Xue Xuefeng peered over the flying sword, inspecting the numerous city-states her eyes can see. A trace of disappointment flashed on her face as she returned her gaze to her master.

“Master. I thought you said we were here?” she said with a mild annoyance as she enunciated every word.

“We are at the Kingdom of Swords.”

“But Big Sister Ling Ling said that the Kingdom of Swords lies in the heart of the Shatter Sword Mountain Range, upon the Anvil of Trials!”

Her master rubs his eyebrow once more with his right hand.

“That would be their capital. Miss Fang should find another way to invest you in her lessons.”

“It’s not my fault that almost all of the instructors treat are so boringly serious. Big Sister Ling Ling is the one of the few who gives her lessons a bit of life, ya know.”

“Cultivation IS a serious matter, Feng’er”

“I understand that, but it’s almost like...”

Xia Xuefeng peered into one of the cities closest to the border, a massive city that was built on top of a wide hill which seemed to spam 30 km. She was impressed at how orderly the bustling city was compared to her clan’s territories. A massive mansion laid at the heart of the city and was built on the peak of the hill so that it could be seen throughout the city.

Xia Xuefeng concludes that its the governor’s estate. It was surrounded by a stout wall which exudes an aura of stability with an elegantly simple gate to grant passage over a crystal clear moat which reflects the summer sun. 2 sets of taller walls and deeper moats separate the golden farmlands, the outer city, and the inner city. The inner city wall is highly decorated with ornaments, flaunting an air of nobility, while the outer city wall was drabber in appearance. Yet if closely inspected once could see that it was slightly taller than the inner wall, a numerous amount of battle scars line its reach with even more numerous signs of repair. Its aura made on perceive it as if it was a loyal battle-scarred soldier protecting the people he swore himself to protect.

The arrangement of the structures within the city was impeccably neat. One could clearly see a defined order in the city, from the more aged buildings to the ongoing constructions for expansion. The unity rivaled the interconnected lines within mystic formations. The city characteristic orderliness signified the capability of the governor’s who’ve watched over the city, ages past.

Xia Xuefeng then began to look closer at the city in curiosity.

Starting from the governor’s estate: an elderly old man who seemed to be the governor was taking a well-deserved moment of rest on the warm summer day for his tired bones within his garden, drinking hot tea and listening well to what appears to be his similarly aged chatterbox of a wife; his muscular pair of bodyguards outside the gate to the garden are slacking off, talking to one another as they arm wrestle; his soldiers at the barracks are performing their drills to cultivate and improve their soldiarity of their battle formations, with the fresh blood receiving instructions from a battle hardened cultivator; a cheery young girl plays with a demonic beast from her clan, its ferocious appearance betrayed by the actions it performed which belong to more adorable pets; the servant girls are washing the house’s laundry, while gossipping their insidiously addictive topics; the governor’s guards patrol the house, never dropping the vigilance; two long lines of both cultivators and mortals right outside the estate, seemingly applying for a place in government office. Xia Xuefeng’s face shined with nostalgia and a soft longing.

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Xia Xuefeng moved her vision towards the inner city and was absolutely fascinated: streets were filled with luxurious carriages, moving unceasingly from one place to another elegantly; patrolmen equipped with ferocious armor, who are mostly young men, watch the streets for any sign of a scuffle though the majority of them are laid back as they patrol, whether that’s out of confidence or a long time in peace is uncertain though some of them are itching to prove their steel; officials running to and fro while wiping their foreheads with delicate hankerchiefs, to catch their next appointment; sword sects filled with cultivators improving their cultivation with similar or greater zeal than the city’s military, the sect elders filled with similar zeal as they raise the next generation; illustrious estates line the inner city surely occupied by the most influential clans in the city, dutifully supporting the city while their spoiled rotten children roam the streets seek their next thrill or young maiden. The very thought of which soured Xia Xuefeng’s once fascinated expression.

Finally, she looked at the outer city: the streets were filled with people, a swarm of people moving endlessly with the bustle to really make the city come alive; middle aged patrolmen exasperbating the lackadaisical nature of the inner city’s guards as they drink, hunt young flowers and sleep, it’s a wonder on how the citizens seem to take their overly casual mannerism as if it were natural; the marketplace is absolutely packed with gold coins, spiritual stones, and various merchandise rapid switch hands, one could feel the cutthroat aura from the auction house as various people increase their bids; children play along the calmer streets where the neighborhood aunties gossip to the same degree as the governor's servant girls, shockingly a cultivator is playing with a huge crowd of children; foreign sword cultivators seeking to poach talented people to strengthen their sects, various small, relatively peaceful, disputes of rivalries between them though it seemed as if they forgot their original intentions; fathers wave goodbye to their family as they set off to work for the day, surely to join the crowds of young men seeking to join the military or construction to expand the city. Xia Xuefeng released a soft smile which could charm flowers to bloom. Observing the liveliness of the city filled her body with tranquility far greater than any other.

“... they forgot how it was to be mortal when they turned into cultivators.” she said as she mentally read the sign outside the outer city wall which read “Golden Hills”.

“....”

Xia Xuefeng turned her head towards her master. The absence of his retorts was always unsettling as it meant that he was furious or planning something insidious, however, he appeared completely separate from the world around him.

A desolate aura embraced him, his eyes glazed over and a smile softer than the most luxurious velvet. Xia Xuefeng remembered this sight only once in her lifetime, and it was when they first met. She giggled to herself as she remembered how much commotion was caused when she screamed in shock about a strange man appeared in her garden.

Not long after she returned her sight towards the various other cities as the flying sword moved towards its location at a swift pace. Mentally remembering their names and their distinct features.