Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 231 Opening Ceremony of the Soul Master Competition
……

Tiandou Royal Academy.

With only one day left until the opening ceremony of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the makeshift team assembled by Xuanming and led by Xue Qinghe finally gathered for the first time.

However, the atmosphere at the scene was particularly eerie!

Looking at the silver-haired girl standing beside Xuan Ming, whose ethereal气质 yet inexplicably resonated with him, everyone had different expressions.

Ning Rongrong and the others looked away. For the first time in their lives, they felt ashamed in front of other women.

Xue Qinghe narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of jealousy flashing in them, but it was quickly concealed by his gentle and refined smile.

He stepped forward lightly and asked in a tone that was both courteous and inquisitive, "Xuanming, who is this young lady?"

“Gu Yuena, the last team member,” Xuanming said.

"Team members?" Xue Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I wonder where this young lady comes from? I don't think I've ever heard of her before."

“She has amnesia,” Xuanming said.

Xue Qinghe frowned slightly, "Amnesia?"

"I wonder what level of cultivation this young lady possesses?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuena, who had been standing quietly behind Xuanming, stepped forward, summoned the Silver Dragon Spear, and six soul rings of yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black slowly rose up. A terrifying aura suddenly spread out, and Xue Qinghe was forced to take a half step back.

"Gu Yuena, Martial Soul: Silver Dragon Spear, Level 63 Power Attack Soul Emperor."

Seeing the same terrifying soul ring configuration as Xuanming, Ning Rongrong and the others were completely dumbfounded.

No? How are they supposed to play like this?!
Xuanming looked at Gu Yuena, then at the soul ring beneath her.

Age, cultivation level, and spirit ring ratio are all exactly the same as his!
Is it necessary to be so deliberate?

Xue Qinghe steadied himself, a hint of shock and solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He quickly regained his composure, his signature gentle smile returning to his lips. He looked Gu Yuena up and down and said, "To have such strength at such a young age is truly astonishing. You must have put in a lot of effort to find this team member."

"No, I found it when I went out," Xuanming said, sounding somewhat weary.

Xue Qinghe was slightly taken aback. "Found it?"

"He found me too..." Xiao Wu couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Only someone who can command such respect from powerful and ferocious beasts is a true dragon incarnate!

Xue Qinghe looked at everyone, clapped his hands to attract their attention, and said, "Now that the team has been assembled, let's discuss the arrangements for tomorrow's opening ceremony and the subsequent competitions."

"This competition brings together many advanced Soul Master academies from across the continent, so the competition is bound to be extremely fierce. We cannot afford to be careless."

……

"You rejected me because of her?"

After arranging the opening ceremony for tomorrow, Xue Qinghe dragged Xuanming away.

"Your Highness, you're standing too close," Xuanming reminded him.

Xue Qinghe was slightly taken aback. He released Xuan Ming's collar, created a suitable distance, and asked again, "Is it because of her that you rejected me?"

When Xue Qinghe asked this question, he no longer had his previous confidence and even seemed a little guilty.

In terms of talent and looks, she used to think she was second to none, but today, facing this girl who suddenly appeared, she felt defeated for the first time!
“What if I said yes?” Xuanming said.

"You!" Xue Qinghe's eyes narrowed, and she glared at Xuan Ming through gritted teeth.

But unlike the resentment before, this time there is more frustration and grievance.

Xuanming looked at Qian Renxue calmly, "I can't say about other things, but in terms of personality, she is definitely a thousand times better than you."

After these two days of contact, he discovered a very strange problem!
Although Gu Yuena always seemed clueless, she understood him very well!

No need to guess, this was definitely the work of the Ice Dragon King!
For nearly half a year, the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King have been at the bottom of the Lake of Life. He had always thought that they were helping the Silver Dragon King recover, but now he suspects that the Ice Dragon King is running a training course for the Silver Dragon King down there!
The current Gu Yuena is most likely an avatar of the Silver Dragon King, but the Ice Dragon King has infused her with his information, and it is even highly possible that she is a puppet created for him by the Silver Dragon King!
He wasn't quite sure what the Ice Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King were up to, but he didn't have the energy to think about it now.

Xue Qinghe took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "A thousand times... you look down on me that much?"

“I never compare myself to my friends, because I think there’s no point in comparing them. Everyone has their own personality, and there’s no need to compare yourself to others, much less change yourself because of others,” Xuanming said.

"But if you insist on comparing, I can only say a few harsh words."

"You..." Xue Qinghe was speechless for a moment.

“I know you’re a strong person, and I know you’re not one to back down, but not everything can be decided by winning or losing,” Xuanming said.

Xue Qinghe's chest heaved violently, her eyes flashing with a complex light. "Xuanming, what makes you so sure she's better than me? And what makes you think I can't compete with her?"

Xuanming sighed, "It seems all the things we said before were for nothing."

"Whatever you want, whatever makes you happy." ...

The next day, before dawn, Tiandou City was already bustling with activity.

The opening ceremony of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was like a giant magnet, attracting the attention of countless people.

The streets were bustling with people, as various forces gathered, all hoping to witness miracles and glory at this top-level event in the world of Soul Masters.

The Tian Dou Royal Academy team was also ready early, with the members dressed in neat team uniforms and gathered together in high spirits.

Gu Yuena stood quietly beside Xuanming, her silver hair shimmering softly in the morning light, her ethereal beauty seemingly out of place in this noisy world.

Ning Rongrong and the others looked at her, their hearts still filled with the complex emotions they felt when they first met yesterday, but at this moment they all put aside their thoughts and focused their attention on the upcoming opening ceremony.

After all the participating teams entered the venue, Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire officially announced the opening of the competition and delivered a speech together with Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

Subsequently, the Platinum Bishop Salas, the master of the Martial Soul Temple in Tiandou City, also began to draw lots for the first round of the preliminary rounds.

"Why didn't the Pope come?" Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't she in the Spirit Temple?"

She sensed something strange about the relationship between Xuanming and the Pope of the Spirit Hall. Shouldn't she come to watch Xuanming's match at a time like this?
Ning Rongrong looked puzzled. "Your Holiness, she's here. Where should she sit?"

Xiao Wu looked towards the VIP seating area. "Can't we sit up there?"

“Watching the game is one thing, but this is the opening ceremony, and it’s the opening ceremony of the Heaven Dou Empire’s competition area. His Majesty the Emperor is sitting in the main seat, and my father and Platinum Bishop Salas are sitting in the secondary seats. The Pope is here. Where do you think she should sit?” Ning Rongrong asked.

Xiao Wu was stunned. "This..."

"The guest has overshadowed the host," Ning Rongrong said helplessly.

"The Pope of the Spirit Hall holds a position equal to that of the emperors of the two great empires. If the Pope were to appear on such an occasion, he would inevitably clash with the Emperor of the Heavenly Dou Empire."

"Moreover, this is just the opening ceremony of the Heaven Dou Empire competition zone, and it is not worth the Pope showing up."

"I see..." Xiao Wu nodded as if she understood, but her eyes couldn't help but wander through the crowd again, and she muttered, "Won't Xuan Ming be a little disappointed that the Pope isn't coming?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanming opened his eyes and glanced at Xiaowu speechlessly.

Gu Yuena's perpetually unchanging expression showed a slight change, but she remained silent.

At this point, all the lottery results were revealed.

"First round of the preliminary rounds: Heaven Dou Royal Academy vs. Shrek Academy!"

"???"

Upon hearing this news, Ning Rongrong and the others were stunned and subconsciously turned their gazes to Xuan Ming.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not even familiar with Salas," Xuanming said speechlessly.

"Could this be the Pope's arrangement?" Xiao Wu couldn't help but wonder.

"Stop guessing, just think about how you're going to fight them later." Xuanming closed his eyes.

……

In the rest area.

The Shrek team was in a pretty good mood after seeing the draw results. After this period of practice, their team strength was actually quite good. However, this was their first team battle and the opening ceremony of the tournament, so everyone was still a little nervous.

“The Heavenly Dou Royal Academy has two participating teams. The real Royal Dou Team is a seeded team with a guaranteed admission spot and does not participate in the preliminary rounds or the qualifying rounds. The team we will be facing next should be the Royal Dou Team 2,” Liu Erlong said.

"Tianheng, how strong is the Royal Fighting Second Team? Is there a big gap between them and the Royal Fighting Team?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

“It’s large, but not weak either,” Yu Tianheng said.

"However, with our strength, defeating Royal Fighting Team 2 is not difficult."

“That’s right. If we can’t beat the Royal Fighting Team, we can at least bully the Royal Fighting Team 2, right?” Ma Hongjun waved his fist. After half a year of grueling training, his physique had changed significantly. At least he was no longer the chubby little guy he used to be.

"But why do I have such a bad feeling?" Oscar felt inexplicably uneasy.

……

With a crisp chime, the first round of the preliminary competition officially began.

Xuanming led the team members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy slowly into the arena, while on the other side, the members of the Shrek Academy team also walked in with firm steps.

Under the illumination of the soul tool's light, both sides could see each other's appearance.

"what?!"

"Why are they here?!"

(End of this chapter)