Chapter 586 - Tournament Invitation

“Here’s our plan for the day,” Wu Zhangkong announced to the students standing before him. “First we head to the capital of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City, show off in some competitions against students from the Imperial Star Luo Academy. Then we’ll do some sightseeing. Once we’re done, we can go home.”

Tang Wulin listened eagerly as the plan was explained. The rest of his friends, on the other hand, seemed much calmer.

Xu Lizhi nudged Tang Wulin. “Captain, why do you look so giddy?”

Tang Wulin tilted his head, then touched his face to feel the smile still on his lips. “Huh? Do I really look like that?”

“Yeah!” Xu Lizhi exclaimed with a laugh. “You look super excited!”

Tang Wulin chuckled. He couldn’t deny Xu Lizhi’s claim. He truly was excited for what was to come. He was finally free from the torturous training he went through during the voyage. Just recalling the pain, itching, and soreness he experienced day after day sent shivers down his spine. He was now free from that hell.

However, those two months of training weren’t all bad. He also gained a lot from that torture. He was completely different from when he first boarded the ship.

The Star Luo Empire arranged for the Shrek Academy group to spend their first night at the port town. The next morning, they rode a soul train straight for Star Luo City. Aboard that soul train, in a private carriage, Sima Lanxiao sat across from Elder Cai. He bowed slightly to her and said, “Welcome to Star Luo, Elder Cai.”

“Hello,” Elder Cai said indifferently.

Sima Lanxiao smiled courteously. “Elder Cai, I just received news that we’re currently holding a grand tournament for young soul masters in Star Luo City. Coincidentally, your first stop is also Star Luo City. The students you’ve brought are excellent soul masters of the rising generation. Perhaps you would be interested in participating in the tournament? They’re a bit younger than their competition, but this is the largest tournament we hold for young soul masters. I’m sure they would perform well if they took part in it. It would be a great learning opportunity for them as well.”

Elder Cai chuckled. “We’re just here for cultural exchange. There’s no reason for us to compete.”

“Elder Cai, you know we don’t want to inconvenience you,” Sima Lanxiao said. “If your students want to participate, they won’t have to go through the preliminary matches. They can start with the knockout matches right away. The competition won’t take long at all, and the safety of your students will be guaranteed, of course.”

Elder Cai rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about that.”

This response left Sima Lanxiao momentarily stunned. The next moment, however, understanding flashed through his eyes. “Sounds like you’re quite confident in your students!”

Elder Cai’s lips compressed into a thin smile. “Confidence is founded upon strength. You want us to participate? That wouldn’t necessarily be out of the question if the grand prize were a soul bone.”

Sima Lanxiao face grew stiff. He knew exactly how significant a soul bone was. Even twenty thousand years ago, in the age of cold weapons, soul bones were precious treasures. Now soul bones were more precious than ever. Unlike soul rings, they did not appear every time a soul beast was killed. In fact, the odds of one appearing were one in ten thousand. Only hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were guaranteed to leave a soul bone upon death. Since soul beasts were now practically extinct on Douluo, it was nigh impossible to obtain a soul bone. Only the great clans possessed soul bones and they guarded them as secret clan treasures.

The situation on Star Luo was different, but soul bones were still extremely valuable here.

“Elder Cai,” Sima Lanxiao said as he began to explain. “The tournament is actually called the Continental Young Elites Tournament, and it’s divided into many different competitions. There is an individual competition, team competitions, and even a mecha competition. The winners of the seven-man team competition each get a piece of soul refined metal for each team member. The winners of the two-man competition both get a ten-thousand-year spirit treasure. The champion of the mecha competition gets a black-grade mecha, whereas second and third place each get a purple-grade mecha. One of the prizes is indeed a soul bone, but that particular prize is reserved for the champion of the individual competition. That being said, only one is being offered…”

Elder Cai’s eyebrows flew up in surprise. Her little stipulation had been nothing more than a joke. She never expected the Star Luo Empire to actually offer such a precious prize in this tournament. The other prizes were extremely valuable as well!

“Not bad,” Elder Cai said, “but the value of the prizes differs a bit too much between competitions!”

Soul refined metals, mechas, and spirit treasures were valuable, but they were nothing when compared to a soul bone.

“That’s because the matches of the individual competition will have no limitations,” Sima Lanxiao continued. “In other words, competitors will be allowed to use whatever they want for the sake of victory, be it mechas, battle armor, martial soul, or even soul devices. Anything goes. As such, all competitors will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging the possibility of dying and stating that, in the event that their death does occur, we will not be responsible. This is our most popular competition, Elder Cai. Only something as valuable as a soul bone would be a worthy prize, one attractive enough to those seeking to participate.”

While the people of Douluo were mainly eager to watch the seven-man team battles, those of Star Luo were more invested in the idea of lone heroes.

“What are the requirements of the tournament?” Elder Cai asked.

Sima Lanxiao smiled at her show of interest. “Participants have to be twenty years old or younger. That’s it. It should be fine for all of your students.”

“Good,” Elder Cai replied.

Unknown to Tang Wulin and his friends, as soon as they stepped foot onto Star Luo, they were already set to enter a grand tournament. At that moment, they were sitting in a luxurious soul train prepared specially for the Douluo delegation.

Tang Wulin watched the scenery outside his window flit by. He was astonished by how different this place was. While Douluo was a raucous mix of flourishing nature and modern technology, Star Luo’s antiquated architecture harmoniously coexisted with its landscape. Clear lakes and vibrant forests past by one after the other, the clear air allowing him see far off into the distance. Towns appeared every so often as well, clearly less modern than those of Douluo. Even the train was slower what Tang Wulin was used to. It was as if he had traveled into the past.

The food the train staff served was similar to cuisine that could be found on Douluo. In fact, since it was food for the Douluo delegation, many luxurious delicacies were offered. Tang Wulin and his friends were thoroughly enjoying this trip, taking in the beautiful scenery and savoring the delicious food. It was their first time being so at ease since entering Shrek Academy.

The members of the Imperial Star Luo Academy who had visited Douluo were also in the same carriage as those from Shrek Academy. There had been some friction between the two groups from when they originally boarded the ship, but now they had an amicable relationship. They were careful to not cause issues with each other.

The carriage was arranged such that there were two seats on either side of a table facing each other. Tang Wulin sat beside Gu Yue and across from them was Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan. Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, Yue Zhengyu, and Yuanen Yehui sat at another table.

From the very moment they boarded the train, Tang Wulin and Xu Lizhi were constantly gorging themselves on food, ordering round after round. Nothing more important to them than their gluttony.

On the other side of the train, the students of the Imperial Star Luo Academy were seated in fours as well. They couldn’t help but gape at Tang Wulin and Xu Lizhi.

“Those guys really know how to eat,” said one of the girls. “That boy’s pretty cute though.”

The girl seated across from her giggled. “He’s like four or five years younger than us! Zhen Zhen, are you preying on kids now? And you know he’s the captain of the team from Shrek, right? He’s so young yet he already has four rings! Didn’t you see all those dragon-like things he unleashed when ocean soul beasts had us besieged on all sides? His martial soul is a real mystery, but it’s definitely strong.”

“Don’t think too much of him,” another Star Luo student chimed in. “Our captain is already rank 45. I’m sure he’s just as strong as that kid. He’s also a one-word battle armor master with a full set of armor while that kid’s armor set is still incomplete!”