The day after Xia Yi woke up, he followed the East Sea Academy team straight to East Sea Square, located at the heart of East Sea City.
Today was the day they departed for Skysea City to participate in the Skysea Alliance Competition. East Sea Academy had two teachers leading the group: Wu Zhangkong and the director of teaching, Long Hengxu.
Wu Zhangkong's presence was primarily due to the fact that all the students from his special class, Class Zero, were participating in the competition. As their class advisor, he couldn't be absent.
As for Class One, only Xia Yi and Wu Jin were participating in the Skysea Alliance Competition.
Initially, neither Ye Yingluo nor Long Hengxu had approved of Xia Yi's participation, but Xia Yi insisted. Left with no choice, they had to agree.
The Skysea Alliance Competition was divided into two groups: the youth group and the junior group. The youth group was for ages 15 to 20, while the junior group was for ages 10 to 15.
The competition was comprehensive, covering events such as the Soul Master Tournament, the Forging Competition, the Mecha Competition, and even a specialized Battle Armor Competition for the youth group.
However, the competitions Xia Yi was involved in were limited to the Soul Master Tournament and the Forging Competition.
In addition to East Sea Academy, other institutions and associations from East Sea City also sent teams to participate.
Altogether, including contestants and team leaders, there were hundreds of people.
By early morning, East Sea Square was bustling with activity. Several luxurious soul-powered buses were already parked and waiting for the teams.
Because of the large number of participants, the East Sea City authorities required all contestants and teachers to travel together in a unified manner.
Even Mu Xi, the daughter of the Saint Craftsman, had no choice but to squeeze into one of the buses.
"East Sea Academy, it's time to board!" The students and teachers of East Sea Academy began boarding Bus Number Six under their supervisors' guidance.
Just as Xia Yi was about to board the bus, he was pulled back by Mu Xi.
"What are you doing?" Xia Yi asked in confusion.
"The Blacksmith Association is on Bus Number Eight," Mu Xi explained.
"Sure, I've joined the Blacksmith Association, but I'm also a student of East Sea Academy, right?" Xia Yi replied with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
"But you're competing in the Blacksmithing Competition, so naturally, you should be with the Blacksmith Association team," Mu Xi responded flatly.
"Who said I'm only competing in the Blacksmithing Competition?" Xia Yi retorted with a smirk. "I also signed up for the individual Soul Master Tournament."
"The Soul Master Tournament? You?" Mu Xi couldn't help but laugh, her disdain evident.
Xia Yi's one-ring cultivation level, coupled with his identity as a support-type soul master, made his decision to participate seem ridiculous.
"What's wrong with me?" Xia Yi protested indignantly.
Mu Xi shook her head, then gestured toward the two girls beside her. "Nothing, really. We're also representing the academy in the junior group team competition. Do you think you stand a chance?"
As she spoke, Mu Xi's feet glowed, and three soul rings rose around her: two yellow and one purple—she was a Soul Elder with three rings!
At fourteen years old, Mu Xi was in her second semester of fifth grade, making her eligible for the junior group. Her team aimed to rank in the top eight. With thirty-six cities participating in the competition, both individual and team events were highly competitive, with elimination rounds in the first two stages.
"You think you can make it past the first round?" Mu Xi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just for fun!" Xia Yi shrugged, unwilling to explain further.
"Mu Xi, is this your friend?" A girl beside Mu Xi suddenly asked.
The girl was beautiful, with delicate features, big, watery eyes, and a tall, slender figure. She looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, dressed in a pink tracksuit that accentuated her shapely figure. Her fair skin was smooth and radiant, and her long blue hair was tied into a neat ponytail.
"This is Xia Yi, a new member of the Forging Association. He's one of the contestants for the Forging Competition," Mu Xi introduced him to the girl and then turned to Xia Yi. "This is my classmate and roommate, Ouyang Zixin."
"Mu Xi, I didn't know the Forging Association had such handsome guys!" Ouyang Zixin remarked, her eyes sparkling as she studied Xia Yi. The association already had Tang Wulin, another young heartthrob, and now Xia Yi was here too.
"Right, Mu Xi, keeping such a handsome guy to yourself isn't very friendly. What's your grade, handsome? Which class are you in? What's your soul communicator number?" The other girl, dressed in black and with phoenix eyes, also seemed interested.
"Liuyuxin, if you're desperate, go fawn over Wu Zhangkong. Stop bothering our association's members," Mu Xi snapped at the girl in black before turning back to Xia Yi with a stern look. "You're a support-type soul master. Why on earth are you participating in the Soul Master Tournament? You're young; you could've waited for the next competition."
"Who said support-types can't join the individual competition?" Xia Yi replied.
Just as Mu Xi was about to argue further, the driver's voice came from the bus: "We're leaving soon. If you're not on board, hurry up."
"Fine, we'll talk later. Just follow me," Mu Xi sighed, dragging Xia Yi onto the bus. Her plan was to get him to Skysea City and then hand him over to the Forging Association team.
By the time they got on, most of the seats were already taken. After a brief search, they found two adjacent seats near the back.
However, just as they were about to sit, Gu Yue appeared out of nowhere and casually claimed the window seat beside them.
"You..." Mu Xi gritted her teeth, clearly frustrated but unable to express her anger.
Gu Yue ignored her and instead pulled Xia Yi to sit beside her.
Fuming, Mu Xi glared at Gu Yue. "You're being unreasonable!"
Mu Xi's anger was understandable. In the past semester, Gu Yue had always subtly kept her away from Tang Wulin. Now, despite sitting comfortably next to Tang Wulin earlier, Gu Yue had abruptly moved over to take her seat beside Xia Yi.
"How am I being unreasonable?" Gu Yue asked indifferently.
Just as Mu Xi was about to explode, Long Hengxu approached them.
"What's going on?" Long Hengxu asked, noticing the tension.
"Nothing," Gu Yue replied, shaking her head.
"You'll regret this!" Mu Xi snapped at Gu Yue before storming off to sit next to Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin's expression darkened as he shot a glare at Xia Yi.
Ever since Xia Yi's arrival, Gu Yue had been intentionally distancing herself from Tang Wulin. Even Mu Xi seemed to be paying more attention to Xia Yi.
Tang Wulin wasn't too bothered about Mu Xi, but Gu Yue was different. Seeing her getting close to another boy made him deeply uncomfortable, as if someone were stealing something precious from him.
He couldn't understand it. He had a higher cultivation level than Xia Yi, and his forging rank was also superior. So why were Gu Yue and Mu Xi gravitating toward Xia Yi?
It left him feeling deeply unwilling.
"Is it because I lost to him last time?" Tang Wulin wondered. He vowed that no matter what, he would defeat Xia Yi in the upcoming competition and win Gu Yue back.
(End of Chapter)