The third day finally arrived—the day of the finals.
As the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament reached its end, it was now time for the final showdown.
Outside the Pope's Hall, two rows of palace guards lined up from the hall's entrance down the mountain, their silver armor and heavy swords adding a solemn grandeur to the atmosphere.
Su Ming was somewhat surprised to discover that, unlike in previous rounds, the Spirit Hall hadn't dismissed the teams that had been eliminated. All participants were allowed to gather in the plaza outside the Pope's Hall.
This was odd because, in the original story, only the three teams that had reached the finals were allowed at the Pope's Hall. Losing teams and regular spectators had no access, as they were not deemed worthy. Bibi Dong likely intended to pressure Tang San by surrounding him with overwhelming force, capturing him if necessary. Besides, the plaza in front of the Pope's Hall couldn't accommodate so many people.
This time, the crowd was only slightly limited. Only those participating in the tournament could gather close to the Pope's Hall, while others had to stand farther out. But Spirit Hall had announced they would project the match in the sky using a special method so everyone could see, which Su Ming found quite intriguing.
Twenty-one contestants stood in silence on the plaza, awaiting the final battle.
Wuhun Hall Academy and Heaven Dou Academy, led by Xie Yue and Su Ming, respectively, seemed the most relaxed. Their confidence radiated from them.
Yet Hu Liena, within the ranks of the Spirit Hall, looked tense. She wasn't sure if her sister Qian Renxue could defeat Su Ming. According to reports from the two elders, Su Ming's true strength was on par with a Titled Douluo, while her sister Qian Renxue was merely a Soul Douluo. She was uncertain how this would turn out.
"Nana, are you doubting me?" Qian Renxue asked Hu Liena with a sly smile.
Hu Liena chuckled awkwardly. "Of course not, Sister Qian Renxue. You wield the divine-level spirit, Six-Winged Angel, and certainly have hidden cards up your sleeve. I'm just a bit...nervous."
Qian Renxue didn't seem surprised by her words; Su Ming's strength was indeed intimidating. She wasn't entirely confident herself and could only hope her Sun Breathing techniques would give her an edge over Su Ming.
Qian Renxue was present in the Spirit Hall ranks in her true form this time. She stood in the third position in the line-up, following Xie Yue and Hu Liena.
Her prominent placement quickly drew the attention of others, particularly from Thunder Academy.
"Look, when did Spirit Hall gain such a beautiful blonde member? She wasn't originally part of their team, right?"
"Yeah, she must be a substitute. But honestly, her aura feels even stronger than Hu Liena's."
"I noticed that too! Hu Liena even seemed to treat her with respect."
In Thunder Academy's area, Tang San's attention was instantly captured by Qian Renxue. Her appearance and aura seemed utterly perfect, surpassing even Xiao Wu.
"Hey, Third Brother, are you staring at that blonde beauty?" Ma Hongjun teased.
Without his previous "distraction," Ma Hongjun's interest in beautiful women had greatly diminished. Now, they were mere eye candy to him—any deeper desire would just add to his frustration.
Startled by Ma Hongjun's words, Tang San snapped back to reality, surprised that he, with his usually strong willpower, had been affected by her allure. He wasn't new to beautiful women—he had resisted the charm of Hu Liena, a master of seduction herself. But with Qian Renxue, he found it...
Tang San turned to his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, for answers. His gaze seemed to ask, Teacher, did you know about this person from Spirit Hall?
Yu Xiaogang frowned and shook his head, silently indicating his uncertainty.
In the Heaven Dou Academy team, Xiao Wu discreetly whispered, "Brother, that stunning woman—is she the sister from Spirit Hall you've mentioned before, the young master?"
Su Ming nodded slightly.
"Since you said she's a Soul Douluo, then she'll be your opponent, right?"
At that moment, a group of twelve red-robed bishops emerged from the Pope's Hall's side entrance. The lead one called out loudly, "His Holiness the Pope arrives!"
The grand doors of the Pope's Hall opened slowly, drawing every gaze.
A breathtaking woman dressed in a dazzling golden gown, crowned with a purple-gold diadem, and holding a scepter, walked out gracefully.
Xiao Wu's eyes fixed on Bibi Dong, as she finally saw her in person! She could sense a faint trace of her mother's presence in Bibi Dong.
Standing behind Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo whispered something to her. Bibi Dong's gaze fell upon Tang San.
As her gaze bore down on him, Tang San felt as if his very soul was being stripped away, forcing him to activate his Purple Demon Eye technique.
Yet, in the next moment, Bibi Dong's eyes moved from him to Su Ming, standing among the Heaven Dou Academy team.
This was her first time seeing Su Ming. He was indeed an exceptionally talented and handsome young man.
If only Su Ming weren't such a playboy—she might have considered pairing him with Qian Renxue once he joined Spirit Hall.
But since Qian Renxue had accepted him as an adopted brother, she would let nature take its course.
Noticing Bibi Dong's gaze on him, Su Ming politely nodded with a calm smile.
Meanwhile, Tang San heaved a deep sigh of relief. He realized that, within those brief seconds, cold sweat had drenched his back. For a moment, he had feared Bibi Dong might strike him down right then and there.
Bibi Dong: Hmph. You're not even worthy of me personally dealing with you. Besides, Spirit Hall acts with legitimate cause.
Little did Tang San know that so many people had been granted access to the Pope's Hall plaza for this final showdown, all because of him.
When the tournament concluded, his fate would be sealed.
At that moment, Tang San glanced toward the Heaven Dou Academy team and noticed Su Ming smiling at him. His face darkened immediately, and he steeled himself to give Heaven Dou Academy a hard time in the group battle.
Their team's main hope lay in their seven-in-one fusion technique. But as his father had warned him, forcibly elevating one's soul power to the level needed for the true form of a spirit tool would place immense strain on his mental energy.
After all, activating the true form meant merging with his spirit entirely. With his current strength, forcing himself to use this technique might leave him mentally incapacitated.
But he was a disciple of Tang Sect in his previous life. Knowing that his mental power might not sustain the true form for long, he was prepared to use a soul-breaking pill he kept in his storage device. The pill would briefly boost his mental strength, though it would leave him with searing pain in his mental sea and render him unconscious for three days afterward. However, in this crucial moment, he was willing to overlook such consequences. After all, the concept of using external substances to boost strength was unknown in this world, so Spirit Hall would find no evidence.
At the Pope's Hall entrance, Bibi Dong spoke up, "I see hope in each of you. For this final match, I expect everyone to go all out. The winning team will receive the highest reward from Spirit Hall."
With a wave of her hand, three glowing objects materialized before her, floating in the air.
They were a right arm bone, a skull, and a left leg bone, each glowing in red, light blue, and dark green hues—three exceptionally rare spirit bones!
The crowd erupted instantly.
Many had only heard rumors that Spirit Hall would offer three spirit bones as the grand prize for the final match, but rumors were rumors. Many could see that the attributes of these spirit bones matched the talents of Spirit Hall's golden generation, suggesting they were predetermined rewards for them.
And back then, Spirit Hall hadn't expected a dark horse like Heaven Dou Academy. With Su Ming's overwhelming strength, most spectators now believed Heaven Dou had a strong chance of winning.
As for Thunder Academy, while they had a Spirit King, they were considered weaker than both Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou.
In truth, most people had figured out part of the truth. Bibi Dong herself felt cornered and, to keep Su Ming from seeing through her intentions, had to offer up these spirit bones she had initially earmarked for the golden generation. After seeing Su Ming's strength, she wanted to retract the rewards, knowing the golden generation would struggle against him. Su Ming's complete Susano'o could decimate a demigod-level entity like Yu Yuanzhen in one blow. Still, she was gambling that Su Ming wouldn't reveal such a trump card publicly, especially since Qian Renxue could now compete. This eased her concerns a bit.
Su Ming was surprised to see these familiar spirit bones offered after all. He had expected Bibi Dong to retract them. It seemed she had faith in Qian Renxue's strength.
Bibi Dong: Is it too late to pull them back?
Even from the base of the Pope's Mountain, people could see the three spirit bones glowing brightly. Few, besides those already aware of the prize, could have predicted Spirit Hall would offer such a treasure.
Even Spirit Hall insiders showed traces of greed in their eyes, let alone the other academy members.
Ghost Douluo then announced solemnly, "These spirit bones are the Wisdom Skull of Mental Condensation, the Flame Right Arm of Eruption, and the Gale Left Leg of Speed. All three are over ten thousand years old, with the Wisdom Skull surpassing fifty thousand years."
Tang San's gaze locked onto the Wisdom Skull, a spirit bone seemingly made for him. According to Ghost Douluo, it was one of the most powerful spirit bones, only second to hundred-thousand-year and external spirit bones, and Tang San felt an intense desire to possess it. However, knowing the strength of Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou, he worried. Still, remembering the final match format, perhaps he could collaborate with Heaven Dou Academy. But given Su Ming's character, this seemed unlikely—unless Spirit Hall's power far outmatched Thunder and Heaven Dou combined.
Shifting his gaze to Qian Renxue, Spirit Hall's newest team member, Tang San suspected she must be formidable.
Then, an idea struck Tang San. He whispered to Yu Xiaogang behind him, "Teacher, could you ask His Holiness who this new Spirit Hall member is? If she's strong enough, perhaps we could work with Heaven Dou."
Yu Xiaogang's lips twitched slightly. Had Tang San forgotten that Spirit Hall had severed his right arm?
Still, Yu Xiaogang knew his student wouldn't harm him. And in such a public setting, Bibi Dong wouldn't dare act against him—it would damage her reputation.
"Your Holiness, I have a question!" Yu Xiaogang's voice was cold. "Spirit Hall's lineup seems to have changed. Would you mind explaining this to us all?"
The crowd watched intently, amused and curious. They had indeed noticed the beautiful newcomer to Spirit Hall but had been too intimidated to inquire. Now, they had their spokesperson.
"How dare you speak to His Holiness that way!"
One of the red-clad bishops pointed at Yu Xiaogang, his voice stern, as he released a portion of his soul power in warning.
Boom!
Instantly, Yu Xiaogang collapsed to the ground, his face pale.
Even the bishop was shocked. What? Is he trying to fake an injury? He had only applied a slight pressure as a warning—how did this so-called "master" end up sprawled on the floor?
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