- Thank you for helping me with everything Elder Ovian! - Kai said with a smile and bowed gratefully.
- You're welcome. I'll be watching your growth with interest! You don't have to worry about the tokens, I will ask you to give the information to Elders Caius and Brood. - The old man replied.
- Thank you again! - Kai thanked him again.
After this exchange of words, Elder Ovian turned around and started walking down the corridor of the Shadow Palace.
At this moment, Kai was standing near a large white door that seemed to be covered in a faint layer of energy. It was the entrance to his private quarters.
Before this, Ovian had helped rent Kai his new abode. By doing so, Kai had saved a whole lot of time. Since the old man was one of the main people in the Shadow Palace, he resolved all the paperwork nuances very quickly.
Kai's new house was indeed worthy of the title of Personal Apprentice. Its cost was around 300 Reputation Points per month.
To others, it was a very impressive sum. It was more than the salary of a good Alchemist, much less ordinary workers like guards or herb preparers in the Alchemy Alliance.
But Kai realised that a monthly payment of 2000 Reputation Points would more than cover his expenses. Especially, it turned out that by renting a dwelling in the Shadow Palace, you could order food directly to it. And most importantly, it was completely free. That might have seemed like too good of an arrangement, until you think about the cost of rent....
- Well, let's see... - Said Kai and placed his palm on the door.
- Doom! - There was a rumbling sound and the doors began to slowly open.
Before that, Kai had already looked around with his Essence Eyes. As expected, everything was covered in a large array. Now only Kai would be able to open these doors.
At this moment, he was in slight anticipation, as he hadn't seen his new home before. Kai had simply trusted Elder Ovian, and the old man had chosen a room for him on his own.
Once inside, Kai stopped and began to look at the furnishings as the door slowly closed behind him. Immediately after, it was once again covered in a thin layer of energy.
- Yeah... It's hard to call this a room... - Kai said a little shocked.
A large circular hall was now spread out in front of him. Everything here was made of white colours and beautiful stone. Paintings hung on the sides and the walls themselves were ornately carved. Many bookshelves were also present. There was a table in the centre of the room and black sofas around it.
But that wasn't what was most beautiful.....
Right across from the entrance, in front of Kai, were huge windows! They were located starting from the floor and all the way to the ceiling! And through them was an incredibly beautiful view of the entire Shadow City! After all, the Shadow Palace was at its highest point!
But that wasn't all... Kai noticed that there was a balcony outside the windows that he didn't immediately notice.
'Gotta go take a look!' - Kai thought and started walking quickly in that direction.
Stepping out onto it through the doors on the side, Kai's breath stopped for a second. Out of the room, he didn't notice the most beautiful element. Standing on the balcony, he had a view of the vast blue waters....
Kai's room was situated in a very favourable location. You could observe both the City of Shadow and the endless expanse of water... It was just that from inside the circular room, it couldn't be seen.
- Eh... Elder Ovian really made a good choice... - Kai said, exhaling contentedly.
The scenery before his eyes was incredibly beautiful! Somehow, it just so happened that throughout his entire journey as a martial artist, Kai had cultivated without daylight... He was either in a stuffy room, a cave, or underground altogether! This was his first home to be this spacious and bright.
Breathing in a full breath, Kai was very pleased. After standing for a bit longer, he decided to go back inside.
Looking around a bit, Kai realised that the layout was quite comfortable. From the central circular room, there was access to 4 other rooms.
To the left was an expansive bedroom and bathroom with its own hot spring.
On the right, there was a room with an incredibly high quality energy gathering array and a room that was all covered in protective arrays. It was obvious that the former was for closed cultivation and the latter was most likely for experimentation.
Entering the latter room, Kai noticed that there was a small disc platform covered with an array near the entrance. He didn't bother to use it though, as he had already roughly figured out what it was for... Most likely, it was some sort of array to test his power.
- Hmm... Interesting... But first, I want to clean up and rest... - Kai said a bit lazily and walked out.
Right now Kai didn't care about his power tests... He wanted to get on with his research quickly. But now it was already late lunchtime, and it would start to get dark in a few hours.
'I'll rest tonight and head to the library at dawn tomorrow. Even without Alliance tokens and their fees... With the Reputation Points I got from Elder Ovian, I won't have a problem.' - Thought Kai as he headed for the bathroom.
.........
- This one might be interesting! - Kai said, looking at the bookshelf.
At that moment, it was already dark outside, and the lights of the city were shining through the windows. The room was quite bright, due to the glowing rocks and arrays. Kai decided not just to have a drink, but to read something in the background. But alas, there were only various fiction novels and nothing interesting....
Kai wanted to find something with useful information. When he already wanted to go to the table for a glass of wine, he noticed a book called 'Celestial Continent'. It became his favourite!
Sitting down on the couch, Kai refilled himself with some more wine and opened the book....
'Hmm... And so, let's begin...' - Said Kai in his mind.
While reading, he didn't come across much interesting information. Mostly, it talked about the different types of zones that existed on the continent. It talked about large deserts, dense forests, and more. But no specifics, just descriptions...
It was only towards the end that something useful appeared! Kai's eyes shone, and he continued reading....
'The Celestial Continent consists of three huge regions, named: 'Mysterious Sea Region', 'Wild Region', and 'Holy Region'.
The Wild Region occupies the entire north. The Mysterious Sea Region is located in the southeast. The Holy Region occupies the southwest.
There are many different forces controlling their territories, such as Sects, Family Clans, Countries, or others. But all of them, in one way or another, are subordinate to the main hegemons of the Heavenly Continent!
The Mysterious Sea Region is ruled by the Shadow Sect, the Sword Sect, and the Spiritual Fire Sect!
The Savage Region is led by a single Beast Possession Sect! It consists of an amalgamation of savages and beasts. Their territories are respectively called Savage Wasteland and Wild Beast Steppe!
The Holy Region is mainly ruled by the Holy Empire! But it is also home to the Temple of Sansara, which is located in the far west. The only way to get to it is to pass through the Holy Empire's territory!
Many people distinguish the Temple of Sansara as a completely separate force of Heavenly Content. It is a very remote and mysterious land, with incredibly powerful masters... It is said that they have not taken part in all the strife for thousands of years. They keep their distance from all other Sects in the Heavenly Continent.
The only people who have contact with them are the Holy Empire. And that's only because it's their neighbour.
Anyone who once expressed doubts about the power of the Temple of Sansara had a very bad ending. Some researchers of the Celestial Continent believe that they are the most powerful force in our world. They express the idea that we are very lucky that the Temple of Sansara never seeks conflict...' - Narrated the author of the book Kai was reading.
- Are there really so many amazing powers in our world... - Kai gave out shocked.