...
With all participating teams having entered the venue, Emperor Xueye, as the host, stood up first to deliver the opening speech.
It was nothing more than some high-sounding platitudes: encouraging everyone to achieve good results, demonstrate style, and showcase the confidence and strength of the Heaven Dou Empire, and passionately declaring that the young people present were the future hope of the Heaven Dou Empire.
After Emperor Xueye's speech, Ning Fengzhi, as the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and deputy director of the competition organizing committee, spoke.
The content is largely the same, and it's refreshing.
Next, it was finally Xuan Hao's turn to take the stage as the "President of the Tiandou Self-Improvement Association" and a representative of the younger generation of leaders.
In the waiting area, Qian Renxue, disguised as "Xue Qinghe," stared intently at Xuan Hao, lowering her voice and gritting her teeth as she gave him a final warning:
"Remember! Once you're up there, don't do anything reckless. You must strictly follow the speech we wrote together last night!"
"Okay, okay." Xuan Hao picked at his ear helplessly, looking nonchalant and perfunctory.
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure instantly became illusory on the spot.
Whoosh!
Before anyone could even discern the trace of his soul power fluctuations, Xuan Hao teleported like a ghost directly to the very front of the high platform that everyone was watching!
Looking down at the tens of thousands of people with varying expressions and even some noisy discussions, Xuan Hao took a step forward expressionlessly.
boom--!
A violent and incomparable pressure, as if it were a real dragon, exploded out from him like a Category 12 hurricane, sweeping across the entire huge opening ceremony venue in an instant!
In that instant, all the Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls, whether they were participating students or team leaders, felt an irresistible tremor from the depths of their blood, instantly falling silent, and even their Martial Souls couldn't help but want to prostrate themselves in worship!
Those weapon spirit masters also felt a strange, suffocating palpitation.
As for the ordinary nobles and spectators in the stands, they felt as if all the muscles in their bodies were being held together by an invisible force, making even breathing extremely difficult.
The once bustling and noisy square, teeming with tens of thousands of people, fell into a deathly silence in an instant!
Even the three people sitting not far behind Xuan Hao—Emperor Xueye, Ning Fengzhi, and Salas—had their pupils shrink slightly, feeling an uncontrollable palpitation.
"What the hell... what kind of monster is this?!"
Salas was utterly horrified. "Just how strong has this guy become?!"
In the deathly silence, Xuan Hao finally picked up the amplifying soul tool and coughed softly.
The clear, cold, and penetrating voice instantly spread to every corner of the square:
"Hello everyone, I am Xuan Hao."
"Those of you here have all heard about me from various sources. Some are good, some are bad, and some even portray me as an utterly wicked demon."
Xuan Hao paused for a moment, then said, "But the only thing I want to say when I stand here today is that it doesn't matter."
"You all have the right to speak, and you can say whatever you want behind people's backs.
In this world, scum can be elevated to a pedestal by capital and power, and saints can be degraded into worthless rotten people by rumors and gossip."
"So-called public opinion and moral judgment are, in the end, nothing more than the wind blowing and the clouds drifting. I don't care what others think of me."
"Because I am a Soul Master! For us Soul Masters, what is the most important, and the only important thing...?!"
"It's about skill!!!"
With that shout, Xuan Hao suddenly took another step forward!
boom!
A vast and boundless soul power surged forth from his body without reservation!
Immediately afterwards, under the horrified gazes of tens of thousands of people in the audience, seven dazzling soul rings, like the laws of the gods, slowly rose from beneath his feet!
Yellow, purple, black, red, black, black, black!
The seven spirit rings shone brightly, especially the dazzling 100,000-year red spirit ring that seemed to drip blood, which exuded a terrifying pressure that made people despair, crushing the hearts of everyone!
At this moment, everyone in the entire Heaven Dou Arena was completely stunned, their minds blank!
Even Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong, who had witnessed Xuan Hao's abnormal soul ring configuration not long ago at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, still felt a sense of disbelief and tingling when they saw it again.
This soul ring configuration completely disregards basic principles!
This child is only sixteen years old—an age beyond belief!
This cultivation progress is utterly disheartening!
Level 79! A high-level Soul Saint, just one step away from becoming a Soul Douluo!
Holy crap! Is this even a level of skill a human could achieve?!
In the deathly silence of the entire arena, where tens of thousands of people dared not even breathe, Xuan Hao's azure eyes coldly swept over the participating teams from various high-level academies below.
"Reputation can be faked, and virtue can be disguised, but absolute strength is clearly laid out before all of you!"
Xuan Hao opened his arms, his tone carrying an undeniable domineering and absolute pressure:
"I don't need anyone here to believe me, and I certainly don't need the approval of you so-called elites!"
"I'm standing here today only to make you realize one reality in the upcoming qualifiers—you just need to know what kind of opponent you're about to face!"
That's all!
...
at the same time.
In the exclusive waiting area below the stands, Qian Renxue, disguised as "Xue Qinghe," was having her eyes twitching wildly at a frenzied pace.
Listening to the extremely arrogant and outrageous "opening ceremony speech" from the high platform, Qian Renxue clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh, and she was so angry that her breathing was trembling.
"That hopeless bastard!!!"
Qian Renxue roared inwardly, "Is this the script I had people stay up all night to write for you about the future of the empire and the constructive spirit of young soul masters?!"
"How dare you spout such robber logic in front of the entire continent's delegation and the emperor?!"
"This isn't some pre-match pep talk...you're blatantly intimidating and threatening the entire younger generation of the continent!!!"
Na'er, standing to the side, saw Qian Renxue's expression, which suggested she might go berserk and strangle Xuan Hao at any moment, but she remained calm and unfazed.
She knew her brother all too well.
Yesterday, Ning Rongrong and the others got together and painstakingly crafted a speech that was full of clichés like "working together," "the future of the empire," "the spirit of the Soul Master," and "peaceful development."
Putting aside how verbose this thing is, just its positive tone is completely unrelated to Xuan Hao's arrogant and thuggish temper!
If he actually started by reciting those flowery, formal phrases, that would be truly bizarre!
He definitely needs to first establish his authority and have some fun in his own way before anything else.
However, since Xuan Hao had personally agreed to read the script last night, he would definitely not renege on his promise, considering their hard work and dedication throughout the night.
"Your Highness, don't worry, don't worry."
Na'er turned her head, tugged at Xue Qinghe's sleeve, looked at her with her innocent purple eyes, and whispered comfortingly:
"Although my brother is a bit mischievous, he will definitely keep his promises to us in the end."
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