After arriving in Binhai City, whether he challenged the hall or not, Fang Yuan had to visit Qinglong Dojo at least once.
The founder of Qinglong Dojo is said to be a branch of the Imperial City's Dragon Trainer lineage.
And Dragon King Yun Kui is the representative figure of that lineage.
Fang Yuan's qualification to enter the Dragon Cave came from him, so to understand the details of the Dragon's Den opening, he had to visit Qinglong Dojo.
"Sister Xie must've been joking about letting me challenge them. It would be more sensible to visit Qinglong Dojo with honesty and politeness."
After making up his mind, Fang Yuan looked towards the tallest building in the city, Dragon Tower.
Qinglong Dojo was nearby, quite conspicuous, so it saved him the trouble of searching.
But before heading there, Fang Yuan first made a stop at the nearby Trainer Association.
On the taxi ride over, he had heard some interesting things.
"Sigh."
Just after entering the Spirit Center on the first floor of the Trainer Association, Fang Yuan heard a sigh.
A young Trainer wearing floral shorts sat on a sofa in the hall, sighing, "There are more and more aggressive Water-type Spirits, this job is becoming impossible to do."
"Is it really that bad? If you think so, maybe you should quit. Wouldn't it be nicer to come to the Battle Club and be a punching bag with me?" his friend across from him said, taking a sip of an ice-cold Sprite and showing an "I'm so cool" expression.
"Being a temporary sparring partner doesn't earn much," the young Trainer rolled his eyes and said, "I finally got into the Exploration Fleet; I don't want to give up such great benefits."
"The captain said... it might be because a secret location has appeared in the deep sea, and everything will be fine after this period."
Fang Yuan's ears perked up, and he then walked over to the advertisement wall in the hall on the first floor.
"Task mission to drive away Water-type Spirits. Recently, a large number of Water-type Spirits have been coming ashore. Volunteers are needed to assist the Trainer Association in repelling them..."
"An unidentified source of pollution has been detected in the sea area... a gathering of Grimer is occurring..."
"Wanted notice: A batch of illicit Poké Balls has entered our city..."
"There is a scam group posing as an official event selling Different Colored Sprites dyed with special paints. Please do not be deceived, especially do not buy golden Magikarp that are supposed to produce gold…"
Fang Yuan focused his attention on the large number of Water-series Spirits coming ashore.
The local officials speculated that it might be due to a secret location appearing in the deep sea, but unfortunately, secret locations in the ocean are hard to explore, so the Trainer Association mostly operates in a reactive manner.
The ocean covers 71% of the Earth's surface, and the probability of secret locations appearing there is several times higher than on land.
Therefore, the ocean is more dangerous than land, but at the same time, it also has more unknown resources, which is why it has always been a domain humans are eager to conquer...
If time permits, Fang Yuan hoped he could become a Trainer volunteer for a while.
Lately, his Milotic had always been active in the Water-type training field at school. Although the facility was fully equipped and not small in size, it still fell a bit short when compared to the real ocean. The ocean was the true place of belonging for Water-type Spirits.
"Contact information: 780783589..."
After noting down the application process for Trainer volunteers, Fang Yuan started doing another task, registering his information at the Spirit Center in the Trainer Association hall.
Trainers have the power to command Spirits in battle, wielding strength beyond the ordinary. A Trainer must register at the Spirit Center within 48 hours of arriving in a new city; failing to do so may prevent them from normally enjoying certain Trainer rights later, such as using the Spirit Center for medical treatment...
Those who do not register will face even harsher punishment in case of any rules violation.
This measure not only serves to regulate Trainers but also, in the event of an emergency, makes it easier for the Trainer Association to contact Trainers with the power to resolve the issue.
...
Above Binhai City, a group of long-winged seagulls flew across the ocean with the sea breeze, gliding through the air until they finally landed on the Dragon Tower of the Qinglong Dojo.
These long-winged seagulls were cultivated by local Trainers, used to scout marine climate conditions.
Coastal cities needed to pay extra attention to severe disasters caused by the gathering of large numbers of spirits, such as twisters, storms, tsunamis, and so on...
Of course, if things went wrong, 99% of the blame could be tossed at the head of Pokémon World.
In most sea areas, Pokémon World was undoubtedly the overlord, the root of disasters...
"This is the place." A sea breeze blew, sunlight fell, shining on a greenish structure, and Fang Yuan pondered for a moment before walking inside.
Aside from the newly-built Dragon Tower, the Qinglong Dojo seemed to have not been renovated for a long time, still featuring the simple Qinglong totem decorations and a classic style.
The main gate of the Qinglong Dojo was closed, but before Fang Yuan even had a chance to knock, the gate automatically opened slowly to both sides.
Fang Yuan's outstretched hand lowered again... He had thought it was another dojo that pursued an ancient feel, yet it turned out they'd secretly installed an automatic door.
"Welcome."
As the gate opened, a middle-aged man in training attire came out to greet him, asking the purpose of Fang Yuan's visit.
Fang Yuan briefly explained that he was referred here to go to the Dragon Cave and capture a spirit, and the middle-aged man showed a look of surprise.
The privilege of entering the Dragon Cave to capture spirits was precious, and generally, only those recognized by the Dragon Cave's spirits of the Dragon Lineage were qualified to enter and capture spirits.
And the qualifications sent out by the Dragon Lineage were few and far between. Anyone who received the friendship of the Dragon Lineage was without exception a person of distinguished identity, a Trainer worth befriending.
Fang Yuan possessed this privilege, and according to the original development, he would become a distinguished guest of the Qinglong Dojo, but...
"Are you the Trainer from Demon Capital University recommended by Xie Qingyi?" After meeting the Sect Leader of Qinglong Dojo, the one called Master Water Dragon, Yun Miao, the latter didn't show Fang Yuan a bit of kindness.
"Uh, Master Yun, hello, I am Fang Yuan..." Fang Yuan muttered in his heart that he had come with all politeness.
Could it be that Sister Xie had come to the Qinglong Dojo and made a scene, leading to them also looking at him unfavorably???
Fang Yuan guessed right, Xie Qingyi had indeed challenged the Qinglong Dojo before, and at the same time, had defeated all the Trainers of the Qinglong Dojo, so they wouldn't treat Fang Yuan as a distinguished guest.
Yun Miao sized up Fang Yuan, tugged at his beard, and started to ponder.
After all, there wasn't much enmity between Xie Qingyi and the Qinglong Dojo; everyone was just having regular sparring sessions, and as someone of Yun Miao's age, he naturally wouldn't trouble Fang Yuan over such a trifling matter.
However, the privilege to enter the Dragon Cave and capture spirits, even some of the outer disciples within the Qinglong Dojo found it difficult to obtain. Looking at the young Fang Yuan, Yun Miao wanted to assess whether he was truly qualified.
The Dragon Cave was not a place where you could just go and be followed by powerful Dragon Type Fairy/Eelf; on the contrary, it was fraught with danger. If Fang Yuan was not qualified enough, he would advise Fang Yuan to come back later.
Only if a Trainer was outstanding enough would a spirit be willing to follow them, and Yun Miao was only looking out for Fang Yuan's best interest.
"At present, the Dojo Apprentices are undergoing battle training. Would you be interested in watching?"
Master Water Dragon Yun Miao, the Sect Leader of Qinglong Dojo, who was around forty years old and sported a few seemingly sleazy beards, invited Fang Yuan.
"Ah... sure."
After receiving the invitation, Fang Yuan nodded with a peculiar expression.
In the end... it seemed he was still going to have to battle.