After reading out the rules, Ke Jie emphasized, "The idea behind the Soul Masters Tournament is to select the most talented students of this generation. Even those who are eliminated are still considered geniuses."
"Therefore, the Spirit Hall and the two empires have established a strict rule prohibiting the killing of opponents."
"If an opponent is killed, the entire team will be immediately disqualified from this year's tournament, and their academy will be permanently banned from participating in future tournaments. Additionally, they will face punishment under imperial law. So, for your own sake and for the academy's sake, do not kill anyone."
Yu Die immediately pointed out a loophole in the rules. "What if the opponent intentionally sends out someone old, weak, or disabled, and that person deliberately seeks death? Wouldn't we be the ones to suffer?"
Ning Tianchen shared the same concern and turned his gaze toward Ke Jie.
Ke Jie smiled faintly. "The tournament has been held twice already, and the rules are now very comprehensive. You don't need to worry about this. If any team dares to do such a thing, the referees and the tournament committee aren't blind."
"Once it's discovered that someone is intentionally seeking death, their team will be disqualified and punished by the empire. You can rest assured."
Ke Jie wasn't worried about this issue.
The chairmanship of the Tiandou Empire's tournament organizing committee was composed of Ning Fengzhi, Xue Ye, and Salas. With Tiandou Empire and Ning Fengzhi on their side, there was no need to worry about anyone trying to exploit the rules.
"Additionally, there's one more crucial point. During the matches, you cannot use soul-guided devices or weapons other than your martial souls. This especially applies to Oscar. Only sausages made by him after he steps onto the field and after the match begins can be consumed. Otherwise, it will still count as a violation."
Oscar rubbed his nose. "This is quite different from the Grand Spirit Arena."
In the Grand Spirit Arena, if he didn't participate in the match, he would prepare a lot of sausages for his teammates before the match for them to consume.
Of course, every rule exists for a reason.
It's difficult to determine who made food-based soul tools.
If there were soul masters with identical martial souls, and one of them was a high-level food-based soul master but not a participant, then the food they prepared could provide a significant advantage in battles between Soul Ancestors and Soul Masters.
It would be hard for the tournament referees to make a ruling on such matters.
Moreover, not all teams had food-based soul masters.
This way, the fairness of the competition would be compromised.
"The key rules are the two mentioned above. As for the others, just read through them a few times." After speaking, Ke Jie distributed the materials in his hand to everyone and then left the lounge.
"Some rules are similar to the Grand Spirit Arena, while others are just absurd," Yu Die couldn't help but complain.
Ning Tianchen shrugged. "The Grand Spirit Arena leans more toward unregulated battles, where injuries and disabilities are common. On the other hand, the Soul Masters Tournament focuses more on exchanges and friendly competitions among talented soul masters. If a genius dies or becomes disabled, it would be a significant loss for the three major powers."
"In case we encounter stronger opponents, having the protection of the rules at least ensures we won't lose our lives," Chen Huayu chimed in.
Ning Rongrong hooked her arm around Ning Tianchen's and smiled sweetly. "There's no genius in this tournament stronger than Big Brother Tianchen."
"Yes, yes, Ning Tianchen is the strongest," Yu Die retorted sarcastically, seeing the two flaunting their affection.
Ning Tianchen let out a wry smile. "There's always someone better out there."
His mind involuntarily drifted to Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue).
With innate twenty-level soul power, if he hadn't been assigned to infiltrate Tiandou Empire, how powerful would his strength have become?
Amidst the banter, two substitute players knocked on the lounge door.
The two were a man and a woman, both around twenty-three years old, with early-stage Soul Ancestor-level strength.
"Hello, aren't you going to introduce yourselves?" Ning Tianchen waved at them with a smile.
The female student was named Bao Zhen. Her martial soul was Thorny Vine, and she was a control-type soul master.
The male student was named Huang Wu. His martial soul was the Black Ice Tortoise, and he was a defense-type soul master.
"Our team finally has a control-type soul master," Chen Huayu said lazily, leaning back in his chair.
Without a control-type soul master, it was often difficult to break through against certain opponents.
However, nothing was absolute.
Not all control-type soul masters possessed self-defense abilities like Tang San. If two auxiliary-type soul masters were on the field along with a control-type soul master, the defensive pressure on the backline would be immense.
"Captain Tianchen, the principal instructed us to tell you that the two of us must participate in the preliminaries to preserve the trump cards of the main team members," Huang Wu said respectfully.
They were among the first batch of students to join the academy and had broken through to become Soul Ancestors within the academy. Now, they had decided to join the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Tianchen was the young master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and in the future, he might even become their superior, so their attitude naturally remained extremely respectful.
Ning Tianchen nodded slightly, then led the two substitutes to the training ground to familiarize themselves with their soul skills.
---
Two days remained until the start of the tournament, and the team's intensive training had already concluded.
During these two days, the members of the Seven Treasures team could rest and adjust their condition.
With the addition of the two substitutes, the Seven Treasures team now had ten members. Ning Tianchen generously treated everyone to a meal at the Seven Treasures Mall.
Entering the bustling streets and looking at the dense crowd, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but complain, "Wow, there are way too many people in the city!"
Ning Tianchen had explored the city when he entered, so he wasn't surprised by the scene before him.
"The Tiandou Empire's tournament region is vast, and teams from nearby cities have arrived. The families of these team members and students from various academies have almost all poured into Tiandou City to watch the matches."
Feng Xiaotian had participated in the previous Soul Masters Tournament with the Divine Wind Team, so he was familiar with the current scene.
"Compared to previous years, it seems like even more people have come to watch this year," Ning Tianchen remarked.
"It's normal. Our Seven Treasures team's strength has reportedly gained the emperor's recognition. After the inter-academy exchange tournament ended, the empire began promoting us. I estimate that many people are here specifically to watch our matches," said Bao Zhen.
After the inter-academy exchange tournament, the Seven Treasures team had entered intensive training and knew little about external affairs. As an ordinary student, Bao Zhen could move freely and was well-informed about these matters.
Ning Tianchen quickly added, "Everyone, don't feel pressured. Just maintain a normal mindset."
"We've already gotten through the inter-academy exchange tournament. There isn't much difference in the Soul Masters Tournament."
Having great strength but lacking a good mindset would render everything useless.
As they spoke, the crowd ahead of them became restless.
"Get out of my way, don't block the path!"
A series of harsh shouts echoed, and people ahead were being casually thrown aside.
Many people squeezed backward as if avoiding a plague, causing the scene to become extremely chaotic.
"The people from the Elephant Armor Academy—they actually dare to cause trouble in the city!" Feng Xiaotian frowned.
"The crowd is too dense, and the city's law enforcement team can't push through. Besides, they're participants. As long as they don't commit murder, the Tiandou Empire won't do anything to them," Huang Wu said grimly.
Ning Tianchen chuckled. "Rongrong and Xiao Ao, step back. Let's fight them. Remember, don't use your martial souls first!"
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