Chapter 211

  The Sight of Silver (V)

  After a quick introduction, I learned that the old man's name was Cao Xun, the guy fangirling the hardest was Gu Hai, and the two of them (as well as the rest) all belonged to the same sect residing within the Silvercrest City: the Spirit Blossom Sect.

  They were a small sect, totaling just about 200 disciples, but were actually respected decently well, as they focused on something that I hadn't paid much attention to either all this while: alchemy.

  Though I did 'unlock' that secondary part of the system that would allow me to craft and create pill recipes, and though I even had that one insanely difficult quest to restore some or another lost pill, I didn't really pay attention to any of it since, well, not one of us could do anything alchemy related. Long Tao probably could, to a degree, but I don't think I've ever actually seen him even attempt to concoct a pill.

  ... Hey, isn't that odd? Aren't ancient monsters reincarnating supposed to be making some heaven-defying pills that accelerate their growth?

  I glanced over at him suspiciously, wondering whether the secret to his quick cultivation was that he was concocting some pills in secret and he didn't share any with us.

  ... nah.

  Honestly, the higher likelihood was that the separation of arts in this world was just that much greater--perhaps in order to become an alchemist of any note, you simply had to devote yourself entirely to that one path. And he just never did.

  "You really didn't come here for the gathering?" Cao Xun asked, still in disbelief, as we slowly made our way to the bridge leading into the city.

  "Really," I nodded. "I didn't even know there was one. What kind of a gathering is it?"

  "Hmm. Calling it a 'gathering' makes it sound nicer than it really is. It's a general-purpose meeting of Sects both within the Silvercrest City as well as the surrounding regions, where young pups compete in a general tournament. The winner and those who look the most impressive tend to be recruited by the Holy Lands, while their home sects are rewarded rather hefty sums of Spirit Stones and artifacts."

  "Oh," so sort of like an open-gym draft? Yeah. There's no way I'm letting any of the kids participate.

  Not because I'm afraid they'd lose, of course, but because the Holy Lands would hunt us down to the ends of the world to recruit them... and that's not happening.

  "But loose cultivators occasionally do show up, too," he quickly added. "Though they usually, uhm, don't do that well."

  At the same time, a few paces in front of us, the kids of the Spirit Blossom Sect were swarming mine like locusts--everyone except for Long Tao. Apparently, it's sort of like an animal instinct; they were just about to go to him when he looked at them, and, like little puppies, they immediately folded and turned back to Dai Xiu.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Light, too, quickly extricated herself from the entire thing and joined me and the old man, climbing on top of my shoulders and just sitting there.

  It was about fifteen minutes later that we came upon the bridge's entrance, and I was once again short of breath. It was massive.

  Like, massive.

  By width alone it stood at around thirty feet or so, with an arched entrance woven from strange, glistening stones. The bridge itself was purely white, cast out of marble, arching upwards into the skyline where the city resided. The guardrail was fairly tall, standing maybe two feet off the bridge's surface, though chipped and cracked rather visibly at quite a few places.

  The arch at the entryway was rather tall too, standing at about fifteen or so feet off the ground, giving even more grandeur to the entire structure that was already oozing it.

  Despite the breadth of space, however, it was quite packed, especially at the entrance. So much so that we had to get in line that advanced relatively slowly. There were no checks here--according to Cao Xun, they did the checks at the entrance to the city, as it was easier to catch criminals since, well, there was nowhere to run but the bridge itself.

  Once we actually crossed the arch and stepped onto the bridge, the 'line' loosened up and we could walk at our normal pace.

  Awe.

  That's all I felt, honestly.

  Glancing over the railing and seeing the ground just give out into a massive crater was both terrifying and inspiring, in equal measure. Despite being made out of marble, the footpath wasn't actually slippery. And despite being steep, climbing it didn't feel tiring.

  "There are twenty or so arrays installed on every bridge," Cao Xun explained. "That draw from the natural Wellspring underneath the valley. Though most of the Qi is drawn to the city itself and the sects, the loose bits are used to empower the arrays."

  "Oh."

  Dai Xiu and Xi Zhao, in particular, were excited, rushing left and right while Gu Hai and Du Kang (another one of the boys) patiently explained everything.

  Wan Lan was just barely holding it together, though, honestly, anyone could tell that she was as excited as it gets.

  Even Light was whoa-ing and exclaiming while on top of my shoulders, her tiny hands clutching at them any time she'd see something interesting.

  Only Long Tao remained... Long Tao.

  I wonder, honestly, just what kind of sights did he bear witness to in order to be so apathetic toward... this.

  It was majestic, more so than anything else I'd seen in this world, but not just because of the intrinsic beauty of the stone, where, every few paces, there'd be something new carved into the side of the railing. Or because of the surrounding vastness of nature slowly fading into the background.

  I mean, yes, those too--but it was the sheer scale.

  Though I said the city itself wasn't particularly large--and I stand by it--it was looming, especially as it stood positioned above the ground, with bridges like limbs leading tiny ants to it.

  It'd be like tearing the entire Manhattan up and having it float above the rest of New York City. It would be smaller in comparison, but it would be far more grand.

  The climb was quite lengthy, actually, about half an hour or so. The crowds began to grow larger toward the top until we were forced into yet another line about fifty or so yards before the end.

  Another arched entryway (exit-way? that can't be right) stood erect, with tall, somewhat more ordinary-seeming in comparison buildings standing right behind it.

  We'd actually just stepped in line when somebody shouted, "STOP HIM!!" from the top. A mere moment later, a shadow blurred right past us--or, well, tried to, at least. I felt it, the faint stir of Qi above me, but I'm pretty sure nobody else saw how the fleeting figure suddenly keeled over as though they ran into a taut rope, folding like a lawn chair and falling on the ground.

  I pressed my lips together and stealthily glanced up only to see Light looking away, as though it wasn't any of her business.

  Hey.

  You're supposed to be seven.

  How are you stopping someone even I could just barely even see?

  Hm? Hmm?

  ... I worry. So, so much.