As the host team, the Heavenly Dou Royal Team was the first to enter the arena, with Li Xun and the others leading the way.
Tang San turned to Yu Xiaogang beside him and asked, "Teacher, what should we do next?"
"There are many participating teams. If you draw an average opponent, I hope you will conserve your strength to avoid letting the Heavenly Dou Team gauge your true capabilities," Yu Xiaogang replied, his expression serious. Clearly, seeing the Heavenly Dou First Team here was beyond his expectations.
Tang San watched as the participating teams were ushered into the arena one by one and nodded earnestly. "Understood, Teacher."
"Damn it, even the event staff look down on us. I'll crush your Heavenly Dou Team later and see what you have left to show off!" Ma Hongjun spat out a curse as he watched the staff deliberately ignore them, guiding the other teams into the arena while leaving them for last.
Even Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng were on the verge of losing their temper. They had already been fuming over the issue with their team uniforms, and now they had to deal with the troublemakers from Canghui Academy. However, even that wasn't enough to push them over the edge.
That was, until Li Xun appeared.
Recalling the humiliation and injuries they had suffered at his hands in the past, Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng were itching to charge at him right then and there.
"You may enter now," a staff member approached them at that moment, first giving them a disdainful look before speaking indifferently.
The staff member seemed to feel as though his eyes had been assaulted, and after informing Shrek Academy of their turn, he turned and left without another word.
The interior of the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena was vast, with the arena itself spanning over 150 meters in diameter.
At the center of the arena, the participating teams were already lined up, and the announcer was calmly preparing for his speech.
Of course, since the members of the Heavenly Dou Royal First Team were participating, as a member of the empire, the announcer wasn't in a hurry to introduce them. Instead, he waited until everyone had arrived before beginning his impassioned commentary.
"First, let me introduce the first participating team. Although most of the audience here is already familiar with them, I still want to emphasize their importance. They are the pride of our Heaven Dou Empire—the members of the Heavenly Dou Royal First Team!"
The announcer's voice nearly cracked as he shouted the last sentence. After hearing the cheers from the audience, he cleared his throat and continued, "Many of you must be wondering why the Heavenly Dou First Team, who are already guaranteed a seed spot, are here today."
"Let me tell you this: they are here to prove to the world with their strength that even without the guaranteed spot, our Heaven Dou Empire will sweep through the competition and reclaim the championship!"
"Go, Heavenly Dou Team!"
"All the way to the finals!"
Hearing the cheers from the audience, Li Xun quickly turned around with his team and waved to the crowd.
He had made a series of preparations for this very day. The Spirit Hall's reputation among the people was simply too high—so high that even though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was one of the Upper Three Sects, it only had a modest reputation within the Soul Master community.
Li Xun had considered that if they truly wanted to replace the Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and he himself would need to continuously leave a mark in the hearts of the people, rather than simply replacing the Spirit Hall's leadership.
After all, the power of the people is the greatest force of all. It would continuously provide the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School with the seeds that could grow into fruitful results.
Next, Li Xun not only had to win every battle, but he had to win in a spectacular fashion. Until one day, the leader of the Spirit Hall suddenly changed, and the people clapped and cheered, with firecrackers echoing through the streets.
"The last team to be introduced is the Shrek Academy team. This academy was originally called the Blue Tyrant Advanced Academy, but it was renamed a year ago. Look, their attire is so unique and full of personality, completely unafraid of the outside world's gaze."
As the announcer spoke, the audience in the stands burst into laughter, with many jeering loudly.
"But what's even more striking than their attire is their team slogan: 'Champions without rivals!' I must say, this is truly a dream-like slogan. I won't comment on it because it's hard to judge. I wish them success."
The announcer smiled as he scanned the stands, speaking with a very serious expression.
When the announcer finished, the audience erupted in boos, with some hot-tempered individuals cursing on the spot: "How can these brats, fished out of a cesspool, hope to win the championship? It's laughable."
"Stop talking, I just finished eating, and seeing their clothes makes me want to vomit. Ugh," a spectator in the front row said, covering his mouth and retching.
Seeing such a strong reaction, the laughter grew louder: "Champions without rivals? You can crown yourselves when you get eliminated later, haha."
"Isn't the preliminary round based on points? There's no elimination, right?"
"Out of twenty-eight teams, only the top five advance. Do they look like they can make it to the top five?" a spectator sneered.
"Damn it, I can't take it anymore!" Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and was about to step forward. But Tang San grabbed him from behind.
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"Mubai, hold on a little longer. If you act impulsively now, we might get penalized, which would be bad for both of us," Tang San said, then turned his gaze to the VIP seats. "And don't you want revenge?"
By now, many people had taken their seats in the VIP section, with the most prominent being a young man seated in the center.
This person wore a golden-red robe and a blue diamond-studded nine-tasseled crown, with a naturally affable smile on his face. His features bore a resemblance to Prince Xue Xing, whom Tang San had met before.
With Emperor Xue Ye now bedridden and Prince Xue Xing and Prince Xue Beng missing, Tang San didn't need to guess to know that the young man in the center must be the current Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.
To the Crown Prince's right was a middle-aged man in a white robe, wearing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's emblematic Seven Treasure Purple Gold Crown. He was likely Ning Fengzhi, the Sovereign of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
To the Crown Prince's left was someone Tang San had seen twice recently—Chrysanthemum Douluo, the Spirit Hall elder who had once saved his teacher, Yu Xiaogang.
Remembering that Chrysanthemum Douluo had come to purchase his hidden weapon blueprints, Tang San's eyes flickered before he looked away.
Now, except for Chrysanthemum Douluo, everyone on the field was aligned with the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. Their side absolutely could not provoke a conflict with them. If they were to act, it would have to be during the competition.
"Now, let us invite the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire to unveil the tournament," the announcer said, waving his sleeve and bowing respectfully to Xue Qinghe.
As the announcer finished speaking, the venue erupted into a dense wave of applause.
Xue Qinghe slowly rose from his elevated seat, raising his right hand and gently pressing it downward. The applause in the arena immediately subsided significantly.
Once complete silence fell, Xue Qinghe's cool voice, amplified by the Soul Guiding Device, resonated throughout the entire venue: "I, Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire and the organizers of this competition, hereby declare the opening of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."
(End of Chapter)