Chapter 1077 – A Splendid World
Zhao Hai"s mind was completely glued to the book. Under the book"s guidance, the enormous World of Cultivation slowly unraveled before Zhao Hai"s mind.
It was an incomparably mysterious world. Moreover, it was different than the novels that Zhao Hai had read before. Back then, people from the Cultivation Realm would be riding their swords as they flew in all directions. But this wasn"t the case here, the technology of this world was very developed. People could still ride their flying swords, of course, but if they want to hurry then they would be using something else. They would either use transmission formations or some vehicles.
The World of Cultivation was also very dangerous. Even powerful cultivators would find themselves in danger at any time. If they fly using their swords all the time, then they would need to keep providing energy. If their enemy knew about what they were doing and then used a transmission formation ahead of time, then the cultivator would be fighting with a deficit in energy. The end result of this wouldn"t be good for the cultivator. Therefore, cultivators who wanted to hurry along would just use cars and other transportation vehicles rather than waste their energy in flying by themselves.
It was just like how a normal human would ride buses when going long distances. Who in their right mind would jog from city to city? The same principle applies in the World of Cultivation.
But Zhao Hai also understood that the level of technology between places differ. It can be said that the science and technology in this world wasn"t purely mechanical. Instead, technology would be the base and then other aspects would be added to it.
Take the Machine Field for example, their mechanical technology was unified with magic formations, creating a unique civilization. But the mechanical technology in the Machine Realm was only a partial part of their civilization, magic formations was also added to it.
On the other hand, in the Cultivation Realm, cultivators give cultivation priority. Because of this, their usage of technology was entirely different.
While the Machine Field had fast cars, mechs, and battles.h.i.+ps, the Cultivation Realm was still left with the cultivators themselves equipped with magic artifacts.
But currently speaking, the Cultivation Realm"s civilization was much better than the Machine Field. Although the Machine Field had powerful battles.h.i.+ps, these battles.h.i.+ps still fall short compared to the Cultivation Realm"s magic artifacts.
Besides the Machine Field and the Cultivation Realm, there was still the Devil Realm, Monster Realm, Spirit Realm, and the Elven Realm!
The entire World of Cultivation was mainly composed of these six powers. They were situated at the middle of the world, becoming its central powers.
There were other powers in the World of Cultivation as well, but these weren"t as huge and as powerful as the Cultivation Realm and the others. However, these powers still held influence in their respective territories. And with the central powers being hostile to each other, they were able to survive up to now.
Although these six central powers were in a hostile relations.h.i.+p, this didn"t mean that they didn"t communicate with each other. There were transmission formations connecting their territories. At this time, the six were cautious about fighting lest they risk the lives of the innocent. Because of this, on the surface, the six powers were maintaining peace.
Although peace was needed to maintain trade, this didn"t mean that small skirmishes had stopped.
Naturally, these small battles were left unrecorded. However, Zhao Hai had experienced quite a lot of things, so from reading the book, he knew that these battles were constantly happening.
After reading, Zhao Hai understood that the Ark Continent belonged to the Divine Realm that was controlled by the Cultivation Realm. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Plane was under the Machine Field"s control. Although the place he ascended was different, he still ascended into a common major plane, the World of Cultivation.
In addition to Zhao Hai"s fast reading speed, the introductory book was also quite short. So in just a breath of time, Zhao Hai was done. After reading the book, Zhao Hai let out a long breath before his eyes lit up with sparkling light.
He didn"t expect to end up in such a splendid world. This world had battles between battles.h.i.+ps and immortal cultivators. And battles between monsters and men was somewhat common. Compared to this huge World of Cultivation, the Ark Continent, Atlanta Plane, Divine Realm, and the Underworld just couldn"t catch up.
Zhao Hai let out another breath as he returned to his usual mood. Then he turned to Tinkle and said, "Tinkle, what"s my schedule for tomorrow?"
Tinkle nodded and said, "Young Master, you have a cla.s.s tomorrow at room 1. There, you will receive basic ascender briefing."
Zhao Hai gave a nod, then he said, "Can I go to the cafeteria to eat now?"
Tinkle replied, "You can, Young Master. As long as you present your ID Card, the cafeteria will prepare a meal for you to eat."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Good, then let"s eat. Right, Tinkle, what energy do you need? Do you need to consume anything?"
Tinkle said, "Young Master, this Tinkle doesn"t need to eat anything. I could just charge myself every evening. There"s no need for you to worry."
Zhao Hao nodded. To be honest, he didn"t expect Tinkle to sustain itself by charging. He expected the robot to have a huge battery, allowing him to maintain its function for many years. Who would"ve thought that the Robot Butler would charge itself every night.
Zhao Hai proceeded to wear his Mage Robe. Naturally, this robe was a transformed version of Zhao Hai"s battle suit. Of course, he wouldn"t transform his clothes under anyone"s gaze, or else people will start to suspect.
Although Gu Mingyue didn"t say much, Zhao Hai was able to hear a lot of things from his words. A lot of ascenders from the lower realms use spatial equipment, so the academy shouldn"t be suspicious about him having one. But if he had two or more things that shouldn"t be in a lower realm, then the academy might not let him off easily.
Upon wearing his Mage Robe, Zhao Hai went out of his room along with Tinkle. As the two were walking, Zhao Hai turned to Tinkle and said, "Tinkle, how long will one charge last? Once I leave the academy and explore the world, wouldn"t it be troublesome if you just suddenly lose power?"
Tinkle replied, "Young Master, I"m a Robot Butler, so it"s impossible for me to be far from home. If Young Master brings me along inside a car, then I can charge using the vehicle. If Young Master wants to take me to a place with no electricity, then you might as well leave me behind. I can maintain two days of work with one charge. I also have a spare battery inside my body, allowing me to work for a total of five days. I will be completely drained after five days."
Zhao Hai nodded, it seems like Tinkle was just a normal home robot. With this information, it seems like robots were inferior to Undead.
When he thought about this, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but pause. Then he tapped his head. He forgot that he revealed that he was an all-element mage yesterday. This means that n.o.body would suspect him if he had an Undead helping him with his matters.
After thinking about this, Zhao Hai immediately turned to Tinkle and said, "Tinkle, I"m an All-element Mage. Will the Academy allow me to summon my Undead?"
Tinkle quickly replied, "It is allowed, but you can"t summon a lot. Common ascenders can summon at most five Undead to work for them."
Zhao Hai nodded, the actually didn"t expect the Academy to permit this action. But after hearing the answer, he suddenly thought about another matter, Faith power.
Using Undead meant using Dark Energy as well. If the Machine Field was like the Divine Realm, then they might suppress Dark Mages. That wouldn"t be good.
However, this matter wasn"t something that Tinkle could answer. Zhao Hai could just delay this matter and find the right time to ask the instructor tomorrow.
The two entered the elevator and before long they arrived at the cafeteria. The academy"s cafeteria was very huge. The academy"s cla.s.srooms occupied ten floors, and there was a cafeteria on each floor. Since Zhao Hai was having his cla.s.ses on the first floor, he could only go to the first floor cafeteria.
The first floor was where the most recent ascenders go to. They were all Mages, but since they came from different places, they each have their own differences.
Just like Zhao Hai who ascended while still young, there were also talents from other planes that ascended at an early age. Naturally, there were also less talented people who ascended late into their lives. One could see a person"s talent from this point. After all, one cannot hide their age.
Each floor"s cafeteria could accommodate 200 people at the same time. But from the day the academy was established, the cafeteria had never been full. Aside from those wise old men, there were young ascenders that were used to the life in their previous plane where each of their needs were being fulfilled. And since meals in the cafeteria were just ordinary, how could these people eat it? Because of this, those young ascenders would exchange their lower realm coins for machine coins. After that, they would go to the restaurant and have their meals there.
When Zhao Hai and Tinkle entered the first floor cafeteria, they saw several people already inside. These people were in Mage Robes. Most of them were quite old, with white beards and hair.
These Old Mages quietly ate their ordinary meals. Their quiet att.i.tude made the cafeteria quite a spiritless place.
Looking at these Old Mages, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but sigh inside. He can understand the mood of these Old Mages. They took great pains cultivating their entire life in order to ascend and be treated as deities. But after they ascended, they actually discovered that they weren"t treated as deities. Instead, they arrived at an advanced society that didn"t look at them as anything special. Faced with this situation, the attack on their spirits would surely be enormous.
Zhao Hai also noted Robot Butlers beside these Old Mages. Moreover, their robots had the same model as Tinkle. There were only a few advanced looking Robot Butlers.
Although these Old Mages were quietly eating, they were still aware of their surroundings. Seeing newcomers coming in, they couldn"t help but look at the entrance. Upon doing so, they couldn"t help but stare. They didn"t expect a young man like Zhao Hai to come to the cafeteria. Moreover, this was someone they haven"t seen before.
However, they quickly changed their mind after they understood. This was definitely a new ascender. After that, they didn"t care about Zhao Hai anymore as they proceeded to face their food.
Zhao Hai understood the moods of these Old Mages. These Old Mage discovered that they didn"t ascend to a holy place. Moreover, they were old, so improving their strength would be very difficult. Because of this, they didn"t spend their money extravagantly. Instead, they saved their money so that when they leave the academy, they could use this money in order to live their remaining years in happiness.
Zhao Hai lightly sighed when he thought about these Old Mages. Moreover, he didn"t think that these Old Mages were not talented. After all, they were still able to ascend, this meant that they had potential. Moreover, after living in the Lower Realms for many years, they surely had a lot of acc.u.mulated wisdom. And sometimes, wisdom was the most precious thing one could have.
Zhao Hai never looked down on these old people. As he stood at the cafeteria"s entrance, he looked around the cafeteria before greeting the Old Mages close by, "h.e.l.lo, I"m Zhao Hai. I just ascended here from the Atlanta Plane. I hope you can take care of me from now on."
The Old Mages didn"t expect Zhao Hai to take the initiative to talk to them. Moreover, he was so polite. One must know that the other young ascenders would just arrogantly look at them before snorting. It was as though they had grown eyes on their foreheads. And now, there was this unfamiliar young man being polite to them.
After seeing that the Old Mages weren"t replying, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but smile faintly as he added, "Everyone here is an ascender from the lower realms. It can be said that we came from the same place. The only thing different between us is our age. Other than that, we are the same group. I hope that we can help each other. After all, the Machine Field is a very strange place for us."
The Old Mages stared at Zhao Hai. It took a while before someone spoke out. After some time, an Old Mage stood up and courteously bowed, "I"ve seen Mister Zhao Hai. This one is Dins from the Ole Plane."
Chapter 1078 – Ashley Clan
Being ascenders from the lower realms, these people certainly weren"t simple characters. And for these Old Mages to ascend, it only meant that they were somewhat geniuses among their people. It was only a pity that they were already old when they ascended. This caused their future development to be filled with challenges.
But at the same time, these Old Mages were people who achieved the peak of their realms. And it was impossible for their hands to not be stained with blood. Because of this, their mental states would surely be very solid.
It was only because they had ascended to the Machine Field that these Old Mages began to feel temporarily dejected. In the future, they would just casually find a place and live a countryside lifestyle.
Zhao Hai"s words were a faint proposal for an alliance. These Old Mages were wizened individuals. Therefore, they were able to read Zhao Hai"s intention from his words.
All of them came from the lower realms. Although they had been received well after ascending to the Machine Field, this didn"t mean that they would be treated well in the future. Perhaps the people from the Machine Field would treat them as cannon fodder in future battles. These Old Mages didn"t have Zhao Hai"s s.p.a.ce. Because of this, they had no means to decline arrangements from the Machine Realm. In this case, it"s quite possible for them to meet miserable ends.
But if they unite, then the situation would be different. Of course. their alliance doesn"t have the means to contend against the entire Machine Field, but if they band together, they wouldn"t be abused in the future. There were gangs who lived long lives because of this principle.
These Old Mages were still outstanding individuals, they were only demoralized at this time because of their status as well as the fact that they were plunged into a strange world. Upon hearing Zhao Hai"s words, these Old Mages immediately introduced themselves. But in the entire cafetaria, there were only 15 Old Mages present.
After the Old Mages introduced themselves, Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Grandmasters, this young one has just ascended, so I basically know nothing. I"m just like you. I hope that we can mutually support each other in the future."
These Mages naturally complied as they smiled. Zhao Hai promptly went to the robots in order to get his meal before gathering together with the old men.
The food wasn"t phenomenal and there wasn"t any liquor. Additionally, the room that was built for 200 people was only occupied by a few people, making it very desolate. But despite this, the spiritless atmosphere of the room had vanished.
Zhao Hai knew that with Tinkle present, this matter would certainly be known to many people. However, he wasn"t worried because there were only a dozen or so people. It was impossible for them to threaten the Machine Field. He was also doing this in order to catch the attention of the major forces.
Zhao Hai believed that no matter where, a force that wants to grow and develop would always need a lot of talents. And it was quite appropriate to say that Zhao Hai was such a talent.
And what just happened was indeed like what Zhao Hai thought. What Zhao Hai did today has been noted by the various powers from the Machine Field. Those who didn"t get a video would get a printed report.
And a Dark Mage Clan, the Ashley Clan, was one of them. The Ashley Clan was quite famous in the Machine Field. And Clans of Dark Mages were quite unique.
In the World of Cultivation, the six influence weren"t only hostile to each other. Besides the six, there were also enemies that they needed to defend against. These were some malicious ghosts produced by extreme lands or powerful magic beats.
Up until now, n.o.body could explain exactly how malicious ghosts came into being. Some said that they were souls of people who had grievances when they died. Upon death, their souls slowly absorbed resentment before forming into malicious ghosts. This theory was also deemed as the closest one to the truth. Aside from these resentful souls, special conditions also needed to be met. It was just like in the Underworld where dark energy was strong, eventually producing Undead.
These malicious ghosts or powerful magic beasts pose threats to the Machine Field as well. In order to live peacefully, these enemies needed to be dealt with. Normally, this work would be managed by Mages or Warriors. Therefore, Mages and Warriors would take care of it in the Machine Realm.
There were plenty of churches in the Machine Field. Naturally, churches didn"t only belong to light element Mages. Each Mage group had their own church. In addition to this, there were also aristocratic families with Mage or Warrior lineage. These families had their own unique magic or martial skill. After developing for many years, they were able to slowly influence the realm.
However, there were only three powers that really held major influence in the Machine Field. The first power was the Church Alliance. This alliance was composed of Mages. The high-ranks of the Alliance were almost made out of Mages. Their main objective was to train and take in Mages. In the Magic Field, the Church Alliance doesn"t only composed of various churches. They also take in other Mage groups into their fold.
The second power was the Martial Arts a.s.sembly. Similar to the Church Alliance, the a.s.sembly was composed of Warriors. They opened this a.s.sembly in order to take in Warriors who ascended in the Machine Realm. Naturally, Warrior Clans would become members of this a.s.sembly.
The third power was the Machine Field Army. It can be said that the Machine Field Army was the largest force in the realm. Since it was an army, it had battles.h.i.+ps, mechs, Mages, and Warriors among their members. They were the most powerful fighting force in the Machine Field.
If the Machine Field was the country, then the Machine Field Army would be the country"s regular troops. Meanwhile, the Church Alliance and the Martial Arts a.s.sembly would be forces that were recognized by the government. These two powers had complicated relations to the government, but they had certain influence in the overall governance of the realm.
The Church Alliance and the Martial Arts also had their own battles.h.i.+ps and mech battalion. However, their quant.i.ty and quality was lower compared to the Machine Field Army. And in the Machine Field Army, the strongest divisions were the battles.h.i.+ps and the mechs, never the Warrior and Mage divisions.
The Ashley Clan was one of the members of the Church Alliance. They were a famous Dark Mage Clan, and they had 100 members working inside the Alliance.
One shouldn"t underestimate these 100 people. One must know that the Machine Field only had a bit more than 1,000 administrative positions in the government. These positions would be divided by the three major powers. The Ashley Clan holding 100 of these positions meant that they had terrifying strength.
The place where Zhao Hai was at now was the Ashey Clan"s domain. In the Machine Realm, there were also a lot of places where ascenders end up. Zhao Hai was just someone who happen to ascend in the Ashley Clan"s domain.
Since the Ashely Clan was a Mage Clan, naturally they had a special fondness regarding Mages. This was especially true for Mage ascendants. The Ashley Clan attached great importance to people from the lower realms because the Ashley Clan"s founding patriarch was an ascender himself.
Zhao Hai"s actions have been sent to the Ashley Clan"s external hall manager. This manager was also a Dark Mage. He sat there with his black robe. But unlike most thin Dark Mages, this manager was fat. He was 1.9m tall and should be about 300jin(150kg). He had brown hair and silver gray eyes. But he didn"t have the honest and simple look of a conventional fatty. Instead, his face looked ferocious, not something a good person would have at all.
Currently on the manager"s table was a recording of Zhao Hai"s actions. A middle-aged person stood in front of him. This person had a normal nose and was also wearing a mage robe. However, aside from his eyes and his robes, there was nothing noteworthy about the man.
This person was respectfully standing opposite the fat manager. One wouldn"t want to take a heavy breath with the atmosphere inside the room.
Zhao Hai didn"t do a lot of things in the two days that he had been here. Moreover, the recording didn"t show everything that Zhao Hai did. All the irrelevant parts were cut out, only the valuable recordings were kept in.
As soon as the video had finished playing, the fat manager looked up at the middle-aged man and said, "This one is interesting. He didn"t have any arrogance despite being an ascender. Moreover, he"s quite good at communication. He"s also talented."
The middle-aged person bowed and said, "He is. This Zhao Hai has been a.s.signed to room 2046. He also gave the receptionist a gift as thanks. Then he united the Old Mages into an alliance. We could see his talent in these actions. Because of that, I recommend him to Manager. Manager, our Bone Symbol Camp has slowly lagged behind our other battalions. We should attract more talents to this clamp."
The fat manager nodded before he sighed and said, "Our Bone Symbol Camp is the first battalion of the external hall. But it is precisely because of this status that they always get the most dangerous missions. Additionally, our Bone Symbol Camp could only be replenished if there are deaths. This caused the Bone Symbol Camp to hold too few ascenders. I hope this Zhao Hai can be a gift to the camp."
Despite his ugly and ferocious face, the manager"s voice was actually peaceful. It made people have a favorable impression of him. One couldn"t even a.s.sociate his voice with his face.