It seems like only a brief moment after I've seen the walls and talked with Mei Lin, that we finally get close enough to the entry point into the outer city, to see the people awaiting access into the city.
There seems to be three separate lines, for getting entry into that area.
The first line that we encounter, one that extends for at least 12 kilometers, seems to be for major merchants. A huge number of staff, surrounds each of the carts, consisting of cultivators, merchants, and people taking care of the goods inside of them.
The craziest part about it seems to be that the line isn't straight. It’s stacked and bundled together. A rough guess of what I can see is just below 100,000 carts worth.
My scan shows me that they have cultivators working inspection and admittance into the city, making the movement almost a constant flow.
Though the sheer amount of people and items here are mind boggling, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. For a city and sect this large, the supply chains needed to keep it running must be massive.
Another idea actually pops in my mind as I look at this huge line.
I'm pretty sure the big merchants will have access to dimensional spaces in rings and bags. Does this mean that all of this is what's on top of what they're transporting in those spaces?
The thought makes me shiver.
The line is moving quite quickly, but is seemingly continuously refilled by new carts and groups entering the line.
The second line appears to be for everyone and anyone. This one has minor merchants, regular people, and even some rogue cultivators, from what I can tell. This line is around half the size of the merchant one, but is similarly stacked. Albeit more densely.
Because of the length of the line, I can see plenty of smaller merchants selling food, drinks, and other goods to those waiting in line. In some cases, I can see beggars asking for money to help get into the city.
The third line is significantly shorter than the other two and appears to be for people of a higher status.
I can easily see multiple carriages, a variety of beasts, and even bodyguard cultivators surrounding them. This one doesn't seem to be stacked as much, though there are some elements of it there. To be specific, the stacking in this formation seems to be one for defense, rather than convenience.
Obviously, the priority level seems to be much higher for these people, with the treatment being much more respectful and having an unending line of cultivator attendants at the gates, welcoming them to the city.
The gate is large enough to easily encompass these three groups. With a not insignificant distance between each of them. The major merchants and regular people line are on one side, with the prestigious line on the other. Down the center, there's a large open space, allowing entry into the city.
The braying of beasts and the chatter of people, moves quickly by, as we move past the three lines, directly through the center of the enormous gate.
Almost as if over an intercom, we can hear the strangely soft and lax voice of the cultivator speak to us directly.
“For those of you that are new to this city, please note in accordance to which status you hold, make sure to enter the right line when reentering the city. If you do manage to pass the evaluations, you will want to go through the esteemed line and be treated accordingly. You have to remember your standing while in this line, but will have the status to be there nonetheless.
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“If you do not make it through the evaluation, and do not have the corresponding status to continue to be in that line, the normal entry is the one you would be wise to go for. Of course, that's assuming that you aren't bringing in a large amount of goods into the city.”
He gives a dry laugh at his seemingly sarcastic joke and just as suddenly as his voice had appeared, it disappears as we continue to move past the massive lines.
Interestingly, it is even easier to see the scale of these walls from inside the gate. The gate itself is a kilometer high and a kilometer in depth.
It’s easy to just say that… but this is massively larger than any skyscraper I’ve ever seen. And denser too. Looking up from the ground, is like seeing a wall of mirrors to the sky.
Even moving at high speeds, takes a tiny bit of time to go through this area. Beside me, I can hear Mei Lin gasp in wonder, literally speechless at the sight.
Coming from a world where these speeds are pretty normal for cars, I guess the impact isn't as large on me as it would be for someone like her. Even with that… it’s massively impressive though.
I am able to see the walls even better from inside the gate by looking at the walls from the interior, which further reveals their mirror-like structure. Interlaced gold and red weave within each other, and on closer inspection are actually somewhat transparent.
As the carriages move through the center of this gate, the road splits off into different areas. We continue to follow the center one, heading straight towards the mountain. From this point, we moved quickly through this area and the road is so large that the easiest thing to do was to just wait until we arrive at our destination. At some point, we had to the left side of the road, but continue at the same speed.
For a significant portion of the day, we continue on this road, and I find myself a bit surprised that nothing stereotypical like a poor person falling in front of the carriages and subsequently getting run over happens.
From what I can tell there are underpasses under this road that people use to get from one side to the other. This road primarily seems to be used for urgent, or sect-based needs. Things that shouldn't be halted for any reason. It really reminds me of the superhighway system we have in America.
In all technicality you're only supposed to really head in one direction and stoppages should be rare. I see something similar when I see a cart heading fast in another direction away from the mountain on the right side of the road. A man in a golden robe, with a hat resembling a box on his head, speeds the cart away, appearing to be going much faster than we are.
And then it turns back to monotony.
Most of the distractions are gone, so I turn my eyes to the architecture of the city. What appeared to be hills when approaching the city, are actually large mansions. From the activity I’m seeing there, it appears to be similar to embassies for sects or clans. Essentially, places where they are able to have a presence near the sect, but not be a part of the sect.
In terms of the normal buildings, I see callbacks to the ones in Monchon City, with the biggest difference being the lack of imagery and the abundance of gold primary and red accent colors. Instead, it is the detailed shape of the buildings, which adds to its beauty.
Resting on raised stone foundations, the buildings seemingly interlock together, with different buildings having connections in some way to each other. Every building seems to be close to each other, but has its own set of stairs rising to the entrances.
The roof of the buildings sweep upward at the corners, similar to the ones I’ve seen elsewhere. However, within every meter of the buildings are accents that poke out and across, clearly decorative, but hint at some type of function. Unlike Monchon City, most of the buildings follow the same layout with the variations being from size, accents, or window placements.
That’s not to say all the building are like this, as a variety of pavilions and pagodas are abundant across and blossoming out of these structures. In many ways, the surrounding buildings are more reminiscent of layered walls around these structures, rather than pieces by themselves.
This is reinforced by the material they are made of. The normal buildings seem to be primarily made of stone-like materials, while the pavilions/pagodas are made of something resembling wood. However, I have the feeling this wooden material may not be what it seems, as the heights that some of these structures reach are reminiscent of the powerful and tall skyscrapers of my world. Even these, though, do not compare to the gate and walls of this city.
All in all… it is clear that I still have much to learn about this city.
Nonetheless, it appears my trip has come to an end, as carriages pull off to the side of the main road. A large series of normal buildings are alongside this area, clearly sectioned off from the main market areas. Likely for sect use.
I wonder what these are for?