Meeting people

The Sky Fortune Kingdom was an average mortal country that was subordinate to the Seven Profound Valley. It had a population of several tens of millions and roughly the same level of infrastructure as a medieval era country on Earth.

Even though I was near the capital, the road quality was terrible. Mud, rocks, and vegetation was found in the middle of the road. It was more like guidelines people made on the ground than an actual place to walk. Still, I was jetting to my destination, jumping over small potholes, dodging low hanging branches, and pumping my legs as fast as they could go. Once I made it to a straight stretch of the road, I zoomed under the shades of trees as if I was a falling rock.

As fun as it sounds, I wasn't enjoying it.

Have you ever gone cycling in a tropical country? Then you'll know, the biggest obstacle isn't the steep inclines or the scorching sun.

It was the insects.

You'll be surprised how many times I had mosquito smashing at my eyelids in the past couple of hours. This, combined with the dust, made me squint my eyes for most of the journey.

What should be a fun experience turned into a blind man trying his best not to smash his head against a tree.

Traveling without a true essence barrier is a bitch.

The 3000 jin Iron Armor Bear on my shoulder also wasn't helping. I was planning to sell it to jump start my cash flow, but perhaps I should've just picked something else less valuable.

By the time I found a trance of human civilization, it was already noon. What laid in front of me were farmland spanning over the hills as far as I could see.

The Sky Fortune City housed a population of millions of people. With how poor the infrastructure was, 90% of all food products had to be produced locally. This meant millions of acres of farmland was needed to sustain the population. The amount of food they had to keep for emergencies has to be massive too as they not only have to deal with droughts and natural disasters like the ones on Earth, they also have to deal with beast tides.

Beast tides would occur when the numbers of vicious beasts grew too high, they would widen their territory, and that would inevitably clash with the human territory. Countless vicious beasts would charge into human cities.

No matter how big the army was, or how many cultivators a country has, they have their own borders to keep. They can't spare manpower just to guard millions of acres of farmland with little to no defensive structures.

A beast tide isn't like an opposing army, it can just form right inside the kingdom's territory. The armies at the border won't just abandon their positions to come and provide reinforcement, the armies inside the city also won't just rush out to their deaths. So when a beast tide forms, hundreds of thousands of farmers will rush back into the city for the safety provided by the city's walls.

After the beast tide is defeated, the farmers will come back to their homes, finding it bruised and battered. Their farms pillaged beyond recognition. If the government didn't save enough grains for their people, a massive famine would occur.

Therefore, I can't stress enough how expansive the farmland in front of me was. My body was rushing through at the speed of a horse, and yet, no matter where I looked, there were still only patches upon patches of rice fields. The air was fresh, the soil beneath my feet was moist. Farmers were working away in the fields.

It wasn't a sight I was expecting to see in a world filled with supernatural power.

Of course, there were still some things I couldn't see on Earth. Like a farmer using vicious beasts in place of an ox in plowing the fields.

Another farmer was using his scythe to weed away the vegetation. Each of his swings was strong enough to break any rocks that were in the way.

Another one was broadcasting rice seeds with a whole wagon of rice seeds. By using a smaller steel wagon as a throwing tool, he scoop them using the smaller wagon and accurately spread the seeds out across the fields like droplets of rain.

The sight was a little shocking to me, but luckily, I had a good natured white-haired old lady to keep me company. She hooked me into a chat and I happily obliged.

'Wait, wasn't I running?'

I looked down at my legs, it WAS running. I then looked down at the old woman's legs, it ALSO was running.

"Umm… Ma'am?" I sweat dropped.

"What a good boy, are you running errands for your family?" She smiled while easily keeping up pace with me.

"Uhh… Something like that."

...

Cultivation world is bullsh*t.

...

Nevertheless, I had a soft spot for old people and the grandma seemed to be in the mood for some chat.

"Do you know where I can sell this bear? *Hup* I'm in need of some cash." I asked her while jumping over a pothole.

"Oh ho ho… An Iron Armor bear like that is best butchered first and then sold separately in parts. Does your neighborhood not have anyone who can butcher?"

"Ah… Not really." I scratched my head.

"Then I'll butcher it for you, come over to the side." She said while pointing over to the right at the next intersection.

We both stop next to a silver boulder. She then pulled out a foot long pig butchering knife from her back. Her short stature contrasted against the thick, long knife made specifically for men.

"Urm… Ma'am. Where are you gonna…"

Before I could finish speaking, she slashed out perpendicularly against the boulder.

*Swoosh*

The knife didn't nick an inch.

"Help me push the top off, lad." She said while taking the 3000 jin bear off of my shoulder.

I did it. No question asked.

The boulder slit off with just a little push, revealing the smooth surface below. She then put the bear on the makeshift table and started butchering.

Of course, she didn't forget to have a chat with me while doing it.

"So, are you here for the Seven Profound Martial House's entrance exam, lad?"

"...Yes, although…I'm not sure how long it would be until the exam starts."

"Well, you do know that entrance assessments of the Seven Profound Martial House are held regularly at the beginning of fall and the beginning of spring every year right?" Her smile grew.

I slowly nodded my head and said "...Yes?"

"And~? We're in the middle of what season?" She pointed up her aged hand at the scorching sun.

"Summer…" I evaded her eyes.

"So?"

"Around…. Three months?"

"Not so bright aren't you lad?" She laughed.

And with that, I'm now marked as a dumbass. I knew it was summer of course, but I didn't know how far into the season it was. I couldn't tell her I just popped into existence a week ago after all. Nevertheless, it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

We continued to talk while she butchered the bear. Me, pretending to be dumb, and she, happily playing the part of a senior.

It wasn't long before she finished up and packed everything into bags made from the hide itself.

"I'll be taking 200 jin of meat, okay lad? I haven't had a good fresh bear stew in a while." She said.

"Oh, that'll be fine, Ma'am. Umm… Where do you think I should be selling this?" I pointed to the two seperate bags.

One bag contained the meat and edible organs while the other had the bear's armor in pieces.

"The meat should be sold at the Grand Clarity Pavilion, they're the number one dining place in the city, ask any local and they'll know. Remember lad, don't let them take it for any lower than 30 gold taels okay? The armor, on the other hand, can be sold to any decent blacksmith in the city for 40 gold taels." She said.

"Lad, with how strong you were, I almost thought you were a local at first. I have to go now, don't let others take advantage of you okay?" Concerns seeped into her wrinkled face.

"Thank you very much Senior, may I know your name?" I bowed.

"My surname is Qin." She said.

"Miss Qin then. I'm Peng Tian. Thank you Ma'am." I bowed again before taking the bags.

We both walked away after that.