blogombal Chapter 72 Winter Vacation (3) - Tournament
Chapter 72 Winter Vacation (3) - Tournament
After a day and a night of travel, they finally arrived at Tiandou City early the next morning.
The Heaven Dou Empire was still too vast. Heaven Dou City was located in the northeastern part of the Heaven Dou Empire, while Haotian Peak, where the Haotian Sect was located, was nestled in the mountains on the western side of the Heaven Dou Empire. Wuhun City was in the southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, so Qian Yuhan and Xiao Na traveled a full night longer than Tang Xuan and Tang Chen.
"Young Master, we've arrived." Aunt Xiaona woke up Qian Yuhan, who was still sleeping.
The journey was extremely bumpy for the first half of the night, and Qian Yuhan barely slept. She only fell asleep in the latter half of the night when they reached the express carriage route from the Heavenly Dou Empire to Heavenly Dou City. So this was one of the few times Qian Yuhan didn't get up early.
Qian Yuhan opened her sleepy eyes and lifted the carriage window to see the scene outside.
The carriages are now queuing to pass through the Tiandou City checkpoint. It's a four-lane road. Qian Yuhan looks at the carriages next to her through the window, then moves to the other side to look at the scenery outside the other window.
The road this time is different from the last time we came; this is a road only for horse-drawn carriages.
Heaven Dou City is now a well-connected city, with expressways connecting it to various parts of the continent. However, due to the Spirit Mountain Range separating Spirit City from the Heaven Dou Empire, building an expressway would be too costly and difficult. Therefore, traveling from Spirit City to Heaven Dou City requires first traversing a long mountain road before turning onto a dedicated expressway.
Therefore, Qian Yuhan found the carriage ride quite painful. During the day, it was alright; the bumps weren't a big deal and had little impact on his cultivation. But at night, as the carriage entered the Martial Soul Mountain Range, the jolting became unbearable, making it impossible for him to concentrate. He couldn't practice when he wanted to, and he couldn't sleep when he wanted to.
While waiting to enter the checkpoint, Qian Yuhan kept complaining to Aunt Xiaona about the road through the Martial Soul Mountain Range...
Then, according to Aunt Xiaona, the reason why the Spirit Mountain Range is quite far from the Spirit Hall is that upgrading the road and the maintenance costs would be considerable, so the Spirit Hall's higher-ups have not approved the application.
After hearing this, Qian Yuhan cursed her father inwardly: "What kind of mess is this?! How many people have been prevented from reaching Martial Soul City because of the inconvenient roads and the extremely bumpy Martial Soul Mountains?! What if one of them is a brilliant genius? The loss... tsk tsk. Dad, you're so muddle-headed!! I need to find some time to talk to Uncle Tianwei and the others about this. Sigh, there are probably many things I don't know that prevent them from handling this—"
They passed through the checkpoint shortly afterward. The city guards inspected the packages and carriages, and once everything was in order, they were allowed to proceed.
The carriage slowly came to a stop at a post station in Tiandou City. Xiao Na led Qian Yuhan out of the carriage and found a shop to eat something.
As soon as I entered the store, I saw promotional posters for the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy on the wall.
"Auntie Xiaona, look over there." Qian Yuhan pointed to the poster on the wall. Xiaona looked in the direction Qian Yuhan was pointing. "Oh, it's this arena competition. It's very famous, held annually by the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. The purpose is to hone their students. This year, it seems the final winner's reward is especially good, possibly a soul bone!"
"A soul bone?! The Heaven Dou Royal Academy is so generous! Aren't they afraid that someone else will take it? They really have confidence in their students."
"The Heaven Dou Royal Academy is no ordinary school; it's considered one of the top schools in the second tier. Our Spirit Hall Academy is in the first tier. The Heaven Dou Royal Academy is also good, but it can't compare to us." Xiao Na said, raising her head proudly.
Indeed, the Spirit Hall Academy offers the most advanced education for Soul Masters on the entire continent. From students to teachers, everyone undergoes rigorous selection processes; those with connections but lacking real ability will inevitably be eliminated.
"Auntie Xiaona, are you familiar with this tournament?"
"I've heard a bit about it, and this time it should be pretty much the same. It's a ring competition, with challengers and defenders, and the last one standing is the champion. Each person can only challenge once. If you win, you become the champion and wait for others to challenge you; if you lose, you're eliminated. You become the champion when no one challenges you anymore."
"Simple and straightforward, I like that."
"Young Master, do you want to register?"
Qian Yuhan nodded, her eyes resolute, and said, "Yes, let's call her 'Han'."
"Well, young master, why don't you rest here for a while? I'll go register you."
"Oh, by the way, Auntie, where are we staying?"
"Tian Dou Hotel, your room is booked. Your room is 1024—"
After understanding, Qian Yuhan said directly, "Okay, let's meet at the Tiandou Hotel in two hours. I'm going to take a look around."
After saying that, he put down his chopsticks and disappeared in a flash.
Xiao Na shook her head and smiled wryly: This young master really is... so fond of shopping, huh? Ah, the young master is still so young, it's perfectly normal for him to love to play and be curious about things.
……
Qian Yuhan strolled leisurely along the renowned Tiandou Avenue in Tiandou City. Everywhere his eyes fell, there were dazzling shops of all kinds. Some shops were filled with all sorts of rare and precious medicinal herbs, emitting strange fragrances; while others displayed a variety of soul tools, shimmering with mysterious light.
Trees and streetlights lined both sides of the road in a pleasingly staggered pattern. The tall, straight trees stood like loyal guardians, silently protecting this bustling street. Even more wondrously, each tree seemed to be adorned with tiny, exquisite soul-guided lamps. These lamps, like twinkling stars in the night sky, shone faintly among the branches and leaves. One could imagine that when night fell, this place would be enveloped in a dazzling display of light, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
As they walked, they came to a square. The square was surrounded by barriers, and people outside the barriers could not see what was inside.
Qian Yuhan approached an uncle in the square and asked, "Uncle, do you know why this place is surrounded by barriers?"
The middle-aged man looked down and saw it was a little boy. He smiled and replied, "Oh, this place is under renovation. The arena matches of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy are being held here."
"Wasn't this originally a statue?"
Qian Yuhan continued to inquire, confirming that when he last came here, there was a statue here, similar in design to the Angel Plaza at the Spirit Hall Academy.
"Oh, you mean the statue of Her Majesty Xue Ling? The royal family is very supportive of this competition, and they temporarily moved the statue away some time ago."
Qian Yuhan nodded, but was inwardly shocked: It seems the Heaven Dou royal family values the training of Soul Masters very much. The Spirit Hall also needs to pay attention. The road in the Spirit Mountain Range must be upgraded, otherwise, they might all run to the Heaven Dou Empire...
……
"Hey, move aside! I'm talking to you, did you hear me?!"