area51novel Chapter 719 Advancement Tournament
Chapter 719 Advancement Tournament
Chapter 719 Advancement Tournament
Ning Fengzhi sensed the reluctance in Ning Rongrong's words and felt a headache coming on. He wondered if she had been influenced by someone, so he narrowed his eyes and secretly glanced at Oscar not far away.
Oscar, who was standing silently behind the crowd, was somewhat confused by Ning Fengzhi's gaze. But when he thought about a certain thought in his heart and realized that the latter had seen through him, a sense of unease arose, and he instinctively lowered his head.
Ning Fengzhi had a keen eye and had long seen through Oscar's intentions, knowing that he was interested in his daughter.
Oscar has good talent; the fact that he is a food-type soul master with full innate soul power is enough to make Ning Fengzhi look at him with new eyes.
Moreover, Ning Fengzhi himself had high hopes for Oscar, and he had witnessed the latter's hard work.
For nearly six months, Oscar has been practicing relentlessly every day.
His talent gradually became apparent, and the speed at which his strength improved surprised even Ning Fengzhi.
Now, Oscar's soul power has grown to level 39 Soul Master, and he will probably be the fourth of the six students recruited by Shrek Academy in Soto City to reach level 40 Soul Grandmaster.
As a food-type Soul Master, Oscar's improvement speed is even faster than Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong, which can only mean that he works harder than others.
With both talent and hard work, Ning Fengzhi could even assert that as long as Oscar doesn't die prematurely, he will definitely have a place in the world of Soul Masters in the future.
Such a talented person should normally be considered a good match.
Unfortunately, Oscar was only a support-type food-type Soul Master with no combat ability whatsoever, and was unable to protect his daughter at all.
According to the rules of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the spouse of a direct descendant of the Ning clan who possesses the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul must be a combat-type Soul Master with strong combat abilities, and must marry into or be adopted into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
This rule is not unique to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School; other support-type Soul Master factions also have it.
For example, among the support-type Soul Master factions, the Nine Heart Begonia Ye family holds a position second only to the Ning family of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
The combination of support-type and combat-type Soul Masters is almost a universally accepted rule in the Soul Master world of Douluo Continent.
It's just that this is especially evident in large sects and families like the Ning family of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Ye family of the Nine Heart Begonia School.
In order to maintain the sect and family's continuity, they could only make a rule into a written regulation to bind their clansmen and force them to abide by it.
After all, support-type Soul Masters are physically too weak and lack combat abilities. In addition, due to the unique nature of their Martial Soul abilities, they often become the first targets of enemies.
Without the protection of a powerful combat Soul Master, support-type Soul Masters would find it extremely difficult to move forward in this world of Soul Masters where strength reigns supreme.
Even someone as brilliant and ambitious as Ning Fengzhi always had a Title Douluo by his side to ensure his safety whenever he went out.
This demonstrates its importance.
Therefore, there is no future for two support-type Soul Masters together. The best combination is a support-type Soul Master and a combat-type Soul Master.
Ning Fengzhi certainly wouldn't allow his daughter's future partner to be a weak, food-type Soul Master who couldn't even kill a chicken.
This is far too dangerous for a support sect; one slip and they could face utter destruction.
Ning Rongrong is destined to inherit the position of sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. As the sect leader, the lives of thousands upon thousands of disciples are all tied to her. How can she be allowed to marry a weak person?
What if someone targets and assassinates me, and I die? Wouldn't that mean the end of everything?
Ning Fengzhi dared not gamble on the fact that others were kind-hearted and would not target the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the Ning family, or Ning Rongrong in the future.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is large and powerful, it has not been without enemies over the years, not to mention the ambitious and covetous Spirit Hall above it.
Although Ning Rongrong's safety is currently guaranteed with the two titled Douluo, Jian Gu and he, as well as Jian Gu, in charge of the sect, the three of them cannot protect Ning Rongrong for the rest of her life. When their lifespan ends, Ning Rongrong will ultimately have to face all the dangers on her own.
Therefore, Ning Fengzhi had been thinking about finding a young talent with exceptional, strong, and potential young men as a husband for his daughter Ning Rongrong.
In order to assist Ning Rongrong in managing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School in the future and to protect her safety.
At present, Ning Fengzhi's favorite and the one who meets his requirements is actually Tang San.
However, there is a very troublesome problem here.
That is, Tang San is Tang Hao's only son and has an inseparable relationship with the Clear Sky Sect, which makes Ning Fengzhi too hesitant to make a decision to recruit him.
As for Oscar, Ning Fengzhi had high hopes for him and was eager to recruit such a talent to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
After all, food-type Soul Masters are still very rare and sought-after among the many support-type Soul Masters in Douluo Continent.
But ultimately, they didn't treat Tang San with the same level of importance.
because of this.
Even if Ning Fengzhi was extremely eager to recruit talent, he would never risk his daughter's career. He even subtly warned Oscar several times, telling him to be sensible, put away his thoughts, and stay away from Ning Rongrong.
After exchanging a few more intimate words with Ning Rongrong, and reminding her not to be temperamental and to get along well with her teammates, Ning Fengzhi finally took his leave again.
Not long after, accompanied by Sword Douluo, they walked out of the Shrek Academy group's courtyard.
…………
Time flies, and the next day arrived quickly.
The qualifying rounds of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament have finally begun.
Under a clear blue sky, with a gentle breeze and a quiet atmosphere, a large military camp formed a circle on the grassland. The qualifying rounds of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament were being held in the center of the camp.
Unlike the preliminary rounds, which have multiple separate arenas, the qualifying rounds are held in a single venue: the Royal Knights' training ground, where they usually gather and practice.
All matches are played in the same venue.
A total of fifteen teams will participate in the qualifying rounds, playing fourteen rounds of round-robin matches, one round per day, with one team having a bye each day, playing seven matches.
The qualifying rounds will be played in an individual elimination format.
Each team selects at least one and at most seven members to participate in one-on-one elimination matches. The winner has the right to decide whether to stay in the ring to face the next opponent, while the loser leaves the ring and is replaced by another member, until all members of one side are defeated.
The opponents for each round of the qualifying tournament will be drawn by lot.
The training ground has been renovated, with a circular area in the very center, with a diameter of 100 meters, designated as the competition venue.
Compared to the preliminary arena where the fighting space is greatly restricted, the competition venue here is obviously much more spacious.
The spacious environment also allows the students from the various advanced soul master academy teams participating in the competition to more easily demonstrate their strength.
The rules for the qualifying rounds are almost identical to those for the preliminary rounds: no external objects other than martial spirits and one's own abilities may be used, and malicious harm or death is also prohibited.
However, the rules for the battles are relatively more lenient.
On the competition field, trainees can unleash their full potential. As long as they do not use external weapons or aim to kill their opponents, all skills and methods are permitted.
In short, everything is aimed at defeating the opponent.
As long as you win the game, no matter how dirty your methods are, no one will blame you, and your opponents are not allowed to cause trouble or retaliate afterward, otherwise they will be held accountable by the official organizing committee of the event.
In minor cases, the results will be canceled; in serious cases, the student will be expelled from the competition, and their academy will be held accountable, disqualifying them from participating in future Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Competitions.
So, just show your strength and confidently take on the challenge.
Even if something unexpected happens during the process, there will be on-site referees to ensure the safety of the participants.
These referees are not the same ones from the preliminary rounds who were only Soul Emperor level; each of them possesses the strength of a Soul Saint at level 70 or above.
With such strength, ensuring the safe and smooth progress of the qualifying rounds is more than enough.
After all, individual competitions are not as chaotic as team competitions. There are all sorts of strange martial spirits and all sorts of dazzling skills, which can be overwhelming and make it difficult to see many details clearly.
In comparison, the one-on-one elimination matches in the qualifying rounds provided a much clearer view of the competition and ensured the safety of the participants.
If any situation arises that endangers their own or their opponent's life, those Soul Saint-level referees will certainly not stand idly by.
On the north side of the Great Parade Ground, a temporary VIP seat, which also served as the referee's seat, was set up facing south.
The number of VIPs attending this match was not as large as in the qualifiers, with far fewer nobles present. After all, there were no spectator seats in the qualifying rounds, so very few people were qualified to come and watch.
Aside from the teachers and students of the participating academy teams, as well as the three parties involved in the competition's official committee, there was basically only the Heavenly Dou Royal Knights responsible for maintaining order on-site.
As for the others, without the joint permission of the Spirit Hall, the Heaven Dou Royal Family, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, they have almost no chance of entering to watch.
Of course, it can't be said to be absolute.
As the three forces on the official committee of the event, the Spirit Hall, the Heaven Dou Royal Family, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School all have a certain number of extra spectator slots that they can give away to others.
For example, Liu Erlong and Jiangzhu are like that.
People like them, who were invited by Ye Qifeng and added to the team halfway through as assistant coaches, occupied this extra spectator spot.
…………
Over time.
The VIPs who came to watch the game have already taken their seats.
Looking around, on the VIP seats on the north side of the training ground, apart from a few people in the first row, such as Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Ye Qifeng, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the Platinum Bishop Salas, there were only a handful of people.
The seats behind were occupied by armored generals and a group of cardinals from the Heavenly Fighting Martial Soul Temple.
Due to the dramatic change in fate, the qualifying rounds of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, which were originally personally presided over by Emperor Xue Ye, were still handed over to Qian Renxue in disguise as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Emperor Xueye had already been poisoned by the deadly venom extracted from the blood of the Porcupine Douluo and was now bedridden, unable to get up, let alone go out.
Inspired and influenced by Ye Qifeng, Qian Renxue deliberately increased the dosage when administering the poison.
Furthermore, after Ci Xue, the Porcupine Douluo, consumed the immortal herbs bestowed by Ye Qifeng, his strength was greatly enhanced, and he is now a level 95 Super Douluo.
The complex poison it extracted was many times more potent than usual. Not to mention the frail Swan Soul Master, Emperor Xueye, even a Title Douluo-level expert might not be able to withstand it.
Due to a combination of factors, Emperor Xueye's current fate is far worse than it was originally. He is now bedridden and can only watch helplessly as he barely survives.
If Emperor Xueye hadn't clung to military power even on his deathbed, delaying its handover to Qian Renxue, Qian Renxue would have killed him long ago to end her boring undercover life.
Unfortunately, although Emperor Xueye was weak, he was still the emperor of a country. He was resourceful but also suspicious by nature. He was very good at playing the game of power and naturally could see the ambition of his "good son".
At the same time, he also suspected that his body, which was at its peak, suddenly became depleted and aged rapidly for no reason, which was probably related to the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who was disguised by Qian Renxue.
Although there was no evidence to prove that the Crown Prince was responsible, Emperor Xueye had to be cautious.
That's why he only handed over political power to Qian Renxue, but was reluctant to relinquish the empire's military power.
After all, military power is of paramount importance to the Heavenly Dou Empire, and it is also the most important bargaining chip in the hands of Emperor Xueye, a chip that allows him to prolong his life.
Although Emperor Xueye was bedridden and often delirious, he remained keenly aware that only by maintaining military power could he have a chance to survive.
Conversely, if he loses military power, he will not be far from death.
Even if Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had no intention of harming him before, once both military and political power fell into the hands of the Crown Prince, he would die either way, and there was no chance of survival.
Xueye Okula, who had been emperor for decades, understood the intricacies of this all too well.
The qualifying rounds were held on-site.
Ten thousand royal knights completely surrounded the training ground, their helmets gleaming, their swords and halberds gleaming, and their banners fluttering.
The Royal Knights stood on the ground in the front row, while those in the back sat on the backs of their mounts, forming a huge circle.
Such a tight defense can be described as watertight.
The royal family of the Heavenly Dou Empire certainly went to great lengths.
Holding this qualifying tournament in a military camp would undoubtedly make the Royal Knights spectators and also the biggest beneficiaries.
Watching the duel between Soul Masters will undoubtedly have a positive impact on these Royal Knights whose cultivation levels are not high, further inspiring their determination and fighting spirit to train hard.
Within this imposing encirclement, in the center of the enormous training ground, which is a hundred meters in diameter, all fifteen participating teams stood.
Thank you to [I am Qin Yu] for the 100 book coins!
(End of this chapter)