Early the next morning, the tournament format was finally announced. Every participating team received an official document from the organizing committee detailing the new rules.
Was there any difference compared to previous years?
Of course—and a massive one at that.
According to the new format, the competition was divided into two stages: preliminaries and finals. Sect and academy teams would be mixed together in the preliminaries—essentially the traditional elimination rounds.
The most immediate change was in the scoring system for the individual elimination matches: points would now be awarded based on the number of surviving team members.
In other words, if one side managed to defeat all seven opponents single-handedly in the individual round, they'd earn seven points—one for each remaining member—and the subsequent team battle wouldn't even be necessary. After all, the team match only offered five points, making a comeback impossible.
Thus, if a winning team failed to secure more than five points in the individual round, the team battle would become mandatory—giving their opponents a chance to turn the tables.
Naturally, tiebreaker points ("minor scores") remained crucial. In special circumstances, these minor scores could prove decisive.
For example: with 167 teams entering, only about twenty-something would directly qualify for the top 32 through eliminations. The remaining slots would be filled by teams with the highest minor scores. In the top-32 round-robin stage, total points would determine rankings. And though the final top-eight stage reverted to single-elimination, minor scores would still decide the final rankings of losing teams.
This scoring adjustment was clearly well-designed, making the entire tournament structure more coherent and fair. Thus, none of the Four Great Empires objected to this change.
But another rule revision sent shockwaves through the continent.
Even the original Three Great Empires—despite anticipating some foul play—were caught completely off guard by this brazenly unfair clause, which fundamentally altered the nature of the elimination rounds.
"Come on! Explain this!" Wu Feng slammed the rule sheet onto the table. "'No height restrictions'?! What kind of nonsense is this? It's outright cheating! Clearly, Sun Moon Empire is openly favoring its own side!"
"Exactly! What do they mean, 'no height limit'?" echoed others, emboldened by Wu Feng's outburst. "In theory, only flying-martial-soul soul masters, Soul Saints, or Soul Masters using flight-type soul tools can achieve unrestricted aerial combat. But true flying soul masters are extremely rare! That leaves flight soul tools—but powerful ones are almost exclusively held by Sun Moon's major factions!"
Dugu Xin flipped through the rules, his expression darkening.
His poisons had limited range. Under the old format, as long as opponents lacked strong anti-toxin measures, he could solo the entire enemy team by himself.
But with no height limits, even if he chased them down, they could simply ascend or descend out of his poison cloud's effective zone.
This effectively neutered half his capabilities.
"Enough."
Knock knock knock—
Chen Junting, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, rapping his fingers sharply on the table. Instantly, the entire Nine Treasures team fell quiet.
"Complaining won't help," he said firmly, lifting the rule sheet. "This is the arrogance of Sun Moon Empire—the strongest nation on the continent. No matter how much you protest, once the rules are set, they won't change. So instead of whining, focus on how we'll win every match."
He turned to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao—do you have enough flight-type soul tools? Preferably custom-made ones."
"Yes," Huo Yuhao replied confidently.
Back at the sect, he'd rushed to craft personalized flight soul tools for everyone—including Ning Feng, who'd joined last-minute—tailoring one specifically to his Seven Treasures Pagoda Soul King traits, just in case.
"Good."
Glancing at the sun's position, Chen Junting noted their meeting time was near. There was no need to say more—the team lineup had already been largely decided in yesterday's discussion.
Now, they only needed to adjust tactics based on the new format. On this point, both Ning Tian and Chen Junting tacitly passed the responsibility to Huo Yuhao, leaving him temporarily in charge.
He was about to get very busy.
"Old Gu, give me a lift."
"Where to?"
Before Chen Junting could even touch the conference room door, a black void shimmered open before him.
"Central District, Triumph Street, No. 007."
The words barely left his lips before he vanished into the spatial gate.
---
Meanwhile, at Central District, Triumph Street, No. 007—
As the capital of the continent's strongest empire, every inch of Mingdu was worth a fortune. Properties in the Central District were the most valuable of all—only the ultra-wealthy or supremely powerful could afford to live here.
Yet even among these elites, foreign spies lurked—some even holding official posts within the Sun Moon government.
This particular residence belonged to one such spy—and served as one of Xing Luo Empire's covert bases in Mingdu.
Inside, a dark portal slowly unfurled.
The moment Chen Junting stepped through, a silent attack shot toward him from the side—but was instantly blocked by a bone spike.
A figure leapt in front of him, eyes sharp with suspicion. "Who are you?"
Before Chen Junting could answer, Gu Tianchen poked his head out of the portal.
"I'll head back now."
"Thanks."
"We're brothers—no need for thanks."
The portal vanished. Chen Junting produced an identity token and handed it over. "I'm here for the meeting."
After verification, the guard nodded. "Please enter."
Inside the spacious living room, the scene was deceptively ordinary: mostly elderly men and women, with only two strikingly beautiful young women—Zhang Lexuan and Xu Jiujiu.
Yet this gathering of "ordinary" elders included figures who could shake entire nations with a single step: Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi, Body Douluo Du Busi, Sky Azure Douluo Zhi Yong, Divine Eagle Douluo Song Yunzhi, Sun Flame Douluo…
Nearly every elder present was at least Level 95—except for one elderly woman from Xing Luo Empire.
"The kid's here—take a seat," boomed Du Busi, sprawled arrogantly in his chair.
Following Zhi Yong's gesture, Chen Junting sat beside Zhang Lexuan and Xu Jiujiu, exchanged brief greetings, and fell silent.
"Looks like everyone's here," someone noted.
"Enough chatter," Xuan Zi began—only to be cut off by Du Busi's sneer.
"Since when did you, acting Sea God Pavilion Master, start putting on airs?"
"It's acting! Acting! Ahem—" Xuan Zi barked, then coughed awkwardly, realizing this wasn't the time for bickering. He swiftly got to the point.
After briefly mentioning the Holy Spirit Cult's participation, he outlined the plan to assassinate Xu Tianran. Everyone present already knew about the collusion between the Sun Moon royal family and the evil sect.
But to pull off the assassination, they first needed a clear picture of both sides' top-tier forces.
"Sun Flame Old Man," Du Busi immediately targeted the elder, "is Dou Ling Empire really sending only you?" So far, no other Title Douluos from Dou Ling had been detected in Mingdu.
"Alas… just me," Heavenly Sun Douluo sighed. "Our empire never intended to join this operation. My presence here is purely personal."
"Are your leaders all useless sacks of wine and rice? So shortsighted?" Du Busi's tongue was as venomous as his martial soul.
His blunt remark darkened Heavenly Sun Douluo's face—but what could he say? It was the truth.
Xuan Zi, noting that Dou Ling at least sent its strongest Level 97 Super Douluo, shifted his gaze to Xu Jiujiu.
In this room, Xing Luo Empire was represented only by her—and her Level 92 guardian, Man Yi.
"Jiujiu," Xuan Zi asked gently, "didn't Elder Xu come?"
At that, Xu Jiujiu's expression dimmed with sorrow.
Everyone understood instantly.
Years ago, Elder Xu's lifespan had already neared its end. His passing from natural causes was expected—but still a heavy loss. Xing Luo had lost its guardian deity, and the Three Great Empires, a vital Super Douluo.
"Ahh… child, our condolences," someone murmured.
After tallying their forces, they found over a dozen Title Douluos ready for the mission—nearly half of them Super Douluos.
Yet even with such strength, uncertainty lingered.
The Holy Spirit Cult's two Limit Douluos alone could wipe them out—and if those two rallied additional allies, the entire strike force might be annihilated. Fortunately, both Limit Douluos were still recovering from severe injuries… and they still had Beast God Di Tian's unfulfilled promise on their side.
Still…
"They have two more Limit Douluo-level allies," Du Busi stated grimly—the crux of their dilemma.
"Don't worry about that," Xuan Zi countered. "Evil Emperor, as sovereign of the Evildemon Forest, wouldn't easily intervene—even in alliance, let alone to protect a human. As for the other…"
He paused.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale was unpredictable.
As a soul beast, its true power remained shrouded in mystery. After all, even among Limit-level beings, vast gaps existed—just as Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui paled before Beast God Di Tian.
All eyes turned to Chen Junting.
Under the collective gaze of multiple Super Douluos, Chen Junting remained perfectly composed. "Rest assured, honored elders—if the Deep Sea Demon Whale intervenes, I'll summon Elder Di Tian. After all, when I reach Level 90, I wouldn't want to miss out on a near god-level soul ring and soul bone."
"But…" Just as everyone relaxed, thinking he'd agreed, Chen Junting pivoted sharply. "Frankly, I don't endorse your plan to delay war by assassinating Xu Tianran."
Xu Jiujiu stiffened. "Is… is my plan unworkable?"
After all, she had proposed it.
"Too many failure points, and poor effectiveness," Chen Junting stated bluntly, listing flaws without mercy. "First, while war may reflect a ruler's will, it's ultimately a tool for political ends—driven by the entire imperial machinery. Even if we replace the emperor, war likely proceeds unchanged."
"Second—we know nothing about Xu Tianran beyond his alliance with the Holy Spirit Cult. Does the palace host hidden elders? What's the cultivation level of his guards? And Xu Tianran himself—Soul Saint? Soul Douluo? Or… Title Douluo?"
The room fell silent.
Especially Zhang Lexuan—her brow furrowed deeply. She was assigned to assassinate Crown Prince Xu Tianran. If he was truly a Title Douluo, she couldn't guarantee a clean kill and escape.
What then?
Undeterred, Chen Junting pressed on: "If Xu Tianran obsessively used medicinal boosts, reaching Title Douluo isn't impossible. Even if weak, it's still Title Douluo—and he certainly possesses top-tier defensive soul tools."
"If the assassination fails, Xu Tianran could use it to incite public outrage, framing the act as foreign aggression. That would give him moral justification for war—making our efforts counterproductive."
…
After this analysis, the room sank into heavy silence.
It all made sense.
But if not this plan—then what?
After a long pause, Xu Jiujiu broke the quiet. "If it were you… what would you do?"
If you criticize her plan, you'd better have a better one.
Otherwise, they'd proceed anyway—after all, so many Title Douluos had gathered; they couldn't just leave empty-handed.
"Me?"
Chen Junting interlaced his fingers.
His idea wasn't brilliant—but it was safer.
"Yesterday, I tasked Yuhao with locating Mingdu's granaries and gunpowder depots during the tournament. So my plan is…"
He laid out his strategy plainly.
As they listened, the elders' expressions shifted from skepticism to sheer astonishment.
"…I even considered having Yuhao investigate the locations of Sun Moon's 'Guardians'—but feared exposure, so didn't assign it."
By now, Xu Jiujiu's jaw had dropped.
After a stunned moment, she exclaimed:
"Chen Junting—you've got some nerve!"
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