Chapter 477 Entering Yord City (3.5k)
As the train approached, the smell of smoke and civilization gradually appeared. A steel city covered in white snow came into view, its vast walls resembling snow-white colossal pythons.
Su Jiu placed her recovered arm on the windowsill and gazed through the smoke rising from the tall smokestacks, a sense of awe filling her.
“As expected of an energy-rich city. This smoke must be from industrialized alchemical factories.”
After recovering, she roused the increasingly sleepy E Huo and resumed learning basic Bear Language.
Holding E Huo’s hand as they studied, Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the dense words on her phone. Her mind envisioned herself as a translator for Bear Country, effortlessly translating Dragon Country consciousness into Bear Language like data transfer.
In just over an hour, the Bear Language pack was “downloaded” into her brain. After all, no language was more difficult than cultivation techniques, and as her strength increased, so did Su Jiu’s learning ability.
“We have arrived at Yord City. Please disembark in an orderly manner and be mindful of your safety. This area is quite chaotic. If you need assistance, please proceed to the police station or the Snow Guardian Alliance… I repeat…”
The announcement in English was broadcast. Unlike ordinary trains, this announcement seemed designed to warn outsiders about their behavior, using a different set of phrases, which validated the previous information about gang activity.
After the station’s announcements, the three of them quickly disembarked. The dense crowd at the station, resembling ants, left them a bit overwhelmed.
Yord City, as a major transportation hub, was not only a large city for Bear Country in southern Asia but also an energy center. This explained why a gang could have a Demigod-level figure.
The ensuing conflicts of interest meant the Bear Country government, currently in turmoil, had no time to manage the situation, otherwise, such rampant activity would be impossible.
“I thought only us winning students would be here. Looking around now, it seems that’s not the case…”
With a sigh, Su Jiu’s gaze turned to the people continuously passing by, many of whom carried at least the aura of a Battle General. Most of them appeared to be younger.
Curiosity piqued, she noticed many strong individuals upon exiting the train, all heading towards the city center.
With so many capable people gathered in one city, the coming days were bound to be anything but peaceful.
“Huh? You guys are okay? I definitely saw that tattooed Battle King heading for your carriage.”
As the three of them stood, watching the crowd, an unharmonious voice suddenly rang out, laced with surprise.
Raising an eyebrow, Su Jiu turned her head towards the sound. It was Miss Filly and her group, whom she had met at the station earlier. However, at this moment, a few more people seemed to be behind them, likely their teammates and family guardians.
This reminded Su Jiu that Li Yi and the others were likely also heading this way. It had been some time since she last saw them, and she wondered if they had obtained the resources and achieved higher-level advancements.
Unable to tolerate the repeated provocations, Lan Xi finally responded with a slightly displeased expression, “It’s just a family discord. Do you have to be so aggressive? Isn’t this just giving foreigners more reason to laugh at our university?”
“You haven’t even got a guardian…”
Miss Filly, puffing out her chest, was about to launch into a tirade against Lan Xi when the young man in the windbreaker beside her patted her shoulder and said helplessly, “Alright, stop arguing. We were all teammates before. Arguing like this is meaningless. Why don’t we focus on how to deal with the changes made by that lousy organizer?”
“Changes?”
Hearing his words, Su Jiu was slightly stunned. After a moment of thought, she stepped forward to inquire, “Excuse me, classmate, do you know what kind of changes have been made?”
She hoped this wouldn’t interfere with her progress towards breaking through to the Battle King level.
Hearing Su Jiu’s fluent Bear Language, the young man in the windbreaker was taken aback but didn’t dwell on it. He smiled wryly and raised his phone, explaining, “It’s a new notice that just came in. Apparently, the local government made a new regulation. Only users are allowed to enter; everyone else has to wait outside. Moreover, those who enter must sign a life-or-death agreement. This is clearly different from the original plan!”
“This… Even if the Hark Gang is strong, they wouldn’t dare to play tricks on us, nearly sixty students from around the world. After all, the families of students who win the World Competition are rarely simple.”
Su Jiu remained silent. Lan Xi, frowning, spoke up. She clearly understood the customs of the domestic gangs, otherwise on the train she wouldn’t have been prepared to pay the money immediately.
“This definitely isn’t a last-minute decision. There must have been a major change caused by another Demigod-level gang.”
Lan Xi’s words echoed Su Jiu’s own confusion. With a hint of bewilderment, she looked at the young man in the windbreaker. The unusual behavior of the crowd perfectly aligned with the notice they received.
“Indeed, an accident has occurred, but this accident has little to do with us…”
The young man in the windbreaker glanced at Su Jiu in surprise. This was information sold by an insider within the gang, and he wondered how she could have guessed it. Shaking his head, he didn’t overthink it and continued, “While exploring the mountain range where Dream Cloud Pool is located, an insider within the gang revealed that in a side chamber at the end, a more precious Dream Cloud Essence was discovered. By further excavation using the Dream Cloud Essence, they unearthed a tomb chamber inscribed with strange runes. The Hark Gang broke open the tomb door, but were suppressed by its restrictions.”
“After a series of tests, they discovered that only individuals under the age of 25 could enter. After moving all visible items, they speculated that it might be the inheritance of some great being… With the insider’s leak, the Hark Gang decided to… to attract young powerhouses to test their talent.”
“Let’s find accommodation first. You guys can also check out the local shopping center for items the Hark Gang has brought out from that tomb. We’ll contact you again if there’s a chance.”
With that, the young man in the windbreaker gave Su Jiu and the others a friendly smile and led his team away, leaving them to avoid further arguments between the two girls.
“So that’s why so many young powerhouses want to give it a try…”
Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the people disembarking. Almost all of them were young. She understood the basic situation now, but a few doubts lingered in her mind:
“Still, how would a gang obediently hand over things from their territory? And could an insider really disseminate that information to everyone?”
Watching her companions leave, Lan Xi bit her lip, sighed, and turned her gaze back to Su Jiu, saying softly, “You two go browse the shopping center. I’ll find an inn to stay and contact Grandpa.”
With that, she, like the others, melted back into the crowd.
“Okay, I’ll contact you by phone then.”
Casually agreeing, Su Jiu turned to Bai Zhi, who was still knitting a scarf, and gently patted her shoulder, smiling, “Let’s see if we can buy anything suitable for you during your pregnancy. By the way, how is the egg I gave you last time?”
“The egg? You mean the one with holy attributes? I plan to let the baby use it. As a pure-blooded monster, I can’t use it at all.”
Bai Zhi also came to her senses and chuckled. She couldn’t understand a word of Su Jiu’s chatter, and the more she listened, the sleepier she became.
“Let’s go and see if we can find anything useful.”
Su Jiu was not surprised by Bai Zhi’s words. She took Bai Zhi’s hand and walked towards the city center, as the station was not too far from the center, located in an uphill area.
After walking down a slight slope for a distance, a massive steel archway appeared before Su Jiu and Bai Zhi. Beyond the archway, a long queue of people flowed, and noisy clamor filled the air, making their ears ring.
Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the steel archway, which resembled a pair of teeth. She noticed there were three “teeth” in total. The crowd was queuing at the central tooth, while the left and right teeth had very few people passing through.
After casually asking a passerby, she learned that the archway was designed by the Hark Gang. The yellow door on the left was exclusively for Battle King powerhouses, while the blue door on the right was for Alchemy Masters.
There were guards inside each door for inspection. If they were found to be faking their credentials, it wouldn’t be as friendly as digging potatoes in Siberia…
Ignoring the strange looks, Su Jiu, holding Bai Zhi’s hand, entered through the blue door on the right. Although she didn’t have official recognition from the Alchemist Association, her skill level was already that of an intermediate Alchemy Master, and in terms of bomb crafting, she even possessed an advanced level.
The main issue was her strength, which was only at the advanced Battle General level. If she needed to prove her domain to enter, would she have to ask the Little Flower Fairy to bluff for her?
“No way, did she choose the wrong door?”
Seeing her action, the surrounding gazes became astonished. The young girl looked no older than twenty. If she had chosen the Battle King passage, they would consider her a genius. But to choose the alchemy passage…
It was too unbelievable. The reason why alchemy was generally practiced by older individuals was simple: the knowledge and experience required years to accumulate.
Under the attention of the surrounding onlookers, Su Jiu and Bai Zhi walked straight through the blue gate. Midway through, a metallic gleam fell upon them. Su Jiu felt something suppress her mental power and merely resisted slightly.
The next moment, the small colored light icon above the blue gate glitched for a moment before displaying—[Qualified]. Without any further tests, they passed through the gate.
Upon seeing this, the crowd began to stir. Finally, someone eagerly headed towards it, only to have their eyes bulge out and blood flow from all seven orifices within a few steps. They were then carried away by staff members from an unknown location.
“…Click…”
The door to the central monitoring room in the city center was opened. The old man casually hung his train conductor uniform on a wooden chair and scanned the monitors, his gaze finally settling on the surveillance feeds of the two gates. He asked in a low voice, “How is it? Are there any particularly strong powerhouses or Snow Guards here?”
“Reporting, sir, no.”
The staff member quickly shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and said hesitantly, “However, there was an anomaly at the Alchemist’s passage…”
“Anomaly?” The old man turned and looked quietly at the staff member, then took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of white smoke. “Tell me about it?”
“There were two individuals who simultaneously triggered the mental pressure device malfunction. Later, to verify if it was a malfunction, I increased the magnification and accidentally crushed one of them.”
Upon hearing this, the staff member’s face broke out in a sweat. He quickly played the video footage of Su Jiu and Bai Zhi passing through the blue gate for the old man.
“It’s them?”
The old man narrowed his eyes. The hand holding the pipe seemed to slow down slightly. In the end, he gained no further insight.
“Perhaps they have some alchemical items that affect the mind? Let’s not worry about them for now…”
After a moment of silence, he finally shook his head, revealing a set of not-so-good yellow teeth, and asked the staff member with a smile, “I heard those who competed in the World Competition have all arrived, right? Make sure to promote them more…”
“Inheritance of a great being.”
