Depthless Hunger

Chapter 416: The Greatest City in the South

Kai had thought they were almost on top of Floodisle City, but the city kept growing... and growing. He realized that it was far larger than he expected, built atop an island that was more like a mountain. All of the sloped roofs and tile construction he'd seen elsewhere on Cloudspire were taken even further here, sprawling not just across the island, but into multiple tiers that rose skyward.

Even from a distance, he could tell that the upper regions were broken into different sect headquarters, each with their own colors and flags. The very top was a palace that seemed to have a grand balcony open to the sky in most directions, as if broadcasting its utter invulnerability.

"People visit Floodisle City from all across the Southern Rivers," Zae Zin Nim explained, "and even from other parts of Cloudspire. The city is technically neutral, but in practice is controlled by the Masterful Crown clan."

"Not sect?" Kai asked.

"In this case, the clan is actually larger than any sect. They have so many branch families starting so many different organizations, they have entire sects working under them. Actually the four most prestigious sects in the region are called the Great Rivers and operate under them. Their patriarch is one of the few cultivators my father actually has some respect for, with a great reputation for teleportation and barriers."

Omilaena slouched in beside them. "Are there any weird rules here? Will they start a blood feud if we don't hop up and down three times before bowing?"

"You have both proven yourselves reasonable enough on Cloudspire. Just don't do anything offensive, and don't upset anyone powerful." Zae Zin Nim hesitated a moment, then glanced at him. "And don't attempt to start a peasant uprising or anything. It wouldn't go well here."

Kai threw up his hands. "You never let me have any fun."

"I am serious, Kai. They care about loss of face here."

"I know. But before we go here, you might as well warn me: are conditions going to be particularly bad or something?"

"Actually, I do not think it is so bad." Zae Zin Nim seemed to consider this statement for a long moment, then nodded. "Of course those at the bottom of sects must serve, but everyone has a chance to become a cultivator one day. It is not a perfectly fair system, but it works. Let us leave it alone and only get what we need."

For his part, Kai had mostly given up on meaningfully changing anything in Cloudspire. Well, unless Zae Zin Nim herself counted. If the city was truly oppressive that might bother him, but he wondered if the brutality could really be any worse than in the Manticore tribe. Maybe the same thing dressed up in fancier robes.

As they drew closer, the chaos of movement around the city resolved into a flowing system. The majority of people entered via boat and barge, moving into the lower regions of the city like the tide. But there was a great wall that divided off the higher regions of the city, which had a great qi barrier and much higher security. There were Body Refinement cultivators standing guard, which was impressive given that the Qi Condensation stage would have been enough.

He squinted and managed to look through the haze of symbols to isolate one specific guard, then another and another, finding most of them basically the same.

Name: ???

Total Power: 84

Cultivation: Body Refinement 0% (50)

Physique: F-0 (30)

Soul Level: 2 (4)

>

These were the weakest cultivators he'd yet seen, with their Body Refinement stage being worth only half of the Brightwind sect's. However, their total Power of 84 made them equal to a veteran hunter back home, and they were so far beyond untrained people that they were practically invincible. It was impressive that the city could muster ordinary guards at that level.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Omilaena asked as she took the jade slip.

"Ah, but I forget you are ignorant of our ways. To be worthy to even work in the upper city, cultivators must have a rank between 1 and 5. More prestigious cultivators will have ranks between 6 and 10. Anything above 10 is extraordinary, so you should be very proud."

"My heart is overflowing with pride," Omilaena said, her venom barely visible underneath her smile. As she stepped back, Kai decided to get it over with and moved forward.

The next seed looked smaller and darker than the previous one and Kai was suspicious, but he didn't really know anything about how the system worked. After he showed his Bloodcoral medallion, which was accepted with a sniff, all he could do was let his energy flow into his palm... as soon as he did so, the seed began to soak it up and grow on its own, so he didn't need to do anything special.

Yet as the shoot rose, Kai could already see that it was thinner and less pure. It blossomed into a flower, but the petals were limp and it looked on the verge of wilting. He gritted his teeth as he came face to face with fate again, but Kai wasn't content to accept what it handed him.

"A poor showing," the official said. "Given your raw strength and sect affiliation, you still have a rank of 3, but-"

"Wait." Kai took a deep breath and focused on the flower before it stopped growing.

If he channeled any of his monstrous power into the seed, he was pretty sure that it would die instantly. But he'd developed the Savage Heart so far and attuned it to that monstrous strength, so maybe he could use that. Without changing any of his body, Kai began to channel his transformation. He felt his heart throbbing with monstrous strength that surged down his blood vessels.

The seed twitched and the flower darkened, but it wasn't withering. As he watched, the stem throbbed and grew thicker, then thorns began to emerge, and finally the leaves became sharp and black. No one would call the result beautiful, but it no longer looked half-dead, and it continued to grow above his palm.

"A grim but fearsome result. That may be worth a 4..." The cultivator stared in some combination of awe and disgust, then shook his head. "No, that is a rank 5. Take it and count yourself lucky."

So Kai received a jade slip with a much smaller symbol than Omilaena's. He noticed that the official didn't want to touch his hand and pushed the dark lotus aside quickly. Kai just plastered a smile on his face and stepped back with the others.

When Zae Zin Nim passed him he caught a hint of concern for him on her face, but then she focused on her own test. She took the seed gently and her power circulated, leaving aside her other strength and sending a stream of pure qi into her palm.

The seed responded immediately, growing larger than before. Pure white petals gathered together, nearly glowing with pristine beauty, and when they unfolded into a lotus, the official gasped. By the time Zae Zin Nim was finished, the lotus floating over her hand glowed bright enough to cast the entire room in pale shades.

"Truly extraordinary..." The official looked nearly breathless as he took the lotus from the air. "Are you a member of any sect, local or prestigious from afar?"

"No," Zae Zin Nim said flatly.

"Then I fear the rules limit what I can give you, but I am honored to grant a woman of your purity and beauty the rank of 14." The official bowed deeply as he handed over a final jade slip.

"There's nothing else we need to do to enter the city?"

"No, please enter. With such an incredible ranking from the start, almost all of Floodisle City will be open to you, and you could easily ascend even higher as you engage with cultivators of our city."

Zae Zin Nim promptly seemed to forget that the official existed and turned back to them, inclining her head slightly to join her. The official stared at them, mostly at the women but occasionally with a look of distaste and incredulity toward Kai, as if he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

Despite everything, it rankled just a little. As Kai passed through the gate, however, Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena each grabbed one of his arms, smiled, and led him into the city. Kai smiled in return, took one look back at the flabbergasted official, and then forgot about him entirely.