Douluo Continent: Becoming a disciple of Jing Liu, illuminating all the gods

Chapter 43 Why Not Kneel?

Chen Qiye has five spirit rings. Among them, the 1235 spirit ring has only one golden light pattern, while the fourth spirit ring has two golden light patterns.

"How do spirit rings evolve?"

Chen Qiye was puzzled. The last evolution was because the toad incorporated the excess power unleashed from the sacrifice into its other spirit rings, but why was it happening this time?

"It was you who absorbed his soul, thereby evolving and purifying the soul power on your soul ring and your spiritual power." A clear, cold voice rang out.

Mirror Flow appeared in Chen Qiye's spiritual sea.

"What do you mean??" Chen Qiye looked at Jingliu in confusion.

"Actually, what you call a soul ring is essentially a manifestation of soul power. The strength of the ring based on its age is merely a matter of quantity, while ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand represent a complete qualitative change. However, this kind of soul power doesn't affect the soul itself, but rather enhances what you call soul power..."

"So that means that as long as my mental strength is strong enough, I can increase the lifespan of my spirit rings???"

"The theory is sound, but how you implement it is up to you."

…………

A few days later, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament finally began—

At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through Xingluo City, the capital of the Xingluo Empire exuded a solemn atmosphere.

All the streets around Xingluo Square were blocked off by soldiers in bright armor, especially near the Xinghuang Hotel, where thousands of soldiers were stationed. The streets leading to Xingluo Square from there were completely under martial law, and only participating students from various academies who came out of the Xinghuang Hotel were allowed to pass.

The arena used for this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament is not located in the center of Star Luo Square, but in front of the main gate of the Imperial City.

In this way, His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire could watch the battle from the top of the imperial city walls with his civil and military officials. Not only would the view be optimal, but safety would also be guaranteed.

The entire arena is 100 meters wide and 100 meters long, and 5 meters high. There are 108 metal pillars around the arena. These are not decorations, but actual protective soul-guiding devices.

Once the competition begins, 108 Soul Masters will be in charge of protecting the competition arena. These metal pillars will form a protective shield to prevent any Soul Skills from spilling out, so as to avoid damaging the imperial city or harming innocent people.

The construction of this competition platform alone cost a huge sum of money. In addition, mobilizing 108 Soul Masters to serve the competition for more than a month requires national-level resources.

At this moment, Xingluo Square was deserted, with no one in sight except for the soldiers in the distance.

As the sun slowly rose into the sky from the distant east, a warm feeling instantly spread through Xingluo City, located in the central part of the continent.

On the city wall of the imperial city, a middle-aged man in a bright yellow robe and wearing an eight-treasure purple-gold crown stood with his hands behind his back. His position was the very center of the main gate of the imperial city, the best spot to watch the competition below.

Beside him stood a beautiful woman in magnificent palace attire, respectfully and gently accompanying him. A few steps behind were the civil and military officials of the Star Luo Empire.

"Your Majesty." An elderly man dressed in a bright red civil official's robe stepped forward quickly and bowed respectfully to the man. From the python patterns embroidered on his robe, it was clear that this old man held an extremely noble position. He could be described as a minister at the pinnacle of power.

"Prime Minister, how are the arrangements?" His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire asked with a smile.

The Prime Minister respectfully said, "Everything is arranged. The draw is over, and the order of the matches has been determined. The surrounding area is orderly. The public can now enter."

The Star Luo Emperor smiled and nodded, saying, "Very well, issue my order: begin allowing people to enter at each checkpoint, control the speed, and maintain order. Anyone responsible for a particular area who causes problems will be severely punished."

As the competition began, everything proceeded smoothly. The only difference was that, because Shrek Academy had hidden Chen Qiye's information, the Sun Moon Empire had no information about him.

Just as the audience entered, Huo Yuhao and his companions had already arrived and taken their places in the contestants' area.

Today, all the students of Shrek Academy are wearing their traditional dark green school uniforms, the standard color of Shrek Academy. Furthermore, they stand in the front row of all the academies, a position to which no other academy objects. This is the glory that Shrek Academy has accumulated through centuries of strength.

However, the contestants from the academies standing at the back couldn't help but show some surprise when they saw Shrek Academy's lineup.

Only ten people showed up, and most of them looked well past twenty. Their youth was obvious even without a bone age test. Only the three at the very front looked to be of a reasonable age. But they were all wearing cloaks, concealing their faces.

For most academies, they were secretly praying that they wouldn't encounter powerhouses like Shrek Academy or Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in the first round. Otherwise, it would practically mean they were eliminated.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team members stood behind Shrek Academy. This made it easier for them to observe the Shrek Academy students in front of them.

Chen Qiye was originally going to go too, but because he thought the school uniform was too ugly, he took out an inner-school uniform that he had somehow borrowed, which startled Wang Yan, who told Chen Qiye to take it back.

However, Chen Qiye refused to reveal himself and was forced by Wang Yan to keep his distance and contact Shrek Academy. So Chen Qiye sat on the stands and watched the show.

However, the contestants from the academies standing at the back couldn't help but show some surprise when they saw Shrek Academy's lineup.

The youngest students at Shrek Academy are Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Huo Yuhao is in better shape; after fusing with the Ice Emperor's torso bone, his physique has changed considerably, and he looks about fourteen or fifteen years old. However, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao still have a somewhat childish look on their faces.

Especially Xiao Xiao, who was rather short and looked like a little girl. Even the arrogant Xiao Hongchen was filled with doubt at this moment. What exactly was Shrek Academy trying to do by sending such a lineup?

Looking at Chen Qiye in the stands, Wang Dong waved to Chen Qiye from the contestant area.

When everyone spotted Chen Qiye, they all nodded slightly in his direction, and Chen Qiye nodded back in return.

"quiet!"

A tremendous voice suddenly resounded throughout the entire area. Upon hearing this voice, all the soldiers stood at attention, raising their spears high. Instantly, a chilling atmosphere filled the air, and the previously noisy Xingluo Square fell silent.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!!!"

"Whoosh!" The crowd immediately knelt down in large numbers, with hundreds of thousands of people making the same synchronized movement at the same time. The scene was indeed extremely spectacular.

The soldiers knelt on one knee, while all participating academies had been given prior notice that they were permitted not to kneel, but to bow at a 90-degree angle to show respect to the emperor.

But Chen Qiye not only didn't kneel, he didn't even bow...

"How dare you! Where did this unruly commoner come from, showing no respect to His Majesty?" A soldier standing beside Chen Qiye pointed a spear at him...

(End of this chapter)