"Congratulations, your Majesty. I hear you ended up in the top 100," Fang Yimu came to speak with Alex before she and Talia were to leave with the sect.
"I should be congratulating you for the victory instead," Alex said. "That was a job well done."
"Well, of course," the girl said with a prideful face. "I told you I would win, didn't I?"
"I'm curious," Alex asked. "Did you use any artifact or something to win?"
"Artifact? I carry some with me inside, but I did not win thanks to it," she said. "It is a spiritual technique that has been passed down through our sect that only the prime disciple is allowed to learn."
"I see," Alex said. "It is a shame I never got to see that technique."
"If you want, I can show it to you," she said.
Alex shook his head. "Maybe some other time," he said. "I assume you plan on winning next year too?"
"Actually, no," Fang Yimu spoke. "I won't be returning after this. I've won twice, and it has proven to me that in a battle of spiritual sense, I will emerge victorious."
"However, it is only when the battle's main focus is on the spiritual sense. Being a cultivator is more than just Spiritual sense, so I need to improve myself in other aspects as well. As such, I will be focusing my time now on improving what I have neglected until now," she said. "Both in combat aspect as well as alchemy."
"Oh, you were an alchemist?" Alex asked.
Fang Yimu chuckled a bit. "Your Majesty, I was the prime disciple of the Cloud Iron sect of the Emerald Kingdom. We know nothing if not alchemy. Almost everyone in our sect has some level of knowledge of alchemy. I especially have practiced it a lot more."
"Oh," Alex was surprised. He turned toward Talia. "Does that mean you were never a Prime Disciple?"
Talia shook her head. "I might end up becoming one at some point, but to be a prime disciple, you need to be at least 500 years old. I'm not even 70, you know," she said.
"That's quite funny," Alex said. "What age do you guys stop being a student?"
"A thousand years," Fang Yimu answered. "Before that, if you end up reaching the Saint Core realm, you can instead accept to be an elder. Although, before the arrival of players, that was a rather difficult scenario for many."
"I can guess that," Alex said.
"Your Majesty, we should be leaving soon," Yao Ning said from the side, reminding him of their departure.
"We should be leaving too," Fang Yimu said.
"Will you be coming to the Hundred Blossom Valley, your majesty?" Talia asked.
"I do plan on going there. Although, I do not know when I will," he said.
"Oh, if it is alright with you, can we go together?" Talia asked. "You are an amazing alchemist, so we might learn something from you."
"Together huh?" Alex rubbed his chin as if in thought. "Sure, I don't see any problem with that."
"Great!" Talia exclaimed. "Then, let us meet in Greenheart city in 3 months' time. We will enter the Hundred Blossom Valley at that time. Both senior sister Fang and I have acquired 1 month of free entry, so we will be using it wisely then."
"Okay," Alex said. "I shall meet you two ladies in 3 months then. Take care until then."
"Farewell, your majesty," Fang Yimu bowed a little.
"See you later," Talia waved goodbye and the two girls left quickly, going back to where their sect was.
Alex turned around and went to where the elders and the King had been waiting for him. "Let us leave then."
They all nodded and went back to the teleportation formation that sent them back to Jade's Shadow Island which was next to the Abyss island.
They returned back to the hotel to rest for a few days before they were to leave from this place.
In the days that passed, the number of people in the city dropped by a massive amount, to the point that it felt like a ghost town at moments.
When they all felt rested, the King and the rest decided to leave as well. They teleported back to Greenheart City and went back to the palace.
Alex spent a few days in the palace and realized that if he was going to wait there without doing anything, he was going to get bored.
So, after a bit of deliberation, he decided to leave the place to roam the rest of the kingdom. King Jin was more than happy to show him around, but Alex asked to go roam it on his own with his elders.
The only person that did come with him was General Fan that was sent as his protection. While Alex didn't need protection, he didn't refuse, just in case it placed him under higher scrutiny from the emperor.
He started his journey by heading to the southernmost city that stood right at the border of the Ebony mountains.
Mossbloom City was at the base of the Ebony Mountain Range, of which 3 tall mountains cupped the city from 3 different sides, placing the city half a year in shadows, and the rest of the year with maybe 5 hours of direct sunlight thanks to the geography.
Thanks to the remoteness of the city, as well as the not-so-great condition, very few people lived in this place. With a total population of around 80 thousand people, despite its large size, Mossbloom City was one of the least populated places in the entire continent that held the title 'City'.
As per its name, it was famous for the various mosses that grew all year round in the shadowy city where the condensation from the massive mountains flowed into the city.
Such moss was rather hard to acquire in normal conditions, and it was exactly what the people there harvested to sell and make a living.
Alex had chosen the city only because it was in the southernmost part of the kingdom, but he hadn't expected to come to such a fascinating city.
Very few people there recognized him, but no one tried to talk to him on their own. There weren't any strong cultivators living in this place, so they thought of Alex as someone they couldn't mess with.
They were rather hospitable still, with many starting a conversation with him when it was him that approached them. He got a guide to show him around the city and within the week, Alex had been to many of the places around the city that could be considered tourist spots.
He bought many of the mosses that grew there that were rather rare even in the Forbidden Orchard and paid a handsome fee for it.
He spent no more than a week in the city, but that was enough for the city to make an impression on him. Only when he thought he was done with the city did he finally decide to leave the place.
He got on a ship, rather than use the teleportation formation, and headed toward his next destination as per the map of the continent he was provided.
Sproutfield City.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l