Lily did not immediately head toward the fifth floor. Instead, she wandered through the broad avenues of the Dragon Boat, her sharp eyes drinking in everything.
The vessel was so vast it felt less like a ship and more like a floating city. Arched bridges connected glowing pagodas; stalls lined the streets selling food, trinkets, and charms; fountains of spirit water sparkled under the light of conjured moons. The scent of roasted spirit beast meat mixed with the sweetness of candied lotus. Crowds pressed together in a constant tide— beast-folk with twitching ears, robed human cultivators, merfolk with jeweled scales.
It reminded her of something.
"That Level 3 Fishery tried to rob something like this," she muttered.
Her thoughts were cut short by shouts. A crowd had gathered near the plaza's center, forming a wide ring.
Two men stood at the heart of it, their auras clashing like invisible storms.
