Chapter 4383 — As If It Were the Secular World

Before setting out, however, Wei Zhao had one last gathering with Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao—their final meeting before parting. After a reluctant farewell, the next morning at first light, the giant treasure ship of the Morning Star Academy slowly pulled away from the Weihu docks under the eyes of the multitude.

From then on the three were scattered to the far corners of the world, and if Wei Zhao wished to see the two women again, it might well be a wait until the Year of the Monkey and the Month of the Horse.

Still, if all went smoothly and his strength rose quickly enough, then perhaps—

With the Morning Star Academy's company gone, Weihu City, which had been boiling with noise and excitement for some time, settled back into its old rhythm. It was still chaotic, but at least the streets and alleys were no longer so crowded, and by comparison it seemed a good deal calmer.

The Weihu docks finally reopened, and amid the bustle and clamor, a mighty vessel raised its sails to the shouts and cries of the crowd. On the flagship's mast, four great characters in black and gold streamed in the wind: the Qingtian Escort Agency.

Grand as the ship was, it could not remotely compare with the Morning Star Academy's giant treasure ship; yet beside the other vessels at the docks it was already a leviathan. Not strictly a treasure ship, it nonetheless possessed the rudiments of one—a rare sight in the Weihu waters, and a display of the strength and deep foundations of the Qingtian Escort Agency as one of the five great agencies of the Southern Continent.

This year's grand gathering of the Southern Continent's escort agencies was not to be held in the Weihu waters, but at the far end of the Southern Continent, in the Demonic Cold waters a thousand li away.

As one of the five great agencies, the Qingtian Escort Agency set out a step ahead of the rest. By the rules, each gathering required the five agencies to send one man apiece to serve as judges and form the panel of judges—such was the privilege conferred by their standing in the jianghu.

Yet even with a judge on the panel, cheating under the gaze of the assembled crowd was out of the question. After all, the other four agencies would check one another, and no single house could bend the gathering to its will.

The judges' presence at most ensured that one's own house did not suffer loss; beyond that, there was only honor left, and not much in the way of substantial gain.

From the Weihu waters to the Demonic Cold waters, even by the fastest sea route, took at least five days. But with the Qingtian Escort Agency's banner flying and a host of skilled hands out in force, the journey went unimpeded.

Even the most shortsighted pirates had to give them a wide berth at this point—otherwise they would truly be hurling themselves against the muzzle of a gun. Kill first, and never mind the burying.

The journey passed without incident, and Wei Zhao came with the Qingtian Escort Agency's people to the Demonic Cold waters and into the city, where Steward Song arranged lodgings at a first-rate inn.

The others had nothing pressing for the moment, but Qi Mingyuan, the chief escort who headed the agency, was busy the moment he stepped off the ship.

On the face of it, each of the five great agencies sent one judge, and anyone could be sent. In truth, however, the panel of judges was a summit of the five agencies' leaders—an unwritten rule of long standing. An ordinary man sent there would not even have the right to open his mouth; only the chief escorts themselves could attend in person.

Qi Mingyuan had business to attend to, but Qi Wenmo, the young master, had nothing at all to do. Steward Song saw to the arrangements for all the agency's people, and he need only wait quietly for the gathering to begin. Wei Zhao likewise had nothing to occupy him, and the two hit it off at once and promptly went out to look around.

Over these days, Wei Zhao's cultivation at the middle Golden Core stage had become fully consolidated. After all, compared with others, a cultivator who had achieved a perfect breakthrough to the Golden Core stage found further breakthroughs and advancement easier to come by—and with Wei Zhao's aptitude, how could he be measured by common reckoning?

Still, every breakthrough called for the right opportunity. Wei Zhao had only consolidated his middle Golden Core stage for now, and to climb another step he still lacked a little seasoning. So he might as well go out and relax with Qi Wenmo first, and take in the sights of Demonic Cold City along the way.

Walking the main thoroughfare of Demonic Cold City, Wei Zhao found it markedly more orderly than Weihu City. Of the stretches of the Southern Continent's seas he had visited, Weihu City was chaotic and Zhenduan City more chaotic still, yet here in Demonic Cold City alone everything seemed normal and orderly, scarcely different from the Northern Island.

He could not tell whether it was always so, or whether someone was deliberately keeping order on account of the escort agencies' gathering. At any rate, over the whole length of that street Wei Zhao saw not a single brawl or disturbance. In Weihu City, he would likely have seen four or five by now—perhaps even more.

"Hey, there's quite a crowd over there. Brother Ling, shall we go take a look?" Qi Wenmo suddenly said, pointing to a merchant guild. Compared with the other shops along the street, this guild was plainly bursting with custom, thronged above and below, its business so brisk it was simply jaw-dropping.

"The Central Hub Merchant Guild?" Wei Zhao froze at the sight of the signboard. The Central Hub Merchant Guild gave the impression of having risen overnight, taking shape so swiftly that even veteran top-tier guilds of Yunjie Island such as the Five Elements Merchant Guild and the Hong Merchant Guild had suffered a tremendous shock and threat. He had not expected to find one even here in the Demonic Cold waters.

"That's right. People have been talking about it constantly lately, and I've never been to see it. Since we've happened to come across it, I really ought to have a good look," Qi Wenmo said, a little excited.

"All right, let's go in and have a look." Wei Zhao nodded. He too was very interested in this Central Hub Merchant Guild—especially since it sold all manner of goods unique to the secular world. If he could successfully ferret out the trick behind it, he might well be able to travel freely between Yunjie Island and the secular world, and that temptation was no small thing.

The two at once followed the flow of people inward, praise and exclamations rising around them from time to time. Looking at the various goods on the display shelves, Qi Wenmo was full of novelty, but Wei Zhao was somewhat disappointed.

Just as with the methods by which the Central Hub Merchant Guild had first made its name, the goods on these shelves were all common things from the secular world—from everyday technological products to practical tools, and even foods peculiar to the secular world. All of it was gathered here, and Wei Zhao felt almost dazed, as though he had returned to the secular world. This was simply a department store.

Of course, set in the secular world it would count as no more than an ordinary department store, still far from comparable to those vast supermarkets.

Even so, for all his disappointment, Wei Zhao was rather alarmed. After all, this was Yunjie Island. Such a department store was commonplace in the secular world, but to bring so many goods to Yunjie Island—the meaning behind that was truly no trifling matter. (If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast