As it turned out, Wang Ren didn't know any inns in the capital. He had visited when he was six years old and his father wasn't much of a drinker. We ended up asking a random passerby for a recommendation instead.

The man gave us directions to his favourite inn, telling us to ask for 'Old Bao' and to try their specialty noodles. I wasn't sure I needed to eat, but I figured it was worth a shot.

After passing through a series of twisting and winding streets and alleyways, all packed with people going about their daily business, we arrived at the inn. It was called Jade Lights, which was made clear by the bright gold writing above the entrance.

There were a few tables outside, all of them filled with people laughing, joking, and enjoying wine and food. I was surprised to see so many cultivators eating.

Body Tempering practitioners and to a certain extent, Qi Gathering cultivators, still needed to eat for sustenance. However, it became less of a requirement and more of a hobby once you reached my realm and beyond.

On a whim I decided to use my energy vision, making me gasp in understanding. No wonder the man had recommended the noodles!

Every single dish was brimming with spiritual energy, every bite sending ripples through the consumer. I dragged Wang Ren inside without delay, making a beeline for the nearest waiter to secure a table.

After flagging the harried fellow down, he pointed us to a table in a packed corner of the restaurant. It wasn't the greatest seat, but it was the best of what was available. We sat down, squeezing past the other patrons as we did.

A few muttered complaints, but they were half-hearted at best. "Why the rush, Sect Leader? I know it felt like an eternity in that place but it was only a night. Surely you aren't going to starve?" Wang Ren half-exclaimed, half-joked at my expense as we settled into our seats.

"You'll understand when the food arrives," I replied with a grin. I'd made sure to order two bowls of the noodles when talking with the waiter.

"Noodles? What could be so special about ordinary food?" Wang Ren was confused. At our cultivation realm we didn't need to eat much, so he was justified in thinking that way.

However, when the two steaming bowls of rich golden soup, filled with stretchy noodles and strips of meat that fell apart at the touch of my chopsticks, a single sniff was enough to change his mind. His eyes widened as he raised the noodles to his mouth and took a bite.

I watched a burst of spiritual energy travel from the noodles and meat through his body, suffusing his entire physique. "This is-?" he started, before digging in with even more gusto.

We finished our first bowls within a minute and by the end of our meal, we'd had four each. Wang Ren played with the last strip of meat, pushing it around with his chopsticks.

"I feel as if my dantian will burst, but…" he sighed, staring longingly at the meat. His stomach was a little swollen and his cheeks bright red. I was in a similar predicament, although my own physique refined the energy without much extra effort required on my part. It was one of the many advantages it brought.

I could probably eat the entire establishment's supply of noodles, but I wasn't sure I had the coin to afford it. The waiter had kindly let us know that each bowl cost a gold coin when we'd ordered our third round.

Wang Ren had almost spat out his mouthful of noodles. I was stupefied, but thinking back to the toll at the gates, it made sense. The capital was expensive because everyone here was a cultivator.

This was no ordinary noodle soup. It was basically a cultivation aid. Also, a few gold coins was nothing to me now, but just because I was rich didn't mean I should spend my wealth freely. That was how people went broke, after all.

How many lottery winners returned to a life of gambling and poverty after blowing all their money on frivolous activities? Most of them.

I wasn't going to repeat that mistake.

Thanking the waiter for the meal, I asked him for directions to a quality inn to stay the night as well as any information he had regarding the 'big event' going on. I wasn't sure if a waiter would have information about the Blossoming Heavens, but it was worth a try.

He told us that his cousin owned an inn near the east gate of the city. Apparently that was the industrial district, but he then mentioned it was the closest part of the city to where all the cultivators had been gathering.

The man was about to continue when he scratched his head and gave me a pointed look. I snorted and flicked a gold coin into his palm. He eyed me like a starving man would stare at a buffet.

Even so, he began to ramble on. What he said wasn't much different to what I'd already heard, apart from one juicy bit of information.

"To be honest, I'm only a practitioner so I don't know much, but last night a group of rich looking cultivators got drunk out of their minds and started bragging about how their sect's grand ancestor was travelling with them in order to greet the emperor."

"The emperor is leaving the palace!?" Wang Ren exclaimed, before cursing his own stupidity.

Luckily for us all the surrounding patrons were too absorbed in their own meals and conversations to bother eavesdropping on ours. I was curious why the emperor leaving the palace would be such a big deal.

"Surely he must leave for business every now and then? Is it so shocking an event that some brat's grand ancestor needs to come and welcome him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The waiter's eyes shot open as wide as saucers and he raised a finger to hush me. "You can't speak about the emperor that way!" he cried. "He is the most powerful cultivator in the entire continent. He never leaves the palace unless the empire is threatened. Such a thing hasn't happened in thousands of years, supposedly."

Wang Ren nodded along in agreement. Thousands of years? Was the emperor truly that old. I thought that living for a few centuries was already a terrifying prospect—one I still hadn't come to terms with—but that brought new meaning to the term 'immortal'.

"Thanks for your help and the delicious noodles," I told the waiter, tossing him another gold coin for his troubles.

That seemed to ease any stress he'd been having about my casual disregard for the emperor. I would need to be careful talking about this topic while we were in the capital.

A waiter was one thing, but I imagined that a powerful cultivator might not take my disrespectful tone as casually. I wanted to avoid getting into any fights until we had to.

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Preferably waiting until we were inside the Blossoming Heavens rather than outside. After all, inside the secret realm we would be facing cultivators around our own level, rather than scary old monsters who could squash us with a single finger. A shiver ran down my spine thinking back to the fight I'd witnessed in Three River City.

After that, we made our way to the waiter's cousin's inn. Despite it's location, surrounded by alchemist's workshops, smithies, and other industrial buildings, the inn itself was cozy and discreet.

Tucked into the corner of a small street, the lobby had sparkling tiled floors and we were greeted at the desk by a jovial man bearing a striking resemblance to our waiter. "Welcome, welcome!" he said with a beaming smile. "Are you looking to stay the night? Our beds are renowned throughout the Celestial Jade Empire for their comfort."

The sales pitch was a little over the top, but I always admired a charismatic merchant. Someone confident in what they sold always had an easily discernable tone.

"Yes, two rooms for one night. We're heading out in the morning," I replied. "Your cousin recommended this place. If the beds are even half as incredible as those noodles, then we'll sleep like the emperor himself," I told him with a warm smile.

"Oh? That ungrateful whelp actually remembered his poor cousin?" the man retorted, but the glint in his eye told me he wasn't being serious. "Since Wang sent you, I'll give you the family discount. Usually a room is eight silvers a night, but for you two honourable sirs I'll charge you just two gold coins!"

I was about to hand over the money when my brain kicked into gear. What discount!? Was this fellow having a joke at my expense?

After a hard stare that pierced his very soul, the merchant's jovial facade crumbled. He burst into laughter, slapping the wooden desk and pointing at me.

"Oh, your face! Sorry, sorry. I can't help it. Fifteen silvers, here's the keys. Second floor, third and fourth doors on the left," he cackled, tossing two jade slips at me.

I left the ridiculous fellow in the lobby, laughing at his own joke. We found our rooms easily. They opened with a single tap of the jades. Another one let us lock them from within.

After saying goodnight to Ren, I settled down for the night. There was a bath with running hot water, so I washed myself thoroughly before sleeping.

Despite his antics, the merchant had been true to his word. The beds were the most comfortable I'd slept in since arriving in this world.

After slipping on my cleanest, most imposing robe, I met Wang Ren in the corridor outside our rooms. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied. He attempted a smile but failed miserably.

We were both excited for the Blossoming Heavens, but we also knew how dangerous it was going to be. Death was a very real possibility. However, so was the chance at finding treasures beyond our wildest dreams.

****

The waiter had been right. After leaving Celestial Jade City by the east gate, where the guard barely gave us a glance as we passed, it took us just half an hour to see the first gatherings of cultivators.

At first it was only sporadic groups dotted around the hilly plains, but the further we travelled the busier it got. I was awed by the sheer quantity of cultivators gathered in a single place.

I don't think I'd ever seen that many. It wasn't only human cultivators, either. There were beasts everywhere, marking their territory and prowling about—or lounging without a care in the world in the case of a few enourmous specimens. The most impressive of them all was a jade-white kirin with emerald horns and lightning crackling around its snout.

Emerald flames flickered around its hooves. It was sleeping. With every gentle rise and fall of its chest, smoke puffed from its nostrils and the lightning around its head crackled.

All the other beasts gave it a wide berth, save for three miniature versions of the giant beast which frolicked about underneath its protection. Most likely they were its children.

Apart from the beasts and humans there were plenty of other weird species. Human-like creatures with pointed ears and green skin were commonplace, along with red skinned and horned humanoids with yellow slit eyes.

If I had to give them names, they would be wood elves and demons. However, none of the other cultivators were giving them dirty looks. I'd been reviled by those who suspected me of using demonic techniques, so clearly they weren't demons.

Nonetheless, they had a look that reminded me of the stereotypical demons from stories on Earth. A few other random species were dotted about, but not in large enough numbers as the previous four.

We found a spot that was relatively empty. A group of human cultivators were on our left, behind us was a gathering of assorted beasts and on our right was a small cohort of wood elves. There were just four of them, each looking down on the surrounding cultivators as if they were dirt.

With a polite nod to each group, we settled in to wait. We were around the middle of the pack. I'd scouted ahead and felt the terrifyingly powerful auras clustered further into the hills, presumably where the secret realm would open.

Inside the Blossoming Heavens I was confident in our safety. Although we would face Foundation Building experts, it would be possible to escape if not win in a confrontation. While we were still outside it was a different story.

What was most worrying was that those auras I could sense went to peak Foundation Building and far beyond, to what I assumed was Core Forging masters. However, the complete lack of truly world-shaking presences led me to believe that Nascent Soul sages could mask their auras from ants such as us.

If we tried to get closer than our strength allowed, we might die without even knowing why. So, staying humble and ensuring we entered at a reasonable time was our best bet.

Calculating backwards, there should only be a day left until the opening of the secret realm. That was if Elder Li's information had been correct.

I didn't believe he had any reason to mislead us. Either way, the fact everyone was still here meant we weren't late. Even if we had to wait a week it was worth the rewards.

Unfortunately, not everyone was as patient as us. With so many powerful cultivators gathered in one place, there was bound to be trouble.

I had seen many small arguments on our way, but they usually ended with words. Actual violence was rare.

I assumed it was because the weaker cultivators present didn't want to draw the ire of a powerful master and find themselves squashed while attempting to bully their lessers. Such a stalemate couldn't last.

Contrary to my expectations, the first outburst of violence didn't come from the sea of lesser cultivators, but one of the groups nearer the epicentre. A shrill voice that reminded me of a whining child cut through the relative silence in the plains.

"Shi Wu, you dare!? Kowtow ten times and call me your father or this matter won't end with words," a youth wearing a deep purple robe embroidered with silver serpents cried.

He was floating in the air, standing on a flying sword. His cultivation was around Middle Foundation Building, but it was too far to get a proper read on him.

Shi Wu, the man he'd roared at, was a ridiculously handsome youth with long black hair tied in a ponytail. He was standing with his hands clasped behind his back on a huge floating carpet.

A dozen female cultivators accompanied him. All of them wore scarlet robes covered in golden phoenix patterns. The women were either gazing with admiration at the youth in front of them or sneering at the purple robed man.

"Ren Wei, was one beating not enough for you? Have you returned so that your grandfather can teach you some discipline once again," Shi Wu snorted, gazing down his nose at the whining fellow.

"You-! Shi Wu, if I don't kill you today, then my name isn't Ren Wei!" he roared, drawing an ornate jian and rushing forwards.

Shi Wu was unfazed. He drew his own sword lazily, raising it to meet the other man head on.

I watched, enraptured by this unfolding cliche. Unfortunately for everyone present, the argument of the two young masters was the spark on a mountain of kindling. Every group who had some tension or disagreements took the unfolding duel as permission to begin their own.

After all, the more of the competition that was wiped out before the secret realm opened, the better one's chances of claiming a wondrous treasure. I believed we would be fine, having been polite to all our neighbours.

Unfortunately, this world still operated on the rule of the strong. Might makes right. Given that we were only a pair of Qi Gathering cultivators, our neighbours apparently saw us as easy prey.

In the blink of an eye, two beasts and three humans launched attacks towards us. Each technique and weapon was aiming for the kill, trapping us in a three way pincer attack.

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