The Lionheart City

The Aoyu Empire was divided into seven provinces, each centered around a city.

Double Moon Town was in the Southeast Province. Lionheart City, as the capital, was in the Central Province, which was closer to the other provinces than any of the rest.

And since this trip was simply a matter of traveling along the main road, everyone moved much faster. They reached Lionheart City in just half a month.

As the capital of the Aoyu Empire, all kinds of stalls lined the road ten miles from Lionheart City.

Some sold mounts—vicious beasts—while others sold minerals, food, or weapons. There was a dazzling variety of goods, and Guen, who had never been to a city before, was amazed.

The others were much calmer.

They might never have been to Lionheart City, but most of them had been to Leiquan City.

It was exceedingly rare for anyone who had reached their level of cultivation never to have visited a major city.

"I'll get you settled in tonight so you can rest. Someone will come to find you later." With that, Tom left, leaving the group standing outside the hotel, exchanging bewildered looks.

Ganlan stepped forward without hesitation. "Let's find rooms and get some rest. The entire hotel has been booked for us. It's full of people taking part in the trial, from every province—each one among the best. No one will dare disturb us here, but people from other provinces may challenge you. Whether you accept is up to you."

With that, Ganlan strode into the hotel, followed by several people who clearly looked to him as their leader.

"Let's go."

Guen and the other three shrugged and followed them inside.

The lobby was already crowded.

The Southeast Province had only forty-seven people. Aside from the East Sea Province and the Central Province, the other provinces each had around fifty.

The East Sea Province had 123 people, more than even the Central Province's eighty-nine.

There were 497 people in total, and the East Sea Province accounted for a quarter of them. Every one was a warrior with a force multiplier of over three.

"The East Sea Province is the part of the Aoyu Empire that juts out into the sea. It's long and narrow, but has many unique resources. At the same time, it's vulnerable to attacks from vicious beasts in the ocean. With the sea as a barrier, those beasts can attack or hide whenever they want. That's why warriors from the East Sea Province specialize in explosive attacks that kill with a single blow," Setti explained, watching a group of grim-faced warriors in the corner of the lobby. "But there's no need to be too afraid. There are far more vicious beasts on land than in the sea. It's just that the sea beasts are so unusual that the warriors there have to make every attack count. They say the Demon Hunters' headquarters is in the East Sea Province."

Demon Hunters?

Of all the civilian organizations, the most famous were the Demon Hunters and the Crimson Moon Society.

The Demon Hunters were even more renowned. They traveled throughout the provinces solely to hunt vicious beasts, and many citizens of the empire had a favorable impression of them.

Everyone looked toward the group.

Sure enough, they all had an air of bloodlust about them, and every one of them wore a cold expression. They clearly looked down on people from other provinces.

Guen and the other three only glanced at them before heading upstairs.

"Ganlan! Ganlan!" As soon as Ganlan entered the lobby, someone waved him over.

The group wore fitted clothes, but they had adorned them with many extravagant accessories. Their dining table was piled high with dishes, making it obvious to everyone that they came from wealthy merchant or noble families.

"You're finally taking part in the trial this year. How's it going? Pretty good, I bet," someone greeted him warmly.

"Not bad. It's certainly been an experience," Ganlan replied with a smile.

"You're the one with the highest force multiplier in the Southeast Province this time, right?"

Ganlan's expression stiffened.

Though he hated to admit it, Guen had a force multiplier of five, while he had only barely reached four. He couldn't bring himself to claim they were about the same.

Ganlan shook his head. "No. The most outstanding one this time is a young man from Double Moon Town. He has a force multiplier of five."

Five times!

The group immediately perked up.

Even though there were nearly five hundred people taking part, most had a force multiplier of around three. That was already an impressive level for ordinary people. Reaching five would likely take them a long time of training.

"Our Northwest Province doesn't have a single person with a force multiplier of five. There are never many warriors with a multiplier that high in any trial, are there?"

"Ganlan, are you making this up because the Southeast Province has had poor results several times in a row?"

"Or maybe you're near the bottom of the group yourself, and you're saying this to save face? Hahahaha."

The group chuckled quietly.

Ganlan was furious. He glared at the speaker. "Gabulin, do you think I'm like you?"

Gabulin's face immediately darkened.

"Hmph. Let's see the facts, then. Your Southeast Province came in last place last time, and the time before that you did only a little better, coming in second to last. Do you think I care about you?" Gabulin said coldly.

Ganlan smiled. "Of course not, Your Highness the Ninth Prince. You'd better hurry, though. I heard His Majesty has already advanced to Super Tier."

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me."

Ganlan walked away.

"Bastard!" Gabulin gritted his teeth, but there was little he could do.

Ganlan's father was a city lord, and one of the most formidable Super Tier experts. Though Gabulin was of royal blood, he might not be much stronger than Ganlan.

Especially given the royal family's rules.

Once the previous emperor advanced to Super Tier, he would automatically abdicate.

But to keep the royal family competitive and prevent its young members from becoming lazy, there was another rule: the former emperor's children would be sent to important frontier posts to defend them. The first prince to earn recognition could return and inherit the throne. If none of them succeeded, the throne might go to another member of the royal family.

But those places were extremely dangerous, and attacks by Super Tier vicious beasts were common.

Gabulin was only at Tier Six. He had barely managed to pass the trial and make it here, thanks to his status as a prince. If he failed to place well in this trial, he would be in serious danger when assignments were handed out later.

The Aoyu Empire's royal family had never been one to spare its princes. Otherwise, emperors—whose terms could last at most thirty years—wouldn't be expected to advance to Super Tier before their reigns ended.

Upstairs in the hotel, Guen settled into a room by himself.

He first used the Communication Watch his parents had given him to contact them.

The watch could conceal itself. When not in use, it looked like an ordinary wristband, but once activated, it could transmit messages over great distances.

His father simply replied, "Just do your best," and then stopped responding.

Guen smiled helplessly. He stretched out on the bed, arms and legs spread wide, and wondered how they would decide the rankings in the final trial.

Guen had no idea that, high in the sky, his father Kolong and mother Ina were watching him through a screen inside "a white cloud."

Not only was Guen unaware of them; none of the many Super Tier experts in Lionheart City had noticed them either.

"Judging by strength alone, this Native Planet is nothing special. The rest doesn't matter, but these Ruins might contain a Legacy deliberately created by some powerful being. At the very least, it was made by a Domain Lord—and a very powerful one at that. If the place weren't so heavily guarded, we could go in and explore it ourselves," Kolong said regretfully.

There were many Ruins on this planet, carefully guarded by the humans of the Aoyu Empire, but Kolong didn't care about the others.

Those places were nothing but wreckage from spaceships. They held only ordinary mechanical tools. A battle might have broken out in orbit around this planet, causing some ships to crash down.

The people of the Aoyu Empire had discovered the wrecked ships. They had tried hard to imitate them, but had only managed to produce a few of the simplest instruments.

For example, the device used to check the contestants' identities before the trial was simple, but it was still a piece of technology.

This planet lacked the foundations of technological development. That was already the Aoyu Empire's limit.

But Kolong wasn't impressed by technology of that level. The only things worth his attention were the five Star Level experts and these Ruins.

"I'm still worried. Who knows what that powerful being intended when he left these Ruins behind? Guen took part in the trial and has a chance to enter them, but there could still be danger," Ina said anxiously.

"If he lived his whole life in safety, would that really be a good thing?" Kolong shook his head. "If he takes life easy, reaching Planetary Level should be no problem with his talent, but Star Level might be the limit of his life. He's our son, after all. He has the drive to grow stronger and won't be satisfied with stopping at Star Level. But how can he go further without taking risks? Opportunity often hides in danger."

Ina understood that all too well.

A Planetary Level warrior was little more than cannon fodder or a hired hand in the universe.

A Star Level warrior could be the strongest person on a planet in some remote region. Of the five Star Level experts on this planet, only two were Saint Tier warriors of the Aoyu Empire, yet their status was—supreme.

As for Universe Level, that was the sort of supreme expert who might appear only once in a galaxy under natural conditions.

A galaxy had more than a hundred thousand Life Planets. How many Planetary Level and Star Level warriors would it take to produce one Universe Level expert?

As for Domain Lord Level, one could become a ruler of an entire region.

Kolong and Ina themselves were only Planetary Level.

"Guen, you have to be careful," Ina thought, her heart full of worry.