Star Luo City, as the capital of the Star Luo Empire and the empire's largest city, had been experiencing urban congestion for several days in a row. A stampede incident had even occurred again on the day an unknown Limit Douluo was discovered to have caused an earthquake.
This made His Majesty the current Star Luo Emperor lose a lot of face.
The so-called urban congestion was a state where every street was crowded with people. The two semifinal matches of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament had already ended. From the moment the semifinals ended, a queue had started to form outside Star Luo Plaza. Some people had even queued for two days and two nights just to watch a one-on-one fight.
It was all to witness the grand occasion of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament finals with their own eyes. Perhaps this would be a major event that this group of bored Star Luo commoners would talk about for the rest of their lives.
Most importantly, although this final would be divided into a team battle, an individual knockout battle, and a two-two-three battle formation, it would all be held within one day. What a wonderful grand occasion this would be! Even if it was a little more tiring, it was worth it.
In order to maintain order in the imperial capital, the Star Luo Empire had urgently dispatched another ten thousand elite soldiers into the city to maintain order. All the shops in the city had extended their business hours. In order to supply the suddenly soaring number of foreign population, they had even had to allocate various resources from the surrounding large cities.
For no other reason than that the Star Luo National Treasury had been robbed!
At this time, His Majesty the Star Luo Emperor's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He had also received the news yesterday. The vast national treasury was now a place where even a mouse that drilled in would have to come out crying. The hateful thief had even only left them the Tang Sect hidden weapons that had been famous on the continent ten thousand years ago, which were now useless iron lumps.
One must know that these things had been acquired by a former Star Luo Emperor at a high price from the black market of the former Heaven Dou Empire. Even if the God-King from ten thousand years ago had issued a divine decree prohibiting the Tang Sect from producing such large-scale weapons of mass destruction, he had only done so to prove his own purity. After he had ascended to the Divine Realm, who would care about the mortals of the lower realm?
But as times changed, the continents collided, and the Sun Moon Empire brought advanced soul tools, directly crushing the Star Luo army, which was equipped with Tang Sect hidden weapons at the time, until not even dregs were left. So those iron lumps, which had been purchased for a large amount of gold soul coins, had become a dust-collecting collection in the national treasury.
But who would want these things now? Wasn't it also because of this that the Tang Sect had completely declined?
So Xu Jiawei was very angry about this, angry to the extreme. He would rather this thief could have been a little stupid and packed up all these Tang Sect hidden weapons and taken them away, than for them to be left there as an eyesore!
But a vast empire would not completely decline just because a national treasury was robbed. As the saying goes, the wool comes from the sheep's back. The empire was originally an aristocracy. If the national treasury's reserves were low, then they would just get it back from the common people.
For a time, the prosperity of Star Luo City had reached an unprecedented degree, and various prices had also been raised to an unprecedented height because of this.
Without a doubt, the economic benefits brought by this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament to the Star Luo Empire were incalculable. No wonder the major empires vied to host the tournament, but in the end, had to compromise with each other, with a nation as the host for each session.
As usual, the two sides of the finals were still Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, undoubtedly representing the strength of the two most powerful soul master academies on the continent today. The anticipation of the common people for this final could be imagined.
However, because Shrek Academy's lineup was relatively luxurious, in the odds of the underground black market, Shrek Academy occupied a greater advantage, steadily suppressing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy with a ratio of six to four and a half.
However, no one would think that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was easy to defeat, not even the members of Shrek Academy themselves thought so. After all, the participating students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were all fellows who possessed the most advanced soul tools on the continent. What kind of combat power they could display in the competition, and whether they still had any tricks up their sleeves, no one knew.
In the previous matches, they had already displayed fancy tactics more than once. In the final, in order to completely defeat the never-setting Shrek Academy, they would surely also fight with all their might. Therefore, it was still unknown who would win.
The weather this day was not very good. Dark clouds were dense. There was even a faint, light mist shrouding Star Luo City. Occasionally, some fine raindrops would fall from the sky, bringing a bit of a chill to this magnificent great city.
However, no matter how strong the chill was, it could not dilute the enthusiasm of the common people from all directions in Star Luo City. The finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament were about to begin. A long-awaited peak showdown would be staged today.
At this time, the two teams that were about to stage the peak showdown were walking on the road to Star Luo Plaza. Soldiers lined the route, blocking the common people who were shouting their names loudly. Many common people who couldn't afford a ticket to enter Star Luo Plaza had gathered on both sides of this passage to watch these two teams up close.
Ling Luochen walked in the middle of the Shrek team. She occasionally looked up at the sky, a trace of worry rippling on her pretty face. As a controller of the evolved Ultimate Ice element, in this humid weather where it could rain at any time, it was undoubtedly the most advantageous for her. But could she really go against their agreement and use her full strength?
Yesterday, the one-day tactical arrangement that Wang Yan had arranged had lost its meaning because of this morning's weather. Everyone had wasted half a day listening to his nonsense. Their tactics also had to be adjusted on the spot.
For this upcoming final, everyone from both the Shrek team and the Sun Moon team was a little too nervous. But this was also completely unavoidable.
Compared to them, the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were even more nervous. Because the opponent their academy was facing this time was still the complete Shrek Academy. Both sides each had one Soul Emperor plus multiple Soul Kings. Their strengths could be considered to be on par.
Even someone as proud as Xiao Hongchen, at this very moment, his facial expression was also very tense. He would occasionally glance at the members of Shrek Academy who were walking with them on the red carpet that had just been laid last night, his eyes burning with battle intent and desire.
Compared to Xiao Hongchen's nervousness and excitement, his sister Meng Hongchen behind him was actually a little better. Her infatuated gaze was mostly on Wang Dong. After all, the Buddha's daughter was indeed beautiful. Even when disguised as a man, she was an extremely eye-catching existence.
The fourteen-year-old Meng Hongchen, whose heart was just beginning to stir, couldn't help but feel a little hot. It's unknown why, but ever since that day Wang Dong had struck up a conversation with her, his shadow had been echoing in her heart. Even Wang Dong himself didn't know that when he had unintentionally planted a willow, it had actually made a pure young girl develop a pure and strong good impression of him.
The red carpet extended all the way into the rest area and then circled the competition stage once. On the distant city wall, His Majesty the Star Luo Emperor, along with the civil and military officials of the Star Luo Empire, had long since arrived on the wall to show respect for the two teams that were about to conduct their final match.
Huo Yuhao's mood at this time was very calm. Last night, Jing Hongchen had found him alone and had talked with him for a long time before leaving.
In today's team battle, he, his six companions, and Ju Zi would not be going on stage. This was the pride of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. If in this final battle, they still had to dispatch Huo Yuhao, who was originally an external support from Shrek, even if they won, it would not be a victory of martial virtue.
The competition could change in an instant. He would appear in the subsequent individual knockout matches and the two-two-three battle, in case the situation developed in an unfavorable direction.
Unintentionally, Huo Yuhao's gaze turned towards the city wall. The first thing he saw was His Majesty the Star Luo Emperor, who was standing in the center of the city wall with one leg crossed like a ruffian, and to the left of His Majesty the Emperor, the already-recovered Her Highness Princess Jiujiu.
Princess Jiujiu was clearly not looking at him. Her gaze was instead turned towards Xie Huanyue, who was beside Huo Yuhao.
And in the next instant, Huo Yuhao's body suddenly shook. The very casual mentality he had originally maintained instantly sank.
It was a middle-aged man, looking to be in his thirties. He was dressed in golden armor, without a helmet, revealing his regular features. His eye sockets were deep, and in his azure eyes, each had double pupils shining. His face looked slightly thin, but his whole person had a kind of metallic texture. Handsome, resolute, tall, and with an even more iron-blooded temperament, he stood beside the Star Luo Emperor.
It's... it's him... Seeing this person, no matter which life's Huo Yuhao, how could his mood be calm?
Yes, the White Tiger Duke who guarded the western frontier of the Star Luo Empire had returned before this final match. Not just because this was the final of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, but more so because his eldest and second sons were participating as official and reserve team members respectively.
Huo Yuhao saw the White Tiger Duke. On the other side, the two brothers Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin in the Shrek lineup naturally also saw him. A flame of excitement couldn't help but ignite in their pupils. Looking at their father on the distant city wall, they clenched their fists.
The White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, just gave the two of them a slight nod, a trace of encouragement in his eyes, and then he no longer looked at them. But just this one glance made the Dai Yueheng brothers, who had always regarded their father as a role model since they were young, filled with battle intent. The previous nervousness was even more so swept away.
The Star Luo Emperor, seeing that the team members of both sides had entered the rest area, a strange smile appeared on his face. He nodded at the White Tiger Duke beside him.
"Silence. The competition is about to begin. Will Your Majesty please speak," Dai Hao shouted in a deep voice. He did not use a sound-amplifying soul tool, but his voice spread far and wide. A sonorous and powerful iron-blooded aura actually emanated from the top of the city wall.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" all the soldiers maintaining order on the scene raised the weapons in their hands at the same time and shouted. In an instant, the entire Star Luo Plaza was filled with a murderous taste.
It could be seen that the eyes of these soldiers were actually filled with a fanatical taste. At this very moment, in their eyes, there was only the commander standing on the city wall.
The White Tiger Duke's control in the army was, to a certain extent, even greater than the emperor's!
A trace of dissatisfaction that was almost imperceptible flashed in the depths of the Star Luo Emperor's eyes, but he still had a smile on his face. The entire populace also quieted down under this murderous aura.
The Star Luo Emperor smiled faintly. "The last time I witnessed the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament in Star Luo City was twenty years ago. At that time, both I and my worthy brother Dai Hao were just two aspiring youths. I never thought that twenty years later today, I would already be the ruler of a country, and my worthy brother Dai Hao would have become the empire's number one commander, becoming my right-hand man. Today, we will once again witness a duel between the strongest young people on the continent! My heart is very excited. I hope that the team members of both sides can contribute a wonderful match to every spectator. According to tradition, the winning side of this final will receive three soul bones and a reward of one million gold soul coins. In order to better stimulate the participating members of both sides, I have specially selected ten sets of the Tang Sect hidden weapon, the Zhuge Godly Crossbow, which was famous on the continent ten thousand years ago, from our country's treasury to replace the one million gold soul coins as the prize!"
The Zhuge Godly Crossbow? As a prize? The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. This old emperor was really good at playing!
The matter of the national treasury being swallowed by Huo Yuhao was naturally only known to his partners. If this were to be said out loud, he might have to be on the wanted list of the Star Luo Empire at the same time.
"For today's competition, I had originally wanted to ask my worthy brother Dai Hao to personally preside over it. But unfortunately, on the Shrek Academy side, one of the main battle members is precisely his eldest son. To avoid suspicion, the referee of this match will still be the Heaven-Shaking Douluo. Now, please join me in watching this duel that will surely be recorded in the annals of history."
With the fall of the Star Luo Emperor's voice, a ray of light instantly flashed from the top of the city wall. The next moment, it had already appeared in the center of the competition stage. It was precisely the Heaven-Shaking Douluo, Huang Jinxu.