Douluo's ice devil Yuhao

Chapter 598 Strange Competition Format
Inside the room at Mingdou Academy, all the participating team members were listening to Huo Yuhao explain the rules while analyzing different opponents and formulating corresponding tactics.

"The rules of this competition are very simple. There are no fancy competition formats. There are about a hundred teams in total. Whether it is the group stage or the final knockout stage, it is two matches."

"One seven-person arena battle and one seven-person team battle, two in a row, but the same seven people are required to participate, and there is only a very short rest and adjustment time in between."

"The roster and order of players must be determined before the game begins, and the team leader is not allowed to change the substitutes in any way afterward."

All the team members sat neatly, listening attentively to Huo Yuhao's introduction in the center of the room, while Huo Qiu'er leaned against the wall not far away, listening with great interest.

The most attractive aspects of the Soul Fighting competition are the arena and team battles. This competition has simply eliminated all other messy formats.

Huo Yuhao continued, "However, this competition used a little trick. Before the battles begin, the side with the higher score in the group stage decides whether to have a ring match first or a team battle first. Regardless of the order of the matches, the final outcome will be determined by the second match."

The trainees were stunned when they heard this, not understanding the meaning behind it.

Huo Yuhao continued, "In this way, the purpose of the first battle is twofold: first, to test the abilities of the opponent's players as much as possible; and second, to exhaust the opponent's energy so that they cannot participate in the second battle, because even if a player is injured, a substitute is not allowed."

The trainees nodded solemnly. It seemed that the strategy had been formulated from the moment the contestants were selected, and the competition was bound to be extremely brutal.

Huo Yuhao didn't state his thoughts directly, but instead asked, "Ning Yuan, you're the captain, what's your opinion?"

Ning Yuan nodded: "I guess some teams will definitely ask their top players to reduce the opponent's numbers as much as possible in the first match, so as to lay an advantage for the second battle. Therefore, even if only the outcome of the second battle affects the final result, the intensity of the first battle will not be low."

"Strong teams will try to strike their opponents, while weak teams will tend to conserve their strength."

The students nodded in agreement, acknowledging Ning Yuan's reasoning.

Huo Yuhao casually praised, "That's a good guess. Do you have any other thoughts?"

Qianfeng, sitting in the corner of the front row, calmly expressed a different opinion: "I think that's wrong."

Huo Yuhao asked with great interest, "Oh? What are your thoughts?"

"I think the weaker the team, the more they need to exhaust their opponent's strength in the first game. If the strong team's players have saved most of their strength in the second game, then the weaker team will have even less chance of turning the tide."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I think strong teams can even concede defeat in the first game and focus all their efforts on the second game."

Huo Yuhao clapped approvingly: "Qianfeng's analysis makes some sense, but the committee discovered this loophole long ago and prohibits teams from conceding in the first match. If it is a ring match, multiple team members are prohibited from conceding consecutively. If any violation occurs, the team will be directly judged as having lost due to passive play."

One impatient boy couldn't help but shout, "This is too much! They won't even let us admit defeat!"

Huo Yuhao snorted: "The committee has its reasons. It violates the spirit of Soul Masters. After all, the audience has come from afar to watch your Soul Battle. We can't let the audience down."

"However, the combination of the competition format and this rule is mostly favorable to strong teams. Whether they choose to fight in the arena or in a team battle first, they can amplify their advantages in the second battle after eliminating the opponent's members."

Upon hearing this, the students fell into deep thought again. At this moment, Qianfeng noticed something amiss: "Since the order of the matches is determined by the side with the higher points in the group stage, they can choose the order that is advantageous to themselves based on their own situation and that of their opponents. Isn't that a bit too unfair to the other side?"

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, "That's right, so the organizing committee gave the weaker teams a compensation. The strong teams can choose the order of the matches, while the weaker teams can choose the format of a challenge match, whether the winner defends the title or the loser defends the title."

The loser retains the title? What does that mean?
The students looked at Huo Yuhao with puzzled expressions.

Huo Yuhao explained, "In the arena matches you participated in at the academy, the winner usually defended the title, and it was common to experience a series of matches."

"The loser defends the title, meaning that the two sides send their players to the stage to fight in turn. The winner leaves the stage, while the loser stays on the stage to fight the next opponent. After the winner is determined, the winner leaves the stage again. This cycle continues until all seven players have won once, at which point the final winner is declared."

After listening to Huo Yuhao's explanation, the students began to consider the potential impact of this special competition format. They realized that this loser-defends-the-title format was completely different from the past and would give rise to entirely different tactical approaches. Huo Yuhao continued, "This format places higher demands on the overall level of the team. There won't be any more instances of a suddenly emerging genius achieving a seven-game winning streak. Instead, it focuses on the weakest link in the team. If a member seriously drags the team down, even the strongest team cannot win."

"A team of six Soul Emperors and one Soul Venerable cannot defeat a team of seven Soul Kings."

"It's probably to prevent people from using this rule to cheat and avoid playing, which is why consecutive conceding defeats are prohibited."

Qianfeng asked, "Why is this considered compensation for the weaker team?"

Huo Yuhao said, "If the arena match is the first match, it can prevent strong teams from forcibly defeating seven weak teams. If the arena match is the second match, it gives weak teams a chance to turn defeat into victory."

"In the first team battle, if someone is deemed incapacitated by the referee, the team leader can ask him to leave the field immediately. In the second arena battle, facing a situation of being outnumbered becomes an advantage."

"You don't need to defeat the opponent's strongest player; as long as the whole team has defeated the opponent's weakest player, you still have a chance to win."

"I can assure you that this is absolutely the tournament with the highest tactical requirements in its history."

Huo Yuhao said sternly to the trainees, "Give me the information on the opponents and the list of personnel. You don't need to worry about things off the field. On the field, you will all follow the captain's instructions. Do you all understand?"

"understand!"

Everyone shouted excitedly.

Ning Yuan, the team captain, also had a burning gaze.

Although he wasn't the most skilled in cultivation and was a support-type Soul Master, he was Huo Yuhao's handpicked captain.

Because the entire Ming Dou team's combat system revolves around Ning Yuan's soul tool and Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, he is the true core of the team. Even if a powerful attack-type Soul Emperor appears, it is impossible to shake Ning Yuan's position.

Moreover, being a support role allows one to have the energy to observe the overall battlefield situation and make the most appropriate commands.

The support role is a constant, while the carry role changes frequently; without a holistic perspective, it's difficult to grasp this principle.

"It's getting late, everyone go back to your rooms and rest. Ningyuan, please stay behind."

The students stood up and walked to their respective rooms.

Soon only Ning Yuan and Qian Feng remained. Huo Yuhao also put away his seriousness, sat down and said to Ning Yuan, "Teacher Xuan just told me that the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School advises you not to expose your martial soul during the competition, and if you do, don't let Shrek Academy see it. Do you understand what that means?"

Ning Yuan nodded. He had already been warned by his elders in the family not to be ostentatious when he was out in public.

"Anyway, with that thing covering your exterior, no one can see your martial soul. But you should all hold back during the group stage. There aren't any strong opponents, so even if you lose one or two matches, you can still advance to the knockout stage. Teacher Xuan is still openly competing, but he will continue to follow your matches."

Ning Yuan nodded again and returned to his room at Huo Yuhao's signal.

Huo Qiu'er approached with a frown, and asked suspiciously, "You just said that his teacher is still at Mingdou Academy, so how did he manage to communicate with you?"

Huo Yuhao's tone was not boastful, as if it were a very natural thing: "In the past few years, the Sun Moon Empire has launched soul guidance satellites into space, and communication soul guidance devices are enough to make calls across most of the continent. The speed of technological explosion is much faster than you can imagine."

Huo Qiu'er was taken aback. The advent of this technology was enough to show that the Sun Moon Empire was no longer on the same level as other countries in terms of technology; it was a completely overwhelming gap.

She glanced in the direction of Ning Yuan's room and asked, "His martial soul is the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, right? You just said that others couldn't tell his martial soul was protected by 'that thing,' what is that?"

Huo Yuhao looked at Huo Qiu'er with a half-smile and uttered an unfamiliar term: "You can call it the jewel in the crown of soul guidance - a humanoid soul guidance device."