Driven by some invisible pressure, Ji Yuan seemed to fly even faster than his original limit, returning to Eastern Land Cloud Continent half a month earlier than expected.
Although Ji Yuan had only left Cloud Continent a few years ago, and a few years truly counted for nothing to immortal cultivators—especially one with cultivation like his—so much had happened in that time that it stretched his sense of distance. Returning to Cloud Continent now gave him the long-lost feeling of coming home.
But Ji Yuan could not go straight back to his old home in Ning'an County just yet. The most urgent matter was Dragon Daughter Ying Ruoli's condition, so he naturally had to go to Jingji Prefecture of Great Zhen first.
The changes along the Tongtian River were immense. When Ji Yuan reached the riverbank, he had almost failed to recognize the place. Standing on the side opposite Jingji Prefecture, he looked toward a certain direction from memory and saw nothing but river water.
"Uh, this... Palace Exam Top Scholar Ferry was flooded?"
The original Palace Exam Top Scholar Ferry had been completely submerged. A larger new dock had now been built along the riverbank, most of it already completed, with cargo ships loading and unloading there. Yet part of it was still under construction, and the supporting facilities had kept pace as well. Even the old hotpot shop had been rebuilt and reopened.
The situation on the opposite bank was much the same: a broader new dock, equally bustling and busy. Only the road stretching toward Jingji Prefecture City remained unchanged.
Ji Yuan stood on the riverside of the new road. Although he was slightly off to one side, carriages and horses still passed by from time to time. As he gazed over the surface of the Tongtian