Douluo Continent: I am the Ice Archer, my ice power is invincible.

Chapter 57 Unafraid of Dugu Bo

The Soul Master Tournament qualifying rounds are a contest of individual skill, showcasing the overall strength of a team in a one-on-one format.

To protect the privacy and personal safety of Soul Masters, the promotion matches are not open to the general public.

The fifteen participating teams from the Tiandou Empire region arrived at the Royal Hunting Grounds, located fifty kilometers southwest of Tiandou City.

This vast area is where the royal family hunts and trains, and is patrolled and guarded by 10,000 members of the Royal Knights. Commoners are not allowed to approach it on ordinary days.

The fifteen college teams that advanced to the qualifying rounds were arranged to rest in different locations.

The students from Tianshui Academy were taken to the military camp, where they were assigned five barracks to rest in. They were not luxurious, but they were very clean.

As the only male in the team, Xiao Han occupied a barracks all by himself.

The qualifying rounds are also a round-robin format, lasting for half a month.

All participating college teams will stay here until the end of the competition.

Xiao Han packed his things and had just stepped out of the barracks when he saw a familiar figure walking towards him.

It was none other than Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.

Several guards followed behind Xue Qinghe.

Xiao Han smiled and said:

"Brother Xue, what brings you here?"

"His Majesty and I came to watch the qualifying matches, and we also thought we'd drop by to see you all. How are you? Are you settling in well?"

"fine."

"That's good."

Lin Zhiruo also saw Xue Qinghe and bowed to him.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Dean Lin, there's no need for such formalities. I just happened to be passing by."

Xue Qinghe happened to see Shui Bing'er and the others, and smiled and nodded at them.

It was the first time the girls had ever met Xue Qinghe, and they were all incredulous.

Today, Xue Qinghe was dressed very simply, still possessing an aristocratic air, but he didn't look like the high and mighty Crown Prince of the Empire; he gave off a very approachable feeling.

"Brother Xiao Han, I'd like to have a private chat with you."

"it is good."

Xue Qinghe dismissed the guards on his left and right.

"Your performance in the qualifiers was incredible, and Dugu Bo may already have doubts about you. However, don't worry, I will ensure your safety."

"Hmm, I'm not worried. After the qualifying rounds, Dean Zhao will accompany us to the finals. With my mom and Dean Zhao there, Dugu Bo won't dare to act recklessly."

After consuming the immortal herb, Lin Zhiruo's cultivation speed increased, and she has now reached level 84, while Dean Zhao has reached level 85.

Although Dugu Bo's poison is very powerful, he is the weakest in terms of combat strength among the titled Douluo.

Two Limit Breaker Contras are enough to deal with him.

Xue Qinghe felt somewhat relieved.

"Dugu Bo is capable of anything. With Dean Zhao by your side, your safety is more guaranteed. Alright, I have to go now. I look forward to your performance in the qualifying rounds."

"Okay, see you on the field."

After Xue Qinghe left, several girls came over.

"Xiao Han, is that His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Um."

"He doesn't look like a prince; he's quite approachable."

"Indeed. However, what you see is only the surface. A person who can ascend to the position of Crown Prince must be extraordinary."

Lin Zhiruo walked over.

"Alright, let's not talk about that now. The qualifying rounds start tomorrow. Due to the format, Xuewu shouldn't play in the qualifying rounds, so it'll all depend on how the seven of you perform."

"No problem, we'll definitely qualify as the top seed."

Xiao Han and the girls were very confident.

the next day.

Under the guidance of designated personnel, the participating teams from each college arrived at the competition venue.

Unlike the preliminary rounds, the qualifying rounds do not have multiple arenas running simultaneously.

There is only one competition venue here, which is the Royal Knights' Grand Field.

After renovation, a 100-meter-diameter area was designated in the middle of the training ground as the competition venue.

Compared to the preliminary round arena, the space here is much larger, allowing Soul Masters to unleash their full potential.

A VIP section was temporarily set up on the north side of the training ground. In addition to Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, Platinum Bishop Salas, Xue Qinghe, and Prince Xue Xing, a few nobles and some high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou City branch also came to watch the battle.

The fifteen teams participating in the qualifying rounds will play fourteen rounds of round-robin matches each day, with one team receiving a bye.

That means there will be seven matches every day, all on this field.

The preliminary rounds are team battles, with fourteen people performing simultaneously on each stage, which is quite chaotic.

The qualifying rounds are all one-on-one contests, where each student will showcase their individual strength in front of everyone, thus determining the strength of the participating Soul Masters.

The rules of the game are very simple.

Each team sends seven members to the field. Each member fights until they are defeated. The loser is eliminated, and the winner faces the next opponent. This continues until all seven members of one team are eliminated.

Today, Tianshui Academy's opponent is a Soul Master Academy from the Kingdom. Their match is the sixth of seven.

Lin Zhiruo gathered everyone together.

"Your opponents today are not strong; there is only one Battle Soul Master in your team. Therefore, my starting lineup is Ruoshui, Liuyu, Qingbo, and Yue'er. I believe the four of you are capable of winning this match."

"Yes, Dean Lin, don't worry, leave it to us."

The girls were all very confident.

Then, Emperor Xueye announced the official start of the qualifying rounds.

The first match ended quickly, with Blazing Academy easily securing their first victory.

In the subsequent matches, Shrek Academy, Kamikaze Academy, and Thunder Academy all easily defeated their respective opponents.

Xiao Han and his teammates had been watching the game closely, and they could see that everyone's skills had improved over the past month.

Next, Qiu Ruoshui, representing Tianshui College, was the first to appear.

Qiu Ruoshui is a power-attack type Soul Master. She defeated two Battle Soul Masters on the opposite side in succession. Due to exhaustion of soul power and physical strength, she fought to a draw with the third person, and the two of them left the stage together.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Liuyu appeared and defeated two even more powerful opponents in succession. However, due to excessive consumption of soul power, he was defeated by the sixth person from his opponent's side.

After Gu Qingbo, a specialist in agility-based attacks, entered the arena, he easily blasted the sixth member sent by the opposing academy out of the ring, and then faced the strongest member, the captain of the Battle Soul Sect.

After a fierce battle, Gu Qingbo won the match.

Tianshui Academy only sent three people, yet they completely crushed their opponents.

Shuiyue'er didn't even have a chance to show off.

During the preliminary rounds, everyone's attention was focused on the three Battle Soul Kings, Xiao Han, Shui Bing'er, and Xue Wu, thus ignoring the performance of the other members of Tianshui Academy.

The one-on-one matches showed everyone that these team members also possess considerable strength.

After the competition, the deans of each college went on stage to draw lots to determine their opponents for tomorrow.

The Tianshui team's opponent tomorrow is not strong; it is also an academy from the principality.

Xiao Han and Shui Bing'er will still not perform. Shui Yue'er, who didn't have a chance to perform today, will be the first to perform tomorrow.

One highly anticipated match in tomorrow's games will be between Blazing Academy and Shrek Academy.

(End of this chapter)