Just as the Skyfall King had said, Multitude City was majestic in all its variety of a myriad happenings. It was the largest city that Lu Yun had seen thus far in the Hongmeng, even the Scorching Sun City that the little fox had projected from Miao Qimiao’s thoughts paled far in comparison.
No, it should be said that Scorching Sun City didn’t have the right to be mentioned in the same breath as Multitude City.
Crowds jostled each other inside and out of the city, streaming to and fro without interruption. What was greatly surprising was that there were no guards or anyone maintaining order outside the city gates.
Without exception, anyone who came to the city gates landed on the ground and proceeded into the unfathomably large metropolis on foot. Lu Yun and the others followed suit, stowing the Immortal Region Glory and waiting in line to enter Multitude City.
The city gates were absolutely massive. Though not as impossibly large as the lost ancient city, they were still enough to accommodate several million beings all at once without feeling overcrowded.
“Eh? Why have you become an old man?” asked a startled little fox when she absentmindedly turned her head to Hua Fengwen.
Defined by a dashing flair and urbane bearing, the genius was one of the most preeminent, handsome men in the Hongmeng. Now, however, he was dressed in long gray robes and his hair stark white. He looked like an elder in the last years of his life.
Lu Yun and the little fox jumped with shock when they saw his appearance.
“Er, you haven’t been so affected that you grew old overnight, have you?” Lu Yun blinked.
“I just want some time to myself,” Hua Fengwen responded in muffled tones as he flicked a sideways glance at the two. “I’d always thought of myself as the foremost genius of the realm, the one most likely to break the barrier around the Hongmeng and enter the fourth realm. But it all seems like a joke now…
“I don’t want anyone to recognize me here or have to entertain pointless flattery. I’d like some peace and quiet.”
The little fox wanted to refute the genius, but Lu Yun shook his head. “He has his own path. When he finds his epiphany one day, he will become Hua Fengwen again. So, what should we call you now?”
“Call me Ole Eight.” Hua Fengwen pursed his lips. “My title is the Eighth King.”
“Eighth King… King Eight… The hell? Those are the same characters for bastard. No wonder you never give out your title.” Lu Yun clapped his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. “Alright then, let’s just see where things take us.”
A hundred thousand years wasn’t a long time to Hongmeng beings; Hua Fengwen remained present in the collective consciousness. It was possible that he was just secluded somewhere for closed door cultivation.
After all, some kings secluded themselves for hundreds of millions of years at a time.
Hua Fengwen’s dao heart had almost shattered after hearing the little girl’s words. If he then heard empty admiration of how he was most likely to enter the fourth realm out of everyone in the Hongmeng, his dao heart might well and truly completely fall to pieces.
His actions now were borne out of self defense and he remained taciturn after entering the city, while the little fox bounced with excitement.
“Come on, let’s go to the Purplecloud Pavilion!” She grabbed Lu Yun’s hand and tugged him in a certain direction.
Though they’d walked into the city, flight wasn’t forbidden after entrance. Multitude City was too large to be covered on foot and not all of the buildings stayed put on the ground. Many hovered in the air like floating islands, and there were numerous transportation formations within that led to all corners of the city.
“The Purplecloud Pavilion?!” The Skyfall King paused when he heard the exclamation. “Miss… that’s the Purple King’s territory and a forbidden area within the city!”
“The Purple King? Another cocksure ant,” grumbled Hua Fengwen before he fell silent.
“Yes, let’s go to Lu Qing’s territory!” Lu Yun nodded. “Lu Qing has some connections with Violetgrave, so perhaps we can contact Hopeless Major through the Purplecloud Pavilion!”
“Hopeless Major?” Hua Fengwen snorted. “Just a big ant’s nest.”
Lu Yun: ……
“Eh? What kind of place is that?” The little fox suddenly came to a halt and tilted her head up to a monumental building in the north of the city. It was abnormally far from them, at least a couple billion kilometers away. Despite that, Lu Yun could somehow make out every relief on the towering building.
It was grand, palatial, and so opulent that every carving exuded the air of premium purple crystals. Under the influence of immense spatial formations, every corner of Multitude City basked in its full visual glory.
Eagerly charging toward the Purplecloud Pavilion just moments before, the little fox was immediately distracted.
“That building?” The Skyfall King took a look. “That’s the Colosseum, one of the four great dens of crystal consumption in Multitude City. There, you can fight with beasts, people, gambling, or anything you can think of. Half step kings can ascend to full kinghood, and kings can take another step forward on their dao!”
“Shall we go take a look?” Lu Yun smiled at the little fox.
“Um…” she hesitated, first looking in the direction of the Purplecloud Pavilion and then at the Colosseum.
“Come on, let’s check out the Colosseum.” Lu Yun’s smile deepened. “The pavilion is a forbidden area of Multitude City, and we should exercise caution since this is our first visit to the city. Let’s go to the Colosseum first and ask around about the pavilion.”
“Okay, okay.” The little fox nodded.
“We’ll be sitting in the audience stands to watch a bunch of ants fight,” mumbled Hua Fengwen.
“Why don’t you go down and fight those ants too?” Lu Yun asked with a smile.
“Nope!” Hua Fengwen shook his head resolutely. “I just want some time to myself.”
……
Transportation formations could be seen everywhere in Multitude City, as if they were the roads of the city. Every formation bore a set of coordinates that led to the Colosseum.
“This spatial formation is marvelous indeed, to refract an entire building to every corner of the city,” Lu Yun tutted with appreciation when he stood in front of the colosseum doors. “The one who created this building has grasped the dao of space to astounding heights, he can very likely reach kinghood through it!”
“It looks like fellow daoist walks the same path!” came a resounding voice. “Ordinary beings, even kings, see only the building’s exterior and decorations. You are the first to see its rules of space instead. You are worthy of being hailed my fellow daoist!”
A man in a white shirt and a folding fan in hand rounded the corner. He looked at Lu Yun with a trace of pride on his face.
“Ant.” Hua Fengwen swept a glance over the man and lowered his head to study the tiles on the ground.
The man’s brows knitted together, but he remained looking at Lu Yun.
“What a pity that you’re not the one who set up this formation.” Lu Yun shook his head. “You and I are not fellow daoists.”
That er, really is an unfortunate title lol!
