While Tang San and Xiao Wu were packing their belongings to return to Holy Spirit Village for the New Year, the Spirit Hall contacted the upper echelons of both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire to initiate a reform of the competition grounds for the upcoming Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
Tang San's proposed reform for the tournament battlegrounds had been officially adopted by Bibi Dong, and it received the approval of over 80% of the continent's soul masters.
After all, every participant hoped to compete in an environment suited to their strengths, where they could fully display their combat power and achieve the best possible results.
Those who opposed the reform worried that they might be assigned an unfavorable battleground, where their spirit would be at a disadvantage—such as a plant-type spirit master being forced to fight in a desert, unable to exert their full strength, unless they possessed spirits like cold-resistant cacti or desert-adapted tumbleweeds.
However, the major powers largely supported the reform. To them, it was an opportunity to assess a soul master's strength beyond their spirit's innate abilities.
In truth, for the major factions of the Douluo Continent, the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was less a competition—and more a grand talent showcase, a recruitment fair on a continental scale.
"Learn the arts of war and trade, and sell them to the emperor."
This ancient principle applied just as well in Douluo.
Each year, countless academy talents showcased their abilities in the tournament, hoping to be noticed by the great sects or empires.
Those who performed well gained prestige, honor, and lucrative invitations. Some were even offered positions of power and wealth.
If the major powers were likened to massive corporations, then the competing soul masters were ambitious applicants. Only a small number of them wouldn't consider joining a faction after the tournament.
These "employers" needed accurate information to assess their "candidates." In the past, they had based their decisions largely on wins and losses.
But now, many realized that combat success doesn't always reveal true potential. Governing an empire or building a sect required more than brute strength.
Diversifying the tournament environments would allow factions to better observe which academy-trained talents could adapt to a variety of terrain and show flexibility in applying their spirit abilities.
Even if a spirit master would never fight in a disadvantageous terrain in real life, being exposed to one during the tournament would open their eyes to the broader world—and better prepare them to face opponents who countered their abilities.
The construction of the battlegrounds was actually not too difficult.
Deserts, wastelands, grasslands, swamps, and forests were relatively easy to recreate. New finals arenas could be opened, and terrain could be transported and adjusted accordingly.
Only some terrains—such as icefields, storms, rivers, and volcanoes—would be difficult. These required either soul masters with specific attributes to maintain the environment or the use of specialized soul tools.
Despite these technical hurdles, the majority of major powers agreed to proceed. A small minority voiced opposition, but in this case, the minority had to yield.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect
After returning from Spirit City, Ning Fengzhi gathered his disciples to explain the new policy and immediately ordered them to begin building simulated battle environments to prepare their cultivators for the reformed tournament format.
When Mu Tian heard about it, he muttered to himself:
"Is this a Pokémon battle now?"
At this point, he genuinely suspected that Tang San wasn't from a wuxia world like he'd first assumed. No—Tang San must also be a transmigrator from modern society. And probably a Pokémon fan, just like himself.
"Whatever, it's not a big deal. Hao Yue will eventually have multiple attributes and can adapt to any environment anyway."
Mu Tian didn't dwell on it. Instead, he found Bone Douluo and informed him that he had reached level 20 and was ready to obtain his second soul ring.
"Eight years old, level 20… truly worthy of innate full soul power," Bone Douluo said with approval.
"Let's go. I'll take you to Sunset Forest to hunt a soul beast. Have you decided on the attribute?"
"I want light," Mu Tian replied confidently.
"Light?" Bone Douluo frowned.
"Isn't your Earthfire Lizard a fire-type spirit? Light and fire are similar, but they're not the same. It's better to reinforce what you already have."
"My spirit has multiple attributes. As long as I obtain a soul ring with a matching property, I can awaken that element. I can feel it," Mu Tian said firmly.
Bone Douluo was skeptical.
It was true that spirits could inherit elemental properties from soul rings, even if they weren't part of the spirit's original nature.
But it was unusual. Normally, you reinforced existing traits.
And this boy sensed his spirit's attributes?
That wasn't a thing.
"Alright. Your spirit is strange, I'll give you that. I'll trust you this once. What range of years are you aiming for?"
"Ten thousand years is fine," Mu Tian said without hesitation.
"Two thousand at most," Bone Douluo replied bluntly.
"Teacher, I can really withstand a ten-thousand-year soul ring! My spirit is very strong!" Mu Tian insisted. To him, Hao Yue was the embryonic form of the God of Judgment. A mere ten-thousand-year soul ring was nothing to fear.
Even if there was a soul remnant inside the ring, what was that compared to Austin Griffin?
Bone Douluo, however, was unmoved."If you want a ten-thousand-year soul ring so badly, go get one yourself. Otherwise, listen to me—two thousand years max. Honestly, judging by your body, even a 1,500-year ring might be pushing it. That's what I absorbed when I was thirty."
Ten thousand years?The kid didn't even know how to spell "death."
With no choice, Mu Tian reluctantly agreed.
Bone Douluo brought him to Sunset Forest and, playing it safe, located a 1,600-year-old light-attributed soul beast for Mu Tian to hunt.
Two thousand years? Still too risky.
Mu Tian had no choice. He released Hao Yue and began the absorption process.
But as soon as the soul ring entered Hao Yue, pain exploded through Mu Tian's body.
His entire figure convulsed violently.
His body swelled.
Blood poured from his mouth.
His skin split.
It was horrifying.
"Mu Tian!"
Bone Douluo could only watch in agony. Soul ring absorption could not be interrupted. If it was, the result was either death—or permanent damage to the spirit, crippling one's future as a soul master.
"I should've insisted on a weaker soul beast. This is my fault."
Three days passed.
Mu Tian miraculously survived. But he had lost massive amounts of blood. His muscles had atrophied. He looked like he was on the brink of death.
Bone Douluo gave him water and checked his condition. He let out a long sigh.
"It's a miracle you lived. I warned you not to take risks, but you just wouldn't listen. You almost died absorbing a 1,600-year soul ring—and you wanted ten thousand years?"
After returning to the sect and undergoing healing treatment from recovery-type soul masters, Mu Tian spent nearly a month recovering half of his physical strength.
His Hao Yue had changed: it now had two heads.
But the second head was still a fire attribute.
His new spirit ability could dye his flames with a white light—one hot enough to melt gold and stone into molten liquid.
Bone Douluo thought the ability was excellent—well-matched with the power of a thousand-year soul ring.
But Mu Tian only stared in disbelief.
"It should've been light attribute… why is it still fire?"