Academy, Feng Qingcang
"Rest in peace."
By the Tian Shui team's location, Shui Wuhen knelt on the ground, touching the horse's corpse, letting out a quiet sigh in his heart.
The damage to the carriage wasn't too bad—it could be patched up and barely used—but without the horse, the carriage was meaningless.
Could it be that they expected Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan to pull the carriage like horses?
Using people as horses wasn't what that meant!
Shui Bing'er looked at the broken carriage with some helplessness. "Looks like we'll have to walk from here on."
Afterward, Shui Wuhen and the others returned to the Chihuo Academy to relay the news to Shui Yue Ruo and the others.
Shui Yue Ruo felt a little concerned; these carriages were all academy property!
"Yours broke too? Then I guess we're in the same boat," Huo Yangyan chuckled.
Shui Yue Ruo rolled her eyes, unsure whose fault it really was that their academy's carriage had broken.
Soon, Tian Shui Academy and Chihuo Academy traveled together toward the location of the Elite Tournament: Tiandou City.
Though the carriages were damaged, they had already covered most of the distance. At full speed, it took them only a single day to reach the outskirts of Tiandou City.
Seeing Tiandou City, Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan both let out a sigh of relief. That fallen one hadn't taken advantage of the weakened state of their Martial Soul forms. Surely, the cost of such an attack had been heavy, and his situation might even be worse than theirs.
If that were true, there would be no need to worry about his revenge in the short term. After all, their academies and backing forces were not to be trifled with.
Moreover, a Fallen Spirit at the peak Spirit Master level wouldn't be allowed by the Spirit Hall to run amok outside.
Tiandou City, the capital of the Heavenly Dou Empire, was one of the largest and most prosperous cities on the continent, holding great influence.
Shui Wuhen looked at the hundred-meter-tall granite city walls with a flash of surprise in his eyes.
In a place resembling the medieval era, to build a city this grand was rare—even with the power of Spirit Masters.
As for the elite soldiers patrolling the walls in armor, Shui Wuhen didn't feel much.
These regular soldiers were sufficient against Spirit Masters below the Spirit Sect level. But above that level, unless the Spirit Master foolishly exhausted all their physical and spiritual power in a frontal clash, these soldiers couldn't easily trap them.
Still, most Spirit Masters in this world couldn't break past Spirit Sect. As the first line of defense, these elite soldiers were enough.
After all, the chance of a Spirit Master being born was less than one percent. Many came from noble families. Even if they were willing, using them to guard the gates would be too extravagant.
The group entered the wide city gate, and Tiandou City's bustling scene spread before them. The streets were paved with green bricks, and the surrounding shops were lavishly decorated, glimmering like gold.
For Shui Wuhen, who had experienced a technological society, it was ordinary. But for Shui Bing'er and the other young boys and girls, seeing it for the first time, their eyes sparkled with wonder.
Even though some of these young people had backgrounds, everything they had seen before seemed insignificant compared to the grandeur of Tiandou City.
Led by Headmasters Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan, they soon arrived at the guest accommodations designated for the Elite Tournament academy teams.
As the host city, Tiandou City naturally wouldn't make the academies handle lodging themselves. The Elite Tournament attracted participants from across the continent, and large crowds would gather in the city.
City hotels were already fully booked more than half a month before the tournament. If they waited until the academy teams arrived, most would have to sleep on the streets.
As the staff led them to their lodging, a small courtyard nearby saw a slender man in a cyan robe, around fifty years old, step out.
Shui Yue Ruo glanced at him and smiled. "Feng Qingcang, you came early!"
Shui Wuhen looked at the cyan-robed man called Feng Qingcang, his eyes shifting slightly. He knew the name.
Feng Qingcang was the current headmaster of Divine Wind Academy, his Martial Soul an Eagle, and also a level seventy-nine Spirit Master.
Huo Yangyan greeted Feng Qingcang as well.
Feng Qingcang stroked his beard and laughed. "Headmaster Yue Ruo, Brother Yangyan, you've arrived too. I was just wondering when you would get here."
Seeing old friends, Feng Qingcang was genuinely pleased. Among all the academies, Divine Wind Academy had the best relationship with Chihuo Academy and Tian Shui Academy. Later, the recently joined Thunder Academy was also decent.
In recent years, Ivory Armor Academy had wanted to join them, claiming to form the Five Element Academies together. Though Feng Qingcang tolerated it outwardly, he didn't recognize it internally—evident in the fact that Ivory Armor Academy was never included in their exchange meetings.
Then, Feng Qingcang looked at Shui Wuhen and the others following Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan. He complimented them: "These must be the disciples participating in the tournament? They have good vigor and spirit—there's a hint of a strong one about them."
Shui Yue Ruo waved her hand. "Not comparable to you. I heard Feng Xiaotian finally broke through to Spirit King?"
"Hahaha, nothing can hide from you," Feng Qingcang said, stroking his beard and shaking his head with a smile. "It's nothing to brag about. Feng Xiaotian has innate full Spirit Power and is twenty-four years old—the oldest among the participants. If he hadn't broken through to Spirit King, that would be unusual."
Though he said that, a trace of pride flashed in Feng Qingcang's eyes—clearly very satisfied with his student.
Then, he looked at Shui Bing'er. "So this is the genius with the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul you found, right? Truly graceful. I wonder where Tian Shui Academy finds so many beautiful girls."
When Shui Bing'er joined Tian Shui Academy, Shui Yue Ruo had taken her to show off to the other headmasters, so they naturally recognized her.
Hearing this, Shui Yue Ruo smiled proudly. "Don't underestimate Bing'er—she's already level forty-six."
"Level forty-six? I thought she was only sixteen?"
Hearing this, Feng Qingcang looked at Shui Bing'er with surprise, then sighed: "Truly, the young are impressive!"
Such achievements even surpassed him at her age.
While they chatted, a young man in Divine Wind Academy's cyan team uniform, handsome and radiating confidence, walked out from the small courtyard behind Feng Qingcang.
Once outside, he scanned the area, immediately locking his gaze on Shui Wuhen. He blurted out:
"It's you!?"