The Next Day
Just as Chu Chengzhou had expected, in the final round of matches, Bacal Academy forfeited as well.
In the 14 promotion matches, Blue Tyrant Academy achieved 14 consecutive victories. Among all 15 teams participating in the promotion tournament, they ranked first, earning the best placement in the Heaven Dou region's promotion event—an achievement that all other academies acknowledged, at least in terms of strength.
Of course, this acceptance only applied to strength.When it came to a certain individual's extremely vile personality, anyone who had ever been hung from a tree was undoubtedly filled with deep dissatisfaction.
But dissatisfaction was one thing; expressing it publicly was another.After all, who would dare to offend someone so petty and vindictive?
With the promotion tournament concluded, Emperor Xue Ye—satisfied beyond measure—delivered another impassioned speech to encourage everyone.
Why was he so satisfied?Because the top five teams in the promotion tournament were exactly the same five who qualified through the Heaven Dou regional preliminaries.
The rankings had shifted somewhat, though:
Blue Tyrant remained first,
Godwind second,
Thunderclap third,
Tianshui fourth,
Blazing Fire fifth.
In team battles, when not using their trump card—the spirit fusion technique—Tianshui was weaker than Blazing Fire.
That's because Blazing Fire's Huowu possessed a natural skill called Ring Fusion, allowing her to release the power of multiple spirit rings simultaneously to amplify her own attacks.
With her artillery-like offense, Huowu made her team far more explosive than Tianshui.
However, in the promotion tournament, the format shifted to individual battles. Tianshui's captain Shui Bing'er was a top-tier control-type spirit master at her level. Her Ice Phoenix spirit was powerful, reversing their performance against Blazing Fire.
Wasn't Huowu a control-type too?Technically yes, but in reality, she was a control spirit master in name only—three of her four abilities were pure offense. Only her third skill, Repelling Fire Ring, had any control effect.
With the promotion matches over, the real competition—the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament finals—was about to begin. This would determine the strongest academy on the continent.
As emperor, and one not known for martial strength, Xue Ye couldn't leave Heaven Dou City. After his speech, he announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent him as envoy to the finals.
The 15 teams from the Heaven Dou Empire would be personally escorted by Xue Qinghe to the tournament's final location—Spirit Hall City, located in the continent's center at the border between the two great empires. The finals would be hosted by Spirit Hall.
The teams were given only three days to rest. Afterward, a procession of nearly a thousand people—including 15 teams, their teachers, and 500 royal knights—departed for Spirit Hall City.
Unlike all other cities under the control of the two empires and their kingdoms, one city stood independent: Spirit Hall City, the headquarters of Spirit Hall.
The Pope's Palace, one of Spirit Hall's two most sacred halls, was located here. This newly constructed palace was said to be the most magnificent building in all of Douluo Continent.
Because of the Pope's Palace, Spirit Hall City became a holy land for all spirit masters and was effectively Spirit Hall's self-declared capital.
Traveling from Heaven Dou City to Spirit Hall City took about 20 days by carriage. The final matches wouldn't take long—33 teams in a knockout format meant the tournament would only last about two weeks, including rest days.
Spirit Hall had placed great emphasis on this event. Even before the empire's promotion rounds ended, Spirit Hall City had prepared a venue specifically for the finals.
They also issued a decree: during the tournament, only spirit masters were allowed to attend—no nobles or civilians would be admitted. This added an extra layer of mystery to the finals.
Three days later, the Heaven Dou Empire's contingent—over a thousand strong—set off.
Douluo Continent's infrastructure was poor, especially in terms of transportation.
To allow participants to rest properly, the empire had prepared luxurious carriages for them. Some of these even used basic spirit tool technology to reduce bumps, making the ride quite comfortable.
Interestingly, Flender and Ma Hongjun were not among the Blue Tyrant Academy group.After the tournament, Ma Hongjun—who had been training hard—broke through to level 40, and Flender took him to the Sunset Forest to get his fourth ring.
There were still over 20 days until the finals. Since Flender was a flying Spirit Sage, they could travel quickly. If Ma Hongjun wasn't too unlucky, he should return in time for the tournament.
Chu Chengzhou, who was a little paranoid, had their carriage move closer to his "good brother" Xue Qinghe's.
In the original story, Spirit Hall had ambushed Tang San with Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and other assassins en route to Spirit Hall City.
Chu wasn't sure if he would receive the same "treatment," but better safe than sorry.
It wasn't because of Xue Qinghe's real identity—but because Ning Fengzhi (his father-in-law) and Dustheart (Chenxin), his 96-level sword-wielding protector, were in that carriage.
With those two, even if they ran into a pair of 95-level Title Douluo, they wouldn't be afraid.
...Well, maybe they should be.Although Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo weren't strong individually, their Spirit Fusion Technique, Polar Still Domain, could immobilize even 100,000-year-old soul beasts like Da Ming and Er Ming. That placed them on par with a level 97 control-type Title Douluo.
Even with Ning Fengzhi's support, Dustheart might not be able to take them both.
Time passed. More than half a month went by.
Inside the carriage, Chu Chengzhou—eyes closed, meditating—suddenly emitted a wave of spirit power. He had broken through another level.
"Level 50!"
Feeling the surge of power within him, he opened his eyes and nodded with satisfaction.
The once pitiful boy with only half a level of innate spirit power had now, at age 15, reached level 50, a true quasi-Spirit King!
Comparing himself to Yu Xiaogang—who also had only half a level of innate power but was stuck at level 29 in Nuoding Academy—Chu could only say:"Having plot armor is great!"
Though he could now obtain his fifth ring, he decided to wait until after the tournament.The finals were approaching, and if he went to Star Dou Forest now, he might miss the whole thing while hunting for a suitable ring.
Besides, without him in the team, Xiao Wu might not be able to counter Hu Liena's Spirit Fusion Technique.
Delaying it for half a month wouldn't be a big deal.
Since the start of the preliminaries, over three months had passed. Along the way, everyone had grown stronger:
Ma Hongjun had gone to get his fourth ring.
Xiao Wu was now a level 53 Spirit King.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing reached level 44 Spirit Ancestor.
Oscar was level 43.
Even Tai Long, who was promoted to main team member after Dai Mubai quit, had reached level 39.
Chu thought:"We're almost at Spirit Hall City now. There shouldn't be any assassinations… Was I being paranoid?"
He lifted the curtain and looked at the darkening sky.
He was overthinking it. Though Bibi Dong had noticed him—due to his halfway progress in the Rakshasa God Trial—she didn't see him as a threat.
In her eyes, he was talented but not freakishly so. He was already 19 years old, with no particularly shocking abilities aside from some stronger-than-average spirit power and unusual skills. Plus, he held no deep grudge against Spirit Hall—certainly not enough to warrant any drastic action.
The assassination attempt earlier? That was the Star Luo Empire's doing, and Emperor Dai Yutian had already admitted it. What did that have to do with Spirit Hall?
Bibi Dong also knew:If Emperor Xue Ye trusted Xue Qinghe to lead the team, he must've left contingency plans. Ning Fengzhi and one of the Sword or Bone Douluo would definitely be secretly guarding them.
Even if Spirit Hall wanted to pull something, without going all-in and tearing up their alliance, they wouldn't succeed.
And besides, intelligence from the Heaven Dou branch showed that Chu Chengzhou was getting closer to both Ning Fengzhi and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
So really, there was no need to get their hands dirty.
It was just like Tang San in the original novel. If his second spirit hadn't been the Clear Sky Hammer, and if he hadn't held such an irreconcilable grudge against Spirit Hall, perhaps even Bibi Dong would have accepted him as her personal disciple, for Yu Xiaogang's sake!
Three days later, the Heaven Dou region's participating teams arrived at Spirit City.
Due to the special regulations of Spirit City, Xue Qinghe ordered the Royal Knights to remain stationed outside the city while he led the fifteen spirit master teams into Spirit City.
Compared to the large cities like Heaven Dou City and Soto City, Spirit City was much smaller—less than a tenth the size of Heaven Dou City. But the shock it brought to the spirit masters was still considerable.
Though the area was small, Spirit City's walls were built to capital standards.
The walls stood eighty meters high, made entirely of hard granite. From the outside, they looked grand and imposing, with a thickness of over thirty meters.
Most notably, unlike the square layouts of ordinary cities, Spirit City was hexagonal—it had six walls.
Each of the six walls bore a massive relief, identical to the emblems on the Spirit Hall tokens, symbolizing six powerful spirit types.
Moreover, those patrolling the walls weren't ordinary soldiers, but spirit masters dressed in Spirit Hall uniforms.
Using noble spirit masters as city guards—only Spirit Hall had the power to do such a thing.
Inside Spirit City, the overwhelming feeling was emptiness.
There weren't many pedestrians on the streets, and only a few shops. However, these shops primarily sold items needed by spirit masters, including the expensive soul tools.
The one who came to greet them was a red-robed bishop with a spirit power above level 70. Under his guidance, the Heaven Dou teams were quickly settled in a hotel on the west side of Spirit City.
According to the information from Spirit Hall, the competition would officially begin in three days. With time to rest after the journey, this would allow the academies to adjust and prepare.
The day before the finals began, Flender and Ma Hongjun—who had obtained his fourth spirit ring and reached level 41 Soul Sect—finally returned.
With the full team assembled, that evening, Liu Erlong gathered all of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Sweeping her gaze across everyone, Liu Erlong said, "The finals are about to start. I'll go over the rules again:
There are 33 teams in total. Among them, three are seeded teams, sent by the two empires and Spirit Hall.
There are only five rounds in total—fewer than the preliminary and promotion rounds.
But due to the intensity of the competition, there will be a rest day between each round.
Before the final fifth round, there will be a three-day adjustment period.
In the first round, the three seeded teams get a bye. The remaining 30 teams compete for 15 spots; the losers are eliminated.
In the second round, the top-ranked academies from the two empires' promotion rounds will get a bye.
That means, after winning the first round, we'll get a rest in the second round. That's the point of the promotion round rankings—to prevent strong seeded teams from meeting too early.
Then, 16 teams compete for 8 spots in the third round. Adding the two that had byes, there will be 10 teams.
In the third round, the runner-up from the promotion round gets a bye. The remaining 8 teams compete for 4 spots to join them in the fourth round.
In the fourth round, there are no byes. Six teams compete for three spots.
The fifth and final round: the three remaining teams will first compete in individual battles—each sending seven members—to determine the strongest team in personal strength.
The two losing teams will then have a seven-person team battle. The winner of that match will challenge the winner of the individual battles to determine the final champion. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Everyone replied in unison.
The finals would be held at the center of Spirit City. The competition platform was built entirely of granite, with a diameter of 100 meters—large enough for the teams to fully display their strength.
It was reinforced with many soul tools to prevent damage.
According to Spirit Hall, the arena could withstand any attacks from below Spirit Emperor level without sustaining damage.
Directly in front of the arena stood the Pope's Palace, less than a kilometer away atop a hill.
According to the notice posted by Spirit Hall, the final top three matches would be held before the Pope's Palace.
The Pope would personally appear and crown the final champion.
For most spirit masters, this was an unparalleled honor.
Early in the morning, all participating teams were brought to the arena by Spirit Hall staff.
Each academy had its own resting area, built around the arena.
On the side opposite the Pope's Palace was the VIP judges' area, where representatives of the two empires and Spirit Hall sat to spectate.
As soon as they arrived, Liu Erlong was called away for the drawing of lots.
She soon returned.
"Erlong, who's our opponent for the first round?" Flender asked, walking up to her.
"Tianshui Academy," Liu Erlong said with a strange expression.
Now that the 33 teams were divided into three camps—Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall—having an internal battle right at the start felt a bit awkward.
"Tianshui Academy?"
Everyone was a bit surprised.
"Tsk~ Looks like the ladies of Tianshui Academy didn't have much luck," Ma Hongjun smacked his lips.
"Dean Erlong, did Tianshui Academy surrender already?" Oscar asked.
After all, it wasn't without precedent. In the preliminaries, they surrendered. In the promotion round, they lost to Blue Tyrant. So surrendering again wasn't impossible in Oscar's view.
"What are you thinking? They finally made it to the finals, traveled so far, they're not here to tour Spirit City! Why would Tianshui just give up?" Liu Erlong rolled her eyes.
And she was right. Tianshui Academy had no intention of surrendering.
Even though they were unlucky to face Blue Tyrant right from the start—with the "Demon King" Chu Chengzhou—it wasn't a foregone conclusion. After all, Chu Chengzhou was only a four-ring Soul Sect. With their spirit fusion technique Falling Snow, it was still uncertain who would win.
The problem was, once their fusion skill was exposed—even if they won the first round—future opponents would be prepared, and their results likely wouldn't be great.
Because activating Falling Snow required a significant setup time and couldn't be used instantly. Opponents wouldn't give them the opportunity.
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou, with his keen perception and strong spiritual power, sensed a hostile gaze upon him.
Turning in that direction, he saw a seductive figure in Spirit Hall Academy's resting area squinting at him with clear hostility.
'A level 52 Soul King?'
Looking at Hu Liena's unfriendly face, Chu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows.
If he remembered correctly, Hu Liena was only level 51 during the tournament in the original novel.
So thanks to his butterfly effect, the little fox got one extra level?
Seeing that Chu Chengzhou noticed her gaze, Hu Liena smiled faintly. A faint blue glow appeared on her forehead as a subtle wave of spiritual power flashed. In an instant, a formless force entered Chu Chengzhou's spiritual sea.
It was the skull spirit bone skill Mental Domination, which allowed the user to control their spiritual power for mental attacks or illusions.
In the original, Tang San's spiritual attack skill Purple God Light wasn't from this skull spirit bone—it was formed by combining the skull bone's base skill with his Tang Sect technique Purple Demon Eye.
Since Hu Liena hadn't trained in Purple Demon Eye, her soul bone only retained its original effect.
As Hu Liena activated it, Chu Chengzhou sensed a strong spiritual force entering his spiritual sea.
'That strong?'
He was surprised.
This power clearly came from Hu Liena, but it far exceeded his expectations of her.
Though still weaker than him, it definitely reached the level of an average 70+ spirit master.
Though she was a spiritual-type Soul King, that level of power should only match a six-ring Soul Emperor, not this.
Could it be… she refined a skull spirit bone?
And not just any skull bone, but the 60,000-year-old Wisdom Skull of Mental Condensation—the one Spirit Hall offered as a champion reward in the original?
Without much thought, Chu Chengzhou didn't resist. In fact, he even cooperated, suppressing his own spiritual power. With her weaker spiritual strength, Hu Liena successfully pulled Chu Chengzhou's consciousness into an illusion.
The next second, Chu Chengzhou's vision went black. His awareness entered a space of complete darkness—no light, no sound.
'She's using my little black room trick?'
He was disappointed.
He thought the little fox would treat him to something interesting, like a seduction trick—but locking him in a "dark room"? That was it?
Outside, seeing her target's consciousness trapped in the "black room," Hu Liena wore a smug expression.
'Serves you right for trapping me in a dark room before. Now the tables have turned! Time for you to taste your own medicine!'
This technique, learned from Chu Chengzhou, was one of the applications of the skull spirit bone skill Mental Domination.
Hu Liena: Thank you, teacher! Praise the teacher! Teacher is the best!
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle