area51novel Chapter 215 The Finals (Part 1)
Chapter 215 The Finals (Part 1)
"No, Teacher Fanyu is a Soul Master. His combat abilities are actually rather... lowering the average combat level of the Soul Masters in the academy."
"Uh... okay. But, shouldn't we leave now? Di'ao Academy lost, and it seems like everyone started leaving a while ago."
Huo Yuhao accepted Long You's explanation somewhat speechlessly, then, with a slightly embarrassed expression, reminded the others who still wanted to continue chatting.
"Uh... that was a mistake. Let's go."
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's reminder, the group, who had been engrossed in the story, also came to their senses, and Dai Yueheng's face showed a rare expression of embarrassment.
This was a rather awkward situation. Long You's explanation was a bit tedious, while Di'ao Academy's resistance was somewhat perfunctory, so Shrek Academy stayed in the rest area for quite a while. Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, having finished their battle, had already reached the entrance of Star Luo Square.
Because they had already assessed the strength of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, the decisive defeat of the Imperial Academy didn't affect the mood of the Shrek Academy students. Watching the Shrek Academy students leave Star Luo Square with relatively light steps, His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, standing on the city wall of Star Luo Imperial City, muttered to himself with some doubt:
"What's going on? These Shrek Academy students don't seem to have suffered a fatal blow. So what happened just now? Were they simply so engrossed in talking about something else that they lost track of time?"
While no one paid attention to His Majesty the Star Luo Emperor's puzzled mutterings, the Shrek Academy group walked and talked as they headed towards the Star Emperor Hotel.
As the entrance to the Star Emperor Hotel came into view, a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on Long You's lips, and Xiao Yan's figure emerged on Long You's shoulder.
"Um, let's stop for a moment."
After confirming the information Xiao Yan had conveyed to him, Long You could only smile wryly and stop his teammates from moving forward. He took out his phone, sent a message, and then began looking around, searching for something.
"What's wrong, Xiao You? We're already at the door, why did you stop?"
"Those two guys from the Body Sect are in the hotel lobby right now. They're definitely here to see Xiao Yuhao. I've already sent messages to Senior Sister and Teacher Fanyu. We're currently checking if Elder Xuan is nearby."
A brief silence followed. Not everyone could see the plot like Long You, so in their eyes, this was just too much of a coincidence.
"So, is it alright for us to stop like this so abruptly?"
"There are definitely problems, but our foreign aid has arrived, so let's keep going."
It's unclear whether Zhang Lexuan was looking at her phone when Long You sent the message. Even though only about half a minute had passed, Long You, through the perception Xiao Yan provided, could already see Zhang Lexuan's soul power aura approaching the Star Emperor Hotel lobby.
Although they hadn't found Shrek Academy's biggest backer for this trip, Long You had already gotten used to the situation where they couldn't find Elder Xuan, or even if Elder Xuan simply failed them. Now that there was a guarantee that both sides could communicate in a relatively equal manner, there was no need for the Shrek Academy group to continue lingering outside the hotel and attracting attention.
Upon entering the lobby of the Star Emperor Hotel, the two members of the Body Sect were quite eye-catching. No, perhaps it wasn't that they were eye-catching, but rather that these two wanted to get the attention of the Shrek Academy students.
The invitation to talk was rather old-fashioned and forceful. Although the big-headed man and the big-armed man, who didn't look like good people at all, put on a polite demeanor, no one from Shrek Academy believed that they could ignore the two of them and leave directly.
Fortunately, a beautiful figure appeared in the Shrek Academy students' sight at just the right time at the staircase in the hall.
"Two gentlemen from the Body Sect, Yuhao is a student of my Shrek Academy. May I ask what you two wish to discuss with him? As the team leader, may I, as his teacher, listen in?"
Zhang Lexuan's aura has always been aloof, and because of Long You's prior warning, she had some idea of the purpose of the two from the Body Sect coming here. Therefore, Zhang Lexuan's tone carried a clear and unyielding tone.
The two members of the Body Sect didn't show any surprise at Zhang Lexuan's sudden appearance. However, Long You adjusted his glasses. Through the perception provided by Xiao Yan, Long You clearly saw the large-headed Body Sect Soul Master's soul power fluctuations surge, indicating he had used some ability. However, Zhang Lexuan's soul power aura also fluctuated immediately afterward, meaning the large-headed Body Sect Soul Master's ability had no real effect.
Seemingly certain that they were incapable of taking Zhang Lexuan away quietly, the two from the Body Sect nodded and gestured for them to speak. "Let's talk over there, but there's no need for so many people. I think you and Huo Yuhao are enough."
Given the formidable strength of the two from the Body Sect, Zhang Lexuan didn't dwell on it. After all, having Huo Yuhao by her side alone would make things easier in case of a conflict.
What happened next in the hall was unknown to Long You. With the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament coming to an end, it was time to plan the next move.
Long You definitely needs to enter Shrek Academy's inner courtyard, but entering the inner courtyard is essentially equivalent to entering a university campus. While studying still holds a very important place within the inner courtyard, it is no longer the entirety of campus life.
The inner campus teaching life at Shrek Academy is full of various practical teaching methods. For example, the mission of the Shrek Inspection Team is a very important part of it.
Of course, these predetermined things weren't worth Long You's consideration. What Long You was thinking about now was whether or not he should explore the new continent. According to his memory, Long You didn't plan to go to the Sun Moon Empire to join the fun in the next five years, so simply staying in Shrek Academy to create a prototype soul tool for the virtual universe would be too boring and monotonous.
"Sigh, forget it, why think about this now? Let's wait until the competition is over and we're back at the academy before talking about anything else. Exploring a new continent, especially one that's said to have abundant rare metal deposits, is no easy task. At the very least, we'll need high-level teammates to support us."
Suddenly realizing that the "college entrance exam" wasn't actually over yet, Long You forcibly put the brakes on his racing thoughts. Upon entering the deluxe sphere, Long You was surprised to find that Xiao Muyang, who was already over two meters long, was lying flat on the ground. A metal carving knife, which was far too small for a large cat, was being controlled by an invisible force, and something was being engraved on a rare metal plate shaped like a tiger's claw.
Realizing what the scene before him meant, Long You immediately did his best to conceal his aura and calm the spatial fluctuations caused by his entry into the deluxe sphere. Fearing he might interfere with Xiao Muyang's soul tool creation process, Long You simply didn't approach, instead sitting cross-legged at the entrance of the deluxe sphere.
Long You wanted to enter a meditative state, but because he was constantly worried about Xiao Muyang's progress, he couldn't get into a meditative state. In the end, Long You waited anxiously until Xiao Muyang completed his first soul tool that he had made independently.
This was Xiao Muyang's first time independently crafting a soul tool, and the one he made wasn't particularly difficult—just a level one tiger claw soul tool lamp. However, the moment the lamp's light shone, Long You still managed to cling to Xiao Muyang's leaping body. The space within the deluxe sphere was instantly filled with distorted tiger roars and wolf howls.
Ten minutes later, Long You, rubbing his lower back and arms, limped out of the luxurious sphere space. In the physical collision aspect, Long You, as a control-type Soul Master, undoubtedly suffered a loss against the White Jade Flame Crystal Tiger.
In other words, Xiao Muyang, who had completed the creation of a soul tool using only his mental power, was completely exhausted. Otherwise, Long You might have needed to lie down in the soul tool medical pod.
After lying on the bed groaning for about twenty minutes, Long You received a notification on his phone to go to a meeting in the conference room.
The conference room. Long You paused uncontrollably as he pushed open the conference room door, and a rather disheveled figure appeared somewhat abruptly in the room.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, don't be so surprised. I'm here just to tell you that the matter with the Body Sect is just a minor incident. With me here, those people from the Body Sect dare not do anything, nor can they do anything."
You all did an excellent job in this competition; now you just need to continue to do your best. Regardless of the final result, I will recommend you for recognition when I return to the academy.
Furthermore, I will be there to watch the finals. So everyone can play freely, and no one dares to pull any tricks under my watchful eye.
"Alright, you can continue your meeting. I'll be leaving now."
Appearing abruptly and disappearing just as quickly, Elder Xuan continued his elusive, unpredictable nature. However, having become accustomed to Elder Xuan's behavior, the Shrek Academy students didn't pay much attention to it anymore.
“We have studied the Soul Guidance Synergy Array System provided by Xiaoyou, and Teacher Fanyu has made some improvements to it. Next, I will explain the tactics we will use in team battles, and you need to adapt to this system as soon as possible.”
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It was a cloudy day. During the entire continental advanced soul master academy fighting competition, the weather in Xingluo City was mostly sunny and bright. But today, on the day of the finals, the clouds over Xingluo City appeared thick and low.
However, the final is the final. The passion brought about by the clash between Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, the perennial runner-up, and Shrek Academy, the perennial leader, will definitely not be extinguished by the weather.
Following the opening ceremony of the competition, another entrance ceremony took place on Xingluo Square as both academies entered. Long You, who was the second in line of the reserve team, followed behind three senior students from the inner academy. He was initially quite calm, but when his gaze swept over the city walls of Xingluo Imperial City, for a fleeting moment, he almost wanted to disregard the discipline of the formation and turn around.
Besides the Star Luo royal family, a brand new figure appeared on the city wall—Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger.
Long You admitted that his memories had indeed become fragmented due to the passage of time, and Dai Hao's appearance had caught him somewhat off guard. Having known Huo Yuhao for over a year, Long You was well aware of the extent of Huo Yuhao's hatred towards his biological father. Long You was now unsure whether Huo Yuhao, far less mature than in the original story, could remain calm in the face of such a sudden encounter with the person he hated most.
If Huo Yuhao were to self-destruct now, it would be a devastating blow to the entire Shrek Academy team atmosphere. After all, the strongest fighter in the Shrek team right now is actually Dai Yueheng, the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, who was suspected of directly bullying Huo Yuhao.
Barely suppressing the urge to turn around, Long You began to use Xiao Yan's gaze to look at the back of the group to check on Huo Yuhao's condition.
To Long You's relief, although Huo Yuhao's expression was visibly distorted, he ultimately maintained his composure and did not let the others in the queue notice.
"Phew—I guess he really lives up to his reputation as the protagonist of the original story? Even though our family's presence has made Huo Yuhao's life less difficult, theoretically, his maturity level should be far lower than that of the same period in the original story. But even so, at such crucial moments, the protagonist never lets us down, right?"
Since only Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy remained in the final match, the luxurious rest area disappeared, and all personnel from both academies went directly to the waiting area to await the start of the final battle.
After the simple entry ceremony, the cheers filling the entire Xingluo Square grew louder and louder, even reaching a noisy level.
Just as Long You was about to frown, a voice filled with a chilling aura suddenly rang out from the city walls of Xingluo Imperial City:
"Silence! The competition is about to begin. Your Majesty, please speak."
Looking up, Long You happened to see Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger clan retreating.
[Tsk tsk, that's impressive! If I remember correctly, Dai Hao isn't even a Title Douluo yet, but his aura and imposing presence are already this strong. He truly deserves the title of a veteran of the battlefield. No wonder the Sun Moon Empire wanted to eliminate him before launching a full-scale war.]
Dai Hao's voice resonated with many soldiers stationed in Xingluo Square, successfully silencing the noise and creating an environment conducive to His Majesty the Emperor of Xingluo Empire's speech.
His Majesty's speech was nothing new, but the competition rules explained by the final referee, Tian Sha Douluo—Huang Jinxu, were worth noting: "The final is divided into team competition, individual elimination competition, and a 2-2-3 battle, with the final winner determined by a best-of-three format."