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Chapter 151: Spirit City
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 17:17:33 +0000 UTCAfter twenty days of traveling, everyone finally arrived at the venue of the finals—Spirit City.
The soldiers did not enter Spirit City but stayed stationed outside. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe led sixteen teams into Spirit City together.
Although Spirit City didn't cover as large an area as Heaven Dou City, it was extraordinarily majestic.
The city walls of Spirit City reached a height of 80 meters, with a thickness of more than 30 meters. Its location was not on flat land but seemingly carved out of a mountain and built atop it. In terms of strategic positioning, it far surpassed Heaven Dou City.
Unlike other cities that relied on soldiers for patrolling, Spirit City's patrol teams were composed entirely of spirit masters, all uniformly dressed and exceptionally strong. Based on Yang Podi's estimation, most of the patrolling spirit masters were Spirit Ancestors, with some Spirit Kings or Spirit Emperors, and occasionally even a Spirit Sage could be seen.
As Yang Podi observed the towering city walls, the robust defenses, and the formidable patrol teams, he couldn't help but marvel: "Spirit Hall truly lives up to its reputation as the holy land of spirit masters and the most powerful spirit master organization on the continent. Their strength is indeed beyond imagination."
Through close observation, he noticed that the hexagonal Spirit City was built around a hill. On this hill stood two very striking structures. The most magnificent building was halfway up the hill. Even from a distance, it was clear that this building, constructed with a columnar structure and a golden exterior, shimmered brightly under the sunlight. This should be the Pope's Palace, including the so-called Elder's Hall, which governed the development of the entire Spirit Hall.
To become an elder of Spirit Hall, one had to reach the rank of Titled Douluo, with very few exceptions.
The second building, located at the top of the hill, was much smaller than the Pope's Palace, about a third of its size. Its structure was somewhat similar, but its exterior was jade-white, far less dazzling than the Pope's Palace. Yang Podi speculated that this was the Douluo Palace, possibly also including the Angel Shrine, representing the highest authority of Spirit Hall.
After entering Spirit City, it appeared less bustling than Heaven Dou City. However, the shops and people here were far from ordinary. The stores mainly dealt in spirit master supplies, including various spirit tools, spirit beast corpses, and even valuable parts from spirit beasts, such as rhinoceros horns and spirit beast hides—almost everything one could imagine.
Moreover, most pedestrians in Spirit City were spirit masters, with very few ordinary people in sight.
Upon entering the city, everyone felt a subtle change in their martial spirits and even their souls. It was as if there was a newfound reverence for the divine and a growing sense of piety. This was likely due to the divine power of the Angel God enveloping Spirit City. Unlike the Slaughter City, which was filled with bloodlust and murderous energy, the Angel God's power seemed to have a purifying effect. Under its influence, spirit masters' minds would be clearer, and their thoughts more open. Cultivating in this environment would likely yield greater results.
Once inside Spirit City, a red-clad bishop received them and led the group of over 200 people to a large inn where accommodations were arranged.
After entering the inn, Yang Wudi and Niu Gao exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and left together.
One of their purposes for coming to Spirit City was to accept their titles as Titled Douluo.
The two first went to the Pope's Palace and seemed to have a discussion with Pope Bibi Dong. Then, under Bibi Dong's guidance, they went to the Douluo Palace to receive their titles.
When they returned to the inn, they brought Yang Podi, Niu Mang, and Dugu Bo into a private room.
Yang Podi noticed that both their expressions were far more serious than when they had first arrived.
Yang Wudi and Niu Gao wore wry smiles as they each pulled out a golden title booklet and a Pope's Decree from their belongings.
The golden booklets contained detailed information about the two, including their martial spirits and spirit power levels. However, the presence of the Pope's Decrees was baffling, as these were not typically issued during Titled Douluo ceremonies.
According to the golden booklets, Yang Wudi's title was "Breaking Soul Douluo," symbolizing powerful attacks, while Niu Gao's title was "Plate Armor Douluo," representing indomitable defense.
After a moment of silence, Yang Wudi finally spoke, "Normally, the Pope's Decree isn't part of the process. But since both Niu Gao and I no longer belong to the Upper Three Sects and have our own factions and families, the Pope specifically had these decrees crafted for us. They serve as symbols of independent power."
Yang Podi's face changed slightly. "Bibi Dong truly has a deep and calculating mind. She's using a mere Pope's Decree to put us in the spotlight, making us targets just like the Upper Three Sects. This is her way of sowing discord."
"Grandfather, Granduncle, why didn't you refuse?"
Yang Wudi shook his head. "This thing is indeed troublesome, but we had no choice but to accept it. It was also a way for Bibi Dong to test our stance. If we had refused, she might have suspected that we still had ties with the Upper Three Sects. Accepting the decrees clearly separates us from the Clear Sky Sect."
After some thought, Yang Podi replied, "Grandfather, Granduncle, this isn't a big issue. As long as it doesn't interfere with our plans, it doesn't matter. Nowadays, the Pope's Decree doesn't carry much weight."
Niu Gao nodded. "That's how we see it too. Let her try to sow discord. We'll eventually distance ourselves from the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall's disputes."
After everyone arrived at Spirit City, they had three days to rest before the finals began.
Teacher Li Xiang explained the rules of the finals in detail, covering all the specific points.
The rules were simple. The first stage was entirely knockout matches. Winners advanced, while losers were eliminated. The matches were intense, with only one day of rest between rounds.
The two empires and Spirit Hall had a total of thirty-three teams: fifteen from the Star Luo Empire, sixteen from the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Star Luo Empire and Spirit Hall's seeded teams.
The two seeded teams, along with the first-place team from the Heaven Dou region qualifiers, received byes in the first round. The remaining thirty teams were paired randomly for one-on-one matches, eliminating half and leaving eighteen teams for the next round.
In the second round, the second-place team from the Heaven Dou region qualifiers and the first-place team from the Star Luo region qualifiers received byes. The remaining teams competed in another knockout round.
This left ten teams for the third round.
In the third round, the second-place team from the Star Luo region qualifiers and the third-place team from the Heaven Dou region qualifiers received byes, leaving six teams for the fourth round.
If any team was eliminated prematurely, the bye schedule for all other teams would be adjusted accordingly.
In the fourth round, no team received a bye. All remaining teams competed in one-on-one matches to determine the final three.
After the fourth round, there was a three-day break before the fifth and final round. In this round, the three remaining teams competed first in a knockout-style individual competition with seven members from each team. The losing two teams then faced off in a team battle, and the winner challenged the individual competition winner to determine the champion.
Heaven Dou Team 2, as the first-place team from the Heaven Dou region qualifiers, received a bye in the first round and would compete in the second round.
Yang Podi looked at his team, noting their unusually serious expressions. "You should all know by now that my grandfather Yang Wudi and granduncle Niu Gao have just been titled as Titled Douluo. From now on, at least on the surface, our families are considered major powers. I want to win the championship in the finals to honor them."
"So, from the first match, I'll be competing. But don't let your guard down either. This time, we're aiming for victory and nothing less."
"You've probably heard that the championship reward includes three spirit bones. I'll say it clearly: I want those spirit bones for the sake of our families. I also want the championship, and I won't settle for anything less."
Hearing this, the team members became even more focused. The tournament was no longer just about personal honor but also about their families' future.
What Yang Podi didn't mention was that the two Pope's Decrees had made the attitudes of the Breaking and Defense Clans toward Spirit Hall very clear. Their stance toward the Upper Three Sects was equally evident. From now on, these families would be independent powers, no longer affiliated with any sect or serving as a subordinate force.
For a major faction, winning the championship of the spirit master tournament was a declaration to the world and a demonstration of future strength.
Having reached this point, there was no room for retreat or hesitation. It was time to move forward boldly.
In the first round of the finals, there were no particularly outstanding matches. Of the thirty teams, apart from Heaven Dou Team 1, no team had more than four Spirit Ancestors or spirit masters with spirit power exceeding level 45.
The Heaven Dou region showcased its strength, with four teams advancing to the next round, leaving Heaven Dou Empire's officials, led by Xue Qinghe, beaming with pride.
Unexpectedly, Divinewind Academy and Blazing Academy merged, forming the so-called New Divinewind Team, much like in the original story.
However, in Yang Podi's eyes, this New Divinewind Team was insignificant. The combined team only had four Spirit Ancestors, with Feng Xiaotian's spirit power at a mere level 44.
In the original story, they had merged because they were unwilling to accept Tang San's Shrek Academy, believing their combined strength could win. But with the current strength of Heaven Dou Teams 1 and 2, even their combined efforts would stand little chance. What was the point of merging?
In the second round, Heaven Dou Team 2 finally took to the stage. Unexpectedly, their opponent turned out to be the New Divinewind Team, shocking everyone.
Normally, strong teams rarely faced each other this early in the tournament. Yet, this newly formed Divinewind Team ended up against the highly favored Heaven Dou Team 2.
Yang Podi couldn't help but sneer. "It seems Spirit Hall wants to test our strength. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Divinewind Academy and Blazing Academy to merge. Let's see if they have any other plans after witnessing our power."
Comments
I_Don’t_Believe_It
Thank you for a another double release
