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Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were no fixed entrances or exits in Green Cloud City. Lu Ye came down from Green Cloud Mountain, joined the stream of people going in and out of the city, and naturally blended into the crowd.
The hustle and bustle of the city washed over him. Cultivators brushed past each other as they came and went on these intricate maze-like streets. He could not believe that so many cultivators could gather together in such a tiny city. After all, he had not even seen a single person on Green Cloud Mountain before. [No, I did see a half-person.]
It was not that strange when he thought about it. No matter the Sect, the number of cultivators at the bottom rank would always be the largest. Besides, the outermost part of the Spirit Creek Battlefield happened to be where the cultivators at the lowest ranks gathered.
He was unable to tell which faction these cultivators belonged to just by looking at their appearances. Nobody would swagger about with information on their origins engraved on their foreheads after all. He couldn’t even tell how high or how low the cultivation of these cultivators were.
In the beginning, he had found it rather strange. The Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge were two opposing factions. Their brains had been turned to mush from the countless wars and conflicts. Both sides regarded each other as sworn enemies, so how were the cultivators from both factions able to coexist peacefully? It wasn’t until he arrived at this place that he understood the reason. Everybody had no idea which faction the other belonged to. Therefore, they could only remain alert toward strangers at best. They could not act out rashly even if they were all clustered together.
The cultivators who came and went were dressed in all kinds of colorful clothes, which dazzled him. Some of the women cultivators were dressed so lightly that they exposed a lot of their fair skin. It was truly a beautiful sight to enjoy.
[I never knew that the atmosphere in Jiu Zhou is so open-minded.] This assumption was his misunderstanding. Jiu Zhou was a very large world. The cultures and customs of the people across the land were very different. The customs in some of the places were simply like that. It wasn’t as though their manner of dressing light was equivalent to them being open-minded.
“Boy, move aside.” A deep voice suddenly sounded behind Lu Ye.
Lu Ye turned around to look. What entered his vision was a muscular chest covered in a large mass of black hair. Under his gaze, the two pectoralis major muscles even quivered intentionally. It gave off a feeling of explosive power. He slowly lifted his gaze and saw an unimaginably muscular figure standing behind him. His head only reached up to the other party’s chest.
In addition, that person had two curved bull horns on his head. Lu Ye couldn’t help staring in dumbfounded amazement,
“Whew…” Two billowing waves of heat spurted from the nostrils of the burly figure. He looked down at Lu Ye. “You’re blocking the way!”
Thus, Lu Ye hurriedly jumped to the side with one hand pressed against the hilt of his sword. However, his wariness vanished swiftly. That was because a petite girl was standing next to the burly bull-horned man. The key point was that the girl had two furry ears sitting on top of her head. They looked like cat ears. She was probably the burly bull-horned man’s companion.
“Meow…” The woman gazed at Lu Ye in amusement and gave a soft cry. She winked at him in an insanely seductive manner.
[Wow…] Lu Ye felt as though flowers were blooming in his heart. Under his reluctant gaze, that burly bull-horned man and the cat-eared woman quickly disappeared into the crowd.
“They are Demon cultivators that have not completed their transformation.” A voice suddenly sounded beside Lu Ye.
Lu Ye turned to look in the direction of the voice only to see a chubby figure standing beside him. That person was looking at Lu Ye with a huge smile on his face, and his eyes were slightly squinted from his smile. His clothes were inlaid with gold and jewels. There were also several jade rings on his fingers. He did not look like a cultivator. Rather, he seemed more like a local wealthy man.
“Demon cultivators?” Lu Ye lifted his eyebrows at those words.
He had heard of Demon cultivators before. The Sect Master once mentioned that many Demon cultivators held a natural physical advantage which made them suitable for entering the body tempering cultivation faction. There were many Sects that would accept these Demon cultivators as disciples. It was just that he had never seen a Demon cultivator before, so he couldn’t help being fascinated when he saw one for the first time.
“Yes. But, their Spirit Beast characteristics will slowly disappear once their cultivation improves a little more. Buddy, you seem to have an interest in… cute and furry Spirit cultivators.” When the local wealthy man spoke, he reached up and made a gesture above his head with two fingers to indicate ears.
Lu Ye hesitated for a moment before he replied, “It’s my first time seeing one.”
“I see. Buddy, you must be a rogue cultivator, right?” The local wealthy man asked with a chuckle. The reason for this inference was mainly that Lu Ye was all on his own. Generally speaking, disciples from a Sect would never enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield alone. They would definitely travel together with a few of their Sect members so that they could take care of each other. Likewise, the two Demon cultivators just now were part of the same Sect.
Lu Ye gave a casual response. “I guess.”
The Sect Master had warned him that he should never reveal his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect to anybody, so he would not mention it so carelessly.
The local wealthy man let out a sigh. “It’s not easy to be a rogue cultivator. I was also a rogue cultivator, so I understand your situation very well.” He changed the topic and laughed. “Buddy, you should visit the Divine Trade Association if you have an interest in cute stuff. As long as you can afford it… Heh heh… Anything can be discussed.”
Lu Ye replied sternly, “You’re mistaken. I’m not that kind of person!”
“I understand. I understand.” The local wealthy man nodded repeatedly. “Of course, you can also visit the Divine Trade Association if you are looking to purchase any Spirit Pills, Spirit Artifacts, Spirit Talisman Papers, information, maps, or have anything you want to sell. I guarantee that we can meet all your needs, Buddy.”
Lu Ye was puzzled. “What does the Trade Association do?”
The Trade Association seemed to cover a wide range of services. Even so, what bothered him most was that the Trade Association carried the word ‘Divine’ in its name. It seemed rather unusual.
The local wealthy man replied, “Well… It’s a Trade Association. It’s basically a business. We do any business that brings in money. All guests from Jiu Zhou are welcomed. We are happy to receive wealth from any party after all. But, don’t you worry, Buddy. The Divine Trade Association might be a big business, but we have always adhered to the principle of playing fair. No matter what kind of customer comes to us to do business, we will treat them equally. We will never treat our customers differently just because of their cultivation.”
At this point, Lu Ye finally came to his senses. This local wealthy man was a member of the Divine Trade Association. He probably noticed Lu Ye reacting like a countryman who just arrived in a city, so he came over to establish a friendly relationship to see if there were any business opportunities.
“I’m very poor.” Lu Ye shook his head.
The local wealthy man chuckled. “A dragon will not be satisfied to swim in shallow waters. You have a special look about you, Buddy. I’m sure you’ll achieve great things in the future. It doesn’t matter if you are poor now, there will come a time when you will flourish.”
“Thank you for the auspicious words!” Lu Ye nodded. He did not believe that this person had seen anything about him. If his guess was right, this person would say the same thing to any stranger on the road. Thus, he simply took it as a friendly kindness.
“Buddy, if you wish to visit the Trade Association, you only need to head in this direction. It is the most eye-catching building there.” The local wealthy man gave Lu Ye some directions and cupped his fists. “I won’t take up any more of your time then!” After saying that, he walked away in a carefree manner.
After their conversation, Lu Ye became somewhat interested in the Divine Trade Association. It was undeniable that the local wealthy man had struck up a conversation to attract a potential customer, but he had not given Lu Ye any bad feelings from the start until the end. Even when he believed Lu Ye was a rogue cultivator, his manner of speech had been courteous. It was easy for him to leave a good impression on others
[I suppose it won’t hurt to go and take a look.] Lu Ye did not have the financial resources to buy anything, but he had some things on hand that he could sell. Perhaps, he could even exchange them for some Spirit Pills or something at the Divine Trade Association. Be that as it may, he was in no hurry right now. He had just arrived in this city. It was important for him to familiarize himself with the environment and the atmosphere of the Cultivation World.
Surely he isn’t about to get scammed. Surely….