Chapter 725: The Great Gathering
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the Holy City, runic technology was fairly advanced; but the people here, especially the experts, were more inclined toward using Dimensional lifeforms to emphasize their status and power. A good Dimensional lifeform could provide a lot of help to its owners too.
He had heard of how ‘all-inclusive’ the Holy City was from Molton. It was a place where technology and mythology co-existed, and you could only feel how ‘all-inclusive’ it was if you were there personally. Humans on Earth seemed to be living miserably, yet humans here were taking charge and making progress. However, the question was, since the Holy City possessed such power, why didn’t they use it to expand the Federation? If they did, humans could expand their territory in most places outside of the several restricted areas, and they would be able to reside in better living environments.
However, now wasn’t the time for w.a.n.g Zhong to ponder over this issue. He looked at the idle ‘horse-drawn carriages’ standing at the street corner. Having the habit of grinning periodically, these creatures had six legs, and their upper body resembled that of a human’s, while their faces looked more like a monkey’s.
w.a.n.g Zhong thought that those things should be something similar to a ‘taxi.’ When he inquired about it, the other party seemed really happy.
“Haha, you’re a Holy Apprentice, huh?” The exuberant driver looked rather bold and unrestrained. His body emitted a faint silver glow of Soul Power, and he was full of energy when he spoke. If someone from Earth saw such a person, they would not have thought that he was a ‘driver.’ “We’re not allowed to use runic aircraft in the city. It will be a total cost of fifty thousand Federation Coins based on where you want to go. Of course, it would be better if you are willing to give two Holy Coins.”
w.a.n.g Zhong smiled. “I’ll pay with fifty thousand Federation Coins.”
The driver whistled and braced his shoulders. “Sit tight, we’ll be there in a second!”
The Holy City occupied a vast area. This floating continent occupied a s.p.a.ce of at least 50,000 square kilometers. When compared to Earth, even the largest city on Earth could not hold a candle to it. The regional layout of the entire Holy City was pretty detailed and hierarchical.
The outermost area of the Holy City was inhabited by alien races or Dimensional Humans. They were responsible for the construction of infrastructure and the maintenance of the Holy City, but they also did many other ordinary but essential tasks. Of course, there were also areas for slaves and prisons. This district was rather large, taking up all the outer regions of the Holy City. If you went deeper inside, you would find an inner city area divided by an energy barrier emitting a pale blue light. There were many protection barriers in the Holy City, and the division of the areas was also based on these protection barriers. Therefore, it was not possible to enter ‘accidentally.’
Unauthorized vehicles, alien races, ordinary Dimensional Humans, and so on were not allowed to enter the inner city area. Unless permitted, flying in the Holy City was not allowed. And who was permitted depended on their level; for example, teachers were not allowed, but the Great Teachers were.
It could be seen that the few streets near the blue defense barriers were quite busy. Many Dimensional Humans and idle people gathered here. In the inner city, there were apprentices or mentors who occasionally went out to execute missions. They often needed manpower to a.s.sist them in miscellaneous tasks, and those idle people took the opportunity to render their services.
As long as you were chosen, even those with poor luck could earn a hefty commission. Although it was not possible to earn Holy Coins, the big shots in the inner city were quite generous with Federation Credits. However, if you were lucky, you could enter dangerous places that you could only access when tagging along on missions; while there, you then had the opportunity to gain unexpected benefits, such as casting an extraordinary Dharma Idol or obtaining very valuable dimensional resources.
The vehicle stopped at the edge of the outer region. The identification system in the Skylink could be used to pa.s.s through the verification of the blue defense barrier. They reached the inner city area upon crossing the barrier. After opening the GPS map function on the Skylink and entering the keywords “Holy Disciple District A31,” a clear path was marked out in a 3D hologram image. If you followed the GPS, you could roughly understand the layout of the inner city from the map.
The entire inner city was roughly divided into five regions. The outermost region was the Holy Disciples’ District, which surrounded the edges of the inner city. Then, it was further divided into Holy Disciples’ Districts A and B. District A was mainly the accommodation area for Holy Disciples. Districts A1 to A39 were scattered throughout the entire periphery. Holy Disciples’ District B was set up by the major cultivation forces as an area for cultivation and learning. Districts B1 to B72 represented a variety of subject areas established by the major forces, such as Alchemy, Infinite Pharmaceutics, Chemical Studies, Holy Battle, and so on. After being acquainted with the simple symbols, things seemed fairly straightforward.
If you proceeded further, there would be the Great Teachers’ District, the Sacred Teachers’ District, the Patriarch’s District, and the most-central Holy Tower District. These were not shown in detail on the map. These districts were blurred and could only be clearly seen after you reached the corresponding level of authority. There were clear signs warning against trespa.s.sing there.
The inner city area looked much cleaner than the outer city area. As well, there were no Hippogriffs cluttering up the sky. In the inner city area, most people — and this excluded the higher-ups — were forbidden from flying by any method; however, there were plenty of pedestrians on the street. The Dimensional Exploration organization could be seen on several streets. It was an organization that hired mercenaries and was quite popular here. It had branches located at every other street, and the halls of its branches were always full. This was the main way to earn Holy Coins in the Holy Land. The teachers, the Great Teachers, and even the Patriarch Society would always issue a large number of missions here.
In addition, there was an a.s.sortment of shops on the streets. Many sold things that w.a.n.g Zhong had not heard of before during his time on Earth, such as alchemy products, synthetic drugs, technology shops, and even so-called dimensional-resource grocery stores. While strolling along the streets, everything felt novel to w.a.n.g Zhong; and if it wasn’t for the 18 consecutive Skylink messages from Laura and Scarlet, he could have stayed here for two days.
Finally, he reached Holy Disciple District A31 after following the map. This area basically housed the students’ accommodation buildings. The environment seemed pretty good. There were some individual houses, and most of them had a small lawn on the front porch. These should be the places where some Holy Disciples resided, and it was completely different from the big dormitories that the newcomers had to share.
It was gradually getting dark as w.a.n.g Zhong searched for the address that Molton gave him. Around him, small villas were brightly lit. w.a.n.g Zhong was overcome with emotion at the thought of meeting his old friends. From living in the cursed lands for a month or two to cultivating alone in the desert, he felt like he had entered a whole new world when he arrived at this city with bustling crowds. He took a deep breath, flung his little travel backpack onto his shoulder, and strode in.
Currently, the villa was full of commotion. Unlike with formal banquets, the people here were dressed casually, and the atmosphere in the hall was quite relaxed. This was a private gathering that a few Mystic Sect seniors organized to welcome Molton, the ‘privileged cla.s.s’ who had gone out to cultivate for over a year. In the eyes of ordinary students, Molton was absolutely awesome. For a Great Teacher to allow him to go on a vacation for more than a year — and even return to Earth — made Molton a very significant figure in their eyes.