Aryon felt like a rich tycoon right now.
The sect had graciously provided them with one of their treasures; a flying ship around the size of a Tarminian light frigate, kept afloat by expending Spirit Stones into a furnace. The insides were lavishly decorated and furnished, for it was meant to serve as a transport the sect’s important elders and masters.
Standing on the foredeck of the ship, he inspected it from stem to stern and was quite impressed with its craftsmanship. ‘Their craftsmanship equals us in some ways back in Tarminas here. But their powering method seems a bit expensive. Perhaps…’
“Lord Aryon!”
His two little disciple companions, officially his ‘aides’ in this journey, came up to him while admiring the view.
“Hello, my boys. I hope you are both comfortable?”
Both nodded their heads. “Have you been to big cities before, lord?” asked the ever-inquisitive Liu Wong.
Aryon chuckled. “Many.” he said. ‘I even ruled over some, too.’ “But not to one of yours.”
“Oh. So this is your first time going to Dragon Border Gate City?”
“That is so. Is it impressive?”
Liu Wong shrugged. But Feng Yan spoke up. “I have been there, lord. It is… big.”
“Is that it?” said Aryon as he chuckled again. “Anything else of note?”
“It is the seat of the local governor of the prefecture, as well as the headquarters of the local Imperial garrison.”
“Imperial garrison…”
An imperial garrison must mean there’s an empire out there. He couldn’t get much out of the history scrolls he’d borrowed from the sect aside from local information, and he didn’t want to talk to those ‘elders’ too. ‘I should visit the library there, if there’s one…’
“From where does lord come from?” said Liu Wong suddenly.
“Oh. I never did reveal that. I come from… a far away kingdom known as Tarminas.”
“Where is it in the Immortal Jade Continent.”
“Ah, it’s not here.” he said. “It is on a land known as Haven, far away from here.”
Both disciples nodded. “Are there cultivators there? I’ve always wondered about your cultivation level, lord.”
“Well, of a sorts… but not in your way at least.” he said, thinking his next words over. “We have a… different system of manipulating mana- that is, Spirit Energy.”
“Is lord powerful there?”
“Why yes. We didn’t have your ordered levels and realms, but gained titles through our achievements. There, I am an archmage and master of the ninth roster of the Standard Arcana, one of the highest honors in the land.”
Both nodded again. It didn’t make much sense to them, but it sounded impressive.
“Ah, my dear boys, perhaps one day I will take you there to Tarminas. You will see such sights there. From the Boulevard of the Stars and Library Row with its many shops… And there, too, is the Tower of the Moon, the seat of the Mage-Kings, with the Great Central Tower shadowing it.”
He looked out into the distance, to that far-away horizon. “...Yes. One day, I will take you there to visit. And you will see with your eyes the full wonders of magic there.”
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A cry came from one of the sect elders manning the ship. “Lord Aryon! We’re near.”
“We’ll swap stories some other day, my boys.” said he. “Now, let’s prepare to land.”
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Feng Yan wasn’t kidding when he said Dragon Border Gate City was big. But Liu Wong felt that ‘big’ didn’t do it enough justice.
It’s huge!
Towering buildings and pagodas of painted stone lined every side of the city’s wide streets, with hundreds of people doing business under their shadows. The stream of people never seemed to stop moving.
Liu Wong walked alongside the sect escort and Lord Aryon, their green sect robes a stark contrast to the multicolored throng of people around them. These very folk looked at them with curious eyes, especially at the taller-than-average silver-armoured man in the very center.
It took them an hour or so to find their way to their destination: a large castle that, to Liu Wong’s surprise, was actually an inn for rich cultivators. The auction was slated to begin in two more days, so rooms had been reserved to accommodate Lord Aryon and his escort of twelve.
Entering the inn, Liu Wong saw many wealthy looking nobles and cultivators mingling in the inn’s opulent lobby. Aside from their luxurious (and, to his eyes, garish) dresses, all were above the mid-level Soul Core Realm, with even a few in Nascent Soul Realm!
Liu Wong felt intimidated in this high-class environment.
“You there! Green Blade Forest Sect!”
A Soul Core cultivator wearing gold-trimmed blue robes broke from one of the groups in the lobby to approach them. “You! The one in the armour! How much for that set?”
The sect elders all paused, but Liu Wong saw their hands flex in annoyance. “Not for sale.” replied lord Aryon.
“...You’re a stranger here in this city, right? Come now! Just because you’re escorted by these green monkeys doesn’t make you any important. Do you know-”
“What I know ” interrupted Aryon “is that you should return back to your little group. Take my [Suggestion] and do so.”
He heard that strange echo on one of Lord Aryon’s words as he spoke
“Uhh.”
The loudmouth fellow backed a step, then returned to his group, mumbling.
“Let’s go before more people covet my possessions.”
Wasting no time, the sect elders moved the procession along up one of the inn’s stairs. Liu Wong paid one last glance to the room, where everyone inside was now staring at them, and followed the rest up.
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“Did you see that strange man? It felt like he cast a mystic art.”
“He did? I didn’t sense anything.”
“It was really subtle. But not his gear, though. What grade was that set? I felt Spirit Energy radiating from it even while sitting here.”
“That staff looked valuable too. It was being suppressed, but Spirit Energy was also leaking out…”
The room broke into gossiping whispers after the Green Blade Forest Sect procession was safely out of earshot.
“I heard rumors of Green Blade Forest Sect having an important guest… Hey, stop mumbling already!”
A young lady in a gold-trimmed dress snapped at a man wearing the same color of clothing. That man was precisely the one that tried to buy Aryon’s armour before.
“Guh. Sorry. It’s just…”
“Pardon me, young master.”
The third person in the group, a tall and muscular elder with a beard, bent down and inspected the so-called young master. After a pause, he waved a hand before his head.
“Young master has been afflicted with some sort of mind-altering mystic art.”
“What?!” said the young woman in a fierce whisper.
“This old man can’t tell, but the effects were relatively minor because the mystic art wasn’t used in the fullest. Had it been, the young master might have been compelled to do more serious things.”
The young woman placed a palm on her face, then started berating the man. “This is all because you keep pestering people! Why don’t you just stop being an idiot for once in your life!”
The young man tried to retort, but closed his mouth as if he forgot what he was saying.
The old man escorted the young master to a nearby couch. “The effect is fading away and there’s no lasting damage. That mystic art, I think, was just a warning.”
“Who was that armoured man?”
“From the rumours, his name is Aryon and he comes from a foreign land.”
“A foreigner?”
“Mm. We know nothing else, save that he defeated a Rising Inferno Ape and gifted Green Blade Forest Sect with weapons.”
“The Earth grade weapons?”
The old man nodded.
The young woman gave pause to think, then said. “Have our people tail them without being known. Avoid offending this man and get an idea on who he is and what he’s up to. As for our task, I’ll do some research on those who may want the scroll we’re after.”
“Yes, young mistress.”
“Good. Go, and don’t fail the Bai clan.”