Shanqing was stunned for a moment when he heard Fengyu’s question. He hadn’t realised that in his haste -

If that was true, then... would people dare to invite others into their fields?

Actually, he had initially thought that he would first try it with Fengyu, and if it didn’t work, he could consider going to other fields.

Now it seemed like... if the field owners weren’t stupid, would they allow others to enter?

Considering that this was something only friends would allow, strangers would probably not be accepted, and with the extra danger... except for someone like Fengyu who was a friend, would he even find a way to enter the fields of others?

He suddenly realised why the cities’ rules were so lax.

It was blatantly telling them that they could do whatever they wanted, but that they should be careful not to take on more danger than they could accept.

Since each field, even fully rented, was capped at 100 people, then you couldn’t split your rent further to fight the masses with greater masses... in the end, one hundred people would definitely attract more second stage beasts than they could afford to.

"Then..." Shanqing didn’t know what to say anymore.

"Actually, having a small group is fine, isn’t it? I reckon that as long as we don’t reach ten people, we shouldn’t be in too much danger... anyways, brother and I are close, and we are both inner citizens. I believe in your prowess and your ability to protect yourself and the field."

Shanqing nodded, "No worries! If brother Fengyu will allow me to escape the city, then I will definitely spare no expense to protect the field!"

He knew something other cultivators might not understand - each Beast Tide was a test for all cultivators in the city. He didn’t know whether higher cultivators were exempted, but lower cultivators were definitely part of the test.

What did this mean?

It meant that his family wouldn’t protect him from the Beast Tide. He had already left the family and entered the city - the only one who could help him was the Grand Elder.

And the Grand Elder had told him so much, asking him to prepare things for himself. Wanting more would be presumptuous.

The Grand Elder... his cultivation was high in the skies. He had many juniors, they were so distantly related that he couldn’t even call him grandfather or great-grandfather. So, how could he want more?

Several factors led to him knowing - not believing, but knowing - that this test was a true test. His survival was no longer guaranteed. He had to survive on his own. This opportunity to have a slightly higher chance to survive, he would never give it up!

His head raised as he said, "Brother, this renting procedure has to be formally completed by the city this time. Can we do it now?"

"It seems they really take it seriously. Sure, let’s go to the outer city hall and register Ming, Ling and you." Fengyu didn’t reject it.

He stood right up and walked out of the tea house with Shanqing. Behind him, he saw that Shanqing left behind a jade coin on the table to pay for the tea.

A thought emerged in his mind... since these young descendants of the founding families were in danger this time, they would likely pay a huge sum to join a field...

Without connections, no one would accept them.

But... didn’t Fengyu have Zimu?

He thought about it - how about selling one or two spots? As long as Zimu approved of the person being peaceful, he wouldn’t mind giving it away.

Nice people might not be peaceful, but peaceful people will definitely not betray him.

The thought came and stuck in his mind as they walked to the outer city hall.

They all were in their own minds, thinking and planning various things, with no time for chitchat.

When they arrived there, Fengyu saw that there were more people than usual...

’The core personnel of the city conveyed it, even Shanqing in the first stage got to know it, this means that this isn’t going to be a secret among most inner citizens. So, the people here are likely inner citizens or those close to them, all planning to pay their way to rent a field together.’

Standing in line, he saw that the people handling his line were very fast. Soon it was his turn already.

"I would like to rent my field together with these three people," Fengyu said.

The receptionist nodded and explained, "This option is currently only available if you either lived together with them for over a year, or if they are inner citizens."

"Uh, how do I prove I lived with them for a year?" Fengyu was slightly confused at the new regulation.

"The city knows," that was all the receptionist said, but no one doubted it.

"Then," Fengyu nodded, anyways, he was fine with it - he handed over the jade token of Shanqing and the twins.

The receptionist placed the tokens next to Fengyu’s. She moved them along her jade tablet for a moment before completing the process.

"They’ve all been registered."

After saying this, all tokens were handed back before they were told to stand in line again in case they had another matter.

Fengyu didn’t, so he only thanked them and left.

"Brother, thank you for this!" Shanqing was about to bow when Fengyu stopped him.

"There is no need to talk about this between brothers! Just come to my field, SE-84, and we’ll discuss the specifics about how we’ll handle this later."

"I will do so!" Shanqing said and was about to leave when Fengyu stopped him again.

"By the way... I have a way to confirm a person’s personality a bit, and I also trust your own judgement. So, how about we sell one or two spots?" Fengyu didn’t hesitate to directly state his own idea.

"Brother, do you really want to do it?" Shanqing asked in surprise, not expecting Fengyu to be so bold.

"You just heard the receptionist - the person has to be an inner citizen anyways. They should be able to carry their weight or even more. So, having more people, while it raises the danger, it is also a way to huddle together for warmth."

"Brother is right," Shanqing agreed deeply with this, then said, "I know a few people who might be interested. Brother said one or two, and we’re already four... then, I will only offer this to the people closest to me, and brother can make a final judgement about whether to allow them to rent the field or not."

"That’s good," Fengyu agreed.

Both had many things to do, so Fengyu didn’t bother with him anymore and left.

Standing outside the outer city hall... he thought for a moment.

Should he follow his plan before he knew of this news, or should he go back right away and make more preparations?

’No, this is also a preparation and is necessary!’ Fengyu thought to himself and told the twins that they had one more stop they had to visit.

Going down the eastern road, he walked through the side ways until he arrived at a small store with a storefront.

Two cultivators were inside, chatting about a few things. Blocked by the soundproofing array, he didn’t hear it, but seeing the grave expressions of the female cultivator, Fengyu could guess that they were told the same news he had been told just minutes ago.

He entered nonetheless.

Instantly, the female cultivator looked over, "Fellow daoist Fengyu?" she asked in surprise.

"Fellow daoist Liling, did I come at a bad time?" Fengyu asked.

"No, you’re also an inner citizen... but those behind you..." as she said this, the other cultivator also turned to Fengyu.

It was also a female cultivator, wearing long icy-blue robes, her hair white and her eyes blue - she looked like an ice princess coming right out of a movie.

"Greetings, fellow daoist," Fengyu greeted the person, then turned back to Liling.

"These are my two juniors, they’ve just joined the inner city! But fellow daoist saying this... it seems you’ve also been told the news?"

"Also? Fellow daoist... your background is quite good, isn’t it?" Liling asked in surprise.

"Haha, no, I just have many friends! After all, fellow daoist Liling was also about to tell me the same, isn’t that right?" Fengyu laughed but actually felt quite grateful and fortunate for having made these connections.