Seven days later, Suotuo City was extraordinarily lively.
The final Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Competition, co-hosted by Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire, officially commenced.
Although the Heaven Dou Empire was no longer participating as it used to, the remnants of Heaven Dou still dispatched representatives.
However, that old fossil Emperor Xue Ye did not show his face; it seemed he still harbored some fear toward Spirit Hall.
Furthermore, since the foundations of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile and the Clear Sky Sect had been destroyed, the Sect representatives participating now were the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the promoted Lower Four Sects.
But everyone knew in their hearts that this was merely a temporary situation; the winds of the world had long since become unpredictable.
Yet for most of the participating students, they had only heard rumors and hadn't seen things firsthand, so their wariness toward Spirit Hall wasn't particularly heavy.
Moreover, not many academy disciples had attended the previous Grand Conference; most who came were teacher representatives from those academies.
Consequently, many participating students still maintained a high level of enthusiasm for the opening of this competition.
Bang, bang, bang!
Brilliant fireworks and salutes bloomed over the square, and everyone quickened their pace to head there.
At that moment, seven grand chairs appeared above the square, and two oversized electronic screens were pushed out from the left and right sides.
The host excitedly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Welcome, everyone!"
However, the expressions of the Shrek Seven Devils below were not very good; they seemingly only cared about Spirit Hall.
Of course, there were also students from other academies, many of whom brought treasures with extraordinary spirit power or strange abilities.
Ma Hongjun was the most unrestrained, saying with a smirk, "This competition looks rigorous, but I reckon no one is our match."
"You're that confident? Did you have a blast at Suotuo City's Rich and Noble Bar last night?"
Oscar's stubble had grown another bit, further highlighting his wretched aura.
"Hmph, bunch of ungrateful fools."
To the side, several burly men were cracking their fists, looking aggressive.
They were disciples from the Elephant Armored Academy of the Elephant Armored Academy; because their Sect had been promoted, their arrogance had surged abruptly.
In addition, there were strong contenders such as Blazing Academy, Botanical Academy, Tianshui Academy, Thunder Academy, and Godwind Academy.
As well as the Star Luo Empire representative team that had witnessed Spirit Hall's strength; their captain was precisely the Empire's eldest prince, Dai Weisi.
Being of imperial royalty, he led his team and intentionally appeared among the crowd, making it seem like he was being approachable while also asserting his authority.
"I'll give you a friendly reminder: this competition won't go as smoothly as you imagine."
"I am stating with the friendliest attitude that we must unite when necessary."
"Our common goal is only Spirit Hall."
When he spoke like that, why would anyone else pay him any mind?
The authority of the imperial family had long since been greatly discounted; he was undoubtedly just attracting trouble for himself.
On Shrek's side, after Tang San heard this, he said to the other six, "It seems someone has the same idea as us this time—not necessarily to compete, but for other purposes."
"That's natural. Spirit Hall has done so many evil things and even killed Heaven Dou nobles. If we confirm the situation, they will be our greatest enemy."
Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi were brothers; given the Star Luo Empire's cruel rules of succession, his words were also filled with a competitive undertone.
Oscar was also full of self-satisfaction. "We only came to participate to give Spirit Hall some face."
"Stop messing around, look!"
Ning Rongrong noticed people slowly arriving behind those seven grand chairs; they were the heavyweights for this opening.
There was Yu Luomian, the second-in-command of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, as well as the main representatives of the newly promoted three Sects.
These four could only be said to have a bit of a reputation, but they were purely there to make up the numbers; they didn't cause much of a stir.
Next was the Star Luo Great Emperor of the Star Luo Empire. He had always been secretive, but now that there was no one left in the world to stand alone, he was forced to appear.
But he wasn't important either. Even if this was enough to surprise the participating students, the figures following were even more significant.
A Man in Black Robe who exuded strangeness from head to toe claimed to be the representative of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. He did indeed have a medallion that could prove his identity, but he did not explain his origins.
His image was so unique that it garnered the attention of some people.
"This person's appearance is extraordinary; he might be a master."
"Heaven Dou still has the strength to stand on the same stage as Spirit Hall? I think this person is no small matter."
The discussions in the crowd made the Shrek Seven Devils somewhat interested in him, and they even felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Naturally, Chu Feng felt the same way; he sensed the same aura from this Man in Black Robe as he did from Tang Xiao.
However, whether it was Asura God Power was hard to say; he was exceptionally low-key and had disguised himself very well.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to stand here. I hope to supervise Spirit Hall and this Soul Master Competition together with everyone. I hope you all have a good harvest."
The Man in Black Robe made a brief statement in a low, muffled voice. He had a half-smile that looked like a smirk, and his face twitched slightly, as if he wasn't quite used to his own facial features.
The next to appear was Bibi Dong, the representative of Spirit Hall. As soon as she came up, she first cast a contemptuous glance at the Man in Black Robe.
"That's His Holiness the Pope of Spirit Hall. She actually came to the competition opening in person!"
"So exciting! To be so young and beautiful, yet able to stand in such a high position."
The evaluations from the bystanders were quite high, but the academy disciples were very restrained because they more or less knew of Spirit Hall's actions.
Bibi Dong naturally noticed that the atmosphere on site was somewhat unfriendly, but that was completely irrelevant.
She said straightforwardly, "The competition will begin shortly. Before that, I will let everyone see the prizes for this event."
Immediately, a certain hall appeared on the large electronic screens, where several Elders came out in person to display several purple-gold treasure chests.
Once opened, golden light burst forth and red light permeated; they were all precious treasures prepared beforehand.
Although the students had known about them for a long time, seeing the true form of the prizes at such close range made them completely lose their composure and scream frantically.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar kept wiping the drool from their mouths, extremely unable to restrain their restless moods.
"If I can get these, I will definitely be able to recover my spirit power, and everyone should also become stronger."
Xiao Wu thought this in her heart but did not say it out loud.
Tang San's confidence surged for a moment, and he, along with Dai Mubai and the others, were full of fighting spirit.
And appearing along with the prizes was the representative team of Spirit Hall. Everyone knew they were the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall.
Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue—these three had long since established a certain reputation.
However, when Qian Renxue made her appearance, the three of them immediately yielded the center position.
This caused the students to feel confused. When did Spirit Hall get an even more powerful new force?
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