In just three days, Haiyuan City had reaped an enormous profit from the Soul Master Tournament.

Although the profits had to be shared with various parties, the wealth that ultimately flowed into Haiyuan City’s coffers was still astronomical and astonishing.

What was even more surprising was that many business people who had initially set up hotels and restaurants in Haiyuan City solely for the tournament, found themselves captivated by the city’s prosperity and potential. After witnessing it firsthand, they decisively chose to remain and develop their businesses long-term, putting down roots in Haiyuan City.

Regardless of which academy claimed the final championship, there was no doubt that Haiyuan City was the biggest winner of this Soul Master Tournament.

During the tournament, Haiyuan City had showcased its era-defining soul tool technology, awe-inspiring combat power, and the discipline and strength of its Golden Guard, who measured up to the soul master legions of any empire.

All of this attracted countless observers and became the focal point of discussion for everyone.

Lu Jingming had a premonition that with the end of the tournament, Haiyuan City was about to enter a golden age of rapid development.

Both a sharp increase in population and a booming economy were just around the corner.

On the fourth day of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, the city was already bustling with people as dawn broke.

The audience, filled with excitement, had claimed their seats early. The whole city echoed with their lively discussions and cheers, creating a warm and passionate atmosphere for this top-tier soul master event.

Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire, along with the Empress and Xu Jiujiu, also arrived early at the VIP platform.

Their early entrance was a great show of respect to the contestants, making it clear how much importance Xu Jiawei placed on this tournament.

The sky was bright and clear, blue as a gemstone.

However, few knew that the weather was supposed to be overcast that day. To ensure the smooth progress of the tournament, Haiyuan City had used soul tools capable of manipulating the weather to forcefully disperse the clouds, creating the ideal competition environment for both audience and contestants.

After all, a heavy rain on such a grand occasion would have been a major disappointment for the audience who couldn’t get into the Eye of Abyss and could only watch from the coastline or other parts of the city.

In the first round of the round-robin, although there were only four matchups, all sixty-seven teams that had advanced to the round-robin stage arrived at the venue early.

Every team understood the importance of gathering intel and sizing up their opponents in advance. Moreover, Haiyuan City had prepared a sand table simulation for them, which required detailed and accurate information as support.

At that moment, a massive projection screen floated above the arena, clearly displaying the grouping of all the academy teams for the round-robin.

Just as everyone expected, the strongest academies were cleverly separated: St. Freya Academy, Shrek Academy, and Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy were each placed in different groups.

After all, there were only eight groups, with only two advancing from each group. In the end, only sixteen teams would make it through to the final sixteen.

St. Freya Academy was placed in the first group, which had eight teams.

Among them, Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy stood out. A strong contender for the Final Four in every tournament, their placement in the same group as St. Freya Academy instantly ignited the audience’s enthusiasm.

The clash between last year’s champions and a top-eight finisher from the previous tournament was a much-anticipated showdown—everyone could hardly wait to witness it.

As the reigning champions and hosts, St. Freya Academy naturally took the field for the first match of the round-robin.

On the big screen, St. Freya Academy’s name was locked on the left, while the names of the seven other first group academies flashed rapidly on the right, finally settling on Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy.

Soon, the screen flashed again, displaying in bold letters: “St. Freya Academy VS Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, Team Battle.”

“First round of the round-robin, St. Freya Academy versus Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy. Contestants, please enter the arena.”

The host, Changli, announced in a magnetic voice. At that moment, Dan Heng also appeared silently at the center of the stage like a gust of wind.

As Lu Jingming and the other six walked out of the rest area, the audience erupted in frenzied cheers.

Perhaps because of Lu Jingming’s dominant performance in the first elimination match, amid the shouts of “Robin,” he faintly heard his own name being called.

But he remained calm and indifferent, his gaze fixed on the seven members of Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy opposite him.

Although the crowd’s support was clearly one-sided, Qianling’s team remained unexpectedly calm and composed.

This steadiness set them apart from some of the other academy teams.

Lu Jingming held detailed information on Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy; in fact, he had comprehensive data on all the contestants.

As long as the contestants had used the simulated universe for training, their information was fully recorded in its database.

Qianling’s team captain was Shen Ce, a slender young man with a cold and stern expression.

His martial soul was the Thousand Strike Spear, and he was a Level 53 assault-type Battle Soul King, with extremely powerful attack capabilities.

Standing next to him was the vice-captain, An Lengye, who had long blue hair like a waterfall and wore a gray-silver Tai Chi uniform with silver long pants. She was very attractive, and her cold aura was apparent from her looks alone.

Her martial soul was the Frost Giant Bear, a Level 45 control-type Soul Sect.

Beside An Lengye stood Fei Yuyan, a girl with black hair streaked with red highlights and a stylish look.

Her uniform was similar to An Lengye’s, but with a red ribbon as an accent, and she wore orange long pants.

Her features were delicate and her smile sweet, giving her a lively, approachable, and spirited appearance.

Fei Yuyan’s martial soul was the Weaving Flame Tiger, also a Level 45 control-type Soul Sect.

It was hard to imagine that these two vibrant young girls actually possessed such fierce martial souls as a bear and a tiger.

Besides the core trio of Shen Ce, An Lengye, and Fei Yuyan, the other four members—Yang Ming, Song Hu, Bai Chen, and Ye Mao—all came from the same sect: Rhinoceros Sect, and their martial soul was the defensive Rhinoceros Shield.

Because of this, Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy was also known by a catchy nickname: “Ice-Fire Double Control Thousand Strike Spear.”

Once both sides entered the arena, without needing a reminder from Dan Heng, they instantly widened the distance, standing a hundred meters apart.

Qianling Academy immediately assumed a defensive formation: four burly defense-type soul masters at the front, Shen Ce in the center, and An Lengye and Fei Yuyan bringing up the rear.

St. Freya Academy, on the other hand, retained their casual approach with no fixed formation, allowing the team members to stand wherever they liked.

“Begin!” At Dan Heng’s command, the four Qianling defenders simultaneously released their martial souls. In an instant, two yellow and two purple soul rings appeared around each of them.

Bathed in dim yellow light, their already large bodies became even more robust, as if covered in invisible armor.

At the same time, heavy shield-like dark yellow Rhinoceros Shields appeared in their right hands, each over a meter tall. The four stood close together, forming an impregnable wall that protected their teammates behind.

A flash of silver light, and a silver spear appeared in Shen Ce’s hand, exuding a chilling sharpness that contrasted with the heavy defense of his teammates at the front.

He too now had two yellow and three purple soul rings—not the ideal combination, but given that he had reached Soul King level before the age of twenty, he was undoubtedly a prodigy.

If not for his suboptimal soul ring configuration, his strength would not be inferior to some of Shrek Academy’s inner court disciples.

As Shen Ce released his Thousand Strike Spear, blue and red lights rose behind him. Immediately, two thunderous beast roars rang out: a three-meter-tall Frost Giant Bear and a 2.5-meter-tall Weaving Flame Tiger appeared on the stage.

An Lengye and Fei Yuyan did not choose the traditional “Beast Possession” mode but instead summoned their martial souls in mimicked form.

Lu Jingming understood their decision well. After all, if two delicate girls possessed themselves to become a bear and a tiger, it would make for an odd sight.

Though martial soul mimicry lost the physical stat boost of beast souls, the summoned mimics could fight independently.

Moreover, as control-types, bodily enhancement was less important for them.

To preserve their image and aura, these two girls—who might otherwise have been suited to the assault path—ultimately chose to pursue control.

But the fact that their backgrounds allowed this path clearly showed they were well-suited for it.

Qianling Academy was now arrayed in a fortress-like defense, the atmosphere tense and ready to explode.

At this moment, Lu Jingming’s soul power surged as he decisively released his martial soul. A pitch-black spear—Black Abyss—appeared in his hand.

Unlike Shen Ce’s sharp and aggressive spear, Black Abyss radiated inward restraint; it didn’t show overt aggression but gave off an oppressive aura of death, making it hard to breathe.

On Lu Jingming, two purple, two black, and one red soul rings appeared in perfect order, exerting a heavy pressure on Qianling’s seven members, and making them breathe heavily.

The four defense-type soul masters from Qianling reacted quickly, instantly unleashing their soul skills.

Their shields overlapped at high speed, yellow light flickering like lightning as layers upon layers of shields stacked together, forming a towering yellow wall that completely blocked the view of Lu Jingming’s team—a seamless, impregnable fortress.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep