Entering Shrek City

Jing Chen did not find the days spent in the carriage boring, nor did the little tiger, Yi Yi.

The little fellow had a lazy personality. Normally, she liked to lie on Jing Chen's head and sleep, moving only when she had to.

From the moment they set off, Yi Yi had fallen asleep. She only woke when she was hungry, clamoring for food.

Jing Chen rather liked Yi Yi this way. Laziness had its benefits—at least she was not too troublesome.

Time passed quickly. After ten days of travel, Jing Chen finally reached his destination: Shrek City.

The carriage stopped more than three hundred meters outside Shrek City's South City gate. Jing Chen got out and looked toward the city in the distance.

Shrek City was enormous. At a glance, all he could see was the city wall, but even that wall, dozens of meters high, conveyed the city's grandeur.

The wall stretched endlessly in both directions. Its length on just one side spanned several thousand meters, perhaps even tens of thousands.

Jing Chen watched quietly for a while before walking toward Shrek City, taking out his identification in advance.

He did so because he had noticed that everyone else entering the city presented identification, so he followed suit.

He had obtained identification for himself in Ye City, listing him as an orphan and a citizen of the Dou Ling Empire.

Shrek City's defenses were strict. Everyone entering the city had their identity checked so that the guards could establish their basic background.

The process was fairly quick. They merely glanced at the identification and did not search everyone one by one or interrogate them about why they had come to Shrek City.

Shrek City lay at the border of the three great empires. Its unique location and convenient transportation had made its commerce exceptionally prosperous, with huge numbers of people entering and leaving every day.

If every person were questioned and investigated individually, it would take far too much time and severely affect commercial development.

For the sake of commerce, Shrek City had simplified its inspections to merely checking identification.

Of course, checking identification was only what appeared on the surface. In reality, powerful experts were stationed at all four city gates of Shrek City, responsible for sensing the strength of those entering and leaving.

If they discovered a Soul King or higher entering the city, they would conduct further questioning.

There was nothing wrong with Jing Chen's identification, and his Soul Power had not reached level fifty, so he entered Shrek City without any trouble.

As for Yi Yi atop his head, she had completely concealed her aura without leaking the slightest energy fluctuation, so she caused no trouble either.

The guards at the gate simply took her for an ordinary pet Jing Chen kept. Raising a tiger was somewhat uncommon, but hardly unheard of.

Shrek Academy itself even raised soul beasts. What was so strange about a child raising an ordinary little tiger?

"This child's Soul Power fluctuations are rather strong," a soldier standing guard at the city gate remarked in surprise after watching Jing Chen's retreating figure for a while.

Though he was merely an ordinary guard with low status, he was actually a Soul Elder-level Soul Master.

With Soul Power above level thirty, he could sense that Jing Chen's Soul Power fluctuations were not weak. They did not seem like something a six-year-old child should possess.

"What are you doing? Pay attention," the soldier beside him quietly reminded him.

After that reminder, the soldier stopped thinking about it and resumed standing guard seriously.

After entering the city, Jing Chen had no particular destination. He simply wandered around, learning about the city.

His wandering was not aimless. He kept an eye on whether there were any houses along the streets available for rent or sale.

He might be staying in Shrek City for several years, so he naturally could not keep living in an inn. He needed to find himself a long-term residence.

Shrek City was completely different from Ye City. It was far more prosperous, like the difference between a major city and a small county town.

Jing Chen did not act as though he had never seen the world before. He walked normally along the streets, observing both sides of the road.

It was afternoon when he arrived in Shrek City. By the time he found a suitable house, it was already seven or eight in the evening.

He had looked at several places, but only this small house west of the South City gate, in a relatively remote area, met his requirements.

In his view, the house's greatest advantage was its secluded location. It was far from Shrek Academy in the eastern part of the city and close to the South City gate, making it convenient to come and go.

There were many powerful experts within Shrek Academy. If he lived too close, he would feel uncomfortable. It was better to keep his distance.

After paying one hundred Gold Soul Coins for four years' rental rights, Jing Chen moved in that very night.

The house was not large, with one bedroom and one living room, along with a kitchen and washroom. Its facilities were fairly complete.

The living conditions were not particularly good, but they were tolerable. He had not come to Shrek City to enjoy himself, so he did not need overly high standards for his accommodations.

After moving in, Jing Chen summoned the Time and Space Divine Tower and entered it with Yi Yi.

Once he entered, the Time and Space Divine Tower shrank to the size of a grain of sand. Unless one looked carefully, it was difficult to notice its existence.

Inside the Time and Space Divine Tower, Jing Chen took out a pot, skillfully prepared the soul beast meat, and placed it inside to cook.

Tomorrow, I should buy some metal first, make a few Soul Tools, and sell them. Making money by selling soul beast meat is still too strange.

Jing Chen thought to himself. Back in Ye City, he had needed to come up with all sorts of excuses to explain where the soul beast meat came from.

After arriving in Shrek City, it would probably be difficult to brush people off with those same excuses, and trouble would be unavoidable.

Besides, making money by selling soul beast meat was rather slow. It was not a long-term solution.

After finishing dinner in the Time and Space Divine Tower, Jing Chen brought Yi Yi back out and began cultivating his Soul Power.

With the Method of Soul Master Cultivation given to him by the Artifact Spirit, he did not need anyone to teach him how to cultivate Soul Power. He had already learned it from the book himself.

This Method of Soul Master Cultivation was not some cultivation manual or secret technique. It was simply a guide teaching people how to cultivate, though it was particularly detailed.

It even explained exactly how to cultivate at every minor level, something many cultivation techniques likely did not have.

As Jing Chen cultivated, the Soul Power within his body circulated entirely according to the method described in the fifteenth-level soul master cultivation manual.

Cultivating this way felt incredibly comfortable and smooth to him. Everything proceeded perfectly.

World's Origin Energy rapidly flowed into his body, then was swiftly converted into part of his Soul Power.

At one in the morning, Jing Chen reluctantly ended his cultivation, washed up, and went to bed.

He had not yet reached the point where cultivation made him more energetic instead of tired. Sleep was still quite necessary for him.

He had moved his bed into the Time and Space Divine Tower to sleep. Time flowed faster inside, allowing him to get more rest.

The Time and Space Divine Tower was remarkably magical. Once summoned, it seemed to detach from him, becoming an independent object.

Keeping it outside did not consume his Soul Power, and he could even summon his first martial soul within it.

If he summoned his martial soul outside, even after several hours, it would not consume even the slightest bit of his Soul Power.

Of course, using the Time and Space Divine Tower's time and spatial abilities would require Soul Power.

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