Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

The deafening roar nearly lifted the dome of the arena, and the crowd surged, filling every seat to capacity.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat and performance-enhancing drugs, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the huge stage in the center.

Today is the final round of the round-robin tournament. The winners will advance proudly to the quarterfinals; the losers will face the cruel reality of elimination.

"First match of the first group, Shrek Academy versus Spirit Pagoda!" Zheng Zhan's voice resounded throughout the arena through the soul-guided loudspeaker, while Ye Yulin beside him had a solemn expression.

Given that both teams maintained a perfect record in the first six rounds, Zheng Zhan specially brought Ye Yulin along to ensure the safety of the referees. After all, the aftershocks of the clash between these two teams in the team competition were enough to make an ordinary Soul Emperor suffer a crushing defeat.

"Please bring your competitors to the stage!" Ye Yulin shouted in a deep voice. Twelve star shields were already floating around him, their soul power surging, ready to deal with any unexpected situations.

However, the anticipated violent collision did not occur.

"Shrek Academy, Xu Sanshi."

"Spirit Pagoda, Tang Sect, Bei Bei."

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Bei Bei smiled calmly and announced loudly, "Our side forfeits all matches in this round and concedes defeat! The Spirit Pagoda has already qualified, and there is no need to fight to the death with Shrek Academy at this moment."

After she finished speaking, Ye Yulin paused for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Zheng Zhan, and both of them saw a sense of relief in each other's eyes.

"The Spirit Pagoda concedes defeat! Shrek Academy is the winner of this match!" Zheng Zhan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly announced the result.

Thus, the most anticipated showdown in Group One ended in an unexpected way.

Shrek Academy secured seven consecutive victories, advancing strongly to the quarterfinals as the top team in their group; while the Spirit Pagoda, though finishing second, also advanced smoothly with a record of six wins and one loss.

With the conclusion of this match, the results of the other groups have also been finalized.

The round-robin stage of the All-Continent Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament has officially come to an end.

The real bloody battle – the quarterfinals – is about to begin.

The All-Continent Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament has finally entered its most brutal elimination stage.

With the smoke clearing, the eight quarterfinal spots have been decided.

The four powerhouses that advanced as the top teams in their groups were: Shrek Academy, Body Sect, Holy Spirit Sect, and Proud Sword Sect.

The four teams that advanced as the second-placed teams in their group were: Spirit Pagoda, Star Luo Royal Academy, Mingdu Soul Master Academy, and Tianlongmen.

In the VIP section, Xu Tianran looked at the quarterfinal matchups displayed on the big screen, his fingertips paused slightly, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.

How did the Hongchen siblings manage to get such good luck? If they had avoided the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy, two tough opponents, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy shouldn't have stopped at the top sixteen. Their strength is actually greater than that of the Mingdu Soul Master Academy.

What pained him even more was that, in order to preserve his strength, he had already secretly instructed the Holy Spirit Sect to concede defeat if they encountered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy or the Mingdu Soul Master Academy in the competition.

In retrospect, this arrangement has proven to be a waste of time.

"Congratulations to everyone present for advancing to the quarterfinals. Next, we will proceed with the draw for the quarterfinals." Chief Referee Zheng Zhan's voice resounded throughout the venue.

"The rules are as follows: First, the four first-place teams from each group will draw lots to determine the upper and lower brackets; then, each first-place team will draw a second-place team from each group as their opponent."

The only restriction: Teams in the same group during the round-robin stage cannot meet beforehand. The draw results will determine the quarter-final matchups. Afterwards, the two winners from each half of the bracket will compete in the semi-finals, with the final two teams meeting in the final.

As Zheng Zhan finished speaking, the drawing of lots began.

"Please invite the representative from Shrek Academy to the stage."

Ning Tian showed the lot to everyone: "Upper half."

"Please invite the representative of the Holy Spirit Sect to the stage."

After a brief silence, Yan Feng, the captain of the Holy Spirit Sect, drew the lot for the lower half of the draw.

At this moment, the rest area where the Shrek team was located visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

The fact that the Holy Spirit Sect has fallen into the lower half of the bracket means that if the two teams want to meet, it can only be in the final.

"Body Sect, lower half. Proud Sword Sect, upper half."

With the divisions finalized, the next crucial step was drawing lots for the opponents.

"The opponents will be drawn by Shrek Academy first."

Ning Tian's finger lingered in the divination stick container for a moment before he drew one and loudly proclaimed, "Spirit Transmission Tower!"

However, before he could finish speaking, Zheng Zhan immediately interrupted: "Invalid. Shrek Academy and Spirit Pagoda were in the same group in the round-robin tournament. Please draw again."

The results of the second draw were revealed—"Mingdu Soul Master Academy".

"The Proud Sword Sect versus the Heavenly Dragon Sect."

"Holy Spirit Sect versus Star Luo Royal Academy."

"The last group, no draw needed, Body Sect vs. Spirit Pagoda!"

"The draw is complete. The quarterfinals will be held the day after tomorrow." Zheng Zhan surveyed the entire arena, his tone solemn. "At this point in the competition, every match is a matter of honor and disgrace, life and death. I hope all players will give their all and display their best."

He muttered to himself, a throbbing pain in his temple: he absolutely had to bring Old Ye or Old Jing to the next round. This top eight team not only included the lunatics of the Holy Spirit Cult, but the contestants were also full of hidden talents—three genuine Soul Saints, and one pseudo-Soul Saint at level seventy… This refereeing job was practically dancing on a knife's edge.

As soon as the lottery ceremony ended, Vina quickly stepped forward and grabbed Huo Yutong, who was about to turn and leave.

"Yutong!" Her voice was very low, with a complex mix of emotions. "I never expected that we would run into each other so quickly."

Huo Yutong stopped and turned to look at the princess of the Heavenly Soul Empire, giving a wry smile: "Sister Vina, I didn't expect this either. But what surprised me even more was that the Body Sect would actually participate in the competition in their true form."

Vina sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Originally, Father and several elders did intend for us to fight under the name of the affiliated sect 'Snow Demon Sect,' so it would be better to keep a low profile."

But Grandpa Poison slammed his fist on the table, smashing it to pieces, and roared, "Our Body Sect is the guardian sect of the Heavenly Soul Empire! If you want to participate, you should announce your name openly and honestly! How can you hide like a rat!"

"That's exactly how the teacher always is." Huo Yutong smiled upon hearing this.

When the Sun Moon Empire received the application from the Body Sect, the royal family was in an uproar.

The message was presented to Xu Tianran, and the Crown Prince pondered for a long time before finally choosing to acquiesce—after all, even the Holy Spirit Sect could appear in the competition, so if they blocked the Body Sect, it would make the Sun Moon Empire seem guilty and in the wrong.

However, when Poison Immortal learned that the Holy Spirit Cult was participating in the competition, he immediately roared angrily, "To win, they'd even condone such vile things! The Sun Moon Empire has no shame whatsoever!"