Soul Land 3: Legend Of The Dragon King

During the ceremony, lots were going to be drawn at random by the machine, and the seeded participants were decided based on popularity among the general public rather than any official jurisdiction.

As such, it wouldn't be impossible for powerful beings to be pitted against one another, and it was precisely because of this that the ceremony drew even more attention.

Those who made it into the final 10 wouldn't have any further opportunities to clash as the choice would be up the Silver Dragon Princess Gu Yuena then, so the round-robin stage was the most important.

Tang Wulin was currently resting with his eyes closed. His sickly, sleep-deprived appearance wasn't something that was feigned, he was truly slightly under the weather.

Something had gone wrong during his heavenly refinement the previous day; an elemental tribulation had suddenly erupted, causing the piece of metal to explode, and the Infernal Lightning Vine had also reached the limit of its tolerance range. In order to protect the Infernal Lightning Vine, Tang Wulin had been forced to bear the brunt of the elemental tribulation, and even with his physical constitution he had been dealt a very heavy blow.

Thankfully, he had managed to save the Infernal Lightning Vine, and it was currently digesting the tribulation lightning. According to Tang Wulin's own estimation, he wouldn't be able to attempt any further heavenly refinement for at least three days.

During this recent period of time, he had been attempting heavenly refinement with excessive regularity, to the point that even his body as the Son of Nature was struggling to keep up with all the elemental tribulation he had to endure. 

Even Zhen Hua had advised him to take a break, and it wasn't a bad idea to take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the round-robin stage.

"Welcome, gentlemen, I am Qiangu Dongfeng." Right at this moment, Qiangu Dongfeng's clear voice rang out, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The image of Qiangu Dongfeng appeared on the big screen, and Gu Yuena was standing right beside him. She was wearing a long black dress that made her long silver hair look particularly resplendent.

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you all on behalf of the Spirit Pagoda for making it to the final 100. The fact that you've progressed to this point is a testament to your ability, and you can be proud in the knowledge that you're the most exceptional cultivators among the younger generation in the entire federation. At the same time, you've secured the prizes that our Spirit Pagoda announced prior to the commencement of the event, and you'll receive those prizes at the event's conclusion. You've all been gathered here today for the lots-drawing ceremony.

"In order to ensure fairness, we've invited the vice-hall master of the Battle God Hall to oversee the proceedings, and I wish you all luck in the upcoming round-robin stage, which will commence tomorrow. I'm sure you're all very tired after enduring the elimination stage matches, so I won't waste any more of your time. After the ceremony ends, go back and have a good rest so you can compete in the rest of the event in your best condition. Na'er, I'll let you do the honors."

Gu Yuena nodded, and announced, "Let the ceremony begin."

Her voice was very pleasant, and it drew one in on a subconscious level.

Tang Wulin looked up at the big screen, and his gaze naturally focused on Gu Yuena.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and he crossed his arms as the air rippled slightly around him.

Wait for me, Gu Yue. 

Following her announcement, the machine beneath the screen was turned on, and the 100 small balls within it began to bounce around in an erratic manner. It was also at this moment that an elderly man descended from the heavens and hovered above the machine with his hands clasped behind his back. All of the people present were high-grade Soul Masters, so they could naturally sense that this elderly man was an immensely powerful being.

He was the Vice-Battle God Hall Master, Sky Crossing Douluo Guan Yue.

He was one of the most seasoned veterans of the Battle God Hall and was a powerful being from the same generation as the Boundless Ocean Douluo. At the same time, he was also a Limit Douluo, but was slightly inferior in power to Chen Xinjie.

Furthermore, Guan Yue was a very understated character and wasn't a high-ranking military official like the Boundless Ocean Douluo. He was purely a Battle God and nothing else, and he very rarely appeared in the public eye. In particular, he had rarely ever been seen during the past few decades, and one could only imagine what kind of price the Spirit Pagoda had to pay in exchange for his attendance.

The Sky Crossing Douluo hovered in mid-air with his eyes closed, looking as if he were asleep, but everyone was filled with awe and veneration toward him. This was a Limit Douluo! Even though the number of Limit Douluos in the present world far outstripped that of ancient times, there were still less than 20 powerful beings of this caliber in the entire federation, and all of them stood at the very pinnacle of this world.

The Battle God Hall was the most powerful force under the federal parliament, and this was precisely due to the fact that it was being spearheaded by these two Limit Douluos.

Unfortunately, none of their successors had reached the Limit Douluo level, so once these two passed away, it was likely that the Battle God Hall would enter a slight trough. As such, the federation was investing more and more in the younger generation of the Battle God Hall while recruiting bright young talents at all costs.

The small balls continued to bounce around in the machine before entering a series of glass tubes. There were 10 tubes in total, and once a tube was filled with 10 balls it would be sealed shut.

Guan Yue nodded toward the rostrum as confirmation that everything was progressing smoothly.

Of course, no one was going to doubt his judgment. All Limit Douluos had their own pride and prestige that was not to be encroached upon, and no one was under the opinion that a Limit Douluo would renounce their own moral code over something like this.

"The results have been decided; the first group will consist of Number 17, Pan Xingzhou, Number 23..."

One name after another was called out, and everyone listened intently for which group they were in, as well as who else was in their group.

"Number 66, Yu Longyue." Tang Wulin was the sixth person in the third group, and his expression remained completely unchanged upon hearing this.

Lan Fuozi had already been assigned to the second group, for which Tang Wulin was quite thankful.

"Number 88, Qiangu Zhangting!" Everyone's hearts jolted upon hearing this next name, and they all cast their eyes toward Tang Wulin and Qiangu Zhangting.

They were both undoubtedly heavy favorites to progress to the final 10, but the fact that they had been split into the same group meant that only one of them would get to advance. Of course, this was assuming that no other participant in their group could perform better than they did.

Qiangu Zhangting turned to face Tang Wulin with an intense gaze, and Tang Wulin merely looked back at him with a provocative expression, which was completely in character with his adopted identity as the arrogant young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

...... 

One day ago.

"Brother Guan, I had no choice but to ask you for this favor. That grandson of mine is very proud and competitive, and he wants to face the most powerful competition. Many people are saying that this Yu Longyue is very powerful, including Na'er, so he wants to defeat him in order to win Na'er's heart fair and square. I'm not asking you to rig the competition in Zhangting's favor. In fact, this will only make things more difficult for him, so please do me this favor, Brother Guan."

"While it is indeed true that this isn't helping Zhangting in any way, you're still asking me to break the rules! You shouldn't have invited me to oversee this ceremony," Guan Yue said with furrowed brows.

Qiangu Dongfeng chuckled, "It wasn't easy for me to lay down my pride and request this of you, either, Brother Guan."

After a brief hesitation, Guan Yue nodded in response. "Alright, but you're the one asking for the rules to be broken; if something happens, I take no responsibility."

"Of course! Thank you, Brother Guan."

...... 

The news that the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Envoy Qiangu Zhangting of the Spirit Pagoda had been allocated to the same group instantly created a massive stir.

Countless people all over the continent had their eyes glued to their television screens, and all of them were looking forward to this epic showdown!

There was no lack of Titled Douluos who had made it to the final 100, but there weren't many among them who were young and handsome as well, yet Yu Longyue and Qiangu Zhangting definitely both satisfied those criteria.