Alex smiled. Elsa had told him about the situation in the divine realm, and he knew it had a population of more than a hundred million and wasn't so much a country as a vast collection of cities. Thousands of cities were scattered across the land, and while the smaller ones had tens of thousands of people, the larger cities had millions. Each city was attached to a large sect, the biggest of which ruled everything.
"Sword City is home to the High sect," Magnus said. "According to the law, an immortal master should be reported to the High sect's elders."
"The High sect?" Alex asked with a yawn. He had never heard of it. "How does it compare to the Thunder sect or the Mountain sect?"
"The Thunder sect and the Mountain sect are both very powerful," Magnus said solemnly. "In my sect, our skills have been passed down for thousands of years. We have a powerful guardian, and we also have many immortals. The High sect has only known one immortal from Earth in their entire history." He tilted his head as he looked at Alex. "Have you come from the Thunder sect or the Mountain sect?"
An immortal master who had been born into a famous sect would obviously be much more respected than a rogue warrior. Even the master of the High sect would have to be extremely respectful when he met an immortal master.
"You could say that," Alex said simply, neither confirming nor denying it.
He had known people from these big sects, but unfortunately, he had killed them all.
Magnus grew even more respectful. In the end, he asked Alex to come to Sword City as his guest. Alex thought for a moment and then agreed.
His injuries had recovered by more than half, and he had broken through to the divine realm. And with all the abilities he had mastered along the way, he would no longer be considered weak when facing an immortal from Earth.
"Which sect are you from?" Verity asked. "Have you ever seen a true immortal? What do they look like?"
She smiled brightly, continuing to pepper Alex with questions as they left the mountain forest.
As they walked down a forest path, they met a group of cavalrymen waiting by the roadside, dressed in black armor. Even their mounts were covered in armor. Their horses were fierce, as tall as two people, and had a single horn on their foreheads.
The leader of the cavalry stepped forward. He walked with great strides, and his aura was vast. If he had been on Earth, he would have wielded great power. When he looked at Verity, his gaze lingered just a moment too long.
"Greetings, Lord Magnus," he said. "And Miss Verity."
Magnus nodded at him and turned to Alex. "This is Callum, the leader of the Sword City Guard," he explained. To Callum, he said, "This is Alex. He is now a guest of Sword City."
Callum raised his head and looked at Alex. When he saw Alex's calm aura and ordinary clothes, a strange look flashed across his face. But he quickly covered it up and muttered a few generic words of greeting.
Alex climbed onto one of the giant horses and the group moved away at speed. The horses seemed to be an impressive mix of different species, and they were able to cover many miles in the blink of an eye. Verity stuck close to Alex all the way, still taking every opportunity to ask him questions and seemingly unperturbed by his lack of detailed response.
It was obvious that Sword City rarely encountered outsiders, and Verity was curious about him. Instead of addressing her queries, he made a few small jokes that made her giggle in delight.
Callum watched them suspiciously.
Sword City was built halfway up the Twisted Mountain. The buildings were very tall, and a labyrinth of small streets crisscrossed each other. The city was big enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.
On their arrival, Magnus held a welcoming banquet for Alex, and many of the higher-ups in the city came to meet him. Alex looked around and found that most of the people were powerful, but none of them were a match for him.
During the banquet, Callum approached and started to interrogate Alex loudly. He asked many of the same questions Verity had asked, but he seemed less inclined to be distracted by the same little jokes.
"Cheers," he said, raising his cup of wine. "So, which sect have you come from?"
"Callum, don't be rude," Magnus called. "This is an immortal master from one of the upper sects."
"City Lord, the immortal masters of the great sects are nobles," Callum responded. "Why would one come to a small city on the border of the divine realm? Sir, please don't be deceived by some wild rogue that has appeared out of nowhere."
When the upper echelons of Sword City heard Callum's question, they were startled and fell into deep thought.
The Thunder sect, the Crimson sect, and the others were supremely powerful in the divine realm and their masters were like kings. The disciples of their sects were many times stronger than those of smaller sects, so Callum was right that it would be unusual for them to visit a place like Sword City.
"Do you doubt me?" Alex asked. He put down his wine glass and smiled at him.
He didn't have a grudge against Callum, but he understood what his suspicion was really about. Still, why should he care about such an insignificant man?
"I just hope that you don't intend to deceive Lord Magnus," Callum said, shrugging. "If you really have come from an important sect, then I will, of course, apologize."
Murmurs came from around the hall as people started to question why an immortal from a higher sect would end up in Sword City. They knew they were nothing special, and even the immortal elders were too lazy to come to the city, except for the annual tribute collection. Callum's suspicions started to make sense.
Even Magnus was having his doubts. He had only thought Alex was an immortal master because he had witnessed him summoning a robe. But he couldn't be sure if Alex was connected to one of the higher sects.
Could he really have lied to me? he wondered, feeling bewildered.
Verity was so angry that her face turned red. She shouted, "Callum, what do you mean by that? Alex said that he came from a higher sect, but you keep insulting him. Are you calling him a liar?"
"Miss Verity, you're still young," Callum said patronizingly. "You're easily deceived. If this so-called immortal master really comes from a higher sect, then he will be happy to take out his token. Every disciple of the higher sects has one, and the divine realm is so powerful that no one would dare to forge them."
Everyone's eyes focused on Alex.
Verity was startled and looked over with a worried expression. The sect token was indeed the symbol of every disciple. In the entire divine realm, no one had ever dared to copy a sect token because the consequences were severe.
Alex played with the wine cup in his hand and said nothing.
"Well?" Callum asked. "Do you have nothing to show us?" He took a step forward and his inner power surged. He put his hand on his sword hilt and said, "If you can't show us a token, then admit that you lied to Lord Magnus and pretended to be from one of the upper sects. Then get out of Sword City. Otherwise, I won't be held responsible for what happens next."
As leader of the city guard, Callum was a powerful man. Once he became angry, he would be dangerous. If Alex had been an ordinary person, he would have been intimidated from the very start.
Instead, he sniffed and raised his eyebrows. "Who do you think you are?" he asked. "How dare you question me?"
Callum was furious. He was about to draw his sword when Alex flicked his finger and shouted, "Enough!"
An invisible force shot out from his fingertip and hit Callum with the force of a runaway truck. He was sent flying out of the hall and disappeared, rolling down the mountainside.
The entire hall went silent.
No one dared to breathe, and they were all staring at Alex with their mouths wide open. Callum was one of the most powerful people in Sword City. Even one of the immortal elders of the High sect wouldn't be able to defeat him with a single flick of a finger.
Everyone was now convinced that Alex was a true immortal master from one of the upper sects, and they were all excited.