area51novel Chapter 747 Beggar Master, Get Out of There!
Chapter 747 Beggar Master, Get Out of There!
Chapter 747 Beggar Master, Get Out of There!
Wuhun City is a city built against a mountain.
In the very center of the city stands a towering mountain called Central Mountain, on which stand two very prominent buildings.
One is halfway up the mountain, and the other is on the mountaintop.
The building halfway up the mountain is the most magnificent, and it can be clearly seen even from outside Wuhun City.
The building was entirely a columned dome structure, and its exterior was covered with a golden material that shimmered in the sunlight.
That is the Papal Palace, the residence of the Pope, the supreme ruler of the Spirit Hall, and also the place where the Pope handles political affairs and issues decrees.
The building standing atop the hill is much smaller than the Papal Palace, about a third the size.
The architectural structure is somewhat similar, also a palace-style building, but its exterior is as white as jade, far less eye-catching than the Papal Palace, and it doesn't look particularly imposing.
However, whenever people see that building, their feelings are even more profound and awe-inspiring.
This building, which looks much smaller, is the highest-ranking building in the Spirit Hall, the Douluo Hall.
Since entering Wuhun City, every Soul Master has a special feeling, and a sense of piety has inexplicably arisen in their hearts, all because of this Douluo Palace.
The Douluo Hall holds an extremely high position within the Spirit Hall and even the entire Soul Master world. It is the highest hall in the hearts of all Soul Masters across the continent, and can be said to be a symbolic existence.
This is the place where Title Douluos are conferred their titles, and it is also the burial ground for Title Douluos, where almost all the Title Douluos who have died on the entire continent are buried.
This is exactly what is meant by "a beginning and an end."
For a titled Douluo, being buried here after death is an absolute honor.
No matter where the Papal Palace is built, the Douluo Palace will be built alongside it, and the Douluo Palace will always be located at a higher position than the Papal Palace.
During major festivals, the Pope would personally go to the Douluo Palace to pay homage, but even the Pope had no right to enter the Douluo Palace before his death.
These are the rules, rules that no one can violate; otherwise, they will be attacked by all the Soul Masters in the Soul Master world.
It is precisely because of the existence of the Papal Palace and the Douluo Palace that Wuhun City was called the holy land of soul masters after its establishment, a fact recognized by the vast majority of soul masters.
Of course, this is what the Spirit Hall deserves.
Given the strength of the Spirit Hall and its contributions to the entire Douluo Continent, it deserves this honor.
Besides the Papal Palace and the Douluo Palace, Wuhun City also has many other renowned halls, such as the Hall of Worship and the Hall of Elders.
However, these two halls are not as famous as the Papal Palace and the Douluo Palace, and their architectural style is also more understated.
The enshrined figures living there are in a state of seclusion. Although the elders assist the Pope in handling political affairs, they rarely appear in public, and ordinary people have no way of seeing them.
As for the other buildings, they were basically built around the Papal Palace halfway up the mountain, and in terms of grandeur, they were naturally far inferior.
…………
After settling in, the Shrek Seven Devils left the hotel, intending to go out and explore, to experience the local customs and unique features of Wuhun City.
They had only walked a short distance when an unexpected person blocked their way.
The man was filthy and disheveled, resembling a beggar. He was lying face down on the ground, his legs dangling behind him as his upper body was dragged with difficulty. Judging from the remaining marks on the ground, he seemed to have crawled from a distance.
With their path blocked, the Shrek Seven Devils frowned, covered their mouths and noses, and looked displeased. They were all stunned when they saw that familiar buzz cut.
"The other woman."
The strained voice seemed to be forced out of his throat, hoarse and unpleasant, but it was filled with undisguised joy. Yu Xiaogang finally climbed up to the Shrek Seven Devils.
Seven days ago, he went to see Bibi Dong. Although there were some setbacks, he successfully met Bibi Dong as he wished.
However, he failed to obtain what he wanted; he failed to acquire the two secrets of the Twin Martial Souls and the Super Absorption Soul Ring.
Not only that, but he also angered Bibi Dong and had his leg broken and was thrown out of the Papal Palace.
Because he was punished by order of the Pope himself, no soul master in Wuhun City sympathized with him, nor did any of them take him in. Naturally, no healing soul master was willing to provide him with treatment.
With his severed legs still not fully recovered, he could only drag them behind him.
For the past few days, Yu Xiaogang has been wandering around at the foot of the mountain in the center of Wuhun City, barely making ends meet.
Having heard that the participating academy teams from the Heavenly Dou Empire had already entered the city, they came looking for them, crawling all the way here on their bare hands.
"teacher?"
Looking at the pitiful old beggar in front of him, Tang San was stunned for a moment, his eyes showing disbelief. He had obviously recognized the other party as his teacher, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
Before Yu Xiaogang came to Wuhun City, he only spoke with Flander briefly, met with Ning Fengzhi again, borrowed the Pope's decree, and left in a hurry without telling Tang San.
Therefore, Tang San did not know where Yu Xiaogang had gone.
For the past twenty-odd days, Tang San had wondered more than once what Grandmaster had been up to, but unexpectedly, he actually saw him in Wuhun City.
But this meeting made Tang San's eyes red and he almost lost his mind.
"What? This person in front of me is a master?"
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils were stunned, each showing a shocked expression.
"Teacher, why are you here? What happened? How did you become like this?"
Ignoring the stench emanating from Yu Xiaogang, Tang San rushed forward to help him up from the ground, only to discover that Yu Xiaogang's legs were irregularly bent, clearly indicating that they had been forcibly broken.
"Teacher, your legs..."
Tang San was furious. Pointing at Yu Xiaogang's legs, he immediately demanded an explanation:
"Who? Who did it?!"
With Tang San's help, Yu Xiaogang managed to sit up, but it was impossible for him to stand up unless his broken leg bone was set and a senior healing-type Soul Master was found to heal his injuries.
Faced with Tang San's series of questions, Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened. He was moved, but also felt a deep sense of unease.
Perhaps because he hadn't had water for several days, or perhaps because he was too embarrassed to speak, he opened his mouth, his throat bobbing for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Should I reveal the miserable ordeal I've endured these past few days, a life worse than death?
He said that his legs were broken by the people of the Spirit Hall and he was left at the foot of the mountain. He could only crawl around Spirit City and survive by begging.
Where does that leave his image as a wise and powerful master?
In any case, Yu Xiaogang simply couldn't bring himself to say it.
Although he hated the Spirit Hall to the core, he was also filled with extreme fear; he was truly terrified.
He had already witnessed Bibi Dong's cruelty. Besides, this was Spirit Hall territory. What if he said something else and the Spirit Hall's lackeys overheard it, and then they came to torture him again?
After hesitating for a long time, Yu Xiaogang still didn't dare to tell her what he had been going through recently. He just pursed his lips and said weakly:
"We'll talk about this later."
"Take me back to your hotel first, prepare some food for me, and while you're at it, call Lin Yi over to treat my legs."
Tang San dared not delay and quickly beckoned Dai Mubai, Yu Tianheng, and Oscar over. The four of them carefully carried Yu Xiaogang back to the hotel.
Afterwards, Yu Xiaogang's legs were barely reattached under the treatment of substitute Soul Master Lin Yi, and his injuries improved considerably.
However, Lin Yi was only a minor Soul Master of the thirties, and her Martial Soul was not a top-tier one. She was unable to completely cure him, leaving him with a slight disability and causing him to walk with a limp.
Since Yu Xiaogang remained silent, Tang San and the others were unsure what Yu Xiaogang had gone through. Despite their anger, they ultimately let the matter drop and did not dare to cause any trouble.
However, Yu Xiaogang's return alarmed Ning Fengzhi.
Not long after returning to the hotel, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo arrived excitedly, but they only received a disappointing answer from Yu Xiaogang.
Not only did Yu Xiaogang fail to obtain the secret of twin martial souls from Bibi Dong, he also failed to acquire the method for super-absorption of soul rings. In addition, he lost the Pope's Decree held by their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, which was confiscated by the Spirit Hall.
This almost made Ning Fengzhi's face turn dark.
If it weren't for the fact that Yu Xiaogang was still somewhat useful, I'm afraid I would have ordered Sword Douluo to kill him with a single sword strike.
…………
After the incident with Yu Xiaogang, the Shrek Seven Devils lost their desire to go out for leisure and chose to stay in the hotel to cultivate.
In addition, due to Tang Hao's attack on the Spirit Hall on the way, Tang San's identity became extremely sensitive, coupled with Yu Xiaogang's special instructions.
Tang San dared not go out anymore, so he stayed in the hotel and quietly waited for the finals to begin.
Furthermore, in order to protect Tang San's safety, Yu Xiaogang specifically requested Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo to provide protection.
Ning Fengzhi had always intended to win over Tang San and Tang Hao behind him. Given this opportunity to gain favor, he readily agreed and deliberately chose to live not far from Tang San.
Whether it's Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, Ning Fengzhi, or Sword Douluo.
These people had no trust in the Spirit Hall, so they were all extremely cautious and wary, as if they were afraid that the Spirit Hall would do them a disservice.
According to the message from the Spirit Hall.
Three days later, the finals of the Soul Master Elite Competition will officially begin. After a long journey, these three days of rest will be enough for each academy to adjust.
Unlike the participating academy teams from the Heaven Dou Empire, which depart from Heaven Dou City and need to travel over 2,000 kilometers from north to south, taking more than 20 days to reach Martial Soul City.
The participating academy teams from the Star Luo Empire started from Star Luo City, which is closer to Martial Soul City, only about a thousand kilometers away.
Several days earlier, the Star Luo Empire's participating academy teams had already arrived in Wuhun City and were arranged to rest on the other side of the city.
Unbeknownst to many, the Spirit Hall had already divided the participating teams from the two great empires into two camps.
Anyone with eyes can see that this was done intentionally by the Spirit Hall.
The goal was to provoke conflict between the two sides, making them unable to agree, so as to prevent the soul masters of the two great empires from joining forces to fight against the Spirit Hall.
Of course, these are all open schemes.
Both the Heavenly Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire responded with a cold laugh, offering no objections and accepting the situation with equanimity.
After all, the two great empires had always disliked each other.
For three days, all participating academy teams remained in a state of rest, devoting all their time and energy to meditation to cultivate their soul power, trying their best to keep themselves in the best possible condition.
Flander and Ma Hongjun finally made it back the day before the finals began.
With Flander's help, Ma Hongjun obtained his fourth spirit ring and successfully advanced to the forty-first level of the Spirit Master realm.
The spirit ring comes from a thousand-year-old spirit beast called the King of the Earth, and the fourth spirit skill it grants is Phoenix Roaring Strike.
It is a follow-up restrictive skill that cannot lock onto the opponent, but within a five-meter range, it can stun the opponent and burn them with the magma that shoots into the sky.
With this, the Shrek Seven Devils team now has five Soul Master level fighters, giving them the illusion that they are very confident in the upcoming finals.
…………
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament are about to begin.
A total of thirty-three teams participated in the finals.
Among them, three seeded teams were selected by the two great empires and the Spirit Hall, while the other thirty teams were selected from the preliminary rounds of the two great empires, fifteen teams from each empire.
The finals will be a knockout tournament.
In other words, you can't lose any round of the game; if you lose, you have to go home.
The finals consist of only five rounds, which is shorter than the qualifiers and qualifying rounds, but the intensity of the competition will definitely be far greater than that of the qualifiers and qualifying rounds.
Therefore, a one-day rest and adjustment period is arranged between each round and the next, and there are a full three days of adjustment before the final fifth round.
According to the competition rules.
In the first round, the three seeded teams received a bye.
The remaining thirty teams will be drawn into pairs to compete for fifteen spots in the next round, with the losers being eliminated.
In the second round, the top teams from the two major empire regions received a bye.
The first place in the Heaven Dou Empire Division's qualifying round is the Spirit Hall's Second Team. This means that after winning the first round, the Spirit Hall's Second Team will have enough rest time for the second round.
At that time, the sixteen teams will compete to determine eight winners, plus two teams that will receive a bye, for a total of ten teams to enter the third round.
In the third round, the runner-up in the qualifying round received a bye.
The remaining eight teams will compete for four spots, which will join the two teams that received a bye to advance to the fourth round.
In the fourth round, there will be no more byes.
The six teams will compete in pairs, with the winners advancing to the fifth round.
Therefore, the top two teams in the qualifying rounds can benefit in the finals, and the earlier a team gets a bye, the better, because it can avoid being eliminated too early.
This is the purpose of the qualifying rounds.