Departure

Early the next morning,

Lin Yue led the seven of them out of the academy and headed straight for Donghai Square in the center of Eastsea City.

They all wore Eastsea Academy uniforms. Lin Yue was not the only one leading the team this time; Long Hengxu, the dean of studies, and Wu Changkong from the intermediate division were there as well.

Their group was not the only one representing the academy in the competition. The intermediate division had participants too.

The intermediate division was entering the youth division for ages ten to fifteen. Liu Tianran noticed that it was still the people from the original Zero Class.

Following Xu Xiaoyu's gaze, he saw that it was his younger sister, Xu Xiaoyan.

"Xiaoyan, if they bully you, tell me," Xu Xiaoyu said to his sister somewhat provocatively as they passed Tang Wulin and the others.

Xu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes. "Worry about yourself. Don't fail to make it past the preliminaries again."

Xu Xiaoyu smiled confidently. "Don't worry. Our strength this time will definitely exceed your expectations."

Xu Xiaoyan curled her lip.

"Stop bragging."

Xu Xiaoyu said nothing more and left.

Xu Xiaoyan could not be blamed for thinking that way. Eastsea Academy's results in past competitions had been far from ideal. In fact, they seemed to have been exceptionally poor.

As the second-largest city on the Eastsea Coast, Eastsea City's results were like this. No wonder the academy was anxious.

In fact, Liu Tianran's guess was entirely correct. As Eastsea City's only intermediate Soul Master Academy, Eastsea Academy's students were generally of rather low quality.

The Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament was jointly held by the five first-tier cities of the Eastsea Coast, with several second- and third-tier cities participating as well.

By using the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament, the academy hoped these teenage children would let the upper echelons of the Skysea Alliance's major cities see Eastsea City's potential. At the same time, they hoped to gain more help and support from Eastsea City's officials.

After all, they were still young, and their futures held limitless promise.

Donghai Square had long been crowded with people, along with rows of extremely luxurious soul-guided buses. They would travel together and depart together.

The square was bustling with noise. There were a great many people representing various associations and academies in the tournament.

There were also teams from other academies.

The Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament covered every field, including mecha competitions and dedicated battle armor competitions.

Just as Eastsea Academy occupied an awkward position in the Skysea Alliance, the Skysea Alliance itself held a rather awkward position within the Federation. Economically, it was unquestionably among the very best. But in other aspects—such as Battle Armor Masters, mecha masters, mecha technology, the number of Soul Masters, and the quality of Soul Masters—it ranked near the bottom among the alliances.

In recent years, the only person they could truly boast of was Li Ziming, the twenty-year-old seven-star Saint Craftsman and disciple of Mu Chen, president of the East Sea Blacksmith Association. He had dominated the younger generation of the forging world and allowed Eastsea City to vent some of its frustration in the Federation.

The advantages in all other areas lay with Sun-Moon City—Mingdu—and Heaven Dou City.

As for Shrek City, it was not included in Federation rankings at all. In a sense, Shrek City did not fall under the Federation's jurisdiction.

"Eastsea Academy teachers and students, board the bus." Eastsea Academy was assigned to bus number six. Led by the teachers, everyone boarded one after another.

Liu Tianran saw Gu Yue casually kick Xie Xie aside and sit down beside Tang Wulin.

Xie Xie could only settle for second best. Just as he was about to sit beside Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Xiaoyu grabbed him and moved him aside, taking the seat next to his sister himself.

"You..." Xie Xie was furious, but his strength was inferior. Helplessly, he could only retreat another seat.

Amid this somewhat comical atmosphere, the soul-guided bus slowly drove out of the square, found its direction, and gradually accelerated, carrying them out of Eastsea City.

In this far from optimistic atmosphere, the soul-guided buses carrying Eastsea City's delegation entered the highway and began picking up speed.

Soul-guided highways used magnetic levitation and soul-guided technology, greatly increasing the speed of soul-guided buses. Their top speed could reach half that of soul-guided trains. For distances that were not especially far, they were more convenient than soul-guided trains.

Before long, the bus reached its destination. As the announcement called for passengers to disembark, Liu Tianran woke He Qing and the others.

He also woke Gu Yue and Tang Wulin, who were leaning against each other in the front row. The group got off the bus one after another.

Like Eastsea City, Skysea City bordered the sea, but its location was even better. It possessed the largest port and docks on the entire continent.

The Federation Navy was stationed outside Skysea City. In the distance, enormous warships could vaguely be seen anchored upon the sea.

It was precisely because of its formidable military strength that Skysea City could become the largest city on the Eastsea Coast, holding a pivotal position on the continent. It was no less impressive than some major inland cities.

Ordinary people had to perform military service when they turned eighteen. Within the Skysea Alliance, those selected for service were usually first assigned to Skysea City to join the navy.

Liu Tianran was still far from eighteen. Moreover, as a rare genius healing-type Soul Master, he had the right to choose for himself.

If he chose to join the navy, then with his talent, he could at least obtain a fairly high position like Xie Jiayun.

Unlike Eastsea City, Skysea City was mountainous, so many buildings had been constructed on the mountains. They looked more layered and undulating. Some high-rises stood atop the mountains, truly seeming to reach into the clouds.

The team from Eastsea City was led by officials from the administrative residence, who had already coordinated with Skysea City.

They were brought to a luxurious hotel to stay in. The hotel was distinctive, with half of it built over the sea. Every room offered a view of the ocean, giving one the feeling that they could embrace the sea.

Tomorrow would be the opening ceremony of the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament, along with the drawing of lots, followed by the matches. Lin Yue told them this. It could not have been simpler, and he did not instruct them on how they should approach the competition.

"How much longer can this peaceful life last? If I want my clones to enter the sight of the upper echelons of the major powers, this Skysea Grand Tournament is a good opportunity for them to show themselves. Douluo Continent, let me show you what an age of brilliant stars truly is!"