Yuhao's Soul Ring
When the seven members of Ontology Academy stepped onto the competition arena, countless gazes from the stands instantly converged on one person—Yuhao.
"The leader looks no more than thirteen years old. Is he really the captain of this team at such a young age?"
"That academy… Ontology Academy? Or Noumenon Academy? I've never even heard of it before."
"Could it be some newly established body cultivation sect?"
...
Under normal circumstances, the person walking at the very front of a team was almost always the captain, the core figure of the entire lineup.
And that was precisely why Yuhao attracted so much attention the moment he appeared.
Not only the audience, but also many participating academies shifted their focus toward the seven members of Ontology Academy.
Among them were Qianling Academy and Shrek Academy.
Yan Shaozhe, who had once confronted Du Bushi before, naturally would not forget the calm young man standing beside him back then.
"So he really is participating… Is this the mysterious young master of the Noumenon Sect?" Yan Shaozhe's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'd like to see just how capable you are."
Besides Yan Shaozhe, Wang Dong was also unconsciously watching Yuhao.
For some reason, every time his gaze fell on Yuhao, his emotions would become strangely tangled, as if something deep in his heart was being quietly stirred.
...
Despite being watched by so many eyes, Yuhao's expression remained calm and composed. When he saw that the opponents standing opposite him were merely a group of Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He immediately turned around and quietly spoke a few words to the other six people behind him.
After hearing Yuhao's instructions, Zhen Yue, Long Aotian, and the rest all revealed strange expressions.
However, none of them dared to question him. In the end, they could only nod in silence.
As the referee signaled both sides to prepare, the seven members of Douhun Advanced Soul Master Academy quickly moved into position, forming a standard offensive formation with clear front, middle, and rear roles.
On the other side, Ontology Academy's formation was completely different.
Aside from Yuhao stepping forward alone, the remaining six members merely stood at the edge of the competition ring, showing no intention of advancing.
This bizarre scene instantly caused confusion.
Not only were the members of Douhun Advanced Soul Master Academy stunned, but even the referee frowned slightly, clearly unable to understand what the Noumenon Academy team was planning.
However, competition rules did not forbid such positioning. As long as both sides were present, the match could proceed.
"Both sides are ready," the referee announced loudly. "The competition begins!"
As his voice fell, the seven members of the Fighting Soul Advanced Soul Master Academy released their martial souls simultaneously. Brilliant soul light surged, and soul rings of various colors rose beneath their feet.
From the distribution of the rings, it was clear that among the seven contestants, there were three Soul Ancestors with four rings and four Soul Elders with three rings.
Such strength would be considered outstanding in an ordinary advanced academy.
But in the Senior Soul Master Elite Competition, where elite academies from across the continent gathered, it could only be regarded as average.
Meanwhile, aside from Yuhao, the six members of Ontology Academy showed no reaction at all, as if everything happening before them was completely irrelevant.
"What's going on? Could it be that Ontology Academy intends to concede?"
"That's impossible. The first round is a knockout match. No academy would give up so easily."
"Wait—look at the leader's soul rings!"
Amidst the heated discussion, Yuhao calmly released his martial soul.
Soul light surged, and three soul rings slowly rose beneath his feet.
From the number alone, a three-ring Soul Elder was nothing special.
However, the moment everyone clearly saw the colors of those soul rings, the entire arena fell into deathly silence.
White.
Black.
Black!
Two jet-black soul rings quietly revolved around his body.
This meant only one thing.
Yuhao possessed two ten-thousand-year soul rings.
Moreover, some sharp-eyed experts quickly noticed that those black soul rings were deep and pure, like ink that swallowed all light—far beyond ordinary ten-thousand-year soul rings.
These were clearly produced by soul beasts that were over five thousand years old.
"Ten-thousand-year soul rings? And two of them?!"
"This… this is absolutely impossible!"
"Am I dreaming?!"
...
The revelation of Yuhao's soul rings instantly caused an uproar.
Even the members of Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy stood up one after another, unable to hide their shock.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!" Xiao Hongchen, who had remained confident and composed until now, completely lost his calm. Both hands tightly gripped the railing in front of him as he stared at Yuhao on the field.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept someone possessing a black soul ring.
After all, he himself had one.
What he couldn't accept was the fact that a Soul Elder had two ten-thousand-year soul rings.
Xiao Hongchen had always been hailed as a rare genius within the Sun Moon Empire, and he had never doubted his own talent.
Yet now, facing Yuhao's deep black soul rings that seemed to pull in all attention, he found himself unable to remain seated.
"Xiao Hongchen, calm down!" Ma Rulong shouted in a low voice.
But even his own expression was filled with undisguised astonishment.
"Could it be twin martial souls?" one of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's leaders muttered.
"That doesn't make sense," another person immediately refuted. "If he had twin martial souls, why would his first soul ring only be white?"
"Then what exactly is going on?"
"I don't know," the first speaker said solemnly. "But we must investigate this person thoroughly."
...
Compared to the intense reactions of other academies, Shrek Academy remained relatively restrained.
"As expected… the third soul ring is also a ten-thousand-year soul ring," Yan Shaozhe murmured softly. "And it's at least five thousand years old. I really don't know how you managed to do this."
His gaze remained fixed on Yuhao as countless thoughts surged through his mind.
Yan Shaozhe had long known that Yuhao's second soul ring was ten thousand years old. After all, Yuhao had caused a massive commotion in Tiandou City back then.
But a first-level ten-thousand-year soul ring and a five-thousand-year ten-thousand-year soul ring were completely different concepts.
Even he could not help but feel shocked.
Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and the others who were unaware of the details were utterly stunned, staring at the scene with disbelief written all over their faces.
...
Meanwhile, within Zhengtian Academy's resting area, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy.
"It really is that kid. I thought I was mistaken earlier."
"I didn't expect him to participate in the Soul Master Elite Competition as well. We're truly enemies now."
Nearly every student of Zhengtian Academy recognized Yuhao.
After all, back in Tiandou City, he had single-handedly blocked the academy gates and defeated seven of their students, bringing unbearable humiliation upon them.
They had been powerless against him then, and now the gap was even greater.
Their only hope lay in the young man sitting at the very front—Ye Wuqing.
After all, Yu Mengdi, who ranked second in strength within their team, had long since been defeated by Yuhao and had almost no ability to fight back.
Yet at this moment, even Ye Wuqing wore a solemn expression.
Facing Yuhao, who possessed two ten-thousand-year soul rings, he did not dare claim absolute victory.
But for the sake of the shame Yuhao had inflicted upon Zhengtian Academy, Ye Wuqing knew he would fight with everything he had.
...
While emotions outside the arena fluctuated wildly, the battle itself progressed swiftly.
The seven members of Douhun Advanced Soul Master Academy were also shocked upon seeing Yuhao's soul rings.
But they quickly forced themselves to calm down.
After all, no matter how terrifying Yuhao's soul rings were, he was still just a Soul Elder.
Moreover, the six people behind him showed no intention of joining the fight.
No matter the reason, the Douhun Academy team believed this was the best possible opportunity to eliminate Yuhao first.
Without hesitation, all seven members activated their soul rings simultaneously, releasing powerful soul skills as dazzling light erupted, charging straight toward Yuhao.
At that moment, Yuhao suddenly raised his head.
His originally clear blue eyes instantly shimmered with purple-gold light.
Invisible waves of immense spiritual power surged outward like ripples spreading across water.
Startled—
In that instant, it was as if time itself had frozen.
The seven members of Douhun Academy, who had just unleashed their soul skills, stiffened in mid-movement, their expressions instantly becoming vacant.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The leading soul master collapsed to the ground first, followed by the others falling one after another like puppets with their strings cut.
The sudden change left the referee completely stunned.
After quickly checking the condition of the seven fallen contestants, his expression changed drastically.
He looked at the calm young man standing alone on the opposite side, swallowed hard, and announced with a slightly trembling voice:
"Douhun Advanced Soul Master Academy… all members are unconscious."
"The winner—Ontology Academy!"