Chapter 553: Sights on the Road (3k)
On the long snowy path, the afterglow of the setting sun scattered upon it, appearing like a field of wheat from afar. The only warmth, intertwined with frost, snow, and dusk, seemed to emit the fragrance of glowing grass.
Other than farmers plowing the land, there were few people on this snowy road. However, at the end of the road, figures riding horned horses appeared. The sounds of their conversation spread, greatly diluting the silent and cold atmosphere around them.
“There’s a piece of inside information circulating that the National Master selection has been postponed. Apparently, it was done by a big shot.”
A voice emerged. The figures riding their transport horned horses were Su Jiu and the others. They had directly borrowed transport tools from the Adventurer’s Guild and set off without much delay.
After only a few miles, Su Jiu could feel the inconvenience of the roads here.
Unlike the region where Grand Prince Levitt was, the roads here did not utilize outside asphalt technology. The roads were still filled with lots of pebbles and were even uneven.
Fortunately, they were riding horned horses, otherwise, they would have suffered a concussion from the constant shaking.
Looking at the frosted ground ahead, Su Jiu felt a touch of emotion. She couldn’t understand why the roads here were so different from those in the city. Could this be what that little girl with glasses wanted her to see?
As if noticing Su Jiu’s peculiar expression, Ye Jie, holding a flashlight to illuminate the road ahead, reminded her:
“Actually, the roads within the cities are fine. They are paved using alchemy. However, for these long rural roads, contact with humans is restricted in the east. Therefore, to use human technology, a high alchemical fee is required for construction.”
Hearing this, Su Jiu became even more confused. What was wrong with using human technology?
Then, with a hint of curiosity, she smiled and asked, “If there’s no contact with humans, why can’t technology be contacted either?”
“This…”
Ye Jie fell silent. She obviously hesitated to tell an outsider, casting a pleading gaze at the tall Amonna, seemingly wanting her to provide the answer.
Amonna’s actions made Su Jiu even more curious. She scanned the distant glowing grass fields and continued to ask, “Could it be a policy? If it cannot be spoken of, then forget it.”
“It’s not that it cannot be told to outsiders.”
Before Su Jiu could speak, Amonna shook her head, reined in the horned horse, and said helplessly,
“This was a rule set by the previous National Master. Hundreds of years ago, the Snow Country faced two major crises: the crisis of the Others and the alliance with Bear Country. During this critical juncture, the Elder of the Tenth Clan voted to select a National Master. That National Master formulated various strategies and once reversed the country’s near-extinction danger.”
“He then prophesied that a Holy Emperor would appear in the future. The Holy Emperor, as a descendant with ancient Dragon bloodline, could change the old rules and establish new policies and regulations… After his death, there were no new National Masters, and everyone has been adhering to the rules from that time, including closing off the country.”
Hearing this, Su Jiu narrowed her eyes. She gathered a lot of meaning from this statement. The National Master appeared during the era of the Others. It was likely that at that time, the Snow Demons’ alchemical technology was still superior to the outside world.
However, continuing to the present day, it had clearly fallen behind humans, and perhaps many of their technologies were inferior to humans.
At this moment, all the clues converged into a single line. Su Jiu had somewhat grasped the situation and even guessed the reason for “the will being passed to the Third Princess.”
As the population of the Snow Demon Kingdom decreased, a Snow Demon studying abroad soon realized something was amiss. This person was the first to open their eyes to the world, namely Grand Prince Levitt of the Snow Demon Kingdom.
However, things did not go as planned. The old Snow Emperor passed away, and before he could fully implement his ambitions, his goals and ideals were far from those of the old clan elders. Hence, the other clan elders forcibly bound the Third Princess to the throne.
The Third Princess and the Grand Prince were both born to Queen Maria, and their seniority was in order. In the end, this was merely a war between the reformist faction led by the Grand Prince and the royalist faction supporting the Third Princess.
And the other “Holy Emperor”…
Under the setting sun, Su Jiu’s gaze swept over the straw-hatted men still plowing the fields with horned oxen in the distance. She turned to Amonna and softly asked, “I heard it has been confirmed that the Holy Emperor is a human, right?”
“The entire Snow Demon Kingdom knows…”
In response to Su Jiu’s inquiry, Amonna simply smiled and nodded. She glanced around as if to scout for any other people nearby, and then said with disdain,
“But in my opinion, he’s just a pretty boy. If he were truly capable, he wouldn’t be doing nothing in the Ancient Imperial Capital. Shouldn’t the true Holy Emperor be like the Grand Prince?”
“Sister Amonna!”
Ye Jie’s face showed a look of fear. She quickly stepped forward to cover Amonna’s mouth and then forced a smile, saying to Su Jiu, “She just likes to talk nonsense. Actually, we are all firm supporters of the Holy Emperor. The Grand Prince is nothing but a usurper.”
Looking at the two people in front of her, Su Jiu felt a mixed sense of wanting to laugh but being unable to. From their use of electronic products, she could roughly guess that these adventurers would definitely support the Grand Prince more.
“Hey, Little Yezi, don’t you think that a lady who can produce a high-capacity battery wouldn’t be a royalist believer?”
Amonna smiled indifferently, then patted Ye Jie’s shoulder and said carelessly, “She doesn’t even have the scent of glowing grass, and her pupils aren’t of the Snow Demons. Moreover, the Others and monsters are most prevalent on the Grand Prince’s side…”
At this point, she stopped talking, just chuckled, and said no more. The other three heard this and looked at Su Jiu with surprise, especially Ye Jie, who was most astonished: “You… you’re not from the Grand Prince’s side, are you?”
“Indeed, and I’m here to participate in a competition.”
Seeing that everyone was revealing her identity one after another, Su Jiu smiled helplessly, shrugged her shoulders, and made no attempt to hide anything.
“Participate in a competition?”
This time, the four of them were genuinely shocked. However, seeing Su Jiu’s young age, they quickly regained their composure. There were many competitions in the Ancient Imperial Capital, such as alchemy, combat, and even beast taming…
She couldn’t possibly be here to compete in the finals for the National Master position in the Ancient Imperial Capital, could she?
Ye Jie glanced at Su Jiu, who looked like a good old person, and then chuckled and shook her head, feeling that her guess was groundless and even ridiculous.
Those who could participate in such competitions were at least Demigod Level powerhouses. How could such powerhouses converse and laugh with ordinary people like themselves?
The journey continued at a steady pace. The fields were no longer visible, and darkness gradually enveloped the entire snowy road. Far in the sky, moonlight seemed to scatter upon their faces through the formation.
“We’re approaching the habitat of the Snow-liking Beasts. Everyone, conceal your aura! Put on your aura-concealing cloaks.”
A long-haired young Snow Demon, who had been silent in the team, suddenly spoke up. His voice was somewhat hoarse, as if from prolonged silence.
He silently handed snow-colored cloaks to everyone and then lowered himself, gripping the reins of the horned horse.
“Snow-liking Beasts? Are there such things within the Snow Demon territory?”
Taking the cloak, Su Jiu honestly put it on and asked with some doubt. She hadn’t heard of such a situation in the Grand Prince’s territory.
“This area has been inaccessible for a long time, and the officials in the eastern region are too lazy to bother with managing it, leading to herds of Snow-liking Beasts that are suited to the climate. The entire area has become a dangerous wasteland.”
Amonna put on her cloak, revealing only a face of solemnity. She then condensed ice into a blue ice blade and held it firmly in her hand, saying in a low voice quite seriously, “It can be said that this is the most dangerous place on our entire route.”
Su Jiu nodded and followed suit.
The group continued walking, and after about two hours, they abruptly stopped. At this moment, Su Jiu saw the scene ahead.
There was a breathtaking view, somewhat like “rapid rapids rushing and roaring, crashing against cliffs, turning rocks like thunder in ten thousand valleys.” A rather perilous peak rose from the ground. In the center of the peak, there was a rift that looked as if it had been split open by force. Frozen ice condensed on both sides of the rift, appearing extremely dangerous.
Melted snow water flowed down the rift into the canyon, not yielding to even some smaller waterfalls.
After the group stopped, Su Jiu also sensed some scrutinizing gazes from the towering snow pines, which were quite frightening.
“Everyone, be careful on the road. Don’t fall into the canyon below, and don’t make any noise. Those Snow-liking Beasts are similar to feline monsters; they only attack panicked prey.”
Amonna swept away her previous frivolity and began to instruct them.
“Should we tie cloth on the horned horses’ hooves?”
Just as her voice fell, the hoarse-voiced young man suddenly reminded her.
“Cloth won’t help. Without special iron hooves prepared in advance, they will slip… Let’s go, or we’ll miss the competition.”
Ye Jie shook her head, then led the horned horse forward.
Led by her, the group also led their horned horses and slowly proceeded into the perilous mountain range.
“Miss Su, what kind of competition are you going to participate in at the Ancient Imperial Capital?”
Su Jiu used her mental power to sense the situation around her, but a very faint voice came to her ears. She couldn’t help but freeze slightly and look over. It turned out to be Ye Jie.
“A very important competition. We might even meet there.”
Su Jiu said softly, in a somewhat teasing manner.
“A very important competition, and we’ll meet…”
Hearing this, Ye Jie repeated. She was not a fool and easily understood what the other party meant. She swallowed, but dared not truly confirm it.
However, Su Jiu’s words also calmed her down. Since the other party was a top expert who could participate in such a competition, it would be easy to overcome a Snow Ridge of the highest Battle King Level, wouldn’t it?
While she was lost in her thoughts, Su Jiu suddenly stopped and looked up at what was ahead, a trace of red flashing in her eyes. She chuckled lightly:
“I was just looking for ingredients for Dream Flower.”
