Dai Mubai Got Cheated On? Only Mediocrities Dare Not Cause Trouble!

After leaving Heaven Dou City, the Imperial Dou Team's first stop was Silvis City, several days' journey away.

As one of the most prosperous cities in the Silves Kingdom, its Great Soul Arena might not have been as grand as the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, but it still gathered a great many Soul Masters.

On the evening of their arrival, Qin Ming registered everyone for a Soul Elder-level team battle.

The result came as no surprise.

In less than a quarter of an hour, their opponents were completely crushed by the Imperial Dou Team.

Over the following days, Gu Ling's one-on-one matches, Gu Ling and Ye Lingling's two-on-two matches, and the Imperial Dou Team's team battles all maintained an almost perfect record of victory.

The team battles in particular.

Ordinary Soul Elder teams could scarcely hold out for long against the Imperial Dou Team as it now stood.

After staying in Silvis City for several days.

The group continued south.

Loring City, Azure River City, Southwind City...

Whenever they passed through a larger city along the way, Qin Ming would generally have them stop for two or three days before taking them to the local Great Soul Arena for several matches.

Whenever they encountered weaker opponents, the Imperial Dou Team swept through them with ease.

There were also several times when they encountered extremely unusual teams with excellent coordination and were even pushed into a disadvantage for a while. Yet in the end, relying on their more complete lineup and the coordination they had continually honed during this period, they still claimed victory.

After more than a month.

The Imperial Dou Team had taken part in over a dozen team battles along the way, without a single defeat!

Gu Ling's one-on-one record likewise remained flawless. By the end, whenever the others saw Gu Ling take the stage, they could not even be bothered to guess who would win. As they put it:

"Unless they suddenly arrange a Soul King-level opponent for Gu Ling, what's there to watch?"

And so, the Imperial Dou Team fought their way south.

More than a month later, they finally arrived at Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom.

In the afternoon, a carriage slowly entered through the broad city gates.

Lifting the carriage curtain and watching the streets outside gradually grow livelier, Gu Ling's eyes flickered slightly as he murmured, "We've finally arrived."

Suotuo City.

This place was clearly no stranger to Gu Ling. Half a year ago, after Zhu Zhuqing parted ways with him, this was where she had gone. Tang San and Xiao Wu had come here as well.

"Gu Ling, what are you looking at?"

Dugu Yan suddenly asked from beside him.

Hearing this, Gu Ling lowered the curtain and slowly withdrew his gaze. Smiling, he said, "Nothing. It's just my first time in Suotuo City, so I'm taking a look around."

The carriage proceeded into the city. Qin Ming had clearly prepared in advance, and he quickly found them a fairly nice hotel near the city center.

After everyone briefly put down their luggage, Qin Ming called them all downstairs. Looking at the students, who were clearly already somewhat tired, he did not arrange any more training and said:

"We've spent so many days traveling, so rest today. I've already looked into the Soto Great Soul Arena. Tomorrow evening, I'll take you there to register for spirit battles."

The moment he said this, Yu Feng let out a long breath of relief.

"Finally, we can rest!"

Osler sprawled directly across a chair as well.

"Teacher Qin, you finally made one correct decision."

Qin Ming's mouth twitched, and he said speechlessly:

"What? Are my usual arrangements all wrong?"

"No, no!" Yu Feng hurriedly waved his hands.

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

Qin Ming shook his head helplessly and continued:

"All right."

"The rest of today is free time. But when I entered the city earlier, I heard that Suotuo City is holding its annual Lantern Festival tonight."

"The main streets in the city should all be lively tonight. If you're interested, you can go take a look."

The moment she heard the words "Lantern Festival," Dugu Yan's eyes immediately lit up, and she said excitedly:

"Really?"

"Then what are we waiting for?"

She almost immediately looked toward Yu Tianheng.

"Tian Heng, let's go!"

"It's not even dark yet..."

"If we wait until dark, it'll be packed with people!"

With that, Dugu Yan directly dragged Yu Tianheng out of the hotel.

Yu Feng and Osler exchanged a glance before quickly following them out. Although the Shi Mo brothers had little interest in the Lantern Festival, they had rarely come to Suotuo City and also planned to go out for a stroll.

Before long, the room that had just been so lively quickly fell quiet, leaving only Gu Ling and Ye Lingling behind.

Gu Ling sat in his chair and glanced toward the door. Then he turned to Ye Lingling, who was still sitting quietly beside him. After a moment of silence, he asked:

"What? You're not going out?"

Ye Lingling gently shook her head and explained:

"They left too quickly."

Gu Ling froze for a moment, then could not help laughing. That really did fit Ye Lingling's personality. Making her rush out with the same fiery energy as Dugu Yan would probably have been harder than making her fight a spirit battle.

After a moment, Gu Ling stood and rolled his shoulders before saying seriously:

"Then..."

"Should we go take a look too?"

Hearing this, Ye Lingling slowly raised her head. Her usually tranquil eyes rested on Gu Ling for a moment. If it had been half a year ago, when they had only just met, she might have hesitated. But over the past half year, they had cultivated together almost every day.

Especially as fixed two-on-two partners, they had participated in countless spirit battles together.

From simply nodding in greeting at first, to being able to chat naturally with each other later on, they had long since become much more familiar.

After a moment, Ye Lingling gently nodded as well.

"All right. Then let's go take a look too."

Gu Ling smiled and immediately got moving.

"Then let's go."

The two left the hotel one after the other.

By then, the setting sun was gradually sinking toward the west.

Once night had fully fallen, Suotuo City gradually became lively as well. The several main streets hosting the Lantern Festival were especially crowded.

All kinds of decorative lanterns hung beneath the eaves on both sides of the road.

There were lotus flowers.

Koi fish.

And colorful lanterns shaped like all manner of soul beasts.

The warm yellow lights merged into a single expanse, illuminating the entire long street as brightly as day.

Many young men and women walked together in pairs, while the stalls lining both sides of the street displayed all kinds of snacks, accessories, and little trinkets unique to the Lantern Festival.

Gu Ling and Ye Lingling blended into the crowd and walked forward side by side. Neither had any particular destination in mind; whenever they saw something interesting, they stopped to take a look.

Whenever they came across a snack they had never tried before, Gu Ling would casually buy a portion.

"Want to try some?"

Gu Ling handed over the freshly bought sweet rice cake in his hand.

Ye Lingling glanced at it, took a piece, and bit into it delicately.

"How is it?"

"A little sweet."

"If things sold at the Lantern Festival weren't sweet, were they supposed to sell bitter ones?"

Hearing this, Ye Lingling lifted her eyes to glance at Gu Ling and said irritably:

"Then why did you ask?"

Gu Ling's mouth twitched slightly. This girl's getting better and better at talking back.

When they had first met half a year ago, Ye Lingling could barely say a few words all day.

But after more than half a year together, cultivating almost every day and fighting spirit battles as long-term two-on-two partners, their relationship had naturally grown much closer.

At least in front of Gu Ling, Ye Lingling was no longer as taciturn as she had been in the beginning.

The two continued onward.

But at that moment, several young men's voices suddenly drifted over from the crowd ahead:

"Boss Dai."

"Look around."

"Everyone here for the Lantern Festival seems to be in pairs. Why does it feel like we three are the only single dogs around?"