Royal Capital of Green Veil nation, inside the Royal Palace.

Edward, Robert, Daniel, Jonny Fatso, Little Teddy, and Old Summer was standing in the royal court, in front of the king.

Edward took the lead, standing at the very front. He stood there in a carefree manner, not bothering about the fact that he was standing in the presence of the king.

"So you are Edward? We heard that you beat up the royal academy principal and took charge of the selection round? Is it true?", the king said in a mighty tone, addressing himself as 'We', showing his royal might.

"If you have heard that, then you must also have heard how easily and badly I beat up the principal, am I right? You may be the king of this nation, but you are not much stronger than the royal academy principal, so why don't you worry about yourself?", Edward said in a cocky tone, without a bit of care.

"Impudent!", one of the ministers shouted in rage hearing Edwards words. He was about to attack Edward when the king gestured at him.

"Stop.", he ordered. "Young boy, I understand you are strong but don't you think underestimating the kingdom too much? Do you really believe you can act as you please here and no one can stop you?", the king warned.

"Stop me? Why do you need to stop me? I'm not doing anything against the kingdom's interest, I only want to win the Grand Academy Tournament, so I have created a team that can win, instead of depending on the stupid royal academy. Now, if you really want to obstruct my path, I have nothing to say. But let me tell you if your confidence comes from that old man sitting inside the secret room under the palace, I will have to disappoint you. He may be very strong, being at the peak of the Energy Foundation Realm, but if he tried to fight me, the only result will be his death.", Edward said as he gave the king a serious look.

The king's eyeballs almost popped out, as he nearly fell from his throne in shock He looked at Edward like he was seeing a monster. This 18-year-old boy not only detected the presence of the kingdom's ancestor who was in the underground secret room but he also managed to read his cultivation level and strength! Just how sharp are his senses? And how powerful is he?

"Ok. I admit defeat. What do you want?", the king asked in a flustered voice.

"Nothing. Just don't bother me and my team again. As for reaching the Grand Sky Empire, you don't need to escort us, just give us a map. I can take my team there in no time. If you want to be present during the Grand Academy Tournament, you can go separately. I won't bother you, and you won't bother me.", said Edward.

"Ok. Chief Minister, give him a map."

"Understood, your majesty.", the minister nodded as he handed out a map to Edward.

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"This will be farewell, then.", Edward said as he left the palace with others.

As they left, the king was staring in shock. For some reason, he felt in his heart that the Green Veil country is going to win this tournament. He wondered how a monstrous talent like Edward appeared in his country.

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"So, we have a map now. With my 'formless Qi' birds, it would take about 50 hours of flying to reach the Imperial Capital of the Grand Sky Empire. We will be landing in a less populated place near the Imperial Capital to not attract much attention. Then, we will walk to the capital from there. This time, instead of showing off, we will be covert. Robert and I will be hiding our cultivation to not let our opponents see our true strength. I will also be scouting out the participants to see if there are any teams strong enough to challenge us. That's the plan.'

"Okay.", Everyone nodded.

"What are 'formless Qi' birds?", Jonny fatso asked.

Daniel and Little Teddy also looked at Edward. They were also confused

Edward waved his hands as he released a large amount of formless Qi fused with life energy.

The Qi condensed into six large birds in front of everyone's eyes. Except for Robert and Old Summer who knew, the others were all shocked.

"Whoa!", Jonny fatso gasped in shock.

Everyone, sit on a bird, and hold tight. they will be flying very fast.

Everyone rode atop the birds. Daniel was staring at Edward in awe. Not only Edward magically healed his winds a few days ago, but he can also even make living birds out of his Qi. He wondered how deeply powerful Edward was.

"Now fly!", Edward commanded.

The birds flapped their wings and started to fly at an incredible speed. Soon, they were flying at a speed of 2000 miles per hour.

Except for Robert and Old Summer, who already had experience with this, the others were scared silly by the sheer speed of their flight. It took a while for them to get used to the speed as they hold onto the birds they rode.

Edward and Robert were both meditating during the flight. The competition was near and there was no time to waste. As time passed, they were getting nearer and nearer to the Imperial Capital.

Two days soon passed by. As they reached near the Imperial Capital, they landed near a hill at the border of the Imperial Capital.

Climbing down the hill, they walked to the Imperial Capital City Gate. The city was surrounded by very high walls, and soldiers were on guard atop the walls. As they came in front of the city gate, they saw a long line of people waiting to enter the city. They were most likely people who came to spectate the Grand Academy Tournament.

Edward and the others walked by the line and directly headed towards the entrance. The guards looked at them and stopped their steps.

"Halt! You have to stand in line to enter the city.", said one of the guards.

"We are allowed to enter directly, as we are participants of the Grand Academy Tournament.", Edward said.

"You are the participants? where is your Royal Escort? Do you have any proof as participants?", the guard asked in suspicion.

"Here is our token to enter the city, issued directly to the Royal Family of Green Veil Nation by the Empire. As for the Royal Family and escorts, they will be late."

The guard checked the token and made sure Edward was telling the truth.

"You may enter.", the guard said after a while.

Edward and the others entered the city. Now, according to the instructions, they had to go to a building near the Palace to contact the authorities for further instructions. The authorities were supposed to receive them and give them a place to stay. Then, when all the participants are finally here, they are to go to the selected venue for the tournament.

It was almost time.