The significance of absorbing a transcendent spirit ring was something that almost everyone present already understood.
A soul master who successfully absorbed a spirit ring beyond the limit not only gained attribute boosts far exceeding those of other soul masters at the same level, but also obtained more powerful spirit skills and greater growth potential.
As cultivation level rose, strength would snowball down the slope, growing stronger and stronger.
In the early stages, one would be invincible against opponents of the same level. In the later stages, defeating enemies of higher levels would become as natural as eating a meal.
Setting everything else aside, just look at the current Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan. Their strength already rivaled that of Soul Emperors.
However, absorbing a spirit ring beyond one's limit was an extremely dangerous act. Failure often resulted in the body exploding and death.
This was a lesson paid for with the blood and lives of countless soul masters.
Yet now, the existence of Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling was more than enough to prove that they possessed a method to safely absorb transcendent spirit rings.
In an instant, most people looked at them with eyes full of greed, envy, and jealousy.
However, a small number of people still retained very clear thinking.
Two of these three girls were the granddaughters of Titled Douluo. Only someone tired of living would dare lay hands on them.
Lin Yang naturally noticed these gazes, but his expression remained extremely calm throughout.
With a cultivation level of six rings, strength comparable to nine rings, and the support of Infinite Space, he possessed a solid foundation.
He no longer needed to hide anything.
If anyone dared to provoke him, he would not mind letting them experience firsthand just how sharp his Nichirin Blade was.
At that moment, the Star Luo Empire team stood on the stage. Their expressions gradually shifted from initial shock to deep despair.
The support-type player at the very back swallowed hard, looked at the captain, and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Captain… should we continue?"
Before the captain could answer, Xiao Wu and her teammates on the opposing side had already moved.
She teleported directly in front of the strongest captain and delivered a perfect spinning kick that swept him clean off the field.
Dugu Yan was even more decisive. She summoned two emerald-green venomous snakes in her hands and precisely restrained the other two soul masters facing her.
In less than three seconds, both men's faces turned purple and they collapsed completely powerless onto the ground.
The three strongest soul masters were eliminated instantly. The remaining Soul Elders were left for the Shi brothers to deal with.
Ye Lingling remained standing at the back and did not even release her martial soul.
The entire process took less than thirty seconds.
When the match ended, the entire stadium fell silent.
This was probably the fastest match any of them had ever seen.
Was it because the Star Luo team was weak?
Of course not.
Was there any team that had advanced to the finals without some hidden trump cards?
Unfortunately, they were simply unlucky today and ran into the Heaven Dou team.
One could say that the Heaven Dou team had dropped a bomb on all the participating teams.
Then the Spirit Hall team practically dropped a nuclear bomb into the crowd.
When Qian Renxue's seven spirit rings suddenly appeared, everyone present was left speechless.
They had completely lost all sensation.
Was this the same Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament they remembered?
At first, four academies had joined together as one team.
They admitted to exploiting loopholes in the competition rules!
Having three Soul Kings on the Heaven Dou team was understandable.
He was a genius and even possessed transcendent spirit rings — fine, they could accept that!
But you directly produced a Soul Sage? Wasn't that going a bit too far?
At this moment, the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire united for the first time, accusing Spirit Hall of lacking martial ethics.
A Soul Sage at twenty-five years old?
Are you kidding me?
However, Spirit Hall's attitude remained extremely mild.
If you don't believe it, feel free to check her bone age yourself.
In the end, representatives were selected from both Heaven Dou and Star Luo to conduct a bone age examination on Qian Renxue.
The two representatives came down with dark expressions.
Qian Renxue's age fell within the maximum age range permitted by this tournament, so she met the participation requirements.
In that instant, every doubt burst like a soap bubble at the slightest touch!
"It's over!"
Flender sat powerlessly in a lounge chair, wearing a bitter smile.
How the hell were they supposed to play this?
They still retained the Nether White Tiger martial soul fusion skill and the Seven-in-One martial soul combination skill that they had always considered their trump cards.
But in front of a Soul Sage, these techniques looked far too faded and powerless.
Fortunately, these children were still young. They could come again next time.
The Shrek Seven Devils were also silent. They had worked so hard for so long, yet in the end everything had been in vain.
In contrast to Flender's calm acceptance, Yu Xiaogang — who had only just crawled out of autism — was nearly pushed back into the abyss of despair by this latest shock.
Yu Xiaogang: This is too difficult for me!
All I want is to become famous. Why does it have to be this hard?
After the Spirit Hall team's easy victory, the next match was Shrek Academy versus Dragon Sunflower Academy.
As if venting his frustrations, Tang San released the Clear Sky Hammer the moment he appeared and unleashed the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique.
The terrifying power of the Clear Sky Hammer continued to accumulate, easily tearing through Dragon Sunflower Academy's formation.
Next came the martial soul fusion skill Nether White Tiger, which defeated the opponent's three strongest soul masters in a single strike.
Shrek Academy's victory!
Shrek had achieved an overwhelming win, and the Nether White Tiger had even appeared.
However, after the two previous "abnormal" opening matches, this victory ultimately lacked much impact.
When the third round began, as expected, Shrek was lucky enough to receive a bye and advanced directly.
Meanwhile, the Heaven Dou team encountered Imperial Mystical Academy.
Seeing the seven opponents, the Shi brothers, Osler, and Yu Feng were all eager to fight.
They looked like hungry wolves eyeing meat, their eyes glowing red.
In this match, Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan mainly played supporting roles for the team, Ye Lingling provided assistance, and the rest was left to the four of them.
This was a chance they had worked hard to obtain.
In their own words, their teammates were so strong that they had always felt like parasites simply being carried to victory.
If they couldn't defeat Spirit Hall, couldn't they at least target some slightly weaker opponents?
The students of Imperial Mystical Academy, who had been regarded as "easy targets," were shocked to see that only four members of the Heaven Dou team were standing at the front, while the remaining three Soul Kings stood at the back.
Their faces turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
When the match began, driven by a burning desire for victory, Imperial Mystical Academy launched an all-out attack against Osler's four members.
They were determined to reverse the situation.
Did the Heaven Dou team really think that four soul masters could defeat them?
So they decided to take down those four in the shortest possible time.
At that point, it would become seven against three.
Excluding the useless support types, the remaining two battle-type Soul Kings could still wear them down in a war of attrition.
Unfortunately, ideals were often grand, but reality was often harsh.
Once the competition truly began, they realized they had underestimated these four "unknown" soul masters.
Osler and his group were indeed less conspicuous compared to Xiao Wu and the others, but that did not mean they were weak.
In fact, thanks to Xiao Wu's strict training, their combat experience was quite solid as well.
Seeing that time was running short, Dugu Yan yawned lazily. Her first and second spirit rings lit up.
Phosphorescent Red Poison – a nerve-stimulating toxin that increased attack power and speed by 20%.
Azure Phosphor Poison – a paralyzing toxin that eliminated pain and increased defense by 30%.
Two thin red and blue poisonous mists precisely enveloped the four Shi brothers.
The Shi brothers immediately threw away the turtle shells in their hands and shouted loudly,
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill – Xuanwu Yin-Yang Mill!"
The two turtle shells enveloped three students of Imperial Mystical Academy. The shells cracked and transformed into rotating razor-sharp blades.
It was as if a giant stone mill was crushing down on the three of them.
Yu Feng rode the wind and soared high into the air while flapping his wings.
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Dance of the Wind!"
Dozens of sharp wind blades roared out from between his wings, weaving a dense, impenetrable net.
The targets were the two agility-type soul masters on the opposite side.
At the same time, Osler's entire figure became a blurred mass as he moved irregularly around the arena.
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Shadow Slash!"
Dozens of curved crescent-shaped blades whistled past.
Before the control- and support-type soul masters of Imperial Mystical Academy could react, they were struck in vital points one after another and blown off the arena while screaming.
In less than ten breaths, the entire Imperial Mystical Academy team had suffered a crushing defeat!
The Cardinal serving as referee paused slightly before loudly declaring, "Victory to the Heaven Dou team!"
...