Hulu Kou

The next morning, Zhao Youde arrived at the hotel entrance early. At 8 o'clock sharp, the Bell family came downstairs and appeared in front of Zhao Youde.

"Bell, where are you guys planning to go today?"

Zhao Youde inquired.

"Since we're here to investigate the market, we should naturally go to the most bustling commercial street in the Cultivator World."

This family came to China under the guise of market research.

Due to some historical issues, the China Cultivator Alliance maintains very strict control over outsiders. Private applications for entry not only involve a very complicated application process, but also make it difficult to access the gathering places of the Cultivator.

Therefore, in order to achieve his goal, Bell specifically asked his father to use his connections to go through official channels.

Over the years, the Bell Family's magical items have been popular in markets around the world, so applying to enter China under the guise of market expansion would not seem out of place at all.

Needless to say, that was indeed his own father's main objective.

"Speaking of the most bustling commercial street, it has to be ' Hulu Kou ' in Beijing! Let's go, it's not far from here."

Zhao Youde looked very proud.

Zhao Youde found it utterly incomprehensible that some muddle-headed individuals would believe that Nanjing's Chao Tian Men was more prosperous.

He'll criticize any person like that he sees!

As for those guys in the Southwest and Northwest, he wouldn't even bother to criticize them.

Hulu Kou is indeed very close to the hotel, and it is also located in the city center.

Led by Zhao Youde, the Bell family walked through one alley after another, making Bell dizzy and disoriented. He could only barely distinguish things by looking at the sun.

"We've arrived."

Standing in a dead end, Zhao Youde pointed to the brick wall in front of him and said.

"Behind this wall lies the Hulu Kou. Only those with spiritual power can pass through this wall. Remember, don't hesitate, just charge straight through."

Bell said he was extremely familiar with this screening mechanism. "It's just like Platform 9 3/4," he said.

Unlike Bell, Little Shanna felt somewhat nervous. Mainly because, in her childhood attempts to master her Flying Shoes, she had smashed through countless walls. So now, seeing a wall standing before her, her instinctive urge was to unleash her magic and shatter it.

Holding her younger sister's hand, Bell didn't want their first day of fun to be ruined by unnecessary trouble.

Passing through the brick wall, a bustling commercial street appeared before the Bell family.

"Steamed buns! Freshly steamed, piping hot steamed buns!"

"Tofu pudding~! One copper coin for a bowl of tofu pudding~!"

"Fried dough sticks, fried pancakes Da Lu Nang ~!"

"..."

Bell glanced at Zhao Youde with suspicion. To him, this place didn't seem like a commercial street in the Cultivator World; it looked more like a morning market for those Spirit-Rootless Person.

"Have you had breakfast yet? If not, I recommend the jianbing guozi from that place, or the egg pancake from that other place over there, it's pretty good too. But remember not to add ham sausage, their ham sausage is cheap stuff."

"Um, Brother Youde, are you sure this is a commercial street for Cultivator?"

"Yes! Is there a problem?"

Zhao Youde looked at Bell with a surprised expression.

This isn't Hulu Kou, where else could it be? I didn't see that sign at the entrance... Oh! Damn it! Which brat took the sign to play with again?

"No, it's nothing. It's just that this scene is a bit unexpected. Why are there so many breakfast vendors here?"

Bell voiced his doubts.

"It's still quite early. Some of the Cultivator from the neighborhood often come here to buy breakfast in the morning, and then they can eat while strolling around."

"Is this place close to the Cultivator ' gathering place?"

"Where are there any settlements left? China's population has grown too fast in recent years. Places that were once uninhabited are now mostly covered with houses."

Left with no other choice, the Cultivator had to live among those Spirit-Rootless Person. It is said that there are still a few Cultivator settlements in the less populated southwest and northwest regions.

Zhao Youde explained.

"After passing this Food Street, you'll find a place that sells all sorts of magical artifacts, materials, and other cultivation supplies."

Although they had already eaten breakfast, the Bell family was still very interested in authentic China breakfast. Bell bought some of everything, and the family happily enjoyed it.

Shanna's favorite food is sugar figurines. The sugar figurines made by the Cultivator are also enchanted with magic similar to that of the Chocolate Frog. The various small animals made of sugar are lifelike, cute and delicious.

Speaking of which, Bell has to criticize the creativity of British Wizards.

Why did they have to make the chocolate into a frog shape of all shapes and sizes? Don't they know frogs are beneficial insects?!

Because Cultivator in China have not been besieged by those Spirit-Rootless Person, the proportion of them in the population is higher than in Europe countries.

In addition to China's huge population base, even in the morning, the flow of people in Hulu Kou was already very large.

Walking through the crowd, Shanna kept looking around. The curious little girl wanted to examine everything she saw.

Therefore, Bell had to hold Shanna's hand tightly to prevent his younger sister from getting lost.

The Food Street wasn't long, and the group reached its end in no time. After turning a corner, a wider street came into view for the Bell family.

Compared to Diagon Alley in Britain, this street has a significant advantage in terms of both width and the number of shops on both sides.

The most striking difference between this place and Diagon Alley is the massive stone statue located in the center of the distant plaza.

The stone statue depicts a man seated on a throne. This man has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and he rests his cheek on his only right hand, looking down at the passersby below.

"Brother Youde, that stone statue?"

"Oh, that person was Wu Shijie, the founder and first and only leader of the Cultivator Alliance. After that person disappeared, the Cultivator Alliance became a council system."

Zhao Youde glanced at the distant stone statue with reverence in his eyes and explained.

"Statues of that great man are displayed in the four Cultivator commercial streets and four Academy of China."

At the same time, that statue is also the core of the formation that covers the entire Hulu Kou. It is said that if Hulu Kou is attacked by external enemies, that stone statue will be activated and destroy all invading enemies.

However, to my knowledge, Hulu Kou has never been attacked since its establishment.

Bell nodded thoughtfully; this was the first time he had heard of the origins of the Cultivator Alliance. He never imagined it was founded by a single person.

"You mean Lord Wu Shijie has gone missing?"

Bell asked curiously.

If given the chance, Bell would very much like to meet someone who could single-handedly build such a massive organization as the Cultivator Alliance.