After leaving the Sunset Forest, Lu Yuan dragged his exhausted body back to the inn.
He ordered a full spread of fine dishes from the innkeeper and had them sent to his room.
Having been hungry all day, he wolfed down the food in one go, then collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn’t wake until noon the next day.
“Ahhh—”
“That was one satisfying sleep.”
Stretching his limbs, he felt refreshed and full of energy.
Walking to the window, he gazed out at the bustling town below and declared with bold confidence:
“From today onward, I will no longer have to worry about cultivation.”
“From now on, the skies are wide and the seas are vast—I will roam freely!”
Knock, knock, knock!
A sudden knock at the door interrupted Lu Yuan’s reverie.
“Who is it?”
Turning his head, Lu Yuan asked calmly.
“Hello, honored guest.
I’m the errand boy at this inn.” The person at the door replied cautiously.
“Oh?
What business do you have with me?
It’s not yet time to check out, is it?”
After hesitating for a moment, the attendant mustered up his courage and said: “It’s like this, honored guest.
You ordered a full table of dishes yesterday.
I’m here to collect the tableware.”
“Oh, right—that makes sense.”
Lu Yuan glanced somewhat awkwardly at the empty plates and bowls on the table.
…
After the attendant took away the tableware, Lu Yuan lost the mood for further idle contemplation.
He took a quick shower and went downstairs for lunch.
For some reason, there were many more guests than usual today—the dining hall downstairs was packed.
While eating, Lu Yuan overheard from the conversations around him that these people had all come from Heaven Dou City.
Their purpose was to personally visit the Sunset Forest and see the massive crater left by that Titled Douluo’s attack.
They believed that if a Titled Douluo had taken an interest in something there, it must be valuable—and they all wanted a piece of the pie.
But upon learning this, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.
“Haha—a bunch of greedy fools.
That crater was caused by me.
What does it have to do with a Titled Douluo?”
“As for Titled Douluo and treasures—yes, the Sunset Forest does have them.
But it depends on whether these people have the luck to survive and claim them.”
After lunch, Lu Yuan didn’t linger.
He casually hailed a carriage and left the town. New chapters come out on g.com first.
With nine days remaining before the semester started, there was no rush to return.
Since he was already near Heaven Dou City, Lu Yuan figured he might as well take the opportunity to visit and buy some gifts for the old village chief and the others.
Half an hour later, the carriage pulled up before a grand, imposing, and luxurious building.
When it came to the Douluo Continent, how could one miss the ‘Great Spirit Fighting Arena’?
This was a landmark location on the Douluo Continent and Lu Yuan’s destination for the day.
He planned to step into the ring a couple of times to experience this signature Douluo activity—and earn some gold coins while he was at it.
However, Lu Yuan knew that with just one look at his young face, anyone with eyes could tell he wasn’t old.
He wanted to earn money, but he didn’t want to draw too much attention.
His gaze swept around and finally stopped at a shop selling masks.
“Hello, boss—how much for this mask?”
Walking up to the shop, Lu Yuan casually picked up a panda-shaped mask.
“Hehe, honored guest—that mask in your hand is only five silver soul coins!”
The shopkeeper across from him rubbed his hands together, grinning as he looked at Lu Yuan.
“What?”
Hearing the price, Lu Yuan was flabbergasted.
“Boss, you can’t rip me off just because I’m young.
Five silver soul coins for a tiny mask like this?
Why don’t you just go rob someone?”
“Oh, come on, little friend—don’t say that.
This is handcrafted by me, a one-to-one replica design.
Five silver coins is already a bargain.”
“Go check other shops—for this quality, you’d be looking at four or five gold coins at least.”
Looking at the merchant’s profiteering grin, Lu Yuan put the mask back and said flatly:
“Five copper coins—take it or leave it.”
With that, he turned to leave.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly called out to stop him.
“Hey, hey—don’t go!
Can we negotiate?”
After a moment’s consideration, the shopkeeper continued: “One silver coin—and it’s yours!”
“Forget it—I’ll check somewhere else.” With that, Lu Yuan turned and walked away.
After a second of internal struggle, the shopkeeper “reluctantly” agreed: “Fine, fine—five coppers it is!”
Hearing the shopkeeper’s compromise, a bright, innocent smile broke out on Lu Yuan’s face.
He gave the shopkeeper a thumbs-up.
“You looked really handsome when you made that decision just now—keep it up!”
After paying, Lu Yuan picked up the panda mask and headed to the Great Spirit Fighting Arena.
At the registration desk, Lu Yuan chose the battle name “McDonald.” After paying the fee, he received his ‘Iron Fighter’ badge.
After pinning on the badge, Lu Yuan made his way to the betting area.
He glanced at his odds.
1:3
“Tsk—not exactly high odds.”
“I was hoping for something like 1:10 so I could make a small fortune today.”
After a moment of disappointment, Lu Yuan bet all fifty-five gold soul coins on himself to win.
Following the signs, Lu Yuan quickly arrived at the waiting area for the Great Spirit Master battle arena.
It was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
The waiting area was packed with people.
There were burly men, slender ones, seductive ones, and fierce-looking ones who, the moment they spoke, revealed high-pitched voices.
Among this crowd, Lu Yuan noticed a voluptuous woman wearing a full-body leather suit.
Her makeup was rather seductive and exotic, and her looks were average at best.
Lu Yuan didn’t quite understand why a woman with such a figure would be suited for this kind of combat scenario.
After all, with a figure so toned that her clothes could barely contain it, wouldn’t it be uncomfortable—bouncing around like a rabbit—if she had to run?
Just as Lu Yuan was pondering this, he overheard the seductive woman chatting with another plain-looking woman.
“Bai E, have you heard the news the Spirit Hall announced recently?”
Glancing at the seductive woman, Bai E said with envy in her voice: “Of course I’ve heard!”
“When I saw that announcement, I was practically green with envy.”
“Why wasn’t I blessed with such talent?
If that great one took me as a personal disciple, I might even have a chance to become the next Pope!”
Hearing this, Lu Yuan assumed it was news about Bibi Dong taking Hu Liena as a disciple and naming her Saintess.
But with the woman’s next sentence, confusion flooded Lu Yuan’s mind.
“I heard that lately, a lot of people have been going to the Spirit Hall to recommend themselves after seeing that recruitment notice.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t remember the Spirit Hall doing anything like that in the original story.
Bibi Dong—that fool who only wanted to destroy the Spirit Hall—why would she do something like this?”
Filled with curiosity, Lu Yuan stepped forward, gave the two a gentlemanly bow, and asked cheerfully: “Ladies, I overheard you saying the Spirit Hall is looking for talented spirit masters—what does that mean?”
The seductive woman looked up and down at Lu Yuan, who was wearing a panda mask, and asked with some suspicion: “You don’t know?”
Shaking his head, Lu Yuan answered honestly: “I just arrived in Heaven Dou City, so I don’t know what’s been happening lately.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me about it?”
The woman didn’t mind.
She casually explained: “It’s no trouble at all.
It’s just that a few days ago, the Spirit Hall suddenly started sending notices to every branch and sub-branch.”
“The notice said: The Spirit Hall welcomes any spirit master with outstanding talent or special abilities to join.
Those who successfully recommend themselves can meet the Pope in person.
After receiving the Pope’s confirmation, they will be accepted as the Pope’s personal disciple.”
“You’ll find out all about these things when you go to the Spirit Hall to collect your stipend.”
To avoid arousing suspicion, Lu Yuan chatted with the two for a while longer.
With his humor and charm, he had them both laughing heartily.
Just then, a burly, rough-looking middle-aged spirit master strode over toward him.