"A heavyweight lineup right from the start?"
As the referee's voice spread across the arena through the soul tool amplifier, the entire venue instantly erupted into heated discussion. The previously orderly atmosphere became noticeably noisy with the announcement of those four names.
Everyone understood the significance of calling these teams up together.
Aside from the Body Sect, whose name was relatively unfamiliar to the masses, the other three were undisputed championship favorites.
The Sun Moon Royal Team—defending champions and tournament hosts—possessed unquestionable strength.
Shrek Academy, with ten thousand years of heritage, was universally acknowledged as the leader of the soul master world.
And the Star Luo Team, runners-up in the previous tournament, represented the pinnacle of the Star Luo Empire's imperial combat power.
At that moment, the gazes of countless participating teams below were fixed on the drawing box atop the main viewing platform. Everyone was desperate to know which block these towering mountains—looming over the heads of all soul masters—would be assigned to.
Quite a few leaders of mid-tier academies were even praying silently, hoping these four giants would all be drawn into the same block. In their view, if the favorites began eliminating one another before the semifinals—or even earlier—the pressure on the other three blocks would be greatly reduced.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of spectators, Liu Yuan, Bei Bei, Long Aotian, and Xu Jiujiu slowly walked out from their respective waiting areas toward the center of the stage.
Liu Yuan walked at the very front, his steps steady and rhythmic.
As he passed the Shrek Team's rest area, his pace paused slightly.
He turned his head, his gaze locking precisely onto Xuan Zi seated in the front row. A distinctly teasing smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He said nothing, but the provocation in his eyes was utterly undisguised.
Already in a foul mood because of Tang Ya, Xuan Zi felt his anger explode upon meeting that gaze. His beard trembled violently, his face flushing crimson as his teeth ground together audibly.
If not for the presence of the Sun Moon Empire's Emperor and the strict tournament rules, he would have rushed onto the stage on the spot.
The four team captains soon arrived at center stage.
Under the referee's guidance, they simultaneously reached into the soul tool drawing box before them.
"Please reveal the results, captains," the referee announced loudly.
Liu Yuan, Bei Bei, Long Aotian, and the Star Luo captain turned at the same time, raising the metal spheres in their hands toward the main viewing platform and the massive soul tool display screen.
A flash of light.
Four large characters appeared clearly on the screen.
The entire venue fell into deathly silence.
An instant later, an uproar several times louder than before surged skyward.
East Block.
The symbols on all four metal spheres were identical.
This meant that under the new tournament rules, the four teams representing the continent's highest combat power had been dramatically assigned to the same block.
In the upcoming schedule, they would be forced into brutal internal competition within the East Block.
Depending on the specific match arrangements, it was even possible that two championship favorites might clash directly in the very first knockout match later that day.
Yet after the initial shock, many soul masters from the academies below began to show joy.
To them, the East Block had become a true "Group of Death." As long as they avoided it in subsequent draws, their chances of advancing would increase significantly.
The audience, on the other hand, fell into a kind of morbid excitement.
As spectators, they didn't care who ultimately won. What they wanted to see were clashes between the strongest.
A favorite being eliminated in the very first elimination round was far more thrilling than watching an effortless steamroll.
Liu Yuan withdrew his drawing sphere, his expression utterly calm.
He turned and led the Sun Moon Royal Team back to their waiting area.
After sitting down, he glanced at the screen and said evenly to Wang Qiuer beside him,
"East Block. I like this draw. If we can eliminate Shrek during the elimination rounds, that would be interesting."
But Wang Qiuer wasn't looking at the screen at all.
Her cold gaze was fixed on the Shrek Team's rest area not far away, accurately locking onto Huo Yuhao and Xuan Zi within the crowd.
Seeing Xuan Zi's old face twisted with rage, a trace of chill flickered in her eyes.
She still clearly remembered the overwhelming pressure when Xuan Zi had attacked her in the Star Dou Great Forest. Now, meeting again under a human identity, the Auspicious Beast bloodline within her faintly resonated.
"Eliminate Shrek?"
"That's exactly what I want to see."
Over at the Shrek Team, the atmosphere was heavy.
After stepping down from the stage, Bei Bei looked utterly deflated.
He approached his teammates and lowered his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry. My luck with the draw was terrible—I pulled all the hardest opponents into our block at once."
"Senior Brother Bei Bei, this isn't your fault," Huo Yuhao stepped forward and patted his shoulder in consolation, though his own brows were tightly furrowed. "It's just probability."
Xuan Zi also felt the weight in his heart. But as the team leader, he knew they couldn't lose morale at a time like this.
He stood up abruptly, swept his gaze across the worried students, and shouted in a deep voice,
"Pull yourselves together! So what if it's the East Block? We were bound to face them sooner or later."
"Think about it—if we eliminate the Sun Moon Team in the upcoming matches, preventing them from even reaching the top sixteen on their own home ground, how satisfying would that be? That would be true revenge!"
…
In another corner of the venue, within the Body Sect's rest area.
Long Aotian returned to his seat and nodded toward Vina nearby.
As elites of the Body Sect, they had come with a single purpose—to defeat the Sun Moon Royal Team and break the backbone of the Sun Moon Empire.
To them, the draw itself didn't matter. As long as they could encounter Liu Yuan as early as possible, they could prove the dominance of the Original Body Martial Soul.
"East Block?" Long Aotian cracked his neck, fervent battle intent blazing in his eyes. "Good. We came for the Sun Moon Team anyway."
The four teams each harbored their own thoughts, while the referee had already begun calling the next teams to the stage.
The struggle within the East Block was destined to become the most eye-catching focal point of this tournament.