Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1482 The National Tournament Begins

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Their convoy entered through the west gate and headed northeast towards the noble district.

Tian Dou City was so vast that the carriage traveled for over an hour through the busy and wide streets before finally arriving at the Chen Clan Duke's Mansion.

This mansion was bestowed upon the Chen family by the Heavenly Dou royal family when they were granted the honorary title of Duke for generations, representing their long-standing status and glory.

A small group of people were already waiting in front of the mansion gate.

Among those who arrived earlier were Ji Xiang, Xia Yun, and others, led by an elderly man with white hair and beard and a somewhat hunched posture.

His face was deeply lined with wrinkles that seemed to overlap, and he held a smooth ebony cane firmly in his hand.

After Chen Xiaojun and the others got off the carriage, the old man slowly stepped forward, and the crowd behind him also stepped forward.

The old man bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, young master."

Chen Xiaojun quickly and respectfully returned the greeting, saying, "You flatter me, sir. How should I address you?"

The old man raised his head, his voice clear though it was somewhat aged: "My surname is Shi, and I am the chief steward here. Young master, you can just call me Old Shi."

Chen Xiaojun was slightly surprised, but his attitude remained respectful: "Elder Shi, you are too kind."

Old Shi nodded, without exchanging many pleasantries, and turned to a tall, composed elderly man beside him, instructing him: "Bingming, take some men and help Changfeng and the others settle their belongings properly."

"Yes, Elder Shi." Ding Bingming responded readily and immediately turned around to direct his men to unload the luggage and miscellaneous items from the carriage.

Ding Bingming is a level 78 Soul Saint.

Although Tiandou City is the capital of the empire, it does not have a large chain market for medicinal herbs (because Sunset City, a hundred miles away, has a medicinal herb market), but its status as a political center is extremely important.

Therefore, the Chen family specially arranged for him, a high-level Soul Saint, to be stationed here to oversee and coordinate affairs.

That's why he was able to recommend his nephew Ding Hui for the advanced training opportunity at the Teng Hai Secret Realm.

Old Shi looked at Chen Xiaojun and the others again, turned slightly to the side, pointed his cane towards the gate, his movements trembling slightly like those of an elderly person: "Young Master, and Fifth Young Master, Miss Xiaoyi, and three others, please come in."

The three he referred to were Wang Wei, Lian Changzhi, and Ma Zhibin, who were in charge of the long-distance escort team.

Flying Soul Masters have many advantages. Considering the potential threat from the Crimson Cult, the Chen family entrusted Ma Zhibin to escort them along the way.

The heavy gates of the mansion were already open, revealing the solemn screen wall and the ancient courtyard inside.

……

As a residence bestowed by the empire, this mansion is quite large in scale, and the authorities specially selected an antique and secluded mansion for the Chen family.

Elder Shi led Chen Xiaojun and his party to the main hall, and then respectfully took his leave.

For a moment, only a few of them remained in the hall.

Chen Xiaojun's lips moved slightly, his voice becoming a thin line as he asked Xia Yun beside him, "Grandpa Xia Yun, this Grand Steward Shi... I don't think I've heard of him before."

"Wasn't Grandpa Bingming always in charge of affairs in Tiandou City? And he's surnamed Shi... is he a member of the Shi family?"

The job titles within the Chen family are strictly differentiated.

The heads of industries in various regions are usually called "general managers," and Ding Bingming was a "general manager level" official.

Only elders who possess the strength of a Contra-level player and are responsible for only a few key economic strongholds or large industrial clusters are respectfully addressed as "Grand Stewards".

Tian Dou City had previously been managed by Ding Bingming, and the "Shi" surname was not among the "Nine Zhaowu Surnames" lineage to which the Chen family's roots were located.

In Chenlin Village, there is a Shi family that inherits the fifth-grade martial spirit "Rock Thorn Porcupine," and is a branch of the Zhu family.

To my recollection, the Shi family hasn't produced any Contra-level masters in recent generations.

Xia Yun responded in kind, her voice tinged with a hint of confusion: "I don't know much about his background either, I only know that he was transferred here from the ancestral land a few months ago."

"Ancestral land?" Chen Xiaojun was even more surprised.

Two hundred years ago, the Chen family moved their family center to Chenlin Village. As for the vast ancestral property in Tosk Province, they did not sell it, but instead always sent people to guard and manage it.

For the past two hundred years, it has been an important source of wealth for the family, and there are still more than a hundred people left to manage it today, not including the people they have recruited from outside.

If we were to truly count the population of Chenlin Village, we would have to add these hundred-plus people.

Otherwise, Chen Hanxin alone would not be able to manage such a huge operation; she was merely the person in charge who made the final decisions.

Otherwise, she can forget about going to Moonflower Academy on weekdays.

The high-level Soul Saints who came to the Tenghai Secret Realm this time, such as Xia Cong (female), Luo Qinglin, and Zhu Yucheng, had all served in the ancestral land for a long time before.

Chen Xiaojun pressed further, "Judging from your tone, you don't seem to know him either? Isn't your mother always stationed in the ancestral land?"

Xia Yun's mother, Xia Ruxin, was a highly respected elder in the family who had been guarding the ancestral land for many years.

Xia Yun shook her head slightly, her expression also showing a hint of confusion: "I really don't know him, and my mother has never mentioned this person." Seeing this, Chen Xiaojun temporarily suppressed the many questions in his heart, his gaze sweeping around the spacious and elegant hall, but his heart was filled with more thoughts about this suddenly appearing, mysterious old man Shi, and the current situation of the ancestral land.

……

Wang Wei's voice came from the side: "Teacher Ji, how have things been these past few days? Is there any news we need to be aware of?"

Ji Xiang gathered his thoughts and replied, "Dean Wang, most of the teams participating in the national semi-finals are familiar faces. The college should have already received the detailed information."

"However, according to information from my family, the newly announced schedule is probably not very favorable to us."

"Oh? Is it targeting our Chang'an Academy?" Wang Wei frowned slightly.

Ji Xiang explained, "It's not just us, Dean Wang; it should be unfavorable for all the colleges that won the top spot in the preliminary rounds in each province."

"According to the new rules, most of the matches between us top academies will be scheduled for the later stages of the semi-finals."

Lian Changzhi, who was standing to the side, had a flash in his eyes, as if he had thought of something: "Facing strong teams in quick succession in the later stages... that does increase the variables."

"The later the game goes, the greater the chance of an unexpected comeback."

He was clearly reminded of the lesson learned when Canghui Academy was eliminated in the later stages of the provincial preliminary rounds due to a similarly difficult schedule.

Jixiang nodded in agreement: "That's right. There are eight qualifying spots this time, and many teams that originally had little chance are now eager to make a run for it."

"They have a lot of complaints about the long-standing dominance of established powerhouses. The Empire's arrangement of the schedule is probably also a consideration to balance the various forces and give everyone more opportunities."

Chen Xiaojun pondered for a moment before replying, "With this arrangement, the chances of strong teams encountering weak teams in the early stages will actually increase."

"And those teams that are slightly weaker and have more complaints are at greater risk of encountering us 'chiefs' in the early stages."

Ma Zhibin, standing to the side, interjected with some confusion: "This... doesn't it sound like it's actually detrimental to the weaker teams themselves?"

"Isn't this... like trying to shoot someone else in the foot, only to end up hurting themselves first?"

Chen Xiaojun shook his head: "It depends on which angle you look at it from."

"Let's maintain overall balance - the risk of strong teams crashing out in the late game increases, while the chances of weaker teams creating a 'dark horse' miracle and advancing by surprise decrease because it is more difficult for them to avoid strong teams in the early game."

"I see... What about Team One that day? How did they arrange things?" Wang Wei pressed.

Ji Xiang shrugged: "We haven't fully figured out the specifics yet."

"However, since we're talking about balance and fairness on the surface, I estimate that their matches against strong opponents will be pushed to the later stages, and they should receive the same treatment as us top academies."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

He added a detail, "There's another change, because there are a total of 36 teams, the previous arrangement of having a bye in each round has been canceled this time."

Chen Xiaojun immediately chimed in: "Cancellation of byes? It won't affect one team much, but if all 36 teams cancel their byes, the schedule will be much tighter. This will put each team to the test in terms of bench depth and stamina."

Upon hearing this last change, Wang Wei laughed heartily, appearing quite confident: "This is a good thing for our team!"

Lian Changzhi, standing to the side, also revealed a knowing smile.

Wang Wei then confirmed, "By the way, Professor Ji, have all 21 applicants from our college submitted their names yet?"

He specifically mentioned this new rule: In order to cope with the intensity of the national semi-finals (35 matches), which far exceeds the provincial preliminary rounds (20 matches) and the potential for injuries and deaths, the competition adopted a new registration mechanism—an official list of 18 people, plus 3 emergency reserve spots for injured players.

Simply put, the players are usually selected from an 18-man roster, similar to the 18-man squad for a football match.

If a player is seriously injured and unable to play, an application can be made to substitute them from the three reserve spots.

However, one thing to note is that once a player is substituted off the court, they cannot return to the court during this restart period.

“It’s been reported,” Ji Xiang adjusted his glasses, “but it has caused some discussion among the referees.”

"After all, several of the judges were previously in charge of the preliminary rounds in Fasno Province, and some of them, well... they're not quite used to this kind of arrangement."

Chen Xiaojun shrugged dismissively: "As long as the competition rules allow it, we'll just follow them. Whether they gossip or not is none of our business."

Jixiang nodded: "That's true. We did follow the rules. The key point is that it's not just Chang'an Academy that does this."

“Look at Elder Xia’s ‘Five Mountains Team’, isn’t that a similar operation? There are also the other three teams, Qinglin, Yuesi, and Xuanhuang.”

Hearing this from the side, Xia Yun chuckled and chimed in, "Our goal for Wushan is different from yours for Chang'an. We're not after the championship. For our team, it's a huge boost to our strength!"

Chen Xiaojun laughed and said, "Old Wang, I reckon you'll be arguing again then."

Wang Wei laughed heartily: "When it comes to arguing, who have I ever been afraid of?"

Ji Xiang raised an eyebrow: "I guess this will be the only one. I'm afraid it won't happen again next time."

……

Note: In the original novel of Dou Di Zhuan, there were 27 round-robin matches, while the Tian Dou Second Team had 16 members.

(End of this chapter)