With Shui's popularity among the elders, he had faced no problem in getting permission to leave the city, but he didn't want to have to deal with any tails so they secretly left soon after Fatty arrived. Their main destination was in the Stonefield region and since they were in a rush, there was no plan to stop at any towns until they were in Stonefield. The distance from Silver City to Stonefield was greater than the distance between any two cities in the five cities region, but not by much. Still, this would be the first time any of them had gone on such a journey.
Though Shui was inexperienced, his vast knowledge and unbelievable skills could make this long trip feel like a leisurely stroll, but he purposefully held back for the purpose of training the other two. To cover more distance, he made them run close to their top speeds but still set up camp at night. For the first night he made dinner, but the plan was to rotate this duty along with watch duty everyday. They were simple tasks that even a mortal could complete, but that didn't make them any less important for cultivators.
Despite the fact that Shui didn't try to avoid threats, they reached the border of Stonefield after only a few attacks from hungry evolved beasts. Shui didn't get involved, but none of them had been beast spirits or higher so Fatty and Serina hadn't faced much difficulty despite the bags under their eyes.
'Not as dangerous as I hoped, looks like they'll have to get experience during the mission.'
It took them two weeks to make it to Stonefield, and during that time Shui made sure to regularly check on Sef's fate using Serina as a medium. He was still alive and well, but every time Shui looked at the red line, a creeping feeling appeared in his heart that slowly got worse each time. Shui judged that it was a warning, so after making a brief stop at the border city of Gord, they would be heading straight towards him.
As they were at the border there wasn't much difference in the scenery, but as they closed in on the tall, sandy yellow walls that concealed the city, tall and thick structures became visible in the distance. Lone boulders dotted the landscape, leading to a massive outline farther beyond. Not much greenery could be seen, but there was a different type of natural vitality that drifted about, one that Serina could sense keenly.
"Shui, this is..."
"Pure earth elemental energy. There's nothing confirmed regarding the source, but Stonefield is especially rich with earth elemental energy, which is the reason behind its plentiful ore resources. What we're feeling now is just the tip of it, I imagine that if we find a good spot deeper inside the region, you could even make another breakthrough."
"The air does make me feel comfortable, but I shouldn't have a high enough earth affinity to make use of this energy."
"That's true, but remember what I said earlier; this energy is the reason behind the region's ore deposits, ores including metals."
"Oh, you mean it's the principle of the five elements?"
"That's right."
In the five elements model, earth nourished metal, so with her metal affinity further emphasized by the Revolving Metal Art, Serina could make great progress with its help. On the other hand...
"Fatty, are you okay?"
"I feel kind of tired, but besides that I'm alright."
Just like the earth elemental energy supported Serina, it also suppressed Fatty since his blubber saint physique and cultivation method both enhanced his water affinity. It didn't seem to have much of an effect now, but it would likely cause his rate of energy consumption to increase and weaken the power of his water attribute spells as they went deeper into the region. This placed Fatty in more danger, but Shui didn't believe it would be much of a problem as long as he stayed with them.
Due to his rainbow affinity, Shui wasn't under any particular effect but the more energy there was, the faster he could accumulate divine energy, so he was glad for it nonetheless.
There weren't many people who entered Stonefield from the five cities region since it wasn't on route to any major locations, so there wasn't a line in front of the city gate. Since they were outsiders, Shui paid the fees for them to enter the city. Their tokens as Storm Sky Manor disciples could be used, but he didn't want to expose their identities if possible. Although he had a good understanding of the region, they lacked fresh details so this was where they would learn about any recent events in Stonefield. The fastest way was to go to the underground guild, but there was a similar place they could check first.
The Workers' Association was welcome almost everywhere in the kingdom, so it was no surprise that a branch could also be found here. Of the three of them, only Shui had actually registered as a worker, but they didn't need to go through much trouble just to get some general information. The inside of this branch wasn't much different from any other branch, there was a counter manned by receptionists, a board with tasks, and tables that workers sat at in between the counter and the entrance. When the three of them entered the Workers' Association branch, Serina was wearing one of Shui's white masks. She might be recognized by the Darino Gang as Sef's sister so he wanted to keep her identity under wraps so that they didn't alert the enemy.
None of Shui's masks had eye holes, and since Serina was now in the Soul Realm he figured it was a good chance for her to get used to not relying on her sight. Of course she couldn't recklessly use her spiritual sense as it would bother people, so she had to stay focused on limiting her spiritual sense to just her immediate surroundings. Shui considered giving a mask to Fatty as well for the experience, but he didn't want them to look too odd.
Thanks to the 'Conceal' inscription on the mask, Serina was mostly overlooked, but it would be hard to say that they were welcomed here. Although they had spent many nights camping, their clothes were stainless and they didn't carry any strange scent either. However, this would be fine for their purposes.
Shui walked at the lead and headed to the counter where the receptionists sat. Before they reached at the counter, one of the men sitting at a table nearby got up and Shui could sense his intent to bother them. Maybe if he was by himself he would have heard him out, but he didn't see the need for a confrontation at the time so he glanced at him. Their eyes didn't meet, but it was enough for the man to feel a heavy pressure suddenly hit his shoulders.
If Shui felt like it, he could have killed him in the same breath, but there was no one here who knew that this man was lucky to have been spared. Once he slowly sat back down with a pale face, Shui ignored him and turned to face the receptionist who had just finished dealing with a worker.
"Welcome to the Gord branch of the Workers' Association. How may I be of assistance?"
The young man serving them spoke with a flat tone and a blank expression, but he appeared to be courteous nonetheless. Shui was about to ask him for information, but then Fatty reached out to grab his shoulder.
"Leave this to me Boss."