Amid deafening, wave-like cheers, both teams' seven contestants stepped onto the stage, facing each other from afar.
Suddenly, a dragon's roar rang out, and a gentle green breeze swept across the field.
In the midst of this energy, Dan Heng appeared at the center of the arena.
He was calm and spoke plainly: "I am Dan Heng, the referee for this tournament. Both sides, prepare yourselves."
As his words fell, both teams lined up in the center, facing each other.
The Tianling Academy contestants couldn't help but be awed by the seven from Saint Freya—their men were handsome, their women beautiful and elegant. Each one had striking looks.
By comparison, Tianling's team looked plain and dull.
When their eyes fell on Robin, they were even more amazed.
They vaguely understood why the audience was so fanatical.
Robin's unique, approachable aura, her gentle smile, peerless beauty, celebrity status, and her always helping the weak—it was no wonder she'd won the hearts of so much of Star Luo's public in just a few years.
"First round, team battle. Soul tools may be used, but once one side surrenders, the other may not attack. Understood?"
Dan Heng's tone was still flat, all business.
"Understood!" both teams replied in unison.
"Good. Step back and wait for my command," Dan Heng ordered concisely.
In a flash, both sides retreated, opening a hundred-meter gap.
Tianling Academy quickly formed a traditional three-two-one-one formation: three attackers and defenders in front, two agility types in the center, and two support/control at the rear.
Their team was well-balanced in offense, defense, speed, control, and support.
Meanwhile, Saint Freya's seven stood in a casual, unorthodox way—no formal formation at all.
Seeing both sides ready, Dan Heng slowly raised his right hand.
At that moment, the entire stands fell silent—everyone held their breath, eyes glued to the stage, afraid to miss a single moment.
The tense anticipation enveloped the whole arena.
Not just the people in the stands—even those on the distant shore and the many watching the giant screens in Haiyuan City were utterly focused on this moment.
After all, this was the first match of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament—a historic opening event. How could anyone not be excited?
"Begin!"
Dan Heng's plain but powerful voice rang through the arena.
As his voice fell, both teams almost simultaneously released their soul rings.
In an instant, dazzling lights filled the arena, turning it into a dreamlike scene.
Tianling Academy's strength was not to be underestimated—five Soul Ancestors, and two Soul Elders. Among over a hundred teams, they were solidly mid-tier.
For most soul masters, reaching Soul Ancestor before twenty was already astonishing.
But at this moment, no one was paying attention to Tianling's team.
All eyes were drawn, as if by magic, to the seven from Saint Freya.
A blood-red light flashed, illuminating the whole arena, and the faces of Tianling's seven turned deathly pale in shock.
Saint Freya's seven—every single one was a Soul King!
But that wasn't the most shocking part—their soul ring configurations were beyond belief, defying all logic.
"This—how is this possible?"
"How did they do it?"
The audience erupted in exclamations of disbelief.
Before their eyes was the impossible configuration of Saint Freya's seven.
Lu Jingming's rings were two purple, two black, and one red—a terrifying combination.
Robin and the others, though not as extreme, each had two purple and three black rings—an incredibly rare combination.
"This is impossible!" In the Sun Moon Academy's rest area, Xiao Hongchen's veins bulged as he gripped his seat's armrest, staring at Lu Jingming and the others in shock.
Same age, same Soul King rank—but their ring configurations were worlds apart.
It meant that in body, spirit, and soul skills, he was far inferior to the seven monsters on stage.
As the Sun Moon Academy's pride, Xiao Hongchen found it hard to accept this cruel reality.
But the facts were right in front of him.
"So handsome!" Meng Hongchen's eyes sparkled with stars—no matter how shocking the hundred-thousand-year soul ring, nothing was more attractive to her than Lu Jingming's face.
Hearing this, Xiao Hongchen's face turned even darker—he grabbed Meng Hongchen's head, subduing his fangirl sister with one hand.
"How could this be? Do they all have twin martial souls? But even that shouldn't be possible!" In Shrek Academy's rest area, Wang Yan couldn't believe his eyes.
As a theory specialist, he knew how difficult it was to absorb higher-level soul rings.
Even with twin martial souls, no soul master could achieve such insane configurations—let alone an entire team.
That could only mean one thing: Saint Freya Academy had a secret method to raise soul ring ages.
Many super powers had such methods, including Shrek, but the cost was massive and rarely used.
Yet Saint Freya both possessed and dared to use it widely on their students.
It made many inwardly sigh—Saint Freya's wealth and resources were unimaginable.
For this opening match, Lu Jingming didn't plan to hold back.
It was just Tianling Academy's bad luck to draw Saint Freya for the first round.
Lu Jingming calmly extended his left hand toward Tianling's seven, pressing down as he intoned, "Eight million divine might, shine upon me—this world, all are my subjects!"
"Kneel before me!"
As soon as he spoke, an invisible, terrifying gravity enveloped Tianling's seven.
Their faces turned paper-white; under the crushing weight, their legs gave out, and they collapsed, kneeling heavily.
The entire section of the stage beneath them visibly sank under the pressure, silent testimony to the gravity's terror.
"Wow!" The arena was in an uproar—everyone stared in disbelief.
With a single gesture, he had crushed seven opponents. How could a Soul King do this?
"He didn't use a soul skill—that's a soul bone skill!" Wang Yan and the others, staring intently, were shocked.
They saw that Lu Jingming's soul rings hadn't lit up—he hadn't used a soul skill, but a soul bone skill.
"Judging by the effect, it must be a hundred-thousand-year soul bone skill!" Wang Yan pushed his glasses, forcing himself to stay calm.
But his trembling fingers betrayed his inner turmoil.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring and a hundred-thousand-year soul bone—Lu Jingming had four abilities at that level.
With his near-Soul Emperor cultivation, even Shrek's strongest, Ma Xiaotao, might lose to him one-on-one.
Soul Sages had martial soul avatars—granted, but a hundred-thousand-year ring or bone also brought a huge leap in power.
Shrek's advantage in having a Soul Sage was gone in the face of these monsters from Saint Freya.
Especially since the other six were also overpowered, while Shrek's team wasn't even at full strength—Wang Yan felt immense pressure, almost unable to breathe.
Bei Bei and the others exchanged bitter looks.
They'd never imagined they'd have to fight such a terrifying team for the championship.
Same age, yet those seven were all Soul Kings with unthinkable soul ring setups, while they were just Soul Ancestors.
Their pride as Shrek's elite was dealt a heavy blow.
"Feeling defeated already? Don't forget, you can all compete in the next tournament, and we still have our main team this year. If you give up now, how will you face them next time?" Ma Xiaotao snorted at their expressions.
Her gaze was serious, but when she looked at Lu Jingming, her eyes burned with fighting spirit.
She refused to believe that she, a Soul Sage, could lose to a Soul King like Lu Jingming.