Douluo Dragon King: Embarking on the Path to Godhood from the Start

Chapter 102: Arrival at Tianhai

Unbeknownst to them, Yu Chen and the others, who were riding smoothly on the Soul Guidance Bus, had already drifted off to sleep amidst the slight bumps and the low rumble of the engine.

The four-hour journey passed in a flash. When the Soul Guidance Bus made a slight braking sound and came to a steady stop at its destination, the tranquility inside the vehicle was broken.

"Brother Chen~ Sister Gu Yue~ Wu Lin~ Xiao Yan~ Time~ to~ wake~ up~~ You've~ slept~ all the way~~"

A deliberately drawn-out voice, carrying a distinctly resentful and strange tone, rang out in the carriage.

Xie Xie, who had been "exiled" to Wu Changkong's side, was on edge the whole time and dared not move, and was finally "liberated" at this moment!

He jumped up almost immediately and, with a peculiar voice that was almost like a "soul call," provided a "thoughtful" wake-up service to his sleeping companions.

"Ah!! Ahhh!! A ghost!!"

The sudden, eerie sound, so close at hand, startled Tang Wulin, who had just woken from a light sleep and was still a little dazed. In his haste, he slipped and fell from his seat into the aisle with a "plop"!

"Hmm, I slept quite soundly the whole way."

Yu Chen rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the light outside the car, nodded, and then his gaze fell on Xie Xie's face, with a hint of mockery.

"However, Xie Xie, judging from your dark circles and haggard appearance, it seems... you haven't had much rest? Why are you so 'excited'?"

"Ugh... Chen, have we arrived?"

At this moment, Gu Yue also slowly woke up, shaking her head sleepily, seemingly not fully awake yet. She habitually asked Yu Chen beside her in a soft voice, her voice carrying the languor of someone who had just woken up.

"Yes, we've arrived at Tianhai City. It's time to get off, Yue."

Yu Chen answered gently, and at the same time naturally reached out to support Gu Yue's arm to help her steady her still weak body. Then he took her hand and stepped off the soul guide bus first.

The two stood under the car, holding hands, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

The atmosphere of Tianhai City carries the unique humidity and slight saltiness of a coastal city, and its architectural style is also slightly different from that of Donghai City.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Brother Chen! Have you forgotten something important?!"

Seeing this, Xie Xie, who was still standing at the car door and had been completely ignored, broke down and shouted loudly at the two people leisurely "sightseeing" below, his tone full of grief and indignation.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, I just woke up and I'm still a little groggy."

Yu Chen seemed to remember something then, turned around, and with an apologetic laugh, walked back to the car door, reaching out to help the gritting-teeth Xie Xie to his feet.

"Come on, watch your step. Xie Xie, what happened to you? Oh, and Wu Lin, Xiao Yan, hurry up and catch up!"

He didn't forget to shout something into the carriage.

At this moment, inside the carriage, Tang Wulin was in an extremely awkward situation.

When Xie Xie startled him so much that he fell off his seat, he instinctively tried to dodge to the side in his panic, but somehow he ended up crawling between Xu Xiaoyan's legs...

At this moment, he was stuck in an extremely awkward and ambiguous position, caught between the seat and Xu Xiaoyan's legs, unable to move forward or backward.

Xu Xiaoyan's face was already as red as a ripe apple. She was trying to suppress her intense shame and heartbeat, and one hand was frantically and futilely trying to "pull" Tang Wulin out from under her.

"Wu, Wu Lin...you, you get up first~"

Her voice was barely audible, tinged with a sob.

Luckily, she wore a knee-length skirt and safety shorts when she went out today, otherwise... Just thinking about that possibility made Xu Xiaoyan feel like her head was about to explode, and she wished she could disappear on the spot.

Yu Chen watched with great interest the chaotic scene of the two people struggling and pulling at each other in the carriage, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

It wasn't until Xie Xie impatiently urged him again and stared at him with a resentful look that Yu Chen finally withdrew his gaze from the spectacle, helped the "weak" Xie Xie, and slowly walked off the bus.

Fortunately, after the commotion, most of the people in front had gotten off the bus, so Yu Chen and his group didn't experience any more crowding when they got off.

However, Yu Chen noticed that Gu Yue was puffed up like a pufferfish, clearly very unhappy with Xie Xie's behavior just now.

"What did I do to offend this lady this time...?"

Xie Xie felt Gu Yue's gaze and sighed inwardly, but he seemed to have gotten used to this treatment. Instead of distancing himself from Yu Chen, he moved even closer, as if seeking "protection".

When the rustling sounds finally came from inside the carriage, Tang Wulin, whose face was flushed red and who wished he could disappear into the ground, and Xu Xiaoyan, whose face was also flushed and who kept her head down and dared not look at anyone, finally got off the train reluctantly.

As soon as Tang Wulin got out of the car, he looked around impatiently, wanting to escape this "socially dead" scene immediately.

His gaze quickly locked onto a familiar figure not far away.

"Teacher Wu! Teacher Wu is over there! Let's go over there quickly!"

Tang Wulin seemed to have seen a savior and quickly pointed to Wu Changkong not far away and shouted.

Yu Chen looked in the direction he pointed and saw Wu Changkong standing alone at the assembly point, still dressed in white, his demeanor cold and aloof, looking in their direction. Yu Chen then called to the others and quickly walked over, rejoining Class Zero's group.

Xu Xiaoyan's older brother, Xu Xiaoyu, has already joined up with the advanced team and left.

Xu Xiaoyan's blush had faded considerably. Standing next to Gu Yue, she chatted quietly with Gu Yue about the scenery and architecture she had seen along the way, which were different from those in Donghai City, with a touch of excitement at arriving in a strange big city for the first time.

Seeing that Yu Chen and the others had gotten off the bus and returned to their group, Wu Changkong told them to follow him and the officers in charge to their lodgings.

Officials from the Donghai City government were in charge of leading the participating teams from Donghai City, and they were also in contact with the officials from Tianhai City.

Tianhai City boasts the largest port and dock in the entire Sun Moon Federation, and is also the largest naval port in the Sun Moon Federation. The Sun Moon Federation's navy is stationed outside Tianhai City, and looking into the distance, one can vaguely see huge soul-guided warships moored in the naval port, which is not open to the public.

The group from Class Zero followed the official in charge to a luxurious hotel to check in. This hotel was very unique because it was built around the sea, and every room had a view of the ocean from the window, giving people a high-quality experience of being embraced by the sea.

The room assignments were quickly made: Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan were assigned to one double room; Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were assigned to another double room; and finally... Wu Changkong and Yu Chen were assigned to the same double room.

"Since you're sharing a room with me," Wu Changkong said calmly, glancing at Yu Chen, whose expression had momentarily stiffened.

"During this time, I will supervise your practice more directly. If you have any questions in the evening, you can ask them at any time."

Yu Chen tried his best to maintain an "honored" smile on his face, but in his heart he was cursing Xie Xie, who was secretly laughing next to him, a thousand times over.

Just now, during the room assignment, Xie Xie, this "good brother," betrayed me at a crucial moment.

Using high-sounding reasons such as "the class monitor is the strongest, so he can learn more from the dance teacher" and "our level is not good enough and we will disturb the dance teacher's rest," they successfully made this arrangement, allowing Yu Chen to "luckily" become Wu Changkong's roommate.

"Xie Xie, you just wait!"

Yu Chen silently thought to himself. But then he thought about it again, and realized that he had tricked Xie Xie quite a bit before, so this time he would just pay back the debt... although it would be a bit frustrating to pay this debt.

……

Time flew by, and the day of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Tournament arrived quickly. Wu Changkong and Yu Chen got up early, washed up, and then went out.

In the living room on the first floor, a few teachers and students from Donghai Academy had already gathered. Soon after, Tang Wulin and his group quickly gathered around the two.

"Oh dear, we're a little late, Teacher Wu, Brother Chen, we hope we didn't keep you waiting too long?"

Xie Xie said with his signature slightly smug smile, his eyes glancing at Yu Chen with a hint of smugness.

Wu Changkong merely glanced at him indifferently: "It's good that you're not late."

Gu Yue then pulled Xu Xiaoyan directly to Yu Chen's side. The two girls huddled together, whispering something and occasionally letting out soft laughter.

When Xu Xiaoyan saw Tang Wulin arrive, she seemed to have completely forgotten the embarrassment on the bus yesterday and regained her lively demeanor. She happily pulled Tang Wulin along, pointing to the scenery outside the hotel and asking him all sorts of questions, discussing the upcoming competition.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Yu Chen gave Xie Xie a meaningful look, the meaning of which made Xie Xie subconsciously shrink his neck and chuckle dryly.

"Everyone's here, let's go." Wu Changkong said to Yu Chen and the others when he saw that the five members of Class Zero had gathered.

The group then got back into the car and left the hotel, heading towards the center of Tianhai City.

About half an hour later, the bus stopped again. The group had arrived at their main destination – Tianhai Stadium.

A magnificent and massive architectural complex comes into view, where the grand opening ceremony of the Tianhai Alliance Tournament will be held, as well as many subsequent competitions.

When the teams from Donghai City arrived at Tianhai Stadium, the largest stadium in the eastern part of the Federation, even Gu Yue from Class Zero was amazed by its scale, in addition to Wei Mingshang and Tang Wulin, whom they had already met.

The teachers and students of Class Zero filed in with the participating teams from Donghai City, and Wei Mingshang and his group also saw the participating teams from other cities.

Among them, the students from the local Tianhai City team stood out the most. Their faces were filled with high morale. Although they could not beat most of the teachers and students from the inland academies, they were still among the strongest in the alliance.

"Class monitor, do you think if our Class Zero beats them before the finals, will they still be so energetic after the match?"

Xu Xiaoyan, standing beside Gu Yue, watched the students from Tianhai City pass by and teased them with a hint of eagerness.

Yu Chen withdrew his gaze from examining the opponents and looked at his companions beside him, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable firmness:

"We're here to win the championship. No matter what stage we face or what opponent we encounter, there's only one thing we need to do—win."

Although the details of this competition in the "original work" have become blurred, Yu Chen has a clear understanding of his own and Class Zero's current strength.

With their fighting prowess honed through rigorous training at Wu Changkong, and especially their numerous trump cards, winning a championship in this age group and region should not be a problem.

"At worst," Yu Chen thought calmly.

"A second burst of blood, a dragon bone form... When the time comes, and the trump card is revealed, who among those of the same age can withstand it?"

As Yu Chen was thinking these things, the stadium stands were already full of spectators, and the opening ceremony began amidst the noise.

After the opening ceremony, teachers from each college represented their class teams in a draw.

After Wu Changkong left, the students from Class Zero remained in place, lost in thought.

However, Tang Wulin, who was looking around, soon discovered that there were many workers gathered in the center of the stadium, quickly building a high platform.

"What are they doing?"

Tang Wulin's question made Yu Chen and the others look towards the high platform.

Upon seeing this, Xie Xie, who had a broader knowledge base, offered an explanation:

"There will be an exhibition match later, between the students of Shrek Academy and the youth group champion of the Tianhai Alliance Tournament. It is said that the alliance's idea is to let us see the gap between ourselves and them."

"The league actually invited students from Shrek Academy! I wonder if the former champions of the Tianhai League can put up a fight against them?"

Xu Xiaoyan said with a touch of emotion, and Tang Wulin echoed her sentiment:

"Probably, probably."

"We'll find out soon enough. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to fight the Shrek Academy students too."

Xie Xie said with a hint of anticipation.

"Brother Chen, what do you think?" Seeing that Yu Chen had not expressed his opinion, Xie Xie wanted to hear what the team's biggest star had to say.