A somewhat warm, gentle breeze brushed across the cheeks of those standing atop the ruins.
The Shadowless Sword floated around He Ao. He raised his head and gazed into the distance at the scene ahead.
They were currently standing atop a massive platform, over a hundred meters tall, constructed from concrete and rammed earth.
The pyramid that had collapsed in the aftermath of He Ao's battle with the prisoner had been the platform's primary structure.
This platform also appeared to stand at the city's southernmost edge.
Behind the platform lay a hazy void, while before it—in the direction He Ao was now watching—stood a magnificent city.
Both sides of the platform connected to hundred-meter-high city walls, likewise built from concrete and rammed earth. The walls extended outward in both directions, met at the city's northern side, and curved around to form a perfect circle.
The city before He Ao had been built within that perfect circle.
The streets within the city were also arranged in circles centered on the city center. One concentric circular street after another divided the entire city into ring-shaped districts.
Radiating roads stretching out from the city center cut through those circular streets as well, forming a street network that connected the entire city.
A bright Light Orb resembling the sun hung above the city, scattering its radiance evenly into every corner.
At the city's center, at the convergence point of every concentric and radial street, stood a towering structure.
More precisely, it was an obelisk piercing the clouds.
It was shaped like a square pillar, narrowing gradually from bottom to top, with four ridges meeting at a pointed tip.
There were no doors or other structures on its surface. It looked as though it had been carved from a single block of marble, smooth as