Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

After about four hours, the battle on the field finally came to an end.

As the team captain, Dugu Yan selected ten individuals from the dozen or so students, effectively adding them to the team.

The official team roster consists of seven members, with an additional seven alternates to ensure there are replacements in case of emergencies or to adjust strategies against opponents' formations.

The original group of more than ten had already undergone several rounds of meticulous screening. Essentially, all were qualified to be alternates for the team. However, some, despite having decent soul power and martial souls, lacked a certain innate talent in combat.

Some were too rigid in fighting, lacking flexibility, while others were too timid, missing the aggressive momentum needed.

For support-type soul masters, having Ye Lingling was sufficient. Although the Heaven Dou Royal Academy had several decent support-type martial souls that could provide attribute enhancements, none were particularly suitable.

Either their team coordination was lacking, or their soul power levels were too low to sustain high-intensity battles.

If these individuals were disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda sect, or if their martial souls' enhancements were close to those of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Dugu Yan might have tolerated these flaws. After all, the enhancements from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda are exceptionally strong.

However, the reality was that these support soul masters fell short in both their martial souls and personal cultivation, making them unfit for the intense stage of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Among the ten selected by Dugu Yan was Ning Zhongze, the jewel beast martial soul master that Chen Ming had noticed earlier. However, Chen Ming didn't pay extra attention to her beyond her martial soul.

Even after absorbing a soul ring, the jewel beast martial soul still seemed somewhat lacking.

Chen Ming also noticed that Dugu Yan didn't seem to intend to reserve a spot for him in the team.

Noticing Chen Ming's confusion, Dugu Yan didn't shy away from explaining in front of everyone.

"Xiao Ming's strength surpasses all of us, and his potent poison has even earned high praise from my grandfather, Dugu Bo, being more intense than mine. His abilities are on a completely different level from ours."

"At his current strength, there's little need for him to coordinate within the school team. With several years left before the Soul Master Grand Tournament, his personal growth during this time might even surpass ours."

"Additionally, I want to make it clear here. There are two teams, the main and the alternate, totaling 14 members. Myself, Xiao Ming, Lingling, Yu Feng, and Osler are guaranteed our spots. Among the ten of you, one will inevitably be eliminated."

"Yes, I will conduct a year-long evaluation, scoring your various performances. The one with the lowest score will exit the tournament stage."

Hearing Dugu Yan's words, the newly selected students couldn't help but stir.

They weren't questioning Chen Ming's strength; after all, Chen Ming had defeated Yu Tianheng last year, and his soul skill had shattered the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, making his legend widespread in the academy. His strength was beyond comparison.

Moreover, he had been personally trained by the Poison Douluo for over a year. His talent was recognized by the Poison Douluo, who even publicly announced him as his grandson-in-law, causing quite a stir in Heaven Dou City at the time.

That was the Poison Douluo, not just any Titled Douluo, but one with a matching attribute. With such talent and over a year of training, who knew how much he had grown? His already formidable poison could have reached unknown levels.

Even if he didn't join the school team for training, he could still learn under the Poison Douluo.

Even a fool could understand the immense growth possible under the guidance of a Titled Douluo with a matching attribute.

The selected students glanced at each other, worried about being the one eliminated.

All were the best of the best, each considering themselves exceptional. To be the only one eliminated in the final selection of ten to nine would be worse than being filtered out in the earlier rounds.

Dugu Yan glanced at Chen Ming, seeking approval with her eyes. Chen Ming responded with an encouraging look.

In the following period, Dugu Yan selected several students for sparring matches and divided the remaining into two teams for competition.

The best way for soul masters to understand each other is through combat. After clashing, they could gauge each other's levels.

During the observation, members of the previous Heaven Dou Royal Academy team commented from the sidelines. As participants and runners-up of the last tournament, they offered sharp insights.

As the ten students became familiar with each other through fighting, Dugu Yan grouped them into one team and formed another with herself, Ye Lingling, Yufeng, and Osler for a team vs. team match.

Although Chen Ming stood by, seemingly at ease, Dugu Yan was well aware that his combat strength was beyond ordinary soul masters' imagination.

If Chen Ming were to join either side, it would result in a one-sided match. Even if Chen Ming were to face all fourteen of them alone, the outcome wouldn't be much different.

After all, it's well understood that poison-type soul masters are least afraid of swarm tactics. Unless the opposing force can deplete the poison soul master's soul power through sheer numbers, a group attack would only be a minor inconvenience.

While this level of combat was like watching chickens peck at each other for Chen Ming—he could defeat all fourteen, including Dugu Yan, within three seconds without using soul power, and even quicker with it—he still observed Dugu Yan closely, offering encouragement and using his Spiritual Eye to examine their martial souls and soul skills for any insights.

Out of the fourteen, Chen Ming could discern thirteen, even the peculiar jewel beast martial soul. However, Ye Lingling's Nine-Hearted Begonia remained elusive.

When Chen Ming first witnessed the Nine-Hearted Begonia's healing power, he thought it was due to his low level and the super martial soul's uniqueness. Now, he realized that while his low strength was a factor, the Nine-Hearted Begonia's exceptional nature was the main reason.

If not for his Spiritual Eye's ability to see soul power and life force, Chen Ming wouldn't have believed that for the Nine-Hearted Begonia martial soul, healing external and internal injuries consumed the same amount of energy.