[Reward Two: All members of Godwind Academy receive "Blessing of the Wind"!]
[Effect: All students' cultivation speed increases by 100%, their comprehension improves greatly, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks is reduced by 50%!]
[Reward Three: Grant Venti the exclusive authority—Mastery of Divine Wind!]
[Effect: Wherever the wind blows becomes his domain. With a single thought, he can arrive in an instant, regardless of the distance across space!]
At that moment, the entire city of Godwind trembled.
Mysterious azure-gold patterns began to appear on the city's ancient walls.
A sacred, vast energy filled with the breath of freedom instantly enveloped the entire city.
Every teacher and student from Godwind Academy within the city felt the Soul Power in their bodies begin to leap for joy. The cultivation barriers that had once seemed obscure and difficult to understand now became crystal clear.
Jialing Pass, the Spirit Hall Empire's camp.
Bibi Dong abruptly rose from her throne, bringing the scepter in her hand down hard against the ground.
"Godwind City... first place?!"
Her majestic phoenix eyes were now filled with astonishment.
The gates of memory swung open.
She remembered.
Back then, at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, Godwind Academy had indeed been a dark horse.
The young teacher leading the team was always smiling, looking as though he hadn't fully woken up.
At the time, she'd only thought there was something unusual about him and hadn't paid him much attention.
"How could it be him?"
"That Venti..."
Bibi Dong furrowed her brow and paced back and forth inside Pope Palace.
"He gives off such a... harmless impression."
"Like a weed growing by the roadside, or a passing breeze."
"He doesn't have even a trace of a powerful person's domineering aura. How could he possibly be someone who surpassed the Rakshasa God and Angel God?"
Bibi Dong couldn't accept it.
She had endured countless hardships and even turned herself into something barely human to obtain her power.
And now she had lost to a man who spent all day drinking and sleeping?
Beside her, Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes were wide as she stared at the scene on the Sky Curtain, stunned.
"Venti..."
She knew Venti better than Bibi Dong did.
While undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire, she'd made excuses to visit Godwind City and unwind many times.
Aside from his capacity for liquor, his storytelling, and his beautiful music, what about that man made him seem like an unparalleled expert?
"Could it be..."
A huge question rose in Qian Renxue's heart.
"Could there be some hidden old monster in Godwind City that even I don't know about?"
"Was Venti just put forward as a figurehead?"
"No, that's not right."
Watching Venti calmly lecture Dai Mubai on the Sky Curtain, Qian Renxue dismissed her own theory.
The nonchalance and control that seemed to seep from his very bones couldn't be faked.
But then, Qian Renxue's heart tightened again.
"First place..."
"The tallest tree catches the wind."
"With such generous rewards, Godwind City has instantly become the most coveted prize on the entire continent."
"Mother is domineering by nature. She'll never allow an uncontrollable number-one power to exist."
"And Tang San holds grudges..."
Qian Renxue clenched her fists, her eyes full of worry.
"Venti, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time."
Heaven Dou's camp, Tang Sect's quarters.
"Crack!"
The teacup in Tang San's hand shattered in his grip. Scalding tea ran between his fingers, but he didn't notice.
"Godwind City is first?"
"Venti is its city lord?"
Tang San's handsome face was now shrouded in gloom.
He remembered Godwind Academy.
Back then, Feng Xiaotian had been his rival, too.
But he'd never taken Godwind City seriously.
In his eyes, it was no more than a second-rate power tucked away in a corner.
"Brother, could the Sky Curtain have made a mistake?" Xiao Wu tugged on Tang San's sleeve, her face full of disbelief.
"Yeah, San," Oscar said, stroking his chin with a furrowed brow.
"We've met Venti, too. He didn't seem that strong."
"His Soul Power fluctuations were even weak."
"How could he possibly rank three places above our Tang Sect?"
Ma Hongjun grunted from the side.
"I think the Sky Curtain's broken."
"Boss Dai and Grandmaster are over there. Once they get back, we'll find out what's really going on in Godwind City."
Tang San took a deep breath, and the light of the Purple Demon Eye gleamed in his blue-gold eyes.
"That's right."
"Teacher and Mubai are in Godwind City."
"With Mubai's strength now, if Godwind City really doesn't live up to its reputation, he should have already taken it down."
"Let's see what they report back."
Though Tang San said this, the unease in his heart only grew stronger.
The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.
Godwind City.
Venti paid no attention to the commotion outside.
He closed his eyes and felt the changes throughout the city.
Every brick beneath his feet and every wisp of wind within the city was now closely linked to his will.
It felt just like being back in Mondstadt.
"So this is... Sky City?"
The corners of Venti's mouth lifted in a satisfied smile.
"It's not as good as the original, but it'll do."
He opened his eyes again and looked at the two eyesores hanging in midair.
Dai Mubai had passed out, dangling in the air like a dead pig.
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, was ashen-faced, his gaze vacant. He was clearly scared out of his wits.
"All right, I've had my fun."
"And I've gotten my reward."
"You two..."
Venti waved his hand lightly, as if shooing away a few annoying flies.
"Can get lost now."
Boom!
As his hand swept out, a violent cyclone suddenly rose.
This wind was no longer gentle. It brimmed with the will to repel and drive them away.
"Ah—!"
Dai Mubai, who had just woken up, and Yu Xiaogang, who had been trembling the whole time, were swept up along with several thousand Heaven Dou soldiers.
Like trash, they were hurled into the sky and flung straight toward the wilderness ten li beyond the city.
"Remember."
Venti's voice traveled with the wind, reaching every one of them clearly.
"Godwind City doesn't welcome bandits."
The gale swept up dust and slammed them hard into the wilderness ten li outside the city.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A string of muffled impacts rang out.
Several thousand fully armed elite Heaven Dou soldiers had been dumped onto the hard yellow earth like dumplings dropping into a pot.
Groans rose one after another. Their once-impressive armor had become a burden, and many were so battered they couldn't get back up for a long while.
At the very front of the crowd, two figures had landed in especially miserable fashion.
Dai Mubai's face was swollen like a purple eggplant, and his left eye had narrowed to a slit. Those dozens of slaps hadn't been for show.
He struggled to stand, but the movement tugged at his wounds, making him bare his teeth in pain.
"That... that bastard!"
Dai Mubai cursed through swollen lips, his eyes full of venom and yet tinged with deep fear.
For a moment just now, he had truly felt death drawing near.
That utter helplessness, the inability to fight back, had been more terrifying than facing a Titled Douluo.