moment, its lineage made its future potential crystal clear. What's more, this particular hound wasn't just any ordinary one—it was a variant!
Normal three-headed hounds had reddish fur and fire attributes.
But this one had mutated into a white-furred beast, with what seemed to be ice attributes—an element that directly clashed with fire. That alone demonstrated just how rare and unique it was.
Were it not for Zhu Zhuqing—or more precisely, Ye Cheng behind her—Zhu Zhuyun would never have been able to contract such a promising variant three-headed hound.
If nothing else, this world was one where connections ruled.
With the right background and the right people, you could do just about anything.
Incidentally, the hound was female.
Why emphasize that it was female? Because the vast majority of female Soul Contract masters preferred to contract female soul beasts.
Once a contract was signed, the beast became the most intimate existence in one's life. People could betray you—but your contracted soul beast never would. Betraying you would be no different from betraying itself.
Of course, this world had its share of oddballs—exceptions did exist—but they were extremely rare.
Because soul beasts were such close companions, it was generally safer to contract one of the same gender. This helped prevent the possibility of something… crossing the line between species over time.
And such things were not impossible.
Soul beasts in this world didn't just possess intelligence on par with humans—those of a high enough level could even transform into human form.
Take The Legend of the White Snake, for instance—its enduring popularity was all the proof you needed that humans were not exactly picky when it came to species.
As long as it looked human and attractive, most people didn't care whether their partner was actually a human.
Of course, societal ethics and fear of others' judgment played a role too. So before it happened to them personally, most people still rejected the idea of having a non-human partner. That's why choosing wisely ahead of time was important—falling too deep would be too late.
But with same-gender pairings, those worries disappeared.
With a same-gender soul beast, even the closest bond would at most turn into a strong sisterly or brotherly relationship. The number of cases that devolved into romance—let alone same-sex or cross-species romance—was vanishingly small.
For that reason, although there was no official rule dictating that soul beasts must be of the same gender, most soul masters defaulted to choosing beasts of their own sex.
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