Chapter 16: Wind's Whisper City.
While Liang Chen was hitching a ride with Zhou Zing and Zhou Shui, he also took the chance to ask about different ways he could earn money in Wind's Whisper city. He would need money to buy resources, but as he knew next to nothing about the world outside of Green Rivers city, he decided that it was best to ask someone else.
“You want to know about the best ways to earn money in Wind's Whisper city?”
Zhou Zing looked a little taken aback by Liang Chen's question, his doubtful gaze looking Liang Chen up and down. He could tell that Liang Chen had only reached the early stage of the Mortal Tower realm, so his strength was about as weak as it could get. Coupled with his seemingly crippled right arm, the amount of work he could do was severely limited. But Zhou Zing still decided to answer properly, the youth in front of him giving him a strange feeling.
“Let's see, the absolute best ways to earn money would be to either take on missions for the Eternal Dragon Pavilion or to sell herbs and parts from Demonic beasts to the Diamond Hand Merchants. Of course, since they are the best ways to earn money, they are also risky. I would suggest you try to get a job as an herb picker or a cleaner. It does not pay well and is dull, but at least it assures your safety.”
An herb picker was someone who would venture into the herb gardens of certain clans and sects, checking to make sure that the herbs were growing properly, and picking those who were ripe. There were strict checks and punishments to make sure that no one stole anything, and the pay was also rather bad, so very few people were willing to take on that job. Liang Chen felt the same, as he did not believe that being an herb picker would let him get the amount of money he needed. But he was rather interested in the first two options that Zhou Zing mentioned, his eyes glowing with curiosity as he asked.
“Eternal Dragon Pavilion? Diamond Hand Merchants? What are they?”
Zhou Zing's eyebrows ticked up after he heard Liang Chen's question. From his expression and mannerism, it seemed like he had truly never heard about either of the two groups. He took another glance at Liang Chen's dusty and cheap robe, the light of understanding flashing in his eyes as he nodded his head and started explaining.
“You have never heard about them? You must be from somewhere truly rural. The Diamond Hand Merchants are a company that has branches all over the planet, they buy and sell just about everything. I have heard that they once even sold some blood from a Rank 8 Demonic beast. I can't even imagine how much that must have cost.”
Zhou Zing's eyes shone with awe as he spoke, his words shocking Liang Chen. The blood of a Rank 8 Demonic beast? How strong mustn't that Demonic beast have been? And how much stronger would he become if he managed to bathe in blood like that and survive? Zhou Zing let out a slight chuckle when he saw Liang Chen's shocked expression, continuing his explanation.
“As for the Eternal Dragon Pavilion, it is also a type of company, but it is different from the Diamond Hand Merchants. Whenever someone has a task they want to be completed, they bring the task to the Eternal Dragon Pavilion. The members of the pavilion, just about anyone can join the pavilion, take on the missions, earning hefty rewards when they are completed. Everything can be a mission, finding a lost child, picking some herbs, hunting Demonic beasts, even hunting people with bounties on their head. Of course, the missions are divided into ranks, so only people of a certain amount of strength can take on the most dangerous missions.”
Zhou Zing's voice was filled with respect, showing that he clearly held great admiration for the people who worked for the Eternal Dragon Pavilion. Liang Chen fell into silence after Zhou Zing finished his explanation, his eyes slowly narrowing as his thoughts moved.
If he wanted to steadily earn money, it was clearly best to become an herb picker or a cleaner, it was also much safer than other jobs. But they paid very little, and his freedom would be somewhat restricted if he became an herb picker, ensuring that he didn't run off with any herbs. Joining the Eternal Dragon Pavilion was riskier, but the pay was better, and his freedom would likely not be restricted. It did not take him much thought to decide on the Eternal Dragon Pavilion as his choice. If he was afraid of risks, he would not have bathed in Demonic beast blood and cultivated using lightning.
Their journey continued without pause, Gan Situ and Gan Yimu dealing with anyone and anything that tried to attack their carriage. Gan Situ specialized in using wind, while Gan Yimu specialized in using earth, the two seemingly very adept at working together. Liang Chen was unable to tell their cultivation level, but he was certain that it was at least towards the later stages of the Ascended Tower realm.
Thanks to the two Gan brothers protecting the carriage, they managed to reach Wind's Whisper city without any problems. A massive stone wall surrounded all of Wind's Whisper city, intricate runes covering every inch of the wall. The runes were drawn using a mixture of Demonic beast blood and powdered Demon Crystals, the nucleus of a Demonic beasts power. With the runes covering the entire wall, there were few attacks that would be able to breach the wall, ensuring the safety of the citizens.
There were groups of guards wandering around the top of the wall, keeping a vigilant eye out for Demonic beasts or groups of bandits that might choose to attack the city. The city had four massive wooden gates that served as exits and entrances. Zhou Zing quickly drove the carriage into the city, allowing Liang Chen to see the splendor of the city.
The roads of the city were paved with yellow stones and far wider than the roads in Green Rivers City, large enough to easily hold 15 people walking side by side. But even with roads that wide, the streets were still packed with people and carriages, everyone forced to walk almost shoulder to shoulder. The buildings came in a wide variety of shapes, but most of them were made out of a type of wood that released a slight shine. Once they entered the city, Zhou Zing turned towards Liang Chen, who was currently dismounting from the carriage.
“Alright, we have reached Wind's Whisper city, so we will have to part here. If you follow this road, you will get to the plaza. The plaza is where most of the people looking to hire others are hanging around, so you should head there. If you enter the Mystic's Hidden Realm in the future, we might have the fate to meet again.”
Before Liang Chen had the chance to ask what the Mystic's Hidden Realm was, Zhou Zing had already whipped the horses and headed down the road that led to the left, quickly vanishing into the crowd. Liang Chen could only shake his head, his gaze turning towards the road that Zhou Zing had pointed out.
As Liang Chen started walking towards the plaza, he stopped training his right arm, allowing him to move it again. He gave a few clenches of his hand, shaking it a little to make sure that it was still working properly. Once he was sure that his right arm was still working properly, he started training his left arm, lightning flooding into it and overloading his nerves. But after training his right arm in this way for five days, he had already gotten a bit more proficient in how to do it, so he was still able to move his left arm somewhat.
Because of the sheer amount of people around him, their voices all mixed together to form a low buzz, their words almost impossible to understand. But Liang Chen paid it no heed, his lips curling slightly. This Wind's Whisper city would be where he would truly start his journey towards getting stronger, the Eternal Dragon Pavilion his first step.