There was no stopping him!
Even after finishing the meal, half an hour had passed.
"The total comes to 66,430 Federation Coins… let's round it to 66,000 for you," said the shop owner as he approached Wu Changkong.
Among the ten of them, only he was an adult. Cai Yue'er appeared older, and the rest were all children.
Wu Changkong glanced at Gu You, but Gu You was already staring up at the sky, as if he could see the weather outside even through the ceiling.
Pay the bill? That was impossible for him. He was already in debt and couldn't waste money on others… Ah, not wasted—just money from kind people. In short: freebie.
"Pay it," Wu Changkong said, and settled the bill.
"Let's go," Cai Yue'er stood up.
They had just arrived in Tianhai City, and it happened to be mealtime, so Gu You had led them to eat here. The meal was expensive, but for a Title Douluo like her, it was trivial—especially since someone else was paying.
The Federation had designated their assembly point at Tianhai Grand Hotel.
The Xingluo Continent delegation would arrive here in stages and then depart by ship from Tianhai City's port. When they came, they had large ships, and this time, Douluo Continent would dispatch a ship to follow. It would ensure that a year later, they could bring back the representatives of Douluo Continent, including Gu You.
Tianhai Grand Hotel was the most luxurious hotel in the city.
The group quickly arrived by car. Not every city was as large as those on Douluo Continent.
Wu Changkong handled all the procedures. Shrek Academy's name carried weight anywhere, and soon the room cards were ready. Wu Changkong and Cai Yue'er had separate rooms, while students were paired two per room:
Gu You & Xie Xie
Xu Lizhi & Le Zhengyu
Yuan Enyehui & Ye Xinglan
Gu Yue & Xu Xiaoyan
"Rest for a while and then enjoy some free time, but be back before nightfall," Wu Changkong instructed.
Understood!
The rooms were excellent. Even a standard two-person room was 60–70 square meters, and opening the curtains revealed a direct view of the sea.
The view lifted one's spirits.
Gu You had been found by the sea as a child, and he felt an innate connection to the ocean.
For a moment, he gazed at the sky in silence, but his eyes were sharp and resolute.
For the next few days, Gu You spent most of his time training in the hotel.
After three days, news arrived: everyone had gathered, and the Xingluo Continent delegation was ready to depart for their continent.
The lobby of Tianhai Grand Hotel was packed.
The Xingluo delegation coming to Douluo Continent numbered over a thousand, all elites from various fields. The Douluo Continent returnees were also numerous. Despite the hotel lobby's size, it was filled to capacity.
The Shrek Academy students waited quietly in a corner. The Federation official responsible for coordination had already met with Cai Yue'er.
Cai Yue'er returned to her usual composed demeanor, speaking little. She simply informed them that Shrek Academy was ready to depart at any time.
Gu You stood aside, observing the Xingluo delegation.
The people of Xingluo Continent didn't look much different from those of Douluo Continent; their clothing was just slightly more traditional.
The crowd in the hall grew, but under official organization, everything remained orderly.
A loud voice boomed through the soul-guided loudspeakers:
"Hello, everyone. I am Pan Wen, Secretary-General of the Federation. I will lead this exchange to Xingluo Continent. Please have the Xingluo delegation check their numbers first and board buses numbered 1 to 25. Then our group will board buses numbered 26 to 52. Departments, please confirm your counts."
Organizing such a large crowd was challenging, but the Federation's ability was impressive. Over two thousand people from the two delegations filed out of Tianhai Grand Hotel in an orderly manner and boarded the buses.
Soul-guided buses, under the command of a specialized mecha security squad, slowly departed the hotel and headed toward the port.
Gu You sat near the back of the bus, close to the aisle, while Gu Yue sat by the window.
Gu Yue leaned back with her eyes closed. Over the past six months, the two of them had rarely seen each other.
"What's your dream?" Gu You broke the silence.
Dream?
Gu Yue blinked, slightly startled.
"Yeah… everyone should have a goal, right?"
She remained silent for a moment, then smiled softly:
"My dream… is to be against the world."
…
Gu You looked at her, speaking gently:
"Then I wish you luck. And if the world is too much, come find me."
"Alright!" Gu Yue smiled, her expression brightening even more.
The hotel was not far from the port. When the sea came into view, two massive ships appeared on the horizon.
Each ship had at least five visible decks, gleaming metal from top to bottom, with obvious soul-guided weapon ports installed.
The ocean was far from calm. According to the Federation, the number of sea spirit beasts was at least fifty times that of land spirit beasts—though this was in the past. After human hunting caused land spirit beasts to near extinction, the numbers of sea spirit beasts had also drastically declined. Still, they remained among the most abundant spirit beasts in Douluo Continent.
Only these heavily armed and fortified ships could survive long journeys at sea. Each vessel was astronomically expensive.
Gu You heard a joke that the Xingluo delegation might also be demonstrating their naval strength. But unknown to them, in terms of technological development, they would still be a thousand years behind the Federation.
They disembarked and boarded the ships in stages. The ships were mixed, carrying both Douluo and Xingluo delegation members together—designed to encourage exchange.
As Shrek Academy students, they blended into the massive crowd and went largely unnoticed—until it was their turn to board.
"Hello, Cai Lao," Secretary-General Pan Wen approached respectfully.
Pan Wen was a middle-aged man of average build, slightly balding, appearing around fifty. His face was ordinary, but he was regarded as a rising star in the Federation's political sphere, rumored to be a candidate for the next leadership…
(End of Chapter)