Each world has its differences.
In the Dark World, what Fang Zheng could see was only endless darkness. Even during the day, the clouds pressing down on you felt like a giant coffin lid, making it hard to breathe. As far as the eye could see, there was only the wilderness and dark forests. After staying for a long time, one might even feel as though the entire world was about to collapse before their eyes. Desolation, darkness, and despair—that was the theme of the Dark World. As for hope? It might exist, but its existence was merely to be destroyed.
But in the Main World, what Fang Zheng saw was a different scene.
"Is this the place?"
Sitting in the carriage, Fang Zheng looked at the city ahead. From the original owner of this body, Fang Zheng learned that this city was called Carthus, which means "place where stars and moon shine" in Elvish. The people of this country commonly called it "Star Moon City."
This was just a small city in the Kingdom of the Holy Church, but even so, it was enough to showcase its distinctiveness to Fang Zheng—a nearly twenty-meter-high city wall built of white stones surrounded the city, and a beautiful river crossed the middle, bringing with it beautiful lakes and abundant fishery resources.
"Yes, Master, this is Star Moon City."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng's inquiry, the coachman smiled and replied, while Fang Zheng cast a meaningful glance at the white sanctuary in the city. Then, he looked again at the Dimensional Codex before him.
[Executor: Fang Zheng]
[Dimensional Points: 5]
[Equipped Soulstone: Arthas]
[Passive Effects: Undead King (50% increased perception of undead creatures, 50% increased damage to undead creatures, 50% increased protection against undead creatures)]
[Title Equipped: Holy Protector]
[Strength: E (It's enough to slaughter chickens)]
[Agility: D (Running faster than others helps you live longer)]
[Constitution: E (People die if they are killed)]
[Perception: D (Keeping an eye and ear out is basic for you)]
[Charisma: D+ (Good looks facilitate better communication and understanding)]
[Equipped Skill: Royal Cross Swordsmanship (A)]
After carefully reviewing his status panel, Fang Zheng took a deep breath.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Soon, the carriage set off again and moved forward.
"Hoo..."
Sitting in the carriage, Fang Zheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to stabilize his mind. After leaving the Dark World, he calculated the time; he had stayed in the Dark World for three days, while less than ten hours had passed in the Main World. Fortunately, they hadn't persistently sent people to guard him, or else Fang Zheng might not have been able to escape.
After leaving the forest, the first thing Fang Zheng did was to change his clothes in a nearby village and then hire a carriage to the nearest city. To his relief, he did not see any wanted posters concerning the original owner of this body in the village. Perhaps they hadn't given up searching for him yet, but once the search proved fruitless, they would certainly issue a wanted notice. Fang Zheng had no doubts about that. Although this world seemed to be at a typical medieval level on the surface, his memories told him that in terms of pure civilization level, it was probably not much different from his previous world before rebirth.
Considering those terrifying high-end powers, it might even surpass it.
After all, in Fang Zheng's world, apart from nuclear bombs, nothing could destroy a planet.
Before coming to this city, Fang Zheng had fully digested the memories of this body. At the same time, he had thought about what he wanted to do.
Escape was impossible. The Kingdom of the Holy Church Seles was one of the four most powerful nations in this world. The other three were the Magitech Nation of Leon and the Land of Wealth Caron. The Magitech Nation belonged to the mages, while the Land of Wealth was a paradise for merchants and nobles. The last one was the Kingdom of Flame Fanriel.
According to the memories of this body's original owner, the Kingdom of the Holy Church Seles occupied nearly one-fifth of this continent's land, possessing a powerful army and holy practitioners. The reason why the Kingdom of the Holy Church held such a position was because, a thousand years ago during the Chaos Tide, the king of this country had single-handedly led humanity to break through the siege of darkness and chaos, ultimately protecting this world. Therefore, the Kingdom of the Holy Church became the guardian of this land. The territory and population it controlled were almost identical to Fang Zheng's country before his rebirth. Faced with such a populous and vast country, Fang Zheng had no chance of victory.
Of course, if Fang Zheng could choose, he would rather go to Caron or Leon, but unfortunately, that was just as difficult. Not to mention that Fang Zheng was currently in the heart of the Kingdom of the Holy Church, requiring a long journey to reach either country. Even if he managed to cross the border, there was no guarantee he would be accepted. The Magitech Nation only permitted mages to enter; even a merchant needed formal mage credentials. The Land of Wealth was straightforward—it required money.
But Fang Zheng clearly didn't have enough money. As for the Kingdom of Flame? It was on another continent and not reachable at all. Even if the Sea of Storms were clear, Fang Zheng couldn't swim across, could he?
As for magic… he knew none of it.
While there were many small countries besides the four major ones, just like the small countries in Fang Zheng's world, when a big country spoke, you could only comply... Oh, wait.
At least in Fang Zheng's world, those small countries could maintain a façade of autonomy. But here... well, they did have their land and borders, didn't they?
Given the current situation, Fang Zheng couldn't escape the Kingdom of the Holy Church, and even if he did, he couldn't ensure he wouldn't be caught by their pursuers one day. To be honest, Fang Zheng and the Kingdom of the Holy Church had no fundamental, irreconcilable conflicts. He was just unlucky, choosing the wrong person to reincarnate as.
But that didn't mean Fang Zheng could walk into the sanctuary of the Kingdom of the Holy Church and say, "You've got it wrong; the person you're looking for is dead. I'm just an unfortunate reborn soul," and expect them to nod and say, "Ah, yes, we're terribly sorry," and let him go. After all, Fang Zheng had killed several of their knights, and from Williams's memories, these knights were neither very high-ranking nor very low.
They were at the level where it wasn't necessary to pursue the matter to the end, but an explanation would still be required.
In Fang Zheng's mind, the teleportation gate of the Multiverse Dimension System was already closed, entering a cooling period with the next activation in fifteen days. Fang Zheng couldn't hide in the wilderness, playing hide-and-seek with the Kingdom of the Holy Church.
So after careful consideration, Fang Zheng had an idea.
A very bold idea.
But first, he needed an identity.
So, Fang Zheng came here.
"Master, we've arrived."
The coachman's voice came from the front, and at the same time, the carriage slowly stopped. Fang Zheng took a deep breath, adjusted his clothes, opened the carriage door, and stepped out.
The first thing that caught his eye was a two-story stone building. It looked old, and from the outside, it wasn't a particularly magnificent building. There were only two ordinary guards at the door, looking rather desolate, seemingly devoid of human presence.
But Fang Zheng knew that this was his first step into the unknown.
This was the city hall.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Fang Zheng walked through the front door and looked around. The entire city hall was devoid of people, save for an old man dozing behind a desk. This wasn't surprising; in a small city like this, nothing much happened daily.
Fang Zheng coughed, walked to the counter, and tapped it with his finger.
"Knock knock."
Hearing the knocking, the dozing old man shuddered and hurriedly sat up. He glared at Fang Zheng with wide eyes, ready to scold him. But upon seeing Fang Zheng's expensive ceremonial robe, he shivered, quickly straightened up, and adopted a more respectful demeanor.
"Hello, sir, is there anything I can assist you with?"
"I wish to stay in this city temporarily. Please issue me a certificate."
Seeing the old man's expression, Fang Zheng inwardly smiled. Procuring this ceremonial robe had cost a lot; it was the handiwork of the city's most renowned tailor, made from high-quality materials, and it had cost nearly a third of the wealth owned by this body's original owner.
But Fang Zheng didn't feel pained. His previous life had taught him that everyone judged by appearances. If you dressed well and carried yourself with elegance, people wouldn't mind even if you were secretly vile; your first impression would still be good.
If he had come to handle the formalities in ordinary clothes, the old man might not have been so polite and might have even grumbled. If he had been a snobbish person, he might have even tried to give Fang Zheng a bit of trouble.
But now, without knowing his identity, the old man could only work diligently.
"Of course, no problem, sir."
Fang Zheng's display clearly made the old man a bit nervous. He glanced at Fang Zheng's ceremonial robe and the Sky-Cleaving Sword on his back, swallowing hard.
"Please give me your travel documents."
"Here you go."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng produced a travel document and handed it over. Getting this document had also cost him significant effort. He thanked his luck that the original owner of this body had been a fairly competent cultist; all sorts of shady connections were familiar to him. This allowed Fang Zheng to find the Thieves Guild and promise a large reward to get a "legitimate" travel document.
Of course, a legitimate document meant authentic travel certification, indicating where the holder had come from and where they were going, along with an official seal. These documents were made of special magical paper and could not be forged.
However, being non-forgeable didn't mean they couldn't be acquired.
With enough reward, "losing" one or two travel documents was never a big deal, right?
"From the Silver Duchy, Mr. Fang Zheng... Hmm..."
The old man put on monocles and carefully examined the text and seal on the document. After a thorough check, he coughed and looked up at Fang Zheng.
"May I ask the purpose of your visit here?"
"I seek the guidance of the Goddess of Order."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng placed a finger on his forehead and made a gesture resembling a devotee's prayer.
"I wish to solidify my resolve in the sacred vows."
"Alright, I understand."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng's answer, the old man wasn't surprised. The Kingdom of the Holy Church was the root of faith, and many people from other countries came here for pilgrimage. Simply put, in most people's eyes, the teachings and doctrines of the Kingdom of the Holy Church were more "authentic" and made it easier to hear the Goddess of Order's divine revelations.
Of course, any educated person knew this was nonsense, but you couldn't stop people from going to pray at a holy church, right?
The old man had clearly encountered this situation before. He quickly verified the document, and after confirming it was genuine, he filled out another form. Then he picked up a stamp and, with some effort, pressed it onto the paper. Finally, he looked at Fang Zheng.
"Alright, young man, you can now take this document to the Star Room—you know what to do."
"Of course, thank you."
Upon hearing the old man's words, Fang Zheng smiled and nodded. He reached out, took the document, and discreetly placed a few silver coins on the counter. The old man quickly swept the coins into his sleeve, his smile growing even more enthusiastic.
"My name is Pender. If you ever need anything, feel free to find me. If it's within my abilities, there's no problem."
"Thank you."
Hearing the old man's response, Fang Zheng nodded, then took the document and turned to leave.
As he turned around, a cold glint flickered in Fang Zheng's eyes.
The first step was complete. Next came the most dangerous part.