Chapter 212: Opening of the Promotion Tournament

Meng Shu sighed repeatedly, "I'm afraid our intelligence on Dugu Bo needs to be updated."

"The rumor that Dugu Bo and Wu Qi have become friends despite their age difference is true."

"And it is very likely that Wu Qi provided some kind of cultivation technique, causing Dugu Bo's strength to improve rapidly."

Everything has a cause and effect.

How could these two people with no connection, Dugu Bo and Wu Qi, inexplicably become friends despite their age difference? There must be something going on.

Of course, whether it is as speculated, Meng Shu has no way to verify.

Given Dugu Bo's attitude, if he dared to seek out Wu Qi again, he would surely invite retaliation.

Listening to the words of the grandfather and granddaughter, Chao Tianxiang understood something.

"Dugu Bo also has his own granddaughter; as the saying goes, 'the one close to the water tower gets the moon first.' I'm afraid Wu Qi is already his intended grandson-in-law, and Meng Yiran truly has no chance."

Meng Yiran pouted and said dissatisfiedly, "Grandma, I don't even care for him."

The couple smiled bitterly; it wasn't that Meng Yiran wasn't good enough, but that Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo had already built a high platform for Wu Qi, making it very difficult for others to intervene.

Dugu Bo at least wouldn't be two-faced, but if they were held a grudge against by Ning Fengzhi, their family might not even know how they died.

Chao Tianxiang comforted her: "Yiran, there are many young talents in the Spirit Master Tournament. Even without Wu Qi, would you like to look at others?"

"You aren't young anymore; see if there is anyone you like, so we can hold a great-grandchild as soon as possible."

"No, I don't want to leave Grandpa and Grandma." Meng Yiran crossed her arms over her chest, a posture of 'strangers keep away.'

Meng Shu laughed: "Then we'll recruit a son-in-law to live with us; that way, you can still stay by our side every day."

Although they could not recruit Wu Qi, they had lost nothing.

A genius like Wu Qi would certainly not become a live-in son-in-law.

……

Early morning two days later.

Each academy team boarded carriages and headed to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Royal Hunting Ground.

The Royal Hunting Ground was on a hill outside the city, used only by members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family for leisure hunting, and thus there were many wild beasts nearby.

Of course, hunting in an artificially enclosed area only appealed to beginners.

Royal family members with a certain amount of hunting experience would not come here to hunt.

However, this was also the station of the Royal Knights, considered the most elite army of the Heaven Dou Empire.

After verifying identities, there was a Royal Knights soldier every few steps along the road up the mountain.

They stood with their chests puffed out, faces solemn, quite the posture of a strong army.

On the way up the mountain, Ning Rongrong suggested: "There are many wild beasts around the Royal Hunting Ground, and since we can choose our rest tents first, why not choose a secluded corner where we can go hunting in our spare time?"

Ning Rongrong had dreamed of hunting since she was a child, but because she was a girl and an Auxiliary System Soul Master, Ning Fengzhi never let her go hunting, nor did he allow her to participate in any related training.

Now that she had the chance, she didn't want to miss it.

"Then we'll listen to Rongrong?" While Wu Qi answered, he was also paying attention to the attitudes of the others.

Of course, convenience for hunting was not his primary consideration.

Their rest area was "surrounded" by other teams, and the noisy sounds would affect everyone's rest.

If they were in a secluded corner, they wouldn't have this trouble.

One-on-one matches were extremely draining for a Spirit Master, so sufficient rest time was essential.

Without waiting for others to speak, Sun Buyu gave the decision directly: "Let's do as Rongrong says."

He wasn't deliberately fawning over Ning Rongrong, but rather had the same thoughts as Wu Qi.

As the champions of the Preliminary Tournament and a star team of the Heaven Dou Empire, and also a team supported by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Empire had given them plenty of consideration.

Priority in choosing a rest area was only one aspect; more importantly, wherever their camp was, that place would not become a garbage dump.

Without any external interference, everyone's state for the competition would surely be excellent.

In the end, they chose a rest area in the southeast corner, less than two hundred meters from the main arena and over one hundred meters from the rest areas of other teams, with endless wild mountains behind them where they could hunt at any time.

Before moving into the rest area, Wu Qi noticed the competition ring.

This ring had been built in a rush recently, and in terms of size, it was certainly not as large as the team battle ring.

But compared to the one-on-one rings at the Great Spirit Arena, this ring was significantly larger, even comparable to the two-on-two Spirit Fighting rings.

The larger the ring, the more room a Spirit Master had to perform, and it was less likely that they would lose the match due to falling out of bounds.

If it were just an ordinary fight, the size of the ring would have no impact on Wu Qi.

But he wanted to defeat seven people in a row; a larger ring would inevitably lead to more consumption of stamina and soul power.

The organizing committee had expanded the ring, likely to avoid affecting the performance of him and Feng Xiaotian, but unexpectedly, it backfired.

……

Only after the Seven Treasure team had officially moved in was the next team allowed in to choose their rest area.

After the members of the Seven Treasure team chose their rooms and put down their luggage, Sun Buyu gathered everyone:

"The competition won't start until tomorrow; today there is at most an opening ceremony. Everyone settle down and get a good rest tonight. If you need anything, report it to me in advance, and I will contact someone to purchase it and have it delivered to you."

"As you know, not just anyone can enter here, so strict military management is implemented."

"Except for moving freely within the rest area, if you want to enter other areas, you need to submit an application, especially for hunting!"

Of course, for Ning Rongrong, this was not an issue at all.

Given the relationship between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong just wanting to hunt caused no loss to the Empire.

Even if she hadn't submitted an application beforehand, no one would trouble her.

"In addition, you cannot leave the Royal Hunting Ground at will. If you must leave due to special circumstances, you need to apply to the organizing committee and can only leave after approval."

"If anyone really leaves halfway, remember to keep your exit permit; this is your only proof to return to the competition venue."

Saying this, Sun Buyu shrugged: "If you lose it, I won't be able to help you; you'll have to rely on your own abilities."

The implication was for each to rely on their own background to get the guards to turn a blind eye.

Of course, unless there were special circumstances, no one wanted to go out.

The tournament schedule was very tight and the battles were intense; who would be in the mood to go out and wander around?

After Sun Buyu finished explaining some of the rules and regulations, he turned and left.

Feng Xiaotian rested one hand on Wu Qi's shoulder and asked with a smile, "Captain, do you have any other ideas?"

How could Wu Qi not know his intentions?

It was just that sweeping seven opponents in a row was very difficult to achieve, and he did not have the confidence either.

If he said it easily but failed to do it, wouldn't that invite ridicule?

"Eliminate as many as we can, act according to our ability. Our main task is to take first place in the qualifying tournament and obtain a bye in the second round of the finals."

"Don't forget Uncle Ning's promise; we must ensure we do not lose the match."

(End of this chapter)