Hundredfold Forge

After leaving Yu Xiaogang's house, Cinderella and Tang San found everything new and exciting. Heaven Dou City was the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, after all, and it was every bit as bustling as they had imagined.

In his previous life, Tang San had been an assassin of the Tang Sect. He had devoted himself to studying Hidden Weapons, only to leap from a cliff to prove his resolve after he was caught secretly learning the inner sect's forbidden arts.

The Tang Sect Fortress where he had lived was grand, but it was filled with rigid rules and cold machinery. When had he ever seen a world so alive with everyday warmth?

He had barely ever gone shopping, let alone in a thriving city in another world.

Cinderella had even less experience. As a servant in her own home, she had been bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters. She had eaten poorly, slept poorly, and had no friends. She barely owned a decent dress, and her days spent amid dust and hearth ashes had left her no time to play. Her only pleasure had been talking to little animals like mice and birds.

After Lin Wan summoned her to this world, she and Tang San had stayed in Holy Soul Village until their Martial Souls awakened. After that, they had gone to school in remote Notting City. She had hardly had a chance to relax.

So once the two of them stepped outside, everything caught their eye.

The streets teemed with people, shoulder to shoulder. Vendors' cries, laughter, and the rumble of carriage wheels over cobblestones mingled into a vibrant rush that washed over their senses.

Shops lined both sides of the road, their banners fluttering. Food stalls gave off tempting aromas: golden, sizzling Soul Beast meat; plump white