thefictionvixens Chapter 275 Round 1 of the Main Tournament - Baby Bottle
Chapter 275 Round 1 of the Main Tournament - Baby Bottle
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has always been the biggest obstacle for Shrek Academy in winning the championship. Although Bei Bei and others are now representing Tang Sect in the competition, the appearance has changed but the substance remains the same, and everyone's familiarity with Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is extremely high.
"Hey Beibei, are you any good? There are so many academies and sects, how come you can draw them so accurately!"
With our current strength, as long as it's not the Snow Demon Sect, the Holy Spirit Sect, or this Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, we can basically win easily. Now, we've directly eliminated the wrong options for others.
In the entire team, the only person who could speak to Beibei in that tone was that scoundrel Xu Sanshi.
"Hey, watch your mouth! How can the current Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy be compared to the Snow Demon Sect and the Holy Spirit Sect?"
Although Xiao Hongchen is already a Soul Saint, the instability of his soul power means he can't unleash the full power of his Martial Soul True Body. We're not some traditional Soul Master academy that can be kited by the Sun Moon Empire's soul-guided weapon tactics.
Perhaps knowing she was in the wrong, Beibei's rebuttal to Xu Sanshi was unusually calm. But if you listened carefully, you could tell that there was a deep sense of guilt in Beibei's calm tone.
There was nothing he could do; he was just too lucky to have the chance of encountering such a "malicious" fate, taking the place of Xu Sanshi. With a probability of only three out of a hundred, Bei Bei couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The Soul Saint realm is the watershed between extraordinary life forms on the Douluo Continent. Crossing it makes you a high-level professional, a high-end combatant, and a top talent; failing to cross it leaves you still within the realm of the common people. Even if Xiao Hongchen's Soul Saint status is somewhat exaggerated, the oppressive power of a Martial Soul True Body over those without is still obvious.
Can the Tang Sect defeat the current Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy? Of course they can, and winning wouldn't be particularly difficult (their combat strength loss wouldn't exceed 40%). But does the Tang Sect want to fight the current Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy? Absolutely not.
Why? There are two reasons. The first reason is obvious: it's too early. We've only reached the third round of the competition. Revealing our strength too early would make many cultivators who are used to hiding their true abilities feel uncomfortable, both psychologically and physically.
Although everyone who came this time, except for Long You, had the idea of making the Tang Sect great again, apart from Tang Ya, the others were probably more interested in turning their identities under wraps, transforming themselves from the spotlight of Shrek Academy's contestants into unknown figures, hoping to take advantage of the chaos and gain more benefits from the limelight. Now, facing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, if the Tang Sect members still want to win, their identities being exposed is practically a foregone conclusion. There might not be any downsides, but any potential benefits will be completely eliminated.
The second reason is that Xiao Hongchen has broken through to the Soul Saint realm. It's not that we're wary of Xiao Hongchen's combat power, but rather we're wary of his unwavering belief in ensuring the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy continues to win.
Who is Xiao Hongchen? He's the undisputed number one talent in the Sun Moon Empire (excluding the royal family), and a future Super Douluo. So what price did Xiao Hongchen pay to break through to the Soul Saint realm? He's unlikely to make any progress in his soul power level for the next five years; his potential has been greatly depleted, and he might not even be able to break through to the Title Douluo realm.
For a genius Soul Master or Soul Instructor, this price is far too high. Xiao Hongchen has paid such a heavy price; if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy loses in the knockout stage, it's no wonder he'll go insane, already eager to save face for his academy. Although the final result will certainly be a loss for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, the Tang Sect is very likely to suffer a loss of combat power, or even casualties, due to Xiao Hongchen's madness.
This is not good, this is very bad. So when Beibei tried to excuse herself, she subtly implied that it was no big deal to fight with Xiao Hongchen, which immediately gave the small team the momentum to condemn her.
If everyone were still representing Shrek Academy, then for the honor of the academy, this battle might have been unavoidable. But now, everyone is fighting for the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect's past glory has long since faded, and its current glory cannot be gained through victories in the elimination rounds. In that case, why break the low-key approach we initially set out for?
In a maximum of three days, Long You will be fully recovered. Meanwhile, Liu Jun, a ferocious beast nearly 200,000 years old (from the New World), has already taken human form and is heading towards Mingdu. If all goes well, the Tang Sect will possess its own Soul Saint in a week. Only then will the Tang Sect be able to shift its low-profile approach.
In short, after sacrificing herself, Bei Bei successfully brought the team back to normalcy and also submitted a forfeit statement. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy won without a fight, and the Tang Sect team will enter the final round-robin tournament in a less than ideal position.
Three days after the draw, which was also the day of the day during the elimination and round-robin stages of the Mingdu Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, the Mingdu Soul Master Elite Tournament officially began. The Tang Sect members, who had already passed the qualifying rounds, split into three groups and went to the Qingse Hotel, the Mingdu Human Resources Service Building, and the Yafei Auction House respectively to participate in the Mingdu Soul Master Elite Tournament.
Although he had acted very greedily during the qualifying rounds, when Long You reappeared at the entrance of the Yafei Auction House disguised as before, the staff who had been waiting at the entrance respectfully invited him to a very quiet lounge.
Although initially surprised, when Long You saw the manager of Yafei Auction House come out with an agreement, he immediately understood what the Ordinary Alliance wanted to do.
The Mingdu Soul Master Elite Competition, to put it bluntly, is a tool for the three major underground forces in Mingdu to make money. At the gambling table, gamblers may win, but the house never loses. The house, which sets the rules of the game, has countless ways to profit.
At present, Long You has obviously become a target tool for the Ordinary Alliance to make money. If Long You agrees, he will gain convenience, advance more easily, and acquire more rare metals. Meanwhile, the Ordinary Alliance can make more money after thoroughly understanding Long You's strength "bottom line".
Considering that one of the main reasons that prompted him to participate in this underground carnival competition in Mingdu was indeed to earn gold soul coins and rare metals, Long You didn't mind cooperating with the organizer at all.
The agreement is very simple, practically just one sentence: Party B shall clearly inform Party A of its Soul Master's strength, and Party A shall provide Party B with certain advantages in the competition. Specific advantages are as follows (to be added by hand when signing the agreement):
As a participant in a competition, you need to persist in the competition for a sufficient amount of time to gain more benefits; as a bookmaker, if you want to gain more profit in a betting game, then understanding the strength of the participants will provide endless benefits for the formulation of the betting rules.
"Cooperation is no problem," Long You replied directly before Manager Zhuang of Yafei Auction House could even speak. "My surname is Xu, and I am a Level 6 Soul Master (my actual level is certainly higher than Level 6, but there's no need to say it). In a competition where it's practically impossible for high-level Soul Masters to participate, I should be considered a master. Tell me what kind of convenience you can provide me."
"Oh? Mr. Xu is so straightforward. In that case, there's no need for me to pretend. Let me briefly explain the current rewards for the competition. First, all the contestants who passed the previous qualifying round will receive 5,000 Gold Soul Coins. This amount can be exchanged for rare metals or other items right now, or you can place it on the table and bet according to our rules. Whether you win or lose, the rewards will be exchanged after the competition ends."
Secondly, the winner of today's official competition can choose one kilogram of any of the twenty-eight rare metals listed by our Ordinary Alliance. The next round will be three kilograms, and this number will increase with each subsequent round. When the number of participants drops below ten, we will introduce five particularly rare metals; the exact amount of these rewards has not yet been finalized.
Finally, and most importantly, is the grand finale between us and the other two major forces. Each of the three factions will select three players from their respective Soul Guidance Clocks to compete in the final. The ultimate champion will receive a seat worth one percent of the total revenue from this competition for all three underground factions. In addition, they will receive a substantial prize of 100 kilograms of any of the twenty-eight rare metals, and one kilogram of each of five special rare metals.
Just as you yourself said, Mr. Xu, with your abilities, you will be a strong contender for the final big prize.
As for the benefits you can obtain from me, there's no fixed rule here; everything is negotiable. Why don't you tell me first?
"Yes, the rewards are indeed attractive; no wonder it can support such a large scale."
I only want three things. First, the question. If I'm not mistaken, today's competition should be a question-based competition. Tell me what the question is?
Secondly, please let me know in advance when the betting options include a separate option for betting on a particular player to advance. Also, please provide the list of today's participants so I can review it.
The third option is to show me the list of rare metal rewards for the winner in advance. If the rare metal I want isn't on it, I can suggest changing it. Don't worry, it will definitely be of the same level as the other rare metals.
"Very well, Mr. Xu, you're very straightforward. The three conveniences you mentioned are perfectly acceptable. Then, regarding this agreement..."
"You complete the content, and I will put my fingerprint on it."
Having reached this point, Long You quickly left the reception room with a copy of the agreement, the information provided by Manager Zhuang, and the promise that the other party would provide a list of all the winners after this round of competition. Seeing this, the maid waiting outside gracefully stepped half a step ahead of Long You to lead the way.
Shortly after Long You left, the male waiter who had brought him to the lounge returned to the room. "Brother Zhuang, this guy surnamed Xu seems far too greedy. Should we really cooperate with him?"
"And this guy claims to have the strength of a level six Soul Master, but the badge he's wearing is only level five. Could he be lying to us?"
"Greed? Greed is never wrong. What is wrong is that greedy people covet things beyond their capabilities. But this Xu guy is very rational."
From the conveniences he mentioned when signing the agreement, it's clear he knows his own limitations; he only cares about the benefits he can obtain.
As for him deceiving us about his strength? I don't mind. This agreement only provides convenience; what benefits he ultimately gains depends on his own strength. If he's not strong enough and doesn't get any benefits, that Xu guy can't blame us. Besides, even if he's only a level five Soul Master, he's still a master on our turf. Cooperating with him won't do us much harm.
Alright, whether this decision is right or wrong needs time to prove. Go prepare for the competition. Many people didn't show their true potential in the qualifiers; now that it's the official competition, we need to keep our eyes peeled and see if any hidden gems have been overlooked.
In the underground space, at the same "independent" soul guide production table surrounded by screens, Long You, who didn't care whether Manager Zhuang would still have contact with others after he left, completed his routine workspace inspection.
After confirming that the monitoring methods for the entire underground space had not been upgraded in such a short time, Bourne smoothly connected to the Ordinary Alliance's monitoring system. Meanwhile, Long You placed a small crossbow "model" on a corner of the workbench. As Long You adjusted the bowstring of the model to the open position, the image projected onto his retina made the corners of Long You's mouth curl into a beautiful smile.
This crossbow model is undoubtedly the real creation Long You made during the last qualifying round, and it was the biggest contributor to Long You's entry into the realm of spatial laws. As long as this crossbow is placed within Byrne's signal connection range, Long You will enjoy a god-like perspective within a diameter of two hundred meters.
Although there is still a qualitative gap between Long You and Huo Yuhao's mental detection, it is enough for Long You to record the techniques of the numerous soul masters on site in making soul tools, so that these techniques can become the ultimate nourishment to promote his own progress.
Perhaps because Long You had arrived rather late and had lingered in the reception room for a while, the sound of the amplified soul guide device resounded throughout the entire underground space after only a brief moment of peace.
"The first round of the Mingdu Soul Instructor Elite Competition is a themed competition—the Milk Bottle. All participants are requested to create the best milk bottle within their capabilities. We will determine whether you can advance to the next round based on the level and effect of the milk bottle."