Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 123(Part 2). Hope you'll enjoy it!
See previous Author's note for any news.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Having helped sort out her feelings and some of his at the same time, Demian suggested they move to the main room to join the others. Well, that was if Adeliya was done with dressing up herself—she was, and much earlier than the two of them—and see if Bryn had gotten the green light to leave the mansion for the Outer City from the Sergei couple. Turned out the mother and daughter duo were already waiting in the entrance courtyard with Demian's teacher and his wife. Seeing the young man and Seraphine arrive hand in hand, a smile immediately graced Sergei and Ling's lips. The view brought a flurry of old memories to their mind, prompting Ling to send a voice transmission to Sergei. ["They really look like us when we had just started dating."] If it were not for his own self-control, the middle-aged man would have burst into laughter, though the twitches of his lips could not escape his wife, who threw him a glare, though she stayed silent for reasons only he and she were aware of. Noticing his wife's slight irritation, Sergei stated. ["Actually, our story is quite extraordinary in itself, so there's no need to compare it to others."] Despite saying those words with a clear intent of soothing her, they were entirely true. It was just that Ling had not forgiven herself completely for some particular events. In any case, his statement seemed to work as intended, since her facial expression visibly relaxed, bringing some relief to Sergei. After all, he may have been half a century old, but seeing his wife feeling down always made him uncomfortable, something his pupil seemed to share with his own partner, or partners, to be more specific. As those two had a lightning-fast exchange, Demian and Seraphine finally arrived in front of the group, the young man glancing admiringly at the two redheads, commenting. "You both look... Incredible." That brought a smile to their faces along with a slight blush. Before they could say anything, though, he turned toward his Teacher and asked rhetorically. "Seeing you like this, Teacher, I'm guessing you're okay with our little 'excursion'?" With a slight nod, the older man replied. "Sure. I instructed Xiao Xiong and three other guards to serve as guides, and... 'Flies repellent'. That's much needed in Bright Star City, especially with looks like yours." A few chuckles escaped Demian's lips as an image of fly-headed people getting swatted by the Mansion's guards appeared in his Mind, prompting him to reply. "That's much appreciated. Wouldn't want our date to be interrupted by some annoying people, would we?" That teasing question was mostly directed to the three women by his side, with each reacting differently, from rolling their eyes to smiling bashfully, though each looked excited for the date.
Chatting for a few minutes, the group of four Mikhailovs, along with a team of four guards, was seen riding a Peak Tier 2 Flying boat northward in the Outer City's direction. While sharing some light-hearted conversation, the family of four kept glancing outside of the deck at the scenery passing by at high speed, although, unlike the rest, Adeliya, with her Peak Sixth Level Chi Gathering Rank, was having trouble seeing details clearly, barely distinguishing vague shapes, but nothing too detailed. As time went by, the massive Estates grew smaller and smaller until they barely reached a few hectares in size. If it were in the Origin Islands, a few-hectare Estate would be considered fairly big. However, in Bright Star City and most Inner Island Capital Cities in the Federation, you would only be considered having a foot in the door of the upper class, whether in strength, influence, or money. Compared to those older Core Formation or Void Seed families, it was truly nothing to shout about. Well, it was all a matter of perspective in a sense, since their own Serene River Mansion was also relatively weak compared to those powerful Void Seed Families. 'It's truly the physical representation of 'behind a mountain, there is a higher mountain'. I wonder if I'll feel the same way once I reach the Void Seed Rank, feeling both superior to those people and inferior to those stronger...' Demian pondered as his gaze fell on those 'small' Estates, each of their Protective Formation 'only' emitting Tier 2 Energy fluctuations. Being absentminded for a brief moment, his mind filled with many thoughts, he then shook his head slightly before exclaiming inwardly. 'Forget it! I haven't even broken through to Tier 2 yet, and here I am, fantasizing about what I'll feel when I get to Tier 4. Talk about getting ahead of myself. Better...' Before he could finish that thought, he was suddenly interrupted by Seraphine's exclamation. "Damn! That's huge!" Following the dark elf's gaze, his brain lagged briefly before registering the view in front of him. Beyond the last line of Estates stood a colossal wall hundreds of meters tall with thick battlements, the latter's alternating gaps hidden behind some kind of spiritual fog, making it impossible to distinguish anything about the rampart's top. At least, with Demian's current cultivation base. In the center of that humongous structure lay a great wooden gate, its size bringing a question to the young man's Mind. 'How big was the tree they used to make that gate?' It was perplexing, but as the image of the incredibly tall tree standing in the Southern Nexus Plaza surfaced in his Mind, his surprise turned into acceptance, though the awe he felt was still intact. Indeed, it was one thing to know that a feat like that was possible, but actually achieving it was a completely different concept. Clearly, he was not he only one thinking that way, if the expressions of astonishment plastered on the girls' faces were any indication. "It's the Main Eastern Inner Gate, the gate separating the Red Tide District from our Great Tide District. Besides its innate toughness, thanks to the material used, it's also connected to the City's formation. That means no Core Formation Cultivator could possibly break through, and even average Void Seed Cultivators would be repelled if they tried to breach it." Turning his head toward the voice's owner, he saw Wang Xiong, the Deputy Leader of the Mansion's guards, a powerful man with a cultivation at the half-step Core Formation level and a physique matching his name [A/N: Xiong means bear in Mandarin]. 'Now that I think about it, aren't I considered a half-step Foundation Building Cultivator? If I remember correctly, you only need to reach the Peak of your Rank and meet at least one criterion for rank breakthrough...' While a sliver of his attention was busy pondering random topics, the rest of it was focused on the man's explanation, the latter's face exuding genuine simplicity, though Demian's intuition told him that the man was anything but simple. After all, Cultivation was one thing, but to be designated as Deputy Guard Leader by the Sergei couple, he had to have some smarts about him.
Well, it was not a bad thing for him anyway, so he decided to shove that thought aside and interject. "Mister Wang, how long is this wall? Does it go around the entire Inner City?" Turning toward his new Young Lord, Xiong, though showing nothing but a warm smile on his face, could not help but complain inwardly. 'The Heavens are really unfair!' Indeed, the young man in front of him, barely over 18 years old, was handsome enough to charm the dead and talented enough to even pose a slight threat to him despite there being a full Rank between them. To be fair, the extent of the lad's strength was merely his guess, something that his intuition warned him of. Though having honed himself in numerous fights against both humans and beasts, he trusted his own guts completely, something that saved his life many times. Seeing the difference between how strong the Young Lord was and how low his cultivation base was, it was clear that his cultivation journey would not stop at Foundation Building, and even the Core Formation Rank might not slow him down. As for higher than that, it was impossible to say since the higher one went, the harsher the requirement, with luck and opportunities playing a great role in breakthroughs. Though many thoughts traversed his Mind, only a brief moment passed in the outside world. Thus, Wang Xiong answered with some hesitation. "Well, I'm not sure about that. The only thing I know is that the entire Inner City is surrounded by it." Pausing for a second, his eyes swiftly moved toward the wooden Gate carved with scenes of immortal water beasts frolicking over gigantic waves, their fantastical figures illuminated by a bright full moon. Besides its inherent beauty, it also emitted some strange water fluctuations that would resonate with one's Water Intent, even boosting one's comprehension slightly. 'Using such a treasure to build a Gate is truly... Well, that's a Void Sapling(Tier 5) force for you, uh? If only my Intent matched with it, I might have been able to take that final step, like boss Chen...' Xiong thought in admiration, feeling a slight sense of frustration at his own 'lacking' talent. Following the man's gaze, Demian's gaze fell on the carvings, his Mind sensing some kind of resonance coming from it. 'Strange... It reminds me a bit about the Chaos Soul Ring inside my Soul Space, though the effect is extremely weak...' Feeling intrigued, he felt compelled to ask the knowledgeable man by his side, the latter quickly explaining. "That Gate is actually a part of a set of Nine Gates, with each District having one Main one and two Secondary ones. This particular one was made from a powerful Water Tree and carved by a team of a few Peak Tier 3 Formation Lords and Artifact Lords. Rumors also mention a Void Seed Cultivator from the Federation being involved, his role being to imbue some of his Water Intent inside for others to sense and comprehend. Though his exact Cultivation is unknown."
Sensing the Water Intent fluctuations coming from the wooden gate, Demian remarked with a playful smile. "With that kind of Water Intent, I'm sure it's not just a rumor." As someone who comprehended a First-Grade Water Intent, he could say with confidence that if one wanted to imbue a First-Stage intent for others to comprehend, one would need to have reached a much higher level. Even Second-Grade Intent might not be enough to achieve that. Since Second-Grade Intent was the hallmark of Void Seed Cultivators, it would make sense that one of them was involved in the construction of that massive wooden structure, and most likely someone beyond the Early Void Seed level. After daydreaming about his own future, he wondered what he would do when he gained that kind of power. His train of thought was broken, however, when when the group flew inside the colossal open wooden door, his Soul Sense catching many Foundation Building fluctuations coming from not only the flying artifacts filled with cultivators coming and going to the Outer City, but also from the armored guards on each side of the Gates, the latter standing of Elemental platforms at different heights all around the Gate. The young man even sensed some Core Formation fluctuations, though the only reason he noticed them was that his Soul Quality had 'Transcending Quality', something that would have normally been impossible for Mortal Cultivators in a Mortal World. However, Demian's Perks, coupled with that Chaos Soul Ring, broke all logic and rules, making it possible for the young man to sense someone even beyond two Ranks above him, though the feeling was relatively vague. As their flying boat crossed the checkpoint without having been questioned even once, something Xiong explained was thanks to the City's Formation's identification function, the group of four Mikhailovs and four guards finally reached the Outer City. Seeing them arrive at their destination, Xiong suddenly exclaimed while gesturing toward the horizon. "Welcome to the Outer City, Red Tide District, the favorite den of Alchemists and Formation enthusiasts."