Crimson Star City - Part 2

Nothing out of proportions happened during their trip through the skies and many groups they've seen before were now near each other, flying in a common direction.

As seen from the ground below, the spectacle was extraordinary. So many cultivators flying as green-blue colors flashed in the sky and winds surged before them, making way for these beings everyone looked up to. Even though everyone was a Spiritualist in this world, not everyone had good aptitude or luck while Awakening so many who bonded with 'weak' Spirits and didn't even manifest their Spirit Emblems remained in their hometowns as common people.

It didn't mean their lives were useless, far from that. There was a great need for those who awakened, for example, with earth-based Spirits and could manipulate the ground, reducing the need for tools and manual labor in agriculture. The ones who had luck to awaken with the plant-oriented Spirits would be put in charge of ensuring all seeds would successfully germinate and break through the ground, ensuring the successful harvest of the goods.

If one had luck to awaken with a spirit of greater rank, then they could even be gardeners in the sects that cultivated Spiritual Herbs. It was considered a noble profession, and the rewards enabled such a person to have a good life without worries.

Teachers, Gardeners, Forgers, Craftsmen, Sculptors, Scholars...

There were many non-martial Spirits that appeared in this world. The likely reason for that is the weak level of life on this plane and the thin Spirit Energy was responsible in a way as well.

Asura Ryuu and the other three happened to learn of that through the conversation with the female disciple in charge of escorting them. The scenery beneath them flashed and changed with each new moment and soon, they saw a red light in the distance, peeking through the clouds. It was the entrance of the Crimson Star City, the main city within the borders of Crimson Star Academy from which it got the name. It was also the capital of the Crimson Star Empire.

Asura Ryuu suddenly realized something: "Aren't these people too obsessed with the name 'Crimson Star'? Everything has Crimson Star in it - Crimson Star Academy, Crimson Star City, Crimson Star Empire... Don't tell me the class we will be going to will also be called Crimson Star Class Two? If even our lodgings are called The Crimson Star Huts, I'll beat someone up - most likely myself."

But Asura Ryuu believed there was a reason for this - after all, nobody seemed to mind everything being called by the name Crimson Star, so there should be some kind of legend regarding the said star. He could only wait to get to the library and finally learn about this world. Every time he thought of all the knowledge he was missing, he'd feel an emptiness inside his head, similar to the feeling in his stomach as if he was hungry, but it was all just an illusion. He was hungry for knowledge because he knew nothing of this unfamiliar environment they came to.

The clouds parted and a magnificent Torii-style gate with coiling dragons around its pillars appeared before their eyes. It was very high and magnificent, even the dragons and pillars had crystalline luster. However, there was no city wall around the seemingly endless gathering of hotels, shops, bars, taverns and other buildings. Instead of the wall, the city was surrounded by the lush forest as trees served like a natural city wall. The end of the city was nowhere to be seen, as expected of the capital.

There were many strange buildings and symbols Asura Ryuu didn't recognize. He suddenly felt a cold chill up his spine: "No way, must I learn the characters of this world? Aaaah, where's that famous reincarnation cheat now?!"

Even though he complained mentally, the truth won't be changed. Everyone started from ground-zero so even if he had his knowledge from several lives, since not one of them was from this world he naturally didn't know the symbols and writing system either. The only thing left to him now was to pray it wasn't hard to grasp, or the people were negligent and didn't even bother to make it logical. One thing he hated as a scientist was naturally something that didn't originate based on logic but rather from the self-proclaimed 'smart' people who spewed bullshit that didn't make sense.

There were cases like that in his past lives, a lot in fact. Everyone wanted to be a smart guy so they would just blabber about something they didn't even understand and pretend to be mysterious, and because usually people didn't bother with those things, they would actually succeed as nobody denied their claims.

The city and the massive red glistening gate slowly enlarged in the eyes of all the Spiritualists and children flying in the air. Because of Asura Ryuu's strong Spirit Power, he could faintly discern a single silhouette in front of the big gate - the Emerald Phoenix and the cute girl from the image the female disciple showed them.

"So even the princess can't fly in the capital, huh?" He wondered.

But there wasn't actually a ban on flight for the Royal Family, it was just that there was a certain tradition that everyone respected so nobody would fly through the sky to enter the city but would rather go through the massive Torii gate to pay respects for the ancestors who established that tradition and founded their land.

Asura Ryuu: "Strange... her mount is so fast, she should've arrived here long ago. Why is she still waiting before the gate then?"

Various groups gathered together and flew over the outskirts of the capital, followed by the people from below with a multitude of looks that shared only one thing - envy. Everyone knew what day it is today. The great day that happens every year where new talents come to apply for the Crimson Star Academy.

There were looks of jealousy from those who had failed in the past, as well as the looks of admiration from those who looked forward to the new generation of disciples that is yet to come. This year's generation was especially popular because of the Princess and the other geniuses and members of powerful families coming here. There was no lack of geniuses every year in the most prestigious academy in the Empire, but this year was special in a certain way.

Many big names resurfaced and hidden families came out to light. There were stories circulating that the certain elder proclaimed that the destiny of the world will change with this generation, that's why even those who were reluctant to show their faces to the world crawled out this year. Nobody doubted this elder's world because all of his predictions came true. He was an old monster that would occasionally come out and tell certain events and insights into the future. Nobody knew how old this elder was, but not a single one prediction fell short of its initial value.

If he said the new Emperor would emerge in twenty years, then he would. If he said there will be a treasure in a certain place, then there was a treasure there.

Then if he said this generation would change the fate of not only their Empire but the entire world, how would all those big sects dare be lenient and ignore his prophecy?

The most important thing about this generation was precisely his prophecy.

"Monsters will be born, led by a monster among the monsters and conquer the world and its secrets. The limitations of heavens will crumble and the world's structure will change. The new Era will start with this generation! There will be a sign from Heavens at this year's sacred ceremony."

Those were the words that weighted upon the backs of many clans and families this year. Who was the monster among the monsters? Everyone hoped it would be someone from their family, but they knew the truth. It was most likely to be the Princess or someone on the similar level to her.