Early in the morning, all participating academies were led by designated personnel and arrived one after another at the center of Spirit City.
Around the competition venue, rest areas specially prepared for each academy were arranged in a circle, allowing a clear view of the entire arena.
The spectator seats were located behind the rest areas.
Ordinary people were not allowed to watch, but everyone who appeared here was a soul master.
Nearby, on both sides of the Pope's Palace, were the VIP seats reserved for high-ranking officials of the two great empires and Spirit Hall.
As Lin Yang and his group approached the rest area, they encountered the teams from the Four Elements Academies.
Lin Yang took the initiative to greet Feng Xiaotian.
However, he noticed that Feng Xiaotian, who was usually very sociable, seemed a little unsettled today.
His gaze swept over Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and the others. They hurriedly averted their eyes, as if they had done something wrong.
Lin Yang's eyes lit up; several guesses had already flashed through his mind.
"You… formed an alliance?"
"Haa… you really can see through everything about me."
When Lin Yang saw through his lie, Feng Xiaotian let out a sigh of relief and decided to stop hiding it.
"Lin Yang, I'm sorry. We all know very well that no team can match you and Spirit Hall. That's why we had no choice but to rely on this tactic."
Compared to the original Wind-Fire Alliance, the addition of Sky Water and Thunder Academies had undeniably raised the overall strength of the team to a new level.
The straightforward Xiao Wu blurted out,
"Isn't this cheating?"
The moment she finished speaking, awkward expressions appeared on the faces of all four people in the group, including Feng Xiaotian.
"Don't say nonsense!"
Lin Yang gently patted the little rabbit's head.
"This is just a competition. Using every possible means to win is perfectly normal."
"But… in the end you are still four separate teams. If your coordination fails, it could backfire…"
Seeing that Lin Yang did not mind their alliance, Feng Xiaotian also discarded his embarrassment and said in a low voice,
"We've already tested it many times…"
"You're fully prepared!" Lin Yang joked.
"Isn't this something you forced us into?" Feng Xiaotian shrugged.
Back then, Lin Yang had single-handedly crushed the Five Elements Academies and shattered their pride, but at the same time he had made them realize the benefits of uniting.
In addition to Xiangjia Academy, the cooperation of these four academies also owed a great deal to the efforts of the various academy deans.
Lin Yang smiled. After chatting with Feng Xiaotian for a few minutes, he lightly patted his shoulder.
"Then let's settle it on the stage. When the time comes, I won't hold back at all."
Feng Xiaotian's expression turned serious. "Don't worry. We will definitely show our true strength."
"Got it!"
...
As time passed, all the academies arrived one after another. Afterward, the on-site draw began.
There was no grand opening ceremony for the finals; everything was conducted in a minimalist style.
Only a single Cardinal stepped onto the stage to announce the start of the finals, the matchups, and the list of teams receiving byes.
The Heaven Dou team naturally received a bye in the first round.
In the first match, Shrek Academy was drawn against Blazing Fire Academy, and Blazing Fire Academy withdrew.
While the Shrek people were still wondering why Blazing Fire had withdrawn,
the next team to appear — God Wind Academy — caused an uproar throughout the entire venue.
The captain of the God Wind team was Feng Xiaotian, but behind him stood Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, Yu Tianxin, and a support-type from God Wind Academy.
They were all four-ringed Soul Ancestors.
Flender wanted to question the organizing committee, but the result did not satisfy him.
However, upon closer inspection, Shrek Academy was actually the most popular.
After all, even though they had not yet accomplished anything, they had already made it into the top eighteen.
Furthermore, due to the Four Elements Alliance, not only Blazing Fire Academy but also Sky Water Academy and Thunder Academy withdrew from the competition.
Aside from God Wind Academy receiving a bye in the second round…
Sky Water should have received a bye in the third round.
Based on the preliminary rankings, the successive withdrawals of Sky Water, Thunder, and Blazing Fire Academies meant that the seed rights were passed down to the next teams.
Shrek was ranked sixth.
If they were lucky, the fifth-ranked botany specialty academy would be eliminated in the first two rounds.
They might even receive a bye in the third round.
That way, they could directly advance into the top six.
Of course, many academies from the Heaven Dou Empire also protested, but Spirit Hall suppressed those protests.
Between the end of each round and the start of the next, there was a one-day rest period.
When the second round of the competition began, the Heaven Dou team was to face a team from the Star Luo Empire.
This team was of average strength, consisting of three Soul Masters and four Soul Elders.
In previous tournaments, they would have been considered a mid-to-upper-level team, but this year — this was truly competition at the god level.
It looked quite ordinary.
"You can go!"
Lin Yang sat in the rest area and had no intention of appearing.
Besides the fact that the opponents were too weak to interest him, there was also the aspect of giving the other team members a chance to show their strength.
After all, if he defeated everyone in one strike, what would become of his teammates?
When the match began, Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling unhesitatingly released their Soul King cultivation levels.
From beneath the feet of each of the three, five spirit rings appeared — two yellow, one purple, and two black.
The entire arena fell silent.
Not only the spectators, but also the people from the various academies, and even those from Spirit Hall, suddenly stood up.
Countless gazes were fixed on the spirit rings of Xiao Wu and the others.
Fifth ring?
Three Soul Kings?
And the fourth spirit ring had already reached the ten-thousand-year level?
How was this possible?
Many people were rubbing their eyes vigorously.
I don't dare open my eyes~
I hope it's just an illusion~
But no matter how carefully they looked, the black spirit rings remained transparent, radiating an eerie fluctuation of soul power.
In the rest area where Shrek Academy was located, Tang San tightly gripped the railing, staring at the stage with eyes wide open in anger.
He unconsciously looked toward Yu Xiaogang, but his voice was so hoarse he could barely speak.
"Teacher…"
He clearly remembered his teacher saying that the limit for a fourth spirit ring was five thousand years. So what on earth was happening here?
If only one of them had appeared, it could at least be dismissed as an accident.
But there were three of them in total! This could not be brushed off as an "accident."
Even if Tang San did not want to admit it, faced with undeniable facts, he could not help but harbor doubts.
Was the theory he had always taken as his guiding principle truly correct?
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was completely stunned.
His mind was in total chaos as he muttered to himself,
"It's impossible… my theory is correct, it absolutely can't be…"
Yet the scene he was witnessing completely shattered the theory he had been so proud of.
Sitting in the VIP seats, Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, and the others all turned their gazes toward Lin Yang.
Possessing foresight and knowledge, they would naturally not be deceived by appearances.
The simultaneous appearance of three Soul Kings with ten-thousand-year fourth spirit rings was by no means a coincidence, much less an accident.
The most likely explanation was that someone had mastered a method to safely absorb transcendent spirit rings.
And who else could that person be but Lin Yang?