During the following ten days of travel, nothing unexpected occurred.
As a precaution, Xue Beng mobilized five thousand armored soldiers from the cities they passed through to protect the convoy. At the same time, he quickly summoned several high-level soul masters for support.
At last, the large and imposing procession arrived at Spirit City.
Only soul masters were permitted to enter Spirit City; ordinary people without soul power were forbidden from stepping inside.
Therefore, the Iron Armor Army and the Royal Knights had no choice but to camp outside the city. Under Ning Fengzhi's command, the fifteen soul master teams advanced into Spirit City.
Spirit City was far smaller than Heaven Dou City, yet its magnificence and majesty were in no way inferior.
In particular, Spirit City — the holy land of all soul masters — was shrouded in mystery.
The students who had come to participate in the tournament were visiting Spirit City for the first time. When they laid eyes on it, their hearts were filled with a mixture of emotions.
The streets were wide and clean, lined with shops on both sides.
Many pedestrians walked along the roads, pointing and discussing the procession.
Throughout Spirit City, one could see highly respected soul masters, all radiating dignified auras.
As a rare sight, one could even witness Soul Emperors and Soul Ancestors bargaining in shops.
They were received by a Cardinal.
Under his leadership, the group of more than two hundred people quickly settled down.
Each team was allocated a private courtyard, ensuring privacy while minimizing interference between teams.
As a seeded team, the Heaven Dou team was assigned a well-located courtyard with orderly arrangements and unique landscape features.
After settling them in, Qin Ming did not restrict their freedom.
After all, coming to Spirit City was no easy feat; of course some people would want to stroll around the city.
Lin Yang had not planned to go out, but news arrived that an old friend had come to visit.
An old friend?
Lin Yang was slightly surprised, and a figure immediately appeared in his mind.
If one were to speak of old friends from his time in Spirit City, she was probably the only one remaining.
After greeting Xiao Wu and the others, Lin Yang left the courtyard.
Sure enough, not far from the courtyard entrance, an elegant figure stood quietly. Her refined aura made people hesitate to approach.
Qian Renxue turned around, a faint smile on her lips.
"Lin Yang, long time no see!"
A flash of disbelief appeared in Lin Yang's eyes, but he quickly smiled and replied, "Long time no see!"
Even though they had not met for years, the two walked side by side like old friends, chatting as they went.
Qian Renxue took the initiative to act as guide, leading Lin Yang to various famous sites in Spirit City along the way.
"Well?"
Qian Renxue looked up at Lin Yang, a slight smile on her lips.
"Do you feel any desire to join Spirit Hall? The conditions I offered before are still valid."
Lin Yang chuckled. "You still haven't given up?"
Meeting Qian Renxue's expectant gaze, Lin Yang shook his head.
"I'll say it again. I don't want to join any faction. And…"
Lin Yang cast a meaningful glance at Qian Renxue.
"I also personally experienced Spirit Hall's oppressive nature."
Qian Renxue's expression changed slightly, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.
"I'm sorry. I only learned afterward that you had been… attacked. I never intended for that to happen."
"I know it wasn't you," Lin Yang said in a low voice.
"There's no need to apologize."
Qian Renxue opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Should she say that it was her mother who gave the order?
Lin Yang noticed Qian Renxue's hesitation and said half-jokingly,
"If you really want to apologize, how about a more practical method — make the Spirit Hall team admit defeat?"
"Keep dreaming!"
Qian Renxue turned her face to the side. Sunlight illuminated half of her face, and her expression carried a faint smile.
"I forgot to mention — I'm also participating in this tournament. So… don't lose too early."
Lin Yang raised an eyebrow.
"If I remember correctly, the tournament rules require participants to be twenty-five or under. How old are you…?"
Qian Renxue laughed softly.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that a woman's age is a secret? Just know that I meet the requirements."
"That's not bad either," Lin Yang said with a confident smile.
"With you joining, at least this tournament won't be too boring."
"You're that confident?"
"Of course!"
Seeing Lin Yang's undisguised confidence, Qian Renxue couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're still the same. You haven't changed at all."
Lin Yang retorted, "You know me that well?"
Qian Renxue only smiled without answering.
Before parting, the two continued chatting for a while longer.
After watching Qian Renxue's figure completely disappear from view, Lin Yang stood there with a smile on his lips and muttered to himself,
"She's participating too! This tournament is going to be much more interesting than I thought!"
...
The three-day rest period passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lin Yang also encountered the teams from the Star Luo Empire. They were almost identical to what he remembered.
When the format of the final competition and the championship prizes were announced, a huge discussion immediately broke out among the teachers and students of the various academies.
This was because the rewards for the grand champion this time included three spirit bones.
Lin Yang remembered these three parts clearly: the Wisdom Skull formed by spiritual concentration, the Explosive Flame Right Arm Bone, and the Swift Movement Left Leg Bone.
Among them, the Wisdom Skull was from a fifty-thousand-year soul beast — the most precious of all the treasures.
Looking at the tournament prizes, Lin Yang thought to himself.
Since the spirit bone rewards had not changed, Qian Renxue's participation must have given Bibi Dong even greater confidence.
Stimulated by the rewards, the various academies began making new tactical arrangements.
A total of thirty-three teams participated in the finals, divided into five rounds, with the overall championship team decided in the final round.
In the first round, the three seeded teams received byes.
Thirty teams competed for fifteen qualification spots.
In the second round, the top two teams from the two major empire regions received seed rights, while the remaining sixteen teams competed for eight spots.
The first-place team from the Heaven Dou Empire preliminaries was God Wind Academy. The team that received a bye in the third round would be the second-place team from the preliminaries. The remaining teams would compete for four spots.
The second-place team from the Heaven Dou Empire preliminaries was Sky Water Academy.
If Sky Water Academy was eliminated, the third-place Thunder Academy would automatically take its place.
This was precisely the purpose of the preliminary rankings.
The higher the ranking, the more rest time one could enjoy.
Because Shrek's ranking was low, they would have to fight in every round, leaving them with far less room for error.
In the final round, only three teams would advance.
These three teams would first compete in an individual tournament to determine the strongest team.
The eliminated teams would then have to participate in a team battle to decide second place.
The winner would challenge the winner of the individual competition.
....