Chapter 24 - Tang Fei City

Tian Longmeng went over a small hill and saw a massive city in the far distance. This city was Tang Fei City, one of the five major cities on the Desolate Valley Continent.

The city itself looked about 80 square miles large and the guards would normally venture out around 40 miles outside the towering, stone walls. This would make up for the 120 miles that is Tang Fei City.

Tian Longmeng went through the guards quite easily without need for a search since they only thought of him as some stray child carrying some wild herbs and junk, looking for some food to survive.

Despite these guards having a cultivation of the Mortal Apprentice Realm, they did not even perceive that Tian Longmeng, a short, near 5 feet child, would be a cultivator since they were too caught up in the perception that he was just 'one of the others'.

As soon as Tian Longmeng entered the city, he immediately began to study everything. A few differences resonated with him. One major difference being that cultivation was a lot more common and practiced in Tang Fei City.

All though it was not much more different, Tian Longmeng could at least walk around and pinpoint some villagers who had just started cultivation. Sometimes Tian Longmeng would notice children and teenagers who also had Mortal Practitioner cultivations. Some children who did not have cultivation yet were seen meditating and trying to get cultivation.

Why there was such adamancy on children getting cultivation was because they would then have the opportunity to attend the Tang Fei Martial Academy in hopes of becoming stronger and gaining recognition of even holding a military title.

Only through this would these commoner families be able to rise out of their impoverished lifestyle. In Tang Fei City, martial cultivation determined everything. If you are strong then you can dine amongst tigers, If you are weak then you are less than the ants.

Tian Longmeng was taken slightly aback by the drastic change in lifestyle compared to the simple 'live, trade, and commune' lifestyle of Spring Well Villa. However, Tian Longmeng was by no means overwhelmed.

In fact, Tian Longmeng felt his blood boil more to stay in a place such as Tang Fei Martial Academy, where everybody is at the very least, a cultivator.

What Tian Longmeng did not like was that the prices were more pricey in a big city such as Tang Fei. Food was not a big issue since there was a lot of intake from hunting beasts in the surrounding areas. However, one would find it a problem to sell things for any sum of money.

Firstly, Tian Longmeng had to find the South-Eastern District, conveniently stipulated more to the center of the city, to reach the free trade zone. The free trade zone was just a bunch of old, weathered buildings and people setting up shop along the roads.

In this zone, people would be able to freely trade, sell, or buy items without the need for a merchant's certificate. This is precisely why Tian Longmeng had to go to the free trade zone; because no other place would take items from a 'stray' commoner.

In return, Tian Longmeng received only 4 Moon Jade Stones for what would have been around 6 - 8 Moon Jade Stones in Spring Well Villa. This was ultimately because things were not as rare and needed in Tang Fei City than in Spring Well Villa.

Also, the cost for inn reservation was even more mind-boggling. Tian Longmeng had to pay 4 refined jades just to stay for 5 days and nights. That was 40 regular jades a night; quadruple the amount at Spring Well Villa!

Tian Longmeng sighed in regret that he did not strike it rich in Spring Well Villa while he could.

With that, Tian Longmeng spent most of the 5 days before the opening of Tang Fei Martial Academy, cultivating.

Since Tian Longmeng broke through the Mortal Practitioner Realm, he developed a strange sense of feeling essence. It was not anything special like differentiating essence qualities; he could only feel whether the essence around was dense or sparse.

Any normal cultivator could do this so this would not even be considered special. However, the clinch is that only every cultivator at or above the Mortal Grand-Apprentice Realm has the ability to sense essence density in the atmosphere like how Tian Longmeng can.

So essentially, Tian Longmeng has abilities beyond what others around him are capable of without him realizing it.

Using the advantage of this sense, Tian Longmeng was able to walk around the city and pass by areas of dense essence to cultivate. Tian Longmeng could not literally sit in these areas to cultivate since he would be scolded by all sorts of people.

What he did was to take advantage of his essence-reconstructed skeletal frame to attract the surrounding essence and use it to strengthen himself. He was basically a walking sponge in Tang Fei City, and it worked. Tian Longmeng did take care not to sap all of the essence he walked past since the signs would be too obvious.

By the third day in Tang Fei City, Tian Longmeng already reached the Mid Bone Forging Stage and began making strides towards the Peak Bone Forging Stage. Tian Longmeng was also nearing the Mid Mortal Practitioner Realm.

He felt as if the "him" right would be able to guarantee a spot in the upcoming examinations so he decided to take a quick breather and tour the city once again.