Divine Emperor Demon Emperor
Chapter 371: An Unbridled Wild Horse
Aboard the Firebird, Lin Yun flew directly out of the Flawless Palace. At the entrance to the Main Hall, Luo Feng saw his mount being ridden by Lin Yun and immediately started cursing.
"You little bastard! How dare you screw me over..."
After a torrent of curses, Luo Feng slowly calmed down. ’Forget it. With a senior uncle following him, he should be fine.’
Lin Yun had no idea that after he left the Flawless Palace, a Supreme Elder was silently following him. With the Supreme Elder’s level of cultivation, it was impossible for Lin Yun to detect him.
The area where the Flawless Palace was located was called the Flawless Waters. To put it bluntly, it was an enormous lake, and the Flawless Palace itself sat on an island at its center.
The moment they flew away from the island where the Flawless Palace resided, the Firebird became like a wild horse that had slipped its reins, endlessly spinning and frolicking in the sky.
Lin Yun used his Elemental Power to desperately cling to the Firebird’s back to keep from falling off. But after being thrashed around so wildly, it only took a few moments for him to become dizzy and disoriented.
"Are you insane? Keep this up and I’m going to pass out!" Unable to take any more from the crazy bird, Lin Yun yelled.
The Firebird paid Lin Yun’s shouting no mind. Having finally escaped Demon Beast Ridge, it was absolutely ecstatic. Stuck in Demon Beast Ridge all day, every day, the Firebird had been going stir-crazy.
In a sudden dive, the Firebird prepared to plunge into the lake. Seeing its trajectory, Lin Yun roared in anger, "Are you fucking insane? Stop this instant!"
However, Lin Yun’s shouts had no effect. The Firebird plunged headfirst into the lake. Normally, Firebirds hated water, but after being cooped up for so long, even playing in the water was a blast.
It weaved through the water, now and then breaching the surface only to dive back under. Seated on the Firebird’s back, Lin Yun was caught off guard and swallowed a large mouthful of lake water.
Lin Yun wasn’t the only one suffering; Little Ape had it even worse. Still sound asleep, the ape was completely defenseless. When the Firebird plunged into the water, Little Ape was forced to swallow several large gulps of icy lake water.
After frolicking in the water for a while, the Firebird finally soared back into the sky. By the time they left the water’s surface, Lin Yun’s clothes were soaked through. Little Ape was coughing nonstop; it seemed it had choked badly.
"Are you insane?" Soaking wet and miserable, Lin Yun roared at the Firebird.
As Lin Yun roared, Little Ape went a step further, scrambling to the top of the Firebird’s head and slamming a fist down on it.
Wincing in pain, the Firebird immediately squawked, "What’d you hit me for?"
After its bout of madness, the Firebird finally calmed down a little. You could still tell, however, that it remained highly agitated. For the Firebird, getting to come out and play was a dream come true.
In Demon Beast Ridge, it ate and slept well every day, but it was incredibly boring.
Once they had flown out of the Flawless Waters, Lin Yun consulted his map. To get to Jincheng, he would first have to pass through Fire City, one of the five great cities, which was under the jurisdiction of the Taiqing Academy.
Lin Yun estimated that if they traveled nonstop, day and night, they could reach Jincheng in half a month at the Firebird’s speed. However, Mo Qingshui’s birthday celebration wasn’t for another month, so there was no need to rush.
’I’ll go check out Wind City first,’ he thought. The closest city to his current location was Wind City, which also happened to be under the jurisdiction of the Flawless Palace.
There were five great cities in the Eastern Heart Domain, each affiliated with one of the Five Great Forces: Wind City with the Flawless Palace, Jincheng with the Wuji Sect, Fire City with the Taiqing Academy, Water City with the Spiritual Light Pavilion, and Wood City with the Death Row Shelter.
The five great cities were the most prosperous places in the entire Eastern Heart Domain. Each had a permanent population of several billion, and with the constant flow of merchants and Martial Artists, the total population of each city approached ten billion.
If the Five Great Forces were the Martial Arts Sacred Lands of the Eastern Heart Domain, then the five great cities were its economic hubs.
Of course, these five great cities also depended on the Five Great Forces to thrive. Each year, the cities provided an innumerable amount of resources to their affiliated power.
Among the five great cities, Wood City was the most noteworthy. Although it was affiliated with the Death Row Shelter, the location of the Shelter’s headquarters remained a mystery. This made Wood City different from the other four.
It was somewhat like the Mysterious City in Yanhuang Country, though the level of chaos in Wood City was far beyond anything the Mysterious City could match. It was a haven for people from every walk of life, both high and low.
But it was precisely for this reason that Wood City held a unique status among the five great cities. It was said that as long as you had the money, you could buy anything there. There was even a popular saying about it.
In Wood City, as long as you could pay the price, you could even have a Main Seat Elder from one of the Six Great Forces of the Eastern Domain assassinated. Of course, that’s assuming you had that kind of money.
In any case, Wood City was simply a special place. Lin Yun had read all of this in books before he set out. None of this was a secret in the Eastern Heart Domain; you could find it described in just about any book on the region.
Wind City was very close to the Flawless Palace; on the Firebird, the journey would only take half a day. But because they had stopped and started along the way, letting the Firebird fool around for a while, it was already evening by the time Lin Yun arrived.
Wind City was under the jurisdiction of the Flawless Palace, so its disciples enjoyed a high status there. When the city guards saw a massive Firebird approaching from the sky, they all instantly became incredibly respectful.
’Anyone who can ride a Firebird must hold a high position in the Flawless Palace.’
Standing on the Firebird’s back, Lin Yun could see Wind City from far away. A dense sprawl of buildings stretched out before him. Even from a great distance, Lin Yun could see the magnificent and prosperous city.
The Yanhuang Capital had once amazed Lin Yun, but compared to Wind City, it seemed like an uncivilized mountain village—as crude and simple as could be.
"So this is a city in the Eastern Heart Domain..." he muttered to himself.
As they drew closer, he knew that one couldn’t simply fly a Firebird directly into Wind City unless it was an emergency. Sure enough, while Lin Yun was still over ten li away, four Primordial Ocean Realm experts appeared before his mount.
They were all Guards from the Bai Family, Wind City’s most powerful family and an affiliate of the Flawless Palace.
Now that they were observing it up close, they realized this particular Firebird was far more majestic than an ordinary one. Its feathers looked like true flames, perpetually burning.
"We were unaware of Your Excellency from the Flawless Palace’s arrival and failed to provide a proper welcome. We beg your forgiveness." Facing someone who could ride a Firebird, they didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect and hurriedly bowed to Lin Yun.
"There’s no need for such formalities. I’m just here to look around Wind City," Lin Yun replied quietly.
Only after hearing Lin Yun’s reply did the four dare to raise their heads. When they saw how young he was, they were all startled, their minds filled with confusion. ’To be able to ride a Firebird at his age... could he be one of the Ten Core Disciples?’
Not daring to ask any more questions, the four took up positions around the Firebird. Acting as an honor guard, they respectfully escorted Lin Yun toward Wind City.
(Please add this to your library, vote with your Monthly Passes, send gifts, and leave a recommendation!)