The city was of a generic name, Xi’an. It served as a bustling hub of trade, as caravans passed through, merchant stalls scattered on the sides of the streets. Beneath was all sand, the buildings made of yellow, sand-blasted limestone.
“Interesting, a city in a wasteland.” Au-ha was intrigued.
The Lord would always chime in, “We need to progress into this world, gain strength, gain status. First, you should get a map.”
“Jia, do you know the layout of the city?” I asked.
“I've been here many times.” She nodded. She still looked like a lost puppy.
“Cheer up already, time and tide wait for no man. Let's go.”
As we wandered through, I noticed many stares directed at Jia and many stares at me and my lovely long tail. We came to a sewing shop, with a sewing machine and fine fabrics purchased. It took around 200 hundred of the stones. I was able to place it in the spatial pouch.
Speaking of these pouches, I noticed many cultivators had them, some fancier than mine. Little treasure troves on their bodies, wasn't that a terrible idea?
I was hoping to get rid of this pouch one day, it was unfitting for a beast like me.
Jia led me to the library, which was a large gray building, within which were books upon books upon books compressed into parallel shelves. The fee was 100 stones. I would pick up a book, and scan it at hyper speeds, my lovely AI au-ha automatically and instantly internalizing the information. Jia watched on in amazement. Each book could be finished in around 10 seconds.
Many, many hours later, as the sun began to fall, I finally finished scanning all the relevant books. They all contained general information, I filtered out all the unnecessary fiction books and whatnot, not bothering to read them.
This world, foremost, was a flat continent that would loop into itself infinitely like a grid. If you traveled far east, you would come out of the west, if you traveled to the north, you would eventually encounter the south.
The Western desert, where I landed. A barren and sandy place lacking of resources, resulting in many calling it the weakest region. Many tribes had formed an alliance, which threatened to take the place of the Mo Clan.
The Eastern plains, where the cultivators were a peaceful and righteous type. They were considered one of the most powerful regions, as resources and inheritances were abundant. I had learned an inheritance is a test of sorts left behind by other cultivators. Inside would be the cultivators greatest treasures and techniques. They were almost always made by dying cultivators.
The Northern Reaches, savage and barbarous, the northern people are intensely disliked, known for waging war on other territories multiple times. They are physically powerful, inborn elements of ice and snow they can control. Axe-wielding warriors who believe in an eternal afterlife of combat.
The southern sea and islands. In the south, lay a massive ocean of qi. Inside are dangerous beasts all abound, swarming and reeling about in the underwater currents. This place was mostly water, with little amounts of land. They grew strong thanks to the resources gained from beasts.
Each reach of the world had four clans serving as the mightiest. They checked each other, and made each other more powerful. All clans in the first place of a region, had the right to break into the nine on the center via a tournament held every decade.
There are only clans in this world, an irony to be sure. A world with no name has residents so desperate to have their name known.
At the center of it all, was the massive mountain. It could be seen from a distance almost anywhere on the land. The nine mightiest clans stood encircling the base. Inside the mountain, was the lord of this world. The first being to ever touch immortality.
The entire continent was estimated to be hundreds of thousands of miles long. Many times bigger than the circumference of the earth.
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Generic information on techniques, and styles of combat. One of the most interesting books I read was called, Back from the River. It was a fable, and a guide. It told the story of a man who went to the river of rebirth and came back multiple times. When I tried to buy it, she told me it was 1,500 stones! When I asked why, she said it was because it was the only copy they had.
A shame.
I looked for information on beasts too. I found that the desert contains beasts that are particularly interesting to me - There were beasts of lightning, and the particularly enticing swallowing sand worms. Massive armored worms with the ability to consume vast amounts of sand. There are tales of entire tribes being swallowed. The inside of these beasts contains a pocket dimension, not unlike the spatial bags cultivators carried.
“Finally a target,” the lord of stars was apparently quite bored with my adventures as of late.
A goal in mind, me and Jia headed back.
However, I had a humorous encounter with a man. He held a whip, striking his servants and other passerby's, being pulled by a carriage. Strangely enough, the sight did not rile up my anger. A plan formulated in my head.
“Get out of the way, peasants!” he kept whipping people, it was clear he was going to whip me soon, and, like a prophecy foretold, he did. It didn't really hurt, but I showed an exaggeratedly offended expression.
I quickly used my tail to snatch him off the carriage, and set him down gently in front of me.
“Why did you do that? That was unnecessary.” I spoke calmly.
He immediately started shouting. “Do you know who I am? The young master of the Han clan! My father-” I squeezed his lips shut.
“I'm the one talking here. Listen, young man, this is not acceptable. You are creating a bad image of yourself. You are going to get yourself killed one day. Do you think anyone likes someone like this? Do you think anybody would love someone like this? Your act is a petty façade because you are afraid of being hurt by others. Change your actions immediately, if I see you whipping people again, you get whipped. Okay?”
The young master was shocked, the words had cut him pretty deep. He didn't know why he acted like this, but it was true that he was despised within his own clan, by his own parents. Ever since the very beginning, he could not compare in the slightest to his brother.
So he took to playing the villain role to his heroic and mighty brother.
Or so Au-ha speculated in my head, at least. She also fed me those words.
“I-Im sorry.” the young master stumbled out.
“No worries,” I helped him up, and flashbacks of Cyrek appeared in my head. I wonder where he was.
“Now just buy me a drink and we'll be even,” I laughed.
“And give me 10,000 stones.” I added.
“What?!” he was taken aback, “I don't have that much, con artist!”
“Don't make me whip you,” I swung my tail threateningly around. “Why don't we get a drink, and work and a payment plan?”
The young master was greatly distressed, as he was conned by this red man.
At the bar, the young master revealed his name, drunkenly.
“I amsh Hon Fu! Young Lord of the Honnn clan.” a boisterous drunk.
“Hahaha, brother, what is your name?”
“Star,” I responded, “Mo Star”
Upon hearing this he almost completely spilled his drink.
“Mo?! Mo clansh? I never have heard of anyone as strongsh as you in that paltry, oversized tribe.” he did a double take. “Well, whatever, drink, drink!”
And so we drank. He gave me the entire 2,000 or so stones he had on him, and I called it even. Young masters, am I right? I used that money to buy the book Back from the River. It also briefly mentioned the river of time, and the massive pillar at the center of it all, that holds up the many worlds.
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Later on, Jia and I finally returned home to the clan.
The sewing machine had been delivered. I helped her set it up in her room, and I took to my own alone. I could hear the sounds of an electric needle all through the night.
These nights, Au-ha and I got closer and closer.
“Why do you bother to help that woman?” She was curious, and a little annoyed.
“Because, I can. Why not?”
“Please, don't be a hero.” She sighed. “Heroes always die early. They never make it to the end. People need to learn to help themselves.”
I stayed silent.
“But no matter what, I will always help you.” Au-ha spoke lovingly, as I felt a warm embrace inside.
“You two make me sick.” Big Star, the lord, was displeased.
“You can leave anytime.” I groaned.
“And spend another million years waiting? No, I'll just be your mental parasite until I can escape.”
I closed my eyes, soothed to sleep by the wonderful sensation of mental lovemaking.
The next morning, I decided to go hunting.