Chapter 586 - Tournament Invitation (1/2)
“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 compet.i.tions 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 s.h.i.+vers down his spine. He was now free from that h.e.l.l.
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 s.h.i.+p.
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.”
“h.e.l.lo,” 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 partic.i.p.ating in the tournament? They're a bit younger than their compet.i.tion, 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 partic.i.p.ate, they won't have to go through the preliminary matches. They can start with the knockout matches right away. The compet.i.tion 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 partic.i.p.ate? 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 compet.i.tions. There is an individual compet.i.tion, team compet.i.tions, and even a mecha compet.i.tion. The winners of the seven-man team compet.i.tion each get a piece of soul refined metal for each team member. The winners of the two-man compet.i.tion both get a ten-thousand-year spirit treasure. The champion of the mecha compet.i.tion 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 compet.i.tion. 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!