Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 201 Laughing at the Mortal World: Douluo will not allow such a powerful figure to appear!

After learning about the soul skills of Bei Bei and the other three, Wang Yan began to plan the tactics for the round-robin tournament. He said, "Let's plan the tactics for the second stage of the round-robin tournament. As I mentioned before, there will be three battle modes in the second stage of the round-robin tournament. These three modes will be determined by drawing lots, and each one will be different."

The second stage involves 67 teams divided into eight groups. Five groups have eight teams each, while the remaining three groups have nine teams each. Teams within each group play a round-robin format, with winners earning two points, draws earning one point, and losers earning no points. The top two teams in the final standings advance to the third stage finals.

Based on our strong performance in the first stage and the usual practice of previous competitions, Shrek Academy should be in Group 1, a group with eight teams. Therefore, in the second stage, we need to play seven matches. Furthermore, the first match of the round-robin is still our match. We will not know the specific opponent until we arrive at the venue tomorrow.

The entire second stage of the competition should last about half a month. This period will inevitably be very intense and tiring, so I hope you can be mentally prepared.

"Yes!" everyone answered.

Wang Yan continued, "Regarding tomorrow's match arrangements, my thought is that it's best for Yuhao not to make a move. Yuhao's performance on the first day was too exaggerated. Five 100,000-year spirit rings will inevitably attract the frenzied research and investigation of other academies. Although this matter cannot be kept secret for long, I still hope to delay his exposure as much as possible and preserve this mystery."

"Okay!" Zhu Ziyang agreed with Wang Yan's suggestion and said, "If it's an individual battle, I suggest that Sister Xiaotao or I go on stage directly. This will minimize the exposure of others."

"That's exactly what I think," Wang Yan said. "The individual elimination tournament isn't about one person fighting only once; it's a ring-style competition where the winner can continue fighting until they are defeated. With this format, the higher your soul power level, the greater your advantage. With Xiao Tao or Zi Yang's strength, they have a good chance of achieving a seven-game winning streak."

If we draw a team fight, we'll continue to let Yuhao play. Although his cultivation level isn't high, his command ability through shared mental detection is very strong, making him a good main controller in team fights.

Neither of these two battle modes is a problem for us. What we really need to focus on is the 2-2-3 cooperative battle. In this mode, there will be three battles: two 2-on-2 and one 3-on-3, best of three. This mode will inevitably expose some of our strengths and weaknesses, so we have made the following arrangement: Ma Xiaotao and Beibei will be in one group, Zhu Ziyang and Xu Sanshi will be in another, and Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya will be in yet another. We will try to win the two 2-on-2 battles, which will allow us to avoid the 3-on-3 battle.

"Teacher, what should I do if I lose a two-on-two match?" Wang Dong asked.

"Wang Dong, who do you think will lose?" Before Wang Yan could reply, Ma Xiaotao looked at Wang Dong with a kind smile and asked.

"Uh~ Sister Xiaotao, I, I was just saying 'if', wasn't I?" Wang Dong was startled by Ma Xiaotao's expression and immediately said with an embarrassed smile.

"There are no ifs!" Ma Xiaotao said confidently.

"If we really have to play three-on-three, then let the regular players who aren't playing bring Xiao Xiao and you onto the field." Although Ma Xiaotao spoke with absolute certainty, Wang Yan still expressed his thoughts and said.

"Ah! I have to go on stage? What if I'm nervous?" Xiao Xiao asked, her face immediately showing worry upon hearing Wang Yan's words.

"Hey, Xiao Xiao, don't be afraid! You have to have faith in Brother Ziyang and the others!" Huo Yuhao comforted her. "Besides, the probability of you and Wang Dong playing is only one in nine, so there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Oh, oh!" Xiao Xiao nodded.

"Alright, that's all for the battle plan for now. It's getting late, everyone go back and get some rest, and get yourself into top shape!" Wang Yan said. "Meeting adjourned!"

-

The fourth day of the competition, early morning.

The Star Luo Square was already filled with eagerly awaiting spectators. On the city tower, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire reappeared. In the rest area, all the academies that did not have a match today were also present.

The first match of the day was Shrek Academy's match. Shrek Academy's performance in the opening match on the first day was truly outstanding, especially the boy with five 100,000-year spirit rings and the stunningly beautiful girl who was like a Valkyrie.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating what Shrek Academy would bring to the table, hoping they would showcase even more amazing things. Of course, they especially wanted to see the boy with the 100,000-year spirit ring continue to compete, so they could once again admire the magnificence of such a ring.

"Your Majesty, do you think Shrek Academy will send out that boy with five 100,000-year soul rings again today?" the Empress asked from the city wall.

"It's hard to say," Xu Jiawei said thoughtfully. "That boy should be called Huo Yuhao. Those five 100,000-year spirit rings are most likely a trick, not real. However, even so, being a contestant for Shrek Academy, and seemingly a leading figure at that, is enough to warrant our attention. He's a citizen of our Star Luo Empire!"

"They're actually from my Star Luo Empire!" Upon hearing this, the Empress immediately showed a look of surprise and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"What's so great about it?" Xu Jiawei asked, puzzled, looking at his empress.

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on the emergence of an outstanding talent under your rule. Since Huo Yuhao is a citizen of my Star Luo Empire, he will surely serve Your Majesty in the future!" the Empress explained.

"Sigh! Zitong, you don't understand. If that were really the case, that would be great." Xu Jiawei said with a hint of helplessness, "Huo Yuhao is now representing Shrek Academy in the Soul Master Competition, which means there's an eight or nine out of ten chance he'll enter Shrek Academy's inner court. Once he enters Shrek Academy's inner court, he'll no longer be a citizen of the Star Luo Empire!"

"How...how could this be?" The Empress's eyes widened in disbelief.

While people in the capital were talking about Shrek Academy, those in the rest areas were also discussing it, especially the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

"Brother, do you think Huo Yuhao will play again today?" A beautiful young girl asked curiously beside Xiao Hongchen. She was Xiao Hongchen's younger sister, Meng Hongchen.

"It's hard to say," Xiao Hongchen said with a gloomy expression. "I actually hope he can play today, so we can find out if he's just faking it! I won't allow anyone to be better than me!"

"Ha!" Upon hearing this, Ma Rulong, the captain of the Sun Moon Academy's regular team, scoffed and said, "Leaving aside whether that Huo Yuhao is real or fake, Jiang Nannan alone is enough to make you take her seriously! Jiang Nannan is only fifteen years old this year, tsk tsk, a fifteen-year-old Soul King, and a genuine Soul King at that. I really don't know how you'll be able to defeat her next year!"

Ma Rulong's sarcastic tone made Xiao Hongchen's face darken. He was about to retaliate when Meng Hongchen stopped him. Puzzled, he asked, "Meng?"

"Brother, the Shrek Academy people are here," Meng Hongchen said, pointing to the dark green school uniforms that appeared at the entrance.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongchen immediately turned his gaze towards Huo Yuhao, who was at the very front of the group. In Xiao Hongchen's opinion, although Jiang Nannan was also very strong, she was far from posing a threat to him. What truly unsettled him was Huo Yuhao, who might possess five 100,000-year soul rings. He had a feeling that this person might be his inner demon!

With the arrival of the Shrek Academy team, the audience, who had been waiting for a long time, instantly reached a climax, cheering Shrek's name. The cheers only stopped when Zhu Ziyang and his group entered the rest area and took their seats.

Sitting in the luxurious lounge area, Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but sigh, "This is the will of the people! The will of the people is the will of Heaven. With Heaven's will on my side, great things are within my grasp!"

The host had already started warming up the audience, first announcing the list of academies that had passed the first round of the competition, then introducing the group assignments, and finally shouting: "Next, please welcome the Shrek Academy team, the number one academy on the continent, and their opponents, the Yunluo Advanced Soul Master Academy team of the Star Luo Empire, to the waiting area. At the same time, please invite the captains of both teams to come up on stage to confirm their competition format."

Upon hearing the host's voice, Ma Xiaotao instinctively stood up, but Wang Yan stopped her. Then, Wang Yan sent Bei Bei, the captain of the preliminary team, up.

The captain of Yunluo Advanced Soul Master Academy was a burly man with a build almost as large as He Caitou. The two of them came to the arena at the same time.

The referee walked between the two men with a round, spherical lottery tube. After they each checked their tubes, the referee began drawing lots, shouting, "Three, two, one!"

Beibei and the opposing captain exerted their strength simultaneously, flinging the large sphere into the air. Then, a small yellow ball fell from the large sphere first. The small yellow ball represents the individual battle.

The referee caught the small ball and simultaneously retrieved the large ball falling through the air. He first showed the small ball to both team captains, then gestured to Emperor Xu Jiawei atop the imperial city walls before loudly announcing through his personal soul-guided megaphone: "Shrek Academy vs. Yunluo Academy, a one-on-one elimination tournament. Please send out your first player."

One-on-one? Upon hearing this competition format, both the audience and the students from the participating academies showed expressions of surprise and delight. The audience wanted to see Huo Yuhao, while the students from the participating academies wanted to investigate the true strength of Shrek Academy.

"I'll go!" Ma Xiaotao said impatiently as soon as Beibei returned to the waiting area.

"No!" But Wang Yan and Zhu Ziyang stopped him at the same time. Wang Yan said, "Let Jiang Nannan play this round."

"Why?" Ma Xiaotao immediately looked dissatisfied, glared at Wang Yan, and asked.

Looking at the angry Ma Xiaotao, Wang Yan said, "Among the four countries on the continent, the strongest Soul Master Academy is the Sun Moon Empire. Apart from the Sun Moon Empire, the Soul Master Academy of the other three countries is about the same level. This Yunluo Advanced Soul Master Academy comes from the Star Luo Empire, so its overall strength must not be too strong. I predict that they will not have any Soul King level students, and probably not even a few Soul Masters. And when dealing with Soul Masters, the Agility-based attack is worse than the Power Attack type."

"That's right, Sister Tao, it's a complete waste of your talent to go on stage now. Why don't we let Nan Nan go? That way, we can avoid exposing one person!" Zhu Ziyang said.

"Alright!" Ma Xiaotao was persuaded and had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"Nannan, how are you? Are you confident you can take on all seven opponents at once?" After persuading Ma Xiaotao, Zhu Ziyang looked at Jiang Nannan and asked.

"Okay! Give it to me!" Jiang Nannan nodded confidently in reply.

(End of this chapter)