Special Services

After resting in Black Rock City for several more days, Ling Li's Dou Qi had once again recovered to full capacity. That meant it was time to bid this city farewell.

The first rays of morning sunlight were not particularly warm. Mixed with a slightly chilly breeze blowing in through the window, they instead made one feel even colder.

At this moment, Ling Li was sitting cross-legged in cultivation. Morning was when all things awakened and energies shifted, making it the best time to cultivate.

After his bloodline advanced to the second grade, Ling Li found that his cultivation speed had improved somewhat. He still did not gain much in a single night, but at least he no longer felt as though his gains could not cover his losses.

Sunlight fell across Ling Li's handsome face. Though he was only sixteen or seventeen, the bloodshed of the Monster Beast Mountain Range had already wiped away the childishness from his features, replacing it with a unique sense of resilience.

Ling Li frowned slightly. The glaring sunlight made him squint again just after opening his eyes, while his morning temper gradually swelled like an inflated balloon.

Ling Li disliked sunlight. There was no reason for it; it was simply instinct.

"Wake up." After realizing there was nothing beside him on which to vent his anger, Ling Li slipped his icy demon claws beneath the blanket beside him, as though intending to transfer his morning temper onto Little Doctor Fairy.

Feeling something cold enter the blanket, Little Doctor Fairy hurriedly pulled all the surrounding covers around herself, wrapping herself into a Swiss roll. She rolled around several times, and only after discovering that she could not escape Ling Li's demon claws did she rub her eyes, shoot him a reproachful glance, and groggily get out of bed.

It was not that she was lazy. She had simply been tormented too late last night...

"Get ready. We're leaving today." Having gotten his way, the gloom in Ling Li's heart vanished completely as he spoke.

"We're leaving today?" Little Doctor Fairy froze. She pursed her lips, then glanced once more through the window at the towering pagoda that reached into the clouds in the distance. Hesitantly, she pleaded, "Could we stay here one more day? Just one day."

Actually, during the time they had spent together, Ling Li had treated Little Doctor Fairy fairly well in order to prevent her from becoming depressed, failing to produce high-quality experience, and affecting his grand plan to grind bloodlines. Other than the time she had run away and the time he made her leave the city, he had never restricted her freedom.

"Don't worry. Although the destination has changed this time, we'll pass through most of the Gamma Empire's major cities along the way. There are plenty of Alchemist Guilds," Ling Li said when he saw her expression.

Over the past few days, Little Doctor Fairy had spent some time staring blankly at that Alchemist Guild tower every day, or finding all sorts of excuses to wander around it. Her gaze was like that of someone looking at a toy they could never have.

That was understandable. In Little Doctor Fairy's mind, one was destined to be revered by countless people, while the other was destined to be infamous. There was simply no intersection between the two...

According to Ling Li's original plan, he had intended to travel from Black Rock City in a C-shaped route, tour the Gamma Empire, and finally reach the eastern part of the empire to find Hai Bodong, stopping by the Snake-People Holy City in the Tagor Desert along the way.

Whether Ole had deliberately leaked the information or not, Ling Li decided instead to take an S-shaped route from Black Rock City to Town Ghost Pass in the empire's far south, then continue southward toward the Black Corner Region at the center of the Black Domain Great Plain.

"Thank you," Little Doctor Fairy said softly.

Humans were contradictory creatures. There was no clear definition of good and evil in their hearts. Their forgiveness toward bad people was always lower than their expectations of good people. If a good person unintentionally did one bad thing, they might be branded a bad person; conversely, if a bad person did one good thing, they might also be defined as a good person.

To facilitate the travel of alchemists, the aerial transport station had likewise been built in the center of the city, facing the Alchemist Guild together with the Mitel Auction House, one in front and one behind.

After crossing several streets, Ling Li and Little Doctor Fairy finally arrived at the aerial transport station on the spacious plaza.

More than a dozen Thick-winged Birds, seven or eight meters tall and nearly twenty meters long, rested on the enormous plaza. On each Thick-winged Bird's back was a specially made wooden cabin of roughly three hundred square meters. Their massive flesh wings flapped continuously, producing a somewhat piercing sound.

These third-tier avian demonic beasts were somewhat slower than other third-tier Flying Demonic Beasts, but their endurance was exceptional. As long as they ate a full meal, they could carry loads five or six times their own weight and fly steadily for four or five days.

These Thick-winged Birds had all been converted by the empire for military use and were merely used for civilian purposes during peacetime. In battles between empires, unless both sides completely tore off all pretense, forces above the Dou Spirit level were generally not involved. In clashes at this level, the advantages gained from controlling the skies were undoubtedly enormous.

Long lines stood in front of every Thick-winged Bird in the plaza. Beside each bird's wooden ladder, a uniformed worker was checking the tickets of those boarding.

After looking around, Ling Li finally found the ticket office not far from the entrance to the plaza.

There were four ticket counters in total. Three had long lines, with only one uniformed ticket seller impatiently repeating the mechanical task. The remaining counter was rather deserted, but more than ten fairly attractive ticket sellers were waiting there.

Just as Ling Li and Little Doctor Fairy joined the line, someone wearing an Alchemist Robe strutted past the fourth ticket counter as though showing off, casually taking one of the ticket sellers away with him.

"Hey, why didn't that person buy a ticket?" Little Doctor Fairy asked in confusion.

"That's a special passage prepared for alchemists. When alchemists use the Aerial Transport Team, not only are their ticket fees waived, but they also receive many special services." Ling Li's tone was somewhat sour. So what if they could refine a few pills? What was so great about that?

Hearing this, Little Doctor Fairy looked with considerable envy at the robe on that man's body. This envy was not jealousy and contained not the slightest ugly desire. It was simply a pure longing for something beautiful. Unfortunately, her pure wood affinity meant she was destined to never become an alchemist.

"Sir, where are you headed?" Just as Ling Li silently stewed in envy, a woman's voice sounded from ahead. Without realizing it, he had already reached the front of the line.

"Yan Tie City. Two tickets," Ling Li said.

"Forty Gold Coins."

The ticket seller skillfully tore out a ticket made from demonic beast hide. After quickly counting the Gold Coins Ling Li handed over, she gave the two tickets to him.

Following the information on the tickets, Ling Li found the corresponding demonic beast. The wooden cabin on the Flying Demonic Beast's back was divided into two levels, each evenly split into forty small rooms. After excluding the space occupied by corridors and other communal facilities, each room had less than ten square meters of space.

There was only a large wooden plank bed big enough for two people and a window in each room. Naturally, the cramped space could not accommodate anything else.

Just as Ling Li and Little Doctor Fairy boarded the Thick-winged Bird and found their room, a burst of angry cursing suddenly rose from below.

"Why does every single person get a room, but us brothers have to squeeze in with these filthy commoners?" a young man in a First-grade Alchemist Robe cursed.

"My apologies, esteemed sirs. There are only two flights of Flying Demonic Beasts specially prepared for honored guests such as yourselves, and they are currently fully occupied. Furthermore, there are no premium seats heading to Yan Tie City," the uniformed ticket inspector standing opposite the young man explained cautiously.

"Pah! Fully occupied? Everyone else has a spot, but when it's our brothers' turn, they're fully occupied? What the hell does that mean?" the other man accompanying him said, spitting directly onto the ticket inspector's face.

"We are truly sorry. We are currently refunding all passengers on the second level, and the rooms are being remodeled to be no different from premium seats," the ticket inspector explained respectfully once again, not even daring to wipe the spit from his face.

Only then did the two alchemists' expressions improve somewhat, though they still refused to let the matter go. "You'll come aboard with us later too."

"Yes..."

"How can they act like that..." Little Doctor Fairy revealed a disgusted expression and said indignantly.

She had followed Ling Li for some time now and naturally understood what the two alchemists' final expressions meant. Their behavior was also quite different from the alchemists she had imagined.

"Don't think too much about it. This is what the world really looks like. I truly don't understand how someone with your personality has survived until now." Once Ling Li heard that only the second-level passengers were being cleared out, he had no further thoughts on the matter. His and Little Doctor Fairy's room was on the first level.

If those two alchemists insisted on putting on airs and had him thrown off as well, he would definitely let them know what color blood was!