Chapter 183: How Do We Fight This?

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Last time, outside Heaven Dou City, Su Yu had caught a distant glimpse of Yan Shaozhe's battle against Zhongli Wu. 

However, the distance had been too great, and Su Yu hadn't been in a position to carefully observe with his spiritual power. As a result, he didn't have a clear impression of Yan Shaozhe's appearance. 

But he was quite familiar with Yan Shaozhe's soul power aura. 

"If Yan Shaozhe has entered Sun-Moon, then Xuanzi must still be here as well." 

Su Yu couldn't understand what Shrek Academy was thinking. Yan Shaozhe had appeared so openly—wasn't that essentially announcing their arrival in Sun-Moon to the Sun Moon Empire? 

"Could it be that they don't plan on causing trouble anymore?" 

Sneaking into Sun-Moon under hidden identities must have been for a specific purpose, and protecting their younger generation was only part of it. 

Now that they had exposed their presence, it would be much harder to act freely. 

"Perhaps they've realized that whether they reveal themselves or not, Sun-Moon is already on high alert against them," Su Yu thought. 

Maybe that was why Yan Shaozhe had no psychological burden about showing himself. 

While Su Yu was contemplating this, the competition continued. 

Soon, it was Tang Sect's turn. 

Tang Sect's lineup was exceptionally strong, composed of elite students selected from Shrek Academy's inner court—those who had an interest or connection with Tang Sect. 

"Tang Ya, Soul King. Bei Bei, Soul Emperor. Wang Dong, Soul Emperor. Jiang Nannan—she's actually reached the Soul Emperor level as well. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, both Soul Kings. And a Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda user, Ning Tian, at the five-ring level." 

At this stage, Tang Sect was no longer hiding its strength. 

Their reserve team was slightly weaker, consisting of some Soul Ancestors and a few Soul Kings, but they were certainly no match for the seven main team members. 

Of course, as the sect leader, Tang Ya was part of the main team. 

Tang Sect's opponent was the representative team from Dou Ling Empire's advanced soul master academy. The competition format followed a "2-2-3" sequence—two two-person battles, one three-person battle, a team battle, and finally, individual duels. 

Before the individual duels even began, Tang Sect had already secured victory. 

It had to be said—among the participating teams, Tang Sect's lineup ranked among the top. As long as they didn't encounter an unexpected situation—like how Ao Jian Sect had been eliminated early by the Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team—entering the top eight shouldn't be a problem. 

After all, teams with Soul Emperors were rare. 

A Soul Emperor under the age of twenty… Even if they advanced at an average rate of one level per year afterward, they would reach Titled Douluo within thirty years! 

A Titled Douluo by age fifty—no matter the era, that was a true genius. 

Given another hundred years, with time and experience, they might even reach the Super Douluo level. 

Of course, that was assuming they didn't perish prematurely. 

"The elimination rounds have concluded! The thirty-six teams advancing in this year's Soul Master Tournament have been determined. Next, we move on to the second phase—the round-robin stage!" 

"All teams in the top thirty-six, please send one representative to the stage for the drawing of lots." 

Thirty-six representatives stepped onto the main platform. 

The round-robin phase would divide the thirty-six teams into four groups of nine. 

Each team in a group would face every other team once, meaning each group would have a total of thirty-six matches. 

Today marked the first day of the round-robin stage. Since the third round of eliminations had just taken place, each group would only have one match today. 

From tomorrow onward, each group would hold three matches per day. 

In other words, in twelve days, the top eight teams would be determined. 

Once the top eight were decided, the quarterfinals would begin. The matchups would be determined by drawing lots, leading to the semifinals and, ultimately, the finals. 

After the quarterfinals, matches would be held every three days. 

This schedule ensured that all competitors had ample time to recover and perform at their best, making the final results more convincing. 

If two teams were to conspire to heavily exhaust their opponent in a previous match, thereby easing the pressure on the other team, it would be highly unfair. 

Of course, deliberately killing an opponent while risking disqualification would be beyond the scope of what the rules could regulate. 

The draw for the group stage consisted of four categories: Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D. 

Each of the thirty-six teams would draw one of the thirty-six available slots. 

"Group A!" 

The Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team was placed into Group A. 

Both Shrek Academy's Tang Sect and the Body Sect ended up in Group B, while the Holy Spirit Cult was assigned to Group D. 

Within Group D, apart from the Holy Spirit Cult, the remaining eight teams consisted of various sects and academies from the three Douluo empires. 

"Our Group A still has a few strong teams. Star Luo Royal Academy has the potential to reach the top eight, and there's also Earth Dragon Sect. Their martial souls are all sub-dragon types, making them quite formidable." 

Despite saying this, Su Yu was quite satisfied with the grouping arrangements. 

"There are a total of eight matches in this stage. You three should aim to complete your 'Seven Consecutive Wins' challenge during this phase, or else it will be nearly impossible by the time we reach the quarterfinals." 

Su Yu looked at Xiao Ping and the other two, assigning them their task. 

"First match of Group A's round-robin stage: Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team versus Earth Dragon Sect! Both teams, please send a representative to draw the match format." 

The round-robin matches followed a best-of-three format. However, unlike the elimination rounds, where match types followed a fixed sequence each day, here, the format for each match was determined randomly before the battle. 

Xiao Ping stepped onto the stage as the Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team's representative, while a tall, burly young man from Earth Dragon Sect stepped up on the other side. 

Each team drew a slip of paper. 

"First match: 2-2-3 format." 

"Second match: Individual battle." 

"Third match: Team battle." 

"The first round is a 2-2-3 match, and the second round is an individual battle. Not bad." 

Since the individual match wasn't the third round, there was still a chance to complete the 'Seven Consecutive Wins' challenge. 

After analyzing Earth Dragon Sect's lineup, Su Yu began making assignments. 

"Xiao Ping, I'm leaving the 'Seven Consecutive Wins' challenge to you. Conserve your energy during the 2-2-3 round and focus on the individual battle." 

"Understood." Xiao Ping's gaze was firm. 

"For the first match, Yu Hao, you'll pair up with Zhou Xinghao. In the second match, I'll go with Shi Xing. For the third match, Xiao Meng, you and your partner will support Xiao Ping." 

Su Yu swiftly arranged the battle order. 

Meanwhile, the Earth Dragon Sect team fell into silence. 

The strength of the Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team was evident to all. 

After seven days of elimination rounds, Earth Dragon Sect had gained a clear understanding of the overall competition level this year. 

Initially, they had believed that having four Soul Kings on their team would give them a strong chance at reaching the finals. 

However, after experiencing the elimination rounds firsthand, they realized how naive they had been. 

Even a team as powerful as Ao Jian Sect, with Soul Emperors and an entire lineup of Soul Kings, had been eliminated just because they had the misfortune of drawing the Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team. 

Otherwise, such a team would have stood a real chance in the round-robin stage. 

Unfortunately, this was an elimination tournament. 

Now, facing the Sun Moon Imperial Battle Team in the very first round of the round-robin stage, Earth Dragon Sect's Nan Qiuqiu couldn't help but feel despair. 

Their team consisted entirely of Soul Kings. 

But with the enhancement of their soul tools, their opponents likely possessed Soul Emperor-level combat strength. 

How were they supposed to fight this? 

(End of Chapter)