"Does our sect subordinate itself to the Tuamei Kingdom since we are in their territory?" Wu Long asked, while looking out of the window where the border patrol guards checked their credentials two days after his fun shopping stroll. He didn't really find any information regarding the relationships between cultivation sects and countries in this world as there were no books on politics in the sect.
"No, cultivation sects are generally independent from countries and rarely does either side interfere in each other's affairs. Though they are still located within territories of the countries, they do not submit to any rule. There are cases of cooperation, but it is the kingdoms who are on the weaker side of the negotiations, with only the three empires holding their own" Hua Ziyan shook her head.
"Hmm, I see" Wu Long nodded with a pondering look. He was a little surprised at how similar even the relationship between sects and countries sounded between this world and what he knew, despite this place growing independently in isolation.
'Is it just the natural order? Or is it an influence from the fact that they inherited most of their knowledge on cultivation from ruins of the civilization that used to be part of the Seven Boundless Worlds?'
Though he naturally made assumptions about the sect when he just awakened as everything seemed so similar and familiar, when he read in history books about the state of the history and knowledge of this world he understood how much of a miracle it was that this world's civilization basically copied on a miniature scale and elementary level the Seven Boundless Worlds.
Though it wasn't like all population of this world became extinct in that 'great calamity' otherwise there would be no people here, and no civilization, but knowledge about the Seven Boundless Worlds and cultivation above the Nine Mortal Realms became legends, and the knowledge of Medicine, Alchemy, Forging, Formations and all the other Daos were degraded to a pitiful degree.
Since the world was damaged to the point of presumably becoming a fractured world, the most probable scenario was that people with cultivations higher than Qi Condensation Realm who lived vastly longer than ordinary mortals either all died or were left in pitifully small numbers. What was left were mostly disciples, people with not much talent, and the biggest group was mortals. The Spiritual Qi also deteriorated, not allowing people to breakthrough in a fast enough space.
This vacuum of power and lack of people with enough longevity to keep the stability then almost certainly caused a bloody storm that enveloped the whole world, where people fought over inheritances, power and dominance in this new secluded world, and that chaos lasted long enough to sever most of the inheritance of cultivation and quite possibly all historical inheritance.
With such extensive damage, it would not be strange if the cultivation world here would have gone on a completely independent way of development, but it seems that what roots of civilization they preserved and constant research of ancient civilization through ruins after the chaotic era miraculously kept them on the same general path of civilization. There could also be a possibility that it was the natural order and that even independently, the worlds would evolve on the same path, which was not really believable, but a possibility nonetheless.
In fact, fractured worlds were not actually that rare, every hundred or even less years a world would open up, and it would be discovered that it was a fractured world that closed off some time ago, and opened up again as the world naturally recovered to a certain degree. There may or may not be people there. It is just that Wu Long was never interested in this particular topic, so he knew only superficial information. It was inevitable that even someone as knowledgeable as him would not know something, as if one were to somehow find the person who knew more than anyone else, they would actually know infinitely less than the amount of what they did not know.
"What about families? Do they serve the countries they are based in?" he then asked another question, this time making Hua Ziyan wonder why he knew so little about what was considered common knowledge, despite being knowledgeable in the profound ways of cultivation.
"Yes, the families do acknowledge the royal rule, but it is more like joint management of the country, with the royal family being only slightly more influential than any one of the big noble families " she replied, confirming that the behavior of families also sounded similar to what he was used to.
They passed the border and entered the territory of the Azure Eagle Empire.
Ever since he bought cultivation resources, Wu Long would use a few hours at night to use Yin Yang Conversion Cauldron Body to absorb the Yin medicines he acquired. His cultivation progressed slowly, as the medicine was actually of lower quality than the Yin flower he consumed previously, while his cultivation base was higher, making the requirements that much higher.
Zheng Huang was silent and did not make any more moves. His cultivation may be higher than the goons he sent who were in the first stage of Qi Condensation Realm, but not by much. He was a core disciple because he was a lot younger than them who were senior generation disciples.
Thus, unless he tried to get the other six to join forces to try, he had no way of dealing with him. He would have tried if the ten of them joined in, but the four that he sent first expressed that they will not have anything to do with Wu Long anymore. And it is not like he had absolute control over the other disciples, the four he sent were just more susceptible to his status and his father's influence.
Two days into the empire's territory while in the medium sized city, they noticed that the lodging house opposite the one they stopped at was fully occupied by a group of people similar to their own size, who became vigilant of them when they approached their inn.
This was not particularly rare as people traveling in big groups would avoid contact with each other. Especially cultivators. However, to avoid unnecessary conflict and warn of repercussions if meddled with, they would wear distinct clothes that identified their affiliation.
The group that settled in in the inn on the opposite side of the street were wearing plain clothes with no identifying marks and wooden masks.
When Wu Long went out to the city after hearing that there is a branch of another big trading company here, he could feel the sharp gazes from across the street.
He did not mind them, but went to his destination, the Jade Mountain Trading Company.
His visit went the same as his last shopping, he asked the attendant to inquire about his list while he looked for what he needed. The off the shelf trade zone did not sell anything of higher quality than the Golden Ox Trading Company but there were differences in the items they were selling even if the level was the same. He bought everything he wanted, but as he already bought the tools the last time, he didn't need anything so he just walked through the stalls and observed the bustling crowd.
"Here is what you asked, esteemed guest. May I be of any other service to you?" The female attendant returned with his scroll and the information he asked. She was a bit bolder, as her eyes and expression promised much more than what normal service entailed.
He inwardly chuckled, as he saw the inexperienced signals she gave off. If his dragon was in working order, he might have granted her wish as he saw that it was genuine desire that she showed when he first arrived and not simple fascination with his wealth, coupled with the fact that he was not occupied with anything else, but it was not her lucky day as the dragon was still injured and in deep slumber.
"By the way, does your trading company specialize in Yin attribute medicine?" he asked her as most of what would be considered high level medicinal ingredients here were of the Yin attribute.
"No, that is only this branch as this is the closest city to the Frozen Garden Palace, one of the Five Great Sects" she replied, pronouncing the names reverently, as the Five Great Sects were the most powerful and prestigious sects on all three continents. Two were located on this continent, and one of them was the Frozen Garden Palace.
From what Wu Long read in the Library Hall, the sect only accepted women and had an ancient origin.
As the cultivators in this world were only in the great realm of Nine Mortal Realms, none of them could really wield actual elemental powers, except, perhaps alchemists, but their pill flames were not strictly speaking elemental power. It seems that this Frozen Garden Palace had an inheritance that was related to a higher level sect where the main cultivation techniques and skills were of the ice attribute, but they could only practice the techniques meant to prepare disciples for using them in higher realms.
He thanked the attendant and left her a bit more money as he returned to the inn.
He went out later than last time, so it was already night.
This time there were no 'friendly faces' waiting for him on his way and he arrived without impediments, though from quite far away he could sense fighting and he started hearing the sounds of weapons and shouting as he got closer.
When he arrived was the scene of a crowd clad in dark clothes and cloth masks, besieging the inn on the opposite side.
The defenders were strong so they were not in danger of being defeated, but there were too many attackers trying to bypass them and go inside, so they were struggling to keep them out.
On the opposite side, the sect protectors and elders of the Yin Yang Unity Palace were in alert state watching the situation so that they could react if the conflict spread to them, but they were not interfering.
Wu Long knew that the trouble was not related to his group so he did not change his pace since sensing the fight from far away. And with this unchanging pace he proceeded to head to the inn his group was in.
However, as the street was full of attackers, he inevitably drew their attention to himself.
"Hey, brat, stop there if you don't want to get in trouble."
"Don't you see the place's restricted?"
"Where did this blind fellow come from?"
They called out to him as he was approaching. But he did not slow down his pace as he casually waved his hand.
A sword appeared in his left hand. And he unsheathed it with his other hand.
"You!"
"Get him!"
"In the next life-..."
They launched forward, and with a flash of moonlight around the last one who spoke and was the furthest to the front, blood splurted out in a straight line from his head to crotch midway through his sentence as Wu Long appeared in front of him with his sword pointing to the ground, ending the motion that split the man in half.
The moment of shock from the two right behind him was enough for Wu Long to make a spinning and forward motion going around the split man and avoiding all of the blood, with the sword not stopping but moving from the down position to the side and making a horizontal line in one continuous motion, beheading the two as he passed in the middle.
He then went in a straight line for his destination, leaving bloody flowers blooming behind and by the time he was midway through to reaching the inn, the first split man finally hit the ground.
He arrived at the gates to the inn, which were open as people from his sect were there prepared in case fighting spilled to their side.
They watched with round eyes as he calmly stepped in, his robes not stained with even a drop of blood. He flicked his sword and any residual blood on the blade landed on the ground outside the gates as he was passing them. He then sheathed the sword to the sheathe that was still in his left hand with a light movement.
"Hey!"
An angry but at the same time nervous shout came from behind him.
He turned around to see the people behind. They were in a semicircle around the gates, except the direction he came from where the 'parted sea' did not yet have time to completely close.
The reason his bloody path stopped and did not immediately turn into another one was because as he stopped killing when there were no people in front of him they did not immediately pursue, choosing to take a distance and get ready. However, what dumbfounded them was that he stepped in the gates of the inn opposite the one their target was in and did not look like someone preparing to fight further.
"You and I both know that you have enough trouble as it is, and have no spare force to spend on me, we should now each mind our own business, as I do not intend on interfering" Wu Long said to them.
"D-do not intend to interfere? Why did you kill our men then?!!" The one to call out to him earlier asked, bewildered.
"They blocked my path" he said in a tranquil voice and with the same indifferent expression he held when he arrived at the scene and held throughout his path.