Yuhao peeked out from his carriage, seeing towering walls in the distance getting closer and closer. After a week of travel, they had arrived at their destination.
Oakwood City was a second-tier city within the empire, home to a population of nearly two million people. It was in the middle of the continent, along the border with the Heaven Dou Empire. To the east of them, five hundred kilometers away, was the Shrek City and Star Dou Forest.
It is the largest city in the north of the empire and acts as the first line of defense for the Star Luo Empire.
The city was surrounded by a massive twenty-foot-tall wall, a necessity due to the risk of constant invasions in the past. Though with the rise of the Sun Moon Empire, conflict here was rare nowadays.
Still, an army garrison remained stationed on the northern side of the city.
Along the way, the caravan had stopped at many locations to restock supplies, transfer goods, and pick up and drop off travelers. Even so, their journey had been surprisingly fast.
The distance between Star Luo City, from where they departed, and Oakwood City was nearly eight hundred kilometers.
On an ordinary path, covering such a distance would normally take almost twice as long.
But the road they took was remarkable. A key road connecting the capitals of the Star Luo and Heaven Dou empires. A safe passage used by merchants. This road extended forward from the north gate of Oakwood City, and one could reach Heaven Dou City if they followed it. That was also the destination of their caravan.
It was the lifeline of the empire's commerce and is regularly maintained and kept in top condition by the empire at all times.
The security was foolproof, making bandit activity virtually non-existent on this route. So their journey finished without any risk or worry.
Finally, they reached the southern gate of the city. The guards inspected the goods and checked the people for anything suspicious. Once everything turned out fine, the caravan was allowed to enter the city.
From there, they moved towards the west side of the city and came to stop at the merchant district.
Yuhao and Yun'er stepped out of the carriage, picked up their luggage, and made their way out of there. They asked around for an inn and, after some time, found one that had an affordable price.
The price for a single room here was three silver coins per day. This price did not include food, which they had to buy separately at the dining area on the ground floor of the inn.
Yun'er took out the money and booked a room for one week. It was enough time for them to find a new place.
They climbed the wooden staircase and arrived at their room on the first floor. Looking around, the room was clean and had two single beds along with an attached toilet. There was a window facing towards the road from which you could see the activity going on the street. It had good ventilation and sunlight to come in.
For the price, the room was worth it.
They settled in and began unpacking their luggage. The journey had left them covered in dust and sweat. They took a bath to freshen up, changed into fresh cloths and rested for a bit.
Before they knew, it was already evening.
They ate dinner at the dining hall and returned to their room to sleep.
From tomorrow, they had a lot to do, and a good night's rest was great for the start.
There were three urgent goals that they had to complete.
First, they would go to the academy to enroll Yuhao. That was the primary reason they had come to this faraway place. It was their top priority.
Second, they needed to find a permanent place to live. The inn was expensive, costing ninety silver coins just for a single room. For half that price, they could rent an entire courtyard in the city.
Third, Yun'er needed to find work. Without a new income source, their savings would eventually run out.
Yun'er currently had around two hundred gold coins. This was her entire savings, money she had earned working for the past fifteen years.
Even though this much was enough to sustain them for years. Cultivation costs a lot of money, and what they have might not be enough for Yuhao's needs. This was Yun'er's worry.
A cultivator needed pills, potions, pallets, and alchemical baths. Yuhao will need all these resources in the future.
They don't have the support of any faction and will have to rely on themselves for everything.
Yuhao's talent far surpassed that of herself, and not having the resources will be nothing but a waste of that talent. She needed to keep earning money.
It was also her habit keep some money for emergencies.
If they do not earn more, any amount of savings will eventually run out.
The next morning at dawn, Yuhao woke up as the sun rose.
During the journey, he was not able to maintain his usual routine of running and physical training. Now that they had finally settled down, he decided to restart.
He changed his clothes, put on his shoes, and then left the inn. His goal was to first become familiar with the place.
Making a round of the city would be a great way to achieve that.
Security for him was not an issue.
No one messes with a soul master anywhere, even if it is the most beginner one.
No one can guarantee that behind a soul master will not be high level cultivator.
and with Terra around, Yuhao didn't need to worry about it that much.
On the run, he found a large park that could be used for exercise. Other soul masters were doing similar training here.
Yuhao no longer needed to hide that he was training in secret. He was free. and after two hours of training, he was back to the inn.
By this time, Yun'er was ready, just waiting for him to come back. Yuhao was filled with sweat, so he took a bath and got dressed in fresh clothes.
They went to dine for breakfast and Tea and prepared to go to the academy.
Yuhao asked the man at the reception for directions. Even though it's only Junior soul master academy but, as the only soul master academy in the city, it was quite famous. Even ordinary people knew about it.
The man told them the way and also asked if they wanted a hire a carriage.
After thinking, they agreed. It was their first day and it was better not to exhaust themselves by going on foot.
After some wait, the carriage arrived, and they departed towards the academy.
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