A Safe World
Clad in the robes of a desert dweller and riding a tall Mechanical Warhorse, Luo Jun galloped wildly in the direction indicated by the caravan. Finally, as he crossed a sand dune, he saw a colossal object slowly rising into the air in the distance.
That's... an airship?
A long, oval hot air balloon, hundreds of meters long, with a sturdy passenger cabin hanging below and a high-speed rotating propeller, took off from the edge of a huge city and slowly flew in another direction.
As for the city the airship left, thanks to the Technological Power of the industrial age, it had already taken on the rudiments of a modern city, with various tall buildings standing side by side. Although it couldn't compare to the skyscrapers of major cities in the Main World, its scale was far beyond that of ancient cities like Yunzhou City.
Luo Jun didn't know where his Master was, but he figured the Holy See must have some clues. Based on his experience in the Martial World world, the Holy See was likely to have branches in major cities around the world... At the very least, for such a dangerous mission, there had to be someone to provide backup.
Based on what we learned in class, the pollution level in [Utopia] is lower than that in the martial Martial World. The return cycle for permanent residents is generally about five months. Because returning to the Main World for a month can purify all conventional pollution, the Holy See personnel here spend more than 80% of their time in the other world, which can also influence locations farther away from the gate.
Luo Jun walked into the city without any attempt to conceal himself, not even putting away his Mechanical Warhorse, and even taking out his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade.
He didn't know where the Holy See's people were, so instead of searching for a needle in a haystack, he decided to attract their Holy See directly.
Ye's name is known to almost everyone in the Zhendan cultivation circle. His image of Half-Face Mask, Mechanical Warhorse, and wielding Azure Dragon Crescent Blade is deeply ingrained in people's minds. People from the Holy See should have heard of him to some extent as well.
"What a world where backwardness and progress coexist..."
Luo Jun could see horse-drawn carriages passing by on the street. Besides real horses, he could occasionally see mechanical horses with brass shells, billowing steam, and driven by gears. He could see soldiers patrolling the streets carrying old-fashioned bolt-action rifles, but their faces wore complex mechanical masks with intricate mechanisms, allowing them to aim like telescopes by adjusting the lenses. He could also see steam passenger cars running along fixed tracks, where the driver only needed to pull a lever to complete the complex operation of stopping and opening the doors at stations, and could even use mechanical legs to lift the carriages to avoid obstacles...
Having been in the Martial World for so long, it's been a long time since I've shown my true skills. It'll be good to stretch my muscles and bones!
High-risk level means this world is extremely dangerous, and even the Explorers' Organization cannot fully protect you. Currently, there is only one world of this level: [Chaos]. No matter how strong you are or how powerful your background is, in the face of Chaos Mission, all beings are equal.
With Luo Jun's Superman perception and reaction speed, the moment he concentrated, everything around him seemed to slow down. The trajectory of a bullet, which was invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people, slowed down a hundred times in his eyes, just like a sandbag thrown by a child!
With a swipe of his Crescent Moon Blade, he knocked all the bullets away. One of them even bounced back and struck a soldier in the side of the face, knocking his Mechanical Mask off.
The officer was stunned for a moment, then he was so frightened that he fell to the ground, crawling backward on all fours while shouting. The other soldiers all opened fire on Luo Jun!
Although this bolt-action rifle has a primitive structure, the bullets it fires are no less powerful than those of modern firearms. With an initial velocity exceeding twice the speed of sound, there is virtually no chance of dodging at a distance of more than ten meters... at least for others.
As for the [Utopia] where Luo Jun is currently located, this world's danger level is the lowest Safe Level!
This level of rarity is second only to high-risk. Although [Utopia] possesses Mysterious Power, in the public's perception, these are just ancient legends or stories to fool children. In civilized countries and regions, order is maintained by police and the military. In addition, the weaponry level in this world is not high. It can be said that living in this world, as long as you are in a civilized area, let alone Foundation Establishment Realm at the Qi Cultivation Realm, even an explorer at the Body Refinement Realm will hardly encounter any danger.
In the eyes of those at the Heart Refining Realm, or even Peak Expert, the danger level of other worlds, except for the special [Chaos], would probably be lowered.
The "Safe Level" means that as long as one does not violate the laws and taboos of that world, one will almost certainly not encounter danger, and explorers can move relatively freely.
Of course, these four levels are for explorers at the high level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, because the Foundation Establishment Realm can be said to be the minimum threshold to become an explorer, while the Heart Refining Realm depends a lot on fortuitous opportunity. Therefore, the vast majority of explorers actually stay at the high level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but have not reached the Heart Refining Realm.
Oh... Luo Jun understands. Although Mechanical Warhorse aren't too outlandish here, it's no wonder the police would ignore someone carrying such a huge sword around town.
The textbooks for first-year students at the Ningdong Academy include basic introductions to various otherworldly realms, and classify these realms into four levels based on the degree of danger they pose to explorers: high-risk, dangerous, normal, and Safe Level.
This was truly a miraculous move; the soldiers turned and ran, repeatedly shouting a few words... Luo Jun guessed it was something like "monster" or "devil"...
Facing the threatening, shouting police officers, Luo Jun smiled slightly, then suddenly swung his knife, splitting the officer's rifle in two...
While no monsters comparable to those in the Feather Transformation have yet been discovered in the [Savage Wilderness], the strongest known level 8 monsters are manageable even for Peak Expert. However, these monsters are ruthless; they will pounce on you upon contact, attempting to turn you into food. Therefore, the [Martial World] is rated as more dangerous than the [Martial World].
This level of danger is not necessarily related to the strength of the world or the number of powerful individuals. For example, in the Martial World, although there are several Ascension Expert and many Peak Expert, these people generally abide by the rules and uphold public order and good customs, so there is almost no need to worry about them causing trouble for no reason.
After driving away the henchmen, Luo Jun didn't rush to escape. Seeing that the surrounding pedestrians were also frightened by the gunfire and scattered in all directions, he continued to steer his warhorse leisurely towards the city center.
In comparison, his Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse, though far more complex and lifelike than the most advanced steam-powered mechanical horse, no longer seemed so out of place here. At least passersby only glanced at it a few times before hurrying away, at most discussing it as some scientist's latest invention, without being overly surprised.
The "dangerous" level indicates that danger lurks almost everywhere in this world, and lone explorers can only survive under the protection of an organization. The [Savage Wilderness] that Luo Jun visited was at this level; there was no civilization there, and monsters roamed everywhere. Without Lingyun City, established by the Wildlands Hunter Guild, it would be extremely difficult for a lone explorer to survive in this world.
In a world like this, Luo Jun had nothing to fear. He decided to be blatant and rode his Crisscross, the Zongheng, carrying the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, all the way to the Fountain Square in the city center.
The "General" level indicates that this world harbors certain risks, requiring constant caution and maintaining contact with explorer organizations. Most worlds with civilizations exist at this level, with the "Martial World" being a prime example. Ordinary people can live in this world, but they might be attacked by bandits or thieves skilled in martial arts who break into their homes one day, or get caught in the crossfire of a brawl between martial arts masters while strolling down the street. For explorers, venturing into the martial arts world also requires constant vigilance.
Looks like I'm not attention-grabbing enough...
Luo Jun was stroking his chin, deep in thought, when suddenly a squad of soldiers wearing Mechanical Mask rushed over, surrounded him, pointed their guns at him, and rattled off a string of words, their tone seemingly warning him something.
What's going on? Luo Jun was puzzled, but then he saw the leading officer point his gun at the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand, his tone becoming increasingly stern.
I could hear loudspeakers broadcasting in Utopian Common Language along the way. Although I couldn't understand the specific content, I guessed from the tone and the occasional familiar words that they were warning residents about dangerous elements in the city and urging everyone to be careful.
Thanks to the broadcast, pedestrians along the way scattered and fled, and the houses on both sides of the street closed their doors and windows. Luo Jun only encountered one armored unit attempting to capture him along the way.
The armored unit has three humanoid mechs, each three to four meters tall and with a robust build, which work in coordination with dozens of infantrymen.
It was described as humanoid, but it was more like a large metal can with limbs attached, without even a head. Luo Jun pried one open and found the driver sitting inside the can, controlling the limbs and attacking with melee weapons such as machine guns, machetes, and spears.
It must be a tank from this world... It's more suitable for urban warfare than a tank, but it's made of ordinary metal, too brittle...
After repelling these armored units, Luo Jun never encountered any further significant resistance.
"Aren't they going to show themselves? Or is it that there are no members of the Holy See in this city at all?"
As Luo Jun was speculating, he suddenly felt the Space Distortion. Then, the bright sunlight dimmed, and the surrounding buildings were shrouded in shadow, with strange color contrasts, like undeveloped film.
Only the central square where he stood, and the fountain in the square, retained their normal hue.
It's some kind of barrier... isolating the square from the surrounding city...
"Making such a grand entrance right off the bat, no wonder he's a rising supernova at Zhendan."
A male voice came through, speaking in a slightly broken Zhendan language, but at least Luo Jun understood it.
Turning my head, I saw a tall man in heavy armor standing in the barrier, his body radiating surging energy.
This Protective Qi Strength suggests Martial Combat Faction... a knight? Perhaps Holy Knight!
But he wasn't the only one!
Luo Jun turned his head to look in another direction, where a blonde woman dressed in a white Mother Superior stood. She looked to be around forty years old, and her aura was far weaker than a man's, but she exuded a dangerous feeling.
The Spell Faction? No, it feels more incisive... It should be the Elemental School, and the true Spell Faction should be over here...
As he spoke, he looked in another direction, where an Old Man holding a scripture and wearing a long robe stood. He was probably a Father, and his body was surrounded by multiple fluctuations, all of which were powerful enhancement Mystic Technique, and he was faintly connected to the other two people.
The three people approached Luo Jun from three directions, subtly surrounding him while maintaining a distance.
"They've finally appeared, the people from the Holy See." Luo Jun looked at the knight.
The knight flipped his hand and tossed over a prop resembling an earphone. Luo Jun caught it and scanned it with his energy, revealing that it was a high-quality Man-made Treasure Item. Once worn, it could automatically translate any analyzed language, and could also translate the wearer's spoken words into a specified language.
Luo Jun put it on his ear. "A very convenient treasure."
Although the Zhendan language, it was spoken as the Xiluo Common Language.
"[Utopia] is different from your Zhendan's [Martial World] and [Paranormal] worlds. Living in this world requires dealing with many different ethnic groups and hundreds of languages; Translation Treasure Tool is essential." The knight looked at Luo Jun and introduced himself. "My name is Hank Howard, Holy Knight from the Holy See 'Parami Branch. The two behind you are Bishop Jacob and Sister Shalinna."
Luo Jun looked at the Old Man with some surprise. Was he actually a bishop?
In the two civilized worlds of the Xiluo, [Utopia] and [Empire], the Holy See plays a religiously significant role. These Xiluo Romans seem to have an unusually strong attachment to religion. In [Utopia], a world entering the industrial age, the status of native religions has plummeted, but the Holy See, upon its arrival, seized this opportunity to fill the vacancy. A decade or so ago, it even helped the young Empress of Utopiya stage a coup, thus becoming the state religion.
It's fair to say that, in terms of influence over the official authorities of Different World, the Holy See in [Utopia] is the most powerful among all Otherworld Explorer organizations.
Although the Parami Region does not belong to the Utopian Empire, but is merely a peripheral country, the fact that a branch has been established there indicates that there must be something to be discovered there. And the bishop, as the highest leader of a branch, must possess considerable power.
"My name is Ye. Judging from what you just said, you should have heard of me." Luo Jun introduced himself without any hesitation.
"Looks like I didn't mistake him for someone else." The one talking to Luo Jun was still Holy Knight Hank, who was also the closest to him. He was obviously wary of Luo Jun, and if a conflict broke out, he, as a Martial Combat Faction, would be the first to step up to the front line.
"As far as I know, you should have been active in Zhendan ..." Holy Knight Hank asked. "We haven't received any notification from the Holy See headquarters. How did you get to Parami? And what is your purpose?"
"I have my own methods," Luo Jun said frankly. "As for my purpose, I've been entrusted to investigate the disappearance of Yuan Shouzhen."
"Mr. Yuan?" Hank glanced at Bishop Jacob and frowned. "We only informed the Yuan Cultivation Society of Mr. Yuan's disappearance. Is your employer the Yuan Cultivation Society? The Zhendan people actually hired mercenaries?"
"No comment." Luo Jun shook his head. "I only want to know about Yuan Shouzhen."
"Young man, the prerequisite for cooperation is to treat each other with sincerity." The Holy Knight stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Want to resort to force? This area sealed off by the barrier is indeed a good place for a fight." Luo Jun sneered, "But as far as I know, the Peak of the Holy See should be taking turns stationed in the capital of Utopiya, right? This place is far from the reach of the emperor. You three think you can take me on?"
"Heh heh..." Bishop Jacob finally spoke, "A recently rising supernova in Zhendan, a mysterious powerhouse suspected to Peak. We've heard rumors about you. But unfortunately, in this space, even the true Peak might not be able to escape!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he opened the book in his hand, and a surge of energy surrounded the three of them. A huge Magic Array suddenly appeared on the ground centered on the fountain, followed by a dazzling beam of light that instantly enveloped the four of them.
(End of this chapter)