Stepping into Spirit City, one's first impression was spaciousness. There were few pedestrians and not many shops. Those that did operate mostly sold items needed by spirit masters—there were even space-storage soul tools for sale. The quality wasn't top-tier, but the very sight of them felt epoch-making.
A red-robed bishop came out to receive them. Under his guidance, the two-hundred-plus entourage boarded an in-city rail line newly laid within Spirit City and rode straight to their hotel—leaving everyone thoroughly stunned.
Watching a carriage that moved without horses, and at a respectable speed at that, even Hu Liena—who had ridden it once before—found her heart unsteady. Li Chang'an was the only one who remained entirely calm.
"Spirit Hall is ushering in a new era."
That was Ning Fengzhi's verdict.
According to the notice from Spirit Hall, the tournament would officially begin in three days. After the long journey, that would be ample time for each academy to rest and adjust.
The Star Luo Empire's participating academies were lodged on the opposite side of Spirit City, effectively dividing the two empires' teams into separate camps.
Li Chang'an didn't seek out his teacher right away. There was time—disappearing the moment he returned would only make the girls suspicious. After all, he still hadn't told Xiao Wu and Liu Erlong the whole truth. He planned to keep the team in Spirit City for a few days after the tournament to settle certain matters.
That day, Liu Erlong convened a team meeting.
In the hotel's conference room, her gaze swept across everyone before she said:
"The finals are about to begin. I suspect some of you have forgotten the format I explained earlier, so I'll repeat it now. There are thirty-three teams in total. Three are seed teams—one each selected by the two empires and by Spirit Hall."
"The greatest threat to you is undoubtedly Spirit Hall Academy's team. They're the biggest obstacle to our taking the title."
Li Chang'an and Hu Liena exchanged a smile. With those two top experts gone from Spirit Hall Academy, Yan and the others would be hard-pressed to carry the banner alone.
"The finals have five rounds, so the schedule is shorter than the qualifiers and advancement rounds. Because of the intensity, there's one day of rest between each round."
"Before the fifth and final round, there will be three days of adjustment. In the first round, the three seed teams receive byes. The remaining thirty teams fight for fifteen spots; the losers are eliminated outright."
"Harsh elimination will push everyone to their limits. You must not be careless. At this stage, every team will unveil their hidden cards. Even opponents you beat before may surprise you now."
"By the rules, the first-place academies from the two empire advancement tournaments receive byes in the second round. Meaning, once we win our first match, we'll get extra rest in the second."
"That's the point of the advancement stage. In the third round, sixteen teams are whittled down to eight, who join the two teams on bye—making ten. The second-place teams from the advancement stage get the third-round byes. The remaining eight fight for four spots to join them in the fourth round."
"There are no byes in round four. So only the top two from the advancement stage gain benefits in the finals, and the earlier your bye comes, the better—because you reduce the risk of early elimination. In the fifth and final round, only three teams remain."
"The three teams will first send out seven fighters each in a round-robin individual format to decide the strongest in personal combat. The two losing teams then conduct a team battle. The winner of that team battle challenges the winner of the individual round to determine the overall champion. Is that clear?"
"Yes, understood," everyone replied. With the finals truly at hand, their focus was razor-sharp—even Li Chang'an's.
For the tournament, Spirit City had opened a dedicated arena at the very center of the city. The massive platform was a full hundred meters in diameter, paved in granite.
The platform had been reinforced with a large number of soul tools to prevent damage. According to Spirit Hall, the arena could withstand any attack from spirit masters below Spirit Douluo level without breaking.
Only an organization as wealthy as Spirit Hall would spend so lavishly; neither empire would so freely pour resources into a venue.
Directly in front of the arena stood the Pope's Hall, less than a kilometer away atop its hill. The posted notices announced that the final three would compete before the Pope's Hall.
At that time, the Pope would personally appear and crown the champion.
For any spirit master, that was an honor beyond compare.
At dawn, all participating academies were led to the arena by Spirit Hall personnel. Each academy had its own separate rest area.
The rest areas ringed the arena. Opposite the Pope's Hall was the guest judges' stand, where representatives of both empires, Spirit Hall officials, and a large section reserved for commoners watched the matches.
No sooner had they settled in than Liu Erlong was called away for the draw.
The first-round draw was crucial. Landing a weaker opponent was a major advantage—especially for a team like crimson Rose Academy, which would receive a second-round bye. If they could win the first round easily, they could conserve strength and focus on the third round—the true start of the decisive battles.
Liu Erlong returned quickly, her mood visibly improved, a pleased smile on her face. From that alone, everyone knew the draw had gone very well.
Then her expression turned serious. "One bad news, one good news. Which do you want first?"
Everyone paused. Li Chang'an rubbed his forehead. "Let's hear the bad news first."
"The bad news is: your first-round opponent is Blazing Academy."
"Blazing Academy?" Everyone frowned—Li Chang'an most of all. It felt awkward to go hard against Huo Wu, the girl he'd already stolen a kiss from.
Keeping his expression neutral, Li Chang'an asked, "And the good news, Erlong?"
Liu Erlong smiled. "The good news is: Blazing Academy has withdrawn from the finals. They've forfeited."
"?"
That punctuation mark was the collective face of Crimson Rose Academy.
Zhu Zhuqing asked coolly, "Blazing Academy fought hard to reach the finals. Why would they suddenly give up?"
Liu Erlong spread her hands. "Don't ask me. The notice came out of nowhere. Whatever the reason, it's good for us—two byes in a row."
Ning Rongrong giggled. "Not bad—we've advanced to the top ten without even fighting."
Everyone thought about it—and it was true. Strong opponents weren't a problem, but a double bye felt… even better.
Li Chang'an, however, knit his brows.
'Could it be that Huo Wu brought her team to join Godwind Academy instead? Ah, that stubborn girl—why put yourself through this?'
He did not realize… this was all his doing.
There was no grand opening ceremony—nothing like what people might have imagined. Everything was simple. A red-robed bishop took the stage, announced the start of the finals, the matchups, and the bye list. Under Spirit Hall's appointed referees, the matches began. The first bout featured two relatively weak teams, so everyone chose to chat with Li Chang'an instead.