Chapter 125: Could They Possibly Still Fly?
"Let's go, to the palace."
The next morning, Hu Lei led Jiang Lin and Yuan Bao toward the Royal City Mountain at the center of Gama Sacred City. Along the way, many people were waiting in the streets. They had already heard about the duel between the Refining Masters Guild and the Gama Imperial Family.
For most common people, they couldn't understand the intricacies of the pill-making or refining competitions, but a real battle with weapons and skills was something they were definitely interested in. Especially since the Refining Masters Guild had always been renowned for its combat prowess, news had spread about a rare match between a Dou Ling and a Dou Wang, so people had arrived early at the outer gates of the Imperial City, eager to see the two brave souls from the Refining Masters Guild.
"Big sis, look, isn't that the human we saw buying fruits the other day? The really handsome one?" A young werewolf boy named A Mo, from a rooftop in the crowd, pointed to Jiang Lin and Yuan Bao, who were walking toward the imposing Imperial City with Hu Lei, and immediately called out to his older sister.
"Ah, I see, I see. What's so great about it? We can't even see the fight inside the Imperial City. I heard it's a Dou Ling challenging a Dou Wang. Isn't that just asking for trouble?" A Mo's older sister, a tall werewolf with long legs, leaned against the chimney on the rooftop with her arms crossed. She glanced indifferently at Jiang Lin in the distance, shook her head slightly, and continued, "Could they possibly still fly?"
Elsewhere, at another entrance of the Imperial City, the patriarch of the Nalan family walked in with his talented granddaughter, Nalan Yanran, looking slightly conflicted.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. You've already made your decision, and there's nothing I can do. Everything I've said is just nonsense."
"As long as you came to see this old man, I won't be mad today. But in a few days, you should go back to Yun Lan Sect. I get upset just looking at you."
Nalan Yanran: "..."
"Let's go, after all, it's a duel between the Refining Masters Guild and the Gama Imperial Family. They must have something good in store. Otherwise, they wouldn't risk such an unprepared battle. Let me show you something. It's better than staying in Yun Lan Sect for your training." The patriarch, still angry, didn't even look at Nalan Yanran as he walked ahead, his old back slightly bent. Nalan Yanran sighed internally and quickly caught up with him.
On the other side, Mu Yun quietly entered the Imperial City with the head of the Mu family. Originally, Mu Yun wasn't qualified to come to the Imperial City with the family head, but he had a secret weapon. After revealing it subtly, the Mu family head was so excited that he grabbed Mu Yun's hand and insisted on bringing him into the Imperial City.
At the Royal Arena in the Gama Imperial City, on the side of the palace, the seats were filled with high-ranking officials from the Gama Imperial Family. At least, all the high-ranking officials from the Gama Sacred City who didn't have urgent military affairs had attended this duel between the Refining Masters Guild and the Gama Imperial Family.
The Royal Arena was located next to the tall city wall of the Imperial City on one side, and the other side had a magnificent watchtower built against the mountain, showcasing the grandeur of the royal family.
"Great-grandfather, is this Lan Ying really that talented?" On the largest watchtower, Princess Yao Ye of the Gama Empire, dressed in majestic royal attire, sat in the main seat, looking curiously at the obedient Lan Ying, who was being fed fruits by an old man in simple robes beside her.
"Yao'er, this Lan Ying had a rare encounter. I asked an old friend, and this Lan Ying's purple-patterned wings come from the bloodline ability of the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle. This little fellow is lucky to have a bloodline mutation. With enough resources, it can at least become a Fifth-Grade Magical Beast. If it puts in a little more effort, reaching Sixth-Grade is easy," the old man, wearing a tattered robe, a legendary figure known as "Ma Pao Jia Lao," stroked the Lan Ying's feathers, laughing and sighing.
"Don't worry about Yao'er's judgment, great-grandfather!" Princess Yao Ye immediately beamed with pride, wanting to take credit for the decision.
"Heh heh heh," Jia Xingtian only gently patted Yao Ye's head with a smile, not saying much more. His gaze, however, moved toward the distance, where he could see past the royal city walls and look down at the streets outside the Imperial City.
"Everyone's here, they've arrived. Yao Bai, do you have confidence?" Jia Xingtian looked toward Yao Bai, who was holding a Dark Iron spear and wearing bright silver soft armor.
The Dark Iron spear in Yao Bai's hand was a Fifth-Grade magical weapon, a mid-level Dou Qi weapon in the realm of the Xuan class, which Princess Yao Ye had taken from the royal treasury and given to him. High-quality Xuan-level magical weapons were rarely crafted by the Refining Masters Guild, so the Fifth-Grade magical weapon was the best Gama Imperial Family could provide for Yao Bai. As for the bright silver soft armor he wore, it wasn't even a magical weapon, and its defensive power was probably inferior to his Dou Qi armor, only serving a decorative purpose.
Jia Xingtian himself possessed a Sixth-Grade magical weapon, made by the former president of the Refining Masters Guild, but he would never give it to Yao Bai, as that would break the rules and serve no benefit except to annoy the Refining Masters Guild.
Even in this duel, he only intended for Yuan Bao to win, and as for Jiang Lin's match, he planned to "let him win" without truly throwing the match. As long as the imperial family didn't send out a Nine-Star Great Dou Master in full Dou Qi armor, the Refining Masters' combat strength at this lower level would still be quite strong.
A tie, with one win and one loss, would be the best outcome for the Gama Imperial Family.
Princess Yao Ye might be fooled by Lan Ying's extraordinary talent, but Jia Xingtian was not. To use Jiang Lin's own words, "Lan Ying is not bound by the constraints of etiquette and morality."
After observing for several days, Jia Xingtian deeply realized that Lan Ying had "matured" too early and had been "taught badly" by Jiang Lin. It was said that it was easy to teach someone bad habits but hard to teach them good ones, and Lan Ying had reached the point where it was too late to fix.
Especially since the Nalan family in Gama Sacred City had just been at the center of controversy with the saying, "Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side, don't bully the young and poor," Jia Xingtian didn't want his imperial family to be the subject of mockery with a "Don't bully the young eagle" saying.
"The Refining Masters Guild's higher-ups have always remained distant from the Gama Empire. Perhaps this Lan Ying is the key link to establishing contact with this generation's Refining Masters Guild president," Jia Xingtian stroked Lan Ying's feathers, deep in thought, as he looked at the figures of Hu Lei and his two disciples approaching the arena.
As the saying goes, "Even when gifting something, one must know the right approach." The wealthy Refining Masters Guild might lack many things, but they certainly didn't have experience in cultivating magical beasts like the Gama Imperial Family did.
"Hu Lei, are you just going through the motions, or are we starting right away?" Jia Xingtian smiled, looking at Hu Lei below.
Hu Lei, holding Jiang Lin's hand, jumped onto the nearby city wall and called out to Jia Xingtian, "Why hesitate? Let's get started!"
(END CHAPTER)
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