After everyone who had knelt rose to their feet, a faint smile appeared on Bibi Dong's face. Her gaze swept from left to right, carefully observing each of the twenty-one young soul masters who had advanced to the top three.
When her eyes landed on Hu Liena, they were filled with satisfaction.
Her precious disciple not only possessed exceptional talent and worked diligently but also had extraordinary luck. It was foreseeable that her future would be bright.
"From you all, I see hope. Here, before the Pope's Palace, I look forward to witnessing all of your talent and strength. And the final victor will receive the greatest reward from the Soul Hall."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong gently waved the gemstone scepter in her hand. Instantly, three points of light expanded before her, floating in midair.
These three glowing objects were none other than three soul bones—one skull bone, one right arm bone, and one left leg bone—each radiating a soft blue, fiery red, and deep green glow, respectively.
The moment these three soul bones appeared, they immediately attracted countless greedy gazes, especially the skull bone in the center, which shimmered with a pale blue glow and was the most tempting of all.
If not for the fact that this was in front of the Pope's Palace, and if not for the presence of several Title Douluo serving as a deterrent, someone might have already been unable to resist rushing forward to snatch them.
"A rich tycoon is indeed generous!"
Automatically ignoring the right arm and left leg soul bones, Mu Yang's gaze fixed on the extraordinarily fine skull bone, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If nothing unexpected happened, this pale blue skull bone should be the Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull Bone from the original novel, with a terrifying age of sixty thousand years.
Moreover, due to the rarity of skull bones, in terms of pure value, this one ranked just below a hundred-thousand-year taraso bone. It was even more precious than the legacy soul bones treasured by major powers across the continent.
Despite knowing that other academy teams were strong and that the Soul Hall Team might not necessarily win the championship, the Soul Hall still took out this Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull Bone as part of the champion's reward. This act truly demonstrated the immense wealth of the Soul Hall.
After all, this was a public occasion with numerous witnesses.
Since Bibi Dong, as the Pope, had already made the declaration, the Soul Hall absolutely could not go back on its word.
If the Soul Hall Team ultimately failed to win the championship, these three soul bones would have to be handed over as promised. Otherwise, the reputation of the Soul Hall would plummet.
Considering that the unification of the continent was imminent, maintaining a spotless reputation was crucial. In such a scenario, it wasn't just a matter of offering one sixty-thousand-year skull bone alongside two valuable limb bones—even if the Soul Hall had pledged a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, it would have no choice but to deliver.
Of course, even after their failed attempt to eliminate Tang Hao, the Soul Hall still presented the Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull Bone as a champion's reward. This decision was not without reason.
If possible, the Soul Hall naturally wouldn't want to part with such a precious skull bone.
But there was no other choice—the right to host this year's Soul Master Tournament Finals had been obtained by the Soul Hall from the Star Luo Empire.
The only reason the Star Luo Empire agreed to this was that the Soul Hall had explicitly stated it would offer three soul bones as rewards, and the specific three had been pre-determined, with no possibility of later alteration.
Otherwise, if the Soul Hall were shameless enough to see that another team had won the championship and then casually pull out three lesser soul bones—perhaps thousand-year or even hundred-year ones—to fulfill the promise, what then?
After all, not long ago, Tang Hao had caused a huge incident within the Heaven Dou Empire. The Soul Hall's true motive for securing the right to host the finals was obvious. To achieve its goals, some sacrifices had to be made.
For the Star Luo Empire, it didn't matter who ultimately claimed the soul bones. As long as they could force the Soul Hall to bleed resources, it was a win for them!
At that moment, a charming voice rang out:
"These three soul bones all come from soul beasts over ten thousand years old. They are the Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull Bone, the Explosive Blaze Right Arm Bone, and the Swift Wind Left Leg Bone.
Among them, the Spirit Condensing Wisdom Skull Bone originates from a soul beast over fifty thousand years old. It was personally slain by the previous Pope and is an absolute treasure among soul bones, second only to external soul bones and those produced by hundred-thousand-year soul beasts."
The one introducing the three soul bones was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
After he finished speaking, Bibi Dong addressed the crowd once more:
"There is only ever one victor, and the championship is no exception.
Therefore, these three soul bones will all belong to the final champion team. I hope the three teams that made it this far will give it their all and earn this honor.
This morning, each of the three teams will send out seven participants for an individual elimination battle. The winning team will gain the upper hand by advancing directly to tomorrow's championship match, while the two losing teams will battle in the afternoon for the remaining spot in the finals.
Now, you may send your first contestant forward to draw lots."
The first match of the fifth round of the finals followed the same individual elimination format as the promotion rounds, but this time, all three teams participated together.
Although this wasn't the final championship battle, it was still of great importance. Winning this match not only secured a top-two placement but also granted the advantage of resting and preparing for the ultimate showdown the next day.
A row of golden chairs was arranged before the Pope's Palace. At Bibi Dong's signal, she took the central seat, with Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Huo Lie to her left, while Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Ling Yuan sat to her right.
As the seven took their seats, the three competing teams—Blazing Fire, Skywater, and the Soul Hall Team—each sent their first contestant forward to draw lots.
The Soul Hall Team did not immediately send out any of the Golden Generation's three main members. Instead, their first participant was a tall, short-haired female contestant.
Unlike the Soul Hall Team, the first contestants for Blazing Fire and Skywater were not their weaker members but rather their team captains, Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er.
Before the match officially began, the three initial contestants had to draw lots to determine their teams' order of appearance.
The team that competed last would undoubtedly gain an advantage.
Soon, the drawing results were revealed.
Mu Yang had poor luck, drawing the first spot, while the Soul Hall Team was second, and Skywater Team secured the final position.
However, at that moment, Shui Bing'er turned to face Bibi Dong, bowed slightly, and said:
"Your Holiness, on behalf of Skywater Academy, we forfeit this match and will proceed directly to the afternoon's elimination round."
This was a prearranged strategy between the two teams.
In the morning's individual elimination battle, whichever team went up against the Soul Hall Team first would forfeit and enter the afternoon's elimination round.
After all, with Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er as the ace players for their respective teams, whether it was Blazing Fire or Skywater, they were guaranteed to defeat the Soul Hall Team in the individual elimination match.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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