Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Chen Ming thought for a moment and decided not to care anymore.

If he needed it in the future, he could just look for it again. He could use the Xuanwu as a reference, but it wasn't necessary.

If they didn't enroll now, they would eventually enroll in a few years. If they joined another academy, he could always seek them out and learn from them later.

As Chen Ming walked, he continued flipping through the list in his hand.

The first page listed the members already confirmed by Dugu Yan. Starting from the second page, it was the list of backup candidates. Without exception, all these candidates had soul power levels below 30, and the quality of their martial souls varied greatly.

Even though the students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy weren't particularly outstanding, the academy still served as a gathering place for most of the Heaven Dou Empire's talented martial souls.

After glancing at the list for a moment, Chen Ming noticed several martial souls that piqued his interest. Some were of extremely high quality, while others possessed unique abilities.

Among them, the most unusual and intriguing to Chen Ming was a rare martial soul called the Jewel Beast.

According to the list, the Jewel Beast was a unique gem-type martial soul. Before obtaining its first soul ring, it behaved almost identically to an ordinary gemstone.

The characteristic of gem-type martial souls was that they lacked a specific inclination, meaning the same martial soul could take various developmental paths. After obtaining the first soul ring, the martial soul would begin to exhibit a particular inclination based on the ring it absorbed.

What made the Jewel Beast particularly special was that it not only developed its inclination based on the first soul ring absorbed but also transformed its appearance to resemble the soul beast.

The most remarkable feature of the Jewel Beast was the beast aspect of its name. Before absorbing its first soul ring, it remained in its gem-like form as a pure Tool Martial Soul. However, after absorbing a soul ring from an animal-type spirit beast, the martial soul would acquire traits similar to a Beast Martial Soul, enabling martial soul possession.

For instance, if the absorbed soul beast was a lion, the martial soul would transform into Jewel Beast: Lion, granting its user features akin to a lion martial soul during possession.

If subsequent soul rings adhere to the configuration standards of a lion-type martial soul, the Jewel Beast: Lion would continue to grow stronger. However, if later soul rings deviated from the first ring's soul beast type, the martial soul's quality would decline.

The soul master possessing the Jewel Beast martial soul was named Ning Zhongze. She was female, with a martial soul of Jewel Beast: Bear. Her soul ring configuration consisted of two yellow rings, and she was a level 25 power-type spirit master with one offensive skill and one amplification skill.

There was a handwritten note in the remarks section, though its author was unclear. It indicated that this student had a connection to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, with her maternal grandfather serving as an elder of the clan.

Chen Ming was deeply intrigued by these unique martial souls. The Jewel Beast's special characteristics had completely captured his attention.

After putting away the list, Chen Ming quickly headed toward the arena. In no time, he arrived at his destination.

With a slight sweep of his spiritual power, Chen Ming quickly gained a clear understanding of the scene inside.

Around a dozen Soul Grandmasters were sparring in groups. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were standing aside with a few soul masters, likely in their twenties, discussing something.

Several Soul Elders observed the Soul Grandmasters' battles, whispering among themselves. On the sidelines of the arena stood a few teachers, ranging from Soul Kings to Soul Emperors, watching the proceedings. Among them was Chen Ming's old acquaintance, Qin Ming.

Chen Ming concealed his aura and quietly approached Dugu Yan.

At that moment, Dugu Yan was standing a bit further back, looking down at the list in her hands and muttering to herself as she focused on analyzing strategies.

"In the history of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the team with the most championships is the Spirit Hall team, followed by the Star Luo Imperial Academy, and then the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy."

"The Spirit Hall team builds their lineup around a core of several genius soul masters, supported by one or two secondary members, often one power type and one control type. The team always includes at least one agility-type and one support-type member."

"Their team features high soul power levels, exceptional martial soul quality, strong combat abilities, and excellent coordination, with no apparent weaknesses. Isn't this outright cheating?"

"The Star Luo Empire's team is centered around the Nether White Tiger and..."

As Dugu Yan muttered to herself, completely unaware of the extra person beside her, Chen Ming released his concealed aura and reached out to poke her arm.

The moment Chen Ming's finger touched Dugu Yan's arm, she instinctively threw the thick notebook in her hand into the air. Her slender arm twisted like a snake, her fingers closing into a sharp cone as she struck fiercely toward Chen Ming's throat.

Although her attack was swift, it was far too slow for Chen Ming. With a slight step to the side, he easily avoided Dugu Yan's thrust and the subsequent flurry of attacks.

Dugu Yan had been in too many fights lately and, as the team captain, had spent most of her time considering the team members. As a result, she instinctively unleashed over a full second of combo attacks before realizing the person in front of her was Chen Ming.

Dugu Yan retrieved the notebook that Chen Ming had caught during his evasive maneuver and rolled her eyes at him.

"You always play tricks on me the moment you return! I've been racking my brain over selecting team members lately. Not only do you not help, but you even tease me."

"Cough cough, I was just saying hello." Knowing that reasoning with women was pointless, Chen Ming simply nodded and admitted his mistake.

At this moment, the group that had been chatting earlier noticed Dugu Yan and the person beside her, Chen Ming. Ye Lingling and a few Soul Masters, likely in their twenties, approached them.

The leader of this group of Soul Masters was a sturdy male soul master. His head was completely bald, and a large scar ran across his left cheek.

His attire was clean and simple, with a belt slung across his waist that carried various tools such as a flint, a knife, and a water bottle. His overall demeanor was firm and resolute, resembling either a soldier fresh out of a military camp or a hunter who had spent years in soul beast forests. In any case, he looked nothing like a noble.

The soul masters beside him didn't exhibit the same level of toughness, but each carried an aura distinctly different from that of noble children.

This group seemed entirely out of place within the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, resembling mercenaries who had wandered in by mistake. If not for the honorary student badges on their chests, even Chen Ming wouldn't have believed they were students of this academy.

The bald-headed soul master looked at the unusually flustered Dugu Yan and then at Chen Ming. After a brief moment of confusion, he seemed to understand something and stepped forward, politely extending his hand to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming shook his hand courteously, and there was no hidden contest of strength between them.

"Hello, Junior. I'm Xiong Xin, the captain of last year's Heaven Dou Royal Academy battle team. My martial soul is the Violent Gold Bear, and I'm a level 44 power-type soul master. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Senior Xiong Xin. I'm Chen Ming, a second-year student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. My martial soul is the Emerald Scorpion, and I'm a level 35 control-type Soul Elder. Pleased to meet you."