Chapter 124: Manipulation? Return
As they traveled, the two chatted continuously, and Tang Wen began to form a general impression of Sanlian City.
There, Martial Artists still reigned supreme.
It just had more city laws and a law enforcement department to keep Martial Artists from doing whatever they pleased.
Gunpowder weapons were becoming prevalent in Sanlian City. The average person would never see one, but basically every member of the major families and law enforcement departments was issued one.
The silver revolvers packed a considerable punch.
They posed a definite threat to anyone below the Gangwu Realm—that is, below Queen Level.
To put it simply, they could injure an Extraordinary and kill a Martial Artist.
Additionally, Sanlian City had textile mills and clothing shops. The major factions had private tailors, and people were expected to be clean and presentable when they went out.
There were restaurants of all sizes, so you could eat whatever you wanted. Hot pot and barbecue were the most popular.
Ordinary people lived in three or four-story buildings.
The tallest building in the city, however, was dozens of stories high and was called the White Stone Mansion.
As for water, a utility company supplied running water to many areas.
Although Bai You Ruo didn’t say so outright, Tang Wen understood that "many areas" likely meant the wealthy districts and the residential areas for Martial Artists.
The slums were definitely not included.
People used gas canisters for cooking at home.
For transportation, there were large public carriages—the kind that ran on tracks...
He took the previous revelations in stride, but upon hearing this, Tang Wen asked in surprise, "Public carriages?"
"Yes, it’s a type of carriage on tracks, much like a steam train, but it’s pulled by one to three Low-level Exotic Beasts harnessed to the front!"
Miss Bai the Elder was secretly surprised by what had caught his attention. ’He was completely unfazed when I mentioned all those other novelties before.’
’So why the big reaction to public carriages?’
Tang Wen sighed internally. ’I wonder what the "world-ending disaster" really was.’
’Was civilization really wiped out that thoroughly?’
’Logically, with the prowess of Martial Artists, they should have excavated the ruins of the past civilization long ago.’
’How is it that after all this time, they still haven’t even figured out electricity?’
Miss Bai the Elder continued to describe the prosperity of Sanlian City and its many advanced marvels.
"We have music boxes that can play music... you know, the sounds that come from harmonicas and erhus."
"I see," Tang Wen said, his expression placid, but his thoughts were a complex mix.
’For civilization to be wiped out so completely... it just didn’t seem right.’
He asked, "Since the Bai Family has exploration teams, do you know what really happened during the world-ending disaster?"
"Well..." Bai You Ruo looked troubled. "Actually, I don’t know much myself. The scholars all have their own theories. Some think it was a war, others a natural disaster, and some believe it was an accident, something like the gods wiping out the world."
"I see." Tang Wen nodded, looking as though he took her explanation seriously.
But deep down, he didn’t think any of the three theories were plausible.
’What kind of war could completely erase all traces of a civilization?’
’Not even a nuclear war!’
’With so many fallout shelters and absurdly powerful Martial Artists, someone had to have survived, right?’
’The rebuilding of civilization should have started from a high baseline and recovered quickly.’
’They should at least have electricity and heavy machinery.’
’It absolutely shouldn’t be like this, where hundreds of years—who even knows how many—have passed, yet life around the camps is still practically prehistoric.’
’The natural disaster theory was even more ridiculous. Floods, flash floods, earthquakes, forest fires... they can destroy a city, but wipe out an entire civilization?’
’As for the gods wiping out the world... Tang Wen mulled it over. Actually, that one, the most ridiculous-sounding theory, was perhaps the only one that could explain the destruction of every single civilized corner of the world precisely because it was unknowable.’
"Does Sanlian City believe in gods?" he couldn’t help but ask.
Flame Camp didn’t believe in gods.
At least, it had no temples or idols.
At most, the farmers might bow to the vague and unknowable Heaven.
"Martial Artists like us, of course, don’t believe in such things. The surrounding villages, however, believe in the Dragon King." Bai You Ruo chuckled. "During a drought like this, the farmers will pray to the Dragon King. But if it doesn’t rain after half a month and their crops die, they’ll drag the Dragon King’s statue out of its temple, leave it to bake in the sun, and whip it..."
Tang Wen nodded slightly. ’Ah, I’m familiar with this routine. Worship it when it works, beat it when it doesn’t.’
The ones in power in Sanlian City were Martial Artists.
Since the Martial Artists didn’t believe in gods, no powerful religious sect could ever flourish relying on commoners alone.
After a few more exchanges, Miss Bai steered the conversation back to Martial Arts.
"I heard that Flame Camp practices the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist?"
"We do. And what Cultivation Technique do you practice, Miss Bai?"
"My family’s Ice Soul Technique," Bai You Ruo said. "It’s a shame I’m not an Extraordinary yet. Otherwise, traveling in this scorching heat wouldn’t be so unbearable."
Tang Wen asked a few more questions about Cultivation Techniques.
A thought struck Bai You Ruo. ’So he’s passionate about Martial Arts Training.’
She said, "Ordinary Visualization Techniques can only take you to the Gangwu Realm, which is the same Realm as your Queen."
Tang Wen already knew this; the camp’s Cultivation Technique only went up to the Gangwu Realm, the level of an Extraordinary’s second awakening.
Beyond that, there were no techniques left to practice.
However, he wasn’t even an Extraordinary yet, so there was no need to worry about such a distant problem.
Bai You Ruo said, "Sanlian City has over a hundred Martial Arts Halls, and every single one possesses Visualization Martial Arts. Fists, feet, palms, all eighteen types of classical weapons, Hidden Weapons—they have everything you could imagine. They even have Spiritual Secret Techniques."
Once you become an Extraordinary, you can learn Spiritual Secret Techniques.
"Can you just pay to learn them?" Tang Wen pressed.
"For ordinary Visualization Martial Arts, you just need to become an Inner Sect Disciple. But for some of the secret techniques, you need to become one of their own—a Direct Disciple—before you can learn them!"
Tang Wen nodded. "I understand. But what exactly does ’becoming one of their own’ entail?"
"Every faction, every Martial Arts Hall, has enemies."
"I see!"
’So,’ Tang Wen thought, ’Sanlian City is a metropolis composed of countless Martial Artist factions.’
’And the methods of interaction between these major factions are still quite primitive and direct.’
’Even with the city’s regulations, assassination and duels are probably the primary ways they compete with each other.’
Tang Wen stroked the Sand Wolf beneath him. ’How is that any different from Exotic Beasts fighting over territory?’
Seeing his pensive expression, Bai You Ruo’s smile grew even brighter.
Over the past two days, she had learned from the other Guards that Tang Wen was a young genius.
He was not yet eighteen, could unleash his power dozens of times, and had even defeated a First-class Martial Artist!
A record like that, even in Sanlian City, was more than enough to earn him the title of "genius."
And that was with the Guards not even knowing the full picture; if they knew he was actually only sixteen...
...Miss Bai the Elder, who prided herself on being a worldly woman from the big city, would likely have been shocked speechless.
Seeing that Tang Wen was interested in Martial Arts, Bai You Ruo seized the opportunity to tell him more.
The earnest way Tang Wen listened...
...made her feel she had at least a thirty to forty percent chance of poaching him and turning him into an asset.
"If you ask me, the ordinary Martial Arts Halls and gangs, with all their constant fighting and killing, are no place to be. Our Bai Family, on the other hand, is desperate for talent and welcomes all Martial Artists to join."
A glint flashed in Tang Wen’s eyes as he keenly recognized a familiar tactic: dangling a carrot.
’Well, I’ll be damned,’ he thought. ’It’s been a while since someone’s tried to dangle a carrot like that in front of me!’
’Don’t tell me the Bai Family of Sanlian City are capitalists?’
Bai You Ruo continued, "Our Bai Family, besides our own Ice Division’s Ultimate Skill, also possesses several core cultivation methods from the Fire Division and the Thunder Department."
Tang Wen’s eyes lit up. He flashed a brilliant, toothy smile, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on her pretty face.
He looked just like a pretty-boy gym trainer telling a rich female member that he didn’t want to struggle anymore!
"If a genius like Commander Tang Wen were to join us, you would certainly have the opportunity to break through the Gang Martial Realm!"
"Really?" Tang Wen grinned.
"Of course!"
’He’s hooked!’
’Geniuses from the barren lands really are easy to fool!’
But Tang Wen’s smile dazed Bai You Ruo for a moment, and she felt a strange pang of disappointment. ’And here I was, planning on using a honey trap!’
"Past the outpost up ahead, it’s just a little farther to Flame Camp."
A little over an hour later, Bai You Ruo arrived at the gates of Flame Camp.
As soon as she entered, she discovered that this place was indeed different from other camps.
The ground was clean, and the people’s clothes were relatively neat.
Guards patrolled the town, but the common folk didn’t have to avoid them, walking the streets with casual expressions.
She exchanged a glance with her two female companions, sighing to herself. ’This tiny camp on the Northwestern Border actually has some resemblance to Sanlian City.’
Upon entering the Inner City, she saw wide roads, tidy stone houses, and even a few scattered shops along the streets.
The three women took it all in, finding it all quite novel.