The semifinals of the Continental Elite Youth Soul Master started under such an atmosphere.
The weather today was a little gloomy. Clouds filled the sky, and it felt a little oppressive. It seemed like it might rain at any time.
If it were any other normal time, no one would have left their houses in such weather unless they had something important to attend to. However, it was different today.
In the early morning, Radiant City was already bustling. There were huge crowds gathering towards the suburbs.
The Sun Moon Empire"s military, which was in charge of maintaining order, had already begun their job at the tournament venue in the wee hours of the morning, trying to prevent a stampede. Today, there would be a record-breaking crowd.
There were simply too many people. It was impossible to see the end of the crowd!
When there were ten thousand people, it would seem as if the crowd was infinite, but right now, there were far more than ten thousand people!
Several hundred thousand spectators were crowding around the tournament stage. Those furthest from the stage were a good two kilometers away. They had to rely on a telescope to see what was going on. Even so, everything still wasn"t clear to them.
Four teams entered the venue simultaneously. All of them had gone through several rounds to be able to be present today. It was already the highest honor to be among the semifinalists. However, only one team would win!
Who would be the victor? No one was thinking about this question yet. The most important question right now was… which teams would qualify today?
The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were finally seated together. Even though Dai Huabin, Wu Feng and the others didn"t like the Tang Sect, they were even more unwilling to get close to evil soul masters or their direct opponents, the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
Shrek Academy came without their teacher. Only their eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, was here with them. Everyone looked very serious. They were going to fight a strong opponent today.
There were eight people on the Holy Ghost Sect"s team. From her figure, it was easy to recognize that Tang Ya was seated in the front. Behind her, every member of the Holy Ghost Church had covered themselves up with huge black cloaks. The lady furthest back gave Huo Yuhao the familiar feeling he had experienced earlier.
When the Tang Sect came to the waiting area, the members of the Holy Ghost Sect shot them cold and eerie looks.
On the Tang Sect"s side, everyone was already in their best condition apart from Xu Sans.h.i.+, who was still a little pale. They were under more pressure than Shrek Academy in today"s semifinals.
Against evil soul masters, it wasn"t just about victory or failure anymore. Their lives were on the line. This was also why Zhang Lexuan had warned Bei Bei to take care of their own safety.
Before they moved off in the morning, Bei Bei had also warned his teammates. However, were they able to control themselves when they really fought? No one was sure about this. For victory and the glory of Tang Sect, Shrek"s Seven Monsters were very determined. So what if they were evil soul masters? They"d beaten evil soul masters before!
The stage had already been repaired and returned to its former appearance. To prepare for the semifinals, it hadn"t just been rebuilt. It was also reinforced with steel plates! Even the protective barriers were re-arranged so that they wouldn"t be damaged like they were before.
The twenty-thousand-strong military division in charge of maintaining order today were all fully equipped with weapons and helmets.
No matter the rank of the soldiers, everyone from the military was wearing the same white armor. The only difference was in terms of patterns. Officers of different ranks had different patterns on their armor. For the highest-ranking officers, there was an additional feather on their helmets.
The color of the feather also varied depending on the rank of the officer.
Order was maintained through this military presence. Anyone who dared to defy the military was courting death!
---
On the main stage, Xu Tianran had already arrived. Many officials were there with him. The mysterious Imperial Tutor was also here. He sat to Xu Tianran"s left, while Ju Zi sat to Xu Tianran"s right.
Xu Tianran appeared very relaxed today, wearing a smile on his face. The sun had just risen. Even though the weather wasn"t very good, that didn"t seem to affect his mood.
Xu Tianran smiled after receiving a cup of tea from Ju Zi. "Ju Zi, who do you think will win in the morning round?"
Ju Zi was startled, and slowly shook her head. She replied, "I don"t dare to make any wild guesses. However, I believe that the leaders of both teams will be crucial in determining the victor. I"ve heard that the both of them are the strongest dragon-type soul masters in this tournament. w.a.n.g Qiu"er is the backbone of Shrek"s team. If she loses, I"m afraid Shrek"s fighting strength will drop greatly."
"It"s also roughly the same for the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Yu Tianlong"s abilities seem better than the rest of his teammates. He"s also the next sect leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. He holds a high status in his sect."
Xu Tianran nodded satisfactorily and said, "Then let"s guess ; will they meet in the individual elimination round?"
Ju Zi smiled and said, "I shall make a guess then."
Xu Tianran laughed and said, "Alright, you can guess first. However, what"s our stake going to be?"
Ju Zi shook her head and answered, "I won"t bet. I"m only making a guess to entertain Your Highness. Everything that I have belongs to you. What can I use to bet against you?"
After hearing her words, Xu Tianran was in an extremely good mood. He opened his arms to hug her waist. "You are very right. No wonder you are mine, Ju Zi. Tell me, what"s your guess?"
Ju Zi said, "I think they"ll meet in the first individual elimination round."
"Oh?" Xu Tianran was a little stunned as he looked at her. He asked, "Why?"
Ju Zi replied, "They are both very proud individuals. They need a fair fight to prove themselves. I think this is especially true for Yu Tianlong. w.a.n.g Qiu"er"s individual reputation has been outstanding in this tournament! She"s also the first to compete in every fight. He"s a man with a dragon-type martial soul, too. There"s no way he won"t compete against her! If w.a.n.g Qiu"er doesn"t fight first, Shrek"s momentum will be very weak. She relies on momentum to fight, and I"m sure she"ll want to continue that. That"s why I think they"ll meet in the first fight."
"Great! Intelligent! It seems like I don"t have to worry about pa.s.sing the military to you," Xu Tianran nodded as he smiled.
Ju Zi was delighted. She wanted to bow, but Xu Tianran stopped her.
"Ju Zi, you must remember this. You are no longer my subordinate. You are my wife. You don"t have to bow to me. Didn"t I tell you that before? Everything that you have belongs to me. I"ve also treated you as an important part of my life. No matter what I give you, you deserve it. Moreover, I must help you fulfill your wish. You are still inexperienced, but it"s fine for you to be a lieutenant now. Work hard. Once you gain some merit, you"ll soon control the entire military. I"ll be relieved to hand the military over to you."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Xu Tianran smiled and replied, "Alright. Let"s watch the fight. It"s about to start."
---
In the waiting area...
w.a.n.g Qiu"er was sitting in the main seat for Shrek"s team. Her back was very straight, and she had a dignified posture. She shut her eyes and rested for a while.
At this point, Yu Tianlong stood up and walked towards her.
After seeing what he was doing, Dai Huabin suddenly stood up behind w.a.n.g Qiu"er. There was a cold look in his eyes.
"Sit down," w.a.n.g Qiu"er instructed him.
Dai Huabin appeared quite stern, but he still obediently sat down.
The Tang Sect was seated next to Shrek Academy. When they saw how w.a.n.g Qiu"er had managed to tame Dai Huabin with just her words, even Huo Yuhao was very impressed. Indeed, there was always someone more dominant! This wasn"t just based on abilities; it seemed like Dai Huabin had been truly won over by w.a.n.g Qiu"er.
Yu Tianlong stopped three meters away from w.a.n.g Qiu"er.
"w.a.n.g Qiu"er." As he looked at her, his eyes shone. He didn"t even glance at Dai Huabin. His attention was completely captured by w.a.n.g Qiu"er.
She was too beautiful. The dark-green uniform that she wore accentuated her fair complexion. Her flowing, powdery-blue hair was like a waterfall behind her back. She didn"t have any flaws. Although her eyes were shut, her long eyelashes still curled upward - it was a captivating sight.
Yu Tianlong believed that he was a very composed person. However, he felt his breathing getting faster and faster as he came closer to w.a.n.g Qiu"er.
"What?" w.a.n.g Qiu"er asked coldly.
Yu Tianlong asked, "Do you to dare to fight with me?"
"What are we betting with?" w.a.n.g Qiu"er asked in the same frosty tone.
Yu Tianlong said, "I"ll be the first to compete in the individual elimination round. I hope to fight you. If I lose, I"ll join Shrek Academy. If you lose, you must join the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Do you dare to take this bet?"
w.a.n.g Qiu"er revealed a scornful look. "Shrek Academy doesn"t accept trash."
"What did you say?" Everyone from the Heavenly Dragon Sect stood up. They were all infuriated.
Yu Tianlong lifted his hand and gestured towards his teammates. He suppressed some of their rage and asked, "Are you scared?"
w.a.n.g Qiu"er couldn"t even bother to continue talking to him anymore. She shut her eyes, and didn"t make another sound.