The tournament had already entered the round-robin stage. In the first round of the knockout tournament and the first round of the round-robin, the Shrek team, relying on their unpredictable tactics and various martial soul fusion skills, had dominated all sides, maintaining a posture of complete victory.
And the round-robin tournament was one match every other day. For the first group where Shrek Academy was, each team had to go through seven matches. To advance, one had to defeat at least five opponents to have a chance, and winning six matches was the only way to be safe.
In two days, the first round of the round-robin had already ended. Compared to the knockout tournament, the round-robin was much more peaceful. The various teams all adjusted their tactics. Each match had more technical content, but it lacked the desperate scenes of the knockout tournament.
But the first round of the knockout tournament still affected the round-robin. The teams with injured main members were all using this first round of the knockout tournament to adjust the state of their entire team. Therefore, this first round of the round-robin was not considered exciting, because now was not yet the time for everyone to bring out their strongest abilities.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the first round of the round-robin had a great momentum of "the wind is rising, presaging the coming storm." And the next matches were ones that many teams could not afford to lose.
Yan Shaozhe had replaced Elder Xuan's position and had stayed in Star Luo City. The Sea God Pavilion elder who had also stayed behind was that healing-type Titled Douluo, Elder Zhuang. Because the remaining official team members had been invaded by the corpse poison attached to their bodies when they broke through the encirclement, they were unable to fully recover for a while.
At the same time, the academy had also received another piece of news: Huo Yuhao, leading Xie Huanyue, Cui Yejie, and others, had colluded with evil soul masters and, after killing the Shrek City Defense Officer, had defected.
This also solidified the fact that the couple, Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao, were partners in crime, had betrayed the academy, and had harmed the participating team.
In this regard, the academy had immediately issued a notice, that at all costs, Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao, and the others were to be captured and brought to justice!
On the tournament side, a day had passed since the end of the first round of competition. Tomorrow, they would begin the second round of the round-robin. But after dinner, Yan Shaozhe had taken Wang Yan and a full fourteen members of the preparatory team out of the Star Emperor Grand Hotel.
This place was originally the most lively place in the entire Star Luo City. The moment they stepped out, they were submerged in the bustling crowd.
Wang Yan smiled faintly and said, "In a moment, I will take you to a place. Recently, we have been both performing supervision missions and competing. Everyone's nerves have been constantly tense. I am taking you out to relax a little, which will also be beneficial for your upcoming matches."
After a few days of recuperation, Dai Yueheng could already officially return to the team to fight. Plus Gongyang Mo and Yao Haoxuan, there were already three main members who had rendezvoused. The higher-ups of the academy had also relaxed accordingly.
Everyone knew that no matter what Dean Yan and Wang Yan were going to take them to do next, it was definitely for the sake of maintaining good results in the competition.
Ever since the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament began, the originally vast area of Star Luo City had seemed to become crowded. It was difficult to maintain a good speed of progress in the crowd. Especially on the streets near Star Luo Plaza, there was never a time when it was not crowded. Every day, there were numerous commoners queuing up, waiting for the next day's competition.
The group passed through several streets and stopped in front of a pointed-roof building. The building was not conspicuous. Above the main entrance hung a sign with a hammer pattern on it. Below the hammer was a golden countertop pattern.
Seeing this sign, everyone showed a look of sudden realization. Just as in the original world line, they had come to the auction house of Star Luo City, preparing to to look for and exchange for some soul tools that could be used in the competition.
Compared to the original world line, where only the preparatory team could fight in a tattered lineup, this time, besides Ma Xiaotao, it was only a matter of time before the official team members recovered their ability to fight. Therefore, basically, the students of the martial soul department were not very receptive to the use of soul tools.
However, today, bringing them to this auction house, Wang Yan did not regret it in the least. This was his first attempt, but by no means his last. It was precisely because his own research on martial souls was becoming more and more profound that it made him feel more and more the drawbacks of the future development of soul masters.
Having lost the absolute combat power suppression of Ma Xiaotao, in order to ensure the final victory of the Shrek participating team, he had persuaded that old stubborn Yan Shaozhe to let the participating members try to equip themselves with some practical soul tools as much as possible.
After all, in the desperate situation in the Ming Dou Mountain Range before, if they had had defensive soul tools on them, the ending might have changed to a certain extent.
Just as their group entered the auction house like a school of fish, another six people clad in black cloaks also entered this auction house from another entrance.
The person in the middle had unsteady steps and an unstable aura. The other five were all firmly surrounding him as the center, and from time to time, they would cast a look of inquiry at the person in the middle.
The person in the middle, however, shook his head, signaling for the five to be at ease. If a powerful soul master were to pay attention, they would surely discover that the person's body was wrapped in a thick life energy, which was continuously pouring into his body with his breathing.
These six people were precisely Huo Yuhao and his partners, who had returned to the normal timeline. Because he had been too heavily injured in the past timeline, and his body was severely overdrawn, he had no choice but to spend half a day on self-regulation after returning. During his recuperation, Huo Yuhao had also successfully contacted the Kamui space in the original timeline and had released the five from Xie Huanyue's group.
On the way out of Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao's group of six had also successfully seen their own wanted posters, which had been distributed to the entire continent by the Shrek Supervision Group.
At present, the only ones wanted were Huo Yuhao, Xie Huanyue, and Cui Yejie. As for Ning Tian and Wu Feng, with a behemoth like the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind them, Shrek did not dare to rashly issue a wanted notice for now. As for Nanmen Yun'er, her family in Shrek City had been notified of the fact that she had been abducted by Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao, dead or alive, a bounty of sixty-six million, six hundred and sixty-six thousand gold soul coins!
Xie Huanyue, dead or alive, a bounty of thirty million!
Cui Yejie, dead or alive, a bounty of twenty-eight million!
At this point, the six of them temporarily had no way to return to the academy. At least, before they figured out the reason for Shi Xing's death, they had become criminals of Shrek.
As for whether the other countries on the continent would take Shrek's wanted notice seriously, it was unknown.
Huo Yuhao also took this opportunity of leaving the academy to bring everyone to the venue of the Soul Dueling Tournament, Star Luo City.
He was not very interested in participating in the competition to begin with. He had come this time precisely for the several great treasures at the few auction houses in Star Luo City—
The Ice Jade Scorpion Ice Burst Art Left Arm Bone, the Life Gold Carving Knife, and the most crucial one, the God-Sealing Platform that sealed the Snow Empress.
As for money, not to mention the astounding wealth that the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind Ning Tian had accumulated over ten thousand years, just the one hundred million that Huo Yuhao himself had brought out from the Holy Ghost Cult back then had not yet been spent.
From the outside, the six of them had originally thought that this was a very small auction house. After all, its building area did not look large. But after truly entering it, they knew that there was another world inside. Because the auction house was underground and not on the ground, this building was just its entrance.
Walking into the auction house, a flight of stairs five meters wide, covered with a red carpet, extended all the way down. There were no staff members outside to guide them.
All the way down, after going about twenty meters deep, they finally reached the registration area. Huo Yuhao had Ning Tian use her status from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to register these tedious procedures. Subsequently, each person received a number plate. With the number plate, only then did a young girl in a long red dress lead them inside.
Passing through an ancient wooden door, the scene suddenly changed. In their line of sight, it was surprisingly a sheet of brilliant gold. A wide corridor was magnificent, its decoration so luxurious that it even surpassed the Treasure Gathering Pavilion in Shrek City.
At the top of the passage, one after another of large crystal chandeliers hung down, without any sense of oppression. The height of the corridor was a full five meters. The lighting was a soft, bright yellow. Against the backdrop of the golden walls on both sides, the kind of three-dimensional golden world was enough to make anyone dizzy.
Today's auction was a special auction for soul tools. Because it would only auction soul tools below level six, the specifications were relatively low. According to the grading, it could only be considered a level-four auction.
Entering the auction hall, the light suddenly dimmed. Only the walls around had one after another of wall lamps. Every person who entered the auction hall would receive a beautiful mask, and the masks also had color distinctions. The ones Huo Yuhao's group of six received were purple. It was unknown what this meant. Besides the white masks, there seemed to be yellow, purple, black, red, and golden ones.
The decoration inside the auction hall was another feeling. Ancient, elegant, luxurious, yet not without warmth. Just walking in gave a very comfortable feeling.
The two hundred comfortable large chairs were covered with a deep blue velvet cloth surface, arranged in an arc. It's unknown if it was because Ning Tian had come forward with her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect status, but Huo Yuhao and his group were officially arranged in the second row, which was also a place relatively close to the auction stage.
Besides Ning Tian and Wu Feng, the other four were all at an auction for the first time. They were curious about everything. The seats were very comfortable. This was also a rare time for Huo Yuhao to recuperate.
At this time, the auction hall was already sixty to seventy percent full of bidders. A waiter came over to ask them what drinks they needed. Huo Yuhao and Xie Huanyue directly asked for two glasses of strong liquor.
"Welcome, all distinguished guests, to the Starlight Auction House. Our auction is about to begin. Will all distinguished guests please take your seats," a beautiful and pleasant female voice came from all directions, and the auction hall became quiet. The originally not-so-bright wall lamps around gradually dimmed, while the lights on the auction stage began to gradually become stronger.
A woman in a long purple dress, Qing Ya, walked onto the stage from one side of the auction hall. She looked to be about thirty years old. Her appearance was dignified and beautiful, with a faint, almost non-existent smile on her face. As she walked, she was graceful and swaying. The well-tailored long dress perfectly outlined the curves of her mature body.
"Good evening, all distinguished guests. I am the purple-level auctioneer of the Starlight Auction House, Qing Ya. Today, I will be hosting this auction."
After speaking, she walked out from behind the auction desk, and with a smile on her face, bowed to the audience below, immediately winning a round of applause.
Huo Yuhao, offstage, subconsciously looked towards the position where the Shrek group was. Even if they wore masks, they could not possibly hide from Huo Yuhao's spiritual power.
In the original novel, it was this auctioneer who had charmed all living beings that had almost stolen the soul of that Wang Yan, right? After failing to flirt with him, he ended up making a move on the female students of the inner court.
Returning behind the desk, Qing Ya smiled faintly and said, "Today's auction is a special soul tool auction. All the auction items are soul tools below level six, suitable for soul masters and soul tool masters at the Soul King level and below. At the same time, to ensure that all distinguished guests do not make this trip in vain, we also have a mysterious grand prize auction item at the end. All distinguished guests must not miss it. Our auction will now begin. Will the staff please present the first auction item of today..."
Huo Yuhao was not interested in the trash being auctioned at the beginning. He might as well enter a meditative state and wait for those few key auction items to be presented.