Douluo: Wuhun Eats Iron Beast, Never Become a Slave

Chapter 174 The Secret of the Mysterious Grand Canyon on the Eve of the Grand Finals
"Your Majesty, isn't this inappropriate?"

Salas suddenly chimed in from the side.

Emperor Xueye glanced at Salas indifferently. It was clearly extremely inappropriate for him to speak to the monarchs of two great empires in such a manner.

However, Emperor Xueye did not show any anger in his eyes, but simply said, "Is there something wrong, Bishop Salas?"

Salas said, "Your Majesty, there seems to be no precedent for awarding titles in previous competitions, especially earls."

Whether it's the Heavenly Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire, the ranks of nobility are Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron, respectively. Just for a preliminary round qualification, dozens of Viscounts and Barons, and even an Earl, are released.

One can only say that this Emperor Xueye was far too generous.

Salas's concern was less for the Heaven Dou Empire and more for the Heaven Dou Empire's potential to recruit talent. The open and covert struggle between the Empire and the Spirit Hall was practically out in the open.

“Bishop Salas, the conferment of imperial titles seems to be a matter for the empire itself. There’s no need for the Spirit Hall to bother with it, is there?” Emperor Xueye replied, his words revealing a resolute tone.

Ning Fengzhi remained silent throughout. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, which originally had close ties with the Heaven Dou Empire, should have been loyal to the Heaven Dou Empire, but recently Ning Fengzhi had been in closer contact with the Spirit Hall.

It's all because of Zhao Mu's problem.

The bestowal of a noble title was unexpected for Zhao Mu.

However, having a title does make things much more convenient.

A count's fiefdom can already encompass several cities, and having territory would facilitate the emergence of the Zhao family later on.

After a brief argument with Salas, Emperor Xueye gave another inspiring and motivating speech, feeling that this was the closest the Heavenly Dou Empire had ever come to winning the championship.

Even Emperor Xueye wanted to witness this historic moment in person, but as an emperor, he could not leave the capital city of Tiandou without permission.

Therefore, after the competition, Emperor Xue Ye immediately announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent him as the envoy of the Heaven Dou Empire to go to the final venue, the Spirit Hall's Mysterious Canyon.

The teams will only have three days to adjust. After three days, the six teams that advance will be escorted by the Heavenly Dou Empire to the venue of the finals.

Three days is neither a long nor a short time. Many people hadn't even recovered before they had to set off, and for many others, the days felt like an eternity.

After three days, the six teams, along with the Heavenly Dou Empire's cavalry, a total of one hundred people, set off in a grand procession.

On the road.

"Brothers from Blazing Fire Academy, may I come in?"

The sycophantic Feng Xiaotian followed beside the carriage of Blazing Fire Academy and called out to it.

Upon hearing this, Huo Wushuang of Blazing Fire Academy naturally did not refuse and generously invited Feng Xiaotian to sit down.

After all, the Five Elements Academy is nominally allied with each other, and the relationship between them can't be allowed to become too strained.

"Brother Feng, is there anything you want to discuss?" Huo Wushuang asked as Feng Xiaotian sat down.

Feng Xiaotian first glanced at the fiery woman sitting next to Huo Wushuang, but he didn't lose his composure too much and remained serious.

"I presume you have also received the secret letter from the Spirit Hall. I am here to ask the members of Blazing Fire Academy what your choice is?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu exchanged a glance, both of them showing some difficulty.

"If it were only against Shrek Academy, that wouldn't be a problem, but if it were against..."

The same scene unfolded among the participating teams from other duchies and kingdoms.

The journey was peaceful, and after twenty days, the group finally arrived at the location of the finals. From afar, they could see the two-part canyon boulder, and at the entrance of the canyon were the simple residences built by the Spirit Hall.

As the group arrived, Zhao Mu was slightly suspicious, unlike the relaxed and composed demeanor of the others.

Surprisingly, they didn't encounter any ambushes from the Spirit Hall along the way.

In the original story, when Tang Sanzang was hiding his abilities, the Spirit Hall intervened. Now that Tang Sanzang is openly using the Clear Sky Hammer in the preliminaries, the Spirit Hall hasn't intervened.

That's right. If the Spirit Hall were to make a move now, wouldn't that be blatantly telling everyone that it was the Spirit Hall who did it?

After a quick thought, Zhao Mu understood.

The grand opening ceremony of the finals was not as grand as one might imagine. Everything was very simple. A cardinal from the Spirit Hall went on stage to announce the start of the finals and asked all students to sign a waiver, stating that they would bear the responsibility for any accidents that occurred during the finals.

After all, the finals will be held in the Mysterious Grand Canyon after the format change, and it's hard to guarantee that no accidents will happen for a group of contestants who are only at the level of 30 or 40.

Of course, you can also choose not to sign, which means you're out of the final competition.

The appearance of the death warrant immediately put everyone on edge.

For every person who chooses to sign, there is someone who backs out.

In the end, nearly 90% of the teams signed a waiver of liability.

The next day, the teams that signed the life-or-death agreement will enter the Lost Canyon in batches from different entrances, led by staff from the Spirit Hall.

Zhao Mu was among the first to enter, and it's unclear whether his luck was good or bad.

The Lost Canyon was dark and gloomy, the whole place was gray and gloomy, as if covered by a thick fog.

Upon entering, one feels an extremely oppressive and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Humans are ultimately creatures that need to live in the sunlight. Living in darkness for a long time will inevitably cause some discomfort, and it is understandable that some people will be driven crazy.

No wonder Xie Yue said in the original story that only ghosts could survive here.

Without sunlight, the plants in the Lost Canyon don't grow very tall, so there's no issue of plants blocking the sunlight. So why is it so dark here?
Are they those fogs?

Normal fog is formed from water vapor, but a few, like the poisonous fog of Dugu Yan, are formed from toxins.

Reaching out to sense the mist in the Mysterious Grand Canyon, Zhao Mu discovered that the mist was neither damp water vapor nor condensed poisonous fog, but rather seemed to be pure energy.
This energy is oppressive, cold, and even carries a faint hint of evil; it doesn't look like a good thing at all.

Moreover, this fog is also somewhat corrosive; as it corrodes, it can easily make people angry and irritable.

Therefore, Zhao Mu could easily deduce that the spirit beasts in the Lost Canyon were probably more ferocious and violent than those in the outside world.

The deeper you go, the thicker the fog becomes.

Aren't you curious about how this fog forms?
No, Zhao Mu was naturally curious.

Curiosity is like an addiction you can't quit; it can drive you to do things you know might be dangerous.

"Damn it!"

Unable to contain his anger, Zhao Muxuan summoned Black and White, and the two of them immediately headed towards the depths of the Mysterious Grand Canyon, where the fog energy was the densest.

(End of this chapter)