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When Gu La received the Spirit Pagoda's competition notice, he paused in surprise—then sought out his avatar Qing Liuli to inquire about the full story.
Learning that this entire tournament had been sparked by his own earlier purification of Demon Island—leading the Federation's major factions to descend upon its resources—he couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
"Am I… the one who created this mess for myself?" He rubbed his chin, hesitating briefly.
The exchange student arrangements for the Peerless Tang Sect timeline were still in preparation, with departure still weeks away. Participating in this tournament might as well be a vacation.
He returned to the Spirit Pagoda's headquarters in Shrek City to register—only to be told he still needed to pass an internal selection to secure his spot.
Gu La stared blankly. Then he pulled out the special emblem denoting him as Leng Yaozhu's direct disciple, lowering his voice to the staff:
"Come on. Doesn't the Deputy Pagoda Master's disciple get even a little privilege?"
The staff internally groaned. 'Of course you do—but saying it so bluntly? How am I supposed to answer?'
Outwardly, he smiled politely and hastily marked Gu La's registration form with a "Special Status" note. He knew full well: no one in the upper echelons would risk offending the Deputy Pagoda Master's prized pupil over a single slot.
And indeed, the truth was simple: registration was merely a formality. Strength never stayed hidden within the Spirit Pagoda.
Three days later, Gu La received his official confirmation as the Spirit Pagoda's representative—and was instructed to meet his teammates.
Originally, Shrek Academy had intended to field their classic seven-member team format. But they were immediately and firmly opposed by a coalition led by Qiangu Dongfeng.
Their reasoning was sound: high-level Soul Masters were all proud, individualistic souls. Finding perfectly compatible teammates was nearly impossible. Team battles introduced too many variables. Single matches were simpler, clearer.
The final agreement: the competition would primarily use a single-competitor format. Each faction could send three contestants per tier: three Soul Kings, three Soul Emperors, and three Soul Saints.
Scoring:
- Soul King victory = 1 point
- Soul Emperor victory = 2 points
- Soul Saint victory = 3 points
Final resource allocation on Demon Island would be determined by total points accumulated.
As a concession to Shrek Academy, a three-vs-three team event was added—but its point value was capped at only three points total, severely limiting Shrek's influence.
After all, Yun Ming wouldn't risk his reputation over a few resources, would he?
As a Soul Emperor representative, Gu La arrived at the Spirit Pagoda's preparation zone.
There, he saw his fellow representatives: Gu Yue and Qing Liuli.
Their team leader was Han Tianyi, the Illusion Brain Douluo—a man obsessed with unusual energy phenomena. His presence was dual-purpose: to lead the team, and to personally study the residual energies of Demon Island and the Soul Beasts affected by them.
Including Gu La, the Spirit Pagoda's delegation totaled ten members. Once ready, they boarded a high-speed mecha—trains were far too slow.
On the journey, Gu La met his two Soul Emperor teammates: a pair of twin "brothers" named Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen.
Gu La recognized them instantly as women disguised as men—but said nothing.
Their Souls were exceptionally rare: the Light Unicorn and the Spatial Unicorn. They possessed a powerful Soul Fusion Technique—Instant Light.
This technique combined the properties of Light and Space, manifesting in countless forms. With a fusion rate exceeding eighty percent, its duration was remarkably long.
Both were four or five years older than Gu La, with sharp, professional demeanors. The other four members—Soul Kings and Soul Saints—he paid little attention to. Likewise, they seemed to have been instructed by Han Tianyi to "interact within their own tier," and made no effort to approach him.
The mech landed at the edge of Demon Island.
The three mecha pilots remained behind as guards.
As Han Tianyi stepped onto the island, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, a look of rapt fascination on his face:
"An astonishing island! Two opposing forces—balancing each other for a thousand years… I must know the secret behind this!"
Gu Yue stared at the island, her expression complex.
Her fragmented Dragon God memories whispered to her: the residual energy here… bore traces of two immensely powerful deities—the Destruction God King and the Life God King. Meanwhile, Shrek Academy's team arrived. Their leader was the fiery Feng Wuyu.
To Gu La's surprise, he spotted Tang Wulin in the group. The boy hadn't been lost in the Dragon Valley. In half a year, his soul power had skyrocketed—he was now a Soul King!
"Those old fools in the Sea God Pavilion must be weeping," Gu La mused inwardly. "Ah Yin must've poured the Golden Tree's primordial essence into him without restraint… The former Pavilion Masters of Shrek died too tragically."
He calculated: "I only absorbed two percent. Tang Wulin's soul ring formation and that Seed of Nature… he probably consumed ten times what I did…
Now the Golden Ancient Tree's reserves are likely down to less than half. Yun Ming… will he reach out to me? He must've sensed something from my earlier prophecy."
Tang Wulin noticed Gu La too. He nodded in greeting—his gaze curious, tinged with fighting intent.
Gu La nodded back. In Shrek's team, Gu La's avatar Bai Yuan had also broken through to Soul Emperor, alongside Soul King Wu Siduo.
The Beihai Fleet had already arrived, busily setting up the competition grounds. War God Hall and Federation representative aircrafts landed one after another. All factions were now present.
The Tang Sect, aware of their delicate position within the Federation, chose to remain low key and did not join the scramble.
With all five factions assembled, the team leaders conferred briefly and agreed: the competition should begin immediately. Each of them held high office with pressing duties. Only the uniqueness of the former Forbidden Zone had justified this spectacle.
Technicians swiftly installed soul guidance recording systems capable of broadcasting live footage back to each faction's headquarters.
The contestants proceeded to the draw for opponents and match order.
Gu La drew a slip at random. He glanced at the crude numbers and opponent names—and muttered under his breath:
"…This is probably the most haphazard, bluntly profit-driven competition I've ever entered. Not even a single spectator."
He was number fifteen—the final Soul Emperor entrant. But since there was an odd number of competitors, he drew a bye in the first round.
He took a seat in the spectator stands, waiting for the tournament to begin.
The air crackled with the raw tension of resource competition—no pretense, no flattery. Everything came down to raw strength.
The first-ever "Distribution Conference" of Demon Island was about to commence— in the most Soul Master way possible.
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