The carriage journey from Suotuo City to Heaven Dou City took nearly three days.
On the first day, they passed through a stretch of rolling hills. The farmland on either side of the official road gradually gave way to undulating low mountains, with the occasional small town or village scattered among them.
Ma Hongjun leaned against the carriage window to watch the scenery. At first, he would point at distant hills and ask, "What's that place?" By the third day, he could not even be bothered to speak. He leaned against the carriage wall with his eyes half-closed, pretending to nap.
Xiao Wu was full of energy, pulling Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing into a clapping game in the back row of the carriage. Whoever lost had to stick a strip of paper to their face.
Ning Rongrong already had three strips on her face, while Xiao Wu had two. Zhu Zhuqing's face was completely clean. Her hands moved incredibly fast when they played, and both of Xiao Wu's losses had come from Zhu Zhuqing stealing the rhythm.
"Zhuqing, how are your hands so fast?!" Xiao Wu protested after losing another round, only for Ning Rongrong to gleefully stick a third paper strip to her forehead.
"I trained for it." Zhu Zhuqing's tone was indifferent, though the corner of her lips carried the faintest curve.
Yun Tian leaned against the carriage wall, flipping through a tournament handbook sent from Heaven Dou City.
Flender had acquired the handbook through someone he knew. It listed the participating teams and competition format for this year's Elite Tournament. It contained the roster of sixteen teams, their advancement records in their respective regions, and several pages devoted to introducing the top eight teams from the previous tournament.
His gaze paused for two seconds on the