The slogan of the Empire Team did not mention the championship in a single word, yet it never strayed from the topic of the championship.
Compared to other academies with slogans like "The throne of the champion, I alone am supreme!", "The ambition of a champion, never admit defeat!", or "A champion without opponents!", which lacked substance, the Empire Team's slogan was far more sophisticated. It aimed to transcend the tournament and suppress both the Star Luo Empire and Martial Soul Hall!
Initially, the crowd had been whispering about this new academy founded by the Crown Prince, unsure of the Empire Team's true caliber. However, once they heard the team's slogan, the noisy atmosphere of the arena fell silent for a moment, only to be quickly replaced by even more enthusiastic cheers.
"Go, Empire Team!"
"Heaven Dou Empire, rise up!"
"The glory of the Empire, starts today!"
"..."
This slogan hit the mark with the audience, instantly inciting a frenzy throughout the arena as they shouted in agreement.
On the VIP Platform, in the middle of the first row, an imposing old man wearing golden-red robes and a gilded imperial crown nodded with satisfaction upon hearing the Empire Team's slogan. He spoke to a young man in python-patterned royal robes sitting in the second row behind him.
"Crown Prince, did you come up with this slogan?"
Hearing the question from his great Father, Emperor Xue Ye, Qian Renxue responded.
"In reply to Father, this slogan was not conceived by this child, but came from the mouth of the current Empire Team captain, Yun Ming."
Hearing Xue Qinghe's reply, Xue Ye gave a soft sound of surprise and asked.
"Yun Ming, is that the super genius the Crown Prince mentioned to me before?"
Qian Renxue responded respectfully.
"Yes, Father."
Hearing the Crown Prince's confirmation, Xue Ye was overjoyed.
"Good, very good!"
"For such a young prodigy to be so devoted to the Empire is a blessing for our Heaven Dou, a blessing for the imperial family!"
Other imperial officials chimed in with agreement upon hearing the Emperor speak. Ning Fengzhi, sitting to the right of Xue Ye, also offered a symbolic nod of agreement, while only Salas, the Platinum Bishop on Xue Ye's left, kept a strange expression and remained silent.
Salas certainly knew who Yun Ming was; as the tacitly acknowledged husband of the Saintess from the Worship Hall, he was, in a sense, one of their own. However, while Yun Ming's slogan was just a slogan, it was clearly unfriendly toward Martial Soul Hall. Thus, he chose to say nothing.
Xue Ye glanced at Salas from the corner of his eye, his expression unreadable. Although he had asked Xue Qinghe that question earlier, how could he not know about Yun Ming? He was the little boyfriend of the Martial Soul Hall Saintess. There was nothing he could do about that, but since Xue Qinghe had brought him up, he had to show some reaction, even if only verbal. Besides, if Xue Qinghe could win Yun Ming over, it would be an unexpected joy; what harm was there in trying?
And was this slogan really something Yun Ming came up with? It actually was, though his original intention was to say that the Star Luo representative teams and Martial Soul Hall representative teams that had won the championship in previous years were things of the past, and that the glory of the Empire Team was to be fought for today. It just happened to align perfectly with the wishes of the Heaven Dou Empire's citizens, leading to a misunderstanding.
Therefore, after the teams had finished entering, the emcee invited Emperor Xue Ye to announce the opening of the tournament.
Xue Ye stood up to speak, his majestic and resonant voice carrying through the amplified Soul Tool to every corner of the arena.
"I, Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire and as the host of this tournament, hereby declare the Pan-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament officially open."
"I hope all the Soul Masters participating in this competition..."
After Xue Ye finished his speech, thunderous applause erupted.
Following Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi was invited to give a speech.
"I am very happy to be invited as a guest to attend the opening ceremony of this competition..."
After Ning Fengzhi finished, the emcee followed up with a question.
"Sect Leader Ning, you are the most powerful Support System Soul Master on the entire continent. On behalf of the audience present, I would like to ask you: among the twenty-nine teams in the Heaven Dou division qualifiers, which team are you most optimistic about?"
Hearing the emcee's question, the audience was also filled with curiosity.
Ning Fengzhi smiled mysteriously and said.
"I do indeed have a team I am optimistic about, but as for which one specifically, please forgive me for keeping you in suspense; I cannot reveal it for now."
"But I believe that the final champion of this tournament will surely belong to the Empire."
Hearing Ning Fengzhi's reply, the arena began to buzz with heated discussion.
The opening ceremony reached its final stage, and the emcee began to invite the Platinum Bishop of Martial Soul Hall, Salas, to conduct the draw for the first round of qualifiers, as well as to draw the only match for today: the Empire Team and their first-round qualifying opponent.
That's right, the very first match of this tournament would feature the Empire Team. According to past years, the first match should have been opened by the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Vice Team, but because Qian Renxue had founded a new academy for the Empire this year, after the 'father and son' discussion between Xue Ye and Xue Qinghe, this opening match was handed to the Empire Team to boost the academy's reputation.
Platinum Bishop Salas stood up slowly and, led by a palace maid, walked to the emcee's side to begin the draw.
"First round of qualifiers, Oakland Academy versus Purple Star Academy."
"First round of qualifiers, Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Flame Radiance Academy."
"..."
"First round of qualifiers, Empire Academy versus Blue Tyrant Academy."
"..."
"First round of qualifiers, Blue Sunshine Academy receives a bye."
Because there was one extra academy this time, there would be byes, though a bye in the qualifiers didn't mean much; at most, it was a chance to rest and wait for the others, but since everyone had to play each other eventually, it was only a matter of time.
After the draw was completed, Platinum Bishop Salas, just like in the original timeline, issued an invitation for the Soul Masters present to join Martial Soul Hall. Only then did the expression on Xue Ye's face become somewhat unpleasant.
After the draw ended, Yun Ming was stunned to hear that they would be facing Blue Tyrant Academy in their first match. Was this fate or human intervention? He didn't know, and it didn't matter; if they met, they would just fight!
Tang San, however, was overjoyed. 'Searching high and low, only to find it without any effort!' Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu were also overjoyed; they were thrilled that they could teach Yun Ming and his subordinates a lesson in the very first match.
Since there were no other academy matches today, they headed straight to the rest area after leaving, and under the guidance of the staff, they boarded the viewing stand specially prepared for the contestants to watch the matches.
Only the Empire Team and the Blue Tyrant Academy team remained in the arena.
Tang San glanced at the number of people on the opposing Empire Team, and fearing that Yun Ming would not take the stage, he coldly issued a challenge.
"Yun Ming, dare you fight me!"
Yun Ming gazed into Tang San's eyes, which were filled with hatred and rage, and said indifferently.
"Why wouldn't I dare."
Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong from Blue Tyrant Academy, along with the two remaining substitutes, exited the battlefield, leaving only Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the other five competing members.
As for the Empire Team, Yun Ming also had Yang Yi and Oscar step off the field.
A great battle between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out.
ps: Seeking monthly tickets, seeking recommendations.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader