Douro Continent

Chapter 314 The Continental Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies (Part 2)

At this moment, centered around the Heaven Dou Grand Soul Arena, almost a third of Heaven Dou City was packed with people. Starting several days ago, all hotels of all levels within Heaven Dou City were fully booked. The city's population had surged by nearly fifty percent. This clearly demonstrates the immense appeal of this continent-wide elite Soul Master Academy Tournament.

For this competition, Tiandou City mobilized a full five thousand city defense troops to maintain order. This was the only way to prevent a riot from occurring.

"Wow, so many people!" Ning Rongrong couldn't help but exclaim. Looking around, she realized she had never seen such a crowded scene before.

Oscar acted as Ning Rongrong's protector, keeping his head down as much as possible so that others couldn't see his face.

Not only Oscar, but apart from a few glamorous girls, everyone from the Shrek Seven Devils to the substitutes kept their heads down as much as possible. Their attire was truly embarrassing.

The standard Shrek Academy uniform wasn't just any green; it was a color somewhere between yellow and green, which Dai Mubai would describe as "poop green."

For this academy tournament, Dean Flander, with his "exquisite taste," specially ordered these uniforms for them. The material is quite good, and they're very comfortable to wear. But besides the turquoise color, each student also has a Shrek monster pattern that almost covers their entire chest. And the color of this pattern is a vibrant, luscious emerald green.

That's not all. The most bizarre thing is that on the back of each person, there are six large, bright characters embroidered with red silk thread: "Seeking Sponsor GG".

Below the six large characters is a line of smaller text: "For GG fees, please consult with Mr. Flander, the Dean of Shrek Academy."

The Shrek Seven Devils had initially resisted for their competition outfits, but were ultimately suppressed by Flander's tyranny. Only after much pleading did Flander reluctantly agree that if there were any GG (Game Generator) revenue, one-third of it would be paid to the participating team members. The remainder would be used for the academy's construction.

For Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Tang San, this amount of money might not be much, but for others, money is still very important. Moreover, Tang San and the others had witnessed the state of Shrek Academy back then, and now that they finally had a chance to make money, they couldn't very well refuse Flander's request. Although this dean was a bit cunning and treacherous, he had truly worked hard to keep the academy afloat over the years.

Of course, the Shrek Seven Devils also sought help from Grandmaster, but his answer was quite bizarre. Grandmaster told them that although the school uniform was a bit ugly, it was also a test of their mental fortitude. If they could remain calm amidst the ridicule, then their mental fortitude would have reached a certain level.

The Shrek Seven Devils secretly muttered to themselves, "This is clearly a test of their thick skin."

The Master, citing his status as a representative of the Academy, refused to wear such uniforms along with Flander, except for a very inconspicuous small Shrek pattern on the left breast of their own clothes.

It was precisely because of their bizarre attire that Tang San and his companions immediately received "extra" attention as soon as they entered the crowd.

"What academy are they from? Good heavens, did they just crawl out of a latrine?"

"I'm dying of laughter, that green monster pattern on their chests is so cute. And those ears look like trumpets!"

"Look, look, what kind of GG are they recruiting behind the scenes? Is there really such a high-level Soul Master academy? Can something like this even participate in the Continental Elite Tournament of High-Level Soul Master Academies? It's hilarious. There are all sorts of birds in a big forest."

"Keep your voice down. They are Soul Masters, after all. But I guess they're just here to make an appearance. Look, there's a fat guy in there who looks like a ball."

If there were a crack in the ground right now, the eleven students from Shrek Academy would probably scramble to squeeze in. Even with some mental preparation, they hadn't expected so many people to gather outside the Great Soul Arena. It was practically an exhibition, and a completely negative example at that.

Forget about saving face, Tang San was the first to take out the Shrek Mask he had worn when he participated in the Soul Fighting Tournament and cover his face. The Shrek Seven Devils quickly followed suit. Unfortunately, the four who joined later, including Tai Long, did not have this "equipment" and could only cover their faces with their hands, looking as pathetic as could be.

Flander walked ahead, acting as if he didn't recognize the people behind him, and strode into the crowd. Master and Liu Erlong followed behind him at a pace that was not much slower.

Tang San finally understood what it meant to be on the verge of tears. At this moment, even if he had the choice to face a team of level 50 Soul Masters, he would rather not be here.

Fortunately, there were many teams participating in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament today, with representatives from nearly thirty academies. Most of the public's interest was still drawn to those teams, and Shrek Academy's group finally managed to squeeze into the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena after a difficult journey.

Most of the participating teams were dressed in smart attire, wearing their own academy's uniforms, but none were as bizarre as Shrek Academy's. Adorned in their beautiful uniforms of gold, silver, red, and white, decorated with various patterns and academy emblems, the young Soul Masters strode confidently into the Great Soul Arena like heroes. They exuded a heroic and imposing presence, seemingly looking down upon the world.

After squeezing into the Heaven Dou Arena, the Shrek Academy group finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness.

"I'm never wearing this again for the next match. It's too damaging to my heroic image," Ma Hongjun complained, removing his mask. Covering the face wasn't allowed in this competition, and everyone was now tempted to strip naked and leave immediately. Wearing this outfit was just too embarrassing.

Fortunately, today is the opening ceremony, and also the first day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Aside from the opening ceremony, there's only one other match. The second team of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy will draw an opponent for the first round of a round-robin tournament, making it a team battle with a somewhat theatrical element. Otherwise, just an opening ceremony would clearly not have satisfied the audience's interest.

This continent-wide elite tournament for advanced soul master academies offers prize money, and it's quite substantial. Each victory in the preliminary rounds earns 500 gold soul coins, and advancing to the knockout stage grants an additional 3,000 gold soul coins. If a team reaches the finals, the Heaven Dou Empire will not only bestow upon them the title of Baron, but also award each participating member, whether a regular player or a substitute, 1,000 gold soul coins. The prize money for the final tournament is even more substantial.

Flander has given up this portion of the income for the sake of the Shrek Seven Devils' backing, which means that the prize money will belong to each of the students individually.

Tang San comforted everyone, saying, "Anyway, we don't have a high chance of appearing today. When we get back, we'll discuss it with Dean Flander, and we'll just refuse to wear these clothes tomorrow. At least we'll remove the words on the back."

At this moment, the Shrek Academy group was in the rest area provided specifically for participating academies within the main arena. They weren't the first to arrive, nor were they the last. The spacious rest area had over a thousand seats, divided into sections for each Soul Master Academy to rest and wait.

Although there weren't as many people outside, the Shrek Academy students still became the center of attention after the advanced soul master academy teams entered. Despite trying to find a corner, they were still noticed by many.

However, Soul Masters are generally far more refined than ordinary people. Although there were many disdainful glances and looks of contempt, there wasn't much discussion. Each academy's team members, led by their respective instructors, gathered together to await the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, each academy also had a teacher conducting the final registration and confirmation process. Once the participating students' information was registered, no additions or substitutions could be made in future competitions.

A short while later, Flanders strolled back leisurely. "Hey, what are you doing in this secluded corner?"

Seeing the students' unfriendly looks, Flander coughed awkwardly. "Well, let's do it here then. Registration is all done, and the opening ceremony will be held soon. You all better be alert and don't embarrass Shrek Academy. You're the team that's going to win the championship."

"Champion? A toad wants to win the championship?" Just then, an incongruous voice came from the side.

The students of Shrek Academy were already furious, and upon hearing this voice, they immediately glared fiercely in the direction from which it came.

That was a team from a nearby academy. Ironically, there were a few people in that team whom the Shrek Seven Devils recognized. They were the same Canghui Academy students they had encountered when they went to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain their third spirit rings.

They still wore the same moon-white Soul Master robes, with the words "Cang Hui" embroidered inside a blue ring on the shoulder. The difference was that this time their team uniforms were decorated with silver threads, making them look even more dazzling than before.

(End of this chapter)