"This… what was this cloud just now?", whispered the shaken instructor from his seat in front.
"I can't say for certain, but if I had to guess, I would say this was a dragon."
"Dragon… You might be right."
Bai Jingshen was still a little shaken from what happened just now. Although what he just saw would fit into his own imagination of a travelling dragon, but he didn't have any real prove. Therefore, he was surprised that the instructor readily acknowledged his speculation. He asked with curiosity:
"Have you ever seen a dragon before? Are they common in this world?"
"No, of course not. I have however read all the publicly available reports about the time when we first came to this world. Back then immortal beasts were the rulers of this world. Naturally they were aggressive when humans invaded. But even in the wars back than the stronger immortal beasts only seldom acted. Most theories agree that they simply didn't have any understanding of humans. They saw these invaders as insects in their home, and even if they stomped them to death, new ones would come shortly after.
At the same time the arriving humans were careful and only ever fought small scale battles against beasts. Therefore, our leaders rapidly broke through one after another. They had unlimited resources, years of accumulation and a broad, new environment, which didn't hinder their progress. In a few hundred years the strongest humans managed to reach the higher immortal realms.
Overconfident because of their newfound strength they became greedy and made a big mistake: they hunted a phoenix.
They massively underestimated the prowess of those legendary beasts, however. Even as a group they didn't manage to take down the phoenix before its reinforcements arrived. This day was a tragedy for all humans. We lost several of our strongest warriors. On top of that this action started the big wars 700 years ago. On this day countless souls died tragically, as the strongest beasts rained down punishment.
It was also this day when humans experienced the might of dragons. Their wanton killing was met with strong retaliation, leading to a hundred years of war against beasts. This war didn't have any winner, as the strongest immortal beasts lost interest and returned to wherever they live. Although there is no real war between the races anymore, but since beasts play a big part in our cultivation, small scale battles still occur from time to time."
The former emperor listened to this story with relish. He imagined the scene back then in his mind. If the thundercloud they just saw rained down lighting on the ground, how many beings would die? He shuddered at the mere thought. But form the instructor's explanation, not only one immortal beast attacked on the day humans hunted a phoenix.
After Instructor Hord told his story, the three men had managed to calm down again. The instructor started his ship and continued towards Thobar Bionics' HQ. Bai Jingshen chuckled quietly as he noticed how timid the instructor was flying now. They stayed close to the ground and never reached the same speed as before.
A while later Bai Jingshen noticed more and more spaceships in their vicinity. From time to time he even saw cultivators flying by themselves. Smaller towns began to appear on the ground. Bai Jingshen only realized now that people had been living in the New World for a thousand years. Some of them naturally wanted their own influence, more freedom, or other things. Therefore, they left the big organizations and settled in their own towns. For everyone below the Nascent Soul Realm a thousand years was still a long time after all. On top of that a lot of manpower was needed to develop in a new world, so not only elite cultivators came here.
However, those small towns still stayed near bigger organizations. Although there was less cohesion in the New World than in the Rising Force World, Bai Jingshen still noticed cultivators travelling between those bigger, city-like strongholds. They continued their flight for a few hours, passing cities, forests, and mountains, until Instructor Hord finally approach a stronghold directly. As the instructor stopped in the air outside, asking for permission to land, Bai Jingshen and Sam got a good look of Thobar Bionics' HQ.
The two young men stared in amazement at this city built in a mountain side before them. The first thing they noticed was the massive wall enclosing the city in a half-circle. No skyscrapers existed here, since it looked like no building was allowed to be higher than the wall. This didn't make the city look any less modern, however. All the houses were built from metallic materials, decorated with an astonishing amount of greenery. A big main street led from a gate in the wall all the way into the mountain. Bai Jingshen noticed that the city obviously continued on the mountain's inside. Taking a closer look, he even saw structures halfway up the mountain, seemingly reachable from the inside.
After a few minutes Bai Jingshen and Sam noticed that the instructor had already stopped talking and was looking at them. The young men understood that he had already got his permission, so they nodded at him, signaling that they had seen enough for now. The instructor grinned, before driving his Spaceship towards a large platform just beyond the wall. Looking at the many different vehicles coming and going form here, Bai Jingshen understood that it was probably prohibited to fly above the city. He observed the people around him and saw more than just Thobar Bionics' logo. Obviously, the stronghold was open to outsiders as well.
The three men finally left the spaceship, as the instructor quickly put it away. They followed a bridge into a large building. Hord told his recruits to follow him, as they went towards the left. A weird feeling assaulted Bai Jingshen for a second, when they passed a gate of light. The instructor explained that this was necessary to prove their identity, while he led them outside.
Bai Jingshen found himself on top of a flight of stairs after they left the port. They now looked down on the broad main street. The young man could see all kinds of people walking around, visiting shops, restaurants, and more. He was slightly puzzled as he asked the instructor:
"Isn't this Thobar Bionics' HQ? Why do they allow so many people here? Why are there shops of other organizations?"
"You are right, but the real headquarters are built into the mountain. This outer part is accessible for everyone. It is pretty much the norm for confident organizations to establish a city for trade. People simply need places to gather, but weaker organization are already happy if they can defend themselves. They wouldn't be able to build cities. Therefore they open up shops in the safety of walls like ours. Naturally we need to provide reasonable security, therefore the guard division exists. Since you will be joining the elite program, you would also be able to join the guards, but personally I hope you stay with our RSS."
Listening to the instructor, Bai Jingshen understood that organizations in the New World weren't all that different from sects in the Great Cultivation World. It was normal for a sect to have their core personnel train in the mountains, wile outer sect disciples were sent to guard towns subordinate to their respective sect. After all every organization needed resources, and trade was a great way to get those.
Following behind the instructor as he led them along the main street, Bai Jingshen observed all kinds of people. Cultivators of different strengths made their way through the crowd, as weaker cultivators did their best to avoid stronger ones. He even finally saw one group of cultivators form the Great Cultivation World, but he didn't know their sect. They were looking at a shop selling Rising Force World's technology with interest before entering a luxurious looking restaurant.
Bai Jingshen himself was also very interest in the goods for sell here. As they neared the mountain, he noticed the shops looking more and more expensive as the crowd thinned out. Observing the things those shops had on display, he saw all kinds of weapons and medicine, but also instruments and household items. He was amazed at this variety, taking it all in.
Reaching the end of the public road, Bai Jingshen for the first time even saw a familiar organization. The 'Purple Pill Palace' had actually built a shop here. This was one of the biggest gathering places for alchemists in the Great Cultivation World. His White Illusion Sect often bought pills from them, as they were always famed for their wide variety. Only in terms of top pills they sadly lacked behind a bit. The former emperor had the impulse to enter their shop and take a look, but he suppressed it for now.
Arriving at the end of the road, Bai Jingshen was amazed to see a massive, yellowish shield covering a hole in the mountain. The public parts of this city stayed away from it a few meters, giving room to a huge square, which was patrolled by Thobar Bionics' guards. They stopped anyone from approaching the shield, which blocked spying gazes from observing the companies core part. The instructor confidently walked up to the Qi shield, nodding at some guards along the way.