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The door to the Shrek Academy preparation room was pushed open with a soft creak. Xiao Wu walked inside, her face a mask of deep sadness. Her large eyes, which were usually full of life, were now red and swollen from crying. She looked exhausted, and her delicate face was filled with worry.
"Yu Xiaogang, Little San has been gone for days. Spirit Hall took him, and we still haven't done anything. What are we going to do?" Xiao Wu walked straight toward Yu Xiaogang.
Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she looked like she might cry again at any moment. "Are we really just going to stand here? Are we just going to watch while Spirit Hall drags him all the way to Spirit City?"
She couldn't stop thinking about that day. A few days ago, Tang San had been knocked unconscious and dragged away by the Temple Knights. It had happened right in front of everyone. At that moment, Xiao Wu felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Tang San was the most important person in the world to her. She loved him more than anyone else.
But she also knew she had been helpless. There were tens of thousands of people at the Great Spirit Arena. Powerful masters were everywhere, and the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall was watching the whole thing.
The Temple Knights were strong and well-organized. Even though she was a Spirit Ancestor, she knew that rushing forward would have been useless. She would have been captured or killed without saving him.
The feeling of being so weak was almost too much for her to bear. She had spent the last few days in total despair, watching the boy she loved being taken away. Her only hope left was Yu Xiaogang. Tang San respected his teacher more than anyone, so she hoped the man would have a plan. She had come to him every single day, begging for help and crying for some kind of good news.
Yu Xiaogang looked at her. Seeing how miserable and desperate she was, he let out a long sigh. He lowered his voice, speaking in a tone that sounded mysterious and calm. "Xiao Wu, you don't need to worry so much.
Little San's father came to see me in secret last night. He told me that once the promotion rounds are over, Spirit Hall will start moving Little San toward Spirit City. On the way there, he's going to step in. He will personally rescue his son."
"Really?" Xiao Wu gasped. It felt like a tiny light had finally appeared in the middle of a dark room. She almost jumped up because she was so excited. Her hands were shaking as she looked at him. "Yu Xiaogang, are you telling the truth? Is Little San's father really going to save him?"
"I promise you," Yu Xiaogang said with a firm nod. He looked very confident, as if he had everything under control. "With a man like Tang San's father taking action, getting him back won't be a problem at all. You can trust that."
Hearing such a clear answer finally made Xiao Wu feel better. The heavy weight that had been crushing her chest for days finally disappeared. She took a deep breath, wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, and actually managed to smile. She bowed deeply to Yu Xiaogang to show how thankful she was. "Thank you, Yu Xiaogang! Thank you so much for telling me this!"
Xiao Wu felt like she had her energy back. She turned around and hurried out of the room. She couldn't wait to find Boss Dai and the others to tell them the news.
Once Xiao Wu was gone and the sound of her footsteps died down, the look on Yu Xiaogang's face changed. His eyes turned cold and sharp. He turned his head toward Yu Tianheng, who was sitting nearby. Yu Tianheng was leaning back in his chair, looking pale because of his recent injuries.
"Tianheng, we need to move fast regarding that Golden Dragon Spirit," Yu Xiaogang said in a low, serious voice. "I want you to write a letter for me right now and send it to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
You need to tell the Clan Chief and the Elders everything. Most importantly, make sure my father knows what we saw today. Tell them how powerful Xiao Rui'er's Golden Dragon Spirit is. Explain that its bloodline is the key to making our clan's spirit evolve. Don't leave out any details."
He leaned in closer. "If the old men in the clan realize how valuable that bloodline is, they will want it. Tell them to hide their identities and wait for the Tianxing Academy convoy on the road to Spirit City. Once Tang Hao starts his attack and everything turns into a mess, that's their chance. They can jump in and take the bloodline while everyone is distracted."
Yu Tianheng winced from the pain in his chest, but he nodded. Still, he looked a bit confused. "Uncle, the plan to use the chaos is smart. But if the clan actually gets the bloodline, won't it just go to the Elders or the top disciples? How will you get it? You're doing all this work, but I'm worried you won't get the reward."
Tianheng really cared about his uncle. When he was a little kid, Yu Xiaogang was the one who played with him and told him stories. His own father and grandfather were always very strict. They only cared about how much spirit power he had or how well he could fight. Only Yu Xiaogang had ever treated him like a normal child.
Yu Xiaogang gave a strange, confident smile. His eyes gleamed because he was sure he knew exactly how his family would react. "Tianheng, you're right about some things, but not everything. I know I'm the biggest disappointment in the clan. I know they think I'm a joke. But I also know that I'm still my father's son. He loves me, and deep down, he feels guilty about what happened to me."
He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I am the one giving this information to the clan. This is a huge discovery! This could change the entire future of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. When they succeed and get that Golden Dragon bloodline, my father won't forget me. Because of his guilt and the fact that I helped the clan so much, he will make sure I get what I deserve."
He stopped for a moment, trying to keep his emotions in check. Then he waved his hand dismissively. "Go and take care of it now, Tianheng. Make sure that letter gets there fast. It has to be written so well that they can't say no."
Yu Tianheng felt a bit uneasy seeing his uncle act so intensely, but he didn't want to argue. He stood up slowly, ignored the pain, and nodded. "Yes, Uncle. I'll go write it right now."
A week passed by. The qualifying rounds in the Heaven Dou region finally came to an end. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that Tianxing Academy won. They stayed undefeated the whole time, and their power was so great that no other team could even come close to them.
During the closing ceremony, Emperor Xue Ye gave a big speech. He told all the winning teams to do their best and bring honor to the Empire during the grand finals. Since the Emperor couldn't leave the capital, he announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would go in his place. The Prince would be the official representative for the final stage of the contest.
The fifteen teams from the Empire were given three days to get ready. After that, they would be escorted to Spirit City by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and a large group of guards.
Three days later, the massive group set off. There were over a thousand people in total, including the students, teachers, and five hundred Royal Knights. It was a grand sight as they began the long trip to the city where the finals would be held.
It would take about twenty days to reach Spirit City. The actual tournament wouldn't last very long. Since it was a knockout system, the thirty-three teams from both Empires would finish the matches in less than ten days.
Spirit Hall was taking the finals very seriously. Even before the qualifying rounds were over, they had already set up a special area in Spirit City just for the matches. They even made a rule that no regular people could watch. Only Spirit Masters were allowed inside. Not even rich nobles could get in if they weren't Spirit Masters. This made everyone even more curious about the event.
While the main group was moving, a smaller team was also traveling in secret. This team was led by Salas and included several powerful Spirit Saints and elite Temple Knights. They left Heaven Dou City through a back gate and didn't join the main convoy. Instead, they followed from a distance.
Emperor Xue Ye had asked for this. He didn't want the group guarding Tang San to be too close to the students. He wanted to make sure that if anything bad happened to Tang San, the elite young students of the Empire wouldn't get hurt.
Meanwhile, inside the Supreme Pontiff Palace in Spirit City, the mood was very heavy. The hall was huge and dark, and the lights seemed to flicker as if they were scared of the power in the room.
Bibi Dong was sitting on her throne. She stood up slowly, her purple eyes looking cold and sharp. She looked down at the four men standing in front of her. "Is everything ready?" she asked. Her voice was calm but very powerful.
The four men bowed at the same time. "Yes, Your Eminence! Everything is prepared!"
These four men were Titled Douluo from the Elder Palace. On the left was Yue Guan, the Chrysanthemum Douluo, who looked almost like a woman. Next to him was Gui Mei, the Ghost Douluo, who was covered in shadows. On the right was the massive Devil Bear Douluo, and next to him was the Ghost Leopard Douluo, who looked very fast and dangerous.
"Good. You may leave now," Bibi Dong said with a small wave of her hand.
"Yes!" they shouted together.
In an instant, the four of them vanished. The air seemed to wiggle for a second, and then they were gone. Bibi Dong was left alone in the giant hall. She looked out toward the horizon with a cold smile. "Tang Hao, Tang San... this time, I'm going to catch both of you," she whispered to herself.
Over at the Hall of Worship, things were just as serious. This hall was very beautiful, with light shining through colored windows onto a giant golden statue of a Seraphim.
Three men were standing there. In the middle was Qian Daoliu, the High Priest. He was an old man in a gold robe with eyes that looked like they had seen everything. He was known as the strongest fighter in the sky.
Standing below him were two brothers who looked very similar. They were both tall and strong. Each of them held a long, dark gold staff with a dragon carved around it. These were the Coiling Dragon Rods. The men were the sixth and seventh Priests, Qianjun Douluo and Jiangmo Douluo.
"Qianjun, Jiangmo, I want you to go and help with Bibi Dong's plan," Qian Daoliu said quietly.
"Do you want us to jump into the fight directly?" Jiangmo asked. He figured that if he and his brother helped, Tang Hao wouldn't stand a chance.
Qian Daoliu shook his head slowly. He looked out the window. "No. Just stay in the shadows for now. If the four men Bibi Dong sent can't handle the Tang family, then you can step in and finish it."
"We understand," the brothers said. They never argued with the High Priest.
Then, Qianjun remembered something. "High Priest, there's one more thing. The Young Miss sent a message about a boy named Tang Chen."
Qian Daoliu raised his hand to stop him from speaking. There was a moment of silence while the old man thought. "If you can, bring Tang Chen back to me alive," he finally said.
Qianjun felt a chill, but he understood what the High Priest wanted. He looked at his brother, and they both bowed. "It will be done!"
Days passed as the convoy kept moving. The sounds of horses and carriage wheels filled the air. They were halfway to Spirit City when they reached a very dangerous part of the road.
The road went through a narrow canyon that looked like a gourd. The entrance was so small that only a few carriages could fit at a time. High, steep cliffs rose up on both sides. There were no trees or plants, just jagged rocks. The wind howled through the canyon, making a spooky, cold sound. Because the cliffs were so high, it was very dark inside.
The Royal Knights were leading the way, being very careful. The fifteen carriages from the academies followed them slowly into the dark canyon.
As the long line of carriages moved deeper into the valley, people appeared on top of the cliffs. They seemed to come out of nowhere. There were dozens of them, all dressed in black clothes with masks covering their faces. You could see blue and purple electricity sparking around their bodies.
One of the men in black looked down at the carriages below, specifically the ones belonging to Tianxing Academy. He turned to an older man standing next to him. "Deputy Clan Chief, when do we start the attack?" he whispered.
The older man raised his hand. "Stay calm," he said in a rough voice. "We wait for Tang Hao to start the trouble. Once everything is a mess down there, that's when we strike."
But right after he said that, more people appeared. On the cliff across the canyon, another large group of masked men in black showed up like ghosts. There were even more of them this time, and they all looked like they were ready to kill.