Today was the day Mu Qian had finally decided to leave.
He glanced at the place he had called home for ten years, and a pang of sadness rose in his heart.
"It feels just like leaving for school in my previous life," Mu Qian said with a self-mocking smile.
When he got up that morning, Snow Maiden and Bing'er were already gone.
Perhaps they didn't want to face the pain of parting, either.
They had said everything that needed saying the night before.
Mu Qian looked at the Starry Sky Ring resting in his palm. Snow Maiden had given it to him, saying it contained some Gold Soul Coins, as well as the Spirit Bones she had collected over the past several hundred thousand years.
There were also a few rare treasures, though not many. She and Bing'er had used most of them.
He took a rough look inside. There were only around ten or twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, gathered in recent years from Spirit Masters who had ventured into the Extreme North Core and been hunted by Snow Maiden.
It wasn't much, since most people didn't carry large amounts of Gold Soul Coins on them.
But the Spirit Bones...
There were so many that they formed a mountain stretching beyond sight.
At first, the sight had left Mu Qian utterly stunned, but he soon understood.
The odds of a Spirit Bone dropping were terrifyingly low, but countless Spirit Beasts died in the Far North every day. Whenever Snow Maiden sensed the presence of a Spirit Bone, she would bring it back and add it to her collection.
After several hundred thousand years of accumulation, it was no wonder she had amassed so many.
Mu Qian had curiously asked why she collected so many Spirit Bones. Snow Maiden hadn't said much; she had only watched him in silence.
But Mu Qian already understood what she meant.
There was no need for words. He buried all that gratitude and warmth deep in his heart.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone among them.
After hundreds of thousands of years, the only beings in the Far North capable of surviving a Heavenly Tribulation and becoming Ferocious Beasts were Bing'er, Snow Maiden, and that savage beast.
There might be some in the ocean, but finding one would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
The Far North was truly too cruel.
Mu Qian wouldn't use any of these Spirit Bones himself unless he had no other choice.
As a transmigrator, he figured he should at least aim to collect a full set of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.
He waved toward the area behind him. He knew Snow Maiden and the others were watching him from somewhere nearby.
"Let's go, Little Flower!" Mu Qian tapped Little Flower on the head.
The little guy had a pretty carefree heart. They had only stopped for a short while, and he had already fallen asleep.
Little Flower stirred at the tap and gazed at Mu Qian with tearful, bleary eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
After thinking it over, Mu Qian decided to bring Little Flower with him. He was too small, and his strength was only equal to that of a Ten-Year Soul Beast. With no one to look after him in the Far North, he couldn't leave him behind.
Count on Snow Maiden?
Forget it...
He gripped the Soul Guidance Ring in his hand. Without dragging out their tearful farewell, he set off toward the edge of the Far North.
Mu Qian didn't know what lay ahead, but he knew it would be a much broader world.
Two months later.
Guja City, in the Sophie Kingdom in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire.
At dusk, intricate and ornate runes carved into the towering city gate blocked the last rays of the setting sun.
The gate was built in a style reminiscent of medieval European architecture. Its four walls, constructed from sturdy white marble, rose more than ten meters high. Though weather-beaten, they still carried an imposing grandeur.
This was merely an unremarkable border city. From this small glimpse, one could imagine how magnificent the capitals of the Two Great Empires must be.
The sky was still bright, but the atmosphere was oppressively tense.
At the city gate, two rows of soldiers in silver armor stood ramrod straight, sternly checking the people passing through.
The crowds outside hurried toward the gate, jostling to get into the city before the last sliver of sunlight disappeared.
Their faces showed all kinds of emotions, but one thing remained the same: the fear they could barely hide in their eyes.
Flocks of birds flew back to their nests, chirping as they passed over the towering walls, as if even a moment's delay could cost them their lives.
Mu Qian, carrying Little Flower, was one of the people in the crowd.
Yet even the two of them, such an unusual pair, attracted no attention from those around them.
He had long since traded his beast-hide robes for plain, ordinary clothes. This wasn't the first human settlement he had reached, but every one of them had been just as strange.
The outskirts of the Far North stretched across an immense area. Even in places where the weather was no longer frigid, there was no sign of human life.
He had trudged for more than a month before finally coming across a human village.
After spending so many years in seclusion, it was impossible not to feel excited at experiencing the flame of human civilization again.
But he had noticed something very strange.
One village, then a second, then a third...
Mu Qian had passed more than a dozen villages without encountering a single living person.
Everything of value had vanished from the old-fashioned homes. It was as if the people had fled together, leaving only chaos behind.
He had found a reasonably well-fitting set of clothes and changed into them.
He had even wondered whether he had transmigrated into some strange era where he was the only person left in the world.
It wasn't until he reached the main road leading to Guja City that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he saw the scattered groups of people hurrying along, his expression grew increasingly grave.
Guja City was the border city closest to the Far North. Though small, it served dozens of nearby villages.
Along the way, apart from fleeing crowds and the occasional passing bird, Mu Qian hadn't seen a single living animal.
Silence filled the land everywhere.
A silence that was rather frightening.
"Five Gold Soul Coins just to enter the city? Why don't you rob us outright!"
"Exactly! If you want us dead, just say so! You might as well close the gate instead of putting on this false show!"
"That's right! What kind of royal family does the Star Luo Empire have? Do they really think that just because we're far from the capital, they can treat us like we're not people?"
"When that thing comes out, we're all doomed! Everyone, we might as well fight them!"
A commotion rose at the gate. Mu Qian looked over and saw several bold citizens surrounding the guards, ready to fight.
Just then, the leader of the guards gave a cold snort and released his Martial Soul.
"Anyone who dares to attack will be charged with openly assaulting the imperial army and executed according to the law!"
A white Spirit Ring rose from beneath his feet. The pressure released with his Soul Power instantly calmed those who had been ready to cause trouble.
That was a Spirit Master!
Even the lowest-ranked Spirit Master was more than ordinary people like them could take on.
Those who couldn't afford the entrance fee walked dejectedly to the side and sat down with their backs against the city wall, hoping to find some sense of safety beneath its towering bulk.
After all, one Gold Soul Coin was enough to feed a family of five for a year.
Not many people could afford five Gold Soul Coins.
Mu Qian watched coldly, without the slightest sympathy.
The despair on their faces instead struck him as somewhat ridiculous.
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