Douluo Continent: I, Huo Yuhao, am the Master of Spirit.

Chapter 434 Star: "After we win the match, I'll confess my feelings to Firefly!"

Below the rostrum on the north side, a special group of soldiers marched in perfect unison and then stood at attention.

Every soldier was in high spirits, and their combat prowess was evident in their rigorous movements. This was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Corps, one of the guardians of the Sun Moon Empire.

This Soul Master Corps is composed entirely of Level 5 Soul Masters, which would have been an extremely terrifying force in the past, but it is somewhat inadequate in this era.

However, Huo Yuhao was quite envious of these Soul Masters; the Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire were truly valuable!

They are all top-notch, easy to manage and require little effort.

As the name suggests, the Royal Soul Master Corps is a Soul Master Corps that specifically obeys the emperor's orders. Its duty is to protect the royal family. The three corps leaders and deputy leaders are all level nine Soul Masters and once supported Xingluo City with Kong Deming.

The three of them, like Kong Deming, were on Otto's death list. The Sun and Moon Royal Soul Master Corps should not exist in Otto's future plans.

Of the three guardians of the Sun Moon Empire, Otto secretly controlled three of them. It wasn't that he couldn't control Huanglong and the Royal Family, but he felt it was pointless because they were destined to die.

After the soldiers of the Soul Master Corps stood at attention, a magnificent dragon appeared in the distance, engraved with the Purple Emperor Annihilation Dragon and the sun.

The brilliant sunlight scattered across the dragon support, gilding it with a layer of golden light.

The dragon stopped in front of the podium, and Xu Tianran took it from one of the dragons, waving with a smile to the people in the rest area and the spectator area.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" All the ministers of the Sun Moon Empire present bowed to Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran nodded slightly and went straight to the podium. Compared to the original timeline, the Xu Tianran in front of him was more confident and more flamboyant.

Every gift from fate comes at a price, especially when the person who bestows it upon you is not a kind person, but is essentially a wicked person who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Otto stood behind Xu Tianran, watching the scene below with him, while Jing Hongchen stood to the side, the old man somewhat absent-minded.

He wouldn't have come today if it weren't for his grandson and granddaughter's participation in the competition. Since he's already pretty much broken ties with Xu Tianran, he doesn't care if he offends him.

Xu Tianran caught a glimpse of Jing Hongchen out of the corner of his eye. His smile remained unchanged as he said, "Long time no see. You look quite well today, Hall Master. It seems the medicine I sent you back then had some effect. I'll have someone send you some more to help you take better care of your health."

"You are a great figure in the Sun and Moon Sect, a ninth-level Soul Master. You can't keep getting fevers and colds."

Jing Hongchen bowed and straightened her posture, saying, "I am grateful for Your Highness's concern. I have indeed not been feeling well lately, and I thank Your Highness for the medicine."

Xu Tianran didn't continue talking to Jing Hongchen. In his opinion, Jing Hongchen was a fool who had narrowed his own path.

If he had cooperated with the policy even a little and taken the initiative to see him during court sessions, Xu Tianran might not have put Jing Hongchen on the death list. After all, he was a level nine soul master and the head of the Mingde Hall, and killing him would not have been good for his reputation.

Xu Tianran is determined to split up Mingde Hall and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

As Prime Minister Otto said, splitting up the academy would weaken the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, but it would give Xu Tianran control over the academy.

As long as we can control the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, this small price is acceptable.

Jing Hongchen also didn't care about Xu Tianran's words at all, treating them as nonsense. He had already prepared his way out.

Today, Mingde Hall will conduct its final diplomatic training with Xilu City. Jing Hongchen plans to send away all his confidants and some valuable soul tool data in one go, such as humanoid soul tools.

It just so happens that the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition and the Coronation Ceremony are currently underway, with many people and distractions, making it easier to slip through unnoticed.

Based on the timeline, the first batch of Soul Masters and data should have already arrived at the border, which is why Jing Hongchen didn't care about Xu Tianran's attitude at all.

He'll soon become a Runren, joining the true civilization and the beacon of the world. Who cares about all this nonsense in Mingdu?

The only person she felt sorry for was Kong Deming. Jing Hongchen didn't even dare to look Kong Deming in the eye anymore; she had ultimately disappointed this pillar of the sun and moon.

When the time was almost up, Xu Tianran began his speech: "Citizens of the Sun Moon Empire, and friends from all over the continent, welcome to this competition."

The purpose of this competition is not to fight to the death, but to showcase your individual talents. You are all the pride of the mainland and the main force of the future. I hope that you can achieve good results!

Enough with the small talk, I hereby declare the Continental Youth Advanced Soul Master Tournament officially open!

Xu Tianran prefers concise and elegant language to bloated and ornate words; wasting time is not his style.

He led his ministers to their seats at the back, with Otto naturally sitting next to him. Xu Tianran looked curiously at Karen, who was next to Otto, and said, "Prime Minister, is this the fiancée you've been mentioning?"

Otto smiled gently and said, "That's right, Your Majesty."

"It's a rare and grand event, so I brought her here to have a look too."

Xu Tianran smiled and nodded to Karen, not thinking much of it; Otto having a lover was good news for him.

Over the years, he had often heard Otto praise his fiancée, but he had never had the chance to meet her.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an empty seat, which was reserved for members of the Holy Spirit Church.

Seeing that the place was empty, Xu Tianran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When he was weak, the Holy Spirit Cult was undoubtedly an extremely sharp blade that helped him eliminate many threats.

However, for him now, the Holy Spirit Cult is a huge hidden danger.

A murderous glint flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes. He had already found the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult, and after ascending the throne, he would spare no effort to wipe out the Holy Spirit Cult.

The more Xu Tianran looked at the beliefs of this sect, the more it seemed to belong to the Tang family. Who would dare to keep such filthy things in their home these days?

The Holy Spirit Cult was already a bad thing, and with this belief added on, they really are a den of snakes and rats.

"This competition will be a knockout tournament until the top 32 are determined."

"The draw results for the first match will now be announced!"

"Dragon Slayer Sect vs. West Lu City Research Academy!"

"Please send seven players from each team to the waiting area!"

In the competition area below, everyone's attention was focused on these two forces.

Gu Qiu'er clenched her fists and said fiercely, "I didn't expect to be so lucky; we're the first one to be chosen!"

"And the name 'Dragon Slaying Sect' is really imposing. I bet Emperor Tian is here today too. I wonder if he heard it."

"I hope their sect truly has the ability to slay dragons."

Afterwards, Gu Qiu'er led Meiyou and the others to the waiting area on one side of the competition stage.

With an arrogant expression, Xing summoned his baseball bat, preparing to step onto the playing field.

What are you doing?!

"We haven't decided who will go on stage yet!"

March 7th hurriedly grabbed Xing and then shook her body violently to bring her back to her senses.

A question mark appeared on Xing's forehead as he said, "Isn't the point of a competition to completely crush the opponent?"

"Why do we still need to consider who should go on stage? We can all go on stage together, March. Aren't you afraid I'll steal your thunder?"

Don't worry, we'll make sure you get screen time. Speaking of which, this is a live broadcast across the entire mainland, right?

March 7th nodded subconsciously. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament was, of course, broadcast live across the entire continent. In Douluo Continent, this event was even more important than the Olympics.

"Alright, alright, now everyone look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Everyone look at me!!"

Xing's voice was loud, immediately attracting everyone's attention, and the photographer at the top also pointed his camera at the area where Xing was.

"Um, viewers, it seems the contestants from Xilu City have something to say. Let's wait and see."

Xing looked at the camera, cleared her throat, raised her hands, and shouted, "Can you see me? Uncle Yang, Ji Zi, I'm on TV!!"

"Haha, once I win the competition, I'll use the prize money to buy you guys the latest mecha models and coffee machines!"

"Is Liuying there? I'll confess my feelings to you when I get back!"

Standing to the side, March 7th was so embarrassed that his toes were practically digging out of his shoes.

She sometimes really hated this habit of always feeling embarrassed for others; at this moment, the girl's blush spoke louder than any words.

March 7th grabbed Xing and whispered angrily, "What are you doing?!"

"How embarrassing! And stop planting flags randomly! If you plant flags, I have a feeling something's definitely going to go wrong in this competition!"

""

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I—I don't know her!"

On March 7th, he hurriedly waved his hand at the camera above, trying to sever ties with the star.

Xing crossed his arms and said matter-of-factly, "Of course something has to go wrong! If nothing goes wrong, how will the script progress? How will I, Batman, improve?"

"In March, you need to have a heart that is not afraid of difficulties! And your predictions have always been very accurate."

"Don't forget, our bond is that wherever we go, trouble will follow! It's a pity we don't have Dan Heng, so we can't form a three-person team bond."

March 7th said blankly, "Where did this setting come from? I miss Danheng."

Meanwhile, Gu Qiu'er, who was standing next to her, took a deep breath and resolved to buy some quick-acting heart medicine next time, no matter what.

Otherwise, she was afraid she would faint from anger during the competition.

"Star! Let's discuss tactics over here!"

Xing immediately grabbed March 7 and ran to Gu Qiu'er's side, then saluted and said, "Yes, Captain!"

Regardless of the process, both the competition area and the spectator area now remember Xing. Bai E from the Shrek Academy area nodded with satisfaction and said, "As expected of a partner! So spirited!"

Wang Dong asked curiously, "Do you know her?"

Bai E nodded and said, "When I used to go back to Xilu City, I often played games with her. Last night, she taught me and Medemos how to efficiently block the bridge."

"My partner is a really good person! And quite strong too!"

Xu Sanshi, standing behind, tried to put himself in Gu Qiu'er's shoes and said, "If I were their captain, I'd probably want to run away right now."

Beibei bit her thumbnail, looking at the area where the Xilu City contestants were located, her eyes filled with seriousness.

"Don't be careless, they are very strong!"

"Although the Xilu City Research Academy has never had any exchanges with the outside world regarding Soul Battles, all the teachers who have visited it are amazed by their strength."

"Moreover, in terms of academics alone, the Xilu City Research Institute is probably the best on the mainland."

"And didn't you see? They only had six people on stage; they're still one short."

Shrek's team leader, Zhang Lexuan, agreed: "Never underestimate any force."

"Every power that has been able to establish itself on the mainland has its own reasons for success; being too careless will lead to significant losses."

"The Xilu City Research Institute has always kept a low profile, but I believe the entire Tiandou Plain should know their reputation."

1

"Many of the college's reforms were borrowed from them."

No one denies this. The outside world may not be aware of it, but no force in the Tiandou Plain dares to underestimate the Xilu City Research Academy.

Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and the others immediately revealed their pained expressions. The monthly exams, midterm exams, and final exams that terrified them were all first-of-its-kind in Xilu City.

The final exams, in particular, became incredibly difficult! That teacher named Electrolux was a devil! The math papers he created were absolutely brutal! Writing out a solution was the students' last stand!

To enter the Inner Academy now, one needs not only strong physical abilities but also excellent academic skills, especially in mathematics and soul guidance design.

The future era will surely be one where Soul Masters and Soul Tools advance together; any one of them will be ruthlessly abandoned by the times.

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