The advancement tournament differed greatly from the preliminaries.
There were no multiple platforms or simultaneous matches—only a single, grand battlefield: the Royal Knights' Main Training Ground.
A total of fifteen teams would compete in a round-robin format, each team fighting fourteen rounds over fourteen days.
Each day consisted of seven matches, with one team resting per round. Every single match would be fought on the same massive field.
The central arena had been rebuilt specifically for the event.
A hundred-meter-wide circle had been marked out at its heart, offering far more space than the preliminaries' arenas—ample room for Spirit Masters to unleash their full strength.
To the north stood a newly erected royal grandstand, doubling as both the VIP and referee platform.
However, the audience this time was far smaller.
Gone were the lavish crowds of nobles.
In the front row sat only Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, Platinum Bishop Salas, and a few others.
The seats behind them were filled not by aristocrats, but by military officials and senior members of the Spirit Hall branch in Heaven Dou City.
Unlike the chaotic preliminaries, the advancement tournament emphasized individual strength.
Each Spirit Master would now stand under the public eye, their personal power and combat ability displayed for all to see.
This was the perfect stage to assess a Spirit Master's true caliber.
---
Around the entire training ground stood ten thousand Royal Knights, forming a steel wall of silver armor.
The first rows stood firmly on the ground, while the second sat mounted on their armored Heavenly Soul Horses. Together they formed a colossal, airtight ring of defense.
Such strict protection left no gaps—truly impenetrable.
But as Li Chang'an had suspected, Emperor Xue Ye's true motive wasn't just security.
He wanted his most elite soldiers to witness the strength of the new generation of Spirit Masters firsthand—to ignite their fighting spirit.
Between the circle of knights and the arena itself, all fifteen competing teams had already assembled.
Even the team with a rest day had come—no one would miss the chance to observe potential opponents.
The rules were simple:
Each team fielded seven fighters.
Each Spirit Master stayed in the arena until defeated. The winner continued on to face the next opponent until one side's entire lineup was eliminated.
The draw had already been completed the night before.
Crimson Rose Academy had not drawn the bye—they would be competing in the third match of the day, facing a team from the Balak Kingdom, one of the strongest among the smaller nations.
Among the assembled teams, Li Chang'an naturally spotted several familiar faces—those from the Four Element Academies.
When they noticed him, more than one gaze lingered, especially from Feng Xiaotian of the Godwind Academy, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu of the Blazing Academy, and Shui Bing'er of the Skywater Academy.
Even the captain of Thunder Academy—a plain, unremarkable-looking young man—cast a quiet glance his way.
---
Li Chang'an gathered his team, the girls of Crimson Rose Academy, around him.
His eyes swept subtly across their proud, confident figures before announcing calmly,
"Here's the lineup. Xiao Wu, you'll fight first. Then Meng Yiran. Zhu Zhuqing follows."
That was it.
He didn't continue.
Hu Liena blinked, unable to hold back.
"Captain, aren't we supposed to send seven people?"
She was practically bored to death lately—finally, a chance to fight, and she wasn't even on the list?
Li Chang'an smiled faintly, looking at Hu Liena's alluring face.
"Do you three not have the confidence to finish the job yourselves?" he asked lightly.
"These opponents might be a little stronger than in the preliminaries, but they're still no better than the Four Element Academies. This is one-on-one—no teamwork needed. Just raw strength."
A simple statement—but one that immediately reignited the fire in every team member's heart.
The right provocation, from the right man, never fails.
---
Emperor Xue Ye rose from his seat and, through a soul-powered amplifier, declared in a clear, regal voice:
"The Advancement Tournament begins today! Over the next fourteen days, I expect every academy team to give their all, to display the might and spirit worthy of a true Spirit Master.
Let the battles begin!"
As his words echoed, the response was thunderous—
a deafening roar of "Long live! Long live! Long live!" resounded through the field.
Tens of thousands of Royal Knights raised their lances high, the clanging of their armor merging with their booming shouts.
The sheer power of the sound sent shivers through many of the younger Spirit Masters.
It was the full display of a great empire's majesty.
---
The first match commenced soon after.
The opening teams were the Blazing Academy and Fabia Academy.
Blazing's captain, Huo Wushuang, stepped onto the field first.
Clearly, their strategy mirrored Li Chang'an's own: to secure not just victory, but a dominant one.
In the advancement tournament, overall standings weren't just determined by wins and losses—
point differentials also mattered.
If two teams tied in overall record, the number of individual victories would decide their rank.
Li Chang'an, however, paid little attention to the match.
Instead, he leaned closer to Xiao Wu and said quietly,
"When our turn comes, you'll open the match. But if you realize the opponent's abilities counter yours, don't push it. Don't get hurt. Understand?"
Though Xiao Wu had become far stronger this life—thanks to the immortal herbs and fruits he'd given her—Li Chang'an never took risks with those he cared for.
Precaution never hurt anyone.
Of course, he wasn't about to raise a team of fragile flowers either.
Real growth came only through combat—that was why he had brought his girls to compete in the first place.
Xiao Wu smiled sweetly, squeezing his hand.
"Don't worry, Brother. You know what I can do one-on-one. If it looks bad, I'll just concede."
Li Chang'an patted her head gently.
"Good. Better safe than sorry. Our opponents will only get stronger from here on. Never underestimate them."
---
The match proceeded quickly.
Between Spirit Masters, when power levels differed, victory was often decided in an instant.
The one with stronger soul power or more refined soul skills usually prevailed.
As for those rare few with soul bones, they were exceptions, not the rule.
In one-on-one combat, there were no fusion techniques—only pure personal strength.
In the first major match, Huo Wushuang took down three opponents in a row before finally falling, drained of soul power.
In this format, there was no rest between fights, which made the advancement tournament far more challenging than the preliminaries.
It tested not only the team's overall power, but also their strategy and endurance.
Even the strongest Spirit Master couldn't defeat endless waves of enemies without limit—after all, soul power had its end.
The second representative for Blazing Academy was Huo Wu.
Compared to the preliminaries, she seemed far calmer—her attacks sharper, her presence fiercer.
Every strike was filled with explosive, volcanic energy.
Though a woman, her aura was overwhelming—each move driven by absolute determination.
It didn't feel like a competition at all; it was a battlefield.
Relying on her strength as a control-type Spirit Master, Huo Wu defeated four opponents in a row.
Together with her brother, the siblings crushed the Fabia team completely.
When Huo Wu finally walked back from the arena, her body was clearly exhausted—her soul power nearly depleted.
But her face, though pale, was proud and defiant.
Her fiery gaze found Li Chang'an in the crowd, and she lifted a slender finger, pointing directly at him.
Her meaning was unmistakable—a challenge, a declaration.
Li Chang'an merely smiled faintly, saying nothing.
But deep down, a spark lit in his heart.
Her gesture didn't go unnoticed.
Several Spirit Masters from the surrounding kingdoms and duchies turned to look at him, their eyes filled with curiosity—and, from the men, a tinge of envy.
And as for the girls from other academies…
Many found their gazes lingering, cheeks slightly flushed.
Handsome, strong, confident—
sometimes, being too good-looking really was a sin.