Void Cultivation

Although the city had improved by a considerable margin compared to the last time Grey had been here, Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were still highly respected within its borders. Most of the cultivators gathered in the surrounding region were still low-level cultivators, and naturally, the strongest among them would congregate in a city of this size.

The city was therefore far more crowded than the surrounding areas, and Grey did not intend to attract unnecessary attention.

Although they possessed the young girl’s token, Grey did not want to rely on it too much. The token could certainly make things more convenient, but relying on it every time they encountered an obstacle would only make him careless.

Besides, there was no need to reveal their identities when they could avoid it.

A short while later, both Grey and the young girl descended from the sky.

Their feet touched the ground almost silently, and no one in the vicinity noticed their arrival. Without wasting any time, the two calmly donned their disguises, concealing their appearances and auras before proceeding toward the teleportation area.

Neither of them spoke as they walked.

Grey’s expression remained indifferent, but his eyes occasionally swept across the surroundings, quietly observing the cultivators and the changes within the city.

He had not expected to return here so soon.

Yet, compared to the emotions that had briefly surfaced when he first saw the city, his heart was now surprisingly calm.

Whatever this place had once meant to him, it was no longer enough to disturb his state of mind.

At least, that was what Grey told himself as he continued walking toward the teleportation area.

"Is Glory City familiar to you?" the young girl asked in a curious voice as she watched Grey stare at the city for a few more seconds.

However, after a while, his nonchalant expression returned, and his eyes gradually became colder.

"Let’s go," Grey said before heading towards the city.

Although the city had improved by a long shot, Foundation Establishment realm cultivators were still highly respected here. And considering the number of low-level cultivators in the surrounding area, it was obvious that many of them would eventually gather in a place like this.

Although they had the young girl’s token, Grey did not want to rely on it too much. Hence, after their feet touched the ground without anyone noticing, they calmly donned their disguises before heading towards the teleportation area.

Glory City was much larger than the last city they had come from. Finding the relocation area itself would not be difficult. However, the distance between their current location and the teleportation area was considerable.

More importantly, they wanted to leave in a low-key manner.

If they simply revealed their cultivation and rushed through the city, they would inevitably attract unnecessary attention. There was no reason to create trouble when they could simply walk there like ordinary people.

As soon as they began walking down the streets, Grey and the young girl, whose name he had later learned was Iria, saw many unfamiliar sights.

Since Glory City was much larger in both size and population, the number of buildings and people was naturally far greater. Although it was still nowhere near the level of Sky Mist City, it was gradually approaching that standard.

Grey and Iria saw many buildings with strange and unusual shapes scattered throughout the city. Some were homes, while others served as inns, taverns, shops, and various other establishments.

There were even some buildings that seemed to have been constructed from materials Grey had never seen before.

Moreover, a large portion of the city’s population consisted of mundane humans who simply lived their lives as they normally would.

They walked through the streets, carried goods, entered shops, conversed with one another, and hurried towards their destinations.

To an outsider, Glory City might even seem peaceful.

But Grey could sense the underlying danger.

Due to the thick, dark clouds covering the sky, there was barely any sunlight reaching the streets. Everything was perpetually gloomy, as though the city itself was trapped beneath an endless layer of darkness.

The atmosphere was oppressive.

People walked quickly, rarely stopping for too long. Some appeared eager to reach their destinations, while others constantly glanced around with anxious expressions.

It was as though everyone was subconsciously aware that lingering in the wrong place for too long could bring them trouble.

The first cultivators Grey sensed were in the Qi Accumulation realm.

However, these cultivators were nothing more than vagabonds who lurked in the dark corners of alleys and between buildings.

Their cultivation levels were not particularly high. In fact, they were weak by Grey’s standards.

But to ordinary people, these cultivators possessed enough strength to end their lives with ease.

Hence, whenever there was a scene involving a cultivator, very few people were willing to get involved.

Grey and Iria saw several scenes of cultivators oppressing ordinary people as they walked through the city.

However, the people passing by did not say a single word.

They merely quickened their pace and continued towards their destinations, pretending that they had seen nothing.

The victims would either be beaten and robbed or used for whatever purposes the cultivator deemed fit.

No one stepped forward to help.

No one even dared to look for too long.

This was life for the citizens of Glory City.

And it had been like this ever since God arrived and changed the lives of everyone in the world.

The strong survived, while the weak were either killed or used by the strong.

It was a natural rule that everyone had gradually come to accept.

Even Grey.

He did not approve of it, but he understood it.

This was simply the reality of the world they lived in.

As they continued walking, Grey suddenly saw a figure flash across the street before appearing directly in front of them.

It was a haggard, disheveled man with a wicked expression on his face.

A woman’s scream rang out from the dark corner behind him before being abruptly muted.

The man had one hand tightly wrapped around the young woman’s neck as he dragged her out from the alley. Her face was filled with terror and fear, while her body trembled uncontrollably.

She had delicate features, made even more noticeable by her long brown hair that cascaded down her back.

Such an appearance would naturally incite the lust of the vagabonds who possessed enough cultivation to prey on ordinary people without fear.

The moment the man got his hands on her, he squeezed her neck tightly, preventing her from making any more noise.

However, before he could drag her farther into the alley, he suddenly stopped in front of Grey and Iria.

"Huh? What are you looking at?"

His hoarse voice was filled with bloodlust as he stared directly at Grey.

However, when his gaze drifted towards Iria, he froze for a moment.

A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes when he saw her attractive appearance.

For an instant, his gaze lingered on her.

But instead of acting on his impulses, the man’s instincts suddenly kicked in.

His eyes narrowed into small slits as he carefully examined the two people standing before him.

He felt a strange chill coming from them.

Especially Grey.

The cold gaze being directed at him made his entire body feel slightly uncomfortable. It was not the gaze of an ordinary person.

The man’s instincts screamed at him to stay away.

In the end, he listened to them.

"Hmph. Better get going before I give you what’s coming."

The haggard fellow snorted coldly. He retracted his gaze from them before turning around and disappearing into the dark alley from which he had emerged.

Only after he left did Iria finally react.

Her face had turned a faint shade of pink, and she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed by what had just happened.

"Is this your first time coming to a place like this?" Grey asked after a while.

They continued walking as if nothing had happened.

The people constantly shuffling through the streets also paid no attention to the brief encounter between them. It was as though the incident had never happened at all.

"Um, I-i..."

The young girl spoke hesitantly, her voice filled with reluctance.

It was obvious that she had never been in such a situation before.

And if the man had actually attempted something, she wouldn’t have known how to react.

After all, despite the fact that he was a cultivator, in her eyes, he was no different from an ordinary human whom she could kill with the flick of a finger.

She had lived most of her life in Sky Mist City.

Although her cultivation was relatively high, she had never actually killed another human being.

The only things she had hunted were mutated creatures and grotesque abominations.

The experience of dealing with another human being was completely different.

Grey was not surprised in the slightest by her reaction.

"This is not the Sect," he said calmly. "We are in a foreign city where the rules are different, and so are the people."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"If you get into a fight, make sure you end it as quickly as possible. Better yet, avoid fighting altogether. The less attention you attract, the better."

Grey’s voice was calm, but there was an underlying seriousness in his words.

"This is the only way to survive in this world."

Hearing his words, the young girl couldn’t help biting her bottom lip.

This was not how she had expected the journey to go.

Although it had barely been a few hours since they left the Sect, the direction things were heading was completely different from what she had imagined.

She had thought they would simply travel through several cities, perhaps encounter a few interesting things, and eventually reach their destination.

She had not expected to see such cruelty so quickly.

"I-i... understand. I’ll try to avoid a fight next time," the girl said in a low voice as she slightly bowed her head.

Grey, who was walking beside her, nodded slightly.

However, his attention was already elsewhere.

His expression remained completely indifferent as he continued walking.

But deep within his mind, another thought had already formed.

’Go find that man and kill him.’

Grey gave the silent command to his Shadow the moment they turned a corner and his shadow overlapped with one of the street lamps.

The instant they passed it, Grey’s shadow detached from his body.

It slid silently across the pavement like a living creature, moving through the darkness before heading towards the alley where the haggard individual had disappeared.

Its movements were so subtle that no one noticed anything unusual.

Grey continued walking normally.

No one observed that he no longer had a shadow following behind him.

Not even Iria, who was walking directly beside him, noticed anything strange.

The connection between Grey and his Shadow remained clear within his mind.

Through that connection, he could faintly sense its movements as it advanced through the alleyways, following the traces left behind by the haggard man.

The Shadow moved deeper into the darkness.

It quickly tracked down the man who had blocked their path earlier.

The man’s cultivation was too low to detect the Shadow approaching him.

He had no idea that death was already creeping towards him from the darkness.

A few seconds later, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from the dark alley.

Then, silence returned.

Grey’s expression did not change.

He continued walking beside Iria, his steps remaining steady as they made their way towards the teleportation area.