Hearing Gu Yuena's question, Li Si paused briefly before smiling.
"This is the five-yearly Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Since Heaven Dou City is the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, most of the advanced academies in the empire gather here to register for the competition," he explained.
Although the kingdoms and duchies under the Heaven Dou Empire's rule had their own advanced academies, those schools didn't participate in the preliminary rounds held in Heaven Dou City.
They only joined during the elimination rounds when the tournament advanced to the higher stages.
"Five years?"
To Gu Yuena, five years was nothing more than the blink of an eye.
For humans who fail to become gods, how many 'five years' do they even have in their lifetimes?
"There's really nothing to see," Li Si continued, waving his hand dismissively. "Just a bunch of kids playing around."
The pedestrians nearby: "…"
Good heavens!
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament gathered the brightest young talents from all across the continent, yet this young man had the audacity to call it "kids playing around"!
They glanced at Li Si, noting his unassuming demeanor. He didn't seem like the type to boast.
Could he be… an ancient master who has retained his youthful appearance?
With that thought, the bystanders quickly gave Li Si and his companions a wide berth.
"Not someone we can afford to mess with!"
To Tang San in the original timeline, the tournament was the perfect stage to showcase his abilities and make his mark. But for Li Si, the tournament was indeed mere child's play.
The strongest participants were Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, who were only at the Soul King level.
To Li Si, Soul Kings weren't even worth a second thought.
Back when he was a Soul King, he could already easily defeat a Soul Saint like Zhao Wuji. How could Spirit Hall's "Golden Trio" even compare to him?
"Got it," Gu Yuena said, nodding thoughtfully. Any interest she had in the tournament quickly faded.
Perhaps a competition featuring Titled Douluo or Soul Douluo might catch her attention.
Xiao Wu: "…"
In just over a year, Li Si has become so arrogant!
But… was he wrong?
"Let's go find a place to stay," Li Si said, glancing at the bustling streets. "If we wait much longer, all the inns in Heaven Dou City might be fully booked."
As they moved through the crowd, a voice suddenly called out behind them.
"Excuse me, you three—please wait!"
Li Si instinctively grabbed the hands of Gu Yuena and Xiao Wu and sped up without looking back.
"Please wait"?
In another world, countless lives had been lost to the infamous phrase: "Fellow Daoist, please stay!" The karmic weight of those words was far too heavy.
Xue Beng: "???"
The Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire—Xue Beng—stood frozen in confusion.
He had called out to them in a perfectly polite manner, yet the trio had practically bolted. They hadn't even spared him a glance!
"Do they know my reputation? Could they have recognized my voice as that of a notorious playboy?" he muttered to himself, scratching his head.
But that didn't make sense. He was certain he had never met these three before.
What had prompted them to flee?
In truth, Xue Beng had simply been struck by an inexplicable sense of destiny upon seeing Li Si. Something about the man's presence convinced him that Li Si could help him deal with "Xue Qinghe" (Qian Renxue in disguise).
Driven by intuition, Xue Beng had called out to Li Si, only to watch in disbelief as his would-be benefactor disappeared without a trace.
"Forget it," Xue Beng sighed. "He's somewhere in Heaven Dou City. If I keep looking, I'm bound to run into him again."
With that, he turned toward Prince Xue Xing's residence to discuss recent developments concerning Xue Qinghe.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
"Li Si, why did we run away?" Xiao Wu asked, perplexed. She had clearly heard someone calling out to them, but instead of stopping, Li Si had picked up the pace.
Gu Yuena remained silent, though her silver eyes mirrored Xiao Wu's confusion.
"Xiao Wu, Gu Yuena, let me put it this way," Li Si began, grinning. "Hearing someone say 'please wait' is one thing. But if someone says 'Fellow Daoist, please stay,' well… we'd never be able to run fast enough!
"The karmic burden is too great—we couldn't handle it!"
Li Si's cryptic response left both women more puzzled than before.
Seeing their expressions, he eventually relented. "Fine. When we have time, I'll tell you a story about ascension to godhood. Then you'll understand."
The mention of godhood sparked a flicker of recognition in Gu Yuena's eyes.
Godhood?
Gu Yuena was intimately familiar with gods. After all, the Dragon God was the first deity in the Divine Realm—the creator of the entire pantheon.
Could "ascension" refer to the process of becoming a god?
But the more she pondered, the more questions arose. She decided to shelve her thoughts and wait for Li Si's story.
After wandering for a while, the trio finally found an inn.
"What? Only one room left?" Li Si exclaimed, his voice rising.
The front desk attendant hesitated before replying, "Yes… almost all the inns in the city have been fully booked for weeks due to the upcoming tournament. This room was only freed up because someone just checked out."
Under normal circumstances, the receptionist might have made an excuse to accommodate Li Si, but today, the reality was simple—there truly was only one room available.
Li Si sighed and turned to the two women.
"Xiao Wu, Gu Yuena, what do you think?" he asked, spreading his hands in mock helplessness.
Xiao Wu clenched her jaw, while Gu Yuena's expression remained placid, entirely unfazed by the situation.
"Fine. One room, then," Xiao Wu said, glancing at Gu Yuena.
For Xiao Wu, sharing a room with Li Si wasn't an issue—after all, she had already resolved to spend her life with him.
But the sudden arrival of this ethereal silver-haired rival was a bit much for her to process.
Still, what choice did she have? Leaving Li Si was out of the question.
"Here's your key," the receptionist said, handing Li Si a card. "Room 331. Please take care not to lose it."
Li Si stared at the card, momentarily lost in thought.
The technology in Douluo is so… strange.
Room cards, savings cards, and other "black tech" relics existed, yet the world lacked things like the internet.
Some said these remnants of ancient technology were passed down from an advanced era long gone.
But why had the Douluo Continent regressed?
Was it the dominance of the Soul Master system? Or the interference of the gods above?
(End of Chapter)