That final stop was at Elgael's training center. The elf had helped him immensely, after all - he was the one who had provided Yi Qiang with the weights that boosted his training, the job that allowed him to earn money and buy his first good bow, and taught him the skills in archery that allowed him to do so well so far.
Though chances were that Yi Qiang had already far surpassed Elgael's strength(that wasn't for sure, though. The marksman could never read his power, which was impressive in itself), he would always remember that debt of gratitude.
There was, of course, a material benefit to Yi Qiang revisiting Elgael - the elf could likely provide him with a clue as to what step he wanted to take next.
This time, Yi Qiang didn't have to ask anyone for directions, as the archer was so familiar with the training center's position in the city he remembered the path to it flawlessly.
It was disheartening to see the state of the training center was just as Yi Qiang left it - empty. The area was in a perfect state(Elgael didn't seem like the type to let it fall into disuse, and it showed), but it was visibly unpopular. For a boisterous guy like Elgael, Yi Qiang imagined the fact that his domain was so barren was painful.
Anticipating his excited reaction, Yi Qiang stepped into the confines of the training area.
Seeing that Elgael didn't immediately rush out, Yi Qiang decided to draw his attention a more... special way.
He conjured his bow using Empyrean Dragon's Armaments, walking over to the training dummies and conjuring an arrow into the shining golden weapon.
Gently, Yi Qiang pulled the string back. He didn't want to damage the dummy, just alert Elgael with the sound of the arrow hitting the target, so he tried to weaken his weapon as much as possible by siphoning all of the Qi out. It was more complicated than just creating a weaker arm with less Qi, but every bit of progress in Qi Manipulation was valuable.
A loud thump sounded out. The dim golden arrow penetrated the dummy's base - it was held up by a single wooden pole attached to a weight, keeping the target grounded. The sheer force of the arrow, though weakened, knocked the dummy over onto the ground, despite the heavy base Yi Qiang could never manage to shake last time.
If the arrow's sound didn't alert him, that will. Yi Qiang grinned at the loud bang of the wooden target falling onto the hard floor.
Sure enough, the door swung open as Elgael emerged.
Upon seeing Yi Qiang, the tall elf froze in shock, before an expression of wild joy emerged on his face.
"One! I knew I'd see you back here eventually!" He yelled. Still as loud as ever, Yi Qiang couldn't help but note. "Hold on..." Elgael's facial expression morphed into a strange mix of disbelief and awe. "Is that a dragon?"
Yi Qiang nodded. "His name is Shenyu."
"He looks fun to play with! Can I, Brother?"
That depends on your definition of play. Yi Qiang responded to Shenyu's enthusiastic inquiry.
"Just fight a little bit!"
Then sorry, no. I don't trust you to fight someone yet without hurting them, and you're too young anyway to be worrying about combat. I'll think about it when you're too big for my shoulder, how's that?
"Hmph!"
Yi Qiang followed up, unfazed by the near-instantaneous mental conversation he just held with Shenyu - one had to get used to juggling other activities with conversing with the Empyrean Dragon hatchling, as he was quite excitable.
"I'm afraid I've outgrown this training center, though." He spoke, casting a forlorn glance at the dummy still lying on the ground.
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Elgael grinned.
"I knew you would quickly. As someone who's seen you train, never forget that the value of hard work is always uncountable, as long as you're able to challenge your body. So," Elgael walked over, his shoulders relaxed and his hands clasped behind him. "Is there anything you need? I know you've probably outgrown this little city of ours, but I wouldn't underestimate the opportunities here - there are quite a few, if you know who to ask." He winked.
The shadow of a smirk appeared on Yi Qiang's face as he responded.
"Well, I don't really have any pressing matters except getting stronger quickly." A matter, Yi Qiang realized, that grows more pressing by the day. "I found out during my travels that before the arrival of the Chosen here, the gods granted gifts to some forces or people. Since I gained one myself, I know they're rather useful, and since this city is so large, I figure maybe I can try my luck for more here." The archer was referring, of course, to the scroll he had received from the Lizardman elder. She had given it to him as a reward for his efforts in clearing the Plague Beasts and ending their source.
Strangely, Elgael didn't seem as surprised by Shenyu as Ororil was. He didn't have anyone else to compare their reactions to, as there weren't many people he truly knew before his departure, and thus there weren't many reactions he could gauge. Overall, though, Elgael just seemed less surprised. Maybe he knew more about the Chosen's potential or held Yi Qiang in higher esteem. Another interesting fact was that he wasn't pressing Yi Qiang for the story of his adventures. The archer appreciated that, especially since he wasn't really in the mood for more storytelling after the incident with Ororil.
Yi Qiang chalked that up to the fact that Elgael had undoubtedly seen more combat. Though he didn't ostensibly act the part of a battle-hardened warrior, Yi Qiang picked up on the minute aspects of his behavior and appearance that gave away his experience in combat. He noticed the way Elgael always carefully managed his weight on his feet, maintaining perfect balance, perpetually standing in the ideal position to leap into battle or respond to something quickly. He picked up on the weathered skin of the elf, not tanned by the fires of the forge like Ororil's, but by the chafing of leather and the slicing of blades.
Yi Qiang put all of that out of his mind as Elgael, after thinking a bit after hearing Yi Qiang's words, finally responded.
"You're in luck. If I remember correctly, there's a tournament going down in four days in the city. Rumors are that the prizes are huge, and a ton of Chosen should be participating. If it's divinely-granted items you're after, that's probably the best way to get them. You also got here just on time; registrations close tomorrow. So, if you're in a hurry, I'd suggest going right about now. If you're not, though, I'd love to just chat. It does get lonely here. None of the other Chosen seem to value hard work or good foundations."
Yi Qiang nodded. That was perfect.
"I'm in no hurry, and I can very well see you haven't had much company since I left. Training can wait, as well as registration. So, has anyone visited at all since my departure?"
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After spending a solid 45 minutes chatting with Elgael, something Yi Qiang would have loathed to do mere months ago but now no longer found so detestable, Yi Qiang went and registered for the tournament. It turned out there was an arena in the city that Yi Qiang had just never found out about, which Yi Qiang made a mental note of. Maybe there would be some more opportunities there in the future.
Elgael, as lonely as he was in his 'dojo', had a personal rule of staying in the training center no matter what happened. Thus, he couldn't lead Yi Qiang there, as much as the elven warrior wanted to. He did gladly tell the archer the directions, which led Yi Qiang to the arena.
It cost 20 silver to register, which galled him, but the marksman assumed it was to weed out the poor and weak. Also, collecting a bit of profit on the side, which Yi Qiang knew, from personal experience, all governments loved to do.
Yi Qiang had asked about the rules of pets in the tournament as well. He couldn't say he wasn't slightly annoyed at the wide-eyed attendant as they stared at Shenyu - the Empyrean Dragon, equally as irritatingly, enjoyed the attention. Yi Qiang didn't fail to notice how the hatchling was trying to make himself look as majestic as possible. Still, though, he supposed he'd have to get used to it. A golden dragon wasn't the most low-key of companions.
According to the stuttering response of the young girl, they were not allowed unless the combatant specialized in taming animals. Yi Qiang, unfortunately, did not, so he couldn't legally bring Shenyu onto the stage. Of course, if he were allowed to, he wouldn't have the dragon fight, he just wouldn't have had to worry about a safe harbor for the still-weak hatchling.
Now he did, but Yi Qiang supposed he could just set him on the side of the stage. He was sure the judges, or whoever made decisions regarding the rules, wouldn't mind that.
Excited for the tournament in four days, Yi Qiang headed back to the inn he stayed in at the beginning of his gameplay, purchasing a room.
As his Vitality rose, the player needed less sleep, so Yi Qiang spent the rest of the night training his Empyrean Dragon Physique while honing his Qi Control - multitasking was always perfect.
When the sun rose tomorrow, Yi Qiang would visit Ororil to find out what the elven blacksmith was so excited about, before, most likely, spending all the remainder of his time training.