Chapter 54 |
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, nearly two months had passed.
The entire city of Coral Thorn City was making final preparations for the large auction two weeks away.
Inside the large canteen of the Artisans’ Association, voices roared like boiling water.
“Be careful these next few days. If there’s nothing important, absolutely do not go wandering the streets!”
Having just finished work and returned to the Artisans’ Association to eat, Jack tirelessly instructed Imon and the others gathered around him.
“We know already, Brother Jack. You’ve said it dozens of times.”
Over the past few days, their ears had practically grown calluses from Jack’s constant nagging.
“Yeah, Brother Jack. We’ll stay in the Artisans’ Association these next few days and won’t go anywhere.”
Imon also hurriedly gave his assurance. He was currently immersed in the newly learned carving techniques and was not very interested in the bustle outside.
Many people did not bother to conceal their own strength in the slightest, their oppressive presence intense.
This was not a matter of showing off, but of avoiding unnecessary trouble. Besides, true strength could not be judged from aura alone anyway.
These past few days, ordinary people had all gathered in some ordinary districts and markets. In the prosperous areas near the city center, they were basically nowhere to be seen.
They also knew that if they were accidentally scared to death by a strong person’s aura, they would truly die with a grievance.
Even those bosses in the central district who valued money over life did not want easily frightened ordinary people affecting the moods of their customers. The original ordinary staff had all been forced to suspend work and go on leave until the influence of the auction passed.
The patrol squads would also drive away those ordinary people who did not know the meaning of death and approached the major commercial streets.
As a result, because of the absence of ordinary people, there was an uncountable amount of miscellaneous work to be done. Low-rank adventurers suddenly became highly sought after in Coral Thorn City, taking over a large number of jobs that ordinary people usually handled.
Jack, at any rate, was an Apprentice professional, so he barely qualified to walk the streets.
These past few days counted as the most profitable period of his life. In just a few days, the wages he earned matched several months of his usual income.
“Brother Jack, did you run into anything interesting while you were out these last few days?”
“Interesting things, huh?” Jack slowly chewed the roasted chicken leg in his mouth.
“I didn’t run into anything especially special. After all, I was only cooking in a restaurant in the urban district, so there were too few things I could come across. But I did see quite a few strange and unusual races, like centaurs, merfolk, and the winged race……”
“Oh! Right, I heard there’s a newly arrived circus in East City, and it’s especially popular! The performances inside are so good that even those nobles applauded, and every show is completely packed!”
……
A veteran craftsman eating at the next table could not help but cut in when he heard their conversation:
“We can tell at a glance that you’re all newcomers. Every time Coral Thorn City’s large auction begins, aside from the auction itself, the most attractive things are the Dark Arena in the underground city and the trade exchanges of resources among the various races!”
“Dark Arena? What’s that?”
The few of them were immediately drawn in by the veteran’s words. They knew of arenas; those were places where noble lords entertained themselves. It was said that there were often all kinds of duels there, along with battles involving fierce beasts and magical beasts.
But they rarely had any contact with news of the underground city.
“Uncle, the underground city you mentioned, is it that place only Elite professionals are qualified to enter?”
“Have you been to the underground city? What’s inside it? I heard the people there are all terrifying……”
The young people immediately chirped noisily around the veteran again, and quite a few newly arrived apprentices also perked up their ears curiously.
Jack was even quick-witted enough to place a large plate of chicken legs onto the veteran’s table.
The veteran was not polite about it. He picked up the biggest chicken leg and took a bite, then said with his mouth full of grease:
“Of course I’ve been there. In Coral Thorn City, anyone who reaches Elite professional rank dreams of the underground city! That is the most mysterious and most prosperous place in Coral Thorn City!”
“And it is also the legendary place that truly turned Coral Thorn City into the great metropolis it is today!”
With just those two short sentences, the veteran stunned everyone, and sounds of sharp inhalations rose everywhere.
Very satisfied with everyone’s reaction, the veteran continued:
“As for who built the underground city of Coral Thorn City, nobody has known for a long time. It is said that it already existed even before Coral Thorn City did!”
The veteran’s first revelation left everyone present dumbstruck. Coral Thorn City had a history of at least several thousand years, and no one had expected the underground city here to be so ancient.
“The original underground city and Coral Thorn City were just an ordinary trading ground in a coastal region. Their development was very average, and there wasn’t much difference compared to other coastal cities.”
“Only several decades ago did someone completely take control of the underground city and reorganize its rules. That was what turned Coral Thorn City into the largest distribution center for Transcendent resources on the Silver Sand Coast!”
The veteran also sank into recollection. Back then, he had still been just a green youngster, wandering here with his parents, and then fortunately becoming a nominal disciple under President Mario’s teacher, taking him as master.
It could be said that he had personally experienced the dramatic changes of Coral Thorn City over these past decades.
“And the once-every-ten-years large auction also began from that time, and appearing alongside the large auction was the Dark Arena.”
“It’s just that the entry requirements for the Dark Arena are too high. Let alone ordinary people—even Formal professionals find it difficult to get in and watch!”
“Wow? Then have you seen it before?”
“Nonsense! If a man has never seen it even once, that’s a lifelong regret!”
The veteran said this with great pride. Even though that single trip had used up several years of his savings, forced him to gnaw on greens for half a year, and gotten him scolded by his mother for a whole year, he still felt it had been worth it!
Unfortunately, now he had elders above and children below. Even though he was already an Elite professional, he still could not bear to spend that much money on a ticket again.
The veteran took another bite of a chicken leg, his face full of nostalgia, and said:
“That was a battle between true powerhouses. You may not believe it if I say it, but our Coral Thorn City was built above a gigantic underground cavity so deep that no bottom can be seen!”
“Ah, then won’t we fall down?”
“If it’s that deep, won’t seawater pour in?”
“It won’t!” the veteran said firmly.
“When you become professionals yourselves and get the chance to go to the underground city, you’ll know. The rocks there are incomparably tough. The buildings of those top forces are all built using rock from the underground city.”
“Master, forget the underground city! Hurry up and talk about the arena!”
Someone had grown too impatient because the topic of the arena still had not been reached. They had no interest whatsoever in the history of Coral Thorn City; they only wanted to hear about hot-blooded battles.
“All right, all right, I’ll talk about the arena!” The veteran also realized he had wandered off topic somewhat, so he cleared his throat and continued.
“The Dark Arena is a combat platform open to all Grandmaster professionals under a hundred years old. It is also held once every ten years, and the victor can obtain enormous rewards provided by the major forces of Coral Thorn City···”
“Isn’t there anything even stronger?”
“Kid, stop interrupting! So ignorant!” someone immediately snapped back. “If those above Grandmaster started fighting, Coral Thorn City would probably be gone!”
Although most of the people here were ordinary folk, after spending so long in Coral Thorn City, they still knew some common knowledge of the Transcendent world.
Existences above Grandmaster were walking natural disasters in the Transcendent world, each and every one of them powerhouses capable of influencing an entire region.
The veteran tossed the gnawed-clean chicken bone onto the plate, picked up a fresh chicken leg, and continued:
“Let me put it this way: Grandmaster is the limit for all arena matches! Let alone Coral Thorn City—even across the whole continent, in the aerial fighting tournament of the greatest empire, the Hoth City-State Federation, the highest level is also only Grandmaster!”
“As for battles between powerhouses above Grandmaster, just think about the storm from a few months ago—that was only the pressure from a powerhouse’s aura!”
As he spoke, the veteran also released a slight trace of his own aura and pressed it toward the brat who had interrupted just now.
The half-grown boy’s face immediately turned deathly pale.
The veteran controlled it well and withdrew his aura before the boy wet himself.
“Remember this: Curiosity is not frightening; Ignorance is.”
“All right, let me continue with the duel match I saw. That was twenty years ago……”