Douluo Dalu: Starting Evolution as the Man-Faced Demon Spider
Chapter 211: Seven Slots

Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Seven Slots

The surrounding students had also noticed that the academy executives seemed to be treating Fang Chang a little differently than usual, which immediately made them more wary of him.

The old instructor glanced at Fang Chang and continued his announcement. "According to the arrangement for this tournament, we have a total of seven slots for the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."

"After discussion among us elders, we’ve decided on the following allocation: one slot for the Support Branch, two for the Power Attack Branch, two for the Agility Attack Branch, one for the Control Branch, and the final slot will be contested by all remaining students."

The students had little objection to this arrangement. For one, there were indeed more students from the Power Attack and Agility Attack branches, and they were also more easily countered by others.

If a team only had one or two firepower points and those were completely restrained by the opposing team, then the match would essentially be a guaranteed loss.

So giving those two branches more slots was reasonable—it was standard lineup planning. The only contentious part was the final slot.

At first glance, having everyone compete for the last spot seemed fair. But in reality, Support Branch students would basically be ruled out immediately. And unless the Power or Agility Attack students had an overwhelming advantage, they were easily countered by Control Branch students.

Looking at it from this perspective, the final slot was almost certainly going to end up with the Control Branch.

Seeing no objections, the old instructor continued, "Power Attack Branch ring masters: Fang Chang, Yu Nantian. Agility Attack Branch ring masters: Lu Wuchang, Xu Qing. Control Branch ring master: Tang Jiu. Support Branch ring master: Ning Wan’er. Final ring master: Chen Hong. The seven of you, step up to the rings."

Following his gesture, Fang Chang looked over to the bluestone square, where seven circular arenas had been marked out. Each had a diameter of about ten meters and was reinforced with a protective soul power barrier by the instructors—clearly, these were the designated rings.

Fang Chang shrugged toward Zhu Zhu. "You’re not one of the ring masters?"

"Yeah." She didn’t seem surprised at all, as if she had expected this outcome. There was even a rare glint of fighting spirit on her face.

Seeing her expression, Fang Chang didn’t say anything more and simply walked to the first ring as instructed.

Once all seven had taken their positions, the old instructor spoke again. "The selection trials begin now. You may challenge any of the ring masters. Keep it to sparring—no excessive injuries. You have unlimited chances. If you fail, you can challenge someone else."

That being said, the ring masters chosen were already some of the top students in the inner courtyard. Most of the students were familiar with each other’s strengths from daily interactions, so no one wanted to be the first to step up.

This stalemate lasted for about ten seconds before a burly man stepped forward with a bitter expression. "I challenge Fang Chang."

He stepped into the ring and released his Martial Soul first—a purple-furred wild boar. Five soul rings glowed around him: two yellow, two purple, and one black. Not a bad combination.

"Xu Zhu, rank 53 Battle Soul King. Please give me your guidance."

"Fang Chang, rank 61 Battle Soul Emperor." Fang Chang cupped his hands in salute and released six simulated soul rings.

"You’d best step down now," he added, kindly warning him.

"Hiss—" At the sight of Fang Chang’s soul rings, a collective gasp swept across the arena. One yellow, two purple, two black, and one red—this configuration was terrifying. Especially that red hundred-thousand-year soul ring at the top—it was truly shocking.

They had heard rumors before, but now that they saw it with their own eyes, the impact was entirely different.

Xu Zhu was decisive. Seeing Fang Chang’s overwhelming strength, he immediately conceded and stepped down.

Since each challenger could face multiple ring masters, naturally they would start by challenging the weakest, increasing their chances of winning.

But now that Fang Chang had exposed his power, no one dared to approach his ring again. The pressure shifted to the other rings.

Next to Fang Chang was Yu Nantian, another Battle Soul Master whose Martial Soul turned out to be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, piquing Fang Chang’s interest.

Back when he and Little Spider had destroyed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a few members had managed to escape. He hadn’t expected them to have held on this long.

Yu Nantian was at rank 58, but due to his powerful Martial Soul, his combat strength was comparable to a typical Soul Emperor.

Moreover, he was also skilled in using soul tools like Xu Sheng, which further boosted his battle ability. In no time, he defeated two challengers in a row.

Meanwhile, in the Support Branch, ring master Ning Wan’er’s Martial Soul was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—clearly a scion of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—and she was currently in a match.

However, their competition was different. Each participant enhanced the same instructor, and that instructor would decide the winner based on performance.

Surprisingly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—widely regarded as the strongest support-type Martial Soul—actually lost the first round.

Her opponent’s Martial Soul was called the Eight-Faced Umbrella. It looked like a pale green umbrella, each of its eight panels depicting a different avian soul beast. In battle, these birds could be projected for use.

It not only matched the Seven Treasure Pagoda in support ability but also had self-defense and even offensive functions.

Its owner was a rarely seen inner courtyard student who clearly seized the spotlight with this performance.

Just then, a commotion erupted on the field. Following the crowd’s gaze, Fang Chang saw that two beautiful girls were about to face off in the Control Branch ring.

One of them was Zhu Zhu, while her opponent was a Control-type Soul Master named Tang Jiu.

Tang? And a Control type... Fang Chang furrowed his brow as soon as he heard that.

"What are you staring at? Since you’re up here, let’s get started." Tang Jiu, who had a long-standing rivalry with Zhu Zhu, immediately taunted her upon stepping into the ring.

As she spoke, a wave of Blue Silver Grass surged up from the ground behind her. Her soul power was at rank 59.

"Tang Jiu, rank 59 Control-type Soul King." As soon as she introduced herself, she launched an attack on Zhu Zhu.

Zhu Zhu let out a cold chuckle. If this had been three days ago, she might have indeed lost. But now...

Tang Jiu’s soul power had always surpassed hers, and her Martial Soul also happened to counter Zhu Zhu’s, so she had lost most of their past duels. But now, it was time to turn the tables.

Zhu Zhu released her Martial Soul—a pale golden spider.

It resembled a spider, but with several distinct differences. Its eight legs were much thicker, it had wings on its back, and even a pair of horns on its head, giving it a fierce and majestic appearance.

Most importantly, six soul rings glowed around her—two yellow, two purple, and two black—proving her strength.

"Zhu Zhu, rank 61 Control-type Soul Emperor. Requesting battle."

Tang Jiu looked at her in utter disbelief. "No... impossible. How could you already be at rank 61?"

She remembered clearly—just last month Zhu Zhu was only at rank 56. How could she have jumped five levels in a single month?

But Zhu Zhu gave her no time to recover. She immediately fused with her Martial Soul and launched her attack.