Chapter 153: Start of the Competition

The sun slowly rose from the faraway east. And Star Luo City, which was located in the middle of the continent, was engulfed in warmth.

All the roads leading to Star Luo Plaza were blocked by soldiers in shining armor. The Imperial Star Grand Hotel was even more well-guarded. More than a thousand soldiers were stationed around it, and all the roads leading to Star Luo Plaza from there were under strict supervision.

Only the participants of the tournament could get in and out of the encirclement.

The teachers leading the respective academies had arrived at the inner city very early in the morning. They received a number plate based on the time they had registered, and afterward, they started to draw lots.

At this time, the lots had already been drawn.

An official of the Star Luo Empire had the duty of announcing the results of the lots. Once the order of the matches was decided, the final preparations for the early phase of the tournament could be considered complete.

On the city walls of the inner city was a middle-aged man with his hands crossed behind his back and an imperial golden crown on his head. He was wearing a long bright yellow gown and was standing exactly on top of the main entrance to the inner city. This also happened to be the best place where to watch the match.

At his side was a beautiful woman wearing fine attire that belonged to a palace lady; she was standing respectfully and quietly beside him. A few steps behind her were the Star Luo Empire's civil and military officers.

"Your Majesty." An old man wearing the red clothes of a civil officer took a step forward and bowed respectfully.

"Prime minister, how are the arrangements going along?" The Emperor asked with a smile.

The prime minister respectfully said, "Everything is ready. The lots were drawn, and the order of the matches was decided. There are no problems in the periphery either. We can allow the citizens to enter the arena."

The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire nodded. "Good, pass my order down. Clear the important passages, and allow the people to enter the arena. Make them enter in a slow and orderly fashion. If there are problems, the ones in charge of the area involved will be punished severely."

"Yes." The prime minister retreated several steps before turning and leaving.

The Emperor spoke to the beautiful woman beside him. "Empress, we have waited twenty years for this grand occasion. It reminds me of when I was young!"

"Haa. If the royal family didn't have so many customs, I would have participated as well." He said with a chuckle.

"The emperor has always had the heart of a soldier," the empress said with a faint smile.

"Look," The emperor said with a smile of his own, "the students of the various academies are already entering the arena. However, not all of them will be able to make use of the resting area. Only those that achieve victory will have this privilege."

His observant gaze went towards a certain team that everyone had high expectations of.

Although he deals with politics and other internal imperial affairs as the emperor, that didn't mean he was lacking in terms of cultivation—being an auxiliary-type Soul Douluo, a grand achievement in the entire continent.

He still has a chance of breaking through Titled Douluo within a decade; it was his privilege to be an Emperor after all, wealth and other resources are at his beck and call.

"It seems that Shrek Academy has only sent thirteen people this time, and their age is quite young. Hm, I heard that Brother Hao's eldest son was part of the original team and would have participated in this year's competition as well. But alas..."

Brother Hao, otherwise known as Dai Hao. The White Tiger Duke, the Patriarch of the White Tiger Dai Family.

Although it may come as a surprise to some, since the Xu Family had technically overthrew the Dai family from the throne after the initial war with the Sun Moon Empire, but the Emperor was blood brothers with Dai Hao.

It had been many generations since the transition of the crown, after all, any bad blood between the two families has been mellowed out.

They were also related due to Dai Hao's wife, Zhu Meqing, the Duchess, a distant cousin of his born from the union between a member of his family and the Zhu's. He hasn't really interacted with his distant cousin much.

But having heard how much of a bitch she was from Dai Hao, the Emperor didn't have any desire to have any close relations with her.

That didn't mean he was cold-hearted. He was indeed mourning for the loss of their child and the grave injuries that they had sustained, both physical and mental. He just... didn't care much for her as he does for Dai Hao and his children.

The Empress nodded. "Yes, little Dai Yueheng was the vice-captain, but due to recent events..."

The Emperor let out a deep sigh and a somber expression appeared on his face. "The scandal with Shrek Academy was mortifying enough, but who would've expected a calamity to befall upon Brother Hao's family so soon. And for it to happen in such a suspicious and disgusting manner."

A cold glint flickered across his eyes and he asked, "Empress, are there really no leads about the case of Brother Hao's family?"

The Empress shook her head. "As of right now, we only have speculations. Our suspect is most likely from the Sun Moon Empire. The remnants of the soul tool bombs in the scene showed the materials could be found commonly in "our" side of the continent."

"But the build, the schematics, from what the researchers could recreate showed them being unknown. The Sun Moon Empire is the only nation in the continent with advanced and unknown soul tools to the rest of the world."

"Excellent as ever. But that wouldn't be enough evidence to seek an audience with the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Family to demand retribution." He stroked his beard in deep thought.

"Even so, it narrows down our search to find the culprits." The Empress added, a cold smile on her face.

"Hmph. True. Also, make sure the news of the Dai family's accidents are to be suppressed for now, not when the tournament is ongoing. This will only bring us trouble."

"Understood," the Empress nodded. Not many know, though she was fairly known as the first lady of the nation, but she also acted as the nation's head of intelligence and hidden military force.

The civil and military officers around them didn't show any reaction or say anything. Both the Emperor and the Empress have long since pulled all of them to their side with the utmost loyalty.

At this time, the crowd started to enter Star Luo Plaza under the lead of the army; the long lines converged inside the plaza.

Just as the spectators began to fill the arena, Huo Yuhao and his companions were standing in the participant's area.

Today, the people from Shrek Academy were dressed in their traditional, dark-green school uniforms; these were the standard colors of the academy. Furthermore, they stood at the very front of all of the other academies. However, there were no objections to this.

This was the glory that Shrek Academy had accumulated through their strength for over ten thousand years!

However, the other participants who stood behind them involuntarily revealed a look of astonishment as they looked at their lineup.

It would have been fine if only thirteen people had turned up, but an overwhelmingly large majority of the ten didn't seem like they were anywhere near twenty years old.

They were able to see how young they were without even using a bone test. Only the three who stood at the very front seemed like they were of an appropriate age. However, they all wore cloaks that concealed their body figures.

But the person standing behind the three took people's attention.

He had a well-built figure and wore the Shrek Academy uniform that fit him snuggly. He stood straight with his arms crossed, his white blindfold concealing his eyes, adding an air of mystery to his presence. This was obviously Huo Yuhao.

He had woken up just as everyone was prepared to take off to the tournament. They were shocked at first and then relieved to see him in good health. A few of the girls quickly rushed to his side to check on him.

After a few minutes of talking, Huo Yuhao had assured them he was fine and ready for the tournament, though his blindfold remained in place(because his eyes were still acclimating).

He then said that he had a plan in mind for their team to quickly win the first round.

Though they were confused and worried, especially since he just woke up from a coma, they didn't really have much time to question him further. The tournament was about to begin, and they needed to be ready.

A large majority of the academies were inwardly praying that they wouldn't meet Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in their first match. Otherwise, it was practically announcing that they would be eliminated.

The participants from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy stood behind Shrek Academy, allowing them to get an even better view of the students from the latter.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was equivalent to the Shrek Academy in the Sun Moon Empire; the most prestigious and respected institution for soul engineers, unlike in Shrek Academy where most of their students are known for being the best soul masters.

The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy students however, were known for their advanced soul tools and formidable combat skills with them.

All of them had a look of doubt on their faces.

The youngest students from Shrek Academy were Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng and Ning Tian. Huo Yuhao was slightly better than the others; after going through numerous training and fusing with the Ice Empress' torso bone, his stature had changed greatly. He could now pass for a eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth.

However, the others still look so young and green. This was especially true for Xiao Xiao. Even though she has much experience than either Wu Feng and Ning Tian. She was rather short, and looked like she was only a young girl fit for her age.

Every other academy all looked doubtful about Shrek Academy's lineup.

...

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