Chou Chou's Rise to Fortune

Ripplewater Fort, Northern Plains.

It lay at the easternmost edge of human activity in the Northern Plains, the easternmost city recognized by the Northern Plains Alliance. From here, ordinary people could reach the New Continent by ship in just ten days.

It was nowhere near as prosperous as the cities of the Central Continent. Its walls were piled from locally sourced gray-black frozen rock, their surfaces carved with rugged stabilizing formations. The streets within the city were not especially broad, but alleyways crisscrossed everywhere, flanked by tightly packed stone-and-wood houses. Temperature-control formations stood at intervals.

Order in the city was maintained by the "Council Hall." The Council Hall had nine stewards, all of whom were at least Second Realm cultivators, though ordinary people rarely saw them. Daily affairs were handled by the law enforcement squads. So long as outsiders did not stir up trouble and paid their taxes on time, no one generally questioned them further.

But for that very reason, the city was a mixed bag of fish and dragons. Every street had several gangs, and armed brawls broke out every day.

The city's main purpose was to serve as a transit hub for supplies between the New Continent, the Central Continent grasslands, Snow Country, and Dragon Palace. On ordinary days, it looked rather bustling.

Thus, thickly fur-clad outsiders could be seen everywhere inside and outside the city. Most were merchants traveling this trade route, while a smaller number were young people chasing dreams of fortune. What most likely awaited them was being swindled out of every coin they owned.

Outside the city's northern side stood an expansive landing pad, surrounded by numerous warehouses and inns. Merchants and mercenaries passed through constantly, while many sects had also established offices here to collect goods moving through the area.

South City