Chapter 91: Cultivation Academy

To this, Dai Meng naturally had no objections; he had long stated that as long as his former teammates called, he would immediately resign his post and accompany them to embark on the adventure journey once more.

In comparison, Fu Fu Lamei had quite a few concerns.

She felt Old Vol would suspect Dai Meng's loyalty because of this, worrying that Dai Meng abandoning his post would create a rift between him and her father.

But facts proved Fu Fu Lamei overthought it; making Dai Meng serve as their vanguard was a suggestion given by Lin Yu.

Old Vol not only offered not the slightest opposition, but even before they departed, instructed Dai Meng to be sure to protect Fu Fu Lamei.

Thus, the trio set out on their journey five years ago, becoming Lin Yu's private slave-hunting squad.

During these five years, they returned to Spine Peak City several times, bringing Lin Yu a large number of test subjects, among whom demons were the majority, human villains second, while elves and dwarves were not a single one found.

This was not because elves and dwarves were so noble, but because their own numbers were far too scarce.

After five years of traveling, Fu Fu Lamei and the others had only encountered two dwarf villages, making it impossible to find suitable targets.

Returning to the matter at hand, hearing Frieren's words, Dai Meng smiled and said, "That is indeed true; my lord also said that the hot pot of Blazing Magma has the most Sichuan flavor..."

Frieren asked in confusion, "Sichuan flavor?"

Dai Meng shook his head and said, "Those were my lord's exact words; as for what they specifically mean, I am also unclear."

Fu Fu Lamei actually knew, but since she had no interest in spicy food, she instead said with great enthusiasm, "I heard from the Immortal Clan people we met before that the Moonlight Window in the Inner City recently launched a new signature dish; why not go try it?"

"The Moonlight Window?"

Dai Meng shook his head and said, "That place's prices are too expensive; in comparison, I prefer the Dragon Stomach."

Fu Fu Lamei raised an eyebrow and asked, "The first buffet restaurant in Spine Peak City?"

Dai Meng's eyes shone brightly as he said, "Exactly; for just nine crystal coins per person, there are unlimited grilled meat chops. Before I resigned, I most liked going to the Dragon Stomach to dine with the brothers from the City Lord's Guard..."

The three chatted about topics related to food while walking toward Spine Peak City.

Before long, they arrived beneath the outer city wall, which was the North Gate among the eight city gates.

At this time, the area outside the gate was already packed with people.

Caravans from all corners of the world stopped here, lining up obediently with the many people wanting to enter the city.

At the end of the queue, dozens of soldiers fully clad in armor waited before the gate, checking the identities of those entering one by one; only after confirming everything was correct could they be allowed into the city.

Of course, these procedures applied only to first-time entrants.

For those caravans that had established long-term cooperative relationships with Spine Peak City, and for distinguished guests of Spine Peak City like Fu Fu Lamei, there were naturally even more time-saving special routes.

Soon, Fu Fu Lamei and the other two bypassed the long dragon and arrived beneath the North Gate.

There, two small gates existed on either side of the North Gate; calling them small gates was only relative to the North Gate; in fact, both of these doors stood fifteen meters high and could accommodate two Ground Dragon caravans entering side by side...

On these two side gates, a relief carving of a one-horned giant beast was engraved respectively.

When Fu Fu Lamei stood before the gate, the gemstone-embedded eyeballs on the relief immediately burst forth with light, projecting two blue beams of light that shone upon the alchemical wristwatch on her wrist.

In an instant, the city gate rumbled open, and a slightly mechanical voice emerged from the relief.

"Salutations to the distinguished guest of Spine Peak City, holder of the Construction Medal, Honorary Advisor of the Demon-Hunting Squad, Honorary Citizen of Spine Peak City, Dragon-Slaying Warrior... Fu Fu Lamei, my lord! Welcome your arrival!"

The slightly mechanical voice echoed outside the city gate, immediately causing exclamations from many of those entering.

The guards responsible for inspection were also startled and quickly sent someone over to receive their distinguished guests.

Fu Fu Lamei, with veins throbbing on her forehead, couldn't help but look at the approaching guard and ask, "Last time there wasn't this messy broadcast; when did Old Vol add this?"

"About half a year ago."

The guard answered obediently, "You know, in Spine Peak City, there is no pressure regarding material life; the adults of the Demon-Hunting Squad and the Immortal Clan prefer spiritual pursuits, so..."

"You call this a spiritual pursuit?"

Fu Fu Lamei couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Beside her, Frieren hesitated for a moment, then said timidly, "Um, do I have to do that too?"

The guard hurriedly said, "You don't need to scan the code; according to the rules, these honors all grant the qualification to bring people into the city unconditionally. Look at the number displayed on the relief; that is the daily quota of people Fu Fu Lamei, my lord, is qualified to bring into the city!"

So, she could bring one hundred and twenty-seven people into the city every day...

Fu Fu Lamei's mouth twitched as she stared at that number, thinking about exactly how many honors Lin Yu had pinned on her head over these years.

At the same time, Frieren and Dai Meng beside her exchanged a glance and visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

The guard whispered, "Fu Fu Lamei, my lord, Captain Dai Meng, I advise you to enter the city quickly; if you don't enter soon, those caravans wanting to get in will come looking for you!"

"..."

Fu Fu Lamei instinctively looked toward the long, dragon-like queue beside her and indeed found many people staring at them with shining eyes, seemingly restless and wanting to approach her to negotiate.

Without hesitation, the three hurriedly walked through the side gate and quickly disappeared from the disappointed gazes of the crowd.

After entering the outer city, Fu Fu Lamei did not immediately head to the inner city but instead took the two others to stroll around the outer city.

It must be said that Spine Peak City now indeed took on the appearance of a 'Capital of Magic' as Fu Fu Lamei had imagined.

Walking along the Seven-Colored Changjie closest to the North Gate, novel magical creations could be seen everywhere.

Those glass containers embedded with mana crystals had long replaced the torches billowing black smoke in people's memories, becoming the streetlamps providing twenty-four-hour illumination on the Seven-Colored Changjie.

And in the center of the long street stood a massive seven-colored fountain.

Many residents of Spine Peak City liked to hold weddings here.

Unfortunately, Fu Fu Lamei and the others had bad luck; despite returning several times since its construction, they had never encountered one.

The buildings on both sides of the street still retained the style of this era, but the decorations on the walls were glowing vines they had never seen before.

This was a fluorescent plant transplanted from the Southern Region; after being improved by the Immortal Clan people, it could burst forth with seven colors of light, changing color every three seconds.

Countless vines hung on the buildings on both sides, resembling LED light strips on Earth, making this Seven-Colored Changjie truly deserving of its name.

On the balcony of the second floor of a nearby tavern, a handsome bard was tuning his lute; when the strings vibrated, beautiful music and magic phantoms shaped like roses bloomed, attracting the attention of many passersby.

Passing through the Starlight Archway outside the seven-colored fountain, Fu Fu Lamei turned around and looked at Frieren behind her.

She saw the elf girl's silver-white long hair fluttering in the wind; the tips of her hair brushed against the floating, blooming points of starlight on the archway, outlining a tranquil yet utterly beautiful picture.

Fu Fu Lamei enjoyed appreciating her disciple's beauty.

Just then, a merchant wearing a monocle suddenly popped up from the side, his face all eagerness as he pitched:

"Lord Fu Fu Lamei, would you like a photography service, or perhaps a memory crystal?"

"…"

Fu Fu Lamei turned her head to look, and saw that in the shop window behind the merchant, over a hundred prism-shaped crystals floated and spun, each one sealing within it the image of some single moment.

These were the memory crystals Spine Peak City had produced in recent years — invented by accident by the most death-defying of the fairy folk, and having nothing whatsoever to do with Lin Yu.

As a regular and honored guest of Spine Peak City, Fu Fu Lamei had of course long since bought plenty of memory crystals, so she politely declined the merchant's pitch.

The three of them continued south along the Seven-Colored Changjie, and soon rounded three blocks before arriving at the Lava Street that Frieren had been longing for.

This was the outer city's famously foodie street — restaurants great and small lined both sides of the road, and quite a few of them had tasting stalls out front to lure first-time visitors.

Frieren, unable to wait a moment longer, grabbed the other two and charged into Blazing Lava.

A full two hours later, they finally emerged, thoroughly fed and watered.

Perhaps the restaurant's owner had reported their whereabouts upward — for when the three walked out of Blazing Lava, four guards belonging to the City Lord's personal guard were already waiting there.

Looking at the four guards bowing respectfully, none of the three were surprised.

This was, after all, Lin Yu's territory — even she could not conceal her movements here.

The three exchanged a glance, then at once set off, following the guards toward the inner city.

The inner city of the Spine Peak Territory had been built around Lin Yu's castle as its center; to the north the original dense forest had been preserved, while the remaining three directions had, according to plan, been developed into residential districts, commercial districts, academy districts, and various other functional zones.

Compared with the bustling outer city, the inner city looked somewhat quieter.

This was because, ever since the outer city had been established, large numbers of merchants and new citizens had begun settling there, and many Spine Peak City residents had likewise relocated to the more prosperous outer city.

As for the inner city, they regarded it as the lord's private domain.

Only two kinds of people were qualified to live in the inner city: one kind was the fairy folk converted through the 【Heart of the Clansfolk】, and the other was the families of reserve-stage cultivation practitioners who had had a spiritual root implanted!

That's right — over these five years, that very first batch of babies had grown up one after another.

To date, the oldest were about seven, and the youngest were nearly six.

On their sixth birthday, Lin Yu had his clone personally step in to examine each of them in turn and implant a spiritual root.

Once the spiritual root reacted with the soul and formed a true elemental spiritual root, Lin Yu would have Old Old Old Woer send out an acceptance notice and arrange for them to enter the newly built cultivation academy in the inner city.

Only, not everyone possessed the talent for their spiritual root to react.

Of the first batch of several hundred babies who had grown up, only thirty-six in the end made it into the cultivation academy.

The rest, though lacking that good fortune, had still had their physiques improved by the spiritual root and possessed decent magical affinity, so they could enter the neighboring magic academy.

According to Old Old Old Woer's plan, these children were all future reserve members of the clansfolk.

If anyone's soul strength met the standard, they might even become a clansman just as he had…

(End of chapter)