"Dare I ask from whence comes our esteemed guest?" invited the Holy Knight lady for Wu Hen to board.
Wu Hen hesitated for a moment, then leaped up and sat upon the lady’s Holy Horse.
The lady’s Holy Horse was a Phoenix horse, feathered and furry, vibrant in color like a phoenix bird, its physique more graceful and elegant than ordinary horses, complete with equally beautiful Phoenix Wings...
Alas, such a Holy Horse was neither strong nor spacious enough, and when Wu Hen seated himself behind the woman, his body was almost pressed against hers. Unsure where to place his strong and sturdy hands, it was akin to being invited into a street cart by a Female Knight; resting them on the shoulder seemed awkward, while encircling the waist was far too forward, but it all essentially depended on the Female Knight’s attitude.
Indeed, the Female Knight’s attitude was quite sharp, her previously solemn demeanor changed, a hint of anger flickered in her eyes, yet she tried hard to restrain herself, presenting a smile without much warmth, "Esteemed guest, you need to ride that mount."
The Female Knight pointed her hand aside.
It was only then that Wu Hen noticed several Wuting members donning silver armor leading another vigorous and imposing Holy Horse, its back completely empty.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see it before," Wu Hen swiftly dismounted from behind her and climbed onto the vacant Holy Horse.
Wu Hen had actually caught the Female Knight’s subtle expressions and could tell she was annoyed, but because it was broad daylight, she refrained from showing anger towards a foreign guest from the otherworldly realm, needing to maintain the dignified decorum representative of the Wuting and the Martial God.
"Please," said the Holy Knight lady.
Wu Hen nodded, and amid the encirclement of these Wuting dignitaries, proceeded towards the central Palace of Wudou.
On the avenue, travelers and traders made way, the citizenry also glanced frequently, curious about the identity of the important person arriving to be received personally by Princess Wu of the Wuting.
"Who is that person?"
"Seeing this grand procession, it’s most likely the Wuting hosting an outside guest from the otherworldly realms."
"That makes sense. To have traversed the barren lands and overcome the Demon Spirit Pass to arrive at our Main Continent, this is no ordinary foreign guest."
"That’s not right though, I too come from another otherworldly realm, so why wasn’t my arrival in Wudou this grand?" At this moment, a disgruntled male from the Human Clan who had come from afar spoke up.
The True Martial Continent was not entirely composed of True Martial Natives; various astonishing intersections occurred between otherworldly realms, and it was not unusual for people from other places to arrive here.
"Do you even need to ask? You didn’t catch the eye of a Martial God. See those huge Martial God Statues? Although their true forms are not within Wudu City, their Divine Power still envelops the city, preventing some excessively formidable lives from otherworldly Dust from disrupting the order of Wudou. Those with overly vast Life Energy are monitored by the gods’ Spiritual Vision. Until it’s clear what their true intent for coming here is, the Wuting will formally receive and effectively deter and oversee them... You’re too weak. Even if you cause some trouble, you’d be subdued easily. Not like today’s esteemed guest; if some reckless ones provoked him, I’d wager a huge hole would be blasted into Wudou," a very knowledgeable man explained.
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The man who claimed to come from another otherworldly realm immediately fell silent.
Damn it, is there such a thing as a hierarchy of contempt for strength among outsiders too?
"Here in Wudou, we receive tens of thousands of foreign guests yearly, and at least a dozen enjoy such a reception. There’s really no need for such a fuss," said an innkeeper at a crossroad junction.
"I’m just curious if their capabilities are more formidable than our True Martial Energy."
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"Of course, ours is True Martial. Not all beings in this vast universe are capable of cultivation. Many are like ants, too insignificant to even be called members of the Human Clan."
"True Martial Artists like us hold a high status in this great world, right?"
"Naturally, we’re among the very top!" the crowd murmured in agreement.
"Hehehe..." At that moment, the man from the other otherworldly realm laughed, but did not argue.
Wu Hen’s Perception was extraordinary.
Even the discussions of passersby, he could hear clearly.
Beside Wu Hen, the escorting Princess Wu looked slightly displeased. She controlled her emotions and once again inquired politely, "Dare I ask our esteemed guest, from which realm do you hail?"
"Must I say it?" Wu Hen wasn’t really inclined to answer.
"Not necessarily, but it’s standard for us to know your capabilities," asserted Princess Wu.
"Holy Cultivation," Wu Hen pondered and finally resorted to revealing his identity as a member of the Totem Sacred Sect.
Upon mentioning Holy Cultivation, the other Wuting members immediately cast their eyes at him, with a few even displaying a readiness to challenge.
"From the Totem Sacred Sect?" Princess Wu asked.
"How do you know?" Wu Hen feigned surprise.
"One of your companions is currently our guest within the Palace," Princess Wu said with a smile.
"Yes? I am often stationed and traveling abroad, so I may not recognize them," said Wu Hen with an affected air of superiority.
"You from the Totem Sacred Sect have always been the most honored guests in our Wuting."
...
Wu Hen couldn’t be bothered to ponder who the fellow sect member mentioned by the other party was. After all, even a master like Cai Huang couldn’t see through him, so encountering a sect member wouldn’t be a headache.
Upon entering the Wuting Palace, Wu Hen noticed that the Wuting Palace Wall seemed to be encircled by the bones of some enormous Demon God. The style was impressive and it also exuded the vicissitudes and domineering aura of an Ancient battlefield, as if the Martial God of this place was deterring the Demon Spirits that spread across the entire Main Continent with such a display—if they dared to invade, even a Demon God would end up as mere bricks in the palace walls!
The Wuting Palace was not like the ancient imperial palaces with walls that were impenetrable; it was more like a vast open-air and perforated piece of art-like architectural structure. It merely marked out an area of Wuting, yet didn’t separate it from other districts within the entirety of Wudu City.
For instance, the gate Wu Hen was passing through was actually the claw of a Demon God. The claw, turned to fossil, stood erect, with crowds moving through the gaps between the bones…
Wu Hen tried to use his Spiritual Vision to form an overhead perspective and quickly realized that the skeleton of the Demon God was amazingly intact. If he looked down from a certain height, he would see an extraordinarily lifelike and magnificent Demon God lying prostrate at the center of the huge Martial Artist City. No foul wind or demon rain could penetrate inside; it seemed to form a kind of energy field that radiated to every corner of Wudu City.
Clearly, his Perception had improved, and he knew that the Wuting Palace wall made from Demon God’s bones contained special energy, but he couldn’t see its true purpose.
"The Foreign Guest has arrived at just the right time. Tonight, we will have a banquet, where we cordially host the recent visitors from the Otherworldly Dust that have come to our Wudu City," said Princess Wu.
"Will there be dance performances?" Wu Hen inquired.
"Of course, there will be," the Princess affirmed with a nod.
"Good. I quite fancy the women of True Martial Continent practicing martial arts; their figures possess a supple yet powerful quality," Wu Hen commented.
As he spoke, Wu Hen appraised the Commandery Princess’s figure up and down; not bad, indeed not bad—fit and full, not the weak kind that would fall over at the merest breeze…
The Princess’s gaze sharpened.
From this simple reception, the Princess had already concluded that this was a lust-driven, brash foreigner with no manner of propriety. During the banquet, she was determined to teach this man a lesson!
…
Wu Hen was arranged to stay in a small hall within the palace, attended only by male servants, which made him suspect that it was intentional by the Princess.
After changing into the garments they had prepared for him and before he could rest long, night had fallen.
Following the guidance, Wu Hen also went to join the night banquet of Wudu City.
The banquet was clearly held within the Wuting, but the chosen location was an open-air banquet stage carved out of giant bones. Strangely, the light rain that moistened the entire Wudu City didn’t touch this bone stage, as if the bones possessed the Divine Power to deter the heavens’ rain.
Wu Hen arrived quite late since he had just arrived that day.
The banquet site was bustling, and, being open-air, some of the taller buildings in Wudu City had a view of the place. Most citizens of True Martial Continent rarely had the opportunity to interact with visitors from Otherworldly Dust, and they were also curious about the standing of their True Martial in the vast world of Desert Dust…
Seemingly cordial, the banquet was in essence a maneuver of power by Wuting, who needed to use True Martial means to prove to all citizens that True Martial was the highest evolutionary path, and by dedicating oneself to Martial Cultivation, one could become as revered as the Desert Dust Heavenly Stars!
To revere martial prowess was destined to invite comparison.
When Wu Hen entered the banquet, he knew he was being treated as a prized panda, not only to be observed but also expected to be pitted against their local wild beasts in a combat arena.
The guests before Wu Hen had all been defeated...fortunately, the contests were just to the point of contact; the basic decorum of hospitality was still preserved, and deadly force was not used.
But to beat someone until they look like that, then expect them to sit down, drink, and eat meat, even be seen by the citizens of Wudu City, no one could possibly be in a good mood.
Of course, there were more worldly-wise individuals who could see through the ploy of Wuting flaunting their superiority in True Martial Cultivation—a method to consolidate the people’s will. When invited to demonstrate their skills, they too were worldly-wise, not exerting full strength and graciously accepting defeat.
After understanding the situation, Wu Hen planned to find an opportunity to concede deliberately...
"This honored guest may also wish to showcase his unique skills. Strong warriors need more exchanges, and it will also give us an opportunity to learn a bit from this rather closed-off True Martial Continent," the Princess personally came forward and invited Wu Hen.
Her demeanor had slightly changed from before, with her eyes curving up at the corners, a hint of a smile playing on her lips, as if she finally had the opportunity to rightfully beat this lust-smitten fellow!
"I’d better not. If I took action, I might easily end up demolishing your Wuting," Wu Hen said with feigned "modesty."
At this remark, Princess Wu grew even more displeased, and the brows of the other military officers of Wuting also furrowed.
The nerve of this guest today was indeed something else!