In Douluo Continent, what is a martial soul? It's like Luckin Coffee.

Chapter 178 Reserve Officer, or am I just pretending?
The competition venue is located inside Xingluo Square.

With the conclusion of the opening ceremony hosted by Emperor Xingluo, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament officially began.

The first match will be between the previous champions, Shrek Academy, and the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy.

With this announcement from the host of the competition, the atmosphere in the entire Xingluo Square suddenly boiled to its peak.

"Shrek, Shrek, Shrek..."

The shouts of Shrek Academy resounded from almost every corner of the square.

Even Bai Ran, who had a stall outside the square, found it hard to listen to.

Bai Ran: All I can say is that Shrek Academy truly lives up to its reputation as the number one academy on the entire continent.

Unfortunately, the competition format was changed for the next tournament. (Actually, it's not certain; with Haki Bai as a variable, can Prince Xu Tianran really succeed in ascending to the throne?)

With the match about to begin, Bai Ran lost interest in continuing to set up his stall and instead focused his attention on the distant arena.

Uh… the arena is too far away, let’s just watch the live footage projected on the big screen.

Logically speaking, a one-sided stomp on weaker opponents isn't a very appealing situation, but...

The fusion skill of two Soul Masters, with a 99% Soul Compatibility, plus a 50% boost to the effect of hot coffee.

Trying to upset the official Shrek Academy team members would be a real challenge.

However, due to the incident involving evil spirit masters, the Shrek Academy team, which was in the early stages of the competition, could only field reserve players at this time.

It's hard to say, it's really hard to say.

If he could really send Shrek Academy packing in the first round of eliminations, Bai Ran felt he would deserve at least 50% of the credit.

If Shrek Academy can't even get past the elimination rounds, how can it still call itself the number one academy on the entire continent?

However, this could lead to a situation where the Royal Academy of the Sun and Moon wins first place in this competition.

Shrek Academy's die-hard fans will stubbornly argue: The Sun Moon Royal Academy didn't win the championship against Shrek Academy, so it has no real merit. (Just have Shrek Academy arrest them, and the Sun Moon Royal Academy will behave.)
……

The scene of the game.

When they saw that Shrek Academy had only sent out reserve team members with an average age of less than fifteen.

All the members of Tianling Academy were immediately dumbfounded.

The same questions arose among everyone watching, and even among all the participating academies.

Audience A: Reserve? Dude, are you trying to act all high and mighty?

Audience B: Although Shrek Academy's behavior is pretentious, as a previous champion, Shrek has the right to be pretentious.

Audience C: Tianling Academy and Shrek Academy have insulted you like this, show some real skills and defeat them!

……

Shrek Academy sent reserve players, while Tianling Academy sent official players.

This added a touch of suspense to the match.

The previously dormant underground betting market suddenly became active again.

In the match between Shrek Academy and Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy, the odds for Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy are 1:10.

As for Shrek Academy, the odds are only 1:1.05.

Even though Shrek Academy sent its reserve team, everyone still believed in Shrek Academy's chances.

That's just how prestigious Shrek Academy is.

……

Soon, the referee began announcing the competition rules: "Round 1, elimination tournament, team battle. Both sides may use most soul tools in the competition. However, if one side concedes during the battle, the other side may not continue to attack. Soul masters may not use high-damage equipment such as fixed soul tools in combat. Do you all understand?"

"clear."

"clear."

The captains of Shrek Academy (in reserve) and Tianling Academy responded in deep voices. Among the members of Tianling Academy, only the captain's expression remained relatively normal.

The remaining team members, facing the aggressive gazes of Huo Yuhao and the others, practically wore their guilty conscience on their faces.

Upon hearing this, the referee nodded and said, "Alright, both sides step back to the sides of the arena. The match will begin upon my command. No one may release their Martial Soul before I announce the start. Otherwise, they will be disqualified."

When both players stepped back to the edge of the court at the same time, the referee standing in the center of the court slowly raised his right hand.

At that moment, Xingluo Square, which housed hundreds of thousands of people, fell silent instantly. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the vast competition arena.

This is the first match, the first elimination round, and it's even a match featuring the top academy on the continent!

Even if it's a match where they easily defeat weaker opponents, the audience still hopes that Shrek Academy can deliver an extraordinary performance.

Upon seeing the referee raise his hand, both teams immediately took their positions. At the same time, the 108 Star Luo Empire Soul Masters who were already prepared below the stage all pressed down on the metal pillars in front of them.

One hundred and eight metal pillars shined brightly at the same time, and suddenly, white lights rose into the sky, drawing arcs and converging into the sky. Finally gathered in the air twenty meters above the top of the competition stage.

When all 108 beams of light gathered together, a layer of white light curtain immediately descended, enveloping the entire competition stage.

The protective shield has been completed.

This also means that the first match of this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament has begun.

As for Tianling Academy, although the teacher in charge had left early because he didn't think they had a good chance of winning, they were still on the verge of defeat.

But as the saying goes, even fish and shrimp know to thrash and struggle a bit when thrown into a pot.

The seven people quickly lined up and adopted a typical traditional stance.

Three Soul Masters were in front, clearly either offensive or defensive types.

The two Soul Masters are positioned slightly behind on either side; they are likely agility-based attackers.

At the very back, there were two Soul Masters, one in front and one behind, in the center.

According to the traditional layout, they should be control system soul masters and auxiliary system weapon soul masters respectively.

This is the best arrangement of seven people, tested in countless battles.

If the main focus is on offense, then the first three should all be offensive types; if the main focus is on defense and stability, then there should be one or two defensive type battle spirit masters.

This traditional formation is also called the 3-2-1-1 formation.

However, not many people were paying attention to the formation of the Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy at this moment.

Instead, they all looked towards Shrek Academy.

And they all exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Because Shrek Academy set up a formation that no one expected.

A young man, Huo Yuhao, stood at the front, while the six members behind him were arranged in a fan shape.

At first glance, it seems as if the boy standing at the front is meant to fight seven opponents by himself.

But how is that possible?

Even a Soul Emperor would find it quite difficult to deal with a team of seven Soul Masters whose average level is Soul Sect.

Even the referee was a bit dumbfounded. Being a referee for this competition, he was naturally a high-level Soul Master with extensive experience.

But he had never seen a team battle conducted with this formation before! So much so that he forgot to bring his raised right hand down.

"Referee, may we begin?"

The young man from Shrek Academy spoke calmly, his tone very indifferent, as if he wanted to finish get off work as soon as possible.

Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words, the referee snapped out of his surprise, lowered his raised right hand, and shouted, "The match begins!"

As long as the game proceeds smoothly and the rules are not violated, it doesn't matter what formation is used.

Following the referee's loud shout, students from both sides released their martial spirits almost at the same time.

(End of this chapter)