Douluo Amon: I am the Heavenly Venerable of the Dragon King.

Chapter 338 Group Stage

Since the message was intentionally spread by him, Dai Tianling naturally knew the details.

Dai Tianling pondered for a moment and said, "That's right, the news is indeed true. Whether it's his defeat of seven One-Word Battle Armor Masters or the story of the Saint Craftsman, it's all widely circulated in the Douluo Continent. There's also video evidence, so there's no falsehood in this matter."

Compared to Lu Fa's combat abilities, Dai Tianling was more focused on his forging talent. Lu Fa's talent was indeed terrifying; if allowed to grow, he would most likely become another Limit Douluo in the future.

However, this is nothing compared to the significance of a divine craftsman. A single four-word battle armor is enough to grant a Title Douluo combat power comparable to that of a Limit Douluo. If Super Douluos or even Limit Douluos were to possess it, their combat power would rise to another level.

On the Douluo Continent, Super Douluo and Limit Douluo may be rare, but the number of Title Douluo is quite large. This is no longer the ancient era. The Soul Master world has conducted extremely profound research on the cultivation of Soul Masters at each stage, and even the matching of Soul Rings.

This is the experience summarized through the unremitting efforts of scholars throughout history.

Dai Tianling said, "A year ago, he was already a Soul Master and a One-Word Battle Armor Master. Now his Soul Power level should be very close to level 50, or even level 50. Being able to equip battle armor at level 40 shows that his physical attributes are extremely strong."

Our professionals analyzed his previous matches. His soul power is different from ordinary people; its density far surpasses that of ordinary soul masters. He possesses very strong offensive and defensive capabilities.

His mental strength is also considerable, but his greatest strength lies in physical power. His self-created soul skill cannot be fully effective without the support of powerful blood and qi.

"He must have a particularly powerful bloodline, and it was this bloodline that put a lot of pressure on Hua Lantang, which led to his defeat. Also, regarding his martial soul, the information I have is that it is suspected to be a variant of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, but you will have to verify the specifics yourselves."

"As a soul beast comparable to a dragon, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, once it becomes a soul master's martial soul, will at least be a super martial soul. You should also pay attention to this aspect."

Even Long Yue warned him not to underestimate his opponent. As the student representative and captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Lu Fa was no ordinary young man.

If he could, Dai Tianling wouldn't mind killing Lu Fa on this Star Luo Continent, but he dared not and could not.

Ao Hongchen is no pushover. If Lu Fa were to get into trouble in Xingluo City, Ao Hongchen would certainly not hesitate to go on a killing spree. A demigod's destructive power is not insignificant!

Especially since he comes from the Hongchen family, who knows if he has a few level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells on him? Moreover, Lu Fa is a disciple of the master craftsman Zhenhua. If we really mess with him, we will definitely offend Zhenhua as well.

More importantly, this exchange activity will definitely be a complete failure, and may even become a pretext for the Federation to invade and attack them.

Of course, while he couldn't actually take action, he could still subtly sow discord among the other side. This could also serve as a warning to the people of the Star Luo Continent.

Dai Yueyan nodded. "Father is right. Even Brother Long said that if Lu Fa were the same age as him, it might really be a fierce battle between dragons and tigers. Unfortunately, he is still too young."

So what if Lu Fa could defeat seven One-Word Battle Armor Masters? Long Yue could do the same. Even if the other Heavenly Kings joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for Long Yue.

Lu Fa defeated those seven One-Word Battle Armor Masters a year ago. In such a short time, how much could he have improved? At most, he would be a Soul King plus a One-Word Battle Armor Master.

Long Yue, however, had already become a two-word Battle Armor Master. With his Soul Emperor cultivation combined with the power of his Mountain Dragon Martial Soul, and his two-word Battle Armor, Long Yue could even hold his own against a Title Douluo. (Without the Battle Armor).

Dai Tianling nodded slightly. "Your relationship with Long Yue is very important. Keep it as good as possible. Everyone has high hopes for him. In the future, I hope he can not only become a four-word battle armor master, but also become the first demigod in the history of Monster Academy."

Upon hearing the word "demigod," both Dai Yueyan and Dai Yun'er's expressions changed, and they both became solemn. Within that solemnity, there was also a hint of longing.

……

At this moment, the eight members of the Seven Stars of Glory gathered together for a meal. They only participated in one-on-one matches, while only Xue Liushuang, Weng Daimin, Kuang Zhantian, and Jian Mochen participated in the two-on-two matches. No one signed up for the team battle.

Therefore, they have plenty of time. In the early stages of a major tournament, they only need to play one match before they have enough time to rest.

Of course, as more players are eliminated and the competition progresses, their rest time will decrease. However, at least for now, they are still quite relaxed.

The one-on-one individual challenge has now reached a point where only 128 participants remain. The competition will then be divided into 16 groups of eight, who will compete in a round-robin format.

This means that each group of eight people will compete against each other in matches, earning points for each victory. The top four teams in each group will advance to the final sixty-four.

There are sixteen groups, and the top four from each group will be selected to make up sixty-four people for the final sixty-four competition.

This is probably a safeguard provided by the Star Luo Empire for those who are strong but unlucky enough to encounter powerful opponents. If you can't even get into the top four of your group, then you can only blame your lack of strength.

With the conclusion of the first rounds of 2v2 and 7v7, the group stage of the individual competition is about to begin.

The members of the Seven Stars of Glory immediately checked their assigned group.

Lu Fa glanced around and found that there was basically no one in his group who needed to be paid attention to. There were no people from Monster Academy or Shrek Academy, but Zui Hongchen was actually in his group.

"Hehe, when I fight Brother Lufa, I'll just surrender." Zui Hongchen said with a grin, since she couldn't beat Lufa and didn't want to fight him anyway.

However, Long Chen's expression was rather grim, because his group had a last enemy they dreaded facing: Dragon King Long Yue!

That's right, he was grouped with Long Yue. At the same time, Le Zhengyu from Shrek Academy was also in his group.

"It's alright, it's just the group stage. The top four teams in the individual group will all advance. At worst, we can just forfeit the match against Long Yue. Are you afraid of not making it out of the group stage?" Xue Liushuang comforted him.

Unexpectedly, Long Chen said with a serious expression, "No, even if I am no match for him, I cannot back down before the battle even begins. Let me test his mettle first."

As the holder of the Holy Dragon Martial Soul, even though Long Chen had been beaten up four times (by Lu Fa, Shen Wei, Fors, and Tang Wulin), he never lost heart because he also had his own pride in his heart.

Moreover, he is from the Sun and Moon Federation. If he were to admit defeat before even fighting, it would not only be a disgrace to Long Chen, but also to the Sun and Moon Federation.

Zui Hongchen looked at Long Chen with surprise, as if he were seeing him for the first time. "Are you serious?"

Long Chen nodded. "Yes. If I deliberately avoid you the first time we face each other, how will I ever stand tall in front of such opponents in the future? Losing isn't scary; what's scary is losing even your courage."

Seeing this, Shenwei grinned, patted Long Chen on the shoulder, and said, "Haha, you have ambition. Then go for it with confidence. Even if you lose, I'll help you get revenge when we reach the top 64."

Long Chen smiled slightly, his eyes burning with a fierce light. So what if it's Long Yue? So what if he's a genius? Am I not a genius myself?

……

The first round of the group stage has officially begun!

The first-round matchups for each group were not determined until just before the competition.

To everyone's surprise, while everyone else was fine, Le Zhengyu from Shrek Academy actually ran into Long Yue in the first round.

"That's good. After all, Le Zhengyu comes from Shrek Academy and is also from the Angel Clan in the southern part of the continent. With his strength, he should be able to force out some of Long Yue's strength."

Xue Liushuang looked at the battle order on the soul guide screen and said in a deep voice. She also came from a prominent family, so she naturally could tell that Le Zhengyu had an obvious angelic martial soul.

However, Xue Liushuang soon realized something was wrong. She discovered that Long Chen was not listening to her analysis at all, but instead looked at the podium.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Xue Liushuang asked, puzzled. At the same time, she followed Long Chen's gaze and found that Long Chen's eyes were fixed on the Star Luo Emperor on the platform and an old man next to him.

Beside Dai Tianling sat an elderly man dressed in a long white robe, a retro style that is now rare.

The old man had a simple, ancient face, a thin and slender build, and long white hair that cascaded down his back and over his shoulders. His eyes, however, were unusually clear, which seemed out of place with his aged face. It was as if such a gaze should not have appeared on an old man at all.

Yet it was precisely this disharmony that made him appear exceptionally charismatic. Sitting there, at first glance, he seemed to be just an ordinary old man.

Don't forget, the person sitting next to him is His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire! Even Dai Tianling, standing beside him, didn't feel any superior aura.

"At least a Super Douluo," Xue Liushuang concluded. Then, looking at Long Chen with confusion, she said, "Hey, snap out of it! Why are you staring so intently at this old man?"

Xue Liushuang's shout startled Long Chen as if waking from a dream. He trembled, then looked at his companions who were also staring at him with curiosity, scratched his head sheepishly, and said:

"I'm sorry, but I just felt a sense of warmth towards that old man, so I couldn't help but look at him."

"He gives you a friendly feeling, but does he think he's your relative?" Kuang Zhantian retorted.

"That's not necessarily true." At this moment, Zui Hongchen suddenly spoke up, then looked at the old man on the platform, recalled for a moment, and then said, "He should be the teacher of the Star Luo Emperor, the Holy Dragon Douluo Enci."

"Saint Dragon Douluo?" The others looked at her in surprise.

"Hmm." Zui Hongchen nodded, then asked with some doubt, "None of you have looked at the information about the Star Luo Continent? As the strongest person on the Star Luo Continent, Saint Dragon Douluo Enci's information should be easy to find on the Soul Network, right?"

Upon hearing this, Long Chen and the others immediately showed a hint of embarrassment. They hadn't really paid attention to the Soul Network on the Star Luo Continent, as they still had to cultivate.

Basically, young prodigies like them rarely check the Soul Network unless there's some major news. They're in the prime of their cultivation years, and forging their battle armor has consumed a significant amount of their time.

Long Chen asked, "What you just said might not have meant anything?"

Zui Hongchen explained, "Because the Martial Soul of Holy Dragon Douluo Enci is the Holy Dragon of Light. That's why I said you two might have been related for ten thousand years. Oh, by the way, he's also the Dean of Monster Academy and Long Yue's teacher."

"How about it? Should we go and find a relative? Maybe someone will see that your martial soul is also the Holy Light Dragon and get so excited that they'll adopt you as their godson," Zui Hongchen said with a hint of smugness.

"No need, thank you," Long Chen said, his face darkening.

"Alright." Just then, Lu Fa interrupted their conversation, "Long Yue is coming on stage, let's watch his performance."

"Um."

As the captain, Lufa still exuded authority. As soon as he spoke, the others immediately stopped joking and began to focus intently on the game.

On the arena, Le Zhengyu lived up to his reputation as a member of Shrek Academy. Although he was only a four-ring Soul Master, he was still able to hold his own against Long Yue. After a fierce battle, he successfully forced Long Yue to unleash his Martial Soul.

Purple, purple, purple, black, black, black!

Long Yue was actually a six-ring Soul Emperor, and he also revealed his Martial Soul name: Mountain Dragon. Without a doubt, Le Zhengyu was utterly defeated by Long Yue; even using his battle armor parts was futile, as their cultivation levels were far too different.

It was a crushing defeat; it was an absolutely dominant battle. This was the thought of everyone present after watching Long Yue's match.

"How is it? Are you still confident you can fight him?" Lu Fa looked at Long Chen and asked in a deep voice.

"No." Long Chen said with a bitter expression. After Long Yue unleashed his martial soul, he could clearly feel the Holy Light Dragon bloodline within his body, and he couldn't help but tremble.

Without a doubt, Long Yue's Mountain Dragon Martial Soul is of a higher bloodline level than his. Therefore, even if he and Long Yue were at the same level, let alone two levels apart, he still wouldn't be able to defeat the latter.

The bloodline hierarchy of the dragon race is that cruel. Among those of the same level, even a slight difference can create an insurmountable gap. Not to mention, he is far inferior to Long Yue.

"But I'm still going to fight," Long Chen said firmly.

"Is that so?" Lu Fa responded, then ignored Long Chen, who was constantly motivating himself, and turned to walk towards the arena. His match was about to begin.

Although it was a crushing defeat, he still managed to glean quite a bit from the experience.

(End of this chapter)