By the time Red went out, it was already late afternoon. He took a few cautions before leaving, such as making sure the imp could hide himself if someone tried to break in, and also disguising his swords. His short sword was not an issue, as he found another scabbard, even if it was a loose fit, but the rusty longsword was different.
The Slaughter Demon lived within the sword, and the scabbard was its seal. Red could not replace the cover even if he wanted to, so instead, he opted to use strips of fine cloth around the scabbard to disguise it.
He also refused to leave any of his belongings in the house, so when he walked out, he was carrying a large bag as if ready to go on a trip. His whole appearance earned him quite a few looks from passersby, but none of them dwelled on his figure. In a city this big, the youth supposed that such strange sights weren’t all that uncommon.
Foot traffic was still active at this time of the day, and Red couldn’t help but frown. In Bestrem, he might have been able to sneak through small alleys and avoid crowds, but here? It would be almost impossible to stay out of sight with the sheer density of people.
The youth could only endure these misgivings, though, and walk the streets like anyone else. He focused on his crimson sense, taking mental note of the fluctuations around him and figuring out if he was being followed. However, this proved to be hard to tell at first glance, as this was a busy street and many people just so happened to be taking the same path as him to the city center.
Red could only try his best to remember the fluctuations that were “stalking” him for a later time. If these individuals kept appearing in his crimson sense as he moved around the city, then he would have cause for suspicion.
He continued to walk the streets, recalling the imp’s directions to the Golden Hand’s headquarters.
‘Go to the city center and find the golden temple. You can’t miss it.’
Red was currently in a residential district, and to get to the edges of the city center took him almost half an hour. Small manors were replaced by sprawling mansions, some occupying even entire blocks, as well as all sorts of administrative buildings. This was where the true powers of the capital lived in, where they ruled the city from.
Red even came across what he presumed to be the headquarters of the city guard, a large military base where dozens of guards and aides could be seen coming in and out every second. He extended his crimson sense towards the building out of curiosity, only to find at least five Lesser Ring Realm fluctuations inside, as well as one Greater Ring Realm cultivator. These were only the forces inside the headquarters, superior to the entire power of Bestrem put together, and the youth could only imagine there were other powerful guards spread throughout the city.
In fact, it wasn’t just that building. Every mansion he came across had at least one Lesser Ring Realm cultivator within them, sometimes even up to four of them. On this trip alone, Red detected more cultivators than he ever did in the previous seven years of his life. Some of those even stood as guards at these mansion gates, which came as a surprise to the youth.
He was surrounded by tigers here, and no amount of caution would be enough. Thankfully, the traffic intensified too, with horse-drawn carriages and many more guard patrols moving through the streets, which drew attention away from his strange figure.
Eventually, Red spotted his destination from afar. As it turned out, Emer wasn’t lying.
A towering temple rose amidst the mansions and manors, standing out even in this part of the city. The building was rectangular, with a triangular roof that topped it off at well above thirty meters in height and well over fifty meters on the single side facing the street. Every brick and part of the temple seemed to be built of the most smooth and white marble, with segmented pillars joining each wall that were carved with simple yet marvelous decoration.
The entrance to the temple, which by itself was well over ten meters tall, was full of people coming in and out of the building, and there was no door to be seen. There was also no label to name the temple, other than the trimmed golden decors that surrounded the gateway and a shining symbol right above the entrance. A giant golden hand, showing its palm to the visitors of the temple.
It was more effective than any label.
Red came to a stop as he examined the building. Just its majestic appearance alone was enough to give anyone pause. Two guards sporting golden plated armor stood by the entrance, and the youth could tell they were both Lesser Ring Realm cultivators. This was also just what he saw from the outside.
When he extended his crimson sense, he found far more cultivators. There were more Lesser Ring Realm cultivators inside this golden temple than there were in the guardhouse, and he even detected at least three Great Ring Realm cultivators. That wasn’t all, however.
Amidst all the powerful fluctuations, one stood one like the Moon in a sea of stars. It was so strong that it even made Red’s head throb in pain for a moment, something that hadn’t happened to him in a long time. He knew what it meant with a single thought.
‘Spirit Core Realm.’
Two entire realms above him. The difference in power couldn’t be expressed through mere words, and Red knew what such a cultivator could kill him as easily as he could kill a mortal.
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He knew such people existed within the capital. He thought to himself that even if they were strong, as long as he remained out of their sight, there was nothing to worry about. Yet, reality was always different. Now that he was about to walk into the lair of such a strong cultivator, Red couldn’t help but hesitate.
‘I just broke through, so why do I still feel like a mortal?’
Just getting strong wasn’t enough. If he wasn’t the strongest person in the room, the youth knew such feelings would remain.
“Stop gawking, you idiot!” Aurelia’s voice reached him. “If you do that, then the people inside will definitely notice.”
Red frowned, but still followed her advice.
He approached the entrance. There was a line to get into the building, overseen by a clerk sitting behind a desk with a large book and a pen in his hand. The man greeted everyone with a wide smile, taking in their name, general information, and purpose for visiting before redirecting them somewhere.
Red stood at the back of the line, and his presence immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding people. Most of the temple’s visitors were merchants, working folk, or even nobles, by the looks of it. None of them carried weapons, and much less wore a mask like the youth.
The two guards by the entrance also eyed Red, but their expressions didn’t change and they didn’t change their stances as they held onto their halberds. While his appearance was unusual, these people were professionals and probably used to dealing with other cultivators in the city.
The line was extending well into the sidewalk, but it moved rather quickly. It took Red almost fifteen minutes before he was standing before the clerk.
The man’s expression didn’t change as he eyed this masked stranger, but his fluctuation did shudder for an instant.
He smiled at Red. “Welcome to our Golden Temple, sir. How may we help you today?”
“I’m looking for a loan.” Red said.
“A loan? Certainly.” The clerk nodded, jotting down on his book. “What’s the purpose of this loan?”
“To open a business.”
“I see. May I ask this sir’s name?”
“Viran.”
“And may I presume sir Viran is a cultivator?”
Red nodded.
The man kept nodding and writing in his book. “May I ask what this sir’s cultivation realm is?”
“Lesser Ring Realm.”
Red didn’t lie. It was likely the guards outside had already discerned that much either way.
“Lesser Ring Realm?” The clerk seemed surprise. “That is certainly remarkable.”
Although the man acted very well, Red could discern his genuine emotions through his fluctuation. There was no surprise at his reply, as if this clerk already knew about it.
‘News seem to spread fast in this city.’
The man continued. “We are more than happy to speak to you about this loan, sir Viran. However, there are some rules that must be followed while within the temple.”
“What rules?” Red asked.
“No weapons are allowed within the temple.”
‘This again?’
Red frowned. He supposed it made sense to disarm powerful cultivators while receiving them in your home, but this was just something he couldn’t do.
“I quite like my weapons.” Red said. “Is there any way I can keep them inside the temple?”
The clerk put on a struggling expression. “That would be hard, sir-”
“What if I gave you something else as collateral?” Red cut him off.
The man seemed surprised. “Oh? What did this sir have in mind?”
The youth fished out two Spirit Stones from his backpack, sliding them across the table towards the merchant.
“Is that enough?” he asked.
The clerk’s eyes widened, and this time he wasn’t feigning surprise. He still hesitated to pick them up, though.
“I need to speak with my superior first, sir.” the clerk said.
Red nodded. “Go ahead.”
He thought the man would stand up and go somewhere else, but instead he just touched a golden earring on his ear, which glowed with a soft green light.
‘Another communication treasure.’
In a world of cultivators, speaking face to face became rather unnecessary.
The clerk’s mental conversation with his superior was rather quick, and he lowered his hand a minute later before looking at Red with a bright smile.
“You may keep your weapons in the temple, sir.” the man said, grabbing the two spirit stones. “However, we would ask that you keep them sheathed, or our temple will have to respond with appropriate measures.”
“Fine.” Red nodded.
At the end of the day, money was still the solution to most problems.
“Please, step in.” The clerk pointed to the inner rooms. “One of our servants will direct you to a meeting room.”
Red did as much.
If the outside of the temple was rather subdued in decor, then the inside spared no modesty. An enormous golden chandelier hung down from the ceiling of the main hall, paintings of various people hung around the walls of the place, foreign potted plants and fine wooden chairs and tables could be found in every corner. And this was only what one could see in the main hall, as corridors and an extensive set of stairs led to the innards of the temple.
The inside of the temple was still just as active, with tons of people walking around attending to their duties and lines of common folk waiting to speak with a clerk at their desk. It seemed most business was attended to right here, in the main hall, while more important matters were seen to in private rooms.
Thankfully, it seemed Red fell into this second camp.
“Please, sir.” An elegant woman wearing a fine embroidered golden dress approached him. “Follow me.”
She pointed towards the stairs, leading Red over. After going through up and through some corridors, the youth was finally shown to an empty room. It was just as finely furnished as the main hall, with two large cushioned benches and a small table full of fruits and other delicacies.
The woman pointed to one of the seats. “Please, sir. One of our merchants will be right over to speak with you.”
Red nodded and sat down.
“Do you need anything else, sir?” she asked. “Drinks? Perhaps some wine?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The woman didn’t insist and left the room, closing the door behind her. Red was left alone, looking around the place as if in search of a trap or hidden formation. In the end, though, he found nothing.
‘Was there even a need to be this underhanded, considering all the forces they have?’
The answer was obviously no. If they wanted to deal with Red, they didn’t need to rely on a trap.
The youth then had no choice but to wait in silence for the arrival of his attendant. It wasn’t until almost ten minutes later that he felt a fluctuation approach his room.
‘This is…?’
Red frowned. The fluctuation felt faintly familiar. It hadn’t stood out as the youth searched through the buildings and identified a powerful Spirit Core cultivator, but now that it was coming his way, he couldn’t help but focus on it
‘Can it be?’
Before Red could organize his thoughts, this fluctuation approached the room and opened the door.
“Sir Viran! I’m sorry for having made you wait.”
On the other side of the door, a slightly overweight merchant greeted him. A familiar visage.
It was Gustav.