Chapter 30: The "Hidden Powerhouse" of the Great Spirit Arena, the Shock of the millennium second spirit ring
"Yah!"
The horsewhip lashed against the steed, producing a crisp crack.
The wheels rumbled as they rolled over the uneven road.
"Stark City is just ahead."
Tang Shan leaned halfway out of the carriage and looked into the distance; the tall city walls were faintly visible, with bustling crowds lining up to enter one by one.
"Lord Spirit Master, should we line up or..."
As they approached the gate, the old coachman stopped, walked to the side of the carriage, and looked respectfully at Su Haichao.
"Just line up normally. Later, show this medallion to the soldiers at the city gate."
Tang Shan took the medallion from Su Haichao and handed it to the old coachman.
The other party respectfully took it with both hands.
"Understood, Lord Spirit Master. We shall set off now."
Seeing that Su Haichao had no further instructions, the coachman sat back at the front of the carriage and continued driving the horse forward.
Soon, they reached the end of the line, quietly waiting for the people ahead to pass inspection and enter the city.
Tang Shan simply got off the carriage to carefully observe his surroundings.
Stark City is located in the northeastern region of the Heaven Dou Empire, considered part of the Empire's heartland.
The city walls were about 15 meters high, with many soldiers patrolling above.
Their military bearing wasn't very strict; many were simply leaning against the walls chatting.
Tang Shan wasn't surprised by this. Ultimately, it was an ancient society. Although it was a critical area for producing special metals, having soldiers patrolling the walls was already quite good. After all, it was in the heart of the Empire and rarely encountered any crises.
Soon, it was Tang Shan and his party's turn.
"The entry fee is one silver coin per person. Is there anyone in the carriage?"
The coachman hurriedly handed over the medallion Su Haichao had given him. The armored soldier looked at it, and his expression changed slightly.
"So it's a Lord Spirit Master from the Spirit Hall. What are you standing there for? Let them through immediately."
He waved his hand, signaling for the way to be cleared, then respectfully handed the medallion back to the coachman.
The coachman put away the medallion and drove the carriage through the city gate.
Faint discussions from the commoners could be heard from behind.
"It's actually a Lord Spirit Master from the Spirit Hall. How impressive."
"Yeah, yeah. I just don't know why this Lord didn't have them open the special passage; wouldn't that be faster?"
"Maybe lining up is faster. Look how big that special passage gate is; opening it would definitely waste time."
"I really wonder if my future child will be able to join the Spirit Hall."
"Daydreaming, are we?"
..."Lord Spirit Master, your medallion."
The coachman respectfully knocked on the carriage door and waited quietly.
"Give it to me."
Tang Shan opened the door with a smile and reached out his hand.
"Of course, young Lord Spirit Master. Here it is."
The coachman held the medallion with both hands, not daring to lift his head.
Tang Shan took it from him and re-entered the carriage.
Recalling the coachman's respectful attitude just now, Tang Shan felt a sense of emotion.
On the Douluo Continent, there are nobles and slaves, but in reality, there are only two classes.
One is Spirit Masters, the other is ordinary people. As long as you are a Spirit Master, an ordinary person can become a noble;
If you aren't strong enough, even a noble can be cast down to a commoner by a top Spirit Master.
Tang Shan only reflected for a moment and didn't dwell on it.
He had a crystal-clear understanding of himself: he was just an ordinary person. He didn't have the world-shaking Spirit of those great Seniors from his past life. At most, he could only look after his own affairs; as for reshaping the world, he truly couldn't do it.
The carriage slowly came to a halt, arriving at their destination.
The three of them stepped out of the carriage; before them was an ordinary inn.
Su Haichao went inside to handle the check-in and then came back out to stand beside the coachman.
"This is one gold coin, your payment for these past few days. We will stay in Stark City for a few days, so you can make your own arrangements during this time. Park the carriage in the alley; the innkeeper will have someone watch over it."
The coachman was incredibly excited and thanked him repeatedly.
"Shan Zi, Yuntao, let's go."
Su Haichao called out, and Tang Shan quickly followed. The coachman watched the three of them leave, his eyes full of gratitude.
One gold coin was equivalent to several months of his wages. Once this trip to Heaven Dou City was over, he could surely find a strong and fertile wife for his son... "Father, do you know the way to the Great Spirit Arena?"
Su Yuntao watched his father walk ahead without any intention of asking for directions and couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"Of course I do."
Su Haichao walked with his hands behind his back, not looking back as he continued forward.
Tang Shan was also a bit surprised. In his memory, his father basically stayed in Nuoding City all the time, except when hunting for spirit rings, with no opportunity for long-distance travel.
"Big brother, what do you know about this?"
Tang Shan leaned in toward Su Yuntao and asked in a low voice.
Su Yuntao was also very bewildered and could only shrug in response to Tang Shan's question.
"We're here."
Su Haichao's voice interrupted the brothers' silent exchange.
Looking up, they saw a tall stone tablet in front of them, engraved with names.
At that moment, a white-haired old man was at the base of the tall stone tablet, carefully carving with a chisel.
Recalling the purpose of the stone tablet from the original work, Tang Shan's expression turned slightly solemn.
As if sensing movement behind him, the old man slowly turned around.
He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and carefully scrutinized the three people behind him.
After a long while, he locked his gaze on Su Yuntao.
"Young man, you're the one going to the Great Spirit Arena, right?"
Su Yuntao was a bit surprised and asked respectfully:
"Old gentleman, how did you know?"
"Hehe, that eager Spirit of yours, I could tell at a glance. I've been here carving names for you Spirit Masters for decades; that drive in you can't be hidden from me."
His voice was aged yet very powerful, not at all like that of a frail, white-haired old man.
The man's "hidden master" demeanor didn't affect Su Yuntao or Su Haichao, but it completely stunned Tang Shan.
He took a step forward and asked respectfully, "Old Senior, might I ask your honorable surname?"
The old man was clearly a bit dazed, not knowing why this little Spirit Master fellow's attitude had suddenly changed and even called him Senior just because he was chatting with them.
Although puzzled, he didn't take it to heart. When you're old, you have to learn to eat more, drink more, and think less.
"This old man's surname is Xuan."
Having said that, the old man finished his work and pulled a box from the nearby grass, which contained five or six large chicken legs and a jug of wine.
Not caring whether his hands were clean, he started eating and drinking right then and there—a gulp of wine, a bite of meat.
Su Haichao's expression was solemn as he nudged Tang Shan.
Tang Shan snapped out of it and hurriedly said politely:
"Senior, we shall take our leave then."
The old man raised a chicken leg to show he understood, then took a huge swig of wine.
Seeing this, the three of them finally entered the Great Spirit Arena.
"Shan Zi, was there something wrong with that man?"
Su Haichao's expression was grave; he had never seen that look of respect on his son's face before.
Tang Shan was stunned and blinked. "Father, you knew where the Great Spirit Arena was and specifically brought us to that stone tablet recording the deceased combatants. Wasn't it just to let us meet that old Senior?"
"Big brother was also very sharp to sense that old Senior's extraordinary nature."
Su Yuntao awkwardly raised his hand. "Um, I was just showing the proper respect for an elder."
Su Haichao's mouth twitched slightly.
"The reason I know where the Great Spirit Arena is, is because almost all Great Spirit Arenas are located in the core of a city, slightly to the west. As for bringing you to the stone tablet recording the deceased combatants, it was to make you and your brother more vigilant. As for that old man, it was indeed my first time seeing him."
The father and sons looked at each other, speechless.
Especially Tang Shan; he felt so embarrassed he could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
Had I guessed wrong? Tang Shan couldn't help but fall into serious self-doubt.
The man's appearance was truly deceptive. First, he was a carver specializing in the identities of the deceased; Tang Shan couldn't help but have a series of terms pop into his head:
Sweeping Monk, gatekeeper old man, tomb-guarding elder... plus his surname, Xuan, and those iconic chicken legs and large wine jug.
If not for the fact that the man wore reading glasses and the Spirit Hall still existed, Tang Shan would have seriously doubted whether he was in the douluo one era or the douluo two era.
This appearance was too similar to a certain "Grand Elder" of the Holy Spirit Cult; he couldn't help but overthink it.
"Little brother, why did you think he was an old Senior?"
Su Yuntao couldn't help but pat Tang Shan on the shoulder and laughed.
Tang Shan looked calm.
"Big brother, you're about to participate in a Spirit Fight. I think you could try challenging a Spirit Elder of a higher Rank."
The smile on Su Yuntao's face vanished instantly, and he said crossly, "Challenge a Spirit Elder? Is my Spirit the Clear Sky Hammer or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? What kind of dream are you having?"
Tang Shan saw that he had successfully changed the subject, just smiled and didn't say much more.
With a millennium second spirit ring, a cross-Rank challenge might not necessarily end in defeat. After all, not all Spirit Elders had millennium Spirit abilities.
"Hello, to participate in a Spirit Fight, you need to pay a registration fee of 10 gold coins."
Standing before the registration counter, the staff member said with a smile.
Su Yuntao took out ten gold coins from his spirit tool and placed them on the counter.
"Alright. May I ask your specific Spirit Master Rank, and whether you will use your real name or a code name?"
"Code name: Lone Wolf. Spirit Grandmaster."
"Please release your Spirit and spirit rings for verification."
The other person's words were very polite, and Su Yuntao didn't refuse.
Spirit Possession. A ferocious Aura erupted from him, and his muscles bulged.
However, compared to his Aura, what was even more eye-catching were the two spirit rings slowly emerging from beneath his feet.
Yellow, Purple!
A hundred-year first spirit ring was uncommon in the Great Spirit Arena, but not exactly rare.
Millennium spirit rings were also frequently seen in matches at the Spirit Elder level, but what if a person only had these two colors of spirit rings under their feet?
Logically, releasing a Spirit to verify Rank was very common in the Great Spirit Arena and shouldn't attract much attention, but the colors of the spirit rings under Su Yuntao's feet were truly too striking.
The first was a hundred-year spirit ring, and the second was already a millennium spirit ring; it was truly eye-catching.
"Another tester of the Grandmaster's theories."
Someone shouted, immediately causing a stir among the crowd.
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