Three days later, a grand procession of over 1,300 people set out from the Royal Hunting Ground.
Perhaps because Tang Hao had caused a major commotion during the preliminaries, extra precautions were taken. Besides the fifteen academy teams participating in the promotion tournament, even the Heaven Dou Battle Team, which had been directly seeded into the finals, was included in the convoy.
Moreover, they were not traveling alone. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Dugu Bo were also part of the group.
Counting Huo Lie, Mu Xiyue, and Shui Yanyu, the team had a total of five Title Douluos, plus Ning Fengzhi, the continent's number one support-type Soul Master. In terms of safety, it was practically impenetrable.
Spirit City was located in the central region of the continent, requiring approximately twenty days of travel. To ensure the participating teams could rest comfortably, the Heaven Dou Empire specially arranged several luxurious, oversized carriages infused with some soul tool technology, specifically for the competitors.
Although the current era of the Douluo Continent was largely a barren land for soul tool technology, some rudimentary applications still existed, such as soul microphones, soul lamps, and soul timers. These items contained at least some level of soul tool technology.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning—just like in the original work—Yu Xiaogang had "disappeared." The day after the promotion tournament ended, he hastily boarded a carriage and rushed south along the official road.
As for his destination? There was no need to ask—it was undoubtedly the Spirit Hall's Pope Palace, where he would use an extremely forceful tone to "beg" his former first love, Bibi Dong, to spare his disciple.
Inside the oversized carriage of the Blazing Academy team:
After concluding a discussion with Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, and Shui Yanyu—where they formulated contingency plans for any unexpected situations—Huo Lie and Mu Xiyue returned to the carriage.
Scanning the interior and finding no trace of Mu Yang, the team captain, Huo Lie's face darkened. He immediately turned to Huo Wu and said, "Xiao Wu, go get Xiao Yang back here."
Huo Lie knew that with Mu Yang and a few other extraordinary talents in the group, the journey to Spirit City was unlikely to be peaceful. After all, the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple had already attempted something similar before.
Adding to this, Tang San, the son of Tang Hao, was also in the convoy, making the probability of trouble along the way skyrocket to one hundred percent.
Aside from the mastermind behind the scenes, no one could predict when trouble would strike. To be safe, Huo Lie didn't want Mu Yang out of his sight to prevent any unexpected incidents.
Just as Huo Lie finished speaking and before Huo Wu could respond, Huo Wushuang, who was sitting inside the carriage, spoke up. "Dad, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Huo Lie was momentarily stunned, unable to understand what his son meant.
"Dad, you know how annoying Xiao Yang can be sometimes. If you send Xiao Wu to bring him back, he'll definitely drag Bing'er along. Then we'll all be force-fed dog food, won't we?"
Huo Wushuang had a serious expression.
Most of the time, it wasn't too bad. When his cousin and his future sister-in-law flaunted their affection, he could at least turn a blind eye. But in the carriage? Space was limited, there were no separate compartments, and the journey itself was already dull. If he had to endure non-stop public displays of affection in such close quarters, life would become unbearable!
"Get lost—"
Huo Lie glared at Huo Wushuang in exasperation.
How dare you say that with a straight face?
The Sky Water team was full of girls, and they lived nearby. Yet, here you are, complaining about being fed dog food, but I don't see you making an effort to chat with any of them!
It's fortunate that this boy has decent talent and hasn't gone astray—otherwise, Huo Lie would genuinely worry that Huo Wushuang might remain single forever.
Ten days quickly passed, and the journey had been surprisingly peaceful. There were no ambushes, no bandits blocking the way. Half the distance to Spirit City had already been covered.
Bandits: "This mountain is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass this road—(bows deeply)—please, great lords, go ahead!!! (We can't afford to mess with this convoy, no way~)"
With a thousand Royal Knights serving as escorts, the scale of the procession was second only to the emperor's personal entourage. Every town they passed through provided the best possible hospitality.
This level of support ensured a smooth journey. Without it, just maintaining the logistics for one thousand Royal Knights would have required the convoy's size to at least double—unless they relied on a large number of storage-type soul tools to carry supplies.
Similarly, the knights' mounts were not ordinary warhorses. If they had been, it would have been impossible for them to carry fully armored riders over a twenty-day journey.
Inside the Sky Water Academy's carriage:
At the moment, only two people were present. Shui Bing'er was meditating and cultivating, while Mu Yang sat beside her, standing guard.
After a while, Shui Bing'er's aura suddenly surged, growing noticeably stronger as she broke through to level 60—a quasi-Soul Emperor.
A few moments later, after stabilizing her soul power fluctuations, Shui Bing'er ended her meditation and opened her ice-blue eyes.
"Bing'er, congratulations, you've surpassed me again," Mu Yang said with a smile.
An eighteen-year-old Soul Emperor—impressive!
"This is probably the last time. You'll definitely reach level 70 before I do," Shui Bing'er replied with slight regret, shaking her head.
At first, she had planned to treat Mu Yang as a "childhood fiancé" to raise and care for.
But who would have thought that this guy would turn out to have a second martial soul and cultivate at an absurd speed, as if he were on steroids?
Compared to Mu Yang, she had started with several levels of advantage due to being older. Moreover, consuming the Yearning Heartbroken Red had directly boosted her soul power by nearly an entire rank, whereas Mu Yang's immortal herb didn't seem to have directly increased his level.
With both her initial lead and the immortal herb advantage, she had maintained at least a fifteen-level gap ahead of him. But as the years passed, Mu Yang had rapidly closed that distance. In fact, just before she broke through to level 60, their soul power levels had already been equal.
At this rate, Shui Bing'er could already foresee that this would be the last time she surpassed Mu Yang in level. Before long, she would transition from being the one pursued to the one doing the chasing.
Well, at least it was him. Since her plan of "Queen and her loyal Guard" had failed, she supposed switching to "gentle and supportive wife" wasn't too bad either.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Yang said, "Bing'er, we're only about ten days away from Spirit City now. Let's wait until after the Soul Master Tournament to hunt for your soul ring."
The finals wouldn't last long, but hunting for a soul ring had no guaranteed timeframe—bad luck could mean delays of a month or two. If they went now, she might miss the rest of the tournament.
Moreover, the finals were being held in Spirit City. If Shui Bing'er advanced to a Soul Emperor, it would draw too much attention.
It was only a matter of waiting a month or so, and she could continue accumulating soul power in the meantime. The delay wouldn't be a big deal.
"Alright, we'll wait until after the competition," Shui Bing'er nodded.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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