The next morning, when Xuan Xi woke up, she found that the sky outside the window was already half bright. The tallest tower at the center of Grey Tower Town revealed its true form in the morning light.
When she sat up, she realized that Xing Ye had already left the room. By the time she finished washing up and went downstairs, she discovered that the vice principal was standing in front of the counter chatting with the old woman.
She heard footsteps coming from the stairs and turned her head to glance over. “You’re awake? Notify Sige and the others. Once they’re packed, we leave.”
Team of Five hurriedly finished breakfast in Grey Tower Town, crossed through the still-sleeping streets, and headed toward the Teleportation Station. The station here was located on an open lot at the edge of town. Although its exterior was rather plain, it was small but complete — it had every function a Teleportation Station should have. After the staff checked the teleportation runes, they had the team of six step onto the platform.
Light rose from beneath their feet and enveloped everyone. By the time it dispersed, the ground beneath them had already changed — from the wind-and-sand-bleached flagstones of Grey Tower Town to carefully polished light gray marble flooring, with evenly spaced seams and neat edges. One look was enough to tell that the local funding was very generous.
The space inside the Teleportation Station was much larger than Grey Tower Town’s. Even a dozen or so people standing together wouldn’t feel crowded. The ceiling was so high you couldn’t see the top, and several panes of colored glass were set into the center, allowing sunlight to stream through and adding a considerable sense of sacredness to the station.
By now, the Teleportation Station was already quite crowded — possibly more people than the entire population of Grey Tower Town. Xuan Xi casually scanned the area and saw creatures of many races, including Beast Tribe, Elf Race, and Human Race. Creatures of every race moved through this massive space, each heading toward their own exit.
When a Beast Tribe member passed by her, she observed it. It stood nearly two heads taller than Xuan Xi, with several strings of ornaments made from beast bone hanging from its body that clinked softly as it walked. In the distance, the Elf Race walked toward a passage on the other side. Their steps were light, almost every one of them had a pair of pointed ears, and their golden hair glowed softly in the sunlight. On the other side, the Human Race gathered in groups, talking in low voices about something. Their uniforms were all the same style.
Xing Ye went ahead first, standing at the exit of the Teleportation Station waiting for them. She was short in stature and inconspicuous among the flowing crowds.
Only after Xuan Xi and the others approached did she speak. “This Wancheng is one of the largest teleportation Nodes on the Central Continent. Exiting through any of the passages here will take you to the core area of Wancheng. See that? That circular building in the distance that looks like an amphitheater — that’s the venue for this competition. This city has no walls, so people of all races can come and go freely.”
Team of Five followed her out of the Teleportation Station. The streets outside were even broader, with a mix of architectural styles on both sides — the stone spires common in the Western Dragon Domain, the low, wide domed houses of the Beast Tribe, and even several Elf Race-style wooden buildings with delicate patterns carved into their beams and columns. The shop signs on both sides of the street were written in different scripts; some Xuan Xi could read, and some were completely unfamiliar. There were even more people on the road now, people of all races walking on the same street without deliberately avoiding each other or staring too much.
The registration area was set up in the hall at the east entrance of the competition venue. The hall was built very impressively, with banners of different colors hanging from the beams overhead.
Several lines of queues formed at the entrance. Each race had its own window, with corresponding signs hanging above each window, simple and easy to understand. Xing Ye led them toward the window designated for the Dragon Race. Behind the window sat a staff member in a gray uniform. Seeing Xing Ye and the others approach, he glanced down at the identification they presented and pulled a form from the desk for them to fill out.
“Vice Principal Xing Ye, greetings to the Dragonborn Academy representative team.” He turned the form to the next page, confirmed each name and corresponding identity information, then took three key cards from a drawer under the desk and handed them over with both hands. “The three rooms have been arranged. Your rooms are in the contestant-exclusive area on the fifth floor.” He paused, then added, “If you need anything, feel free to contact the front desk at any time.”
After Xing Ye took the keys, she didn’t linger. She turned and headed toward the hall exit. Xuan Xi followed behind her, quickening her pace to catch up with Xing Ye, and lowered her voice. “Teacher Xing Ye, how are the rooms divided?”
Xing Ye slowed her pace and pulled out one key card from her hand, handing it to Xuan Xi. “It’s none of my concern anymore, Student Xuan Xi. I’ve taught you everything I needed to teach along this journey. Now who you room with is your own business.” Just as she finished speaking, the elevator arrived. She stepped inside and looked at Xuan Xi before the doors closed. “Per our agreement, you’re free to act on your own now. Decide for yourself, Xuan Xi.”
Xuan Xi still wanted to say something, but the elevator doors had already closed. She turned her head and glanced at SigrdrÃfa, who was not far behind her. She walked over, stood beside SigrdrÃfa, then pulled out one of the key cards she had taken from Xing Ye’s hand and gave Sige a smile.
The two took the elevator up to the fifth floor. The corridor was laid with dark wool carpet, very soft underfoot, with not a sound to be heard.
Xuan Xi led Sige to room 520, the room number written on the key card, and peered inside — and was completely dumbfounded. This room was nearly twice the size of the guest room in Grey Tower Town, but why was there a round bed of clearly abnormal size placed right in the center? After a crisp “beep,” the door opened. Pushing the door open, she saw two pink heart-shaped pillows on the bed, bright red bedsheets along the edge, and even a lamp and a vase with fresh roses on the nightstand. A massive floor-to-ceiling window occupied the entire wall, with the curtains half open, revealing the street below.
Xuan Xi stood at the doorway without immediately entering. SigrdrÃfa stood behind her, puzzled as to why she wasn’t going in. But when her gaze went past Xuan Xi’s shoulder — landing on the large round bed in the center of the room and the surrounding decor — Sige was also dumbfounded. They wanted to go find Xing Ye and ask for an explanation, but were told that Xing Ye had already gone out.
The elevator doors closed at the end of the corridor on that floor. Xing Ye took the elevator down to the first-floor lobby, and the last remaining key in her hand was returned to her pocket.
When this hotel had previously been registering rooms for the competition contestants, she had specifically looked for the one labeled special room type: double heart-shaped round bed room (Room 520), and then wrote Xuan Xi’s and Sige’s names after that room type. On the hotel’s room type chart, she had specifically written in the remarks column, “Special room type: double heart-shaped round bed room (Room 520).”
She walked out of the lobby. The morning sunlight of Wancheng poured down from the sky, shining on Xing Ye, making her look like the legendary goddess of love. “If I remember correctly, that bed really is quite large — very suitable for a young couple to stay in together. Xuan Xi and the others should really like that bed and that room.” That was what Xing Ye thought, completely disregarding the dumbfounded Xuan Xi and Sige facing each other on the fifth floor.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.