After several rounds of mixed-pair sparring, the official and reserve team members gradually became more familiar with one another.
Previously, due to an operation spearheaded by Shrek Academy, a campaign to eliminate Evil Soul Masters across the original Douluo Continent had already been executed. Therefore, unlike in the original story, there was no need for the team to eliminate Evil Soul Masters in the Star Luo Empire before the tournament.
That group of Evil Soul Masters had already been purged beforehand. Those who had remained in hiding or fled the region wouldn't dare act recklessly again anytime soon.
With ten days left before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament began, the seven reserve members trained and studied alongside the Shrek Seven Devils every day.
During the following three days, everyone continued training together to build synergy. Their teamwork steadily improved.
Although the coordination between the reserves and the Seven Devils wasn't as seamless as that among the Seven Devils themselves, it was sufficient for tournament-level battles.
During these few days of joint training, the reserve members also experienced firsthand what it meant to be part of Shrek's true elite.
They witnessed battles between inner court disciples and ten-thousand-year soul beasts inside the Battle Arena. Some of these soul beasts could even copy soul skills!
Watching the inner court disciples' daily training left the seven reserves stunned. Suddenly, their own previous training didn't seem so tough anymore.
They also witnessed battles featuring three genius soul masters: Chen Zifeng, Xixi, and Yao Haoxuan.
Only then did they fully understand just how many prodigies resided in the inner court.
If the Shrek Seven Devils weren't limited to just seven members, these three geniuses could have easily qualified to participate in the tournament.
Xu Sanshi and the others felt fortunate to be selected as reserve team members—otherwise, they might not have even qualified to compete.
Of course, the most shocking revelation for them was undoubtedly Ye Guyi's seventh soul ring: a blood-red, hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
During the initial mixed-group sparring match, Ye Guyi had deliberately concealed that soul ring, so no one had known about it.
When it was finally revealed, aside from Cao Jinxuan, Long Xiangyue, and Bei Bei—who had already been informed—everyone else stood frozen in disbelief.
A Soul Sage with a seventh soul ring at the hundred-thousand-year level?
Even Wang Dong, whose second soul ring was already at the thousand-year level—a rare feat—was left dumbfounded by Ye Guyi's terrifying seventh ring.
The stronger Ye Guyi appeared and the more terrifying her cultivation seemed, the more mysterious Zhou Sicheng became in their eyes.
Aside from the few who knew the truth, everyone else—including Xu Sanshi—couldn't help but feel intense curiosity about Zhou Sicheng's real strength.
With just five soul rings, how had Zhou Sicheng surpassed even Ye Guyi to become the leader of the Seven Devils?
Surely… it wasn't just because of his looks?
Since no one was willing to divulge the truth, the others could only bury their questions deep inside, hoping to uncover the answer once they officially entered the inner court.
After immersing themselves in the inner court's atmosphere for a few days, the seven reserve members became even more determined to join the inner court and strive to become the next generation of Shrek's Seven Devils.
Each of them redoubled their efforts. No matter how grueling or exhausting the training became, they bore it in silence and followed the team's drills with unwavering focus.
After a few days of running joint exercises, Zhou Sicheng personally took out several sets of basic soul tools and gifted them to Bei Bei and the others.
Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue had already received custom-made soul tools from Zhou Sicheng, effectively reaping the benefits early.
Wang Dong suddenly recalled the defensive soul tool Zhou Sicheng had given her some time ago. Though she'd initially resisted it, she had inexplicably kept it all this time.
Now, all Seven Devils were equipped with personalized soul tools crafted by Zhou Sicheng, with a primary focus on flight, defense, and offense.
Additional utility soul tools were chosen based on personal preference and use case.
Zhou Sicheng crafted these for them free of charge, as most of the materials came from the academy anyway.
This arrangement not only granted them access to academy resources but also earned Zhou Sicheng their gratitude and further solidified their loyalty to him.
With their soul tools equipped, the team finally departed from the academy with five days left until the tournament.
Given the overwhelming strength of this generation's Seven Devils, even the reserve members were confident that the championship was already within their grasp. To them, this tournament felt more like a vacation than a competition.
Of course, the reserve members also eagerly looked forward to their moments on stage—this was the perfect opportunity to make a name for themselves.
Elder Xuan personally led the group. No other teachers accompanied them.
In the original story, Wang Yan had acted as the team's chaperone, but he was no longer needed. With Zhou Sicheng—a jack-of-all-trades—present, even Elder Xuan often consulted him on various matters. Why would they need another lead instructor?
Zhou Sicheng couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about Elder Xuan leading the team.
After all, the man was secretly a Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Sect. Whenever he led teams alone, incidents almost always occurred.
Fortunately, Zhou Sicheng now possessed many trump cards. At full power, he was on par with a Rank 95 Super Douluo. Even if Elder Xuan stirred up trouble again, Zhou Sicheng had the ability to protect himself.
A group of fifteen people set out from the academy. Those who could fly did so on their own; the rest were outfitted with flight-type soul tools.
Thanks to the academy's emphasis on integrating soul tool education into the Martial Soul Department, everyone was already quite adept at using flight soul tools.
This year's tournament was being held in Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire. As the empire's political, cultural, and economic hub, Star Luo City rightfully held the title of the number one city in the empire.
It was also known as the "Imperial Capital That Shall Never Fall."
The city had stood tall for over ten thousand years. Its permanent population had surpassed eight million, and with the influx of outsiders, it could host up to twenty million people.
The continent was home to four major empires, and the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament occurred once every five years, rotating between the imperial capitals.
As such, Star Luo City had to wait twenty years for its turn to host the tournament again. With such a grand occasion, the already-massive city was bursting at the seams with people.
The tournament venue was located in Star Luo Plaza, directly in front of the imperial palace.
Star Luo Plaza was enormous and capable of accommodating the largest number of spectators. For this event alone, the city had mobilized 30,000 soldiers to maintain order. A full 10,000 of them were stationed at the plaza.
After entering the city, Zhou Sicheng and his group made their way directly to the plaza. The overwhelming crowd left these cultivation-focused youths dazzled and disoriented.
Not far from the eastern side of the plaza stood a seven-story luxury hotel.
The grand hotel named "Star Emperor" was owned by the royal family. This time, it had been completely vacated to specifically accommodate participants and accompanying instructors from the various advanced soul master academies and soul engineer academies across the continent.
As the reigning champions of the tournament and the number one soul master academy on the continent, Shrek Academy's team had been assigned the most luxurious suites at the very top floor of the hotel.
There were fifteen people in their group, and each one had been given a lavish room of their own—top-tier, exquisitely furnished, and nothing short of extravagant. Although it was called a hotel, the experience felt more like staying in a private villa.
There were even exclusive facilities provided for training and a dedicated meeting room reserved solely for their use.
Upon entering the hotel, Xu Sanshi and the others immediately acted like a bunch of overjoyed chicks let out to roam, thoroughly enjoying the lavish treatment reserved for the defending champions of the tournament.
A wide array of rare and exotic delicacies were offered without limit. Although they weren't allowed to take food out of the hotel, as long as they could eat it on the spot, they could enjoy as much as they wanted—refills were endless.
All expenses incurred during the competition would be completely covered by the Star Luo Empire's royal family.
Of course, even providing free accommodations and services to every team didn't amount to much compared to the colossal revenue the Star Luo royal family would earn from hosting the tournament.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament wasn't just a stage for the younger generation to make a name for themselves—it was also a massive money-making machine!
Even setting aside other forms of income, ticket sales alone were enough to rival nearly an entire year's worth of tax revenue.
And when factoring in things like betting markets and side ventures… well, a tournament that only came around once every twenty years meant the hosts could essentially "open for business once and feast for three years."
There were still two days left before the official start of the tournament. During this time, the participants had no more training sessions scheduled. Everyone was allowed to fully relax and enjoy themselves.
Only by resting well could they ensure they wouldn't falter during the competition.
Then again, considering the current terrifying strength of Shrek's team, even if they did make mistakes, it likely wouldn't affect the outcome too much.
At the moment, all fourteen official and reserve members were resting inside the hotel. As for Elder Xuan, no one had any idea where he had gone. The moment they entered Star Luo City, the old man had vanished.
Before leaving, he had only said that everyone should follow Zhou Sichen's lead for any decisions. With that, he'd disappeared without another word, leaving the future stars of Shrek Academy behind to fend for themselves.
Zhou Sichen could only hope that Elder Xuan wasn't up to any mischief. Maybe… he'd just gone to visit some old friends?
But then again, Elder Xuan was over two hundred years old. How many people were even old enough to be his friends?
****
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