Douluo Continent II: The Dragon King Suppresses the World!

Number 96's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he smiled, saying, "Young Master Ye, what are your thoughts on today's match?"

Ye Qi'an nodded slightly: "That's interesting."

Number 96 chuckled and said, "I think it's good too. I just saw the draw, and we won't meet in this round."

"It doesn't matter if we meet, because no one can beat me yet," Ye Qi'an said, waving his hand.

"Really? We'll have to see then."

Number 96 smiled calmly, stood up, turned and walked towards Number 98. His face also showed a hint of disdain. He believed that he had tested this arrogant young man enough.

Ye Qi'an's eyes remained indifferent, without even a glimmer of light.

"Distinguished guests, the competition is about to begin," a staff member announced as they entered.

Number 96 and Number 98 stood up at the same time. This time, they did not show any courtesy and instead strode out first.

The Golden Hall was still bustling with activity. Today, the central circular platform was finally able to accommodate all the contestants. Forty-eight soul tool crafting tables were neatly arranged on the platform, forming arcs. The VIP areas, which seemed to be suspended in mid-air, were already full of people, and the ordinary areas of the Golden Hall were also packed to capacity.

Some changes have occurred in the Golden Hall. Behind the competition stage, there is an additional platform. This platform is about five meters above the ground, rectangular in shape, and fifty meters long, almost connecting one end of the Golden Hall to the other. However, it is only five meters wide and is suspended in the air by steel cables.

Soon, Ye Qi'an was led onto the competition stage by the staff. The soul tool making tables were arranged in pairs, with each soul tool master facing their opponent, who was determined by drawing lots for this round. Ye Qi'an's opponent was a young man with an extremely ugly appearance. His messy hair was slightly yellow, and his appearance was truly unappealing. However, his eyes were fixed on the various rare metals displayed on the competition stage.

All the soul tool crafting tables now have a three-tiered storage compartment, each filled with various metals. The first tier contains common metals, while the top two tiers contain rare metals. With such abundant materials, it would be enough to craft even a level seven soul tool. Just then, three small circular platforms slowly rose up in front of the arena, with an old man standing on each platform.

The platform rose until it was a meter above the arena before stopping. The elderly man standing in the center announced in a deep voice, "Distinguished Soul Masters, honored guests, good afternoon. I am the chief referee for this match. The match is about to begin. The timer will officially start after I announce the start. The time limit is two hours. Within these two hours, each Soul Master may create Soul Tools to the best of your ability. Your only goal is to defeat your opponent. The winner advances."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the participating Soul Masters raised their heads and looked at their opponents. From this round onwards, the rewards for winning the competition became very generous.

The blond-haired Soul Master opposite Ye Qi'an slowly raised his head: "Brother, my name is Gao Dalou. Come on, let's have a good match."

Ye Qi'an nodded slightly and then stopped looking at him, turning his attention to the rare metal on the table.

"All contestants, get ready," the chief referee announced in a stern voice.

Gao Lou immediately lowered his head, his gaze sharpening as he stared at a rare piece of metal that he had already carved.

"The match begins. Raise the soundproof shield!" the chief referee shouted.

The twelve hourglasses, placed in a prominent position, turn around simultaneously. When all the sand in these hourglasses has run out, the time is up.

"Rise!" Ye Qi'an shouted in a low voice, raised his hand and gently beckoned. All the metal on the metal platform floated up uncontrollably and slowly rotated around him. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his spiritual power spread out instantly, carefully sensing the properties of each metal.

Ye Qi'an paused for a moment, then his hands moved in unison, unseen attacks flying everywhere on the suspended metal, iron filings flying, and a complex magic circle was quickly carved into shape as he waved his hands.

Despite the soundproof shield preventing outside noise from reaching the competition stage, the high-stakes gamblers who came to watch the game all tacitly remained silent, focusing their attention on the objects they were betting on.

Soul Masters like Ye Qi'an, who don't follow the usual path, can't help but attract attention. Some people have already set their sights on him, and some have even tried to bet on him.

Time passed by, and the first person to finish making the soul tool was Soul Master No. 96, who took exactly one hour. He glanced at the other Soul Masters who were busy working and handed over his work.

The second to finish was number 96's opponent. When number 96 announced that he had completed his work, his opponent glanced at the completed soul tool and then gave up on his own work with a deathly expression. The gap was too obvious, and there was no need to continue.

Most of the Soul Masters began to complete their creations after an hour and a half. This was a competition, not a competition where every Soul Master was required to create their strongest Soul Tool. Time was limited, and the best way to create a Soul Tool was to produce the strongest one they could within the allotted time.

Gao Dalou finished a quarter of an hour earlier than Ye Qi'an, but he was in no hurry to hand over the work. Instead, he stood opposite Ye Qi'an, watching him make a soul tool. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became. He couldn't understand any of the formations, but he could intuitively feel that they were very dangerous. To him, the young man in front of him was very strange. He was now curious about what kind of soul tool Ye Qi'an was making.

Ye Qi'an spent more than an hour completing his creation. When the final assembly was finished, what appeared before him was a wearable palm cannon about forty centimeters long. It was clear that he could completely wrap his forearm inside it. Moreover, there were three bright cannon muzzles on the back of his hand.

"Is it finished?" the tall building stood on the other side and asked tentatively.

"Yes." Ye Qi'an smiled slightly and nodded at the tall building across the street.

"Okay, let's go hand over the work together then," Gao Dalu said.

The two stood up at the same time, took the completed soul tools, and handed them to the three judges for their judgment.

The tall building was made of a soul-guided cannon. After all, today's competition was about confrontation, and offensive soul tools were obviously the most useful. Otherwise, making a defensive soul tool would just be a contest of soul power.

"A level four shockwave cannon with explosive effects. A very good level four soul tool." The three judges gave their evaluation after examining the towering building's soul tool cannon.

Then they were momentarily stunned when they saw the wearable palm-sized cannon that Ye Qi'an handed them, and a few minutes later...

"Ahem, young friend, what's the purpose of this palm-sized cannon? Its structure is rather unusual!"

Ye Qi'an said in an icy voice, "My soul tool is called 'Blowing Horns and Connecting Camps,' and it barely reaches the sixth level of soul tool. It combines capture, control, tracking, and aiming. Its power is unknown, but its true power is determined based on the soul master's soul power. You can try it if you don't believe me."

After the three referees whispered among themselves for a while, the head referee looked at the two and said, "We suggest you have a match to determine the winner. After all, for Soul Masters, using Soul Tools in battle is equally important."

"Okay." Gao Dalou readily agreed.

The chief referee said in a deep voice, "Let me explain the rules of the competition. When you fight each other, you may only use the soul tool that you just finished making. You may also use your soul power freely. However, you may not use any soul skills or other soul tools. Once you use other soul tools to defend yourself, it means you have lost the fight. Of course, you only have one life. Winning or losing is important, but preserving your own life is equally important."

"Understood," Gao Dalou replied.

Ye Qi'an said calmly, "I understand now."

"Okay. Someone, escort them into the combat zone." Immediately, staff members came over and guided the two towards opposite ends of the combat zone.

"Brother Chen, that young man's soul tool is quite extraordinary! Did you notice anything?" the judge sitting on the left asked in a low voice.

The chief referee said in a deep voice, "It is extraordinary. The method he inscribed and those formations are something that even we might not be able to recognize, let alone those who make the judgments."

The referee on the right said, "Let's see how they fight. That tall guy is no pushover either; he has a list-carving knife. It's hard to say who will win."

The chief referee smiled slightly and said, "It seems that our Xishui Alliance competition area has quite a few outstanding talents."

"Well, after this competition, we'll need to ask our superiors if we can recruit some more people. Those two were quite good; I'll investigate their backgrounds later."

Ye Qi'an and Gao Dalu entered the narrow confrontation zone.

Outside the arena, the audience became excited. Although many Soul Masters had already submitted their works, most of them had been decided by the judges. Ye Qi'an versus Gao Dalu was the first battle of the day.

The chief referee had already entered the competition zone, but he was positioned on a platform diagonally above the competition zone.

"Are you all ready?" the chief referee asked in a deep voice.

"Ready!" the tall building announced loudly.

Ye Qi'an nodded as well.

"The competition begins. The winner advances." With the referee's shout, Gao Dalou and Ye Qi'an raised their hands simultaneously.

A soft light emanated from the surface of the soul-guided cannon in Gao Dalou's hand.

Meanwhile, the palm cannon worn on Ye Qi'an's right hand began to condense in his palm with a deep red light mixed with a scorching aura.

The previously noisy atmosphere in the golden hall immediately subsided, and pairs of eyes were fixed on the two people in the arena. In this direct contest of soul tools, the winner could likely be decided after only one or two attacks.

The soul-guided cannon in Gao Dalou's hand had a very short charging time. A bright white ball of light, accompanied by specks of silver light, shot out. The cannonball was a foot in diameter and was aimed at the center, locking onto Ye Qi'an's location.

Ye Qi'an's eyes narrowed, and he calmly raised his right arm. The palm cannon instantly burst out with a strong light, and a dark red energy beam shot out, accurately meeting the white light sphere launched by the tall building.

Two powerful energies collided in mid-air, producing a deafening roar. The shockwave from the explosion spread outwards, distorting the surrounding air.

"It's not over yet, capture!" Ye Qi'an shouted, and several beams of light shot out from the palm cannon, like agile tentacles, and quickly spread towards the tall building. The beams of light were extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye they reached the tall building and wrapped around his body.

At the same moment, the three small cannon muzzles on the back of Ye Qi'an's right hand flickered slightly, their light appearing and disappearing.

Ye Qi'an's eyes were sharp as he stared intently at the tall building bound by the light. The tall building struggled desperately, trying to break free from this sudden constraint, but the light seemed to possess an extremely strong tenacity, and no matter how hard it tried, it could not escape.

The audience erupted in astonishment; they hadn't expected Ye Qi'an's palm cannon to possess such a peculiar function. The atmosphere in the Golden Hall was incredibly tense, with everyone eagerly anticipating the next development of this duel.

Ye Qi'an did not rush to launch further attacks. He seemed to be waiting for the best opportunity. When Gao Dalou saw that he could not break free, a resolute look flashed in his eyes. He suddenly mobilized all his soul power and prepared to make a desperate gamble.

Just then, Ye Qian moved. Three thin but incredibly powerful energy beams shot out from the three small cannons at the same time, heading straight for the tall building. These three beams were extremely fast, weaving together in a complex pattern in the air. The tall building's expression changed drastically, and it instantly felt an unprecedented crisis.

However, he was now bound and unable to dodge. Three beams of energy struck him accurately, producing a series of explosions and billowing smoke that obscured everyone's vision. After a moment, the smoke gradually dissipated. Gao Lou was seen kneeling on the ground, his clothes torn, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were filled with resentment, but he had to admit his defeat.

The chief referee, observing everything from above, announced loudly, "Number 62 wins and advances to the next round!"

Ye Qi'an nodded slightly, turned around and walked off the stage. Without lingering, he quickly left the Qingse Hotel.

Inside the Golden Hall, the chief referee called Chen An over and asked in a low voice, "Chen An, what's the background of that number sixty-two? The soul tools he makes are quite extraordinary!"

Chen An whispered, "Lord Chen, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that this VIP number sixty-two has a special identity, and we can't afford to offend him. He..." He then made a gesture.

The head referee was startled: "Are you sure?"

Chen An leaned close to his ear and whispered something in his ear.

"Okay. Go ahead. Don't let anyone know what I just said to you." A hint of fear flashed in the chief referee's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Yes." Chen An chuckled inwardly. How could I let you get in touch with Lord Ye Liuyun? I was hoping he would help me get ahead.

.........

(End of this chapter)