The taxi zoomed through the highways, making its way into the inner city and entering the merchant district. Billboards and advertisements were replaced by swarms of skyscrapers. Flying Drones with screens filled the sky, many displaying ArcticBlaze's recent win in the Silver League.
"This is insane," Thorne muttered. At some point, he had started browsing the net through his HUD.
"Just what World has ArcticBlaze dived into?" He opened a news article, tilting the screen slightly in my direction. "Look at this—Iron Heights, MCP, even the association has no idea where it is, only that it might be somewhere in the Red Zone. Even top rankers and several top guilds have tried to approach him to probe, but he hasn't said a word. Just who is this guy?"
I glanced lightly at the screen, reading the article's headline: Who is ArcticBlaze? "At least it's going to take him a while to become a problem for us," I said. "Who knows how many years it'll take us to dive back in and join the league."
Thorne shrugged. "I suppose you're right. Who knows, with all these superpowers going after him, they might even discover his secrets by then."
I nodded and turned towards the window, gazing at the buildings flying by.
It didn't take long to reach our destination. The taxi came to a halt on the side of the road, and both of us jumped out. In front of us stood a tall skyscraper with the logo of GEC and Nebula Nexus Exchange clustered at the top.
"Let's go," Thorne said, walking forward. I trailed behind as the doors automatically slid open for us to enter. Stepping inside, we strode towards the reception. There, Thorne talked to the receptionist and asked them to call someone.
It only took a couple of minutes before…
"Young Master Thorne, Young Master Vale," a voice called out to us. Turning around we saw a middle-aged woman with glasses running in our direction. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to receive you outside. I only just saw your message."
"It's fine, Lyra," Thorne spoke, trying to calm the panting woman. "We're just here to check about my order. It was supposed to arrive today, after all."
"Oh, that, please wait a moment" Lyra straightened her glasses, a series of numbers passed by in front of her eyes "Apologies, but that special order won't arrive until this evening. There were some issues at the World's boundary. If you're willing to wait, I'll send the package right to your residence."
"Oh, that's totally fine," Thorne replied. "I was actually expecting it to not be here yet." He brushed his hair back. "We were also hoping to check out some worlds for this guy, too," he added, pointing in my direction. "We're about to graduate in a couple of months, and he hasn't decided on a World yet."
At this, Lyra's demeanor shifted into that of a professional businesswoman. She looked at me and said, "I see. Please follow me. We just received a new shipment of World Coordinates a few weeks ago. I'm sure you'll find something to your liking." She turned and led us towards the elevator.
All of us stepped in, and Lyra pressed the button for the building's 52nd floor.
It didn't take more than a couple of seconds before the elevator doors opened to reveal a luxurious room. Walking inside, we sat down on the plush sofa in the center of the room while Lyra took a seat opposite us. At the same time, hordes of servants arrived with trays filled with refreshments.
Noticing that we were comfortable, Lyra tapped the glass table, and a holographic screen appeared above it, displaying a list of universes.
"As I mentioned earlier," Lyra began, "we received a new shipment recently. This catalog contains our most highly-tiered planes, reserved exclusively for our VIP customers."
I nodded. The Multiversal Transmigration Association claimed that with transmigration, anyone could have a great chance at a second life, but the truth was different. Even here, those from rich families always had an advantage, while those from poorer backgrounds had to take lifelong loans to buy even a low-tiered plane. The rich could easily buy the more precious and better ones—like the ones we are looking at now.
"Please take a look at this," Lyra spoke, clicking on one of the floating universes. "A high-tiered plane located in the Yellow Zone."
"The world is set in a cultivation setting. Here, you'll be transmigrated into the body of an orphan," Lyra explained.
"An orphan?" Thorne interrupted, his eyes narrowing.
"I understand your skepticism, Master Thorne, but look at this." Lyra's screen morphed into the image of an 8-year-old boy lying unconscious on a straw mat. "This boy's name is Zhao Yun," she paused, "he belonged to the Great Zhao Family before it was destValed by rival families. He was the sole survivor."
She zoomed in further, highlighting the boy's spiritual veins. "He contains the bloodline of the Divine Sky Dragon, one of the great mythical beasts present in this world. If you inhabit this boy's body and cultivate even sparingly, no one can stop you from reaching the top of this world."
Looking at the collapsed figure of the young boy, I couldn't help but sigh. "How much time does he have?"
"From our estimates, he should pass away in a couple of days. However, considering the time dilation factor, you can dive in anywhere between the start of next month and the spring of next year. Plus, the world's relative time will slow at a rate of 4:1 for 12 years. So, only four years would pass by the time you're 20, giving you ample time to grow strong before you participate in the league."
I sat silent for a while, slowly contemplating. The World was undoubtedly promising, and the potential for growth was immense. But… Looking at Thorne's figure beside me. "Show me something else."