Dusk slowly fell.
The Heaven Dou Empire's delegation had finally arrived at Spirit City.
Li Zhexian and the others looked into the distance, and their hearts couldn't help but be shocked beyond measure.
In terms of scale, Spirit City was not even one or two-tenths the size of the Heaven Dou City.
But in terms of the visual impact it gave, the Heaven Dou City was far inferior.
If Heaven Dou City was the pinnacle of human architecture,
then Spirit City was a fragment torn straight from the heavens.
The entire city was built of pure white granite.
On every block of stone, angelic wings were carved in relief—
and under the setting sun, the feathers glowed with a golden radiance.
The walls bore no defensive structures.
A silent declaration of Spirit City's fearlessness and transcendence.
"Hiss..."
Upon reaching the city gate, Yu Feng sucked in a cold breath. He stared at the guards at the city gate who were wearing Spirit Master robes.
"A… Spirit Emperor?!"
The guard's chest was embroidered with six winged crests.
A Spirit Emperor, who was qualified to serve as an instructor at an academy, was merely a head guard here.
Ever since they had approached Spirit City, the Angel Feather tucked in Li Zhexian's robe had begun to radiate warmth. He said softly, "So this is Spirit Hall… gathering eighty percent of the Spirit Masters on the continent."
Led by Spirit City's envoys,
they made their way to the lodging quarters.
...
Inside the city, the streets were wide and a continuous stream of people filled them. The shops on both sides were well-ordered.
Li Zhexian's gaze swept past them, and he discovered that eight or nine out of every ten things sold were related to Spirit Masters.
What was even more eye-catching was that the passersby on the street, and even the small vendors on the roadside, were subtly emitting Spirit Power fluctuations from their bodies—every one of them was at least a rank ten Spirit Master.
And everywhere he looked—
whether it was on the shop's door lintels, the eaves of the houses, or even the walls of the passing carriages, there was an angel's feather crest engraved that was exactly the same as the one on the city walls.
Compared to the lively bustle of Heaven Dou,
Spirit City lacked the air of mundane commonfolk.
Instead, it carried the solemnity of a holy land for Spirit Masters.
For Li Zhexian, the impression was even deeper…
This was not merely a city.
It was a holy city,
where Angel Divinity and Pope authority converged.
The only question was…
within this sacred city,
was it faith in the Angel more deeply rooted?
Or reverence for Her Holiness the Pope more commanding?
"Look there!" Yu Feng's voice was filled with amazement as he pointed to the center of the city.
All turned to follow his gaze.
There, a mountain peak rose directly from the city's center.
Its summit vanished into clouds glowing with orange-gold,
concealing its true face.
Beneath the clouds stood a vast temple,
its brilliance flooding the dusk.
The leading envoy straightened his back, and his voice was full of pride: "That is the Pope's Palace.
The dwelling place of Her Holiness, the Supreme Pope!"
He paused, eyes filled with yearning.
"The final top-three duels of the Spirit Master Tournament
will be held upon the square before the Pope's Palace.
Even Her Holiness herself will attend in person!"
…
After arriving at their residence area, everyone felt weary from the journey and had no intention of strolling around, so they rested early.
On the day before the finals—
Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Yu Tianheng,
together with members of Blazing Fire and Godwind teams,
all felt the pressure of an impending storm. They all chose to close their doors for quiet cultivation to rest and recuperate.
Only Li Zhexian and Xue Qinghe were still strolling casually on the streets of Spirit Hall City. At least... at this sensitive moment, Spirit Hall wouldn't openly make a move on Li Zhexian within the city.
The two of them strolled around. They tried many of Spirit Hall City's so-called snacks specially for Spirit Masters.
"Pah! Pah!" Li Zhexian frowned, spitting out the pastry that was said to be able to increase Spirit Power with disgust.
"It's tasteless like chewing on wax!"
"It's not even close to being as good as a rolling donkey!"
"In terms of delicious food, Spirit Hall City can't even compare to Heaven Dou City!"
Xue Qinghe nodded quickly in agreement.
The two of them turned a street corner. The street ahead suddenly became a hubbub of voices. A group of Spirit Masters were disregarding their status and dignity, competing to crowd toward one place.
Li Zhexian and Xue Qinghe exchanged a glance,
curious, and approached.
Pushing through, they saw a Soul Tool projection floating in midair.
It displayed the roster of all participating teams,
along with the support rates
given by Spirit Masters of Spirit City.
Unsurprisingly,
with home-field advantage and overwhelming strength,
Spirit Hall's team held first place.
Their votes alone
nearly outstripped the total of all others combined.
Second place, however, surprised Li Zhexian somewhat.
It was Shrek Academy.
Third and fourth were Heaven Dou's Battle Team and Star Luo's team.
Behind them came Godwind, Blazing Fire, and the rest.
"Who set these rankings?!"
Xue Qinghe frowned, displeased.
Li Zhexian, however, only smiled,
listening to the crowd's chatter.
"Shrek? Who are they to outrank Emperial Battle Team and Star Luo?"
"Tch, ignorant much? Shrek has someone named Tang San—
said to be only the second Twin Martial Soul in history!"
"Be that as it may,
I heard Emperial Battle Team got a new genius called Sword Wine.
In Heaven Dou City he's already a household name!"
"This is Spirit City.
Heaven Dou's fame counts for nothing here!
Emperial Battle Team? Ranked too high.
They were already crushed by the Golden Generation in a scrimmage.
They'll have to beat Star Luo first before boasting!"
"I heard that Sword Wine wants to avenge his teammates
against the Golden Generation? Ha! Let's see if he can…"
"These Spirit City Spirit Masters are arrogant."
Li Zhexian tugged at the still-frowning Xue Qinghe.
"Let's go."
All along the way, Xue Qinghe pursed her lips. It was clear that she was still bothered by the controversy surrounding Sword Wine among Spirit City's Spirit Masters.
Li Zhexian reached out and put his arm around her neck, laughing, "I don't even care."
"What are you angry about?"
Xue Qinghe's cheeks flushed. She said in a low voice, "I can't stand to hear others talk about you."
Li Zhexian waved his hand.
"Just use strength to fight back."
As he said this,
his smile slowly faded.
Cold light flashed in his eyes—
like a long-hidden sword drawn at last.
"Spirit Hall tried again and again to kill me.
Sister Dugu, Lingling, and the others
were humiliated by the Golden Generation because of me.
Since I risked coming to Spirit City—
how could I not return the favor?"
...
For the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament,
Spirit Hall had specially built a grand arena.
It stood at the foot of the central mountain.
The stage itself was over a hundred meters across,
constructed of obsidian-black stone,
reinforced with the latest Soul Tools.
It could withstand the attacks of a Spirit Emperor
without damage.
Around the arena, the spectator stands were like overlapping layers of mountains. They were already completely full.
At dawn, all the participating academy teams had arrived at the competition venue.
In the team's rest area, listening to the shouts like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami roaring from outside, Li Zhexian looked at Yu Feng next to him and said, "Nervous?"
Yu Feng shook his head. "No."
"Your hand is trembling so much that you're spilling water all over me."
Yu Feng forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
It wasn't just Yu Feng. Even Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan had looks of anxiety on their faces.
The finals were nothing like the qualifiers.
The atmosphere of the finals was completely different from the qualifiers. What's more, the Emperial Battle Team didn't even participate in the qualifiers...