Colossal City

"Creak—" Lost in thought, Xu Yuan heard the door pushed open directly from the outside. Half-crouching on the floor, he immediately glanced over, meeting Ying'er's impassive gaze. Her voice was flat. "Third Young Master, we have arrived at Jingjiang City." "......" Ying'er was still dressed in that somewhat revealing Shadow Guard attire. Yet her act of pushing open the door and entering without permission kept Xu Yuan from speaking. A wordless standoff. Or rather, after giving Xu Yuan a brief glance, the woman's eyes shifted to the Source Crystal clutched in his palm. After silently watching it for two seconds, she turned and left without a word. "Click—" The wooden door gently swung shut, and quiet settled back over the wing room as though Ying'er had never been there at all. Xu Yuan watched this in silence for a long while before finally letting out a helpless chuckle. The powerful always had their pride, regardless of the world. If they looked down on you, they looked down on you, and there was nothing you could do about it. To retainers and guest elders like them, he, Xu Yuan, Xu Changtian, was indeed the Third Young Master, but only out of consideration for his father and eldest brother. Without his father and eldest brother, he, Xu Yuan, was nothing. Respect was something they could offer, but only on the surface. If you did not even want superficial respect, they would simply withhold it entirely. They made their living through sheer strength, not flattery. If it had been the original host, he might have flown into a rage by now out of deep-seated insecurity and touchiness, but Xu Yuan could not care less. The respect of others had to be earned with one's own hands. In a world governed by supernatural martial power, once his own strength grew, the attitudes of these guest elders and retainers would naturally change as well. Why get angry over something so trivial? Still, that parting look of Ying'er's confirmed one thing for Xu Yuan. This Source Crystal truly was a test left for him by his eldest brother. If you could get your hands on it before reaching Jingjiang City, the treasure was yours. If not, Ying'er would have dragged you away without a second thought. Heh. Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan stowed the Source Crystal into his Sumeru ring. After rising to his feet, he went back to wrecking the room. Even if he was not genuinely angry, the act that needed to be played still had to be played. Only after dismantling the furniture in Xu Changge's wing room—including the bed—did Xu Yuan finally stop. This time, trashing the place did not leave him particularly exhausted; his stamina was likely quite a bit better than the husky he had kept in his previous life. Exhaling deeply, Xu Yuan stood up, walked to the wooden window, and pushed open the closed casement. As the wing room where Xu Changge resided, the chamber had a built-in formation array designed to shield against intent-soul perception. However, it required both the doors and windows to be completely shut to form a cohesive barrier. To avoid Ying'er's surveillance, Xu Yuan had kept the windows closed all these days. The moment they swung open, the sight before him caused his dark pupils to contract violently! The panorama unfolding before his eyes was towering and magnificent. The sky was an azure expanse of pure clarity. Amidst the cries of eagles and birds, dozens to hundreds of flying demonic beasts of varying sizes screeched through the air. Lowering his gaze, a magnificent, colossal city rivaling a top-tier metropolis from his previous life burst into view! The city's expanse lay entirely revealed: streets and buildings arranged row upon row, ring upon ring, broad avenues radiating in every direction, bustling with crowds of people that stretched all the way to the edge of his vision. "......" Xu Yuan stood dumbfounded. Th-This was the Jingjiang City from *Cangyuan* that could be traversed across just two or three flat maps? As they drew closer, the massive black eagle beneath his feet lowered its flight altitude. "Hum—" As the eagle swept over the twenty-zhang-tall city wall from high above, Xu Yuan's intent-soul caught a faint, subtle ripple. They seemed to have crossed through some invisible barrier. "This is..." Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, subconsciously probing outward with his intent-soul. Unfortunately, the black eagle flew too fast, and his intent-soul's range was still extremely limited. By the time his perception reached out, the black eagle had already cleared the imposing wall. Helplessly withdrawing his intent-soul, he made a mental note to inspect the wall if he had the chance in the future to see what that was all about. The thought had barely formed when Zhou Chen's voice drifted down from the pavilion's flying eaves: "The Third Young Master is truly gifted, to be able to perceive this Spirit-Testing Grand Formation despite having only just entered the ranks." "......" Xu Yuan was speechless. Evidently, his outward probe of intent-soul had been noticed by the man above. "Who is it?" Xu Yuan said softly. Zhou Chen flipped down from the upper pavilion, slipped through the window into the wing room, and offered a casual, grinning bow: "Zhou Chen." Taking in his scruffy, stubbled look, Xu Yuan recognized him as one of the men who had blasted open the cave dwelling back at Xuantian Cliff. He had likely also been left behind by Xu Changge to protect him. Xu Yuan fell silent for a breath before asking in a low voice: "That Spirit-Testing Formation you mentioned just now—what is it?" Zhou Chen grinned and clasped his hands again. "It is only natural for the Third Young Master not to know, having just embarked on cultivation. Demonic beasts are wild and difficult to tame; letting them straight into the city could easily lead to rampages and casualties. "If a demonic beast wishes to enter the city, it must pass the ninefold trials administered by the imperial court's Exotic Beast Bureau or the major sects. Once it clears them all, a special brand is infused into its body. Only with this brand can it be brought into the city." "......" A flicker of surprise crossed Xu Yuan's eyes. Such an arrangement actually existed in this world. After a brief pause, Xu Yuan glanced out at the boundless colossal city below, his tone taking on an odd edge. "It covers the entire sky above Jingjiang City?" Zhou Chen nodded slightly, taking it for granted. "Naturally." Hearing that, Xu Yuan felt a surge of awe. There was actually a formation this immense in this world? At the same time, numerous questions welled up in his mind. How had such a colossal formation been set up? And where did the energy sustaining it come from? With his thoughts spinning and no answers in sight, Xu Yuan reined them in. After a moment, he looked at Zhou Chen and asked: "What happens if one tries to force their way into the city without a brand?" Zhou Chen ran a hand over his stubbled chin, then offered a meaningful grin. "There are other protective formations inside the city." Xu Yuan frowned. "Other formations?" Zhou Chen did not answer immediately this time. Instead, he tilted his head toward the sky, seemingly searching for something. Moments later, he suddenly grinned. "Third Young Master, wait a moment." With that, his figure vanished from before Xu Yuan's eyes in an instant. Channeling Source Qi into his eyes, Xu Yuan looked out the window, but saw nothing at all. The bodyguards Xu Changge had left him were simply too fast. A dozen-odd seconds after Zhou Chen's disappearance, Xu Yuan suddenly spotted a demonic beast resembling a pterosaur plummeting rapidly from the vault of heaven! As Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes to watch, Zhou Chen's voice drifted casually from behind him once more: "Third Young Master, see for yourself." "......" Xu Yuan was at a loss for words. These experts around him moved like ghosts, vanishing and reappearing out of nowhere. Nodding slightly, Xu Yuan kept his eyes fixed on the falling, broken-winged pterosaur. Plummeting from the heavens, the one-zhang-long creature entered the perimeter of the Spirit-Testing Grand Formation. An innate instinct for danger drove it to flap its wings frantically. Unfortunately, one of its wings had already been snapped by Zhou Chen, and it continued its helpless descent. The moment it fell to a certain altitude, a streak of white iridescent light coalesced in midair above the colossal city and lanced out in a flash! Without a sound, the pterosaur was reduced straight to dust, not a trace of bone remaining. "Third Young Master, that is what happens to any demonic beast that tries to force its way into the inner city without a brand." Xu Yuan shot him a glance. "Well... visual though that was, couldn't you have just told me?" "......" Zhou Chen froze. Clearing his throat to cover his awkwardness, Zhou Chen continued: "Ahem, well, another thing is that this formation does not just guard against demonic beasts—it works against people as well." Xu Yuan was silent for a moment before suddenly asking: "Does this formation work against you, too?" Zhou Chen grinned and shook his head. "Too slow. It can't hit me, and the power is a bit lacking." Pausing, however, Zhou Chen sighed and added: "Of course, these two formations are merely the standard standing defenses. Many of the great formations in the city are kept dormant. If they were truly activated, even I wouldn't make it out alive." Xu Yuan remained silent. The way this world fleshed itself out was already giving him a disorienting sense of unfamiliarity. Zhou Chen chuckled and patted Xu Yuan on the arm with easy familiarity. "Third Young Master, if the city didn't have these formations, the world would have descended into chaos long ago."