Ontology College
Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City.
The Senior Soul Master Elite Competition, held once every few years, was about to begin. As one of the three great empires on the Douluo Continent, the Star Luo Empire naturally took this matter extremely seriously. As the imperial capital and the largest city on the continent, Star Luo City had become incomparably lively during this period, with streams of people arriving and departing every single day.
Soul masters, merchants, nobles, and spectators from all directions gathered here. Almost every inn and hotel in the city was fully booked, and the streets were far more bustling than usual.
One after another, the major soul master academies also dispatched their teams and representatives to Star Luo City. Famous academies such as Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Zhengtian Academy, Tiandou Royal Academy, and many other well-known institutions had all arrived ahead of time.
Among these participating teams, however, there was one academy that appeared extremely special.
This academy had only been established less than half a year ago and was known as Ontology Academy.
Of course, Ontology Academy was merely a name used for public participation. In reality, all the members of this team came from a single powerful force on the continent—the Noumenon Sect.
The leading teachers of the team were Jin Shen Douluo and Jin Peng, along with two Contra-level elders of the sect, Lang Ya and Yu Tao, whose cultivation levels were all far beyond ordinary soul masters.
The team itself consisted of six official team members, with an additional three substitutes prepared in advance.
At this moment, the people from Ontology Academy were staying in one of the most luxurious hotels in Star Luo City. All of them had been summoned into a spacious and exquisitely decorated conference room, and the atmosphere inside was slightly solemn.
"Mr. Jin, there is still no news about the Young Sect Master."
The one who spoke was a young man who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.
His name was Zhenyue. His martial soul was his left arm, an extremely rare noumenon martial soul. His soul power had already reached level sixty-two, making him a genuine Soul Emperor. Among all the official members of the team, he was currently the only one who had reached the Soul Emperor realm, and he was also one of the strongest core disciples of the Noumenon Sect.
As for Long Aotian, Wang Yanfeng, and Gu Tong, although they were also official members of the team and possessed outstanding talent, they were still relatively young. In terms of soul power cultivation alone, they were still somewhat inferior to Zhenyue.
Hearing Zhenyue's question, Jin Peng half-opened his sleepy eyes, stretched slightly, and replied in a calm and indifferent tone:
"Not yet."
"Still not back? But the Soul Master Elite Competition officially begins tomorrow."
Zhenyue spoke again, his tone carrying an unconcealed trace of dissatisfaction.
In truth, Zhenyue harbored some resentment toward the Young Sect Master whom he had never met.
He could not understand why that person was able to become the Young Sect Master of the Noumenon Sect, the only direct disciple of the Sect Master, and even occupy an official team position without seeming to have paid any effort. Not only that, he was also designated as the team captain.
This was a position that Zhenyue himself had struggled and fought for over many years.
However, the Noumenon Sect placed extreme importance on hierarchy and status. Even though Zhenyue was a core disciple, his identity was still far inferior to that of the Young Sect Master. Naturally, he did not dare to openly express his dissatisfaction and could only vent his emotions over such details.
Whether he sensed the dissatisfaction hidden in Zhenyue's tone or not, Jin Peng glanced at him faintly and said:
"So what if the competition starts tomorrow? Could it be that without the Young Sect Master, you wouldn't even be able to win the first match?"
"This… of course not."
Zhenyue hurriedly denied it. He only wanted to complain that the Young Sect Master had no sense of time, but Jin Peng's words made it sound as though he doubted the team's strength.
"Old Jin, regardless of anything else, we still need to finalize the lineup for tomorrow's match."
At this moment, Long Aotian spoke up to smooth things over.
Jin Peng still valued Long Aotian quite a bit. After hearing his words, he nodded slightly, then shifted his gaze toward the three substitutes sitting nearby.
"Then let Wei Na step in. Coincidentally, the current seven-man formation lacks proper support and battlefield control."
Wei Na was the princess of the Tianhun Empire. Apart from her noble status, her innate talent was also extremely outstanding—perhaps even superior to Long Aotian's.
The most important point was that she possessed a rare twin martial soul.
It was just that due to her age and relatively lower soul power level, she could only serve as a substitute for the time being.
Now that one official member was absent, the responsibility naturally fell upon her shoulders.
Moreover, Wei Na's two martial souls were both top-tier existences, making her especially suitable for team battles.
When she heard Jin Peng call her name, a look of surprise appeared on Wei Na's delicate face.
This was the Soul Master Elite Competition. Being able to participate, let alone compete for the championship, was an honor countless soul masters dreamed of.
"Yes, Mr. Jin. I will definitely—"
Before Wei Na could finish speaking, however, an indifferent and calm voice suddenly echoed through the conference room.
"No need. I'll personally take part tomorrow."
As the words fell, the door to the conference room was pushed open.
A handsome young man slowly walked in and appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Little Lord!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Jin Peng's pupils shrank instantly, and all traces of laziness on his face vanished without a trace.
The others also stood up almost simultaneously.
That's right—the person who had just entered was none other than Yuhao, who had finally returned after his training journey.
After obtaining his third soul ring in the Frozen Forest, Yuhao had not immediately returned to the sect. Instead, he traveled across various regions of the continent, tempering himself through real combat while continuously familiarizing himself with the many abilities he possessed.
Not only had he completely mastered the soul ring fusion skill, Perfect Mirror Image, but he had also gradually explored and developed many profound applications of his spiritual power and martial soul abilities.
Yuhao nodded slightly, then walked to the sofa beside Jin Peng and calmly sat down. His gaze slowly swept across everyone present before finally stopping on Zhenyue and the two unfamiliar faces beside him.
"I haven't met the three of you before. Introduce yourselves."
From the very beginning, Yuhao's spiritual detection had already clearly revealed the strength of everyone present. Aside from Zhenyue, who was a level sixty-two Soul Emperor, the other two had both reached the Soul King realm—one at level fifty-six, and the other at level fifty-eight.
Clearly, all of them were outstanding disciples of the Noumenon Sect under the age of twenty.
Hearing Yuhao's words, the other two showed no particular reaction. However, Zhenyue's brows furrowed slightly.
Because Yuhao's tone carried an unmistakable sense of superiority.
Even though, strictly speaking, it was completely justified.
"Zhenyue. Martial soul—left arm. Strong attack-type battle soul master. Soul power—"
"Level sixty-two. I already know your soul power levels. Just state your names and martial souls."
Yuhao interrupted him directly.
Zhenyue's expression stiffened, and anger surged in his heart. But in the very next instant, he suddenly realized something was terribly wrong. His pupils constricted sharply, and a trace of fear flashed across his eyes as he looked at Yuhao.
He knows everyone's soul power levels.
This meant that Yuhao had just used a detection-type ability without anyone present noticing in the slightest.
The others also reacted at the same time, and their expressions changed drastically.
Not to mention these juniors—even Jin Peng and the elder Lang Ya could not help but feel startled. They, too, had not sensed when Yuhao had conducted his detection.
This was precisely the effect Yuhao intended to achieve.
He knew very well that many people were unconvinced by his identity as Young Sect Master, so he deliberately displayed his strength to establish authority.
"It's your turn."
Yuhao shifted his gaze toward the girl beside Zhenyue.
"Qian Hua. Martial soul—mouth. Control-type battle soul master."
"Mouth?"
Yuhao was slightly surprised and subconsciously looked at Qian Hua's lips. They were red and moist, her teeth white and neat, appearing no different from an ordinary person's.
Although her martial soul was somewhat peculiar, Yuhao did not underestimate her in the slightest. After all, her soul power had already reached level fifty-eight.
He was simply a bit curious about the specific methods she used in battle.
The last person was a flat-headed young man. Without waiting for Yuhao to speak, he took the initiative to introduce himself.
"My name is Bai Ting. My martial soul is my heart. I am an attack-type soul master."
As he spoke, he pointed toward his left chest.
Among noumenon martial souls, the more vital the body part, the higher its potential and quality.
There was no need to explain how important the heart was.
This alone indicated that Bai Ting's strength was absolutely not to be underestimated.
Yuhao nodded slightly, then turned his gaze toward Long Aotian and the others.
"You three are also official team members?"
For reasons unknown, even though it had only been a few months since they last met, Yuhao now gave them an entirely different feeling—one of overwhelming pressure.
Hearing Yuhao's question, the three of them straightened their backs and nodded firmly.
One Soul Emperor, three Soul Kings, and two Soul Sects.
Such a lineup was already enough to rank among the top-tier teams in the entire Soul Master Elite Competition.
And now, with Yuhao himself added to the roster, winning the Soul Master Elite Competition was no longer merely possible—it was almost inevitable.