Spirit City, First Arrival, Registration Deadline!

Spirit City's gates were even taller than he had imagined.

Li Long reined in his horse and looked up.

The gateway was as tall as a four- or five-story building. The two cast-iron doors stood wide open, with Spirit Hall's Six-Winged Angel emblem embedded in their faces. The bronze wings gleamed with a dark golden luster in the morning light.

The streams of people entering the city converged from both sides—merchants, soul masters, hunters, travelers, all kinds of people. It was several times more crowded than the busiest market fair in Notting City.

He swung down from his horse, took the reins, and followed the crowd inside.

The horseshoes rang crisply against the bluestone pavement, utterly inconspicuous amid the surrounding clamor.

Once through the gates, his view suddenly opened up.

The main street was wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side. Shops stood in dense rows along both sides, their signs hanging beneath the eaves of second-story buildings, painted with every sort of emblem: herbs for apothecaries, hammers for blacksmiths, and official relay stations bearing Spirit Hall's crest.

The pedestrians hurried along, and nearly everyone carried fluctuations of soul power. The stronger ones made him glance their way, while the weaker ones had not even condensed a soul ring.

Li Long led his horse for the time it took to burn an incense stick before stopping outside a shop bearing the sign of a Spirit Hall relay station.

He handed the horse over to an attendant and gave the branch hall number. After checking his deacon badge, the attendant registered the horse for storage and tossed him a claim ticket.

"Two silver coins for a day. Bring the ticket when you leave to collect it."

Li Long put away the ticket, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and continued toward the city center.

The closer he got to the inner city, the denser the crowds became.

He could already see the towering dome of the Papal Palace in the distance. Under the sunlight, the Six-Winged Angel statue looked like a mass of solidified silver, overlooking the entire city.

Uniformed Spirit Hall personnel began appearing along the streets. There were bronze badges, iron badges, and silver badges, while white-clad deacons with golden emblems pinned to their chests occasionally passed through the crowds.

Li Long observed silently, committing all this information to memory.

He found a roadside stall selling flatbread, spent two copper coins on a hot one, and asked the stall owner as he ate, "Excuse me, where is the registration site for the tournament?"

The stall owner was a plump middle-aged man. He gave Li Long a look, then noticed the ordinary deacon badge at his waist, and his tone grew more courteous. "Follow this street all the way to the end. You'll see a plaza with white stone pillars. The registration site is in the hall on the east side of the plaza. But today is the final day, so you'd better hurry. I heard registration closes at noon."

Li Long thanked him, finished the flatbread in a few bites, and quickened his pace.

Just as the stall owner had said, after crossing two side streets, a broad plaza paved in white stone appeared before him.

Twelve massive stone pillars stood in the plaza, each one thick enough to take several people to encircle. Different martial soul patterns were carved atop every pillar—sabers, swords, staffs, clubs, birds, beasts, and more.

More than a hundred people had already gathered in the plaza, standing in small groups of two or three. Some spoke in low voices, while others closed their eyes and silently adjusted their breathing.

Li Long swept his gaze over them and immediately saw that most were between ten and fifteen years old, not much different from him.

Several of them gave off distinctly powerful soul power fluctuations. Though they had yet to reveal their soul rings, their auras indicated that they were at least Grand Soul Masters.

He did not look any longer and headed straight for the hall on the east side of the plaza.

The entrance stood open, and a gilded plaque hung over the doorway: Spirit Hall Youth Soul Master Tournament Registration Office.

A short line of around ten people stood at the entrance. At its end was a long table, behind which sat two clerks in formal deacon robes. One handled registration, while the other checked documents.

Li Long took his place at the back of the line and waited for the people ahead of him to finish.

The girl in front of him wore a ponytail and looked eleven or twelve. Her side profile was clean and sharp, and a slender sword martial soul hung at her waist.

When she finished the process and turned around, her eyes met Li Long's. Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before moving away. She said nothing.

When it was Li Long's turn, the clerk did not even look up. "Name, age, branch hall, current soul power rank, and number of rings?"

Li Long placed his ordinary deacon badge and Fanolan's letter of recommendation on the table. He also revealed his first soul ring as he answered, "Li Long, ten years old, Notting City Branch Hall, level twenty, one ring."

The clerk's hand paused, and he looked up at Li Long.

Level twenty, ten years old, without a second soul ring.

That combination stood out somewhat on the registration form.

The clerk did not ask further questions. He lowered his head, filled in a few lines on the form, then handed over a stiff card. The front read, "Spirit City Tournament Contestant Credential," while the back had a blank section.

"Write down your martial soul and soul ring information, then go to the soul power testing hall on the left for verification. Once it's confirmed, return the form to me and your registration will be officially complete."

The clerk's tone remained businesslike. "But let me remind you, registration closes at twelve noon today. If you go for testing now, you still have time."

Li Long took the card and filled it out at a nearby table. Martial soul: iron rod. Soul ring: first ring, five-hundred-year yellow.

Then he took the card and headed to the soul power testing hall on the left.

There was only one person in the testing hall: an old man in a gray robe seated behind a soul power testing orb. A steaming cup of tea sat before him, and he looked exceedingly relaxed.

When he saw Li Long enter, the old man lifted his eyelids and pointed at the testing orb on the table. "Put your hand on it."

Li Long did as instructed.

The orb lit up, and a number appeared: 20.

The old man nodded, glanced at the information on the registration card, and stamped a red seal in the verification column. "Level twenty, correct. All right, return the card to the registration desk and you're done."

Li Long took the card and returned to the registration table, handing it back.

The clerk accepted the card, marked something in the roster, then pulled a sheet of paper from beneath the table and handed it to him.

"This is the tournament schedule and rules. Gather at the inner city martial arena at eight tomorrow morning. The first round is an elimination match. Being late counts as forfeiture. Any other questions?"

Li Long took the paper and skimmed through it before folding it away. "No questions."

He turned and left the hall. By the time he stood once more in the white plaza, the sun had already climbed to a point slightly east of directly overhead.

There were more people in the plaza than before. Some sized each other up, while others exchanged information in low voices. A tense atmosphere hung in the air.

Li Long did not linger in the plaza. He found a small inn near the inner city and checked in.

The room was not large, but the bed was clean. Its window faced east, and through the gap he could see a corner of the Papal Palace.

He locked the door, set down his backpack, sat on the edge of the bed, and unfolded the schedule for a careful read.

First round: elimination matches, opponents determined by random draw, one match to decide victory or defeat.

Second round: group round-robin matches, with the elimination winners divided into groups.

Third round: ranking matches, with the final rankings decided by points.

The top three would receive separate rewards, the exact contents to be announced on the day of the competition.

He memorized the rules, put away the paper, then sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes to begin meditating.

The level-twenty soul power within him circulated steadily. Though he lacked the boost of a second soul ring, he did not feel the least bit uncertain.

The rod techniques he had refined over and over for half a year, the timing for using his first soul skill, and the tactical approaches for dealing with different martial souls had all run through his mind countless times.

When a round of meditation ended, the sky outside had already darkened.

Li Long opened his eyes and sensed that the soul power within him remained steady at the level-twenty threshold, with no sign of loosening.

"One ring against two rings, maybe even three rings..."

He muttered under his breath.

It sounded like madness in the world of soul masters, but he had confidence.

The physical strength of a three-ring Soul Elder was his first trump card. The two-hundred-percent boost from his five-hundred-year soul ring was his second. The anticipation and reflexes honed through battle after battle over the past half year were his third.

"Three trump cards. That's enough."

He stood, walked to the window, and pushed open one half of it.

Spirit City was brightly lit beneath the night sky. The Six-Winged Angel statue atop the Papal Palace dome glowed with a soft white radiance beneath the moonlight, like a silent giant looking down over the dense rooftops below.

Tomorrow, it would begin.

He would make this entire city see him.