The Spirit Ring required for a Spirit King is generally just over ten thousand years. For the current Shui Wuhen, Spirit Beasts of that level were nothing at all.
The only thing Shui Wuhen found a bit regrettable was that Shui Bing'er couldn't absorb Spirit Rings beyond their normal limits like he could. Otherwise, her path would be much smoother.
"Mhm!"
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er responded, then hugged Shui Wuhen's arm and blinked. "Then I'll have to trouble you, big brother, to help me pick a good ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast when the time comes."
"Of course."
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen shook his head helplessly, then continued, "Time's about up. We should set off, or we might not make it to the competition."
From Heaven Dou City to Spirit City, even using Tianhun Horses with Spirit Beast bloodlines, it would take twenty days. Adding the preparations before departure and rest after arrival, they only had a little over a day left.
Hearing this, Shui Bing'er nodded as well. Although she had confidence in her teammates, without her and Shui Wuhen, Tianshui Academy's strength would undoubtedly drop significantly. If they encountered a strong academy like Godwind Academy, it would be troublesome.
Although the probability wasn't high, it still needed to be avoided. After all, any team that made it to the finals had some strength.
Immediately, Shui Wuhen patted Articuno's body and said, "Articuno, let's go!"
"Wuu~"
Articuno's body instantly enlarged, then carried Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er as they flew toward Spirit City.
A day later, under Articuno's full-speed flight, the siblings finally arrived at Spirit City.
"So this is Spirit City? It looks a bit small."
Looking at the outline of Spirit City in the distance, Shui Wuhen was somewhat surprised.
Spirit City's area was only about one-tenth of Heaven Dou City. It was hard to imagine that this place was actually the holy land of Spirit Masters across the entire continent.
However, Shui Wuhen would not underestimate it just because it was small. Within this not-so-large city were gathered Spirit Masters from all over the world. Spirit Emperors and Spirit Saints could be seen everywhere, and there were even quite a few Title Douluo-level experts.
After arriving near the Spirit Hall, Shui Wuhen had Articuno land. After briefly proving their identities, he entered Spirit City together with his sister, Shui Bing'er.
There weren't many people inside Spirit City, and there were few shops. However, after strolling around for a while, both Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er revealed shocked expressions.
"Brother, these people are all Spirit Masters!"
Shui Bing'er said in astonishment.
Shui Wuhen nodded as well. "Looks like they're at least at the Grand Spirit Master level. The holy land of Spirit Masters truly lives up to its name."
Although Grand Spirit Masters were only around level twenty-something and didn't seem remarkable, that was only from their perspective.
In reality, a Grand Spirit Master could become an honored guest in some remote small cities, or at the very least serve as a teacher in a junior Spirit Master academy.
Yet here, they were merely shop workers or gatekeepers. What kind of extravagance was this?
According to Spirit Hall's statistics, there were only about a hundred thousand Spirit Masters across the entire continent.
Even if the actual number differed slightly due to hidden forces, it wouldn't be much higher.
This could be seen from the fact that even the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family, whether guarding Heaven Dou City or in their elite Royal Knights, did not have many Spirit Masters.
It could be said that a scene like the one inside Spirit City was something no other force besides Spirit Hall could achieve.
Not long after Shui Wuhen and his sister arrived in Spirit City, the Heaven Dou Empire's convoy also reached the outskirts of the city.
"Phew~ finally arrived!"
Upon seeing Spirit City, Xue Beng let out a sigh of relief. Due to an earlier incident, they had been delayed by two days, but fortunately, they still made it in time.
Immediately after, Xue Beng shouted to the Royal Knights beside him, "Halt!"
Clank—
The Royal Knights truly lived up to being the elite of the Heaven Dou Empire. At Xue Beng's command, they stopped almost instantly.
After stopping, Xue Beng spoke to the captains in front of him, "You will set up camp nearby. I'll take the qualified teams into Spirit City!"
Due to Spirit City's regulations, these state military forces were not allowed to enter the city, so the Royal Knights could only camp outside.
"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
The knight captains immediately acknowledged the order. They were well aware of Spirit City's rules, so they neither had nor dared to have any complaints.
Soon after, Xue Beng led the fifteen qualified Spirit Master teams into Spirit City.
"Hm? Wuhen, you've already arrived."
Not long after entering the city, Shui Yue'er spotted Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er nearby, her eyes lighting up.
She had originally been worried that they might miss the competition due to some accident, but now that she saw them, she could finally relax.
Although Tianshui Academy had earned a bye into the second round as the top team of the Heaven Dou preliminary rounds, Shui Wuhen and Shui Bing'er would still miss the first round if they weren't present, which honestly made her uneasy.
After all, the academies in this tournament were unusually strong—high in overall quality, and each with their own unique strengths. Blazing Fire Academy possessed the ability to fuse Spirit Rings, Godwind Academy had Spirit Emperor-level Feng Xiaotian, and even the dark horse Shrek Academy had the martial soul fusion skill Hell White Tiger as their trump card.
And that was only among the Heaven Dou Empire's teams. If the Star Luo Empire's teams were included, with a bit of bad luck and facing a strong team early, there was indeed a chance of an upset without Shui Bing'er and Shui Wuhen present.
"Hello, Dean."
Hearing Shui Yue'er's voice, Shui Wuhen walked over to her side.
Meanwhile, Shui Bing'er rejoined Tianshui Academy's group and began chatting with Xue Wu, Shui Yue'er, and the others.
Perhaps because they were finalists, Spirit Hall gave them special treatment. The one who received Shui Wuhen's group was actually a Red-Clothed Bishop.
This position was only below that of a Platinum Bishop, and generally only Spirit Douluo-level experts were qualified to hold it.
"Please follow me."
The group of around two hundred people was quickly settled under the guidance of the Red-Clothed Bishop.
Tianshui Academy's assigned residence was a small courtyard similar to the one in Heaven Dou City, though even larger.
Shui Wuhen guessed that since Spirit City didn't need to accommodate many ordinary people, even though its overall area was much smaller than Heaven Dou City, housing was not an issue.
While Shui Wuhen and the others were settling into their new residence, far away—thousands of miles distant—outside a canyon where fierce winds howled, Feng Qingcang wore an anxious expression.
"It's already been over twenty days. Why hasn't that brat Xiaotian come out yet?"