Chapter 1852: Longsheng City
Another passageway manifested before Half Saint Zangling. On the other side of the gate was an incomparably bustling and prosperous city.
Although Longsheng City was an Inner Domain, it was unlike any Inner Domain they had visited before.
"This place... it's brimming with vitality, with life."
Fang Chen's gaze turned slightly solemn.
If he had to describe it, it was as if Longsheng City were blessed by nature, a domain that had formed organically. The other domains, by contrast, Inner Domains felt more like simple cultivation abodes.
Longsheng City's master was Saint Longsheng, the expert stationed by the Qingming Supreme Alliance. The fact that his Inner Domain possessed such an atmosphere indirectly proved just how immensely powerful and unfathomable he was.
The people who had never been to Longsheng City were stunned by the grandeur of the blurry image at the end of the gateway.
Is this really just an Inner Domain?
Meanwhile, Fang Han was completely shaken. He stared at the scene before him in shock, muttering, "Longsheng City is a hundred times bigger than Zanglong City.... Even Xie Zhi cannot compare to it in the slightest...."
At that moment, Half Saint Zangling's ethereal voice rang out beside everyone's ears. "We have arrived."
She was the first to step into the gate, walking toward the end. Everyone from the Fang Clan and the Wandao Alliance followed in an orderly fashion, led by Fang Qianxue and Qin Baichuan, and walked through the passageway behind Half Saint Zangling.
Fang Chen felt as if he were walking in some kind of extremely dense water. It felt soft and yielding beneath his feet. With every step everyone took, Longsheng City seemed to grow a bit larger in their eyes. Before they knew it, they had already appeared before the magnificent city gates.
Someone turned around to look behind them, but the passageway was nowhere to be found. Before they knew it, they had left Half Saint Zangling's Inner Domain and arrived at Saint Longsheng's Inner Domain.
There were many others just like them.
The crowd felt as if they had merely spaced out for a brief moment. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of figures appeared in the vicinity. They had also come from various Inner Domains, each led by a Half Saint.
For divine ability users who had never been to Longsheng City, this was practically the first time they had ever seen so many Half Saints gathered together in one place. Yet judging by the scale of the Saint Tower Battle, these Half Saints were merely a tiny fraction of the total.
The number of Half Saints who had already arrived, together with those who were still on the way, was bound to be astronomical, borderline unimaginable.
Half Saint Zangling was clearly not a first-time visitor to Longsheng City. She led the team at a slow pace toward the city gates to register their names and collect their identity tokens for the Saint Tower Battle, appearing highly practiced in the routine.
Every single divine ability user participating in the Saint Tower Battle was allocated an identity token. The person responsible for the registration stood around ten feet tall. Looking down from above at the petite human divine ability users, he said calmly, "Do not lose your identity tokens. You will need them to enter the Saint Tower, as well as to concede and leave it."
Half Saint Zangling nodded. "Understood."
"Mhm, you may enter now."
Similar scenes continuously unfolded all around them, with foreign Half Saints smoothly leading their clansmen into Longsheng City one after another.
After watching the human race enter the city, the ten-foot-tall divine ability user suddenly smiled at a subordinate helping alongside him. "The human race? Have they been here before? Why don't I have any impression of them at all? They possess a mere ten Saints, meaning their race only has ten Supreme Bones. With that kind of aptitude, what sort of combat strength can they possibly have?"
The subordinate smiled obsequiously and said, "My lord, they are likely a race that has only recently broken free from slave status. I have not heard of them before either. However, it is possible they participated in previous iterations of the Saint Tower Battle as well. Their results were probably so abysmal that it left you with absolutely no impression."
"That must be it. A minor race like this might suddenly be wiped from existence. There is no need to bother remembering them."
The ten-foot-tall divine ability user shook his head slightly before continuing to register and distribute identity tokens for the next team.
The conversation drifted on the wind into the ears of the humans. Although they felt somewhat angry, they were also dispirited. Those two weren't exactly wrong. The human race was simply too young.
Although they held dominion over the Nether Ruins, when placed within the vast Divine Realm, stronger races were everywhere. They truly amounted to nothing at all. It was no wonder everyone was treating them like a joke.
Fang Chen was quick to notice how dispirited Fang Han and the others were by the conversation, yet also unwilling to accept it. Their emotions were complicated.
He himself felt little reaction. He was well aware of the human race's situation among the Divine Realm's races. They had merely been mocked. No one was actually actively targeting them. The situation was already quite good.
Compared to humanity during the Nether Ruins era, the foundations of the human race during the Nine Realm era had truly been pitifully weak.
Half Saint Zangling didn't show any reaction either. She continued leading everyone through the heavily congested streets of Longsheng City. Gradually, everyone's emotions were diverted by the local customs and people of this place. That was mainly because there were simply far too many foreign races coming here for the Saint Tower Battle. So many that they were completely overwhelmed trying to take it all in.
Aside from the Flame Race, humanity's knowledge regarding other foreign races was rather limited, coming only from intelligence reports. They had rarely interacted with them in person. But now, with a casual glance, they saw all kinds of different races. They all brimmed with fighting spirits, their auras robust and powerful. None seemed any weaker than they were!
Soon, the procession arrived before a massive inn.
Fang Chen noticed how far this inn was from the center of Longsheng City. However, with humanity's situation, they had no other choice but to settle on the outskirts of Longsheng City. If they headed to the center and crossed paths with powerful races they couldn't afford to offend, they could invite disaster.
"Every time we participate in the Saint Tower Battle, we will stay at this very inn," said Half Saint Zangling. "After checking in, if you have nothing else to do, remain in your rooms and wait for the Saint Tower Battle to start. Try not to wander around outside.
As she said that, she cast a deliberate glance toward Fang Chen. It seemed she felt Fang Chen simply enjoyed wandering all over the place, which was why she went out of her way to signal him.
With that, Half Saint Zangling led everyone into the inn and called over an attendant to handle the check-in process.
Fang Chen saw Fang Qianxue take out a sum of immortal crystals and hand them over to Half Saint Zangling, who then paid the inn attendant. Before long, the check-in procedures for everyone were thoroughly finalized, one room per person.
Fang Chen received his room token and was just about to head upstairs when he spotted another group of people walking in from outside.
Several Half Saints were leading them. They included Half Saint Wang and Half Saint Shi, whom Fang Chen had previously seen at the Chaoxian Tower. Among them, he caught sight of Wang Chongsong looking around in all directions.
Half Saint Wang and the others spotted Half Saint Zangling, and their eyes lit up. They brought their people over.
After the few Half Saints conversed for a brief while, Half Saint Wang and the others cupped their hands toward Half Saint Zangling, then turned around and marched away with large strides. The people they had brought along, however, were left in the care of Half Saint Zangling.
Wang Chongsong swept his gaze around and immediately came over to Fang Chen and Fang Han. Looking excitedly at the scene within the lobby, he said, "Old Fang, I figured you might be coming along this time as well."
He gushed, "Even if we don't secure a ranking this time, the trip will really have been worth it! I've really broadened my horizons. In this short time, I've already seen over a hundred foreign races!"