Chapter 328: The Holy Maiden of Tianyu Daochang! Sakura Rin!

Seeing this desolate continent meant they were not far from Hokkaido.

Just over three hours later, a modern port glittering with lights appeared before their eyes.

"We're finally here! Throughout this journey, I kept worrying some eighth-rank Beast King would show up—thankfully, no more fear now."

"Who says otherwise? Lucky for us."

At sea, everything depends on luck.

As the port neared, the psychics on deck relaxed and began chatting and laughing.

Yet Lin Hui and Lu Heng remained somewhat gloomy.

During the nearly twelve-hour voyage, beast clusters such as the Flying Sea Swordfish had appeared more than three or four times.

But each time, Xu Jingming slaughtered them all, leaving not a single beast for the two of them.

Relatively speaking, Lu Heng felt a bit better about it.

After all, he was a强化系 psychic, whose attack range was naturally shorter than fire or lightning users.

Even if Xu Jingming hadn't acted, he couldn't have killed many himself.

But Lin Hui was different—he'd been robbed of kills by a psychic one rank lower than himself.

He couldn't help but feel deeply irritated.

Yet as a member of the Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy's Elite Training Camp, he still had some grace.

"Brother, your lightning psychic ability is impressive—mind if we get acquainted? I'm Lin Hui from the Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy's Elite Training Camp."

Lin Hui appeared before Xu Jingming, smiling brightly.

"Su Chen." Xu Jingming gave a slight nod.

"Su Chen? Great name! Are you from the Su family of Anhui Province?"

"No, a lone-wolf psychic." Xu Jingming replied.

The Su family of Anhui Province was a ninth-rank Wu Sheng clan renowned throughout Greater Xia.

Ling Shuang's vice-principal had forged his identity without linking it to them.

"Oh?" Lin Hui was surprised.

A lone-wolf psychic meant one who had joined no faction.

Such psychics were already rare in Greater Xia.

Not to mention this one seemed to possess an unusually exceptional talent in attack range.

"Lone-wolf psychics have it hard, Brother Su—you should consider Teacher Qin's suggestion.

After returning home, try taking the entrance exam for our training camp. With a major faction behind you, everything becomes easier."

Lin Hui couldn't help but offer this well-intentioned advice.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I have no such plans for now." Xu Jingming replied briefly.

Lin Hui paused slightly, realizing Xu Jingming had no intention of continuing the conversation.

I must've overestimated my own importance.

He scoffed inwardly and didn't linger to embarrass himself further:

"In that case, I won't disturb you any longer."

With a smile, he turned and walked back toward the martial arts academy's group.

Nearby, the rest of the Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy members who had witnessed the entire exchange were subtly displeased.

"What's his attitude? Everyone says our training camp is arrogant, but he's even more so!"

"Yeah, it's just an entrance exam—he acts like we're forcing him into something."

"True—he's just got a longer range. Who knows if he'll even pass the real entrance exam?"

"......"

Seeing them grow increasingly excessive, Lin Hui frowned:

"Lone-wolf psychics are naturally reclusive—don't say so much."

"Lin Ge, you're just too easygoing."

"True..."

Since Lin Hui himself had no objection, the others of Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy said nothing further...

"Under your full escort, the Lang Jing has safely arrived at the port.

Here is an anonymous Sakura Nation bank card with sixty million Sakura yen—equivalent to three million Greater Xia yuan—the password is six zeros.

Now, wish you all a pleasant stay in Sakura Nation..."

The Lang Jing soon docked at the Hokkaido port.

Every psychic on deck, including Xu Jingming, received a Sakura Nation bank card.

Of course,

those who had retreated early into the cabin got nothing.

"Hokkaido! Finally here!" Xu Jingming tucked the bank card into his space ring.

Standing on deck, Xu Jingming gazed at the city ahead.

It was nine p. m.; the sky was pitch black, yet the city blazed with light.

The area near the port was especially bustling.

In the distance, he could even see many buildings and shops distinctly characteristic of Sakura Nation.

"The entrance to Civilization Ruin No. 9 is in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido—still some distance from the port.

Need to get there by vehicle quickly..."

After briefly admiring the scenery, Xu Jingming quickly turned away and descended the ship.

Although the Sakura Country's national territory was only half of what it once was, this remaining half had been managed very well.

All kinds of supporting facilities had been built very thoroughly in place.

The Asahikawa City that Xu Jingming was heading to could be reached by an express train that ran non-stop for 24 hours from the city on the port side.

So, just two hours later, he arrived at Asahikawa City, hundreds of kilometers away.

And he checked into the hotel that Vice Principal Hearing Ling Shuang had booked for him long ago.

After a simple check of the room and confirming there were no problems, Xu Jingming went downstairs.

This was his first time abroad; it would be inexcusable not to wander around and experience the exotic atmosphere.

"Good day, Mr."

"Take care on your way, Mr."

To prevent any sudden situations, Xu Jingming did not take off his S-rank battle suit.

So, from leaving the hotel room to walking out of the hotel, he could see the staff greet him respectfully with a ninety-degree bow.

Even after leaving the hotel and walking on the sidewalk, he could clearly see the respect the passersby had for him.

Passersby opposite him didn't even dare meet his eyes directly; when the two parties met, they would bow slightly and walk past from the side.

As if afraid of displeaseing him......

"The class consciousness of Sakura Country seems to be even stronger than I imagined." Xu Jingming murmured inwardly.

The encounter a hundred years ago left an indelible, painful impression on Sakura Country.

Toward ability users who possessed extraordinary power, ordinary citizens were simply too respectful.

If in Great Xia, ability users were merely people above people,

then in Sakura Country, ability users could be said to be a weakened version of the Heavenly Dragons!

Even killing someone not too excessively didn't require finding any excuse.

"Although such a society is good for ability users, for ordinary people, it's a bit too cruel."

After a silent sigh in his heart, Xu Jingming continued walking along the street.

With no particular destination, he just casually looked around.

Suddenly, a building caught his attention.

It was a tower over thirty stories high, cylindrical in overall shape.

Around the tower, armed soldiers and ability-user squads patrolled back and forth.

But what drew Xu Jingming's particular attention was neither the height of the tower nor the tight security.

It was the huge patterns carved on the outer walls of the entire tower, which seemed to depict the deities of Sakura Country.

Under the illumination of the lights, they radiated an extremely brilliant, dreamlike brilliance.

"This is the main building of Sakura Country's Tianyu Dojo; they love this style of architecture."

Yiwa's voice explained softly in his ear, "A dojo in Sakura Country is actually equivalent to our martial arts hall."

"I've seen it on the internet too." Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

Unlike Great Xia's Lei Ting Martial Arts Hall and Furious Bear Martial Arts Hall competing with each other, Sakura Country had only one Tianyu Dojo.

Nearly a small half of all the strong individuals in the entire Sakura Country came from this Tianyu Dojo.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it could cover the sky with one hand.

"Vroom~~~"

Suddenly, accompanied by a low engine roar.

A luxurious motorcade drove over from afar and finally stopped at the entrance of the Tianyu Dojo tower.

Immediately, the soldiers and ability-user squads around the tower dispersed at once.

Under the guard of several bodyguards in black suits with thick, powerful auras, a young woman stepped out of the first sports car.

The woman wore a black-and-red blouse paired with a pure-black pleated short skirt, setting off a tall, full chest and slender, rounded legs.

A head of smooth black hair obediently draped over her shoulders, with the rest falling loosely down her back.

The bodyguards blocked the view, so her face couldn't be seen, but her figure alone was enough to draw the attention of many men.

And her outfit also reminded Xu Jingming of the high school girls in school uniforms he had seen when taking the express train earlier.

But unlike those high school girls, this girl faintly emanated a terrifyingly powerful aura!

Her level felt to be at least above fifth rank!

"A student of Tianyu Dojo? How could she be this strong?" Xu Jingming was secretly astonished.

The woman didn't look very old, only around twenty-three or twenty-four.

If all the students of Tianyu Dojo were this strong, how could Sakura Country have fallen to becoming someone else's vassal?

"She's no ordinary student of Tianyu Dojo. This person is named Sakuragi Rin.

She is an S-rank ability awakener who appeared in Sakura Country seven years ago, possessing the special summoning-type S-rank ability 'Shikigami Awakening.'

Fifth rank, lower position, and is currently the leading figure of the younger generation at Tianyu Dojo.

She is also called within Tianyu Dojo... the Holy Maiden."

Yiwa's crisp voice lingered in his ear.