At dawn the caravan set off again. Everyone was in a great mood now, as they had had a very good rest yesterday. For people who spend months travelling with goods, even little things like last night were very relaxing.
Kai continued to ride in the wagon with Brick, discussing various things. So far, Kai hadn't asked what he was interested in. They were just chatting about general things.
- Listen, Brick. Can you tell me about the City of Shadow? Honestly, even though I'm heading there, I don't know much about it..." Kai asked bluntly.
- Looking at you, I understand your cultivation stage... Are you likely to join the Shadow Sect? - Brick asked frankly.
- Yes, that's roughly the plan. But I don't quite understand what the mechanism of this action is.'' - With a smile, Kai replied.
At this moment, Brick was a bit thoughtful. He seemed to be considering where he should start....
- Hmm... Let me start from afar..." said Brick, pausing for a moment, "The territory of the Shadow Sect is very vast. In fact, it includes four Empires that are under the control of the City of Shadow. They are the Moonlight Shine, Phantom Halberd, Dawn, and White Tiger Empires. - Brick explained.
- In the southwest is Moonlight Shine. To the southeast is Phantom Halberd. To the northwest is the Spirit Rising Empire, which also borders the territory of another Sect. To the northeast is the White Tiger Empire..." he continued to explain.
Brick decided to start the story from the general geography of the Shadow Sect's territory. It seemed to him that it would be more correct.
- Actually, in the far west, between the White Tiger Empire and the Phantom Halberd Empire, there is the City of Shadow... It is an incredibly huge and imposing city... It exists separately from everyone else, and all the territories are subject to it. That's because that's where the Shadow Sect is located... And believe me, its power is hard to imagine... If they wanted to, they could wipe out any of the four Empires... - Brick said.
- Hmm... Are there other Sects? - Kai asked interestedly, clinging to Brick's previous words.
- Yes. I don't know a lot of things... But I've spent enough time in the City of Shadow and I've talked to different people. Basically, we all live in the Heavenly Continent... There are several regions and the ruling powers within them. Not all Sects are ruled by Empires like ours. There are territories where smaller Sects are more prevalent, controlling their own territories. Usually, they are also subordinate to one big one, like our Shadow Sect. In general, the world is quite large, you know... - Brick explained thoughtfully.
At this moment, Kai was a bit dumbfounded. Although he knew that the world was big, he hadn't heard of anything outside of the Shadow Sect yet.
- Wow... Can you tell me more about it? - Kai asked with great curiosity.
- I'm telling you, there's a lot I don't know... What I can tell you for sure is that there are three huge regions... Ours is called the Mysterious Sea Region, and it has three ruling powers... Shadow Sect, Sword Sect, and Spiritual Fire Sect. - Brick explained.
- What about the other regions? - Kai asked with burning eyes.
- They are very far away... There is also the Wild Region and the Holy Region.
- Wild Region? Maybe... - Kai said in thought.
- Yes. The Endless Wasteland is the outermost edge of the region. But I don't know anything about the Wild Region itself. The Holy Region is a mystery to me. It is said that it has little contact with others and is the strongest on the Celestial Continent. - Brick told me.
- To summarise... We live in the Mysterious Sea Region. It's called that because it has the Mysterious Sea at its centre. Makes sense, doesn't it? Heh-heh. - Brick said with a laugh.
- I don't understand... How is that? - Asked Kai.
- You must not realise how huge this region is... You could say that almost the entire eastern part is occupied by the Shadow Sect. The southwest is occupied by the Sword Sect, and the northwest is occupied by the Spiritual Fire Sect. Although they are smaller than the Shadow Sect in terms of territory... But that doesn't concern their strength. Each of the three Sects in our region is roughly equal in strength. - Brick explained, ''Now, in the centre between the three Sects is a vast sea called the Mysterious Sea.
- I didn't realise there was so much in the world... What's east of the Shadow Sect? - Kai asked another question.
- The vast waters. Everywhere you look, there's nothing but water. Many have tried to sail east and explore the area... But without success. There seems to be only water further away... - Brick answered.
Listening to all this, Kai was shocked. He had learnt a lot of useful information today. Finally, he started to understand this world a little better....
"Okay... When I'm in the City of Shadow, I'll have to find out more about everything. For now, I need to understand what the capital of the Shadow Sect itself is like, if I may say so" - Kai thought, and decided to postpone thinking about the Celestial Continent.
- So, what about the City of Shadow? - Kai asked, returning to his original question.
- Ah! Right! - Brick shouted and slapped his hands on his forehead, "I was talking, sorry. Heh-heh. - He said with a laugh.
- It's okay, what you told me was incredibly useful to me. - Kai replied with a smile.
- Anyway. The city of Shadow is incredibly huge... The entire eastern part, which borders the shore of the endless waters, is a forbidden zone. You could say it's an entire city within a city. This part of Shadow City, is only for the members of the Shadow Sect. It is where all the disciples, training halls, and areas of the Sect are located. Only members of the Sect itself can enter it. - Brick said.
- What about the other part of Shadow City? - Kai asked.
- Nothing. A lot of people live there, doing their own things. Lots of restaurants, shops, and other things. The members of the Shadow Sect also go out there all the time. Basically, the entire Shadow City is owned by the Shadow Sect. You just have to be a member of the Sect to enter the eastern part of it. That's all. - Brick explained with a smile.
- Thanks a lot! - Kai said gratefully.
Now he was thinking a little bit. He had learnt a lot of information, and pushed his boundaries. Now it took a little time to realise.....
- Ahh! It would also be good for you to learn about the structure of the Shadow Sect disciples. You're going to join, right? - Brick suddenly shouted out, interrupting Kai's musings.
- I'd appreciate it if you could tell me. - With a smile, Kai replied.
- In general, there are four conventional levels. Assistant Apprentice, Basic Apprentice, High Apprentice, and Personal Apprentice. It's simple... People who want to join the Shadow Sect have to pass an examination to become a disciple-assistant. Only after making a sufficient contribution do they receive a letter of recommendation and can attempt to move up to the Basic Disciple class. Core disciples are already considered full members of the Shadow Sect and are highly respected people! And the High disciples, they are the strongest members of the current generation! - Said Brick.
- What about the Personal Disciples? - Asked Kai.
- Hmm... There aren't many of them.... They are the most outstanding people who are taken as personal disciples by the Elders! - Brick said with admiration.
- Damn... I don't seem to understand anything about this world at all... Brick sorry... But can you tell me what kind of Elders are these? - Kai asked awkwardly.
He felt like he didn't understand what was going on at all. Kai was starting to get a headache from all this information.
- It was simple. If you look at the hierarchy of the Shadow Sect, in addition to the disciples, there are the Elders. Outer Elders, Core Elders, Great Elders, and the Patriarch of the Shadow Sect himself! - Brick said in awe.
- I see... Thank you again! - Kai let out and once again went into thought.
"It seems that these Elders have their own areas of responsibility... I wonder if the letter of recommendation from the Head of the Border Beast City, is the equivalent of a letter to join the Core Disciples?" - Kai wondered.
According to Brick, in order to advance to the status of a core disciple, one would have to make a sufficient contribution and receive such a letter. But he already had one... Or maybe this wasn't it?
So far, Kai didn't understand that point. But at least he understood the structure of the Shadow Sect and the entire continent in general in more detail.
"Alright, I'll learn about everything already when I arrive in the City of Shadow..." - Kai thought and continued chatting with Brick about the usual things.
Shadow City was still a few weeks away, so there was no point in thinking about it yet. Kai decided that he would just rest during that time.