Chapter 250 Situation of the Top Continent
Qingyu and Qinghui were pampered as they grew up. In fact, they are both very good-tempered rare beasts. Even though their strength has reached the sixth rank, it is only because of abundant resources and a constant supply of food that they are able to maintain their strength. Their actual age is not even twenty.
In terms of mental age, he's really just a kid.
After Jiao Lu praised them so confidently, the aura around the two dumplings softened because of their emotional change.
Upon seeing this, Jiao Lu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
That was too dangerous.
However, after he came to his senses, he suddenly realized something was not right—the contracted beast beside him was of the sixth rank, so what level of strength had these two seniors, whose cultivation levels he could not discern, reached?
What purpose would a senior of such strength have for coming here?
In the past, some powerful forces would send people to buy Flying Cloud Tiger cubs, accompanied by cultivators who could speak to the Flying Cloud Tigers on equal terms. However, they were all there to "offer betrothal gifts" to protect their respective geniuses...
Jiao Lu had many thoughts running through his mind, but then he remembered how kind these two had always been to him, and he felt relieved.
Anyway, it shouldn't be anything malicious.
Jiao Lu calmed down, still maintaining a respectful and enthusiastic attitude, and talked about the special products of Feiyun City, the specific distribution of the major forces, and so on.
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Zhong Cai listened attentively, occasionally chiming in with a few words and asking a few questions.
Jiao Lu's answers were always very detailed and thorough.
As she listened, Zhong Cai unconsciously pulled her husband's fingers over and pinched and played with them.
Wu Shaogan naturally indulged them.
Seeing this, Jiao Lu felt even closer to these two seniors.
On the table, two little balls of fur, having been released by their owner, huddled together, snuggling close and looking incredibly cute.
Qingyu and Qinghui have a bit of a childish temper. As long as there are no other offspring competing with them for their two owners, they "get angry quickly and forget about it just as quickly."
Jiao Lu's heartstrings, which had been taut because of these two sixth-tier rare beasts, finally relaxed completely—in his heart, these two rare beasts, like Senior Flying Cloud Tiger, were quite human-like and capable of communication.
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Having said all that needed to be said, Zhong Cai asked, "If we don't hire the Flying Cloud Tiger cub, can we still visit that Flying Cloud Tiger?"
Jiao Lu was taken aback and asked, "Do the two seniors perhaps intend to spar with Senior Flying Cloud Tiger?"
Zhong Cai was also taken aback, then chuckled and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Jiao Lu realized he had misunderstood and immediately explained, "Senior Fei Yunhu is stationed in the Fei Yun Mountains. Besides making the city's residents run errands, he has also provided Fei Yun City with much protection. He has always acted fairly, and even when resources are scarce, he has not plundered wantonly..."
"Now the overall strength of Feiyun City has improved a lot, and the situation has improved somewhat. However, back when it was just a small town, many of the outsiders had rather bad tempers. It was thanks to Senior Feiyun Hu's intervention that Feiyun City was able to gradually develop."
He was full of praise for the Flying Cloud Tiger, but after he finished praising it, he realized he had rambled on a bit.
So he quickly returned to the specific explanation.
"...Among the guests who came, none of them actually intended to hire the Flying Cloud Tiger cub. They had just heard of Senior Flying Cloud Tiger's reputation and, out of curiosity and relying on their strength, wanted to come and spar with him."
"Senior Flying Cloud Tiger did not refuse. As long as the fee is paid, it can be a sparring partner, let alone a friendly match. However, it can only leave after it has hired all the cubs to complete the transaction."
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So that's how it is.
They really know how to do business. With such a big reputation, there must be a lot of people curious about it...
Zhong Cai stroked his chin and asked with a smile, "Isn't there any force that wants to take this Flying Cloud Tiger away?"
Even if high-level cultivators don't care about these small sums, low-level cultivators within powerful forces might not be so indifferent.
—This is a question that has been asked by far more than one person.
Jiao Lu patiently replied, "Yes, it has happened before, but Senior Flying Cloud Tiger is a rare beast registered with the Beast King Tower, so there's no need to worry."
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan exchanged a glance and smiled, "I see."
So what? They have absolutely no idea what the Beast King's Tower is!
But Jiao Lu didn't explain this at all, which means it should be common sense, so there's no need to ask further.
It can be roughly deduced that the so-called Beast King Tower is mostly related to rare beasts—and should even be closely related to rare beasts that have developed intelligence—while savage beasts, which attack indiscriminately, are definitely not included.
Perhaps it is a force composed of one or more intelligent rare beasts, and it protects rare beasts like the Flying Cloud Tiger that have also developed intelligence.
Zhong Cai feigned curiosity and asked, "How did you know? Was it because someone went up the mountain to seek bad luck?"
Jiao Lu replied, "That was a long time ago. According to ancestral legend, in the very early days, there were indeed those who wanted to capture Senior Flying Cloud Tiger, but they left in disgrace after only a short time on the mountain. Moreover, Senior Flying Cloud Tiger does send regular gifts to the Beast King Tower every ten years, and these gifts are always escorted by people from the major forces in our Flying Cloud City. This has remained unchanged until now."
After listening, Zhong Cai understood even more.
Forget about etiquette, it's just protection money!
But Fei Yunhu's shrewdness became increasingly apparent; he was able to suppress his animalistic instincts and sacrifice some benefits in exchange for his own safe and long-term growth.
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Thinking of this, Zhong Cai's gaze fell on Qing Yu and Qing Hui.
Zhong Cai asked with a smile, "If it weren't the two of us needing sparring partners, but these other things, would that be feasible? If so, what would the price be?"
Jiao Lu said, "Of course." As he spoke, he took out a booklet and respectfully handed it to Zhong Cai, "The price is recorded and explained in detail here."
Zhong Cai: "..."
The service was truly excellent!
He and Lao Wu have truly broadened their horizons since arriving in Feiyun City!
Could it be that everyone in Flying Cloud City has a copy of this booklet?
Zhong Cai glanced at Jiao Lu, took the booklet, leaned against his old man Wu, and began to read it.
Wu Shaogan watched it with him.
Well... no matter how intelligent a rare beast is, it still retains some animalistic instincts, so the opening scene features a huge claw mark.
There is a number in the center of the paw print: 598.
Jiao Lu promptly explained, "This is my queue number. In Feiyun City, there are a total of one thousand people with queue numbers who can act as guides and also contact Senior Feiyunhu."
Zhong Cai understood; the booklet was also available to these thousand people.
He nodded casually and continued flipping through the pages.
The records in this booklet are incredibly detailed.
The writing behind the paw prints already contained information about the cub's "betrothal gifts".
For example, the cubs are divided into three levels.
Ordinary cubs, many of which are adopted by cultivators in Flying Cloud City, generally grow to around the third rank.
The selected cubs, many of which were hired by cultivators, were of much better quality than ordinary ones, but most of them could only grow to the fourth or fifth rank... Only one showed signs of evolution and had already become a Flying Cloud Winged Tiger.
Top-tier cubs, the most expensive ones, the strongest and best selected one by one, don't necessarily appear every year, but the chances of bloodline mutation are higher. If you pay enough, you can reserve one or come back for several years to choose your favorite.
The Flying Cloud Tiger does not accept gold, silver, mystic pearls, or mystic stones; it only accepts resources that are beneficial to beasts.
So, following that were several pages of information about the resources needed for the Flying Cloud Tiger to cultivate or "hatch cubs," the resources needed for the mother tiger to give birth, and so on. Each resource was accompanied by its corresponding price.
The minimum qualifications of cultivators and the level of resources required for each type of cub are also clearly stated.
Each time the betrothal gifts are sent, they must meet this minimum standard.
It's not expensive; it's about the same price as other rare beasts with similar bloodline potential and combat power.
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After the detailed introduction of hiring a child, the fees for sparring and training came up.
For a sixth-tier rare beast to make a move, it must be extraordinary. However, this move is not for protecting cultivators or any other scheme; it's just for simple training, so it won't be too expensive.
They all fall into the category of being 20-30% cheaper than a normal sixth-tier item.
Such sparring and training sessions are priced by the hour... However, Flying Tiger is quite generous; he will replenish the energy consumed during the sparring sessions himself, and the time spent is not included in the price.
There are other businesses to follow.
For example, hiring the Flying Cloud Tiger for other purposes... simply riding the Flying Cloud Tiger for sightseeing... asking the Flying Cloud Tiger to help communicate with other spiritual beasts... In terms of communication, the most common situation is that some cultivators want to contract with a beast but can't reach an agreement, so they hire such a "translator" in order to get the beast to be willing.
And there are many more examples like these...
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As Zhong Cai watched, her expression became somewhat strange.
This Flying Cloud Tiger is too clever; he can be flexible and adaptable when it comes to scheming for resources. He can be a boss or an employee.
It has to be said that Zhong Cai was already quite interested in the Flying Cloud Tiger itself—when his old man Wu was around, he could always become interested in many things.
Currently, the two need to investigate the specific situation of the top continent. This Flying Cloud City is special and is a relatively safe place that they can control. They might as well find out everything here first and then plan for the future.
Let's stay for a few days and be two tourists visiting this place.
When the time is right, I'll also go and see Flying Tiger.
Qingyu and Qinghui should also have a good fight with a "cunning and shrewd" rare beast of the same level as Feiyunhu.
Gain as much combat experience as possible.
At this price point, it's not a problem at all.
While waiting for Feiyunhu to finish delivering the cubs, we can gather information about the top continent.
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Upon learning that Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were going to rent a place here and hire Fei Yunhu, Jiao Lu was naturally very happy—he had already figured out that these two...
Not only were they not short of money, but they were also willing to spend it and were generous to others—because during the story, the dishes were served one after another, and the two of them even ordered a few good dishes suitable for Jiao Lu to eat.
This will generate revenue for Flying Cloud City and Senior Flying Cloud Tiger!
Jiao Lu became even more enthusiastic.
After the meal, he led the two to the best courtyard behind the inn and gave them a simple map of Feiyun City—clearly marking all the places where they could spend money and all the distinctive buildings.
It even includes some reviews and introductions!
It's safe to say that now, no matter where Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan want to go in Feiyun City, they don't need to ask anymore. They can simply follow the map and head there! It's so much more convenient.
Zhong Cai was very satisfied and gave Jiao Lu a mysterious pearl as a token of his gratitude.
With a smile on his face, Jiao Lu left the two with a method of communication, promising to be available at a moment's notice and at their command...
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Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan settled down in Feiyun City.
The two of them strolled around the city's large shops and restaurants, listened to a lot of gossip, and gathered some information.
However, most of the information was obtained through the city's library.
This place sells a wide variety of travelogues, miscellaneous notes, general academic books, and the most common exercise methods, among other things.
They also sell maps of various regions.
That's right, all regions.
After looking at them, Zhong Cai bought them all.
When I went back and looked through them with Wu Shaogan, they were indeed all very simple—of course, the degree of simplicity varied.
A map can only depict the general outline of a region at most, and nothing more.
Some smaller domains are relatively clearer—this clarity doesn't mean that all forces are recorded in detail, but rather that more small icons of the forces are drawn on them.
Some large regions are a bit vague – in fact, there are quite a few small factions that don't have any special features, and on the map they are just simple circles and dots with the faction name.
These maps include the Xihe River Basin.
Zhong Cai took out the map given to her by her master and compared it with this map.
After all, that document was from many years ago, and I wonder if anything has changed compared to it now...
And then, sure enough, things changed.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan's gazes both fell on the Lingxian Sect and the War God Hall.
Regardless of how other forces change, these two forces remain standing, and the characteristics of the image prove that they are still level nine forces!
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The Western River Basin is indeed a vast region.
Besides the Spirit Immortal Sect and the War God Palace, there are two other forces that also belong to the ninth level.
There are also many level-eight forces, at least dozens scattered throughout the Western River Region.
There are countless level seven forces... they are practically everywhere.
There are countless factions below level seven, so many that their icons are barely visible, and many faction names are crammed together, with the handwriting connected to each other, requiring careful discernment to identify them.
Zhong Cai: "Hiss."
Many years have passed, and the number of powerful forces on the top continent has increased.
After comparing the two maps, Zhong Cai overlapped them and then added labels.
Wu Shaogan understood his thoughts and also picked up a pen to make the same annotations from another direction.
In no time, it was all finished.
The two stood together again to analyze and summarize.
Wu Shaogan said, "The other level nine forces have not changed, but among the level eight forces, seven have fallen to level seven, and twelve have become level eight forces."
Zhong Cai nodded, then said hesitantly, "Look at this War God Temple, a new level eight power has appeared next to it, the War King Pavilion."
Wu Shaogan said, "This force wasn't on the previous maps, or even any force with the same name or a very similar name. It's like it suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
Zhong Cai said, "So I guess this War King Pavilion might have some connection with the Temple of War God?"
Wu Shaogan also felt it was somewhat similar, and then he pondered, "Could it be that one of the Nirvana Realm experts from the Temple of War Gods has broken away and become independent?"
Zhong Cai: "Very likely." He thought for a moment, then guessed, "It's uncertain whether they are friend or foe, but the possibility of them being enemies is very small."
Wu Shaogan agreed, "If they are enemies, the War God Temple is still a level nine power. It shouldn't be difficult for them to deal with a newly emerging level eight power. It's not like they need the War King Pavilion to be located near the War God Temple to annoy them."
Zhong Cai: "So it's more likely that the Temple of War Gods intentionally, or rather, agreed to the War King Pavilion being located next door, and might even help it develop better..."
Wu Shaogan nodded as well.
After carefully comparing and examining the maps, the two then looked through other maps.
They also carefully examined the domain where Flying Cloud City was located.
Flying Cloud City is located in the Yanglan Domain.
Just how far is the Yanglan Domain from the Xihe Domain...?
The two then produced a partial map of the mainland.
The continent is vast, and if it is a continent that is too far away, many cultivators will never be able to reach it in their entire lives, let alone figure out the situation there—updating the map is also very difficult.
For any entity capable of trading maps to acquire more distant maps, it requires generations of development and exploration.
Moreover, even if they discover them, those factions aren't willing to sell all the maps.
The maps currently circulating and available for purchase in Flying Cloud City only depict the eastern and southeastern directions of the entire continent.
Moreover, the overall map will only be accurate to the domain level.
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The general map that Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan saw was marked with blocks of various sizes. Each block had the name of a "domain" or "prefecture" written inside, and it would also indicate whether it was a large domain or a small domain. However, since the general outline of the domain was to be drawn, even without the markings, one could make a basic judgment based on the size of the blocks. Unexpected situations were rare.
Now we have both good news and bad news.
The good news is that the location of the West River Region is exactly recorded on the map, and it does indeed appear on the same map as the Yanglan Region.
The bad news is that the distance between the two domains is extremely far.
How far away?
The West River Region is due east, and it stretches far to the east; the Yanglan Region is in the southeast, and it is very close to due south.
If the two of them wanted to reach the Western River Region, even if they took an eighth-level spaceship, it would take them a considerable amount of time.
In any case, they successfully found the two level-nine forces, and the forces themselves remained unchanged.
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Zhong Cai counted on her fingers and sighed, "We can't delay any longer. Let's start our journey after we've trained Qingyu and Qinghui."
Wu Shaogan nodded: "Go there as soon as possible, we can't let our masters down."
Zhong Cai laughed and said, "Old Wu is right!"
The two reviewed the other map information again, memorized it all, and then carefully put the maps away.
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Next, the two continued to the library, not only looking through some classic books about the mainland, but also reading many travelogues and miscellaneous notes, comparing them with the events recorded in the classic books.
Gradually, the two gained a better understanding of the overall situation on the mainland.
Let's just talk about power...
There are truly many ninth-level forces that have stood firm. On the entire continent alone, there are over a hundred well-known and famous cultivators who have reached the Heavenly Realm! And who knows how many more are hiding, cultivating in seclusion, or who haven't appeared for many years.
Those who have attained Nirvana... are even more countless.
At any moment, someone may break through, and at any moment, someone may fall.
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While searching for information, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan also saw news about the Sky Ranking and the Lesser Sky Ranking.
Because the two were initially focused on finding someone and immediately fled after meeting, neither of them knew that the main reason Hong Shaoling targeted Wu Shaogan was that his path to the Little Azure Sky Ranking was blocked.
This is the first time either of them has ever heard of such a Heavenly Ranking.
Zhong Cai couldn't help but say, "What Master said about gaining recognition from the rules after arriving at the top continent and then having the opportunity to obtain benefits... is this Sky Ranking? Anyone who can make it onto the Sky Ranking can receive gifts from the continent, which is indeed very beneficial to our cultivation."
From this perspective, it's definitely something we should rush over to.
Don't miss the Sky Ranking.
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The disciples recorded on the Sky Ranking have an extremely strong reputation throughout the continent. No matter where they go, even if they encounter a disciple from a lower-ranking list, they will still receive a lot of attention.
This list is displayed high in the sky at the beginning of each month, refreshing the names on it, and remaining there for a full day.
There are actually various rankings in the Sky Ranking, including those based on martial arts and miscellaneous knowledge.
The most common one is the Sky Martial Arts Ranking, which records all martial arts cultivators—usually when people mention the Sky Ranking, they are referring to this martial arts ranking.
Any martial arts cultivator at the fifth to eighth level whose combat power ranks among the top 100 of their level on the continent will be observed and recorded by the continent, and then recorded in order of combat power ranking!
The rules on the mainland are based on sensing the cultivator's aura, and therefore will not be wrong.
However, even combat strength at the same level cannot be absolutely determined due to extremely minor reasons.
Therefore, among the genius cultivators who are close in rank on this list, it is actually impossible to truly determine who is the stronger one unless they fight to their limits.
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The rewards bestowed by the Sky Ranking are divided into many different tiers.
The top 100 will receive a reward.
The top fifty will receive the first type of reward, plus an additional reward.
Add one more option to the top ten;
For those who are in the top three, a new reward will be added for each rank they improve.
Looking at it this way, the rewards are truly extremely generous. The higher the ranking of the cultivator, the more rapidly their strength will increase through the continent's rewards!
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As for the specific details of the rewards...
A martial arts cultivator on the Sky Ranking revealed that the ranking varies based on each person's strength and cultivation progress.
The only difference is that the basic value of rewards at the same level will be roughly the same.
But what exactly they gained remains a secret to most cultivators on the Sky Ranking, and even if some mention it, it's not all of it.
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