Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 268 - 7: No Rights for Outsiders Series

January 12, 2018

"In any case, thank you for your visit, here is a small souvenir, you're welcome to visit again next time."

The steward at the reception, holding a thick booklet, politely saw off Wang Jiu and his companions who had come from afar from QingCyan Cloud yun City.

Wang Jiu accepted the booklet and saw the cover read Heaven-Reaching City Travel Guide. He opened it and found the printing exquisite and the content detailed, a hundred times more comprehensive than the guide to Shen City he bought in QingCyan Cloud yun City.

Shen Qingming looked on curiously from the side, "Is this free?"

The steward at the reception said, "Of course it's free. You all have come from afar, and due to regulations, we could not entertain you properly. We can only offer such small gifts and hope you can understand."

Shen Qingming pouted, "It's no big deal, we expected as much."

Despite traveling a long way to Shen City, they relied on a family letter from Shen Ziyu, struggling and waiting in the C category to be summoned by the Shen Family. It was a bit upsetting, but Shen Qingming and the others wouldn't take it out on a steward at the reception for such a minor issue.

With plenty of time on their hands, they figured they'd wait ten days and take the opportunity to tour this magnificent city, seeing how it differs from Cyan Cloud.

Once out of the reception, Shen Qingming suggested, "Let's find a place to stay. We can't just endure the elements for ten days."

While speaking, she recalled with some dread the hardship of braving the mountains and the weather under Wang Jiu's command the past few days.

Wang Jiu was flipping through the booklet, skipping past the introduction to local customs, he arrived at the accommodation section and immediately spotted a conspicuous hotel ranking list.

"The hotel ranked third looks good, named [Shen's]. It's one of the oldest hotels in Shen City, originally private property of the Shen Family, later handed over to the Shen City Military Management Committee for operation. It's currently one of the top-rated traditional hotels in Shen City. Among the top ten hotels in the comprehensive rating, this one is the cheapest."

Shen Qingming glanced at the booklet, seeing that although the environment and service were not five-star, the cost-performance rating was off the charts. She immediately decided, "Let's go with this one!"

So the group headed to Shen's Hotel.

Along the way, they witnessed the local customs of Shen City, vastly different from QingCyan Cloud yun City.

In terms of hardware, the two cities are not much different. The city centers are filled with skyscrapers, and many immortal facilities hover high in the sky, looking down haughtily at the mortal world, showcasing the luxury of the city. However, when it comes to details, Shen City is less flashy compared to QingCyan Cloud yun City, with architectural decoration generally favoring simple, unadorned, massive, black-and-white styles.

The biggest distinction between the two cities lies in their people's character. Compared to the relatively easygoing and inclusive people of Cyan Cloud, the character of Shen City's people can be summed up as downright combative.

On the not-too-long stretch from the city center's reception to Shen's Hotel, they witnessed three fights.

But unlike the fights seen in QingCyan Cloud yun City, Shen City's brawls were so professional and orderly that they were admirable.

Shen City's people are fond of fighting, but they never take brawls lightly. They treat them as matters of personal honor and disgrace, unlike the street brawlers in QingCyan Cloud yun City's slums, who resort to fists at the slightest disagreement. In Shen City, every fight has a designated arena, and passing third parties are invited to serve as simple arbitrators. Though fierce, the fights don't result in fatalities, and within half a minute of determining the winner, doctors with stretchers arrive at the scene.

This professional manner truly broadened their horizons.

On the other hand, the omnipresent street fights have fostered extraordinary combat abilities in Shen City's people. Even those without any Immortal Dao Cultivation or Inner Family True Qi can at least throw a decent punch.

As for the Immortal Cultivators, their methods are even more advanced. Regardless of the realm, their practical combat techniques are highly sophisticated, incomparable to the Scripture Hall Cultivators of QingCyan Cloud yun City.

It is fair to say that no city in the world rivals Shen City in terms of average combat prowess. Even Heaven-Reaching City can't compare to Shen City in practical combat skills.

The people of Shen City take immense pride in this. While many outsiders, from places like Golden Jade City or Lingshan City, might view Shen City's people as unruly and reckless barbarians, in the eyes of Shen City's people, those indulged in material wealth and cultural opulence are merely synonymous with weakness. In Shen City's eyes, any local hero could easily handle three soft-outsiders.

As they passed a street barbecue stall, they overheard diners discussing the Cyan Cloud Tournament held half a month ago, speaking with a tone of disdain. It's as if the champion of the Cyan Cloud Tournament would be ordinary in Shen City, and the second and third places were not even worth considering...

In response, Li Wanqing, who had secured second place in the Cyan Cloud Tournament, commented, "No wonder years ago when my uncle traveled here and swept Shen City with his sword, it caused a public outcry. Being bested in their most specialized field by an outsider who even eloped with the youngest princess of the Shen Family is a national humiliation that can't be washed away even in a hundred years."

After saying this, Li Wanqing seemed eager to try her luck, "I wonder if with my current strength, I can replicate a fraction of my uncle's prowess back then? I've heard that in Shen City, those who excel in fighting are particularly favored by young girls. Just showcasing a few skills would make those pretty young ladies practically throw themselves at you."

Wang Jiu remarked, "That sounds a bit like the inner thoughts of a rapist."

"Hey! I've never been one to use force!"

The group chatted as they walked and soon arrived at the Shen's Hotel.

From the outside, it was truly hard to imagine that this was a top ten rated hotel in the travel manual—a gray, boxy little building with four observation decks at the corners haphazardly converted from watchtowers. The entrance was set in a corner corridor partially embedded underground, making it seem very concealed and leaving one quite worried about what would happen if it started raining.

Inside the lobby, instead of the splendor one would expect from a top-notch hotel, the staff didn't even have the courtesy to smile. They just had indifferent, perfunctory expressions, lazily looking at the obviously out-of-town guests.

The only benefit was the price list on the wall behind them which looked incredibly wallet-friendly. A single night in a budget room for just a couple of silver coins—it was almost as if it was free in such prime city spots. As for the top-of-the-line Sect Leader's Suite, it was just one Spirit Stone per night. Not only was the facilities map beside the price list beautifully rendered, but it also included a complimentary Spirit Gathering Array, allowing one to share a bit of Shen City's spiritual qi.

Shen Qingming's eyes lit up just looking at it. She had picked this hotel from the list due to its explosive value for the money—a habit formed from her early years of poverty, trying to stretch a single Spirit Stone into eighteen pieces. With the wealth of the Spirit Cat idol at this time, she naturally wouldn't care about a few Spirit Stones. Moreover, since she came representing the Li Family, she couldn't wrong herself too much.

Once they booked two Sect Leader's Suites at the front desk and paid the deposit, the attendant finally forced a smile and tossed over two Door-Opening Talismans. The attitude was almost as if they were bestowing alms, which was quite astonishing.

The group walked toward the top-floor Sect Leader's Suites while discussing why the [Shen's Hotel] held such prestige, with even the two front desk attendants exhibiting the pride of city rulers.

Someone suggested that this was the martial spirit of Shen City, disdainful of lowering themselves for the service industry. But considering those two attendants seemed to be at most at a Five Animals Qigong level, with Inner Family True Qi scarcely detectable, it's unknown where their martial spirit came from.

Others suggested it was the attitude of Shen City's Celestial Dynasty Upper City, contemptuous of out-of-town tourists. Yet, according to Li Wanqing's observations, those two young women, though undeniably beautiful, were clearly not locals…

It wasn't until Wang Jiu boldly used the talisman to open the door of the left-side suite on the top floor that the answer was finally revealed.

"What the hell…"

Even with the broad experience of the Celestial Divine Sword, upon seeing the scene before them, they couldn't help but curse.

Dust, cobwebs, and dilapidation abounded! Upon closer inspection, the room's outline did vaguely resemble the illustration next to the lobby's price list, but the difference was at least ten years! At first glance, it was as if they were watching a post-apocalyptic movie where human civilization was extinguished!

The next moment, Wang Jiu heard Li Chaolu and Shen Qingming scream again from behind. As soon as the door was opened, two emaciated mice scurried out, nearly causing the two young women to release True Essence Bombs and blow the entire top floor of the hotel skyward.

The situation in the adjacent right-side Sect Leader's Suite was the same. Upon opening the door, several small round spiders dangled from the ceiling, elevating Li Chaolu and Shen Qingming's screams once more.

Fortunately, the two women did not scream for long before two cleaning ladies came up the stairs, dressed in headscarves and masks, carrying mops and brooms, and holding buckets, saying coldly, "Excuse us."

Only then did Shen Qingming realize the problem.

"You're renting out rooms that haven't even been cleaned!?"

"Aren't we here now, what's the hurry?" Cleaning Lady A retorted rather irritably, showing no fear of being complained about.

"And these facilities are way too old! The candelabras on the wall are about to fall off! They totally don't match your illustration!"

Cleaning Lady A, exasperated, pulled down her mask halfway and replied with just one sentence: "No refunds, sorry."

"This place is a scam!" Shen Qingming exclaimed, suddenly recognizing the cleaning lady—it seemed she was one of the young women from the front desk…

Cleaning Lady A sneered, "Feel free to complain to the Military Management Committee if you've got the guts. It's not my family's business anyway."

Cleaning Lady B also sneered, "If you want to stay in a real Sect Leader's Suite, go to Divine Sword Tower or Desert Sea Tower—they range from twenty to a hundred Spirit Stones a night. To live in the Sect Leader's Suite for one Spirit Stone is nothing but wishful thinking."

Just when Shen Qingming was so angry she was about to explode, Li Wanqing stepped aside and deftly slipped a few Spirit Stones into the cleaning ladies' hands.

Almost instantaneously, the icy demeanor on the faces of the cleaning ladies melted into smiles.

Then they got straight to the point.

"You found this place from that tourist manual at the reception, right?"

"Toss that thing away quickly; it's specifically made to trap out-of-towners. You can pay to get on that list, and if someone important puts in a word, you're on too. If you really want recommendations, I have a list locals use for food, clothing, lodging, and travel."