Evan Lin noticed that throughout the Long River Plain, he hadn’t seen a single bird or beast—just grass and wildflowers. Normally, this place should be teeming with animals. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some hidden secret here.
Not long after, a massive Teleportation Gate appeared before Evan. This gate was far larger than the one at the City Lord’s Mansion, and its structure was completely different. Most striking of all was a giant screen suspended above the gate, displaying lines of text.
“Why does that screen show writing? What exactly is it for?” Evan asked Lena Zhong, keeping his gaze fixed on the Teleportation Gate. (Note: Lena Zhong is Evan’s current companion and guide, an operative of Stormtower with a complex relationship to Evan.)
“That’s the magic of this gate,” Lena explained. “The screen not only displays words, you can actually write on it. If you want to teleport somewhere, you just write the destination on the screen, and it’ll show you the words. What it displays is the price you have to pay—either Violet Cloud Crystals or God Stones—to activate the gate.”
Evan watched as a middle-aged man wrote a few characters on the screen, then pulled dozens of upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals from his storage ring and placed them into the slot beside the gate. After a few breaths, the gate lit up. The man stepped in and vanished from sight.
“How many Violet Cloud Crystals or God Stones does it take for a single teleport?” Evan asked quietly. With so many people using the gate each day, he wondered just how many crystals and stones must be left inside.
“A lot. Even the lowest Violet Cloud Crystals accepted are upper-grade, and God Stones have to be mid-grade. Anyone whose finances are weak can’t use this gate at all. Does that make sense?” Lena replied.
Evan said nothing, lost in thought. Why was this Teleportation Gate built here, and why all these restrictions? Was some faction using it to rake in money? That didn’t quite add up. The true motive behind the gate remained a mystery.
“It’s our turn. Let’s go!” Lena said.
The three approached the gate. Lena Zhong wrote ‘Azure Moon City’ and ‘three people’ directly onto the screen. Instantly, a message appeared: the cost was twenty upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals or fifteen God Stones.
Although Violet Cloud Crystals and God Stones meant little to Evan, for ordinary people they were a huge expense. Lena casually took out twenty upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals and placed them in the gate’s slot. After a few breaths, a hazy white light appeared, and the three of them stepped inside and were instantly teleported away.
When Evan and the others reappeared, they found themselves on the official road outside a gigantic walled city. The city walls towered at least a hundred meters high—this had to be Azure Moon City. It was truly massive, far grander than All-Stars City by countless times.
“That gate can teleport you anywhere, as long as you write the exact place name. It’s pretty miraculous. We’ve investigated it countless times and never found an answer, so we just had to give up. It’s one of the God Realm’s strangest secrets. But since it brings everyone so much benefit, nobody wants to damage it.” Lena explained.
“Evan, this is Azure Moon City. I still have important matters to attend to, so I won’t be accompanying you any further. If fate allows, we’ll meet again!” Elder Lee said, deliberately playing his part to ease Lena’s suspicions.
“Hall Master, take care. Thank you for helping me back at the City Lord’s Mansion. One day I’ll definitely repay you. Since you’re busy, let’s part ways for now!” Evan said with a smile.
With Elder Lee gone, only Evan and Lena remained. The official road was packed with travelers. Evan noticed quite a few people riding divine beast mounts, all of them looking arrogant and regarding others with blatant disdain.
Seeing those divine beasts, Evan couldn’t help but think of Shadow, Goldwing, and the Black Qilin inside his Timewheel Bracelet. Maybe one day his own brothers would shock the God Realm too.
“Those are just wastrel heirs from various powers. Don’t waste your time worrying about them. Divine beasts are extremely noble in the God Realm—only contracted ones can peacefully coexist with humans. If the beast monarchs ever found out someone was enslaving or abusing a divine beast, they’d wipe out that person’s whole clan.” Lena said.
“I see. So, who’s the strongest monarch among the divine beasts? The ten great powers all keep divine beasts at their side, right?” Evan asked.
“Of course. Only the divine beasts attached to the ten great powers count as true divine beasts—they’re friends, not servants. In the God Realm, there are three beast kings: Lord Shadowdrake, King Moonbright, and Lady Radiantflame. All three are late God-Venerable level and rule their own domains.
Lord Shadowdrake is especially close to Heavenblade Sect, Lady Radiantflame gets along well with Rainbow Court, and only King Moonbright keeps his distance from every major power. Supposedly it’s because of the old Qilin Princess incident, but I’m not sure of the details.
So unless you have absolute strength, never provoke the divine beast clans—their power is on par with the ten great powers. It’s way too early for you to meddle in that stuff. For now, let’s head into the city and look around. The auction is still a ways off, and Azure Moon City is famous for its lively atmosphere in the God Realm.
Rainbow Court is just outside Azure Moon City, so lots of women show up here—every one of them is a stunning beauty, the ideal partner. That’s why so many people flock to this place.
With the auction and the second princess’s Marriage Tournament, the whole God Realm is in an uproar. We’d better get inside and find an inn before anything else—if we’re late, even a city this big won’t have any rooms left. Sleeping on the street would be a disaster.” Lena warned.
Evan understood Lena’s warning. “Let’s go—might as well check out the city and see what first-tier wine tastes like.”
The two followed the crowd to the city gate. Evan glanced up at the three giant characters for ‘Azure Moon City’ and felt dizzy; his blood churned, and his face went pale, startling Lena.
“Evan, are you alright? Did you look directly at those three characters above the gate? I should have warned you—those characters were inscribed long ago by Lord Frostbane, the Frostbane God-Venerable and former friend of Rainbow Court’s manor lord. Anyone below the God-King Realm who stares at them will have their spirit disturbed and their blood churn. In Chinese tradition, calligraphy by a powerful cultivator can carry spiritual force, affecting those who gaze upon it.” Lena explained.
Evan was shocked; he hadn’t expected Rainbow Court to have ties to Lord Frostbane. It looked like he’d need to be extra careful at the auction—if anyone noticed anything suspicious about him, things could get ugly.
Gradually, Evan’s color returned to normal. “Let’s go in. That was a surprise!” he said helplessly.
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(This is an author’s note and not part of the story narrative.)