A few hundred kilometers away from where the cultivators had gathered, Arthur slowed his flight and descended toward a patch of area that looked like it was prepared for agriculture.
Below him was a village that was modest and unfortified, nestled between stretches of farmland and bordered by the distant and endless forest. There were no walls, or guard towers protecting the village. In front of the village was a dirt road, and it was populated by wooden houses with tiled roofs, and fields where rows of crops were planted.
Arthur hovered for a moment, then he lowered himself slowly some distance away from the village, making sure his descent doesn't scare anyone half to death. As he walked towards the farmland, several farmers looked up from their work. Their eyes narrowed as they looked at his strange attire.
A young man among them abruptly dropped his tool and without saying a word, he turned and sprinted toward the village most likely to inform the other villagers about him.
He continued forward at a walking pace. The farmers didn't stop him, but they also didn't resume working, they just tracked him with wary eyes.
By the time Arthur reached the village entrance, a small group had already gathered in front of it.
At the front of the crowd stood an elderly man, his back was straight despite his age, and his hair was mostly white but neatly tied. His eyes were sharp like someone who had experienced a lot in life, he was not fearful and stepped forward the moment Arthur stopped a few paces away.
The old man brought his hands together and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lord," he said carefully. "I am Li Junjie, chief of this village. What can our humble village do for you?"
The old man was the Chief of the village and when he heard from his grandson that a man in a weird attire was approaching their village he immediately understood that it must be someone who possesses immense strength. As, to travel alone without any escort near the area where their village was the man must be a Cultivator.
Arthur was surprised at the language the old man was using. 'Mandarin?'
He hadn't expected he would hear a familiar language, that too not after coming to a different universe. Still, the familiarity eased something in his chest.
Arthur returned the bow, matching the old man almost instinctively. And since he knew mandarin he spoke clearly "Greetings, Senior," he replied. "I am a wandering martial artist and I was hoping you might answer a few questions."
The old village chief was surprised with Arthur's polite attitude before he quickly schooled his expression.
'A wandering cultivator,' he thought. 'And one who is polite too.'
That alone set Arthur apart from the arrogant cultivators he'd encountered before. So, he invited him inside the village.
"You honor us," the old chief said, stepping aside. "Please, come in."
…
The village was small but well-kept.
As Arthur followed Li Junjie inside, villagers peeked from doorways and windows, he even heard them talking about his appearance. Some looked at him curiously, while some were frightened, but most villagers watched with cautious respect.
A few minutes later, Arthur found himself seated across from the chief inside a simple wooden house. Tea steamed gently between them, the aroma filling the room.
Arthur cradled the cup for a moment before speaking. "What is the name of this village?"
Li Junjie smiled, some pride creeping into his expression. "Our village is called Huangnitang. It has stood here for generations and we are part of Jilin Province, surrounded by forest on three sides."
Arthur nodded. "And how far is the nearest city?"
"Xingsha," the old man replied. "Its about two thousand li from here."
Arthur did a quick calculation. 'Roughly a thousand kilometers.'
No wonder the place felt isolated. He took a sip of tea before asking, "Have you ever seen cultivators before?"
Li Junjie chuckled softly, though there was a hint of bitterness beneath it. "Yes I have seen them, I even interacted with them a few times."
Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Sometimes," the old man continued, "cultivators come to the cities to recruit disciples. Talented children, and those with elemental roots." He paused, his eyes drifting briefly to the floor. "Once upon a time… I tried as well."
Arthur didn't interrupt the old man.
"Well I failed," Li Junjie said calmly, though from his tone it was clear the disappointment lingered even after decades. "I have no elemental roots. So, I was not destined to tread in the path of cultivation."
Arthur leaned back slightly. "Do they come often?"
"They come every five years," the chief replied, suddenly remembering something. "In fact… it has almost been five years since the last recruitment."
Arthur's gaze sharpened, though his expression remained neutral. He contemplated whether he should try to contact these cultivators at that time.
"So they may come soon?" Arthur asked.
Li Junjie nodded. "Yes. They might visit the cities, at least."
After asking a few more questions, about local customs, dangers in the forest, and travel routes, Arthur reached into his storage and produced a small pouch filled with gold bars. He placed it gently on the table.
"Please accept this," he said.
Li Junjie's eyes widened when he felt the weight. "Lord, this is too much…"
Arthur raised a hand. "It's for the information you provided, and the hospitality."
The old man hesitated, then bowed deeply. "Thank you."
Arthur stood shortly after. "I won't disturb you any longer," he said. "Take care." And with that, he departed.
…
The city of Xingsha loomed in the distance, its high walls and watchtowers appeared golden under the setting sun, promising shelter to weary travelers.
Tall stone walls encircled it, banners fluttered from watchtowers, and the roads leading toward it were busy with merchants, guards, and travelers. Arthur descended outside the main gate and queued briefly, handing over the entrance fee without fuss.
A token was pressed into his palm. "This is a Visitors' permit," the guard said flatly. "Don't cause any trouble."
Arthur nodded and stepped inside.
Stalls lined the streets, street vendors shouting and selling various stuff from their stalls and the air carried the scent of spices and smoke.
From the Old village Chief he learned that the city was mainly controlled by four business families, and some of the children from these families have been selected as the disciples of various sects, further cementing their power in the city.
But mostly cultivation techniques were strictly controlled by sects so it was very difficult to come across a rogue cultivator. And even if it was a public knowledge it doesn't mean just anyone could cultivate, to cultivate one must possess an elemental root.
So to the general public only knowledge of martial arts where one cultivates internal energy were available, but only the wealthy could practice martial arts as it required huge amounts of resources. And the four families of Xingsha mainly rely on Martial artists to protect their business.
After Arthur entered the city he booked a hotel room and checked in as it was already late evening.
He entered the room and once alone, he sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.
He then started to actively absorb the ambient energy which he came to know was called spiritual energy. 'So this is spiritual energy…' Then he slowly started to draw in the energy towards his body, and when he felt it was enough he opened his eyes and raised one of his hands.
As expected, any energy he absorbs gets converted into Aether, but he stopped that process halfway, and intentionally isolated a thread of spiritual energy and guided it to the tip of his finger.
The finger where he was concentrating the spiritual energy started to glow white and then the energy detached from his finger and started hovering above it, shaped like a small orb.
Arthur narrowed his eyes in concentration. He then twisted the energy into various shapes, flattened it into a blade, then let it reform into an orb. He tried to convert them into various elements like fire, wind, lightning and watched how it reacted.
He noticed this spiritual energy was just as versatile as Mana but there was something else which he still couldn't put his fingers on.
"…Interesting," he murmured.
For the rest of the night, he experimented in silence, probing, testing, and learning from each revelation. This deepened the certainty that he had finally found what he was searching for.
…
Arthur woke up early the next morning. After washing up and changing into cleaner clothes, still strange by local standards, but at least presentable Arthur left the inn and made his way toward the city's market district.
By the time he arrived, Xingsha was bustling with activity.
Merchants shouted prices from their stalls, the smell of fresh bread and cooked meat filled the air. Compared to the quiet village, the city felt lively in a way that was almost nostalgic to Arthur. It reminded him of his early days in Brightwater city.
Arthur walked slowly through the crowd, eventually stopping before a weapon shop.
The storefront was unassuming, but racks of weapons lined the walls from sabers, spears, halberds, to swords of various shapes and lengths. Arthur stepped inside and began browsing without hurry.
But he was disappointed to see all these weapons were normal, they were made up of steel. He picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and examined the edge.
'Decent craftsmanship,' he admitted inwardly. 'But nothing special.'
Still, a weapon like this would be useful for blending in. But buying a weapon was not his main agenda for coming here.
As he moved through the racks, a short man sidled up beside him.
The man had a wide grin, slightly too wide, with prominent front teeth and a large mole just beneath his right eye. His eyes gleamed with the unmistakable look of someone who smelled profit.
"Hehe, Sir," the shopkeeper said warmly, rubbing his hands together, seeing the exotic and good quality dress Arthur was wearing. "What kind of weapon do you use?"
Arthur paused, then casually picked up a large blade from the rack, a zhanmadao, designed for cleaving through armor and horses alike. He turned it once in his hand and then held it out.
"How much is this one?"
The shopkeeper's smile widened instantly.
"Hehe, Sir has a good eye!" he said. "This blade was forged by a renowned smith. The steel is excellent, and the blade is perfectly balanced. The price is very fair… only ten taels of gold."
Arthur looked at him with a deadpan expression. Then, without a word, he placed the blade back on the rack and turned toward the exit.
'Ten taels of gold,' he thought flatly. 'You must think I was born yesterday.'
Even accounting for differences in value between worlds, that price was absurd. Ten taels of gold was roughly equivalent to forty to fifty thousand dollars in his previous world, it was still too much for a normal steel sword.
The shopkeeper panicked the moment Arthur took a step outside.
"S… Sir! Wait!" he blurted out, rushing after him. "I can lower the price! Eight taels!"
Arthur didn't slow.
"F… Five taels!" the man shouted, sweat forming on his forehead.
Still Arthur didn't stop.
"Alright! One tael! One tael of gold!"
Arthur finally stopped and looked back at the shopkeeper, his expression was still unimpressed.
"I'll give you ten taels of silver," Arthur said evenly. "Take it, or I'll buy the same sword from the shop next door."
The shopkeeper froze. Ten taels of silver was still a profit, just not the daylight robbery he'd hoped for. His lips twitched as he weighed his options. Then, seeing Arthur's foot shift slightly as if preparing to leave again, he caved.
"O… okay, Sir," he said quickly. "Ten taels of silver."
Arthur paid without ceremony, took the sword, and secured it at his side. Then he casually asked, "Do you know when the cultivation sects will arrive in the city to recruit disciples?"
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up again, information was another commodity. He began rubbing his hands instinctively.
Arthur rolled his eyes and flicked a silver tael onto the counter which the man quickly pocketed.
"Tomorrow," he said in a lowered voice. "They'll be hosted by the Chen family this year."
Arthur asked. "The Chen family?"
The shopkeeper nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes. I heard their young lady is a once-in-a-century genius. The sects are giving them special preference."
Arthur nodded after hearing it, he felt it was reasonable. Talent, resources, backing it was the same story, even in a different universe.
Arthur then turned away, stepping back into the bustling street. His destination was already clear.
The Chen family…
If he wanted to introduce himself properly in a cultivation world, what better time than when the sects were recruiting.
Arthur adjusted the sword at his waist and headed straight toward the heart of Xingsha, unaware that by tomorrow, his arrival would shake far more than just one city.
***
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