"Long live, long live, long live!" All the soldiers responsible for maintaining order raised their weapons high and shouted "long live."
All the citizens also noticed Xu Jiawei's appearance and raised their hands, cheering along.
The members of the four teams also stood up one after another, paying their respects to His Majesty the Emperor.
Beside Xu Jiawei stood four elderly men, forming a square, with the emperor at the center.
The entourage following him consisted of only twenty guards, which didn't seem exaggerated.
But Liuxing and the others knew very well that those twenty guards were merely for show. The real protectors were the four elderly men who didn't look particularly young.
In such a situation, those who appeared as the Star Luo Emperor's guards were undoubtedly the royal family's titled Douluos of the Star Luo Empire.
Since the fall of the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago, the major empires had begun cultivating their own titled Douluos.
The number of titled Douluo in each empire was astonishing, far surpassing the royal families of ten thousand years ago, who couldn't even produce a single titled Douluo.
Over the course of ten thousand years, the efficiency of soul master cultivation and the utilization of rare treasures had greatly improved, making the chances of breaking through to the titled Douluo level much higher than ten thousand years ago.
Thus, in this era, the number of titled Douluo far exceeded that of ten thousand years ago, but it hadn't reached the point where titled Douluo were everywhere and Soul Saint were as common as dogs.
Surrounded by the four titled Douluos, Xu Jiawei ascended the competition stage, facing the direction of Star Luo Square, and said with a smile, "My people, rise."
"Long live, long live, long live."
The Star Luo Square immediately erupted in cheers, showing that this emperor was still deeply loved by his people.
Xu Jiawei didn't try to stop the commotion, merely looking on with a calm gaze and a gentle smile at the distant citizens.
When the square gradually quieted down, he spoke again, "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Competition is a grand event held once every five years on our Douluo Continent.
The fact that this year's competition is being held in our empire fills me with great honor. First, I would like to thank the more than one hundred academy teams from various countries.
It is they who have presented us with one exciting match after another, allowing us to witness the rapid development of the soul master and soul engineer communities on the continent, and giving me the opportunity to share joy with the people."
"Today, the semifinals will begin shortly, marking the final stages of this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Competition.
Therefore, I have decided to personally oversee the draw, hoping that Shrek Academy, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Di'ao Academy, and our Star Luo Empire's Star Luo Royal Academy will deliver an exciting match in the final competition."
"I know everyone is eager to watch the matches, and I too am looking forward to it. Let us begin now. I wish to share joy with the people and also wish for the eternal prosperity of our Star Luo Empire."
Xu Jiawei's speech was grand and humorous, yet not overly lengthy. As soon as he finished speaking, the entire square erupted in cheers of "long live" once again.
Among the four elderly men who had accompanied him on stage, one stepped forward, facing the direction of the rest area, and said in a deep voice, "Please have the captains of the four teams come on stage for the draw."
An indescribably powerful aura suddenly burst forth from this elderly man, the overwhelming pressure making everyone in Star Luo Square feel as if the sky had darkened.
Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "To ensure the safety of the participants in the semifinals and finals, I have decided that in every match from now on, the empire's guardian Douluos will serve as referees to oversee the competition.
Today's draw and the first match will be presided over by Senior Huang Jinxu. Senior Huang's title is Heavenly Fiend."
"Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu, with the Heavenly Fiend Lone Star spirit, specializes in harming close relatives. He's still alive!"
Old Ma took a puff from his pipe, exclaiming in surprise.
With a smile on his lips, Liuxing slowly walked toward the stage. He would represent the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy in the draw to determine their semifinal opponent.
Soon, the four team captains arrived on the stage.
Representing Shrek Academy was Ma Xiaotao. From Di'ao Academy was a burly young man.
From Star Luo Royal Academy was a golden-haired girl wearing a yellow martial outfit, her hair tied in a single ponytail, exuding a heroic aura.
Liuxing raised an eyebrow, wasn't this the chief auctioneer of the Star Light Auction House, Princess Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire?
She was the captain of Star Luo Royal Academy?
As Liuxing observed the other three, they also looked at him in surprise. They hadn't expected the representative of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to be Liuxing instead of Ma Rulong.
Not only the three of them, but the audience in the square was also abuzz with discussion.
At this stage, representing Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy on stage for the draw, Liuxing's status was self-evident.
Facing the curious gazes of the three, Liuxing smiled and nodded, offering a greeting.
Ma Xiaotao and the captain of Di'ao Academy glanced at Liuxing, then turned her attention to Jiujiu. This princess had never appeared on stage before.
Jiujiu showed a faint smile, calm and composed.
The four captains representing the four great academies stood side by side on the stage, ready to begin the draw.
Liuxing glanced at the tall Ma Xiaotao beside him, his mouth twitching. Damn, she's stacked.
He hadn't paid much attention before, but now that he was close, he realized she was quite well-endowed.
Although he was surrounded by beauties, they were all still too young and hadn't fully developed. Meng Hongchen, though mature, still paled in comparison to this one.
Ma Xiaotao glanced at Liuxing, a smile tugging at her lips, and said softly, "Little brat."
"Pfft!"
Jiujiu covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hold back her laughter.
Liuxing's smile faltered. Damn it, it was just a glance! He decided then and there that he would go all out in the upcoming match.
Under the watchful eyes of the four titled Douluos, the four of them stepped forward together, approaching Xu Jiawei. Xu Jiawei smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet such talented young individuals. The competition is about to begin, and I hope you will uphold the principle of friendship first, competition second, to complete this tournament.
Later, I will throw four balls with the draw positions written on them, and you will all try to catch them at the same time. Are you ready?"
The four of them nodded simultaneously, "Ready."
"Pay attention."
Xu Jiawei's eyes narrowed slightly, and in the next moment, no one saw how he did it, but four golden balls shot into the air simultaneously.
Ma Xiaotao was the first to leap into action. As soon as Xu Jiawei made his move, she jumped toward one of the golden balls.
The captain of Di'ao Academy also leaped into the air, grabbing another ball.
Liuxing and Jiujiu, however, remained where they were, not in any hurry.
For Liuxing, it didn't matter which opponent they drew; there was no need to rush.
As Ma Xiaotao and the Di'ao captain landed, the remaining two golden balls began to descend. Liuxing and Jiujiu simultaneously reached out, each catching one.
Jiujiu's delicate face showed a faint smile as she glanced at the golden ball in her hand and said softly, "Number two."
Liuxing flashed a bright smile, "Number two."
Perfect, perfect. You laughed at me earlier? Prepare for a beating.
Although Ma Xiaotao and the Di'ao captain didn't announce their numbers, the result was clear.
After personally checking the draw numbers, Xu Jiawei announced the result to the crowd.
As the draw result was announced, the square erupted in gasps.
Among the four teams that had made it to the semifinals, Star Luo Royal Academy was undoubtedly the weakest, as they didn't have a Soul Emperor-level expert.
Their team was up against the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, which had been dominant throughout the competition and was a strong contender for the championship. This drew worried looks from the citizens of the Star Luo Empire.
For the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, this was undoubtedly a favorable draw, as they had been matched against the weakest team.
But Liuxing didn't see it that way. Glancing at Jiujiu, who still wore a faint smile, he felt that this woman would be much harder to deal with than the Di'ao captain.
At least the Di'ao captain looked like a brute, easy to handle, while Jiujiu's confident demeanor suggested she had some tricks up her sleeve.
Moreover, Star Luo Royal Academy was playing on their home turf, and the audience would undoubtedly be overwhelmingly supportive of them.
The rules for the semifinals and finals followed those of the previous elimination rounds, with matches spread over two days, a team battle followed by individual elimination matches.
The difference was that a team had to win both matches to advance. If both teams won one match each, they would have to compete in a best-of-three series.
This rule somewhat disadvantaged soul engineers, as they were known for being invincible in team battles but weaker in individual matches.
Once soul engineers formed a formation and worked together, their combat power could skyrocket, as seen in the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineer corps.
Even a Super Douluo wouldn't dare face a powerful soul engineer corps head-on.
However, Liuxing wasn't too concerned. Their team didn't have a single pure soul engineer. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen weren't just soul engineers; their individual combat abilities weren't weak either.
Compared to the semifinals, the rules for the finals were even stricter. After the semifinals, there was a rest period, but the finals were conducted in one go, with no breaks for the participants.