As the matches concluded, Emperor Xue Ye delivered another round of stirring encouragement and inspiration. He officially declared the successful conclusion of the Promotion Competition and personally presented awards to the top three individual performers.
These three were Tang San, Feng Xiaotian, and Yang Pojun. Their individual win counts were the highest among all fifteen teams. Tang San secured the first-place spot by a narrow margin of a single victory over Feng Xiaotian.
With the Promotion Competition over, the Grand Finals were set to begin shortly. This was the true battle that would decide the strongest academy on the continent.
The teams were given only three days to adjust. Three days later, a contingent of nearly a thousand people—consisting of the fifteen qualifying teams, their teachers, and an escort of five hundred soldiers from the Royal Knight Spear Brigade—set off for the venue of the Grand Finals, Spirit City.
As a reigning monarch, Emperor Xue Ye could not leave Heaven Dou City personally. Thus, he announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent him as the Empire's envoy to oversee the judging of the tournament. Under Xue Qinghe's personal accompaniment, the fifteen teams from the Heaven Dou Empire headed toward Spirit City, where Spirit Hall would host the final showdown.
Spirit City was situated at the border of the two great empires, though neither empire held jurisdiction over it. Most importantly, it was home to the Supreme Pontiff's Palace, one of the two most hallowed halls of Spirit Hall. This newly constructed palace was hailed as one of the most magnificent structures in all of Douluo Dalu. Because of this palace, Spirit City had become a holy land for all soul masters and served as a capital-like stronghold for Spirit Hall.
The journey from Heaven Dou City to Spirit City took approximately twenty days. The Grand Finals themselves would be relatively short, conducted entirely in a single-elimination format—one chance per team, with the winners crowned and the losers cast aside. With thirty-three teams in total, the entire tournament would be decided in less than ten days.
One could say that these twenty days on the road were their final opportunity for a proper rest. To ensure the competitors were well-rested, the Empire provided fifteen specially crafted, luxury giant carriages. These carriages incorporated basic soul tool technology, offering excellent shock absorption and a remarkably smooth ride. Of course, such shallow applications were among the few remnants of soul tool technology still circulating on the continent.
Spirit Hall placed immense importance on these Grand Finals. During the Promotion Competition, a specific area in Spirit City had already been cleared and prepared as the venue. Furthermore, Spirit Hall issued a decree. For the duration of the tournament, non-soul masters were strictly prohibited from entering to watch the matches, regardless of noble status.
This added an extra layer of mystery to the event. Commoners felt no resentment toward this decree. To them, soul masters were lofty beings, and Spirit Hall was the temple of their hearts. If the Supreme Pontiff himself issued a law, who would dare complain? Instead, the exclusivity only heightened their longing and wonder toward the tournament.
The first ten days passed peacefully, marking the halfway point of the journey. An escort of five hundred Royal Knights was a force to be reckoned with, equivalent to imperial royalty. Every city they passed received them with the highest honors, and they encountered no trouble along the way.
Today was the eleventh day.
Gu Xuan's Heaven Dou Imperial Team and the Seven Treasure Team were positioned at the very center of the convoy—one being the first-place seed from the qualifiers and the other representing the imperial family.
Gu Xuan was undoubtedly the most envied man in the group. He sat alone in a carriage with Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Ning Rongrong, leaving others green with envy. However, Zuo Yan was a close second. He had spent most of the last ten days in the Skywater Academy's carriage. Within just half a month, he had managed to get close to Shui Bing'er, and their relationship seemed to be progressing rapidly.
There was nothing to be done; even the envious had to admit that possessing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill created a bond like no other. While Shui Bing'er also shared a fusion skill called "Drifting Snow" with her teammate Xue Wu, its power was far inferior to the Three-Light Divine Phoenix she shared with Zuo Yan.
Just as Gu Xuan was deep in conversation with the three ladies, an icy, cold aura suddenly emanated from the distance, locking onto the entire Heaven Dou convoy.
They usually stuck to the main official roads, only taking remote shortcuts when it could save significant time. Currently, they were passing through a path between two low hills, a shortcut rumored to save dozens of miles. Though the mountain path was narrow, it was flat enough for the carriages to pass without issue.
Gu Xuan wasn't the only one to sense the chilling aura coming from the hills on both sides. The commander of the Royal Knights let out a sharp shout, "Everyone, stay alert."
Disciplined and swift, the Royal Knights surrounding the soul masters immediately raised their lances. In contrast, the students from the academies looked quite relaxed. With so many genius soul masters gathered in one place, what was there to fear? While the students were fewer in number than the knights, their combat power was on an entirely different level. Furthermore, there were at least twenty teachers with soul power above Rank 60 or 70. Such a force was capable of facing an army of ten thousand.
Suddenly, countless boulders rained down from the hills like a landslide. The attack was abrupt and perfectly synchronized, hurtling toward the path below.
The terrain was highly disadvantageous. The Royal Knight commander ordered the convoy to accelerate while tasking his five hundred men to handle the falling rocks. Here, the quality of the Royal Knights was on full display. Even those who weren't soul masters were formidable. Since the hills weren't excessively high, the momentum of the rocks wasn't unstoppable.
The knights stepped back to keep the central path clear and used their lances to deflect the plunging stones. The five hundred warriors formed a steel line of defense, and through their sheer coordination, not a single rock managed to pass them in those opening moments.
Seeing this, even the soul master students who usually looked down on ordinary people felt a surge of admiration. Under the guidance of their teachers, the fifteen academies quickly moved to exit the valley. To gain speed, they abandoned the carriages and proceeded on foot. Once they cleared this bottleneck, they would have nothing to fear.
Now, everyone was dying to know what kind of people would dare attack a convoy guarded by the Royal Knights. This was Heaven Dou Empire territory. Were they bandits? What bandit would be stupid enough to target such a terrifying lineup of powerhouses? Had they lost their eyes?
(End of Chapter)
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