Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

Chapter 141 Arrival at Wuhun City

The distance between Wuhun City and Tiandou City is several thousand kilometers. The carriage traveled for more than twenty days before finally arriving outside Wuhun City.

Surprisingly, they didn't encounter any attacks like those in the original story along the way, nor did they see Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo leading their forces to ambush the contestants. It's unclear whether the Spirit Hall has other plans or if they have great confidence in the contestants.

Yang Ping'an didn't want to ask too many questions. This team had two Title Douluos, Sword Douluo and Poison Douluo, plus Ning Fengzhi, the world's number one support, as well as Soul Douluos like Dragon Duke and Titan. There were also many other experts accompanying them in secret. There were quite a few Soul Douluos around Prince Xue Qinghe alone. If they really wanted to launch a sneak attack, two Title Douluos would definitely not be enough.

The Spirit Hall always wanted to hide its strength and was unwilling to expose the power of its many titled Douluo. This is why there were not many experts in the early part of the original work, but a large number of titled Douluo suddenly appeared in the later part. After a period of deception, they finally caught the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan off guard.

When they arrived at Wuhun City, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, especially the guards, who had been on edge for twenty days straight with hardly any time to rest.

Yang Ping'an was also amazed when he looked at the magnificent Martial Soul City.

Judging solely from the size and area of ​​the city, Wuhun City should be much smaller than Tiandou City. However, from a distance, it appears to be built on a high mountain, which suggests that the construction difficulty was probably even greater than that of Tiandou City.

The entire Wuhun City is hexagonal in shape, with walls reaching 80 meters high and 30 meters wide. It was definitely built as a military stronghold, especially since it is located on a mountain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, the stones used to build it are all thick granite, further demonstrating its formidable defense.

Yang Ping'an had read ancient books before. According to the records, the Spirit City was actually built ten thousand years ago. It was built on the mountain to defend against attacks from spirit beasts. Now, after ten thousand years of repair and maintenance, it not only shows its domineering style, but also a sense of vicissitude.

Especially in the very center of Wuhun City, there is a huge angel statue. The benevolent yet majestic angel holds a divine sword and seems to be overlooking the entire Wuhun City. In particular, the angel statue even emits bursts of light, making the residents of Wuhun City feel more relaxed and comfortable.

According to regulations, soldiers of the Heaven Dou Empire are not allowed to enter Wuhun City. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had only a small number of high-level soul masters left with him, so he led everyone into Wuhun City.

All major forces attached great importance to this Soul Master Competition. The Spirit Hall even built a new competition venue, which shows that they made full preparations and spent countless manpower and resources.

The participating teams were divided into two major empires and were housed in different hotels. The hotels were very luxurious, with each person having a private room and even a room for practicing tactics.

However, Yang Ping'an's goal was not these trivial matters, but rather to see the situation in Wuhun City, so he wandered around Wuhun City alone.

Just as Yang Ping'an had predicted, the entire Spirit City appeared very peaceful. Everyone was bustling about, and almost everyone had a smile on their face or a very calm expression, at least giving it the appearance of a prosperous era.

In particular, Wuhun City had no slaves at all, making it the only city without slaves. Even ordinary people at the bottom of society seemed to live a much more peaceful life than in other places.

Yang Ping'an randomly found a place to eat, but just as the dishes were being served, he unexpectedly ran into the little witch Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

The two little girls didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly on Yang Ping'an's table without any hesitation.

Yang Ping'an couldn't help but chuckle: "You two, aren't your teams preparing for the final battle? How come I run into you here?"

Ning Rongrong retorted directly, "Brother Yang, aren't you alone too? Don't key personnel like you need to prepare battle plans?"

Yang Ping'an shook his head: "It's just a big competition. We've already prepared everything we need to. There's nothing particularly important to prepare now. We might as well relax. I think this Spirit City is pretty good, after all, it's my first time here."

Ning Rongrong pouted: "Actually, this is my first time in Wuhun City. My dad never used to bring me here. Zhu Qing is here for the first time too, so we thought we'd look around first. Anyway, we still have three days to plan our tactics."

Yang Ping'an nodded casually: "This is fine too. It's fate that we're eating together in an unfamiliar place. Consider it my treat."

The meal was eaten casually, and no one in Wuhun City dared to relax and drink.

After they finished eating, Ning Rongrong asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Yang, do you usually not care much about what's going on outside? Are you only being so casual now?"

Yang Ping'an became slightly interested: "Ning, what do you mean by that? Am I different from the others?"

Ning Rongrong shook her head: "I always feel that you're strange, Brother Yang. You seem to care about nothing. Do you know that the reward for this Soul Master Competition is three top-grade soul bones? Aren't you interested at all?"

Yang Ping'an nodded: "I've heard about this news too, but whether it's a soul bone or not shouldn't concern us much. After all, if the Spirit Hall has taken out these three soul bones, they are definitely confident that they can take them back. Otherwise, wouldn't they be giving away their treasures?"

Ning Rongrong said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "That's what Dad said too. He said the Spirit Hall team is very strong and is known as the Golden Generation. They even have three Soul Kings. But I think Brother Yang, you're so strong, you should be able to take on a Soul King without any problem, right?"

Yang Ping'an thought for a moment and then shook his head: "If it were just one Soul King, I could barely put up a fight, but there are three now. How can a Soul Master like me possibly contend with them?"

Ning Rongrong's face revealed a meaningful look: "Brother Yang, you're just pretending. I think you're the best at pretending in the entire Soul Master Competition. Besides, according to my father, you probably haven't even used your full strength."

Yang Ping'an simply smiled and asked, "Has Sect Leader Ning said anything about me? What was his assessment of me?"

Ning Rongrong was unusually serious: "Brother Yang, you must not tell anyone my father's evaluation of you. According to my father, you can only show 60 or 70% of your strength at most. According to his and Grandpa Jian's estimates, you have at least the strength of a mid-level Soul King. If you fight with your life on the line, you may even have the strength of a top-level Soul King. I just don't know if you are willing to show your true strength."

Yang Ping'an smiled and shook his head: "Sect Leader Ning thinks too highly of me. I don't have that kind of strength."

Ning Rongrong revealed a knowing look on her face: "Keep pretending. My father said that you're acting so deep because you either have ulterior motives or are seeking revenge. It's clear that your purpose is definitely not simple."

"By the way, Brother Yang, our Seven Treasures City in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School is also quite fun, definitely no worse than this Martial Soul City. You can come and visit our Seven Treasures City when you have time. You can also tell me what your purpose is, and Grandpa Sword will definitely help you fulfill your wish."

Yang Ping'an simply shook his head: "What purpose could an ordinary person like me have? Sect Leader Ning is probably overthinking things."

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing spoke up: "Yang, last time you said you wanted to change your fate, was it just for revenge? How can one truly change their fate?"

Yang Ping'an pondered for a while before speaking: "Zhu Zhuqing, I know about your situation. Perhaps you feel that your family is an abyss, but sometimes the difference between the abyss and the light is only a moment. It all depends on your own choices and how you deal with it."

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head: "Yang, my life has been full of danger since I was a child. My family, especially my sister, only brings me danger. My family is like an abyss; how can there be any light in it?"

Yang Ping'an shook his head: "Perhaps in your eyes your family is like an abyss, but that's because you haven't seen the more cruel places in the world."

"The Zhu family, a noble family of the Star Luo Empire, no matter how dark and fraught with internal strife they may be, has ultimately provided you with too much."

"You can compare them to those ordinary civilians in the middle of the road. They may have been born in the countryside or in the city. They have no family, no cultivation techniques, no fine clothes and food, and even becoming a Soul Master is a luxury. Not to mention the slaves that exist in large numbers in the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. They may have been raised as slaves from birth."

Compared to them, do you feel relatively lucky?

Zhu Zhuqing remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "I don't want any of these things now. I would much rather live in a peaceful and harmonious family, where at least one family is happy and there are no sisters fighting each other."

Yang Ping'an couldn't help but sigh: "Everyone has their own suffering. You were born into nobility and received the highest level of education, so you can't possibly understand the hardships of ordinary people."

"No matter how bad the Zhu family is, they provided you with a good environment to grow up in, provided you with the relatively good martial soul of the Netherworld Cat, and provided you with the top-notch aptitude of innate soul power level seven."

"If you think this isn't enough, you can imagine my childhood. I lost both my parents when I was four, and I had no relatives to rely on. I awakened half a level of innate soul power when I was six, and I only had a few silver soul coins. You can imagine and compare that kind of life."

"Besides, although you feel that fate is unfair, your family has long provided you with the means to fight against fate. It's just a matter of whether you are willing to give it up or not."

Zhu Zhuqing's face immediately showed surprise: "How is this possible? Why didn't I know I had this kind of asset?"

Yang Ping'an smiled slightly: "Actually, given your current situation, you are just unwilling to give up the ties of your family, unwilling to truly sever ties with the Zhu family that nurtured you, and unwilling to give up your sliver of hope of becoming empress. Otherwise, you have many paths to take."

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head: "That's impossible. You may not understand the power of the Netherworld Cat Zhu family. No one in the entire Douluo Continent can resist the Star Luo Empire."

Yang Ping'an spoke with a half-smile: "Is that so? Is it that you feel you can't get rid of it, or have you never even thought about it?"

"Although the Zhu family is powerful, or rather, although the Star Luo Empire is powerful, it cannot unify the world, much less cover the sky with one hand."

"Believe it or not, just talk to Ning Rongrong next to you. As long as you join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, ask Senior Sword Douluo or Sect Master Ning to write a letter to the head of the Netherworld Cat Zhu family, clearly stating that you will withdraw from the Zhu family and the struggle of the Star Luo Royal Family from now on. Absolutely no one will dare to bother you again."

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were immediately taken aback. It seemed that Yang Ping'an's method was indeed feasible. No matter how powerful the Star Luo Empire was, it couldn't afford to offend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School for the sake of a little girl from the Zhu family.

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment: "This does seem feasible, but if I do this, wouldn't I have to give up everything, even Dai Mubai?"

Yang Ping'an couldn't help but smile: "Yes, it is true that you have to give up a lot of things, but for your so-called freedom, are you unwilling to give it up? Of course, if one day you cultivate to the level of a Title Douluo, you can get all of this back, and the Zhu family may even beg you to return."

Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have thought of something and quickly asked, "Could Dai Mubai do the same?"

Yang Ping'an shook his head: "Dai Mubai's situation is completely different from yours. He is a prince and cannot join other forces unless that force is powerful enough to ignore the Star Luo Empire. There is no force of that level on the continent yet."

"But think about it for a moment. If it weren't for Emperor Xingluo's tacit approval, would Dai Mubai have been able to escape the control of the Xingluo Empire's royal family? Would he have been able to cultivate peacefully in the Heaven Dou Empire and participate in the Soul Master Competition? I'm afraid all of this is Emperor Xingluo trying to find a way out for his youngest son."

The two fell silent upon hearing this. Ning Rongrong suddenly spoke up: "Zhuqing, you can rest assured about your affairs. As long as my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School still exists, whether you join or not, we will not allow anyone to bully you."

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent for a moment, as if he was pondering the questions and solutions raised by Yang Ping'an, perhaps because he truly could not give up the ties to his family.

Yang Ping'an just shook his head silently. He had a lot of things to do himself and was just giving advice as an outsider. But what if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was to face annihilation in the future? Would that actually harm her?

(End of this chapter)