The Inner Region Gate of River Flower City was blocked by a colossal bronze gate, and it was the only way to enter the city's inner region.
Anyone who wants to enter the inner region must be a cultivator or have to show their identity as a noble.
In the middle of the night, strong cultivator guards were watching the inner region's gate.
People were going in and out after showing their identity proof. It was a crystal identity card; wavering it in front of the big stone beside the gate, it showed the holder's personal information.
Anyone can get one from their birthplace or from any faction they are affiliated with. But this crystal identity card cost ten ruby coins to make, and people like Ace didn't get any in their lifetime.
Ace didn't want his information to be recorded here for the sake of secrecy. Then, no one would ever know who he was or where he came from.
At this time, not far from the inner city gate, Ace was waiting for a chance to sneak in when he spotted a man looking around and smiling foolishly at anyone he saw.
'You're the one!' After selecting the target, Ace activated stealth and vanished into the darkness of night.
Ace was no longer a rookie like before anymore. In stealth, no one could spot him anymore unless their cultivation realm was not higher than him, but the limit was still in Qi Gates's realm because his mastery over this skill was still at the middle level.
There were four levels of mastery for the system's basic skills: Low, Middle, High, and Perfection.
Ace followed that man with his silent steps; even nearby people and the 'Second Gate' cultivator's guards didn't notice him following that man from behind. The moment the gate opens, Ace uses the silent steps to limit and becomes like a gust of wind, vanishing inside the inner region.
No one noticed that a thief had snuck inside the inner region.
After entering the inner region, Ace took a random direction and ran aimlessly. First, he found a barren place and took cover behind a wide tree. Ace removed a new set of clothing from his bag and changed his 'Black Ghost outfit.'
After changing his clothes, Ace looked at the 'Black Ghost outfit' and lit a fire with some dry wood nearby. Then he threw the black outfit in the burning flames.
'Black Ghost is dead now! No one will connect him with a new thief from the inner region.' Ace chuckled while watching the outfit and mask become ashes and scatter in the air with gusts of wind.
After dealing with the 'Black Ghost' matter, Ace retook a random direction because he doesn't know areas of the inner region.
It was already nighttime, but there were lights on the broad streets, and many people were strolling here and there. The lights were coming from a strange glass in a long pole. Ace had never seen this kind of thing before.
Ace was curious but tired after using all those skills, so he politely asked a passerby, "Sir, do you know where I can find an Inn here?" He decided to spend the night in an Inn and explore the inner region in the morning.
This person didn't seem to mind Ace's question because it was normal for people to come here for visits. "Just follow this street, and you'll find an Inn after a twenty-minute walk." The person replied indifferently and minded his own business afterward.
"Thank you." Ace thanked the man and didn't dwell there either.
After fifteen minutes, a big building from afar comes into his view because of all the lights, and with his sharp eyes, he can even see this eye-catching building from a mile away.
Ace speeds up and reaches the big building with surprisingly ten floors.
Now that he saw clearly, small radiant stones in a glass box were attached around this building. The lights were coming from them.
Ace had never seen this kind of stone or this sort of big building in the outer region. Those strange light stones lit a wooden 'Holiday Inn' signboard.
Ace entered the Inn and saw a beautiful lady in her late twenties sitting behind a desk. When she saw Ace with a bag on his back, she smiled broadly and greeted him.
"Welcome to Holiday Inn. How may I help you, Sir?" She said smilingly in her sweet voice.
"I want a room," Ace answered indifferently, acting like an arrogant rich kid.
She questioned, "What kind of room, Sir, want? We have two kinds of rooms. Second Class Room at the price of 10 silver coins with no special services, and First Class Room for ten gold coins with the best service, and we will serve Sir with the meat of a wild beast and special wine."
"What's a wild beast?" Ace asked in puzzlement. He had never heard of this kind of meat before. After all, he was what nobles called the commoners' a country bumpkin'.
Ace ate every type of animal meat available in the outer region. But he hadn't heard about this beast's meat before, which also cost ten gold coins. One has to know that typical animal meat costs only 50 bronze coins per pound.
"Wild Beasts are found in the wildness outside the city. They aren't normal animals. They can cultivate like humans and become 'Demonic Beasts,' so their meat contains Qi. Furthermore, that is what a normal cultivator eats in their daily life." The lady replied while smiling, but one could see a tiny frown on her beautiful fair face.
'Where did this country bumpkin come from? He didn't even know about a wild beast. Is he trying to flirt with me and wasting my time?' She thought irritably.
Other people might not be able to notice changes in her mood, but Ace can because of soul cultivation. He could sense her attitude was changing.
Ace smiled wryly but didn't know about these wild beasts before. His knowledge of this world was extremely obscure.
'Well, if that's what normal cultivators can eat, then I can eat it too and see if it tastes better than beef.' Ace snorted in his heart.
Cultivators can live without eating, but that is after they reach a particular higher realm. However, the early cultivators like Ace had to eat because their Qi reserves were limited, and they could only draw little power from the world with their meridians closed.
However, Ace was different in this regard as well. He can live for a month without eating anything because his Qi is Heavenly. He ate daily for the sake of eating.
"I'll take one with rent of 10 gold coins. Here 1 Ruby coin. It will be enough for ten days, right?" Ace took out a ruby coin from his pocket and placed it on the desk in front of that lady who was thinking while frowning.
After hearing Ace's voice, she snapped out of her daze and saw a shining ruby coin on the desk. She said with a wide smile plastered on her face, "Yes. It'll be enough for ten days. I'll immediately go and get the key for Sir's room."
"This key is for room No.103 on the 3rd floor. If you need anything, please contact me. I'll be here at any time. Your meals will be delivered by maids three times a day. Happy stay, sir." She handed over the key to Ace and sent a servant to escort him to the room.
After entering the room, Ace sighed in astonishment, "This room is huge, at least five times bigger than my old hut." For him, this room was luxurious.
Ace put his bag, and raptor swords pair wooden case down in the corner of the room,
'I have to deal with these pills first. I wonder if someone will buy them without noticing anything.' Ace wanted to sell these pills for ruby coins from Fatty Billy's shop.
Seemingly, Ace can't use these pills. When he tries, he only tastes the bitter flavor of herbs. He concluded it was because of Heavenly Qi.
As Ace was about to start his daily cultivation routine, he sensed someone approaching his door. He instantly raised his guard and used Heavenly Sense. He saw there was only a maidservant with a tray in her hand. He quickly relaxes and has a sigh of relief.
Just as he saw, a light knock rang in the room, and a sweet voice sounded, "Sir, I'm here with your dinner."
Ace opened the door with a smile on his face. He received the tray of dishes from the maidservant, "Thank You."
The maidservant was astonished. No one had ever thanked her in all her years of working here because nobles, especially cultivators, were all arrogant. They would never thank a mortal maid like herself.
She was still astonished by this young boy's early behavior when Ace took a ruby coin from his pocket and placed it in her hand. "Here, buy something good for your kids with it," Ace said with generosity.
Ace was still acting like a rich young master, but he didn't know even rich people didn't give a ruby coin to a maidservant as a tip.
The maidservant was stunned by Ace's huge tip and panicked as she quickly rejected, "S-sir, I-I can't take it. Just a silver coin would be sufficient. And I didn't have any kids. I'm single!"
When she said that, she blushed heavily. But Ace didn't notice her blush and insisted, "Just take it if you didn't have any kids, then buy something for your parents." Ace closed the door without waiting for an answer.
That maid held the ruby coin in her hand absent-mindedly, and after some moment, she tightly clinched the ruby coin in her hand and left with tears in her eyes. Maybe it was a coincidence or luck, but she really needed this kind of money at that moment.
Ace doesn't think much of the early encounter and starts enjoying the roosted wild beast meat. As he ate, he felt this meat contained 100 or even 1000 times more energy compared to regular meat.
"That lady didn't lie about Qi in this meat, and it's more delicious than beef. No wonder cultivators only eat this kind of meat." Ace mumbled like some silly child and enjoyed his meal.
After eating his fill, Ace started to cultivate his martial cultivation since he had just achieved a breakthrough in his soul cultivation!