Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

“Third awakening...you have embarked on the path to becoming a celestial being.”

After a long while, Du Busi slowly recovered from his near-obsessive state of shock. He withdrew his hand, his eyes gleaming.

"If you ever reach level 98, or before I die, you must come find me. At that time, I will have a real 'gift' to give you."

After saying that, he shook his head again and chuckled to himself.

"My goodness, you've only just reached level 80, and I'm already thinking about what will happen when you're level 98... But judging from your cultivation speed, it's hard to say whether you'll reach level 98 first, or I'll meet the ancestors of the Body Sect first."

Gift?

Kong Tianxu's heart stirred; that must be the most core "Seed of Inheritance" of the Body Sect. He wondered what kind of miraculous effects it would bring.

Poison Immortal seemed to have read his mind and laughed heartily: "Don't worry, it will definitely exceed your expectations!"

Amidst the laughter, the thick barrier that seemed pathetic to Long Aotian finally dissipated. Du Busi gave Kong Tianxu one last deep look, then glanced at Long Aotian, who was still kneeling on the ground. With a flicker, he vanished from the room as if disappearing into the shadows.

With the suppression of the poison gone, Long Aotian immediately looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning, and locked onto Kong Tianxu once again.

Kong Tianxu walked up to him and said calmly, "Get up. I don't really care much for this position of sect leader."

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian's stubbornness intensified, and he remained completely still.

Seeing this, Kong Tianxu didn't say much, but simply stretched out his hand and casually lifted it up.

An invisible yet irresistible force instantly enveloped Long Aotian. He was horrified to discover that his honed and powerful soul force and robust physique were completely powerless against this force, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, unable to offer any effective resistance.

He was lifted up easily, like a weightless scarecrow, and stood firmly in place.

Whether it was kneeling before or rising now, it seemed that he had no say in the matter.

"Very dissatisfied?" Kong Tianxu released his grip, looking at the complex expression in his eyes that was a mixture of humiliation and a hint of confusion, and sneered, "You want this position, you want to prove yourself? Fine. Then first prove to me that you have the qualifications to stand before me."

Long Aotian trembled violently.

He finally lowered his head completely:

“I understand. I will challenge you fair and square on the competition stage…”

"metropolitan."

……

The All-Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament entered its second day of fierce competition amidst an atmosphere of both grim determination and fervor. The tension was no less than that of the first day. After just five matches, official statistics showed that six people were seriously injured and two died on the spot.

The fierce competition among the teams for a spot in the next round is evident.

Perhaps because the competition was more intense and lengthy than expected, after the competition ended on the morning of the second day, the organizing committee officially announced that the total duration of the first round of elimination matches would be extended from the original three days to four days.

There were simply too many participating teams, and the competition was fierce; three days was definitely not enough to complete all eighty-plus matches.

The second round of the knockout stage followed immediately, offering almost no respite. The draw was completed swiftly on the very night the first round concluded.

Kong Tianxu did not appear in the second round. However, with several Soul Saint-level powerhouses in the Holy Spirit Team, the possibility of him being eliminated in an upset is extremely low.

However, many viewers who were hoping he would once again pull off the miracle of defeating seven opponents were inevitably disappointed at the beginning.

However, when the other members of the Holy Spirit Team appeared, their equally awe-inspiring divine power shone on the arena, pushing the already soaring popularity of the Holy Spirit Cult to a new peak once again.

People continued to frantically inquire about how to join the Holy Spirit Cult, or spared no expense to purchase any information about Kong Tianxu. However, Kong Tianxu never made another public appearance, adding to his mystery.

The tournament, amidst much anticipation and undercurrents, progressed to the final round of the knockout stage.

Of the 166 participating teams, most have been eliminated. Including the Haotian Sect, which won the revival match, only 42 teams remain.

Two-thirds of them came from powerful sects, demonstrating the strength of these sects. However, some established academies and strong teams also qualified, such as Star Luo National Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.

With the departure of many groups, the area suddenly felt much emptier.

After the third round, the 21 defeated teams will compete in a tiebreaker to determine 11 teams, who will then join the 21 winning teams in the next stage of a longer round-robin tournament.

For many teams from ordinary advanced academies or sects, making it into the round-robin tournament is already a great honor that brings glory to their family.

Chapter 280 Guns Are Coming!

late at night.

Meng Hongchen's cheeks flushed, and she bid a tender farewell to Kong Tianxu with reluctance. With a heart full of gains and a small gift from him, she quietly departed.

Kong Tianxu then came alone to the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the suite, stood with his hands behind his back, and quietly looked down at the sleeping streets of Mingdu below.

The spacious square in front of the Mingyue Hotel was deserted and desolate. Perhaps because the intense competition of the daytime tournament had exhausted too much of the people's enthusiasm and energy, even this imperial capital, known for its sleepless nights, seemed to have fallen into a brief deep sleep.

There wasn't a soul in sight on the street, only rows of soul-guided streetlights emitting a pale glow, casting lonely shadows on the ground.

But in Kong Tianxu's eyes, which could see through the illusion, the scene was completely different.

About 300 meters from the Mingyue Hotel, in the dark shadow of a building corner, four figures, like ghosts blending into the night, slowly approached the Mingyue Hotel.

One man, two women, and one in a wheelchair.

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and He Caitou.

"Sir, the targets have returned from the Green Inn. They've joined our Xishui Alliance in the Mingdu Soul Instructor Elite Competition under the aliases Tang Si and Tang Wu, and have already made contact with Chen An. Should we inform Elder Nangong and the others?"

"No need, just keep an eye on it. In the subsequent matches, we will move more of the followers who have not yet been purified to the target locations."

"Yes."

"and many more."

"Ok?"

"Master Nan, when you purchase personal items... please be careful not to corrupt Gu Yi and the others."

"Beep—"

The communication was abruptly cut off, and Nan Shuishui's faint, exasperated voice was silenced on the other end. Kong Tianxu deactivated his remote communication soul tool, revealing a satisfied smile.

As Huo Yuhao and the others quietly returned to the Mingyue Hotel, the deliberately placed soul-guiding lamps on the distant street went out one by one, leaving only the area around the Mingyue Hotel as usual.

From this vantage point, Mingdu at this moment resembles a gaping maw of an abyss, already silently opened to its fullest extent, ready to devour every outsider who thinks they can walk the edge of the rules—

They devoured them all.

……

"Round 3, Match 1! Holy Spirit Team vs. Heavenly Armor Sect! Both sides, please select your players and proceed to the waiting area!"

The next morning, a loud voice from the podium announced the official start of the final round of the knockout stage.

Because of Kong Tianxu's influence, it has become a convention that the Holy Spirit Cult will be the first to take the stage in this round of competition.

However, this match seemed particularly different in the eyes of the Shrek Academy members, whose faces were extremely solemn, especially Huo Yuhao.

Because the white-clad figure that had disappeared for an entire round of matches has reappeared!

Amidst the thunderous cheers and shouts, Kong Tianxu landed gracefully on the arena like a feather.

He didn't even look at the seven members of the Heavenly Armor Sect opposite him, whose expressions were tense yet resolute. He simply raised his hand and made a perfectly clear gesture towards them—

seven!

He still fought against seven opponents single-handedly, and he remained a saint in white robes.

"Yuhao, to be honest, I still find it hard to believe that he would have any connection with evil spirit masters."

Looking at the graceful figure on the stage, Wang Dong'er whispered in Huo Yuhao's ear.

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly: "I believe they will reveal more clues later. Judging from the reaction of the manager named Chen An after we showed the aura of an evil soul master at the Xishui Alliance last night, their relationship with evil soul masters is definitely very deep."

"Well, you need to be careful. You should use those evil spirit masters' abilities less often."

"I know I'll only use it on occasions like this. After the Sun Moon Empire's blockade and ban a few years ago, there were too few channels for sourcing rare metals. Now that we have this opportunity, I must make good use of it. Let's watch the game. I estimate it won't be long before it's ours."

"Hmph, how's my luck? Much better than that Wang Qiu'er's, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, the Snow Demon Sect is definitely not as good as the Clear Sky Sect. Dong'er, you're the best!"

Wang Dong'er raised her chin, revealing a smug and charming smile.

Ahead of them, Zhang Lexuan gently rubbed her temples, feeling as if she had forgotten something important...

"Never mind, watching my husband's game is more important." Zhang Lexuan cupped her face in her hands, looking beautiful.

On the platform, the referee swung his right hand down sharply and retreated rapidly at the same time.

"Game start!"

The Heavenly Armor Sect was clearly prepared. Perhaps their fighting spirit and morale were completely ignited by the gesture of the number "seven". The seven people moved almost simultaneously, but instead of advancing, they released their martial spirits at the same time.

The spirit rings flashed brightly, and strange spirit power fluctuations quickly connected and resonated.

One after another, black hexagonal armor plates shot out from their bodies, quickly condensing in front of them to form seven thick, well-organized hexagonal shields.

The shield was thick and heavy, with hexagonal plates evenly distributed on it, making it look very neat.

The Heavenly Armor Sect is a family-based sect, and all members of the sect are descendants of the Heavenly Armor Sect. They also possess almost the same martial spirit, which is the Heavenly Armor Shield.

Seven shields made of armor plates appeared simultaneously. Then, the seven people shouted in unison and threw their shields out.

The shields spun and collided in the air, producing a series of clanging sounds, before disintegrating and transforming back into countless hexagonal armor plates flying everywhere.

"Are they going to use their shields to transform into armor plates for a collective attack?" Xu Tianran asked from the podium, and like him, most people had the same thought.

"Do not."

An aged yet calm voice suddenly rang out, silencing the murmurs.

"This is a seven-in-one martial soul combination skill."

The moment the words fell, countless armor plates suddenly converged wildly towards the center.

A gigantic celestial armor shield, over ten meters in diameter and radiating a sinister black light, suddenly took shape and hovered in mid-air. Immediately afterward, the hexagonal armor plates rapidly changed color, transforming into a fiery, mirror-like crimson.

Behind the shield, the fourth soul rings of the seven Heavenly Armor Sect disciples, who were arrayed in an arc, blazed brightly simultaneously, their surging soul power fluctuations forming a continuous wave.

Martial Soul Combination Skills are completely different from Martial Soul Fusion Skills. They are more like the superposition of power. They usually require the same Martial Soul and the same Soul Skill, and can only be performed with extremely high tacit understanding.

Although it doesn't achieve the qualitative change of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the quantitative change of concentrating the soul power of multiple people into one point is undoubtedly a trump card for some sects with their own unique Martial Souls.

The seven shields converged into a single giant shield, unleashing the same skill. This was equivalent to combining the seven soul skills of the Heavenly Armor Sect members into one, making their power unimaginable.

This rare spectacle, unseen in the world of Soul Masters for countless tournaments, has not appeared since.

This skill shone brightly when sects were allowed to participate in the earlier competitions. This is also one of the most eye-catching changes since sects were allowed to join this year's competition.