Chapter 361: The Martial Arts Tournament for a Bride

At the entrance to the two-realm passage, every bush and tree seemed like a soldier, with people constantly patrolling.

Lan Yu, accompanied by Lan Hu, was inspecting the patrols when he suddenly said, "It's been so many days since Lan Bao left, and there's still no news. I'm starting to worry."

Lan Hu was startled and said, "Impossible, right? Brother Lan Bao is extremely strong. How could he lose to a kid who just broke through to the Crystal Condensation realm?"

"I also think it's unlikely, but if he had dealt with that Ye Yuan, he should have returned long ago!" Lan Yu said with a frown.

"Perhaps something delayed him on the road, who knows."

Lan Yu shook his head and said, "This matter cannot be taken lightly! We should send someone to the Central Royal City to alert Lord Fenghuang. I reckon that the clan leader has already set out with the vanguard, and those slaves have likely been sold. Lan Hu, I'll trouble you to make this trip."

Lan Hu pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, what should I say when I see Lord Fenghuang?"

"Just tell the truth! But you must make sure to inform Lord Fenghuang of this young man's prowess. With Lord Fenghuang's wisdom, capturing a mere Condensation Realm cultivator will naturally be a piece of cake!" said Lan Yu.

"Good, I'll set off immediately!" Lan Hu did not hesitate and left at once.

...

Windrise City was one of the four great cities that guarded the central royal city!

After entering the first-level region, many cities existed.

Each city had wind-dispelling arrays. Martial artists living in the cities experienced little difference from the Boundless Realm. However, within the cities, every inch of land was precious, and ordinary martial artists could hardly afford the expenses there.

All teleportation arrays on the periphery ultimately led to these four great cities.

In a restaurant in Windrise City, a young man was dining, listening to the conversations of the martial artists around him.

"Have you heard? After four thousand years, the passage between our Gale Realm and the Boundless Realm has finally been opened!" a middle-aged martial artist boasted to his companions.

Sure enough, his words immediately sparked interest: "The Boundless Realm? What place is that?"

"Fool! Since it's called a realm, of course it's a minor world like our Gale Realm!"

"Ah! Is that so? Doesn't that mean we won't have to live in this wind and sand anymore?"

"Hehe, of course! They say the Wind Emperor is already mobilizing troops, preparing to launch a massive attack on the Boundless Realm! When that happens, not only will we escape this wind and sand, but we'll also have endless beauties and primal crystals!" The middle-aged martial artist was already envisioning a wonderful life.

"How do you know all this? Is it reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable! My brother works as a servant in the Xiao family of the central royal city. He came to Windrise City on business a couple of days ago and told me all this—it can't be wrong! He said the Xiao family even bought two slaves from the Boundless Realm, with delicate skin and fair complexions, much better-looking than us folks from the Gale Realm!" the middle-aged martial artist bragged.

Hearing this, the young man eating nearby couldn't help but show a flicker of emotion.

This young man was none other than Ye Yuan, who had just entered the city not long ago.

After leaving Tengyun Tribe, Ye Yuan and Lan Feng had made another transfer and only arrived at Fengyang City yesterday.

Ye Yuan knew that teahouses were places where news gathered, so he came here today to see if he could learn anything about Mei Zhen and the others. Unexpectedly, he did overhear something.

But this bit of information was still too little for Ye Yuan.

Being close to the Royal City, Ye Yuan found it inconvenient to keep Lan Feng by his side. If any members of the Lan family hadn't left and discovered him, the trouble would be immense.

Ye Yuan took a sip of tea, feeling quite frustrated.

This Central Royal City was teeming with experts; rescuing all his fellow disciples was truly as difficult as reaching the sky!

However, the Wind Emperor's plan to launch a war between the two realms would inevitably require mobilizing a large number of experts, which presented an opportunity for Ye Yuan.

Just as Ye Yuan was feeling frustrated, the people at that table started chatting again.

"Speaking of the Xiao family, have you heard? The Xiao family's little princess, Xiao Ruyan, is about to hold a martial arts tournament for a spouse. There's a registration point right here in Fengyang City. I hear that Xiao Ruyan is as beautiful as a celestial maiden. If I could just get close to her, I'd die content!" said the middle-aged martial artist with a lovesick expression.

"Give it a rest! Her tournament requires participants to be under thirty. You're out of luck!" the other person taunted.

"Hey, you're such a killjoy! My brother told me he once saw Xiao Ruyan from afar, and she was absolutely stunning! Don't you want a beauty like that?"

"Nonsense, who doesn't like a beauty? But we're not even from the same world as her. Better not get any improper ideas."

"Hehe, regardless, I'm going to join in the fun when the time comes!"

At this moment, Ye Yuan suddenly approached and asked, "Big brother, with the Xiao family being so powerful, why is their own daughter holding a martial arts tournament for a spouse?"

The middle-aged martial artist glanced at Ye Yuan and said disdainfully, "What? With your strength, you want to join in the fun? I'd say save it! The minimum requirement to participate is at least the late Condensation Crystal stage. You're at the second level of Condensation Crystal; you'd be killed as soon as you step up."

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Hehe, big brother misunderstands. I'm from out of town and not very familiar with matters of the Royal City, so I wanted to learn more, just to broaden my horizons."

As he spoke, Ye Yuan took out a medium-grade primal crystal and slipped it into the middle-aged martial artist's hand.

The middle-aged martial artist raised an eyebrow and immediately put on a smiling face, saying, "Haha, it's indeed good for a young man to see more of the world. You've come to the right person! The Xiao family is only a second-rate family in the Royal City, inferior in strength to the first-rate families, the Huang and Xue families. A year ago, both the Huang and Xue families proposed marriage to the Xiao family, wanting to marry Xiao Ruyan. The Xiao family didn't dare offend either, and after dragging it out until now, they couldn't delay any longer, so they came up with this plan of a martial arts tournament. But saying it's a tournament for a spouse, isn't it really just a contest between the Huang and Xue families? Ordinary martial artists, how could they be a match for those two families?"

Ye Yuan suddenly understood and said, "So according to big brother, this tournament is just a facade? No one should be signing up, right?"

"Hehe, you'd be wrong there! See all these young people on the streets? They're all here for Xiao Ruyan!" the middle-aged martial artist laughed.

Ye Yuan asked in surprise, "Why is that? Knowing they're just window dressing, why waste their energy?"

"You don't get it, do you? Xiao Ruyan is known as one of the Royal City's Two Peerless Beauties. What man in the world wouldn't want to possess her beauty? Even knowing they're just background, any eligible martial artist would flock to her! And for martial artists like us, if we could marry Xiao Ruyan, we'd soar to the heavens. So, do you think they'd participate?"