Just Like a Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow

Lin Xiao gazed at the village below. As the distance steadily closed, at their current flying altitude, those villagers accustomed to rising early to work the fields could clearly see the Black Dragon flying through the sky.

Seeing such a massive Black Dragon, the villagers working at dawn would inevitably be frightened, causing unnecessary trouble. To prevent that from happening, Lin Xiao decisively gave the order. Receiving it, the Black Dragon gradually began to climb higher, until it was completely concealed within the vast, boundless sky.

Even if those villagers accustomed to early labor looked up at the sky, they would only see a black speck streaking across it at incredible speed. Unable to make out its true appearance, they would merely feel puzzled rather than terrified.

"This world is malformed. With a special profession like soul masters, the royal family and nobles can use the power of soul masters to protect their privileges and ensure their prosperity endures, almost monopolizing every opportunity and possibility for commoners to rise."

"For commoners, the only way to cross the divide between classes is to become soul masters. But becoming a soul master is hardly so simple or easy."

"And Spirit Hall awakens Martial Souls for commoners every year. Even in extremely remote places, there are Spirit Hall branch halls. Yet even so, soul masters remain rare."

Lin Xiao watched the villagers below, diligently working their fields at dawn, and sighed with emotion.

In his eyes, this world had already become deformed beyond measure. For ordinary people, if they wished to cross the class divide, becoming a soul master was the only path. There was no other viable way.

Because of Spirit Hall's existence, this distortion had been eased somewhat. Yet when viewed against the entire world, it was almost insignificant. Ordinary people had merely gained an opportunity and possibility to become soul masters, nothing more.

The Black Dragon whistled over tranquil villages. After traveling quite some distance, Lin Xiao finally saw the first city beyond Spirit City's sphere of influence!

The city stood proudly upon the scorched yellow earth. Its walls towered high, while roads crisscrossed in every direction. Compared to the scattered villages, the prosperity displayed by the city was something those villages could never hope to match.

"Black Dragon, when we pass over the city, shrink your body a little. There are soul masters in the city. Don't let them discover us and cause unnecessary trouble," Lin Xiao said calmly.

The Black Dragon nodded, and its enormous body gradually began to shrink. From a length that had initially far exceeded a hundred meters, it was reduced to merely a dozen or so meters. From the ground, unless one looked closely, there would be no way to notice anything unusual.

As they passed over the city, Lin Xiao immediately used his soul skill, Dragon Eye. Under Dragon Eye's effect, his perception of the world was greatly enhanced.

Even though he was high in the sky, under the effect of Dragon Eye, every sight within the city appeared clearly before his eyes, without a single omission.

Fortunately, while they passed over the city, no soul master noticed their presence.

"Looks like I overestimated this border city. The strongest soul master in this city is only a Soul Grandmaster," Lin Xiao murmured softly.

Although the first soul skill, Dragon Eye, merely enhanced visual perception, it was still a ten-thousand-year soul skill. Even a simple enhancement to visual perception was terrifying. Using Dragon Eye from high in the sky, Lin Xiao could clearly observe anything happening on the ground. Nothing could escape his eyes.

As they drew closer and closer to Heaven Dou City, the surrounding population became increasingly dense. The Black Dragon's massive body shrank from its original size of well over a hundred meters, gradually down to several dozen meters, then to a few dozen meters, and finally to its current ten meters!

The Black Dragon soared through the sky without restraint. If others saw it, it would likely cause unnecessary trouble, so Lin Xiao could only order it to gradually reduce its size.

After flying at high intensity day and night without rest, even the powerful Black Dragon could no longer endure it. When they were still five hundred li from Heaven Dou City, Lin Xiao chose to take a carriage and let the Black Dragon rest.

"Honored guest, be sure to sit tight! Around these parts, my carriage is famous for being fast. Tomorrow—no, this very afternoon! I'll definitely get you safely to Heaven Dou City this afternoon!" the coachman said with a broad smile as he swung his whip and struck the horses' rumps hard.

Lin Xiao never replied as he listened to the coachman boast endlessly.

Though the carriage was somewhat crude, it was indeed quite fast. After observing the two horses pulling it, Lin Xiao knew they were no ordinary steeds.

If one looked closely, one would discover that both horses moved with their legs on the same side stepping forward together.

The saying "a horse treading on a flying swallow" described precisely such a scene. Not only were they exceptionally fast, but they also traveled remarkably smoothly.

Moreover, both of these horses were actually soul beasts.

For the coachman to possess two such fine steeds, he truly had exceptionally good fortune.

No wonder the coachman dared to boast so confidently that he was famous around these parts for being fast. This was the reason.

Others might need a long time to travel five hundred li, but with his fine steeds, the coachman could reach Heaven Dou City by afternoon.

"Honored guest, my speed's not bad, right? Pretty fast, isn't it?! To be honest, I paid a huge price for these two fine steeds of mine. They're both soul beasts. Although neither has reached a hundred years of cultivation, they're several times faster than ordinary horses!" the coachman said to himself.

Sitting inside the carriage, Lin Xiao watched the scenery rushing past outside the window and slowly said in an even tone, "The phrase 'a horse treading on a flying swallow' depicts exactly what your two horses display: swift as the wind, yet exceptionally steady in motion. More importantly, your two horses are soul beasts. They truly deserve to be called fine steeds!"

Although he rode in a carriage drawn by fine steeds, the coachman's ability to control the astonishing speed displayed by the two horses was enough to show that he possessed considerable skill in handling a carriage.

Hearing this, the coachman controlling the carriage froze slightly, then beamed with delight. "It seems you're an expert too, honored guest. In that case, I'll pick up the pace!"

With that, the coachman lashed the horses' rumps again, and their speed immediately increased by several more degrees.