Yi Qiang leaned forward, his interest piqued.

"What do you need?" He asked - the archer had no plans other than training, so his schedule was empty. Yi Qiang had found that while training was practical for raising stats, combat improved skills far faster, even if it didn't increase his stats.

As such, he was glad to participate in anything the Second Prince brought up.

"It's very simple, really. You'll be participating in a competition under my name. You need to do well enough to attract publicity and form the right connections."

The casual man chuckled awkwardly at Yi Qiang's unsatisfied expression. "Should have figured you'd want details. Alright.

"The competition is called the Empire Contest. Before the arrival of the Chosen, it was used to find talents and nurture the most outstanding young fighters. It's held every thirty years, and the results are acknowledged by the king himself. As such, it's our most direct path to the popularity we need if we want to affect how the dust will settle around the appearance of the Chosen.

"While the question never really came up at the tournament's inception, most people assumed Chosen would not be allowed into the competition. However, while you were off getting stronger, I was busy pulling a few strings and getting you into it. Legally.

"Unfortunately, that means you won't be completely acknowledged. At first. The nobles are scared of the Chosen and their potential, and that means that most likely, they'll be leaping at every chance they get to take you down a notch. That will stop rather quickly, though, as we start amassing support - showing how capable the Chosen are should serve as solid evidence for a campaign to prevent their oppression."

Yi Qiang sat back in his chair, processing the information in his head for a moment. He had just gotten out of one tournament, true, but the archer was far from sick of them. I wonder what kind of entertaining fights I'll encounter there. Hopefully, a few people are able to push me to my limit. The kingdom is vast, after all, and I'm sure there are some exceptional talents even among natives.

The Chosen still had a few questions.

"Are you aware if there will be any other Chosen participating?"

The Second Prince shook his head.

"I haven't heard any news of that happening, but it's unwise to treat it as impossible. There shouldn't be many who know of your presence in the competition, either, but it will spread quickly in the few days before the Empire Contest."

That led Yi Qiang into his next question rather well:

"When exactly will the contest begin?"

"In six days. That should give you plenty of time to prepare, no?"

He nodded.

"I have one final question. Do you know anything about my most powerful competition?"

The Second Prince grinned.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Yi Qiang left the palace, both Shenyu and he filled with anticipation.

Shenyu, we have six days. I won't waste those to get stronger, and I expect you not to either.

"Yes!"

Thankfully, the hatchling had recovered. Yi Qiang could sense the determination in Shenyu's voice.

He would need it, but those were thoughts for later.

Right now, all he needed to do was make the best use of the Divine Reformation elixir to get as powerful as possible before the tournament.

The first order of business was that of stats. If Yi Qiang focused, he could get his two-thirds of his remaining stats to 250, the threshold where the archer would allow himself to put in his stat points. That would result in a massive boost in combat power - it would effectively mean Yi Qiang would stop hobbling himself. If he could also get Vigor up to 250 in that time, he would be able to exert the full power of his level.

That second goal was slightly more unrealistic, given that his Vigor was currently at 140. Nevertheless, if Yi Qiang pushed his limits, if he factored in the Divine Reformation elixir, it was plausible to get it over 200.

Unfortunately, the two stats he could realistically aim to get over 250 were less critical. Vitality would receive none of his stat points when he leveled up, while Yi Qiang would place a total of 20 points into Dexterity - not a big difference by any means.

Suddenly, Yi Qiang narrowed his eyes.

Why did he have 200 free stat points? If he only had Dexterity and Vigor left to place points in, there was no reason for him to have 200 - Yi Qiang distinctly remembered having 400 stat points in the tournament.

His eyes suddenly widened. I forgot to put my points into Constitution!

The cause of the confusion isolated, Yi Qiang immediately placed some of his stat points into Constitution according to his previously-set percentages. And, just like that, the marksman's Constitution rose by 60, new energy introduced into his body.

At this point, Constitution was his highest stat, by far. This meant that each point was extremely valuable, resulting in an incredible feeling of empowerment from Yi Qiang's stat distribution.

Restraining himself from basking in the feeling too much, Yi Qiang continued towards the inn. He still had much training to do.

When the sun rose for the sixth time since Yi Qiang's meeting with the prince, casting light into the spacious inn room, the archer and his companion looked out into the city.

Shenyu, it's been six days. We can keep training until noon. Then, we meet with the Second Prince, and we're on our way to the Empire Contest.

"Okay."

The marksman and his hatchling pushed their bodies to their limits with light hearts - the results of these six days had been immeasurable for them both.

Shenyu, above all, experienced an incredible transformation. Strangely, it appeared that his efforts in training accelerated his growth, improving both his stats and his size. The level of his skills rose in tandem, and the earth-shattering changes combined to make the dragon a far more formidable opponent than he was previously.

Yi Qiang had also grown, his stats skyrocketing compared to his previous training speed. The most apparent change was not only in his Vigor, but also the skill Heavenly Dragon's Physique and Qi Control. Of course, the marksman had not neglected to train his Qi as he worked on the physical, as it doubled the efficiency of his training.

And so, when the sun reached its zenith, Yi Qiang and Shenyu exited the inn for the first time in six days, with bright eyes and excited hearts.

Yi Qiang couldn't help but notice his shoulder strained a lot more to carry his companion, but he put the thought out of his mind, continuing forward.