Opening Ceremony, First Encounter with Xu Lizhi
The morning air in Tianhai City was sharp with salt and excitement. After a hurried breakfast, the Donghai Academy contingent moved as one entity, shepherded by efficient city staff onto waiting soul guidance buses. The vehicles hummed to life, cutting through streets already thrumming with the energy of the impending spectacle.
Thirty minutes later, they disembarked before the imposing bulk of Tianhai Stadium—a colossal, bowl-shaped structure of gleaming alloy and reinforced concrete that could swallow eighty thousand souls. Even from the outside, the noise was a tangible force: the low roar of a gathered crowd, the blare of vendor horns, the distant thump of ceremonial music. Lines snaked around the block, a river of humanity eager to witness the convergence of talent and ambition.
For the cities of the eastern economic circle, the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was more than a tournament; it was a societal engine. A stage for rising stars, a recruitment ground for great families and guilds, and for some, a marriage market draped in the glamour of combat. Ticket prices reflected this status, soaring to sums that would make an ordinary laborer blanch. Yet, for those unable to attend, every match would be beamed via soul guidance screens into countless homes, commanding rapt attention. In a world where power was revered, the masters of soul power were the ultimate celebrities.
Yao Xuan took it in with a calibrated gaze, impressed by the scale. 'It has the weight of a world-class event. The atmosphere is electric.' He filed the observation away, a note on the importance the human world placed on such displays of strength.
Guiding them past the public queues, staff ushered the Donghai Academy team through a sleek VIP entrance, channeling them into the competitors' section of the stands. The view was commanding: the vast, circular arena floor below, currently empty, surrounded by concentric rings of seats rapidly filling with a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds.
They settled in for a wait that stretched over an hour, a test of patience amidst the building frenzy. Finally, the floodgates opened, and the last of the spectators poured in, their collective murmur rising to a sustained wave of noise. Then, a clear, amplified voice cut through the din, announcing the commencement of the opening ceremony.
The Alliance Leader, a stern-faced man in a impeccably tailored suit whose very posture broadcast authority, took the central podium. His speech was polished, emphasizing the competition's role in bolstering the region's often-overlooked martial foundation, in staunching the brain drain of talent to the continent's interior powers. It was a political address, but one with a core of genuine aspiration. With a final, resonant strike against a grand bronze bell, he declared the tournament open.
The chief referee followed, outlining the rigorous schedule with bureaucratic efficiency. Eleven days. Three stages: ceremonial preliminaries and registration, a brutal five-day points-based elimination round, and finally, the polished crucible of the championship brackets. The details washed over Yao Xuan—he understood the structure—but he focused on the stakes. The friendly match mentioned for the seven-person team champions against Shrek Academy was a tantalizing, distant carrot.
As speeches continued, Yao Xuan's attention drifted inward, until a familiar, plaintive voice piped up from a few rows behind them, distinct against the ceremonial drone.
"I'm so hungry! Does anyone have anything to eat?"
He turned, along with the others. The speaker was a boy, perhaps a year or two older than them, with a round, friendly face currently etched with genuine gastric distress. He was pudgy, his academy uniform stretching slightly at the seams, giving him a somewhat unkempt, earnest appearance.
'Xu Lizhi.' The identification was instant, accompanied by a flash of internal, irrational bias from Yao Xuan's meta-knowledge—a dislike for the narrative role this boy would one day play, a sentiment utterly disconnected from the actual, harmless youth before him now. He kept his expression neutral, but a faint, instinctive frown touched his brow before he smoothed it away.
In stark contrast, Tang Wulin's reaction was one of immediate, practical sympathy. Food, especially its lack, was a language he understood intimately. Without hesitation, he rummaged in his own pack, pulled out a tightly wrapped piece of high-nutrient dried fish—part of his personal, carefully hoarded reserves—and strode over.
"Here, have this," Tang Wulin said, offering it with a simple, open-handed gesture.
Xu Lizhi's eyes lit up as if Tang Wulin had offered a spirit bone. "Thank you! You're a lifesaver!" he exclaimed, accepting the fish with both hands and immediately taking a large, grateful bite.
Yao Xuan watched the interaction, his earlier prejudice tempered by the straightforward kindness of his friend. Gu Yue, seated beside him, had observed the entire micro-exchange. Her sharp eyes missed nothing: Yao Xuan's initial flicker of distaste, Tang Wulin's uncomplicated charity, and now Xu Lizhi's unpretentious gratitude.
She leaned closer to Yao Xuan, her shoulder brushing his. Her voice was a low murmur meant only for him. "Your reaction to that boy was negative. Yet his soul… it feels simple. Unburdened. Tang Wulin sees it."
Yao Xuan let out a soft breath, chastened by her perception. "A foolish first impression," he admitted quietly, turning his head to meet her gaze. "Tang Wulin has the right of it. Judging a book by its cover is a weakness." He appreciated her not questioning him directly, but offering an observation that allowed him to self-correct.
As Xu Lizhi happily devoured the fish, he shuffled closer to their group, drawn by the kindness. "You guys are from Donghai Academy, right? Here for the junior division? I'm with Tianhai Advanced Academy. The name's Xu Lizhi!" His grin was wide, greasy from the fish, but utterly without guile.
The exhibition match was about to begin on the arena floor, but in their little pocket of the stands, a smaller, more human connection had just been forged. Yao Xuan gave the boy a curt, polite nod, his earlier bias consciously set aside. Gu Yue offered a slight, regal inclination of her head, her analytical gaze already cataloging Xu Lizhi's soul power fluctuations and apparent personality traits. The grand tournament had officially begun, and with it, the myriad small encounters that would shape their path through it.