Over ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now the fourteenth round of the advancement tournament.
In this round, Blazing Academy's opponent was Sylvis Academy from the Kingdom of Sylvis.
On the battlefield, the third member of the Blazing Battle Team, Huo Yu, faced off against the seventh member of the Sylvis Battle Team.
"Third Soul Skill, Meteor Shower!"
As his third soul ring lit up, the crimson fireballs, each the size of a fist, continuously condensed above Huo Yu's head. They doubled in number, then doubled again, instantly increasing fourfold. The next moment, they rained down like a dense meteor shower, bombarding the opponent—a tall, burly Soul Elder from Sylvis Academy with the Beast Martial Soul, Fanged Vajra Boar.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of violent explosions erupted. The golden soul power shield formed by the opponent's thousand-year third soul skill instantly shattered. Amidst the flashes of fire, his entire body spun uncontrollably through the air, leaving a trail of crimson blood droplets before crashing to the ground with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Huo Yu: KO!
The Sylvis Battle Team, with a lineup of one Soul Ancestor and six Soul Elders, was naturally no match for the Blazing Battle Team. After only sending out one Soul Elder and two Soul Ancestors, the Sylvis Battle Team was completely wiped out.
Soon, the referee announced, "In the fourteenth round of the advancement tournament, Blazing Academy versus Sylvis Academy—Blazing Academy wins! Let's congratulate Blazing Academy on securing first place in the Heaven Dou Division of this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament!"
Yes, among the fifteen teams in the advancement tournament, the Blazing Academy Battle Team ranked first.
After the tenth round, Blazing Academy was drawn against Skywater Academy. However, before Mu Yang could make a move, Shui Bing'er, as the captain of Skywater Academy's battle team, voluntarily forfeited the eleventh round, granting Blazing Academy an automatic victory.
The rankings of the various academy teams in the advancement tournament did not come as a surprise to Mu Yang. The five teams that advanced from the Heaven Dou Division qualifiers dominated the top five spots in the advancement tournament.
However, the rankings differed from the qualifiers. While the Divine Wind Battle Team remained third, Blazing Academy and Skywater Academy switched places, with Blazing Academy securing first and Skywater Academy second.
A relatively unexpected outcome was that Shrek Academy, which had lost to the Thunderclap Battle Team in the qualifiers, managed to defeat Thunderclap in the advancement tournament, claiming fourth place, while Thunderclap fell to fifth.
But this result wasn't entirely surprising. Compared to Blazing, Skywater, and Divine Wind, the Thunderclap Academy team was somewhat lacking this year. They fell behind, as none of their members stood out as significantly stronger than the other contestants.
Moreover, while Shrek Academy only had three four-ring Soul Ancestors, fewer than Thunderclap, their combat strategies were extremely effective. Whether it was Xiao Wu's three-move combo tactic or Tang San's stunning control combined with his Meteor Hammer strategy against Huo Wushuang, both proved to be highly efficient in battle. Even if their opponents were aware of these tactics, the Thunderclap Battle Team still struggled to counter them.
In fact, if Tang San had revealed his Soul Bone ability during the qualifiers, Shrek Academy might not have lost to Thunderclap in their seven-on-seven team battle.
After all, Tang San's Earth Dragon Roar Soul Bone skill wasn't a single-target control ability but a large-area crowd control technique. Its effect was powerful enough to envelop the entire battle arena.
With the tournament concluded, Emperor Xue Ye once again delivered an impassioned speech of encouragement and motivation. And, with no Salas around to interfere, the wealthy emperor once again indulged in his generosity. The top five teams each received a reward of 100,000 gold soul coins, while the remaining teams were awarded 20,000 gold soul coins each.
No other reason—without that old troublemaker Salas meddling, the emperor was in a great mood and had no qualms about spending money.
With the advancement tournament over, the grand finals were about to begin. And the final tournament would determine which academy was truly the strongest on the continent.
As an emperor and not a powerful soul master himself, Xue Ye was not suited to leave Heaven Dou City and travel to a major stronghold of a non-allied force.
After distributing the rewards, Emperor Xue Ye announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent him as the Heaven Dou Empire's envoy and serve as a judge for the final tournament.
Three days later, under the escort of a thousand Royal Knight soldiers, the fifteen Heaven Dou Empire teams that participated in the advancement tournament would travel to Spirit City, located at the central border between the two empires, for the final battle. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe himself would accompany them.
As night fell, the sky glittered with countless stars.
Inside the Royal Hunting Grounds, in the courtyard of the Shrek Academy camp.
"Xiao San, for the upcoming finals, I suggest that you withdraw from the competition," Yu Xiaogang said to Tang San.
"Teacher, is it because of my father?" Tang San asked.
"That's right!"
Yu Xiaogang nodded, his expression serious. "The strength of Spirit Hall far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine. On the way to Spirit City, there will likely be unexpected dangers.
More importantly, I've learned that this year's Soul Master Tournament finals were originally set to be held in Star Luo City. However, Spirit Hall suddenly demanded the hosting rights from the Star Luo Empire. Their intentions are obvious."
If not for Tang Hao destroying the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple, Yu Xiaogang wouldn't have been too worried about Spirit Hall taking action against Tang San, who had yet to reveal his twin martial souls. Not to mention his own past relationship with Bibi Dong, Spirit Hall also had to consider its public image. They wouldn't openly harm a contestant unless absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, if they killed every genius from a non-affiliated force, the Soul Master Tournament would cease to exist.
But the problem was that Tang Hao had fiercely humiliated Spirit Hall, and there was no way to simply let it go. If Spirit Hall didn't take action, it wouldn't be Spirit Hall.
Even though Tang San's relationship with Tang Hao hadn't been publicly revealed, Yu Xiaogang was well aware that with Spirit Hall's intelligence capabilities, they would undoubtedly uncover their father-son connection.
Hearing this, Tang San fell silent for a long time before gazing at Yu Xiaogang and replying firmly, "Teacher, I've decided to continue competing. Since I started this journey, I must see it through to the end."
Of course, talking about seeing things through was just an excuse. The real reason behind Tang San's decision was that his father, had never stopped him from continuing in the tournament.
There was no doubt—his father loved him and would surely protect him from the shadows.
If Yu Xiaogang could foresee these dangers, then his father definitely could as well. Since his father had acted as he did before and still hadn't stopped him from competing, it only meant one thing—his father was absolutely confident and had no fear of Spirit Hall.
With an immensely powerful father protecting him, why should he be afraid of Spirit Hall?
In Tang San's mind, his Haotian father was the strongest expert on the continent.
After all, the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple was a symbol of Spirit Hall's dignity, and his father had destroyed it for so long without Spirit Hall daring to retaliate. This only proved his belief was right—it wasn't that his father feared Spirit Hall, but that Spirit Hall feared his father!
Tang San: Withdraw? Withdrawing is impossible, absolutely impossible!
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