Chen Jiao City is located on the border of the Seven Towers Federation, and Snake Head Town, established more than twenty years ago during the war, is a small town. Despite the development of the surrounding territories, danger has never been completely eradicated, and the town often suffers attacks from spiritual beasts.
With the recommendation form, Duke boarded the special car provided by the Magic Society. The vehicle, commonly known as the "Black Beetle," resembled a beetle the size of several houses. A thick smokestack rose from the front of the car, emitting continuous black smoke when preparing to depart.
Similar to the black smoke emitted from factory chimneys, it was a result of burning spiritually infused ore.
Factories and vehicles, which consumed a large amount of spiritual energy, didn't find it practical to rely on spirit cards for energy supply. Burning spiritually infused ore at a low cost was the norm.
As for pollution, the black smoke was considered romantic in the era of industrial revolution.
"Woo woo woo!"
The black beetle's car emitted a whistle, and the black smoke from the smokestack intensified rapidly. Then, several large solid tires, each the size of a millstone, slowly began to turn, rolling over the gravel-paved road and heading out of town.
Duke sat by the window, looking at the gradually receding town, feeling a mixture of emotions.
Although Snake Head Town was called a small town, in reality, it wasn't much different from a small county. Seventy to eighty thousand people crowded into it, many of whom, including Duke, had never left the town.
This time marked his first departure from Snake Head Town, heading towards Chen Jiao City.
The black beetle's car didn't travel fast, and the carriage was quite bumpy. Highways and even asphalt roads had yet to appear; all the roads were gravel roads.
These roads were also known as "airlines."
Because in areas far from towns, spiritual energy spawned myriad creatures. Even if humans repeatedly exterminated them, countless spiritual beasts still lurked, damaging roads and attacking caravans.
Every journey out felt like an unknown adventure.
Clang, clang.
The car suddenly jolted violently, almost lifting Duke off his seat.
Someone inside the carriage cursed, "Can't they drive? Don't they know how to avoid potholes!"
Soon, a steward came over to explain, "Sorry, everyone. It seems that the road ahead has been damaged by subterranean worms, and the entire..."
Before she could finish speaking, the car jolted again violently. The steward quickly grabbed onto a handrail to ensure she didn't fall, and once the carriage stabilized, she continued explaining, "The entire road has been dug up by them. The road repair team hasn't had a chance to fix it yet. Please bear with us until we get past this damaged section."
"Damn subterranean worms!"
"When I go hunting outside, I'll make sure to slaughter a few more subterranean worms!"
Passengers complained and cursed the 0-ring spiritual beast, the subterranean worm, a creature similar in appearance to a cockroach but larger than a cat, roaming in groups in the wild.
After a bumpy ride for a while, the black beetle's car finally stabilized.
Before long, Duke saw from the window that the car had passed another small town. Next, it would pass through four more small towns before reaching the final destination.
After a short stop, some people got off the car, and others boarded.
Soon, the journey resumed, leaving the town behind and entering the vast wilderness, far from the fields.
Duke greedily gazed at the scenery outside the window. Compared to Earth, this place was full of exotic charm. Strange plants caught his eye, and occasionally, he spotted peculiar and wild-looking beasts.
Suddenly, the black beetle car came to a stop.
"Please be patient, and don't open the windows casually. Some spiritual beasts have blocked the road, and the car knights have already disembarked to drive them away," the steward smiled, calming everyone down. Such situations were commonplace for her.
Duke didn't stay in his seat. Like the others, he ran to the windows near the front of the car to see what was happening.
Two knights in armor were confronting several black, leopard-like spiritual beasts, each the size of a small calf.
"It's a 1-ring spiritual beast, the Skinny-Cheeked Black Panther. Only six of them. Not enough for the two knights to handle," a passenger casually remarked.
The confrontation lasted no more than three minutes.
One of the knights suddenly moved, charging into the Skinny-Cheeked Black Panthers with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. He then swung the sword in a circular motion, creating a round sword aura.
The other knight stepped forward slowly, maintaining a threat against the Skinny-Cheeked Black Panthers.
One attacking, one threatening.
The six Skinny-Cheeked Black Panthers dodged while baring their teeth, seeming ready to pounce. However, their main focus was on evasion, and they didn't attack the two knights.
Soon, one of the Skinny-Cheeked Black Panthers slipped away.
The remaining ones roared a few times and then also fled.
The spiritual beast attack quickly came to an end. The two knights chatted and returned to the black beetle car. The black smoke billowed as the vehicle continued rolling over the gravel road.
Back at his seat, Duke was still savoring the brief battle.
"That sword aura should be the knight's combat aura," he thought about the time when he had taken the Boiling Blood Elixir, hoping to open the Blood Sea and gain the talent for knightly cultivation. Unfortunately, it didn't succeed.
"Speaking of which, whether it's the Blood Sea or the Qi Sea, they've all been incorporated into the spiritual system as branches of the Spirit Sea. It's also a place of spiritual gathering."
In his mind, he communicated with Xiaoyi, "Xiaoyi, do you think I still have the possibility of opening the Blood Sea and Qi Sea?"
"Xiaoyi lacks relevant data and cannot currently estimate the possibility."
"Alright."
Duke reluctantly gave up his thoughts. At the moment, he was just a fifteen-year-old orphan, stepping into the threshold of cultivation for the first time and knowing nothing about true cultivation in the Three Seas.
...
Half a day later.
Chen Jiao City was in sight. The first thing that caught Duke's eyes was the numerous chimneys emitting billowing black smoke. However, when this black smoke rose to a certain height, it seemed to be influenced by a constant strong wind, dispersing it beyond the city.
"It should be related to a constant wind-based magic."
The black beetle car entered the station, bustling with various specialized route cars. After getting off, Duke followed the crowded crowd out of the station and then saw a tram passing through the street.
He quickly carried his bag and ran towards the nearby bus station.
Although it was his first time in a big city, he had already inquired about the details of life in a big city, such as Old Sam.
"Excuse me, which bus should I take to the Magic Tower?" he asked a middle-aged woman. The platform didn't have route signs; there was only one sign that read "West Station."
"Magic Tower? It seems to be Route 17," the middle-aged woman said, asking her companion, "Right, Route 17 goes to the Magic Tower, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
"Thank you," Duke expressed his gratitude.
Route 17 had a ticket seller, and it cost five copper dragons to go to the Magic Tower station. This was obviously not cheap, much more expensive than taking an ordinary human-pulled yellow carriage.
But Duke had money now and wanted to try something new.
The tram was very stable on the tracks, but the journey was thrilling. Pedestrians, beasts pulling carts, and trucks almost ignored traffic rules, weaving in and out recklessly.
Fortunately, the speed wasn't fast, so even if there were collisions, they wouldn't be fatal.
"Chaotic and dirty... but lively." Duke thought to himself.