The Continent's Greatest City

In Luan Yu's eyes, the cities of other empires each had their own distinctive features, and some even had histories spanning ten thousand years. Heaven Dou City of the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo City of the Star Luo Empire, and Shrek City of Shrek Academy were all exceptionally ancient cities.

But when it came to prosperity and advancement, Mingdu of the Sun Moon Empire still stood above the rest. Its title as the continent's greatest city was no empty boast. Whether they were from the Sun Moon Empire or the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms, everyone had to acknowledge that. The mere fact that it had no city walls was already enough to leave people from the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms dumbfounded.

Though Mingdu had no city walls and looked as if anyone could enter, its defenses were actually extremely tight. Spirit Tool Master Legions guarded all four directions, while vast numbers of advanced Detection Spirit Tools—heat-detection Spirit Tools, Soul Power detectors, sonic detectors, high-altitude detectors—as well as various defensive Spirit Tools and high-altitude strike Spirit Tools turned Mingdu into an impenetrable city of steel.

The lack of city walls was one thing, but the Sun Moon Empire's Spirit Tool technology was so advanced that it had reached the point where it could defend a city without relying on walls at all.

Although the absence of walls gave the impression that Mingdu would be easy to infiltrate, anyone who wanted to slip past the scans of those countless Detection Spirit Tools needed at least the cultivation of a Soul Saint. And against a Soul Saint, even city walls would be useless. It was better to openly expose the city, which instead displayed the Sun Moon Empire's confidence.

Still, in the entire Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu was the only city that relied solely on Spirit Tools for defense rather than city walls. The Sun Moon Empire's other cities were also quite advanced, but they still had walls. After all, keeping Spirit Tools running consumed resources. Even the wealthy Sun Moon Empire could only afford to support one Mingdu.

Mingdu possessed four High-Energy Compression Array Spirit Tools, the Sun Moon Empire's true core technology. These Spirit Tools could draw Soul Power from heaven and earth on their own, replenishing their consumption anytime and anywhere. Their drawback, however, was that they were far too massive. Even with the Sun Moon Empire's technology, moving them was difficult. That was why only Mingdu in the entire Sun Moon Empire possessed four High-Energy Compression Array Spirit Tools.

These four Spirit Tools supplied Mingdu with enormous amounts of energy. Whether it was for defensive Spirit Tools, Detection Spirit Tools, or civilian Spirit Tools, most of the energy they used came from these four High-Energy Compression Array Spirit Tools.

These four Spirit Tools were absolute secrets of the Sun Moon Empire. Only Rank 9 Spirit Tool Masters from the Royal Family Consecration Hall could come into contact with them. They were also responsible for maintaining the four High-Energy Compression Array Spirit Tools and keeping all of Mingdu running.

Although Mingdu was indeed eye-opening, compared to the wonders Liu Xing had seen in Firefly's universe, it fell far short. Whether it was a space station built in planetary orbit or a Xianzhou sailing through the sea of stars, each Xianzhou was a world unto itself. Mingdu was nowhere near worthy of comparison.

The Glamoth Republic, where Firefly had been born, was also an interstellar civilization that had ventured beyond its planet. As someone from Glamoth, Firefly showed no particular surprise at the semi-modern city of Mingdu.

Luan Yu secretly observed the two children. Seeing that they had only shown a slight bit of interest, unlike the people from the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms she had seen before who had visited Mingdu for the first time and looked like country bumpkins entering the city, she felt somewhat disappointed.

"Come on, I'll take you inside. Mingdu has plenty of delicious food. Dragon City can't compare."

Luan Yu shook her head helplessly. What on earth would it take to move these two overly mature children?

"Delicious food?"

Firefly's eyes lit up. At last, she showed more interest in the city, leaving Luan Yu caught between laughter and tears.

Liu Xing smiled faintly. Firefly had likely had little contact with good food since her birth. The only food she had ever eaten was an Oak Cake Roll she had obtained by accident. That had given her an obsession with Oak Cake Rolls, while also making her fall in love with tasting all sorts of food, especially desserts.

During that year in Dragon City, Nan Qiuqiu's little treasury had shrunk by more than half just to satisfy Firefly's little stomach. Fortunately, Nan Qiuqiu was wealthy and did not fuss over Firefly emptying her savings. She had always been very generous toward Firefly.

After all, the cute, straightforward, and capable Firefly was greatly adored within the Earthly Dragon Gate. Once many of its disciples learned of Firefly's preferences, they would occasionally prepare food and desserts to offer up to their Second Sister Head.

Following beside Luan Yu, Liu Xing and Firefly headed toward Mingdu along a broad avenue. Although Mingdu had no city walls and could seemingly be entered from any direction, anyone who wished to enter openly still had to go through the main entrance—the designated passage into Mingdu. They had to register and receive a pass before they could openly reside in Mingdu.

There was no problem with secretly infiltrating Mingdu using one's cultivation, and money could solve the issues of lodging and food. But if they encountered a patrol from Mingdu's Law Enforcement Team without a pass, they would be arrested. Therefore, anyone who wanted to live in Mingdu peacefully and avoid unnecessary trouble had better use the official route, obtain a pass, and enter Mingdu properly.

Walking along the concrete road, which was more than ten meters wide, Liu Xing saw many merchants traveling back and forth in horse-drawn carriages or advanced Spirit Tool vehicles.

As the continent's greatest city, Mingdu attracted countless merchants, including some from the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. The Sun Moon Empire did not make things difficult for these foreign merchants. On the contrary, it treated them favorably. After all, they could bring specialties from the other Three Great Empires into Mingdu, while also selling Sun Moon Empire goods to the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

The Sun Moon Empire and the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms were hostile to one another, but for merchants, Gold Soul Coins were their only faith. As long as there was money to be made, why would they care about such things?

For merchants, commerce knew no borders, and everything could be traded.

Obtaining a pass was not complicated. One only needed to register one's name, age, and place of origin to receive one.

Of course, whether one reported a real name or which empire one truly came from was one's own business. The registration staff would not press the matter too much, since they were merely collecting basic information. They had never intended to use registration to identify anything.

After all, Mingdu, the continent's greatest city, saw over a million people passing through each day. How could they possibly have the time to verify every detail? Simple registration was enough. They only earned a few Silver Soul Coins a day anyway, so why make trouble for themselves over it?

If they happened to run into a vicious wanted criminal or an Evil Spirit Master, one careless mistake could cost them their lives. Why risk it over such meager pay?