The Competition Begins — Everyone's Speculations
The next day, the long-awaited Senior Soul Master Elite Competition arrived as scheduled.
Early in the morning, Xingluo City Square was already packed with people. Representatives from all participating academies gathered one after another, and teams from every empire on the continent made their official appearances under countless gazes.
Naturally, among them were Noumenon Academy, where Yuhao belonged, as well as Shrek Academy and the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, which Yuhao had been paying close attention to from the very beginning.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Their lineup was neat, their expressions calm, and their equipment faintly emitted metallic luster. Even without making a move, they already gave people a strong sense of pressure.
However, something felt off about Shrek Academy.
Almost everyone on Shrek's side was wearing a large, loose cloak, completely covering their bodies. Their auras were restrained, and even their movements were noticeably cautious.
To outsiders, it might look like Shrek Academy was deliberately trying to act mysterious.
But Yuhao understood very well.
These people were injured.
They were wearing cloaks to conceal their injuries and prevent other teams from accurately judging their condition.
"Even with Yan Shaozhe leading the team, they were still counterattacked by the Death Messengers."
Yuhao silently analyzed while observing from afar.
"It seems that this calamity was inevitable for Shrek."
However, compared to the original course of events, Yuhao could clearly see that Shrek Academy had suffered less damage this time.
At least six official team members were still alive and remained in Star Luo City.
But if it were Xuan Laogou who had led the team—
Among the seven official members, one would have died tragically on the spot, and three would have been severely crippled, directly losing their qualifications to participate in the competition.
This would have been the second major mistake Xuan Laogou made.
Yet afterward, he would still shamelessly hold a Poseidon Pavilion meeting, put on a farce of "three invitations and three resignations" with Mu En, and then pretend as if nothing had happened.
Disgusting.
Fortunately, Xuan Laogou had already been killed by Di Tian.
Otherwise, who knew how many more disasters he would have caused.
As if sensing Yuhao's gaze, Yan Shaozhe also turned his head and looked in his direction.
When Yan Shaozhe saw Yuhao's calm and indifferent expression, he couldn't help but snort coldly.
In response, Yuhao slightly curved his lips and sneered inwardly.
"I really hope I can draw you in the first round."
"The number one academy on the continent being eliminated in the first round…"
"What a joke that would be."
...
This year's Soul Master Elite Competition had a total of one hundred and thirty participating teams.
Most academies naturally focused their attention on established powerhouses like Shrek Academy, Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and other famous institutions.
Very few people paid attention to Noumenon Academy.
However, there were three people whose expressions changed dramatically the moment their eyes landed on Noumenon Academy's lineup—or more precisely, on Yuhao himself.
Unpleasant memories instantly surfaced in their minds.
These three were none other than Shen Ce, An Lengye, and Fei Yuyan, the ones Yuhao had casually rescued in the Sunset Forest.
After confirming Yuhao's identity, the three exchanged glances in perfect tacit understanding and silently mouthed two words to each other.
"It's over."
The teacher leading Qianling Academy noticed their strange behavior and asked proactively:
"Shen Ce, what are the three of you looking at?"
"Teacher, do you remember what I told you about the Sunset Forest before?"
Hearing Shen Ce's words, the leading teacher paused slightly, then nodded after some thought.
"I remember. What's wrong?"
"The boy who punched a seven-thousand-year Cloud Demon Tiger to death with one punch…"
"He's right over there."
As he spoke, Shen Ce pointed in the direction of Noumenon Academy.
"What?!"
The Qianling Academy teacher was instantly shocked.
To be honest, when he first heard Shen Ce's account of that incident, his instinctive reaction was disbelief.
A boy of thirteen or fourteen years old—
Even if he started cultivating from his mother's womb, there was no way he could kill a seven-thousand-year soul beast with a single punch.
However, Shen Ce and the other two had no reason to lie, and their descriptions matched perfectly.
In the end, the teacher could only accept it and concluded that the boy must be a peerless genius nurtured by some hidden sect.
But he never expected that such a terrifying talent would appear openly here.
Looking at Yuhao's young and handsome face from afar, the teacher sighed softly.
"Looks like… we can only fight for the top five this time."
...
As time passed, the opening ceremony, the speech of the Star Luo Empire's emperor, and the drawing of lots finally came to an end.
The continent-wide Soul Master Elite Competition officially began.
The first match featured the defending champions, Shrek Academy.
However, their opponent was not Noumenon Academy.
Instead, it was Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Dou Ling Empire.
This outcome made Yuhao feel a little disappointed, and he couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"There must be something shady about this draw."
The result of the battle was naturally Shrek Academy's victory.
However, none of the official team members participated.
Only the seven substitutes took the field.
Without Yuhao himself present, the match was noticeably difficult. Shrek's victory was far from clean and decisive, and they did not display the overwhelming dominance expected of the continent's number one academy.
As a result, the cheers that were originally thunderous quickly became sparse.
"What's going on? Why is Shrek Academy struggling so much against a second-rate academy?"
"Didn't you notice? None of their official players are on the field. They're probably just training their younger members."
"Even so, they shouldn't send all substitutes. That fight was embarrassing. If they had lost, it would've been a joke."
...
Not only was the audience confused, but many academy teams were also unable to understand Shrek Academy's actions.
Training newcomers was understandable.
But gambling with the academy's honor in a knockout round was another matter entirely.
Lose once, and you're out.
However, a few sharp-eyed individuals still noticed something unusual.
Inside the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's resting area—
A handsome young man with large blue eyes glanced toward Shrek Academy's position. An evil smile curled at the corner of his lips as he turned to the pretty girl with burgundy hair beside him.
"Meng, do you think Shrek Academy's official members are unable to fight because of… unavoidable reasons?"
"What do you mean?"
The girl looked puzzled.
"For example," the young man said lightly, smiling,
"being seriously injured."
Hearing this, the girl's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise.
"If that's true, then we might actually be able to defeat Shrek Academy this time."
The young man showed no excitement at all. Instead, he sighed with disappointment.
"Meng, if that's really the case, then it's too boring."
"What I want… is to defeat the strongest Shrek Academy head-on."
The girl was briefly stunned, then smiled faintly.
"Smile, I'm afraid there won't be a chance this year."
"But in five years, I believe we'll definitely be able to do it."
Her tone was filled with absolute confidence—not only in herself, but also in the boy beside her.
Because the two of them were none other than the once-in-a-generation geniuses of the Sun and Moon Empire—
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
...
The competition continued in full swing.
But aside from the first match, Yuhao no longer paid attention to the others.
The strength of these second-rate academies simply couldn't arouse his interest.
After more than ten consecutive matches, the host finally looked toward the direction of Noumenon Academy.
"The next match will be between Fighting Soul Advanced Soul Master Academy of the Soul Fighting Empire and Noumenon Academy of the Heavenly Soul Empire!"
"Please invite the participating members from both sides to take the stage!"
"It's our turn."
Yuhao spoke calmly.
He stood up first and walked toward the competition arena.
Zhen Yue, Long Aotian, and the remaining six followed closely behind.