I'm back!
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The sun hovered in the sky with a softened sense of heat, while the scent of dew still lightly filled the air with moisture.
At that moment, Aotian and Rihai walked calmly along a vibrant and bustling street, but curiously, this was not the Infinite Dao Sect.
Both were under illusions that concealed their true appearances and clothing, avoiding problems that might be caused by their looks.
The place they were in was the grand capital of the Infinite Dao Empire, which exuded an atmosphere full of life and innovation, enough to leave even Rihai stunned.
At this point, two months had already passed since the sect intercepted the four cultivators from the central continent and began clearing the Shadowfallen Burial Mountain.
Three months since the third Dao sermon.
And just over four months since the Infinite Dao Sect moved its main force to the Nanyun continent.
So, in just four months, the changes that occurred in the Beixu desert continent were so numerous that even Rihai, a former princess of a powerful family, was shocked. It was obvious that these changes were truly astonishing.
In total, Aotian had arrived in this world about three years and four months ago. But it was in these last four months, since he departed, that he began to create astonishing changes in this desert continent where he had spent most of his days.
They were on the outskirts of the empire's main city, so far from the center that even if they flew high to observe, the main mountain that nourished the entire city would be nothing more than a dark dot in the distance.
Rihai raised her hand and looked, amazed, at the spiritual energy flowing between her fingers.
"The environment of the entire city is… second level?!"
Her small mouth couldn't help but open slightly.
As the city was enormous, it was truly shocking for such an intensity of energy to exist even so far from the actual spiritual veins, located in the mountain at the center of the city.
Aotian smiled at her astonishment.
"You've been focusing too much on cultivation and haven't been paying much attention to the rumors reaching the sect. Yes, the entire environment here is of perfect second-level quality. And the reason this is possible is that, at the center of the city, the sect, using a perfect third-level spiritual vein, managed to make it produce fourth-level energy, permanently breaking limits that everyone believed impossible to surpass."
"From now on, even without the shortcuts of large quantities of elemental and spiritual stones, the people of the desert continent can also reach Nascent Soul relying only on their talents and the resources available here."
A sincere smile appeared on Aotian's face, while Rihai widened her eyes before quickly calming down.
But her eyes shone as she looked at the city.
'The Infinite Dao Sect… really seems capable of anything.'
They continued walking, observing the city.
Tall buildings, various types of beautiful shops and residences that lightly vibrated with formations on their walls, and on the streets, impressive and strange flying buses, trucks, and taxis moving back and forth, transporting people and objects.
That was a place where cultivators and mortals shared the same space, and there were various public services, such as those flying vehicles belonging to the empire, which transported people and materials at low fees, continuously circulating throughout the city.
Private carriages were prohibited, preventing mortal animals from delaying or dirtying the streets. Thus, to avoid making life difficult for poor people and merchants, the empire provided these special vehicles for rent at low prices, and it was even possible to request exemptions in extreme cases. Of course, the rich could still own their own vehicles.
In this way, the city, even with mortals, was very clean and organized.
Everything functioned based on the potent spiritual energy in the air.
Unfortunately, these vehicles were also limited to operating within the city, otherwise, it would have to rely on spiritual stones to function. For the time being, this prevented poorer merchants from outside the city from spending fortunes to acquire one of these vehicles, despite how efficient and reliable they were.
In any case, everything there was very busy and full of life. Many people were everywhere, whether in traffic, mainly using public transportation, or on the wide sidewalks, walking and observing the transparent displays on the storefronts.
This latter was a model that the empire encouraged the population to adopt and, through spiritual science, made it easier for mortals to produce glass, allowing such a scene to exist.
It was also possible to see countless people using bracelets with small image projections rising from them, sliding their fingers across light screens and interacting with them.
Those were the new versions of WebTokens, more practical and portable.
Aotian occasionally browsed his own WebToken to check the latest news, but for now, the use of this technology remained quite serious among people, often focused on work, daily life, or communication with family and colleagues.
He still missed that lively and chaotic atmosphere of the internet from his past life.
Additionally, connectivity issues were still being resolved, and for now, the exchange of information was limited to the spiritual vein zone. That is, within the imperial city, it was not possible to read messages coming from the Infinite Dao Sect on the Nanyun continent, or even from another city on that same continent.
In any case, everything there seemed extremely dazzling and new to the people of that world, and because of that, Rihai was fascinated. Aotian, too, couldn't help but feel a little dazed by the city he had created.
It wasn't exactly Earth. It could be said it was completely different. There was a certain futuristic air, with the flying vehicles, but mixed with an archaic oriental aesthetic.
The place was fascinating, but it didn't bring as much of a sense of familiarity as he had imagined it would.
'Actually… I don't even know if I wanted it to be like that.'
A complicated glint appeared in Aotian's eyes.
'Earth had its advantages, but it was also full of problems and dark things. Now that I have the chance to lead an entire civilization toward the future, although I can use my experiences from my first life as a guide, I won't force this world to become an Earth 2.0.'
'No, I will guide the Lingxi world toward what it needs to be, allowing it to progress in the way that suits it best. I will give the initial push, I will be the spark that starts the fire, but I will leave the rest for the natives to prosper along their own paths.'
'I will be only a silent guardian, a watchful observer, occasionally bringing an idea to improve things, not forcing change. I will prevent countless dark things from arising as they did on Earth, but everything that stands in the light I will protect, so that whether it grows or falls, it does so fairly.'
His eyes became serious and determined, turning toward certain people scattered throughout the street, who were his sharpest blade to contain evil and protect progress.
At various points, there were stern cultivators wearing full black armor, with a dragon head engraved on the chestplate, patrolling and maintaining order.
That was the Black Dragon Guard, the army of the Infinite Dao Empire.
Their duty was mainly to protect the cities, properties, and population of the empire, strictly enforcing the laws of the realm.
Aotian valued the safety of the population greatly, so he would not expand the city without first expanding the guard that protected it.
He also tasked them with preventing the formation of factions and slums within the city, since the empire could offer dignified work for everyone. Therefore, such things had no need to exist under his jurisdiction.
And if any citizen wished to turn to crime, trying to step on others in exchange for an easy life, they would first have to face the powerful city guard to see if they had the courage.
Thus, the power of the guard was not small.
For that reason, there were also several regulatory authorities responsible for supervising and preventing the guard itself from being corrupted. Even though the chances of that were low, since everyone who joined the army passed, to some degree, through the staircase that judged their hearts.
In any case, none of the guards resented this supervision. After all, many of them, until four months ago, were complete nobodies, without even a trace of cultivation and with poor spiritual roots.
But everything changed with the dominance of the Infinite Dao Sect over that land.
Now they were worthy city guards, proud soldiers of the empire. The power they felt running through their roots, along with the respect in people's eyes when they saw them, was the greatest reward possible—something they could never have imagined before.
As if to prove the sect's investment in them had been worthwhile, an interesting incident happened nearby, catching Aotian and Rihai's attention.
"Ohh… it seems this imperial capital is truly as impressive as the rumors say."
A low and slightly sharp voice sounded, carrying a clear tone of amusement and mockery.
The people on the street slowed down and looked in the direction of the voice.
There, they saw a slender-looking man, but clearly of malicious temperament, standing before a middle-aged man, clearly a mortal, who had spread a cloth on the ground and begun selling, in broad daylight, a single spiritual herb.
The malicious man, without a second thought, grabbed the herb from the panicked vendor and tossed a few broken silver coins onto the cloth with disdain, in a blatant act of robbery. A spiritual herb could never be exchanged for a bit of mortal silver.
"What luck, finding a Blue Spider Lily in the hands of a mere mortal." The man laughed and turned to leave.
"No! Wait! Sir, that herb costs three spiritual stones!" the vendor shouted in panic, getting up to follow the man.
But the malicious buyer's smile vanished upon hearing the shout, and he turned around, delivering a cruel backhand slap to the face of the man chasing him, causing him to spin and crash to the ground, spitting blood, his cheekbone caved in.
The vendor lay on the ground, in shock and fear, not daring to say anything more.
Around him, the crowd immediately stepped back, staring at the "buyer" with expressions of horror and… pity for a fool?
"Hmph! Trash! You don't even have cultivation, and yet you dare speak of price with a cultivator? You truly overestimate yourself!"
Spitting on the ground, the malicious buyer turned to leave coldly—but he immediately ran into someone, colliding violently.
"Who?!"
Shouting involuntarily and falling onto his backside after losing his balance, he immediately raised his gaze in anger and saw something that sent a chill down his spine.
A full set of black armor stood before him, and beneath the cultivator's helmet, a pair of cold eyes stared at him without emotion.
[Illustrative image]
The malicious buyer widened his eyes in fear at the imposing presence, but upon not sensing any aura from the man, he immediately judged him to be a mortal and regained his composure.
Apparently, he had ignored the fact that after the collision, he was the one on the ground, while the guard had remained unmoving.
Beginning to stand up, he snorted.
"Hmph! Another mortal trash, it seems this city—"
Before he could finish speaking or stand up, a powerful kick struck his legs, and at the same instant, a hand grabbed his hair and slammed his face violently into the ground.
A muffled sound echoed through the street, making all who watched flinch.
"Ahhhh…"
A loud, nasal groan of pain erupted from the man, whose nose was utterly crushed upon hitting the ground.
Without mercy, the guard pulled out a spiritual handcuff from his incredibly valuable storage ring, causing the surrounding people to show a glint of envy in their eyes.
Of course, valuable in the desert continents. In other continents, it wasn't so rare.
But certainly, the most impressive thing was the cultivation the guard revealed for an instant when he attacked… 1st level of Foundation Establishment. A mere guard possessed such power.
Cuffing the villain, who was just a cultivator at the 7th level of Qi Refinement, still groaning in pain and not understanding what was happening, the guard lifted him to escort him away, and the surrounding people began to applaud with smiles at the job well done.
Aotian, who was watching all of this with his wife nearby, also noticed some in the crowd with fake and forced smiles. Those likely did not see any problem in the malicious buyer's attitude toward the mortal, so this incident probably served, as in the Chinese saying, to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
Meanwhile, the mortal vendor, even severely injured from the earlier slap he had taken, got up excitedly, ran to pick up the fallen herb beside him, and then bowed deeply to the soldier.
"Guard, thank you very much… auch… for saving me… huff… and my belongings… if it weren't for—"
The man spoke slowly and with effort, his jaw crooked and cheekbone sunken, yet he still managed a grateful smile.
But before he could finish, he felt his hands being pulled behind his back and cuffed, freezing in place.
"G-Guard?!"
His shrill and confused cry echoed, and even the crowd's expression froze mid-applause, their eyes filled with doubt and astonishment.
Rihai also frowned, but when she looked at Aotian, she saw him smiling.
"Good work," he said softly, satisfied, committing the guard's aura to memory, perhaps to promote him later.
Hai'er blinked, stunned, but immediately understood that she was missing some important information.
And, as expected, the guard spoke loudly while escorting the two by force.
"It is strictly forbidden to intimidate mortals and seize their belongings by force, and he will be arrested for that. But you are selling goods in an illegal location, and this herb, which appears to have been hastily harvested and is still not mature, places you under suspicion."
"By its quality, location, and type, it is quite obvious that this herb belongs to one of the spiritual fields encouraged by the empire, maintained by mortal residents outside the walls. And these people, with all the support given, would not damage their property ahead of time for a quick sale, nor would they be unaware of the rules that prohibit setting up stalls in unauthorized streets, obstructing pedestrian flow."
"All of this indicates that you most likely stole the herb from a field belonging to someone you know, which is the only way to bypass security, and are trying to sell it in the city."
With each word from the guard, the vendor grew paler, while the surrounding crowd watched and whispered in astonishment.
"N-No, I-I found this plant somewhere else!" the man stammered in desperation, pleading so quickly that it seemed his jaw wasn't even dislocated.
The guard cast him a cold glance and pushed both detainees forward without any care.
"Don't worry, your case will be analyzed and you will be judged fairly later. Now move!"
With that, the three left, leaving only the vendor's pleading cries echoing in the air, and the crowd also began to disperse, curiosity and gossip in their eyes.
Rihai touched her finger to her lips and felt that what the guard said made sense. Moreover, the mortal's reaction practically exposed him as guilty.
Not dwelling on the incident any further, she held her husband's arm and moved on, going to observe other things.
Aotian, as he walked, pondered that the guard's approach was not bad, but it lacked a bit more discipline and uniformity in actions.
Perhaps citing the numbers of the laws under which the individuals were being arrested would make the action even better. By doing so, in addition to calming the crowd, it would demonstrate that it was not pure tyranny or a spontaneous decision by the guards, but rather rules previously established and visible to everyone in the city.
Which, in fact, was the case. Everyone received a booklet with the rules upon entering the city, to avoid phrases like "it's not like this elsewhere," "how could I have known," and "no one told me."
After this episode, the couple's stroll through the imperial capital continued.
They examined the tall buildings, laughed at some posters posted around, whether from the empire or from some wealthy merchant who had adopted the trend, found certain food stalls interesting in the area more focused on the mortal public of the city, or simply enjoyed the peace of the place in some public square.
There were also many children playing and running toward certain buildings, which were schools founded by the empire.
In the schools, there was no division between mortal children and those with spiritual roots. Although those who could follow the path of cultivation, and whose families possessed techniques to teach them, had an advantage in learning due to greater memory retention, the initial difference was not that great.
There were also measures for these cases, as memory retention does not mean comprehension, though it greatly facilitates it. And if it was assessed that a student had already mastered all the content of a certain module, they could advance grades without major obstacles.
On the contrary, Aotian encouraged this type of behavior. The empire lacked skilled and reliable labor, so the emergence of brilliant students would be an excellent thing.
In fact, the high officials of the empire judged that it would be better to separate cultivators from mortals for a more controlled and effective education. However, one of the empire's main goals was to avoid creating too large a divide between these two realities, so such a measure would have been counterproductive.
There were schools for adults as well, but unlike children, whose education was mandatory, that of adults was voluntary.
Thus, observing and commenting on everything, Aotian and Rihai spent the rest of the day wandering through the city before the ancestors protecting them opened a portal to take them back to the sect.
The reason for their outing that day was that, in addition to wanting to observe the new developments, they did not want to lose themselves in cultivation, as a special event would take place the next day for both of them.
It had been exactly one year since the Tower of a Hundred Thousand Beasts opened, and the promise that the male and female with the highest scores would become the sect's Holy Son and Holy Daughter was about to be fulfilled.
The final result would be announced the next day, but there was no secret about who the champions were.