Morning.
As the sun shone on the audience stands of Star Luo Plaza, tens of thousands of spectators loudly cheered a name, and to this cheering, Zhu Ziyang walked at the forefront, leading Shrek Academy into Star Luo Plaza.
Ever since Zhu Ziyang's appearance in the match against the Dou Ling Team, everyone already knew that this youth was the true core of Shrek Academy. Therefore, the members of Shrek Academy no longer hid his strength, and Zhu Ziyang directly adopted the posture of a leader. Since they had already been exposed, they might as well openly admit it.
As they approached the re-designated top four resting area, the enthusiasm of the audience grew even higher. They were no longer satisfied with just shouting the name of Shrek Academy; they began to shout the names of Zhu Ziyang and others in different sections.
"Golden Moon Emperor!" This was Zhu Ziyang's title. Because Zhu Ziyang had only appeared once, and the Emperor Moon skill he used left such a deep impression, the audience in the first row shouted this title, and it quickly gained widespread recognition.
"Phoenix Queen!" This was naturally Ma Xiaotao's title, which sounded much better than her self-proclaimed "Flame Fiend." Although Ma Xiaotao had only appeared once, as the first Spirit Emperor to appear in the competition and the first contestant to achieve a one-versus-seven victory, her title was well-deserved.
"Moon Goddess Princess!" As the most beautiful contestant in this competition, Jiang Nannan had the most supporters among all contestants. After all, who wouldn't like a stunningly beautiful and powerful Valkyrie? The title "Moon Goddess Princess" was partly due to Jiang Nannan's Spirit Abilities, especially her fifth Spirit Ability, that silver moon was truly too dreamlike; and partly due to Jiang Nannan's exquisite beauty and elegant demeanor, which greatly resembled the Moon Fairy in the myths circulating on the Douluo Continent.
Besides Zhu Ziyang, Ma Xiaotao, and Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei was called "Thunderbolt Dragon," and Xu Sanshi was called "Profound Nether Demon Shield." These two also gained the favor of some audience members due to their outstanding performances.
However, throughout the entire competition, only the contestants from Shrek Academy had the privilege of being given titles by thousands of spectators. Other academies, even Sun Moon Academy and Star Luo Academy, had no contestants who received such treatment.
Listening to the audience's cheers for the Shrek Team, the faces of the other three teams' members were very grim. This feeling of not being favored from the start was truly infuriating!
"Alright, don't pay attention to the voices of these vulgar people!" Ma Lao of the Sun Moon Team clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the team members. He said, "They are merely a bunch of ignorant and fearless fools."
"Sigh! It's always like this, truly enviable!" Among the Star Luo Team, Princess Princess Xu Jiujiu's eyes were filled with helplessness and envy. Although she was a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she was far from being able to gain the popularity of Shrek Academy.
"Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, sigh, this competition is becoming more and more boring." In the Di'ao Team, Captain Jiang Peng said with great emotion.
The top four teams were all present, and the semifinals were about to begin.
Emperor Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire uncharacteristically did not appear on the Imperial City Tower. Just as all the spectators thought His Majesty the Emperor would not attend today's competition, Emperor Xu Jiawei actually walked directly out of the Imperial City, surrounded by a group of high officials, and ascended the competition stage.
After a chorus of "Long live the Emperor!", Emperor Xu Jiawei, with a slight smile, said, "The Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition is a grand event that occurs once every five years on our Douluo Continent. It is a great honor for Us that this competition can be held in Our country. First, We would like to thank the more than one hundred academy representative teams from various countries. It is they who have presented a series of spectacular matches, allowing us to witness the rapid development of the Spirit Master and Soul Engineer World on the continent. It also gave Us the opportunity to share joy with Our people.
Today, the semifinals will be held, which also means that this Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition will draw to a close. The draw for the top four is also the last draw of this competition, therefore, We have decided to personally preside over this draw.
We hope that Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Di'ao Academy, and our Star Luo Empire's Star Luo Royal Academy will be able to present even more exciting matches in the final stages of the competition.
We know that everyone is eager to watch the matches, and We are equally looking forward to them. Let us begin now. We wish to share joy with Our people, and We also wish Our Star Luo Empire eternal prosperity for generations to come."
After Emperor Xu Jiawei finished speaking, there was another chorus of "Long live the Emperor!" Then, among the four elders behind Emperor Xu Jiawei, the one in the front left stepped two paces forward, faced the four major teams in the resting area, and said in a deep voice, "Captains of the four teams, please come to the stage for the draw."
With the elder's movement, a powerful aura suddenly burst forth. That astonishing pressure even made everyone in Star Luo Plaza feel as if the sky had darkened.
Zhu Ziyang's expression remained unchanged. Looking at the four elders, he already understood their identities: they must be the Titled Douluo Enshrined by the Star Luo Royal Family!
Sure enough, Emperor Xu Jiawei's words immediately confirmed Zhu Ziyang's guess. Emperor Xu Jiawei, with a slight smile, said, "To ensure the safety of both teams in the semifinals and finals, We have decided that in every upcoming match, a Protector Douluo of the Empire will serve as the referee and preside over the match. Today's draw and the first match will be presided over by Senior Huang Jinxu. Senior Huang's title is Tiansha."
Celestial Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu. Zhu Ziyang had heard of this Titled Douluo. He was very surprised that this fellow was still alive and had even become a Protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire. Didn't Emperor Xu Jiawei worry about being restrained to death by Huang Jinxu?
Zhu Ziyang's expression was strange.
Wang Yan was also very surprised and exclaimed, "Celestial Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, it's actually him. I thought he had died long ago. I didn't expect him to have defected to the Star Luo Empire."
"Big Brother Ziyang, what's the background of this Celestial Fiend Douluo? Is he very powerful?" Huo Yuhao leaned closer to Zhu Ziyang and asked curiously.
Zhu Ziyang smiled and told Huo Yuhao about Celestial Fiend Douluo. After listening, Huo Yuhao was very shocked, feeling that the Spirits in this World were truly too wondrous.
The captains of the four teams appeared on the stage. Princess Xu Jiujiu, as the captain of the Star Luo Team, naturally also appeared on the stage. Her appearance caused the other three teams to show expressions of shock.
"Isn't that the Auctioneer Jiujiu?" Wang Yan was very surprised, and then he remembered what Auctioneer Qingya had said that day, remarking, "A princess of the Empire participating in the competition, the Star Luo Academy truly hides its strength deeply!"
"Teacher Wang, if I'm not mistaken, the Spirit of the Star Luo Royal Family is Star Crown, right?" Zhu Ziyang said thoughtfully.
"That's right!" Wang Yan nodded, his expression also very solemn, and said, "The Star Crown Spirit, an ancient Spirit on par with the Clear Sky Hammer, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, is a support system Spirit. According to intelligence from the academy, the current Emperor of the Star Luo Empire has excellent cultivation talent, a rare cultivation genius in three hundred years. As his younger sister, and being able to represent Star Luo Academy in the competition, her strength is definitely not weaker than a Spirit King! This is a small variable!"
"Hehe!" Zhu Ziyang smiled and said, "Actually, it's not bad. After all, she's just a support system Spirit Master. Without a strong partner, it's useless."
"That's true." Wang Yan also smiled and said, "Let's see the draw results first, there's a one-third probability."
On the stage, under the gaze of the four Titled Douluo, the four captains came before Emperor Xu Jiawei. Emperor Xu Jiawei smiled slightly and said, "It's a pleasure to see you young talents. The competition is about to begin. I hope you can uphold the principle of 'friendship first, competition second' throughout this competition. Soon, I will throw out four balls with draw positions written on them. You will simultaneously snatch them. Are you ready?"
Ma Xiaotao narrowed her eyes slightly, glanced at Princess Princess Xu Jiujiu beside her, and said, "Ready."
Princess Xu Jiujiu smiled slightly and nodded, while Ma Rulong and Jiang Peng also nodded respectively.
"Pay attention!" Emperor Xu Jiawei's eyes narrowed slightly, and then, no one clearly saw how he made his move, but four golden lights simultaneously rose into the air.
Ma Xiaotao had long been poised and ready. The moment Emperor Xu Jiawei made his move, she instantly soared into the air. Ma Rulong and Jiang Peng made similar moves, attempting to rush towards the golden orbs in the air at the fastest speed. Only Princess Xu Jiujiu remained motionless, still standing there with a slight smile.
As the captain of Shrek Academy, Ma Xiaotao grabbed one small ball immediately and then gracefully landed. After she landed, Jiang Peng and Ma Rulong both succeeded. The last golden small ball fell out of thin air, and Princess Xu Jiujiu simply reached out and caught it.
A faint smile appeared on the pretty face of this princess. She glanced at the small ball in her hand. Although she was the last to get it, she was the first to report the result.
"I am number one."
Ma Rulong said in a deep voice, "Number two."
Ma Xiaotao's gaze fell directly on Princess Xu Jiujiu's pretty face, "Number one."
At this point, although Jiang Peng had not yet reported his number, the draw results were already out. Shrek Academy, also number one, would face Star Luo Royal Academy today. And Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy would naturally face Di'ao Academy.