Chapter 25: Chapter 25: A Heavenly Voice
Shen Daoxing followed Wang Hu to the main hall of the courtyard residence, where a man and a woman were standing inside.
The man was tall and burly, standing a full nine feet tall, and looked like a black bear that had taken human form. He wore a coarse cloth shirt and looked quite shabby.
The woman was rather pretty and wore a magnificent light purple silken dress, giving her a unique and gentle beauty.
"These two are also students I’ve recruited. Their names are He Ku and Qin Xiaoyue."
Wang Hu beckoned to the two and said with a smile, "Come, let me introduce you. This is Shen Daoxing, from Baiyun City."
Through Wang Hu’s introductions, Shen Daoxing learned of their backgrounds.
The woman was named Qin Xiaoyue. She came from the largest family in Yan City of the Martial Kingdom. The Qin Family had spared no expense in her upbringing since she was a child, allowing her cultivation journey to be smooth and successful. Her current cultivation was at the Second Layer of the Profound Platform Realm.
The man’s name was He Ku. He was a hunter from Bai Bo Village, which was under the jurisdiction of Cyan Cloud City. He was scouted by Wang Hu for his innate monstrous strength. The Cultivation Technique he practiced could only open seven acupoints, so his current cultivation was only at the Sixth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm.
If Shen Daoxing was merely from a small town, then He Ku was a bona fide country bumpkin.
Qin Xiaoyue smiled and said, "If all goes as planned, we’ll be in the same class at Celestial City Academy. I hope we can look out for each other in the future."
Shen Daoxing also gave a slight smile and said, "You’re too kind."
"You can call me He Ku, or Ku is fine too."
Compared to Qin Xiaoyue’s poised and generous demeanor, He Ku was much more timid.
Wang Hu smiled. "You’ll all be students at Celestial City Academy in the future. You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Let’s head out now."
Qin Xiaoyue said, "Thank you for the trouble, Wang."
Afterward, Wang Hu led the three of them out of the residence and soon arrived at the entrance of a luxurious restaurant.
Celestial Joy Tower!
This was the largest restaurant in the imperial capital of the Martial Kingdom.
Luxurious carriages were gathered in droves at the entrance, with guards standing watch beside them. Not far off, demon beasts were prostrated on the ground, their powerful auras washing over the area, suffocatingly potent.
"This... This is a restaurant in the imperial capital!?"
He Ku was completely stunned when he saw the restaurant.
It wasn’t just He Ku; even Shen Daoxing and Qin Xiaoyue showed a trace of surprise in their eyes.
Wang Hu, standing to the side, chuckled. "This is nothing. Once you venture beyond the Martial Kingdom, you’ll see an even bigger world."
Shen Daoxing deeply agreed with this sentiment.
’This world is so magnificent and colorful. If I don’t go out and see it, I’ll spend my whole life as a frog in a well.’
The three walked into the Celestial Joy Tower and were met by a rather comely waitress. "Please present your invitation."
Wang Hu took a red card from his robes. "Here is the invitation!"
"This way, please!"
The waitress said after glancing at the invitation card.
The trio walked into the restaurant, climbed the stairs to the top floor, and discovered that the place was its own Grotto Heaven.
It was a magnificent, golden-tiled terrace. Candles burned all around, illuminating the area as brightly as day. Numerous lavishly dressed youths were toasting each other and conversing happily. Beautiful and charming waitresses moved among them, adding to a scene that was hard to pull oneself away from.
What a lively scene!
What a prosperous sight!
Qin Xiaoyue exclaimed in amazement, "My heavens! Is this terrace made of white jade stone?"
White jade stone was an extremely precious material, its value comparable even to Gold. But here, an entire grand terrace, as large as a mansion, was constructed from it. How terrifying was that?
He Ku didn’t know how precious white jade stone was, but the luxurious scene before him was enough to leave him in utter shock.
When his eyes fell upon the young people coming and going, a trace of fear appeared in his eyes.
That’s right, it was fear!
The young men and women present, all around his age, were mostly at the Profound Platform Realm or higher. The Cultivation Techniques they practiced could open twenty to thirty acupoints, and some even forty or fifty. The surrounding Primordial Energy was incredibly dense.
Shen Daoxing, however, simply swept his gaze across the scene and marveled silently.
’A cultivator at the First Layer of the Profound Platform Realm would be considered a top-tier genius in Baiyun City, but at this banquet, they’re basically at the bottom of the barrel.’
’How ironic. The most outstanding genius of a small city has only managed to get a ticket to be here.’
"Feel free to walk around. I have some business to attend to, I’ll be right back."
Wang Hu said a quick word and then hurried off.
Just as Shen Daoxing was lost in his thoughts, a young man walked up to him and said enthusiastically, "Brother, have you just arrived?"
Shen Daoxing nodded. "I have."
The young man smiled. "I am Mao Cheng, Crown Prince of the Mao Family of Mo City. And you are, brother?"
Shen Daoxing replied, "Shen Daoxing, from Baiyun City."
"Baiyun City? From the Shen Family?"
The young man’s mind raced. In his mind, Baiyun City was a small, remote place, but he had recently heard that a genius had emerged from a Shen Family there.
Shen Daoxing shook his head. "No."
The young man’s expression immediately turned cold. "My apologies for bothering you."
Shen Daoxing: "..."
The young man then ignored He Ku completely and turned to Qin Xiaoyue. "And this young lady is?"
Qin Xiaoyue replied, "Qin Xiaoyue, of the Qin Family from Yan City."
The young man’s smile was brilliant. "Ah, so you’re from the great Qin Family of Yan City! I am Mao Cheng, Crown Prince of Mo City, and a future student of Celestial City Academy. Why don’t you come this way? I can introduce you to some friends."
Qin Xiaoyue’s eyes lit up at his words. She had come to the Celestial Joy Tower with two goals in mind.
The first was to befriend members of the Royal Family and obtain a resource Token. However, she knew this was extremely difficult; only the truly top-tier geniuses would have a chance to receive a Token.
Her second goal was to network with the chosen ones heading to the three great academies. After all, these people would one day become the pillars of the Martial Kingdom, and befriending them early had its advantages.
Qin Xiaoyue went with Mao Cheng, leaving Shen Daoxing and He Ku to stare blankly at each other.
While Shen Daoxing at least warranted a question about his background, everyone skipped over He Ku entirely. One look was enough to tell he was a country bumpkin.
Soon, no one else approached the two of them.
He Ku was at a loss and whispered, "Should I... move a little farther away from you?"
"It’s fine."
Shen Daoxing waved his hand with a smile. "This has nothing to do with you. Besides, I’m not particularly interested in befriending them anyway."
’The world bustles with people, all for the sake of profit. Most of these people are from famous families; naturally, they’ll only associate with those who can benefit them.’
In fact, just six months ago, Shen Daoxing had also belonged to a family like the Shen Family.
The only one here from a truly grassroots background was He Ku.
He was an exception.
He Ku said in a muffled, rumbling voice, "I heard from Wang that if the Noble Families and disciples of the Royal Family take a liking to us, they’ll sponsor us with Elixirs and Martial Techniques. I wonder if that’s true."
Shen Daoxing glanced around but didn’t see any of the so-called disciples of the Royal Family or masters from the Noble Families.
After a moment of thought, realization dawned on him.
’The real geniuses have long since made a name for themselves in the imperial capital. They’ve already been snatched up in a frenzy by the various disciples of the Royal Family and the Noble Families.’
’As for obscure geniuses like me and He Ku, there are far too many of us here. Who would pay us any mind?’
Having figured this out, Shen Daoxing said softly, "Don’t overthink it. Since we’re here, let’s just go with the flow."
He Ku scratched his head, pointed to a spot not far away, and asked in a low voice, "There’s food over there. Can I go get some?"
Shen Daoxing followed He Ku’s gaze and saw several long tables in an open area ahead. The tables were laden with a sumptuous feast, which even included precious Demon Beast Meat and Spirit Fruits.
Shen Daoxing smiled and said, "Go ahead. The food is meant to be eaten."
"Alright!"
He Ku’s eyes instantly lit up. He rushed over like a shooting star and then exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Brother, come quick! There’s a huge chicken leg! This is good stuff."
Someone nearby sneered, "Country bumpkin, that’s the leg of a Fire Phoenix."
Hearing this, He Ku’s face flushed crimson.
Shen Daoxing just smiled. "You eat. I’m not hungry."
"Okay."
He Ku swallowed hard, then picked up the Fire Phoenix leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
With nothing else to do, Shen Daoxing found a corner and began carving a piece of wood, tempering his Divine Soul and Sword Dao.
Time flew by. After an unknown amount of time, Shen Daoxing’s vision blurred. Clearly, he had overexerted himself. He prepared to stand up and stretch his stiff muscles.
"That wood carving is beautiful. Have you been practicing carving since you were a child?"
Just then, a voice as beautiful as the music of heaven rang out.
