"Round-robin matches, Group One competition, St. Freya Academy versus Dou Ling Royal Academy. Will both teams please take the stage."
Dan Heng's calm voice echoed through the spirit tool amplifier, instantly pushing the crowd's cheers to a new climax. The atmosphere was completely ignited, reaching a boiling point.
Lu Jingming stood up, turned to look at Firefly and the others beside him, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then led his teammates out of the lounge, onto the floating platform, and directly ascended to the competition stage.
At the same time, the Dou Ling Royal Academy's team, led by their captain, also energetically walked towards the competition stage.
Compared to St. Freya Academy's female-dominated lineup, Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy had a combination of two women and five men.
The captain of Dou Ling Royal Academy was a tall, lean young man. He strode over to stand beside Dan Heng, his gaze fixed on Lu Jingming opposite him, a strange glint in his eyes. He then said in a deep voice, "You are strong, but we are by no means weak!"
His words carried an aura of refusing to be outdone.
Lu Jingming's lips curved slightly, forming a confident smile, his tone calm yet full of pressure: "I know. So, come at me with everything you've got!"
Hearing this, the Dou Ling Royal Academy captain's face instantly darkened. He felt that the other party's words carried a hint of provocation, making him somewhat annoyed.
He gave Lu Jingming a deep look, as if to engrave the other's appearance into his heart, then said in a deep voice, "Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy, Lone Bamboo Sword."
His voice carried a touch of arrogance during his self-introduction.
"St. Freya Academy, Lu Jingming." Lu Jingming responded with equal brevity and power, his tone calm.
Lone Bamboo Sword forced a slightly stiff smile onto his gaunt cheeks and said, "Then please give us plenty of pointers!"
Although polite on the surface, he was brimming with determination internally.
"No problem!" Lu Jingming chuckled, his relaxed attitude making it seem as if victory in this match was already assured.
Lone Bamboo Sword's face grew even darker, a faint cold light flashing in his eyes.
However, when his gaze inadvertently drifted to Robin, the corner of his mouth twitched.
This songstress was incredibly popular among commoners and had many fans among the audience. He certainly didn't want to incur overwhelming criticism and attacks from the audience by offending Robin during the match. It seemed he would have to be extra careful during the fight.
"Both sides retreat, prepare for the match!" Dan Heng seemed to turn a blind eye to the gunpowder-like tension between the two sides. As the match referee and a member of Sea Abyss City, he was even more aware of St. Freya Academy's formidable strength.
In his opinion, while Dou Ling Royal Academy was indeed strong, it was far from being able to pose a substantial threat to St. Freya Academy.
Lu Jingming was equally well-informed about Dou Ling Royal Academy.
This was the invisible advantage brought by the propagation of the simulated universe. Through the simulated universe's information database, he had collected detailed information on many Soul Masters.
Following this trend, one day, the data of all Soul Masters on this continent would be in his hands. By then, it would also be convenient for him to establish a new order.
Dou Ling Royal Academy: Captain Lone Bamboo Sword, a level 57 assault-type Spirit King, with the Purple Radiant Bamboo spirit.
Vice-captain Qian Yuan, a level 53 assault-type Spirit King, with the Dreadclaw Bear spirit.
Team core Little Madman, a level 54 control-type Spirit King, with the Mystical Orb spirit, a rare mental-type spirit.
Chi Hengyu, a level 52 defense-type Spirit King.
Han Ling'er, a level 51 agility-assault type Spirit King.
The remaining two Spirit Sects were Tang Niuniu, a support-type, and Qing Feng, a control-type.
Five Spirit Kings and two Spirit Sects – such a lineup indeed lived up to their reputation as a top eight team in the previous tournament, their strength not to be underestimated.
"Match start!"
As soon as Dan Heng's voice fell, his entire being moved like a swift current of wind, vanishing from the competition stage in the blink of an eye, with a speed that was dazzling.
"Boom!"
As soon as the battle horn sounded, Lu Jingming, Gu Yue, and Firefly simultaneously released their spirits.
In an instant, crimson lightning densely covered Lu Jingming's entire body. At the same time, a black long spear slowly materialized from thin air, dark light flowing around its shaft.
Around Gu Yue, several glowing orbs of various colors floated, circling each other and emitting a soft radiance.
On her body, five spirit rings were arranged in sequence, each containing powerful energy fluctuations.
Firefly transformed instantly, a blazing explosion of flames erupting, like a small sun blooming on the competition stage.
The surrounding air began to warp and distort under the high temperature, and the entire stage's temperature rose sharply, as if one were immersed in a sea of fire.
Clearly, in this match, the three of them would act as the main attackers.
"Let's start with a welcoming gift!" Lu Jingming's lips curved slightly, revealing a confident smile.
Immediately after, his fourth spirit ring suddenly shone with a deep black light, and the Black Abyss Spear in his hand also glowed with an eerie radiance.
In the blink of an eye, the long spear, enveloped in light, transformed into a pitch-black light spear, as if it could swallow all light.
The surrounding light, as if drawn by some powerful force, converged towards the light spear, causing it to emit a strong, chilling aura of death.
"No, defend!" Lone Bamboo Sword's pupils suddenly contracted, a hint of terror flashing in his eyes.
Judging solely by the terrifying aura from the black light spear, he knew that if Lu Jingming successfully unleashed this attack, their team members could instantly be reduced.
However, at this moment, the two sides were hundreds of meters apart. It was too late to rush forward and stop it. The only option now was to fully defend.
The defense-type Spirit King, Chi Hengyu, reacted extremely quickly. Almost as soon as Lone Bamboo Sword's words fell, his arm swung violently.
In an instant, a huge and heavy metal shield appeared out of thin air before him; it was his spirit — the Adamant Shield.
This shield was two meters high and nearly one meter wide, with a top-wide, bottom-narrow shape, like a small fortress.
Even with Chi Hengyu's sturdy physique, when raising this shield, he needed to lean slightly to lift it off the ground, indicating its immense weight.
Immediately after, Chi Hengyu forcefully plunged the shield into the arena, and his fifth spirit ring shone with dazzling black light.
Just as this black light shimmered, something miraculous happened.
This already enormous Adamant Shield began to undergo an incredible transformation.
It seemed to come alive, splitting and replicating, with countless metals surging, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into countless small metal shields.
These small shields were tightly connected to each other, seamlessly forming an indestructible silver Great Wall, firmly protecting their teammates behind it.
This was his fifth spirit skill, a ten-thousand-year spirit skill—Adamant Fortress.
Even with such a powerful defense, the members of Dou Ling Royal Academy still didn't dare to be careless.
After all, Lu Jingming was also a five-ring Spirit King, and his spirit ring configuration was unbelievably strong. The ten-thousand-year spirit skill he was releasing now was unimaginably terrifying in its power.
So, while Chi Hengyu constructed the defense, his two teammates quickly joined in, assisting with the defense.
The petite Tang Niuniu instantly completed her spirit possession.
Her ears became covered with soft fur, and her body became fuller, her originally delicate cheeks becoming round and adorable. Her appearance underwent a huge change.
But at this moment, no one would underestimate her because of her cute appearance.
She unhesitatingly unleashed her third spirit skill, a green light rapidly converging in her hands, then transforming into a dazzling beam of light that accurately enveloped Qing Feng.
Tang Niuniu's spirit was the Raccoon. As a support-type spirit, her third spirit skill could greatly amplify the effects of her companions' spirit skills.
And Qing Feng, amplified by Tang Niuniu, immediately activated his fourth spirit skill.
A faint yellow glow emanated from the ground beneath his feet, accompanied by slight vibrations.
Immediately after, sharp earth spikes broke through the ground, growing rapidly like mushrooms after rain.
These earth spikes surrounded the Adamant Barrier, forming a sturdy defensive line, further reinforcing the defense.
Not only that, thick earth walls also rose from the ground, echoing the shield formation, creating a three-dimensional defensive system that filled onlookers with awe.
Such a resilient defensive barrier, fully unleashed by two Spirit Sects and one Spirit King, would be extremely difficult for even a Spirit Emperor's attack to break in one blow.
"Are you ready? Then try this: Fourth Spirit Skill, Heavenly Judgment Spear!" Lu Jingming stopped accumulating power. The black light spear in his hand trembled slightly, as if gathering its final strength.
The next moment, he suddenly hurled the light spear, which instantly transformed into a black meteor, shooting out of his hand at astonishing speed.
"Swoosh!"
The black light spear was like a meteor streaking across the sky. Wherever it passed, light was distorted beyond recognition, as if swallowed by an invisible black hole.
The entire arena instantly fell silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the black light that pierced the sky, their hearts in their throats, as if time itself had frozen at this moment.