397. Rewards

As the cheers echoed around him, Qian Renjue frowned slightly and glanced toward the high platform.

There, Bibi Dong’s delicate red lips had just stopped moving. She offered him a soft, gentle smile.

Seeing this, Qian Renjue also smiled, feeling reassured.

For a moment, he had thought someone with ill intentions might try to incriminate him. After all, he was still the Holy Son, and hearing chants like “Long Live” might cause misunderstandings among the uninformed members of Spirit Hall.

That kind of praise wasn’t suitable for him—yet. It was still too early.

His gaze shifted to Ning Rongrong, who was cheering herself until hoarse, waving at him with flushed cheeks.

Even Ning Fengzhi couldn’t get her to calm down. Qian Renjue couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

As the wave-like cheers gradually subsided, the teachers of the participating academies hurried forward to retrieve their students.

Qian Renjue clapped his hands twice, the sound echoing across the plaza.

Clap! Clap!

Before the sound fully dissipated, the healing-type soul masters stationed behind the Knight Guards were already on the move. They swarmed onto the field, waking the unconscious participants and tending to their minor injuries.

Qian Renjue calmly tucked his hands into his sleeves, as if the fallen soul masters scattered across the arena had nothing to do with him.

The revived participants gathered back into their teams, standing silently as they looked at Qian Renjue, their hearts heavy with a sense of helplessness.

They all understood now: they had merely served as stepping stones for the Holy Son of Spirit Hall.

The bitter truth? Many of them weren’t even qualified to be stepping stones for him. The gap in strength was simply too immense. It was merely chance that brought them here to compete—and chance that they faced him in his moment to shine.

The arena returned to its original order. The teams of advanced soul master academies once again stood in their neat formations, just as they had before the match.

It was as though the battle that had just taken place had never happened.

Yet, the complicated emotions in the eyes of the so-called genius soul masters—frustration, defeat, and reluctance—were impossible to miss.

The teachers, too, wore expressions of quiet despair.

Bibi Dong rose gracefully and waved lightly at Qian Renjue.

“Jue, come back.”

“Yes.”

Qian Renjue raised his eyes and nodded slightly before stepping forward and ascending the stairs.

Ning Rongrong’s bright, watery eyes stayed fixed on her fiancé as he walked away.

In front of the golden chairs at the entrance to the Pope’s Hall, the titled Douluo elders stood up.

With a smile, Bibi Dong announced:

“The champion of this year’s Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is—Spirit Academy.”

“……”

In the participant formations, the teachers’ lips twitched as they felt a deep sense of frustration.

The Holy Son didn’t even look twenty years old.

That meant he could still compete in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

How were they supposed to compete next time? Just show up to go through the motions?

Bibi Dong and Qian Renjue had anticipated these concerns. Seeing the dejected expressions among the participants, Bibi Dong smiled and added:

“In future tournaments, the Holy Son will not participate.”

Her words brought a slight sense of relief to the academy teachers.

However, the participating soul masters still looked unwilling to accept the outcome.

After training so hard for so long, they hadn’t even had a chance to showcase their abilities before being utterly defeated.

It was as if they hadn’t come at all.

Bibi Dong continued, her voice calm yet commanding:

“Furthermore, you need not despair—your true competition has yet to begin.”

“What?”

The participants looked up in surprise, murmuring amongst themselves.

Standing at the top of the steps, Qian Renjue suddenly turned his head back, curious.


With a gentle smile, as warm as a spring breeze, Qian Renjue began to speak.

"Everyone, to ensure that all you young talents leave without regrets, we invite you to continue with the upcoming ranking matches. Spirit Hall will provide generous rewards for the top five teams."

As his words fell, faint glimmers of light appeared in the space before Qian Renjue, revealing four small porcelain bottles.

"What’s that? Pills?"
"Most likely."
"I heard Spirit Hall has a special soul master profession called alchemists who can refine all sorts of miraculous pills."
"That’s correct. And the founder of this profession is none other than the Holy Son of Spirit Hall himself!"
"Unbelievable!"

As the Thunder Academy teacher explained, the crowd stirred with excitement.

Qian Renjue chuckled softly. "You guessed correctly."

With his hands still tucked into his sleeves, he made no visible movement, yet the porcelain bottles opened on their own. From within rolled out smooth, snow-white pills, glistening like jade.

A crisp, ethereal medicinal fragrance wafted through the air, and even the faintest whiff left the onlookers feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"Amazing!"
"This is Soul Ascension Pill, refined from a ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus paired with other precious ingredients," Qian Renjue explained.

"Just one pill is equivalent to over a month of cultivation for a Soul Elder. When used in moderation, it has no side effects."

The crowd erupted in excitement.

"Equivalent to over a month of cultivation?!"
"If a Level 39 Soul Elder used one, wouldn’t they break through on the spot?!"

"A pill meant for Soul Elders?" The Thunder Academy teacher’s eyes gleamed. He knew Soul Elder-grade pills were already so rare they hardly ever appeared at auctions. And now Spirit Hall was offering them as rewards.

Remaining composed, Qian Renjue continued:
"This year’s Soul Master Tournament offers rewards in addition to the usual gold coin prizes. The second-place team will receive seven Soul Ascension Pills, the third-place team five, the fourth three, and the fifth one."

"Such generosity from Spirit Hall!" some teachers, familiar with the value of these pills, couldn’t help but exclaim.

The announcement reignited the fighting spirit of many participants. With rewards for the top five teams, there was a real chance for them to win something, even if the championship was clearly out of reach.

"As an additional gesture," Qian Renjue continued, "all participants who have come to Spirit City will receive a memento from Spirit Hall—a Silent Wrist Crossbow."

This unexpected gift brought more excitement. Though its power might be limited, selling it to other factions would fetch a good price, making their loss to Qian Renjue feel a little less bitter.

"These are the rewards for the ranking matches. I hope everyone competes with their best effort." Qian Renjue smiled warmly at the crowd before continuing up the steps to stand beside Bibi Dong, gently holding her hand.

Bibi Dong cast a glance at Liu Erlong, who was watching them longingly from below, and decided not to linger. Her commanding voice spread across the plaza.

"You will have three days to rest and recover. Afterward, the ranking matches will begin, with Spirit Academy as one of the competing teams."

"Spirit Academy?!"
Many teams were startled and confused, but they quickly quieted down. It wasn’t unreasonable for Spirit Academy to participate, especially given Spirit Hall’s generosity. Even if Spirit Academy claimed the top spot, the remaining teams could still fight for the other ranks.

Qian Renjue remained calm, smiling. "If any of you wish to stay in Spirit City after the competition, Spirit Hall welcomes you, whether you are a commoner or a noble soul master."

Without waiting for their responses or gauging their reactions, he turned and followed Bibi Dong into the Pope’s Hall.

"That will be all. Dismissed."

Bibi Dong’s parting words echoed through the plaza, answered by the resounding voices of the Knight Guards.

"Farewell, Your Majesty! Farewell, Your Highness!"

"Brother Holy Son, wait for Rongrong!"

As the massive doors of the Pope’s Hall slowly closed, Ning Fengzhi hurriedly pulled Ning Rongrong back, a helpless expression on his face.