A Bite of Douluo Continent

He couldn't help but glance at the wooden barrel, which contained a liter of wine.

At this moment, a thought couldn't help but pop into He Yuefeng's mind.

After downing this barrel of liquor, will I still be able to walk out upright?

...

"Good wine, hahaha, I knew this young Boss Qi must be hiding some good wine."

Tang Qianqiu took a sip of the iced liquor from the cup, a look of contentment on his face. "This whole bucket is mine. You guys can order whatever you want."

Sitting in front of him were the four branch leaders of the Tang Clan's Xingluo City branch. The original branch leader of the Imperial Hall, Liu Xu, had been transferred to Luoyang City, and the position of branch leader had been taken over by another eighth-ring expert from the Imperial Hall.

Eight rings are the standard requirement for branch leaders of the Tang Sect in various regions. It is almost impossible to see other branches having all members who are titled Douluo, like Shrek City.

The four branch leaders naturally dared not steal the sect leader's wine. Seeing Tang Qianqiu drinking, they were also a little envious. They quickly called Qin Yue over and each brought a bucket of "Bai Zhan Lie Yan" (a type of wine).

Tang Qianqiu gently swirled the fiery wine in his cup, paused for a moment, and slowly said, "You've all worked hard these past few days. I'd like to offer you a toast."

The four hall masters all said they dared not accept such praise, and after clinking their glasses, they each took a sip.

I dare not drink it all. Although a sip of such strong liquor wouldn't cause any serious harm, I'd probably have no choice but to embarrass myself in front of the sect leader.

"Let every disciple of the Star Luo City branch come here for a meal during the Cold Food Festival these next few days. It'll be on my tab; consider it my way of showing my appreciation to the disciples," Tang Qianqiu said with a smile.

He had this idea before, and now that all four branch leaders were present, he brought it up.

Chapter 167 Fuya's Invitation

"belch!"

He Yuefeng rubbed his stomach comfortably, a satisfied expression on his face.

The hot pot was even more delicious than I had imagined. After cooking various ingredients in the spicy broth, and then dipping them in the homemade dry dipping sauce, the taste was unforgettable.

And the blazing flames in the cups.

He glanced subconsciously at the wooden barrel beside him.

The barrel was completely empty.

The situation He Yuefeng had anticipated did not occur. He remained in a slightly tipsy state, his head was a little dizzy and he felt like he was floating on air, but he did not become completely drunk as he continued to drink.

The more magical qualities of this wine, called "Blazing Flames in the Cup," are slowly being revealed. It is completely different from ordinary wines. This wine seems to act directly on the soul, and even soul power cannot dispel its intoxicating effects.

At the same time, this wine is very easy to get tipsy, but it won't make you completely drunk. It will only leave you in a pleasantly tipsy state, which will quickly disappear after you stop drinking, leaving you feeling refreshed.

He Yuefeng believed that there was no other wine like this in the entire Douluo Continent.

Next time I come to this restaurant, I must try other delicious dishes.

No, no need for next time, let's invite our friends over for dinner!

He Yuefeng smiled with satisfaction, handed the meal fee to Qin Yao, and then turned and walked out of Hanshi Restaurant.

Great, I'll choose this place when I go out to eat from now on.

As for Fenglai Pavilion?

He Yuefeng had completely forgotten that there was such a restaurant in Xingluo City.

...

"Crab-stuffed orange, please enjoy."

As the lunch service was about to close, Yu Lianxin and Fuya came to Hanshi together and sat down to eat on the first floor.

Meanwhile, Qi Han, still under some kind of "busy-to-the-point-of-care" buff, served the dishes to the two of them.

Yu Lianxin simply nodded in acknowledgment, but when she saw Gulu leap onto the table with a plate in its mouth, a smile that made Qi Han lose his composure finally appeared on her face.

Fuya asked curiously, "Boss, what happened today? Why are there so many customers?"

Yu Lianxin and Fuya were not late today, but there were many more people queuing at the door than usual when they arrived, so the two women didn't catch up until it was almost closing time.

It was almost closing time, and Hanshi was no longer accepting new customers. Qi Han simply stood by the two women's table and smiled slightly. "There's a food magazine in Xingluo City that's very popular with the locals. I was lucky; just a few days ago, this magazine selected new dishes for rating, and many of our dishes made the list."

Hearing Qi Han say that, Fuya also remembered the hooded girl from that day, and a look of realization appeared in her eyes, "Is it that food review magazine?"

"Yes."

Fuya nodded, then realized that she hadn't called out to Qi Han because of this.

“Um…” Fuya paused, then looked up at Qi Han, “We have our first round of the round-robin tournament this afternoon. Boss, would you like to come and watch?”

"Huh?" Qi Han was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Fuya to invite him to watch their match, but then he thought about it and it seemed like a good choice.

He had planned to find an opportunity to watch Shrek Academy's matches, but he never found the chance. The business of Hanshi was getting better and better, and because of the food tasting, he completely forgot about it.

Shrek Academy has only held two matches so far. Qi Han missed the first elimination match because he had just finished renovating the new store. As for the second elimination match, it was held during the food tasting and rating week, and it conflicted with the opening hours of Hanshi, so he was also unable to attend.

The upcoming round-robin tournament will be Shrek Academy's third battle.

On the other side, Yu Lianxin was playing with Gulu, her mind always listening to the conversation between the two. At this moment, she paused in her actions and looked at Fuya with a look of surprise.

She had no idea that Fuya actually planned to invite Qi Han to watch the battle.

"Okay." Qi Han thought about it carefully and realized he didn't seem to have anything important to do that afternoon, so he readily agreed. However, he quickly frowned slightly. "I heard that tickets for every Shrek team match are in high demand, right? Are there still any tickets available now?"

Although Qi Han had never watched the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, he had heard that tickets for many of the top teams' matches were sold out several days in advance, with scalpers charging dozens of times more for the same tickets.

"It's alright." Fuya smiled easily. "The Shrek team has a special viewing area for family and friends. The boss can sit there and watch the game."

This special spectator area is available to each team and is reserved for the relatives or friends of the participating team members. Given the familiarity between Qi Han and the Shrek team members, getting a seat was not difficult.

"That's good." Qi Han nodded. "What time does it start?"

"The battle against Elemental Academy begins at 2 PM."

...

The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament originated from the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament during the Spirit Hall era five thousand years ago.

The once continent-wide elite tournament for advanced soul master academies was held with preliminary rounds conducted by the two empires. Sixteen teams were selected to travel to Wuhun City, where the Wuhun Hall was located, to compete in the finals against a total of thirty-three teams, including seeded teams selected by the Wuhun Hall.

The Spirit Hall no longer exists, but the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament was preserved thanks to the joint application of various academies. Over the course of five thousand years, it has evolved into the current All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.

The current Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament is hosted alternately by the two empires every five years. There are no longer special selections; any advanced soul master academy with the corresponding qualifications is eligible to participate, and the competition format has also changed accordingly.

The biggest change is that the age limit for participating Soul Masters has been increased.

In the five-thousand-year-old elite competition, the age requirement for participating Soul Masters was under twenty-five years old, but now it has been changed to twenty years old.

Ironically, this change in the rule is largely due to Shrek Academy's perverse nature.

Shrek Academy once had a team whose members met the age requirements for the competition, but their soul power cultivation had reached the eighth ring level. At that time, the highest cultivation level of other teams' contestants was only the sixth ring level.

A crushing defeat exceeding level 20, how can you possibly fight back?

Following a joint protest from other academies, the two great empires eventually lowered the age limit for participation to twenty.

Although the age reduction still leaves a significant gap between them and Shrek Academy, it at least prevents them from falling into utter despair and somewhat saves face for the other academies.

The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament is divided into three rounds: elimination rounds, round-robin rounds, and finals. The elimination rounds are relatively simple: all academies draw lots to participate in seven-on-seven team battles. Winners advance, while losers are eliminated. This is repeated for two rounds, leaving only thirty-two teams to enter the round-robin rounds.

After the knockout stage, there is a round-robin tournament. The 32 teams are randomly divided into four groups, with eight teams in each group. The eight teams play against each other, and each team needs to fight against the other seven teams in its group once.

One point is awarded for each win, and no points are awarded for each loss. The two teams with the highest scores in the group advance.

Teams that manage to advance through two knockout rounds all possess considerable strength, making the round-robin stage far more exciting than the knockout stage and a major highlight of the matches.

After the round-robin tournament, the eight teams that advance will compete in three rounds of head-to-head matches to determine the top three teams, who will receive a large reward from the host empire. This will mark the end of the competition.

Elemental Academy is also a long-established advanced soul master academy with a long history. Unexpectedly, it faced Shrek Academy in the first match of the round-robin tournament.

This has made the match a highly anticipated event.

Chapter 168 Sitting Next to Her

After closing the shop, Qi Han sat inside for a while looking at food reviews before turning and walking out the door.

It's almost time; it's time to head to the Star Luo City Battle Arena.

"Meow!"

Gulu jumped down from the partition, trotted over to Qi Han's feet, and bit his trouser leg.

"Gulu, do you want to come along too?"

"Meow!"

Gulu tugged at Qi Han's trouser leg and shook its head, indicating its agreement with Qi Han's question.

It really is a cat that understands human nature.

Qi Han smiled slightly, did not refuse, and gently picked up Gulu, "Then let's go take a look together."

The Star Luo City Battle Arena wasn't far from Han Shi, about two kilometers away, and it only took a dozen minutes to walk there. Outside the magnificent Battle Arena, Fuya was already wearing Shrek Academy's uniform. When she saw Qi Han, her eyes lit up, and she waved her hand and ran towards Qi Han, "Boss, come with me through the player entrance. This way you can go directly to the spectator area for friends and family."

Qi Han had never been to this area before and was completely unfamiliar with the place. He followed Fuya around the crowded main entrance and into a relatively quiet side door.

The journey was smooth. Upon seeing Fuya's Shrek Academy uniform, the security guards at the entrance respectfully made way for Fuya and Qi Han as they entered the arena.

Although Shrek Academy's opponent conceded defeat in the first match, the team they faced in the second match did not. In that battle, Shrek fully demonstrated its foundation and strength as the number one academy on the continent, thus earning the respect of the people of the Star Luo Empire.

"Fuya, I heard that the round-robin and knockout rounds are played differently?" Following behind Fuya, Qi Han asked curiously.

It's said that the round-robin format is much more exciting than the knockout format, and it's no longer just a simple seven-on-seven match, but Qi Han hasn't had time to find out the specifics yet.

"The round-robin format is a three-choice system, and the specific match format will be drawn before the match begins, so we don't know yet what the match format will be for this game against Elemental Academy."

After a pause, Fuya continued, "There are three types of matches: one-on-one elimination matches, two-on-three team battles, and the seven-on-seven team battles from the previous elimination rounds."

"The one-on-one elimination tournament is where each team sends out seven people to take turns eliminating the opponent. The winner can stay on the stage until all of one team's players are eliminated, at which point the team loses."

"The 2-2-3 team battle is to divide the players into two pairs and one trio, and each pair will play two 2v2 matches and one 3v3 match. The winner will be determined by the best two out of the three matches."

"As for the final seven-on-seven battle, it's a seven-person match where all seven players go on stage together until one side is completely eliminated."

After Fuya finished explaining the three competition methods, the two walked through the passage and entered the competition venue.