Some people had made rough calculations about how long it would take for a Transcended Berserker to cross the Land of South Morning and stated that they would need at least 100 years to do so. That was discounting the dangers that the person would encounter during his or her journey. There were also an infinite amount of fierce beasts in the land. These beasts could even hold their own against those in the Berserker Soul Realm.
Even those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm would need a long period of time to cross the Land of South Morning, and they would also have to be careful.
"The Land of South Morning is separated into two regions, and the Sky Mist City acts as the border. The city was built by Freezing Sky Clan and Western Sea Clan. It has been around for thousands of years. It’s built on a mountain which eventually turned into a barrier that surrounds South Morning."
Chen Yu Bing from Freezing Sky Clan stood on a mountain enveloped in a golden light in a direction leaning towards the North of the Land of South Morning. He looked in the distance and spoke languidly.
"Sky Mist City is divided into a capital city and nine other prefectural cities, and the border city acts as the barrier separating the inner parts of South Morning from the outer parts. It is also due to this barrier that the wild beasts and Shamans in the outer parts of South Morning cannot get into the inner parts of the land so easily and massacre the people there."
The man named Chen pointed forward.
They could see a mountain range that looked like a dragon’s spine far into the distance in the direction he had pointed. It went on endlessly, just like the walls of a city.
"That is part of Sky Mist City’s barrier. Junior sister Han Fei Zi, you should have not heard about this city before, right? You’ll definitely receive a lot of attention once you enter the school, and when the time comes, you’ll be sent out for training. You might be sent to guard Sky Mist City. This is the highest glory for us, the people of South Morning.
"Brother Su, you are the Divine General. It’s fine for you to know some of the secrets of the Land of South Morning. With your power and status, you will learn all about them sooner or later."
The man named Chen cast a glance towards Su Ming with a kind smile.
Su Ming’s face remained passive as he looked towards the mountain range in the distance. He did not speak. He had no idea how much time had passed while he was in the Relocation Rune in Lake of Colors Mountain. He only knew that a long time had passed by until the buzzing sounds in his ears disappeared. When the light outside was no longer so bright he had to close his eyes, he opened them, and saw that he was at the top of this very mountain along with the other four people.
Once they appeared, Freezing Sky Clan’s Xu Ru Yue brought out some golden stones, then started laying them out in a certain manner on the mountain. As the stones in her hand were placed down, the mountain was gradually covered in increasingly stronger golden light.
"We were fortunate to have obtained the four dimensional layer Relocation Rune. In the past, when we had to move from Han Mountain to Freezing Sky Clan, we had to use the Runes in Sky Mist City. They are very slow.
"While Freezing Sky Clan might have been researching and using Relocation Runes as well, we could only relocate a short distance away and the price was great. If we relocated too many times, not only would we waste a large amount of time, our bodies would not be able to handle it either. We’d need to rest for a few dozen breaths before we could recover.
"Right, with the four dimensional layer Relocation Rune, we only need to relocate eight times to return to Freezing Sky Clan. It’s much more convenient."
The man named Chen let out a sigh and looked at Xu Ru Yue laying out the Rune. Then he smiled towards Su Ming, Han Cang Zi, and Han Fei Zi.
"Sky Mist City?" Han Fei Zi’s gaze fell upon the mountain range and she frowned.
"Looks like you don’t know about the existence of this city, but that’s normal. I only learned some of the secrets of the Land of South Morning after I entered Freezing Sky Clan.
"Brother Su, have you heard of Sky Mist City before?"
The man named Chen smiled and looked at Su Ming. This was a person who would definitely be taken into the school, and his status in the school would definitely not be lower than Han Fei Zi’s, perhaps even higher. That was why he decided to ease the tension between them and become acquaintanced with him. That was why he decided to talk about the things that outsiders would not know over here.
"I’ve never heard of it." Su Ming said calmly, looking at the mountain range in the distance.
"If that’s the case, then I’ll accompany both you and junior sister Han Fei Zi to visit the city walls on Sky Mist’s mountain range and explain their function in detail," the man named Chen said and smiled before looking at Xu Ru Yue laying out the runes on the ground.
Xu Ru Yue wiped off the sweat on her forehead. When she saw Chen Yu Bing looking at her, she smiled and spoke. "There are still ten hours before the Rune is fully arranged and we can activate the second Relocation. I only need junior sister Han Cang Zi to stay behind and protect me."
She had to calculate the entire process of laying out the Rune and placing the golden stones at their rightful places. Xu Ru Yue was not very familiar with this and that was why she needed to be cautious, which inevitably led to her tiring herself mentally.
"Alright then. I’ll leave it to you, senior sister Xu. We won’t go too far. If anything goes wrong, I’ll come back as soon as possible." Chen Yu Bing gave her a nod and looked towards Han Cang Zi. "Junior sister Fang, I’ll leave it to you."
Han Cang Zi had a solemn look on her face. Her gaze traveled to Su Ming before she nodded.
"Brother Su, junior sister Yan, this way!"
Chen Yu Bing lifted his hand and pointed in a direction before he moved forward and turned into a long arc that charged into the distance. Han Fei Zi’s face remained cold and detached. White clouds appeared underneath her feet and lifted her up to chase after Chen Yu Bing.
Su Ming lifted into the air unhurriedly. They turned into three long arcs and moved towards the city walls built on the mountain range in the distance.
"If we talk about Sky Mist City, then we have to talk about the barrier that separates the inner and outer parts of the Land of South Morning. We live in the inner parts of the Land of South Morning, and as of now, we are in the inner part.
"The inner parts are very large. Most of the western side of the inner parts belong to Western Sea Clan, and the north belongs to Freezing Sky Clan.
"However, compared to the world outside the barrier, the region we live in is only a small part of the entire Land of South Morning."
With Chen Yu Bing’s voice in their ears, the three of them gradually approached the Sky Mist City’s wall barrier at full speed.
Once they were about tens of thousands of feet away from the wall with Chen Yu Bing’s voice still echoing in their ears, a sudden great pressure spread out with a loud bang from the wall and charged towards them.
"This is Sky Mist’s forbidden grounds. Trespassers are not allowed!" a cold and detached voice shouted at them, the sound reverberating all around them like thunder, and the lingering echo buzzed in their ears.
Han Fei Zi’s expression changed, and she found that she could barely stand. The white cloud under her feet dissipated as well. Among the three of them, her level of cultivation was the weakest, and she was feeling terribly shaken. At that moment, a gentle wave of energy seeped into her body from her back and spread through her entire body, allowing her to regain her stability.
Su Ming stood by Han Fei Zi’s side and supported her with his right arm around her waist.
A blush crept up her cheeks, but she did not refuse his kind will. Instead, she stood by his side and looked towards the wall from where the voice had come.
"I am Freezing Sky Clan’s disciple, Chen Yu Bing. Greetings to the uncle master guarding the city."
Chen Yu Bing also felt shaken, but he did not panic. It was clear that he had expected the voice to appear. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed respectfully in midair towards Sky Mist’s wall located tens of thousands of feet away.
"I saw all of you at the Relocation Spot a long time ago. Why did you come here instead of staying there?" the cold and detached voice asked them languidly.
"Uncle master, by orders of the left preceptor, I went to Han Mountain City to choose new disciples, and we’re coming back now. We passed by this place and wanted to see the barrier of the Land of South Morning at close proximity. We won’t move forward anymore. We can just watch from here. But uncle master, we would be glad if you made an exception for us," Chen Yu Bing quickly answered.
The moment he finished speaking, Su Ming immediately felt an intimidating pressure charge towards them and sweep through him and Han Fei Zi. At the same time, a soft gasp of surprise echoed in the air.
"Then come here. If you want to take a look, then stand on the wall and look at the outer parts of South Morning."
After a moment, the cold and detached voice appeared again, but this time, there was a warmer tone to it.
"Thank you, uncle master!"
The man named Chen was momentarily stunned before he quickly wrapped his fist in his palm respectfully as thanks. He turned around and cast Su Ming a glance.
He was not a foolish person. He had brought up this journey to the wall because he knew that there was a leader from Freezing Sky Clan here defending the place and by right they should not be turned away. That was why he was using this to warm up his relationship with Su Ming.
However, he did not expect this unknown Uncle Master to allow them to stand on the wall.
"This area belongs to Freezing Sky Clan. All the people defending the outer walls of Sky Mist City are leaders from Freezing Sky Clan. That’s why we could get closer. If we were near Western Sea Clan’s territory, then we would have been chased away a long time ago. If we showed any signs of disrespect, we might even have been killed."
Su Ming cast a glance at Chen Yu Bing. Under his gaze, Chen Yu Bing lowered his head and laughed self-depreciatingly before he whispered.
"Honestly, I’ve never stood on the wall to see the outer parts of South Morning either."
Su Ming averted his gaze and smiled as he said, "Let’s go. I’m very curious about this place."
As the three of them got closer, an incredibly oppressive feeling gradually rose within Su Ming’s heart. The wall on the mountain range had looked magnificent when he saw it from afar, and now that he was closer, it was even more so.
It was hard not to feel tiny before the wall. It was so tall that if he stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up, he would feel as if it was connecting the sky and the earth.
Han Fei Zi’s breathing quickened. She looked at the wall on the mountain range before her and found that she could not imagine a mountain range like this surrounding the entire Land of South Morning serving as its barrier.
The distance of tens of thousands of feet shrank quickly, and the moment they stood on the wall, an intimidating pressure fell upon them. Under that pressure, Han Fei Zi’s face turned pale and she looked as if she was about to collapse. If she was not standing beside Su Ming and he wasn’t dissipating most of the pressure for her, she would not have been able to stand.
Su Ming felt shaken to the core as he stood at the top of the mountain range and looked in front of himself. In his eyes, he saw a barren mass of land spreading into the distance.
This land was also a part of South Morning, but it was outside the barrier. The earth was black, and there was a thick stench of blood in the mountain breeze.
A desolate feeling filled the air.
The barren lands, the boundless sky, the endless forest, the blurry shadows of the tall mountains, and even the vague roaring sounds from the distance contributed to this feeling.
It was especially so due to a few skeletons scattered here and there on the ground. The bones were thick and bulky, and it was clear that they belonged to wild beasts.
It was as if the lands inside and outside the barrier were two different worlds!
By Su Ming’s side, Chen Yu Bing was also shaken. This was the first time he stood on the wall and looked at the world outside the walls.
"I didn’t expect that a Divine General would be among the disciples the left preceptor took in this time!" the cold voice said from behind them, and the space there distorted and a middle aged man walked out of it.
The middle aged man wore a sackcloth and his hair was braided with lots of tiny braids. He was not huge and leaned on the thinner side. He looked quite ordinary, but his eyes were incredibly bright.