From the hill, the city stretched out as far as the eye could see. The setting sun blanketed the skies in a mix of orange and red colors which left a violet and blue hue spreading out in the clouds.
_The sunset is so beautiful… and is this one of those huge cities that are normally described in those novels?_
Ye Tian marveled as the cart traveled slowly down the road. Besides the road, there was a wide expanse of rice paddies filled with green, gold rice crops. The center of this wide expanse had huge walls enclosing the city and its inhabitants. All around the cart, farmers rushed to finish before night fully fell, and they bustled everywhere reaping and tilling the land around this time of the year.
_I don't think the rice in this world has been bred or genetically engineered, so how do they feed the entire gigantic city with only this many rice fields?_
"The city is large, but the rice here doesn't seem enough to feed everyone?" Ye Tian questioned with confusion.
"You've got good eyes kiddo. The rice here is a specially cultivated crop developed by a cultivator named Wu Jin. He was born as a farmer and knew that the commoners suffered every time that there was a bad harvest. To combat this, Wu Jin bred new rice crops. He was truly a champion of the people," sighed Hao Nan.
_So it has been bred to a degree already, but why would Hao Nan sigh at this good news? He almost seems regretful...?_
Hao Nan paused for a moment before going on, "The new form of rice crop can be harvested every two months with higher yields. However, if the year was truly bad all year round then the commoners can only starve."
"Noble scum," muttered one of the children aboard the cart.
Ye Tian took a look at the kid who was a little girl that sad beside the bright-eyed kid. Upon noticing Ye Tian's look, the girl returned with a glare that was mixed with both disgust and hatred.
_Eh? Why does she seem so prejudiced against me? Is she just really mad at the nobles or me? I haven't done anything wrong._
While Ye Tian was wondering about the girl's deal, the cart slowly drew up to the city gates, and the initially small city walls from afar seemed to continuously grow in size. There was a long line of both merchants and travelers patiently waiting to enter the city. Guards, at the entrance of the city gate, collected entry fees from the various groups. However, the cart didn't line up with the rest of the people but rather directly pulled up to the entrance.
_The walls must be around 10 yards tall._
Ye Tian estimated when the cart was directly in front of the city. Contrary to Ye Tian's initial perception, the guards weren't wearing any armor, but instead simple white robes along with a sword on the back.
"Yo! Hao Nan! Are these the fresh recruits?" shouted one of the guards.
"Hao Nan's back!" shouted another guard in excitement.
_Seems like this guy is fairly popular. However, why is it that he's wearing silver armor while the rest are only wearing robes?_
After Hao Nan was finished chatting with the guards, the cart was pulled into the city through the southern gate towards the northwest where the barracks were. As the cart pulled through the city, the children looked around in amazement.
The city was bustling with activity and filled with noise as both inhabitants and visitors walked through the streets. Red lanterns, acting as streetlights, were hanged on the fronts of the buildings or vendors, and the light within the lanterns bore a strong resemblance to the crystal used by the rich merchant whom Ye Tian had tried to steal from. Street hawkers could be seen selling all sorts of stuff ranging from clothes to furniture while buyers were also haggling with the prices. Restaurants were open for dinner with the sweet smell of food floating around and visitors streaming both in and out.
Eventually, the cart had reached the military section of the city where it was far quieter than the other sections. The barracks were essentially many small courtyards with a single room house. Ye Tian felt odd as he walked past the courtyards to a huge square where many cultivators were sparring against each other. Once the group had walked past that, there was a building with a ball at the center and white-robed people standing around.
"This is the spiritual root sensor. Line up and test your roots before choosing a servant. Each servant must be of the same sex to avoid future issues," ordered Hao Nan.
Ye Tian's heart began to pace. This was it. This would determine a large portion of his future. As the children began to test, the anxiety only increased as Ye Tian drew closer.
_Wow… This feels just like getting my exam results back in college._
"Mortal normal, not bad."
"Hmm? Mortal superior, nice."
"Earth inferior?" gasped Hao Nan as his face began to lit up with a smile.
Ye Tian took a look to see the bright-eyed kid's face shine with joy.
_It's this guy..._
"Another earth inferior?" Hao Nan once again gasped except this time his face was flushed with joy.
_It's that girl who muttered 'noble scum' on the cart. Maybe I should've sat next to the bright-eyed kid. It seems like he's radiating luck…_
It was finally Ye Tian's turn. As Ye Tian walked up to the sensor, he could feel the cold sweat on his back and forehead. He gulped and licked his dry lips before putting his hand on the sensor.
_Here goes nothing._
"Earth inferior! The heavens are blessing me with talents," Hao Nan gaped before shouting in excitement.
_Haha! I did it!_
The successes left the remaining children in excitement as each of them quickly walked up to test. However, to everyone's disappointment, there were no more earth inferiors.
"A bunch of lower-class apes," a snort came from behind.
The group turned around to see a man, in his twenties, wearing light blue robes with his long, black hair neatly tied up. His eyebrows were sharp while his skin was delicate and pale. The man carried a dignified expression with his head high which made him seem all the more obnoxious. Behind the man, a group of youths in light blue and green robes followed him.
"Lu Fan, I know you took your kids here to cause trouble," Hao Nan snarled.
"Observe," Lu Fan merely smiled before gesturing towards the youths behind him.
As Lu Fan's group tested their spiritual roots, Hao Nan's face only darkened by the moment.
"All earth middle and earth superiors? Not too shabby," Lu Fan remarked with a light smile. He then turned to his group to 'educate' them, "As you all can see, there is a clear difference between noble bloodlines and common apes. Now, as it always should be, we must tolerate their incompetence and allow their existence."
"Thank you, for a textbook example Hao Nan," Lu Fan 'thanked' Hao Nan before turning to the group behind him. "Now, let us no longer be bothered with these things," mocked Lu Fan while leading his group out. As Lu Fan was exiting, Ye Tian noticed that Lu Fan had turned around one more time to give a quick glance at one of the white-robed servants before leaving.
After Lu Fan left, Hao Nan finally released his grit teeth and clenched fists before turning to the children with a downcast expression.
"Well, you guys can now choose your servants."
_The one that Lu Fan gave a glance to was this guy?_
Ye Tian was lost in thought while staring at a man who gave off a cold vibe. The man naturally radiated an arrogant expression which caused other servants to distance themselves. The other children saw this and avoided picking this stony person.
_Ah crap, only this guy is left._
Left without much of a choice, the man was assigned to become Ye Tian's servant.
"I have to report the details of your talents, so I will be leaving first. While the title servant may have a negative connotation, the title is actually used to deter people from slacking and these servants are actually guides. You may ask them questions about cultivation or other things and they are also reliable sparring partners. Alright, I'll leave it to the servants to guide you guys to your quarters." Hao Nan explained before leaving the room.
The children looked at each other with no idea what to do next while the servants each began to lead their new masters out. While being led down a hallway, Ye Tian observed his servant who was tall and slender. He had pale skin unlike the other servants while his jaw and eyebrows were sharp.
"What is your name?" asked Ye Tian.
"Lu Yin."
_A taciturn person…_
"What's your cultivation?"
"Rebirth Realm Qi stage."
"Not quite the conversationalist are you? Say something? Anything?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
Ye Tian eventually arrived at his courtyard to find a house with a kitchen and restroom connected to the house.
_Finally, I can now have some personal space ever since arriving in this world._
Ye Tian opened the room to find a bed, with a drawer full of clothes underneath the bed, at one end, a table, with a few chairs, in the middle, a wooden mat at the other end, and a door to another room. The other room contained a kitchen and a door to the restroom which consisted of a tub and toilet.
_Time to wash off months of grime._
"Hey, can you get me some water for the tub?" asked Ye Tian.
Lu Yin's eye twitched before congealing water out of midair into the tub and heating the water. As Lu Yin turned around to leave, Ye Tian stopped him.
"I need multiple tubs of water or else I'll be bathing in my grime."
Lu Yin's eye twitched again before he complied and helped congeal water multiple times. Finally, Ye Tian was alone but Lu Yin barged in again before he could relax.
"You're not going to do something to me are you?!" shouted Ye Tian.
Lu Yin's face darkened with disgust before throwing in herbs.
"What are these?" asked Ye Tian.
"These are herbs that will release qi in the water and strengthen your muscles by soaking it. It's an allocated resource that will help you with the muscle, blood, and bone stage," replied Lu Yin who then stormed out of the room while making sure to slam close the doors as if to vent his dissatisfaction.
_Hehe, what an amusing character. He acts cold yet follows through with requests at the same time. Lu… it seems like Lu Yin may be a family member to Lu Fan. However, if Lu Yin is part of Lu Fan's family then why is Lu Yin a servant? Seems like there's some interesting history behind the two._
**********************************************************************************************************
_Ahh, that bath felt nice. Hm? Something is on the table._
After Ye Tian was done with his bath and put on white robes, he noticed that there was something on the table which wasn't there when he first came in.
_Did Lu Yin leave this here? Well, I don't know anyone else that would have a reason to give me anything._
On the table, there was a sword in a scabbard along with three books: Elite Soldier Qi Cultivation Technique, Qi Gathering Strikes, and Qi Burning Movement Technique.
_Looks like Lu Yin left behind my starting items for me_
A gleam appeared in Ye Tian's eyes.
_Finally, it's time to cultivate._