Amidst the noisy discussions, teams entered the Great Spirit Arena one after another, preparing to take part in the grand ceremony.
When the Shrek group saw Li Chang’an and his team, their hearts soured instantly. Hadn’t they agreed earlier to design team uniforms together? Now, Li Chang’an’s group was dressed in sothing completely different.
To avoid drawing attention, Li Chang’an and his companions only waved at Tang San’s group from a distance before slipping away. They couldn’t afford to be associated with Shrek’s embarrassing display.
Most of the other teams arrived in glamorous attire. Though each wore their own academy’s uniforms, not a single one looked as absurd as Shrek Academy’s.
Under the gleam of golden, silver, red, and white fabrics, adorned with crests and ornate patterns, the young spirit masters looked like heroes striding proudly into the arena, brimming with vitality and the bearing of champions.
"In the next match, I don’t care what happens—I refuse to wear this again. It completely ruins my heroic image," Ma Hongjun grumbled, tearing off the mask from his face. Masks weren’t permitted during the tournant, and now, everyone had the urge to rip off their uniforms and flee the scene. Competing in such attire was simply too humiliating.
"Just look at Teacher Li’s team uniforms. That’s what I wanted!" Ma Hongjun added with envy, staring at Li Chang’an’s group in the distance.
Even Oscar had to nod in agreent, though none of them blad Li Chang’an for distancing himself. After all, he was hardly an ordinary man, and everyone knew it.
Fortunately, today was only the opening ceremony and the very first day of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournant. Aside from the ceremony, there would only be a single exhibition match—between the second team of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and a randomly chosen opponent in a round-robin battle. It was ant as a demonstration to keep the crowd entertained; after all, a ceremony alone would never satisfy the spectators.
The tournant offered lucrative rewards. Each victory in the preliminaries earned a team five hundred gold soul coins. Qualifying for the promotion rounds brought an additional three thousand gold soul coins. Reaching the finals guaranteed each participant—whether main or substitute—one thousand gold soul coins, along with a baronial title granted by the Heaven Dou Empire. And the ultimate championship prize was even richer still.
At this mont, Li Chang’an and his companions were in the resting area designated for participating academies within the main arena. They hadn’t been the first to arrive, nor the last. The spacious hall held over a thousand seats, divided into sections for each academy to wait and prepare.
Though not as crowded as outside, the presence of the Crimson Rose Team still drew attention the mont they entered. Even after deliberately finding a corner, they could not escape the eyes of others.
A murmur of envy spread among the other students. To Li Chang’an’s surprise, he even gained a few points just by sitting there. Without aning to, he had once again managed to flaunt his position.
After a short rest, staff mbers arrived to guide the academies into the arena. Since Crimson Rose Academy had only recently been registered and was still largely unknown, their entry order was placed toward the end despite the striking aura of its mbers.
Finally, when their turn ca, the team was still awestruck as they stepped into the arena.
The massive plaza was ringed with tens of thousands of cheering spectators. At the very front stood a golden platform for the presiding officials, behind which stretched the renovated VIP section.
The central field, more than one hundred and fifty ters in diater, already held neatly arrayed academies that had entered earlier. Each new academy was introduced by an announcer as they entered.
"Next, entering the field is Crimson Rose Academy. This newly registered academy is led by Spirit Saint Liu Erlong, who hails from the prestigious Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! Its mbers’ backgrounds are shrouded in mystery, but among them is none other than the young princess of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. And as you can see—Crimson Rose Academy has only a single male participant!"
At this, all eyes turned to Li Chang’an. He rely smiled and gave the crowd a casual glance.
Most, however, dismissed the academy as little more than entertainnt. Surely, they thought, so wealthy young master had gathered a group of girls to gain fa. After all, most of the mbers looked barely fourteen or fifteen years old.
The last team to enter, of course, was Shrek Academy. Though they too drew attention, it was accompanied mostly by ridicule.
With all academies finally assembled, Shrek Academy ended up standing at the very back of the formation.
Li Chang’an ignored the mocking laughter directed at them. Instead, he carefully studied the surroundings. This Great Spirit Arena was without doubt the grandest he had ever seen.
The stands, capable of seating eighty thousand spectators, glead in silver. Though it was only morning, specialized soul tool lighting illuminated the arena, lending it not only luxury but a majestic atmosphere. Ironically, those lights were products of the Spirit Hall Research Institute—a detail not lost on Li Chang’an.
On the golden platform, Li Chang’an spotted several familiar faces: Salas, Ning Fengzhi... but what caught his curiosity was the man seated in the center.
This man wore a golden-red robe and a dazzling diamond crown. His face was dignified, resembling Prince Xue Xing whom Li Chang’an had once confronted, though older and far more imposing. Unlike Xue Xing, this man exuded an aura of absolute authority. Even in his age, sitting there quietly, he seed the unmoving center of the world, with everything revolving around him.
Ning Fengzhi, dressed in a white robe and the athyst crown of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, sat nearby. As one of the top three sect masters of the Seven Great Sects—and with his clan recently elevated from Seven Treasure to Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—his presence here was fully deserved.
Salas, on the other hand, was resplendent in bright red robes. His gaze t Li Chang’an’s—and Hu Liena’s, disguised under another identity—several tis. Each ti, Salas’s heart lurched so violently that he had to pull out fast-acting heart pills and swallow a few to calm himself.
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