Two days after the Battle against the Bandits, their carriage safely arrived at the Beech City’s gates. As Ikasa paid the entry toll, he could not help but pity the condition of the City.

The sturdy gates were broken. The City walls had collapsed in numerous places. Still, their robust structures reminded everyone of the City’s prosperous past.

Built on the edge of the Forest, this City thrived by exploiting the natural treasure trove. A thriving timber industry was the economic lifeline of this City. It supplied wood to every Tier-3 and Tier-2 Cities in the County!

Adventurers formed parties to explore the depths of the forests. Caravans transporting the woods hired local mercenaries, providing employment to even more localities. If you had no other skill, you could become a Lumberjack and chop the wood.

Due to numerous opportunities, no hand in the City was idle, and no stomach empty. Their industriousness and the City Lord’s vision had made the City prosper.

Ikasa sighed in the carriage. He admired the City Lord Qin of Beech City for making the right decisions and leading the City on path to prosperity. He would have loved to work with him.

‘Unfortunately, he went missing inside the rift.’

He shook his head with regret and looked out of the window. He saw destroyed shops and houses, a further reminder of the situation of the City.

After the City Lord went missing, the City became chaotic without any one to supervise it. No power was strong enough to convincingly maintain the law and order.

Those with vile minds took advantage of the chaos and looted the wealthy merchants. The very mercenaries they had hired for protection, murdered and looted them. Trade and Commerce suffered as a result.

Before the Citizens of Beech City could resolve internal problems, external forces arrived for the Planar Rift. They disregarded the locals and snatched whatever resources they wanted.

Fights on streets at every hour became commonplace. And the result was destruction of property. In this way, the once prosperous City had been ruined.

Their carriage entered the Inner-City on the way to the City Lord’s Manor to meet with Path Finder Zhen Ya. The Kids looked out of the window and noticed beasts dragging stones and logs.

“Brother Ikasa, what are they doing?”

The ever curious Luo Qiqi asked. Her question drew everyone’s attention to the scene outside. The mules were dragging the construction materials to their left.

Ikasa saw a large building being reconstructed in the distance when he followed Luo Qiqi’s finger. A man floating in the air was supervising the placement of the stone blocks.

‘Why would a Path Finder supervise the construction himself?’

Ikasa wondered. He looked closely and beyond the half built structure, Ikasa saw a pitch black hole. It seemed as if it had sucked in all the light in the surroundings.

“That is the Planar Rift.”

Elder Yi Gan commented, his eyes also looking in the same direction. Ikasa looked at the dark hole with fascination and wariness. The thought of the unknown lying beyond excited and spooked him.

The carriage kept on moving and soon the Rift was hidden from their view. A few minutes later, the horses came to a stop before a large manor.

They had arrived at their destination.

The butler of the manor hurried over to the deboarding Ikasa and his group. He bowed to Elder Yi Gan and politely reported,

“Path Finder Zhen is waiting for you in the living room, Mister Ikasa.”

Elder Yi Gan laughed awkwardly and pointed to the young man beside him.

“I am but a mere subordinate. He is my master, Ikasa.”

The butler was taken aback. He looked at the young man with shock.

‘This young man is the one who makes Spiritual Imprints of Martial Skills?’

The young man wore a robe made with white and blue silky fabric. Even though it was smudged with mud and blood, the butler had immediately recognized its worth.

He only approached the elder because he never thought that Ikasa who makes the Spiritual Imprints might be a young man!

He quickly bowed to Ikasa, asking for forgiveness.

“My apologies, Mister Ikasa. Please, come this way. Path Finder Zhen and Mistress Qin are waiting for you.”

Then he called two servants and ordered, “Bring their luggage to the rooms on the second floor.”

“No need, Butler,” Ikasa interjected, tapping his newly acquired bracelet.

The poor butler received another shock. The Spatial Storage devices were incredibly rare and precious. Not even the City Lord of a Tier 3 City could get his hands on one easily.

Yet, Ikasa had one!

Speechless, the Butler quietly led the way to the living room.

In the spacious hall, two ladies sat opposite each other in silence. The atmosphere between the two was amiable and peaceful. One was a mature woman in her forties and another young and cold beauty.

The mature woman stood up to receive Ikasa and his group when they arrived inside the hall.

Ikasa cupped his fist and slightly bowed to Path Finder Zhen and looked at the Mature Woman with confusion.

“Meet Lady Qin Xin, the wife of the missing City Lord Qin. She was kind enough to offer you and your people a residence.”

Path Finder Zhen Ya introduced in her usual cold voice. Ikasa nodded in understanding and quickly cupped his fists at the mature woman.

“Thank You Lady Qin for opening your home to strangers like us. If we have an opportunity, we will surely repay your grace.”

The lady waved her hand with elegance.

“It is my honor and pleasure to host distinguished Sense Trainers like you, Mister Ikasa. Please make yourselves comfortable.”

She spoke with charm and poise but she could not hide the worry in her eyes. She looked at Path Finder Zhen and excused herself from their company.

“I see that you have cleared the route.”

Zhen Ya mentioned, her eyes stopping at his wrist and the blood spots on his robes.

“Yes, I did. It was easier than I expected.”

She was the one who had provided information about the Bandit Leader to the City Lord Zhen and Ikasa knew it.

Had the City Lord opened a punitive expedition against the bandits, they never would’ve come out in the open. They would have harassed the City Lord’s forces using guerilla warfare and slowly worn them out, until they had to retreat without any results.

But the Dark Dang had underestimated Ikasa and his group. A majority of the Bandits fell prey to Ikasa’s ploy and most importantly, they lost their leader. Now, the City  Lord can easily take care of the remnants.

Ikasa knew this and he actively participated, just for the Spatial Bracelet.  There was no bigger prize than this device.

The two of them sat in silence for a minute. Ikasa waited for Zhen Ya to speak but she showed no signs of opening her mouth.

As the one in need of information, Ikasa began to ask questions.

“Path Finder Zhen, can you tell me about the forces competing in the Planar Rift?”

Ikasa’s question triggered the annoyed-by-stupid side of Zhen Ya. She slapped her palm on the armrest as she cursed.

“There are quite a few stupid bastards here. First you have to watch out for those idiots from the Mu Family. Just because they are a distant bloodline of the Royal family, their idiot Chakra Sensing Realm Expert thinks he can order me around!”

“Who does he think he is? One day I am going to break his neck!”

Ikasa’s lips twitched at her outrage. Only the Martial Genius would dare curse the Mu Family.

She noticed Ikasa’s twitching lips and realized where she was. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

“Watch out for the Mu family. Try not to get in conflict with them. If you do, kill…. .”

Ikasa cleared his throat, reminding her of their location. She began to tell Ikasa of other powers in the City.

“The He Family arrived yesterday. You can see if they are willing to cooperate, but don’t hold high hopes. They have sent their Young Master.”

Her contemptuous tone let Ikasa know of what she thought of the Young Master of the He Family.

“There are two other powers from the Elm City. They have traveled far to arrive here from the other end of the County. They are the Su family and Nian Clan.”

“Oh? Why make such a long journey?”

The Deciduous County was adjacent to the Furnace Fire Empire. Beech City was farthest from the border and Elm City was closest to the border. All the other cities of the county lay in between.

The Elm City was so far that even the Ebony City of the Evergreen County was nearer to other Cities than the Elm City.

So Ikasa wondered what could possibly attract their attention.

“Same reason as you. The Spirit Coins. Elm City is not only a bastion of defense against the Furnace Fire Empire, it is also a trade hub. The Su Family and Nian Clan must need the Spirit Coins to prepare for the Merchants arriving next month.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep