Abyss Ruins
Upon learning of Dugu Bo's connection with the Nuoding Academy, Xue Ye was both surprised and wary, but ultimately did not press the matter further. He could only order the remaining personnel in the city to strengthen patrols as a precaution.
The fifteen teams are all ready and set off for the Finals.
Tianming City.
"Um?"
Upon learning that Tianming City was the venue for this year's Finals, Zhou Qing was taken aback. He then tried to recall the plot he had read in his previous life, but he had completely forgotten the details. It was just a web novel; why would he bother to remember so many details?
In fact, what Zhou Qing didn't know was that the reason the finals of the Continental Elite Tournament that the Shrek Seven Devils participated in in the Finals in Spirit City was because the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall persuaded the Two Great Empires to insist on holding it in Spirit City.
The information Zhou Qing could find about previous Continental Elite Tournament was vague, leading him to believe that the Finals of the Continental Elite Tournament were held in Spirit City. Furthermore, the Spirit Hall's superior status on the continent made him neglect to look for information in this area.
In fact, if we disregard the butterfly effect, that's the location for the next event.
However, this incident also served as a wake-up call for Zhou Qing...
"Dean, is there a reason for holding the Finals in Tianming City?"
"I asked Qin Ming, the team leader of the Heaven Dou Royal, and he said that the Finals are held in every major city-level city on the continent, taking turns. This year it's Tianming City's turn. You know, many major cities haven't even had their turn yet! This is also the first time Tianming City has become the host city for the Finals!"
Nuoding Academy Dean Notting is quite perceptive; he gathered the relevant information beforehand.
[Taking turns? That makes sense. Soul Grandmaster among the common people, subtly stabilizing Soul Master status on the continent. This will make it easier for the people to accept Soul Master rule should the Spirit Hall rebel in the future.]
Zhou Qing pondered for a moment, realizing that there were still some high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall who knew some of the ways of the herdsmen... Well, it was possible that the predecessors of the Spirit Hall had such insight, and the current generation of descendants were just implementing the experience left by their predecessors.
After all, judging from fragments of mythology and legends, the Spirit Hall initially unified the continent, but was "Divine Punishment," which led to its transformation into an organization similar to, but not entirely like, Catholicism, combining elements of a sect...
···
Tianming City.
After nearly a month's journey, escorted by Royal Knights of nearly a thousand people, the fifteen academies arrived safely at their destination.
Located on the southwest coast of the Douluo Continent, Tianming City is completely different from Vast Sea City, which has a fishy smell. The air has very little fishy smell, and there are few blue decorations on the buildings. It has the same "Huaxia style" as most cities in the Star Luo Empire, with countless pavilions and towers and well-arranged corridors.
According to locals, the reason why Tianming City doesn't have such a strong, salty sea breeze is because the land where Tianming City is located is nearly a thousand meters away from the sea, so the sea breeze doesn't easily blow over there.
After the fifteen academies entered Tianming City through the Northeast Gate, they had no time to properly admire the Tianming City before exiting through the Southwest Gate.
Just two or three miles Southwest Gate lies the vast Great Sea.
Ahead, there was an island shaped like a water droplet, with waves crashing against the black rock walls below it, making a splashing sound. The island's long "tail" connected to the cliff Southwest Gate.
Zhou Qing was certain that tens of thousands of years ago, the island must have been connected to the southwest coast. However, due to the terrain, the area was constantly battered and eroded by the waves, resulting in this unique topography with only a "water droplet tail" connecting the coast.
Perhaps in a while, the teardrop-shaped island will really be separated from the southwest coast.
The road leading to the island was initially narrow, allowing only ten people to pass side by side. After a hundred meters, it gradually widened to allow twenty people to pass side by side, and after another hundred meters, it could accommodate fifty people to pass side by side.
Zhou Qing looked down and saw the waves crashing against the rocky walls below, as if trying to blast through the island and make it truly independent from the mainland.
Upon entering the island, Knight of Tianming City were already waiting to greet them.
The island is quite large, with a diameter of over Baili. From a distance, it appears as a round platform, with a height of about five or seven hundred meters.
The outermost ring is lined with rows of houses, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. But strangely, the hillside is mostly covered with trees and mountains, with no houses on the hillside.
According to the city lord of Tianming City, this island is the legendary Abyss Ruins. The outermost row of houses is inhabited by the guardian knights of Tianming City to prevent residents near the Abyss from coming down.
Immediately, all the members of the academy teams, including the Nuoding Team, became curious—
This is the first time the Finals have been held in Tianming City.
Naturally, most of the students from these academies, and even the teachers leading them, were visiting Tianming City for the first time and didn't know much about the situation here.
"Let's talk about it when we get to the mountain pass."
The Lord of Tianming City first kept everyone in suspense.
When everyone arrived at the mountain pass, they were all stunned by the sight before them!
At the mountain pass, there is a recessed circular area where houses are scattered Star Luo Chess, countless in number.
At the center, however, lies a huge, dark cave entrance, estimated to be over ten kilometers in diameter. Inside, clouds and mist swirl, and flocks of birds soar, creating a profound and mysterious atmosphere.
"This is the Abyss Ruins, the Abyss."
The city lord explained.
In the mouths of the residents of Tianming City, Abyss means the Abyss.
Zhou Qing also noticed that the pronunciation of "Abyss" sounded very similar to the English word "abyss," but other unusual personal and place names in mainland China, such as Romantina, Fasinuo Xing, Agendas, had tones closer to the accent of commonly used written language in mainland China.
It seems that Tianming City has preserved many customs from before ancient times.
Descending the hillside at the valley's hollow, one enters the town, and everyone is surprised to find that the residents living there are all quite cute and endearing.
How should I put it?
Almost everyone has a round face, whether they are old, young, or teenager.
Moreover, the elderly with white hair who need a cane to move around have full and round faces, as if time can erode their bodies and make their Five Viscera age like ordinary people, but it cannot make their skin develop too many wrinkles.
"Speaking of which, the residents here seem to be quite short?" Tang San noticed that the tallest person he had seen here was only 1.6 meters tall!
Moreover, those who are only about 1.1 or 1.2 meters tall and look like five or six-year-old children are actually over twelve years old, according to the information conveyed by the city lord.
More importantly, this town is filled with all sorts of machinery and Soul Tool. In terms of material wealth, the average level of the residents living here has already surpassed that of Tianming City!
You have to understand, Tianming City is a city of major city level!
Yet their average quality of life is actually lower than that of the residents of this town located in a depression on the edge of the Abyss Ruins!
This is absolutely unbelievable!