DD Black White [205-207] (Patreon)

Chapter 205: Silly Little March 7th

The Simulated Universe Battle Royale Tournament erupted like a sudden storm, stirring up huge waves across both Douluo Continents.

That's right—this time, Lu Jingming promoted the battle royale tournament to both the main world and its parallel version, thinking that such an arrangement would be far more entertaining.

However, since the parallel Douluo Continent's circumstances differ from those of the main world, he adjusted the entry requirements, raising the age limit to under 25.

After all, if the limit stayed at under 20, the younger generation of the parallel world would stand no chance at all.

Even with the age cap raised by five years, the overall competitiveness of the parallel Douluo Continent remained weak—they were likely joining just for the experience.

But that was precisely one of Lu Jingming's goals: to inspire and stimulate the younger generation of the parallel world.

Of course, Lu Jingming had no intention of exposing the existence of the parallel world.

For competitors from that world, he planned to use special means within the simulated universe to interfere with others' perceptions.

He had Herta use Void Archives to mimic Fenghuang Down, interfering with the cognition of everyone in the simulated universe, making sure nobody noticed that some teams were from the parallel world—the world from ten thousand years ago.

After all, while most people might not recognize Tang San, Shui Bing'er, and the others, those from Shrek Academy stood a high chance—they had statues of these people at the academy.

Even if their appearances had changed with age, their unique martial souls would give them away.

Thus, Herta's intervention was crucial, and Void Archives could perfectly mimic Fenghuang Down for this purpose.

With Herta's power, not even an Ultimate Douluo could resist her cognitive interference when she used Fenghuang Down.

So there was no need to worry about powerful onlookers breaking free of the interference.

Lu Jingming put tremendous effort into preparing this tournament.

He didn't plan for it to be a one-time event either; he wanted to run it annually.

Nor did he want St. Freya Academy to take the championship. Their students could join for fun, but there was no need to compete for the top prize.

After all, the goal of the tournament was to raise the overall strength of the soul master community. For St. Freya Academy's people, the rewards like hundred-thousand-year soul bones and stigmatas weren't something they needed to fight for in a competition.

Once the time was right, Lu Jingming would naturally provide his own people with the best resources—there was no need to compete with others for these rewards.

As news of the tournament spread across both Douluo Continents, even the Spirit Hall and the two great empires, locked in a stalemate with the contamination points, found themselves tempted.

The value of hundred-thousand-year soul bones was self-evident. As for the hundred-thousand-year stigmatas, according to the tournament's rules, they could provide several hundred-thousand-year soul rings and might even help soul masters awaken new powers.

Upon seeing these rewards, Bibi Dong decided without hesitation to have the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall participate.

She even wanted Qian Renxue to join, since she was 24 and just within the age limit.

Bibi Dong was determined to win the hundred-thousand-year soul bones and stigmatas for her own god trial. Winning the tournament would greatly accelerate her path to godhood.

This meant everything to Spirit Hall, currently suppressed by Black Fu Hua, and even more so to Bibi Dong herself.

Once she obtained the hundred-thousand-year soul bones and rings, she could then start a war, absorb the continent's evil energy, and gain recognition from the Rakshasa Scythe, officially becoming the next Rakshasa God.

With her control over Spirit Hall, launching a war would be easy.

In short, Bibi Dong was ready in every way—she just needed this final push.

At such a time, she thought of her daughter Qian Renxue, toward whom she had complicated feelings: hatred, guilt, disgust, and a bit of pity all mixed together.

But there was no denying Qian Renxue's exceptional talent and strength.

Although years undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire delayed her training, her astonishing gifts had already pushed her to the Soul Emperor level.

With resources recently gained from the contamination points, she was already moving toward the Soul Sage realm.

With her innate level-20 soul power, even the Soul Sage bottleneck wouldn't be much of an obstacle.

It's a common rule in the Douluo Continent: the higher the innate soul power, the faster the cultivation.

A soul master with full innate soul power already trains at an incredible speed, but Qian Renxue, with innate level-20, had the greatest talent on the continent, even after ten thousand years.

But since she'd been undercover in Heaven Dou since age nine, how much time did she really have to train?

To avoid exposure, she couldn't train openly, and most of her time was spent on court etiquette, imperial skills, and political intrigue.

Even with all these difficulties, Qian Renxue still broke through to Soul Emperor naturally.

Had she been able to focus on cultivation, she'd likely be a Soul Douluo by now, if not a Titled Douluo.

Spirit Hall's handling of Qian Renxue's development was questionable—Bibi Dong, Qian Daoliu, and even Qian Renxue herself had all made mistakes.

But Bibi Dong didn't realize how fierce the competition would be this time.

If she relied only on Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, the three Soul Kings, without Qian Renxue's help, winning the championship would be almost impossible.

Still, for her god trial, Bibi Dong was all-in.

While she believed Hu Liena and the others were strong enough, for insurance she notified Qian Renxue to participate.

Since the tournament took place in the simulated universe, Qian Renxue could compete in secret without leaving the Heaven Dou Empire.

Besides Spirit Hall, the major soul master academies of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires also prepared to join.

Previously, the soul master tournament had been interrupted by the contamination points, a big regret after five years of preparation.

Now a tournament with even richer prizes had appeared, held in the simulated universe, with no danger to life and no need to pause their suppression of the contamination points. Of course, they wouldn't miss this chance.

Skywater, Blazing Fire, and Godwind Academies, thanks to their cooperation with Lu Jingming, had already gained many benefits.

At the very least, they had early access to soul tools and stigmatas.

Take Shui Bing'er, for example: because of her close relationship with Elysia, Elysia gave her a ten-thousand-year Ice Phoenix stigmata.

After absorbing it, Shui Bing'er's strength instantly broke through to Soul King, gaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring. Her Ice Phoenix martial soul also evolved, her ice power growing ever closer to the ultimate ice.

At this rate, once she reached Soul Sage, she'd likely break through another key barrier and become an Ultimate Ice Soul Sage.

Lu Jingming knew all this well, as he had entrusted all Jade Chamber business—including stigmatas and soul tools—to Elysia.

That Ice Phoenix stigmata was part of Elysia's work, and Lu Jingming trusted her to use resources wisely.

Indeed, apart from Shui Bing'er, Elysia, though fond of other girls as well, had never given out stigmatas on her own accord.

Thanks to this special relationship, these three academies were the first to learn of stigmatas and to buy large quantities of mid- and low-tier marks.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, meanwhile, focused on soul tools, especially high-grade ones.

With the advent of stigmatas, all three elemental academies saw their students' strengths improve.

Even soul masters who had already absorbed soul rings could use the marks to enhance their existing rings and gain new abilities.

If more time had passed, stigmatas would likely be even more popular than soul tools, since stigmatas could truly enhance a soul master's foundation and strength.

Unlike soul tools, which were just tools, stigmatas could fuse with a soul master's bloodline and genes.

The three elemental academies, having grown stronger, entered the tournament with renewed confidence, hoping at least to place in the top three.

Especially Skywater Academy: with Shui Bing'er's breakthrough and her fusion skill with Xue Wu, they were now brimming with confidence.

Almost as soon as invitations went out, hundreds of teams eagerly signed up.

As the simulated universe's controller, Lu Jingming handpicked 100 teams, most of which he knew well.

Since he controlled the simulated universe, he could rig the draw without anyone knowing; if he said the selection was fair, then it was fair.

It's worth noting: while he planned to keep the parallel world secret from people in his own world, he had no such intention for those in the parallel Douluo Continent—they would know they were in another world.

After all, many things couldn't stand up to scrutiny: soul tools, his own presence, stigmatas, and the many contamination point replicas—all would raise suspicions.

Besides, Lu Jingming had little desire to hide things—what harm if people found out?

For the world of Douluo Dalu 2, Douluo Dalu 1 was like a half-real, half-imagined place.

People from Douluo 1 would see competitors from Douluo 2 in the simulated universe, but to them these would all be unfamiliar faces.

But people from Douluo 2 might recognize people from Douluo 1 as historical figures.

Thus, he would only interfere with the perceptions of Douluo 2's people—not those from Douluo 1.

Until everything was settled, he didn't intend to let the people of Douluo 1 know too much about their possible futures.

…

Time passed quietly, and as everyone waited eagerly, the Simulated Universe Battle Royale Tournament finally began.

On a specially created island map, 700 people appeared in the sky, neatly ordered in teams of seven, each standing on their own cloud.

"So many people!"

Xiao Xiao, teamed with Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and others, stood on their cloud, curiously looking around.

But with so many people, she recognized only a few.

At the same time, countless viewers logged into the simulated universe, observing the 100 teams from a third-person perspective.

Unbeknownst to everyone, red feathers drifted through the simulated universe, utterly ignored by all as if they didn't exist.

"Where did all these people come from?" On a cloud, Hu Liena looked around at the unfamiliar teams, puzzled.

This was completely different from the information Spirit Hall had gathered.

Spirit Hall kept detailed records of every team in the soul master tournaments, but now, only a few familiar teams—like Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Skywater—were present.

Apart from these, at least half the teams were total strangers to her.

"So it's true." In Spirit Hall's team, a beautiful young blonde woman of about eighteen or nineteen muttered to herself.

Since meeting Lu Jingming, Qian Renxue had been investigating his background.

Especially after the contamination points spawned Lu Jingming's replicas—terrifyingly powerful ones—she began to doubt his origins.

Was Lu Jingming really from Douluo Continent? Even though he said he was from the Star Luo Empire, and her intuition agreed, Spirit Hall's branch in Star Luo had found no trace of him.

Even if he came from a hidden sect, there should be some clue.

From then on, Qian Renxue suspected he wasn't from Douluo Continent—maybe he hailed from overseas or another continent.

The sea is vast and unexplored.

Spirit Hall, as a top force, had long suspected other continents might exist beyond the ocean.

As a group that once produced the Angel God, Spirit Hall possessed records confirming the existence of other continents.

But they were so distant that only gods could cross the sea to reach them.

The simulated universe, soul tools, and stigmatas all reinforced Qian Renxue's suspicions.

Now, with so many unfamiliar teams in the tournament, she was more certain than ever.

Many others—Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, and others—shared her suspicions.

As top rulers, they knew every sect's teams inside out.

There might be a few omissions, but there was no way so many unfamiliar teams could exist—over fifty teams were totally strange, and just a bit of thought made it obvious something was up.

But unlike them, Yan Shaozhe, Du Busi, and others affected by Fenghuang Down's cognitive interference found everything perfectly normal.

They didn't notice that many teams were unfamiliar, or that some competitors were obviously over twenty.

"This is so interesting—way more fun than the usual soul master tournament." March 7th excitedly studied the tournament rules, thrilled to find something fun again.

"Thanks for your hard work, Robin. Little March must have caused you a lot of trouble out there," Lu Jingming said softly, moving closer to Robin.

"It's alright!" Robin replied, but couldn't hide a slightly pained expression.

March 7th was kind-hearted and never caused problems on purpose, but she was so playful and unreliable that she often got into trouble by accident.

It was always unintentional, but Robin couldn't help feeling helpless.

March 7th had a strong adventurous spirit and was a bit too lively—by comparison, Firefly was much easier to manage.

As long as it wasn't about fighting, Firefly was calm and pleasant to travel with.

In fact, she and Firefly were now like best friends—and the same went for March 7th.

"Here, Little March, let me show you something cool." Suddenly remembering something, Lu Jingming used his authority to play a stored video for Robin and the others.

"No way, that's us!" Watching the video of Black March 7th and others showing off, March 7th was shocked.

"That's right, those are our replicas, with the same powers as us."

Lu Jingming explained the contamination points to March 7th and the others, which relieved them—they'd thought Lu Jingming had secretly cloned them.

Learning these were memory projections without self-awareness, they had no further worries.

"Wait, am I really that strong?" March 7th was more interested in Black March 7th's combat power.

The video showed a dominantly powerful version of herself—decisive and impressive. Was that really her?

She couldn't help doubting if that was really her own replica.

The abilities matched: Six-Phase Ice, archery, and swordplay learned from Jingliu—but the style was so different!

"So, the contamination point still isn't cleared. How about we each challenge our own replica? That should be fun," Lu Jingming suggested.

"What? You want me to fight her?" March 7th was shocked, pointing at herself and then at the unbeatable Black March 7th in the video.

"No way! That's just asking for trouble!" she protested, waving her hands in panic.

She clearly wasn't a match for the blackened version of herself and had no desire to be humiliated by her own replica.

Gu Yue, meanwhile, was more interested in the information revealed in the video.

Watching the battles, her mouth twitched.

Even though she'd never met those people, judging by their power and martial souls, she easily recognized them as figures from ten thousand years ago.

Thinking of this, she looked at Lu Jingming with resentment and sent him a soul power voice transmission: "Just how many things are you hiding from me?"

She felt Lu Jingming knew everything about her, while she knew almost nothing about his secrets.

"Doesn't a man with secrets seem more attractive?" Lu Jingming replied in kind.

He didn't intend to keep the parallel world a secret from Gu Yue—otherwise, he wouldn't have shown her the video.

But except for those he'd summoned, he didn't plan to tell anyone else for now.

Even someone like Zhang Lexuan, who'd watched him grow up and knew a lot, never asked, and he never brought it up. They had a tacit understanding.

Zhang Lexuan knew Lu Jingming was keeping things from her, and he knew she realized it. After all, so many people had suddenly appeared in his life—there was no way she wouldn't notice.

But Zhang Lexuan didn't mind.

If Lu Jingming wanted to tell her, she'd listen and keep his secrets; if not, she'd pretend she knew nothing.

"Forget it, you're always so mysterious anyway." Gu Yue rolled her eyes but didn't push further.

After all, wasn't it his mystery that drew her to him?

She was the Silver Dragon King—if not for this unpredictable human, how could she have fallen for him?

It was because she couldn't see through him that she became so fascinated—ordinary humans, she could see through at a glance and had no interest in.

Even though she and Lu Jingming spoke only through soul power, the sharp Robin noticed the subtle change in their relationship.

Sensing that the two were growing closer, Robin frowned slightly.

She wondered if it was time to go home.

After all, she and March 7th, along with Firefly, had been away for a while. If she stayed longer, someone might steal her place.

With that settled, Robin smiled gently to herself. She thought, "I can lose to anyone, but not to Gu Yue, the latecomer."

Jinhsi hadn't spoken, but she'd been quietly observing.

At that moment, a faint sense of crisis stirred in her heart.

She wondered, should she make her move? In two years, Xiao Ming would be an adult—who would take the lead then?

Maybe she should talk to her teacher—after all, her teacher was involved in all this too!

Chapter 206: The Blood-Eyed Holy Son

Jinhsi hesitated. She had a good impression of Lu Jingming, but taking the initiative—maybe even sneaking out—made her feel uneasy.

Castorice was still lost in thought, while Firefly quietly clenched her fists, a look of determination flashing across her face, as if she'd made up her mind about something.

Of the seven, only March 7th was completely oblivious, acting silly and totally unaware of the subtle shift in atmosphere.

…

Elsewhere, Tang San surveyed those around him, his expression unusually grave.

He could clearly sense the threat emanating from the people nearby; it was obvious that no one here was weak.

Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao had been unfortunate enough to fall to Black Castorice's soul skill; death energy invaded his body, leaving him on the brink of death.

With no other choice, Tang San brought Tang Hao to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, using its vast life energy to barely suppress the rampaging death energy.

But this was only a temporary fix. While it could stave off the corrosion for now, it couldn't truly solve the problem.

That death energy clung to him like a maggot to bone. Without some special method, it would be almost impossible to purge it completely.

At present, all Tang San could do was let Tang Hao borrow the well's power just to stay alive.

What's worse, Tang Hao's will to live was extremely weak. If it weren't for Tang San's determined efforts to save him, he would probably have already wanted to return to Ah Yin's side and face death peacefully.

After receiving Xiao Wu's message, Tang San decided to enter this Battle Royal Tournament, aiming for the highly tempting hundred-thousand-year soul bone and hundred-thousand-year stigmata.

If Tang Hao could successfully refine either, it might grant him a breakthrough.

With the powerful force from martial soul evolution, there might be a chance to drive out the death energy; even if it couldn't be eradicated, it could at least be further suppressed.

With that in mind, Tang San signed up for the tournament without hesitation.

Moreover, since the tournament was held in a simulated universe, he could participate even while physically remaining at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

However, to obtain the soul bone and stigmata, winning the championship was a must—hence Tang San's grim expression.

The Shrek Seven Monsters were formidable, but their age put them at a disadvantage. In a tournament full of powerful opponents, standing out would be no easy feat.

Soon, the tournament rules were projected clearly in mid-air, ensuring every participant could see them.

At the start, one hundred teams would be randomly deployed onto an island below. Teams with bad luck might be thrown straight into fierce combat upon landing.

At the edges of the island, the simulated universe would release a poisonous zone, which would gradually shrink towards the center as time passed, forcing teams to move toward the middle and ramping up the competition.

Of course, teams could try to resist the poison with their own cultivation.

But as time went on, the poison would only get stronger. In the end, even a Poison-type Titled Douluo would struggle to withstand it.

So, teams were forced to move inward, making encounters with other teams much more likely.

The rules were clear: the last team standing out of a hundred would be crowned champion.

In addition, the simulation scattered plenty of mid- and low-level soul tools and resources across the island—things to restore soul power, heal, or even resist poison.

If a team gathered enough supplies, even if their power was weaker, they could still do well in the tournament.

At certain times, even higher-quality resources would be dropped—like Invincible Golden Body, Teleport Rings, and Soul Tool Armor—strategic items that everyone coveted.

But whenever these appeared, their locations would be broadcast to all teams, guaranteeing fierce competition.

To make things more interesting, the simulation also set up a few resurrection points.

Each participant carried a resurrection chip. As long as one teammate survived, they could bring the chips of fallen teammates to a resurrection point and revive the whole team, getting everyone back into the fight.

This battle royale mode was incredibly engaging. It tested not just strength, but luck, strategy, teamwork, and cooperation.

Not only were the contestants excited, but the audience was, too.

Compared to the traditional arena-style tournaments for soul masters, this was clearly far more fun and appealing.

Everyone was hooked, eagerly awaiting the start.

When the three-minute countdown ended, beams of light enveloped each team. The simulation began random deployment, officially opening the tournament.

No referees or hosts were needed; spectators could watch from their favorite team's perspective or from a god's-eye view over the whole competition.

…

As the light faded, Lu Jingming and March 7th's group found themselves atop a seaside cliff.

Their luck wasn't great—they were right at the island's edge, with the poison zone looming behind.

This meant they'd have to move toward the center, unlike luckier teams who could wait in safety.

But they hadn't entered to win; they were just here for the experience.

Just as Lu Jingming was about to speak, another team appeared in the distance.

Lu Jingming paused, then showed a look of interest.

Not only did he spot them, but the other team noticed him as well.

When the other team saw another squad at the same location, one member immediately showed a twisted, sinister grin—eyes flashing with open killing intent.

Suddenly, the black-robed youth leading that team raised a hand to stop his eager companions, his face grim. "Stop. Let's go."

"Holy Son, what's the meaning of this?" asked Tang Dai, wearing a skull mask, his expression darkening.

He'd never been convinced by Huo Yuhao, whose soul power was lower than his. If not for Huo Yuhao being favored by the Supreme Elder and made a disciple—then named the Blood-Eyed Holy Son by the sect leader—Tang Dai would never have accepted him as team captain.

On the surface, he listened to Huo Yuhao, but in reality, aside from the Blue Silver Saintess, no one in the team respected Huo Yuhao as captain.

The Holy Spirit Sect revered strength; the evil soul masters were rebellious by nature. If not for Huo Yuhao's status, Tang Dai wouldn't pay him any mind.

Now, Huo Yuhao was stopping him from having a little fun—Tang Dai was thoroughly annoyed.

"You dare defy me?" Huo Yuhao's face turned cold, his eyes glowing blood-red, a chilling murderous intent radiating from his crimson pupils.

He'd long wanted to establish authority within the team, and here Tang Dai was, presenting the perfect opportunity.

Stared down by Huo Yuhao's blood-colored eyes, Tang Dai—despite being a Soul King while Huo Yuhao was only a Soul Ancestor—felt a chill run through him, goosebumps rising.

He instinctively glanced at a white-haired youth nearby, the one he truly recognized as captain, not Huo Yuhao.

"Listen to the Holy Son," Yan Feng said coolly.

As the cult leader Zhongli Wu's disciple, Yan Feng knew many secrets.

This Huo Yuhao was favored not only by the Supreme Elder, but also by the Supreme Sect Leader. Rumor had it he was personally brought back by the Third Elder—his background was deeper than anyone could imagine.

Yan Feng wasn't pleased either, but he had to tolerate it; he didn't dare cross Huo Yuhao in public.

Unlike the puppet-like Blue Silver Saintess, who was just a tool for the sect's future, Huo Yuhao, as the Holy Son, held real power—he might even succeed the Holy Spirit Sect leader one day.

"Yes!" Tang Dai lowered his head. Among the young generation of the Holy Spirit Sect, Yan Feng was the true leader, far more respected than Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao gave Yan Feng a deep look. He thought to himself that this guy would be tough to handle, but if he could win him over, he'd have a powerful ally.

He was confident he could suppress Yan Feng, though not right now—Yan Feng was a Soul Emperor-level evil soul master, his combat power rivaling a Soul Sage.

With the internal conflict resolved, Huo Yuhao glanced warily at Lu Jingming's group—who were watching from afar but showed no sign of attacking—then turned and led his team away in the opposite direction.

"Heh, things are getting more and more interesting," Lu Jingming mused, watching Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya's team leave. Remembering that Wang Dong and Bei Bei were also competing, he felt this tournament would be a lot of fun.

"Xiao Ming, I really can't stand those guys. Why don't we just eliminate them?" March 7th had wanted to fight them, finding Huo Yuhao's team's aura instinctively repulsive.

She wasn't alone—Robin and Jinhsi also disliked Huo Yuhao's group.

Chapter 207: Yu Tianlong and Yu Tianheng

As much as the girls wanted to take out the Holy Spirit Sect team, Lu Jingming had no such intention, so they held back.

"They're strong enough, and this is just a simulation. Even if we beat them, it doesn't matter. If you really hate them, there'll be plenty of chances in the future," Lu Jingming said with a shake of his head.

He knew that March 7th and the others were inherently kind and couldn't stand the Holy Spirit Sect's evil ways.

But fighting them in the simulation would be pointless, and they'd miss out on many interesting developments.

If they encountered these evil soul masters in the real world, though, Lu Jingming wouldn't stop them—and the evil soul masters would only have themselves to blame for bad luck.

"So, what do we do now?" March 7th quickly put the Holy Spirit Sect team out of her mind, refocusing on the match.

"Let's split up. If we all move together, we're too strong," Lu Jingming suggested.

"Okay! I want to team up with Sister Robin!" March 7th's eyes lit up as she affectionately took Robin's arm, beaming with excitement.

Robin, as a support, was weaker in direct combat and needed protection—March 7th by her side would suffice.

Lu Jingming's plan was unanimously approved.

After all, moving together would make their team overwhelmingly strong—and they weren't in it for the championship, so there was no need to pressure the other teams.

Soon, the group of seven split up. Only March 7th and Robin stayed together; the others went solo.

Lu Jingming watched Huo Yuhao's group leave, thought for a moment, then decided to follow.

His intuition told him that trailing the Holy Spirit Sect team would lead to more interesting events.

…

Elsewhere, Wang Qiu'er, Ye Gu Yi, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Lan Ruoruo (who had joined the team because of her friendship with Ye Gu Yi) formed a seven-person team.

Lan Ruoruo had come with Ye Gu Yi to St. Freya Academy, not as talented as Ye Gu Yi but still quite capable.

Though her surname was Lan, she wasn't related to Lan Susu or Lan Luoluo; she was from the Sun-Moon Empire.

But this made her get along well with the Lan sisters, and with her friendship with Ye Gu Yi, she was invited to fill the team's vacant spot.

Now, the seven were gathering resources as they made their way towards the center of the island.

They were lucky—not running into any other teams at the start, only encountering one while gathering supplies.

But with Wang Qiu'er, Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Ye Gu Yi all being Soul Kings, plus the strong Soul Ancestor-level Lan twins and Lan Ruoruo, the other team had no choice but to surrender their resources and become walking loot boxes.

Just then, a red dot lit up on the virtual map nearby, instantly drawing attention.

They all knew from the rules that a red dot on the map meant a high-level resource drop.

"It's so close—should we go for it?" Meng Hongchen asked Wang Qiu'er.

Wang Qiu'er was the team captain, having won the most in their usual sparring.

"Of course!" Wang Qiu'er summoned her Golden Dragon Spear.

She feared no one except Lu Jingming's group—and since they'd declared they weren't going for the championship, her team had a real shot.

The more high-level resources they got, the better their chances.

Ye Gu Yi and Xiao Hongchen were equally confident, so they all headed for the drop.

All teams on the island could see the high-level supply location.

Unless a team was too far away, most rushed for the drop.

Some teams played it safe, avoiding the coming chaos; others prepared to ambush nearby, hoping to pick off the weakened victors.

Strategies abounded, and the tournament's first climax was about to begin.

Spectators everywhere focused on the resource drop, ready for the coming melee.

A red pillar of light shot skyward, with a huge treasure chest glowing dazzlingly within—the high-level supplies.

Its special effects were so striking that anyone nearby would easily notice, even without the map marker.

The first to arrive was the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team—Yu Tianheng led Dugu Yan and the others at top speed, eager to grab the loot and escape.

But the simulation wouldn't let them off that easy.

Opening the chest required a full minute.

When they saw the countdown, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan's group were dumbfounded—they hadn't known about this rule!

"Captain, maybe we should back off; the other teams will be here any minute!" Oslo, a Heaven Dou team member, was more nervous than ever. The thought of lurking teams or ambushes made him break out in a cold sweat.

"What are you afraid of? We're the Heaven Dou Royal Team," Yu Feng tried to keep calm, but his eyes darted around anxiously.

Yu Tianheng hesitated. He knew the first team to get the loot would likely become everyone else's target.

But he couldn't give up so easily—they'd arrived first, after all.

"Just wait a bit more, almost done!" Yu Tianheng gritted his teeth, unable to resist the temptation.

Just the Invincible Golden Body and Teleport Ring in the chest would greatly boost their strength.

A minute passed—no other teams showed up, and the Heaven Dou team breathed a sigh of relief.

The chest opened, revealing soul tools, pills, and potions. Yu Tianheng's face lit up.

But then, a dragon's roar thundered—a giant blue lightning dragon bared its fangs and lunged at them.

"Not good!" Shi Mo and Shi Mo, the Heaven Dou defensive duo, immediately released their Black Tortoise Martial Souls and shielded the team.

But in the next instant, the lightning dragon sent them flying. The savage lightning tore their bodies apart.

By the time they hit the ground, they were nothing but charred corpses—instantly killed, their bodies turning to points of light, leaving behind only indestructible blue resurrection chips.

"How is this possible!" Yu Tianheng and the others were shocked.

The Shi brothers' Black Tortoise Martial Souls were no joke. Even though they defended in a rush and hadn't used their soul skills, they shouldn't have been killed instantly!

"Leave the loot and you can leave!"

A tall, burly figure led six others over in steady strides.

The leader had short blue hair, a rugged face, and lightning flickering around him, blue dragon scales faintly visible.

Two yellow, two purple, one black—five soul rings pulsed rhythmically on him, making Yu Tianheng and his team's faces turn grim.

"Soul King!" Yu Tianheng squeezed the words out, his face dark.

No wonder the Shi brothers had died so quickly. The huge soul power gap, a powerful martial soul, and a planned ambush—no wonder they couldn't resist.

But the more Yu Tianheng looked at the man's martial soul, the more it reminded him of his own Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, making him suspicious.

"Bastard!" Dugu Yan, always hot-tempered, immediately released her martial soul.

Two yellow, two purple—four rings circled her.

Her legs turned into a snake tail, a green scale appeared on her brow, and a purple poison mist spread around her, making her dangerous.

Her third soul ring flashed, and she spat a surge of thick purple poison mist at the enemy.

"Overestimating yourself!" Yu Tianlong snorted, clapping his hands.

A blue thunderball formed in his palms, compressed until it turned pitch black.

He thrust it forward, and the black thunderball shot out like an arrow, brimming with wild electric power, charging at Dugu Yan.

But her poisonous mist, seemingly so dangerous, simply couldn't compare to the rampaging lightning.

The poison was instantly dispersed by the thunder's force, wiped out in midair.

"Yan Yan, watch out!" Yu Tianheng's face changed. He released his own martial soul, his arms turning into blue dragon claws wrapped in lightning, shielding Dugu Yan.

Boom!

The black thunderball struck Yu Tianheng's arms, causing a violent explosion.

Black lightning exploded outward in a frenzy, instantly engulfing Dugu Yan and the others.