Chapter 537: Chapter 340: An Astonishing Four Months
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After reaching this conclusion, Yan Xiaobao had Lan Feng travel all day, while the two of them settled down at night and spent time training their bodies. At first, it was a painful and exhausting process for his body, but over time, as the training became routine, Yan Xiaobao’s physique slowly began transforming. His muscles grew much stronger than before. Lean muscle became easily noticeable, and his healthy body had improved significantly compared to months prior.
Crossing the Divine Domain took an astonishing four months, their speed far slower than even traveling within sacred dungeons. This was mainly due to Yan Xiaobao training his body every night. Although the journey took longer and required more time before he could reunite with his friends, his burning desire to bolster his strength swelled within him. He knew that it was crucial to enhance his power while he had the chance. If Wan Qiao refused to assist them, then he would need to be as strong as possible when facing the Forest King.
One reason Yan Xiaobao committed himself fully to body training was the aforementioned goal, but another was that he felt some changes within himself. The stronger his body became, the better it was able to process inner energy and release more of it at a time. Furthermore, the increase in brute strength also significantly boosted the power of Martial Arts and spiritual arts.
Recognizing this, Yan Xiaobao started to regret not training his body more earlier on. However, thanks to his current inner-strength training, his body had started adapting better than before.
While Yan Xiaobao was completely immersed in training both internal and external energies, Lan Feng focused on their travels. Finally, one day, as they stared at a large stone-built castle, they stopped.
Surrounding the city stood tall walls, and the environment reminded Yan Xiaobao of medieval castle towns he’d read about in the past. This kind of architecture was completely different from the buildings of the Sun Kingdom.
In recent days, humanoid beasts had appeared frequently on the road, all heading toward the city. As they approached, guards clad in red armor patrolled the road, and the constant bandit attacks had long ceased. Thus, Lan Feng had no need to reveal his aura to intimidate those around them.
After observing many beasts, Yan Xiaobao was surprised that no one perceived him as human but rather as a beast. Although his appearance slightly differed from most people, his body showed no signs of being beast-like.
"That’s because you don’t have a human aura," Lan Feng remarked quietly, "Even though I’m maintaining a hidden aura, because we share one body, don’t forgo the human aura."
Upon entering the city, Yan Xiaobao suddenly wondered what the currency was. He had Gold Coins, Elf Coins, and even beast cores with him, but he was certain the latter wasn’t the currency of choice.
Scanning his surroundings, he noticed the city bustling with creatures. They were all hybrids of humans and beasts, with many full beasts mingling in the area.
In the sky, One-Horned Eagles patrolled above the city, while on the ground, beastmen moved about—some selling wares, others purchasing goods. It resembled a human city. Yan Xiaobao began wandering through various streets, searching for a market where he could hear people shouting out the prices of their items. That seemed to be the only way for Yan Xiaobao to find the answers he sought.
As he moved through the city, Yan Xiaobao quickly located a market where he heard multiple merchants shouting the prices of their goods. To Yan Xiaobao’s satisfaction, the currency used was copper, silver, gold, and Spiritual Coins; and he still had plenty in his possession.
Grasping his money storage Memory Stone, he examined its contents and saw a large pile of coins inside. Even though Yan Xiaobao had funds, he didn’t plan to spend them soon. His only goal was to find the castle and locate Wan Qiao to seek her assistance in leaving the Divine Domain.
As their destination drew closer, both Yan Xiaobao and Lan Feng were filled with anxiety and hesitation. Both knew the relationship between Lan Feng and Wan Qiao wasn’t ideal, but they had come this far. It had been four thousand years since their last encounter, and now they were asking an old acquaintance for help.
While traversing the city, numerous One-Horned Eagles patrolled both the skies and the ground. The ones on the ground took humanoid form, their skin covered in golden feathers and their mouths bearing beaks.
Looking at the humanoid beasts around them, Yan Xiaobao was astonished. Each person looked different from the next, yet all were part-human and part-beast. The further he walked, the more diverse the humanoid beasts he encountered. But even though every beast was half-human, half-beast, Yan Xiaobao’s presence didn’t draw any curious stares; instead, he was shown significant respect. Everyone he passed either nodded or bowed to him; the path ahead of him was cleared, and nobody dared to step in his way.
"They must think you’re a highly-ranked Magic Beast," Lan Feng remarked with a grin, taking control of the body back from Yan Xiaobao. He told him that the Phoenix wouldn’t dare meet its old caretaker unless Yan Xiaobao announced their arrival.
The town they were in was as large as Liluo City, and traversing it took some time. This gave Yan Xiaobao an opportunity to reconcile his thoughts and comprehend the real danger of seeking help from the lady. If there had been any other option, he would have taken it, but the entire Divine Origin seemed to be a fortress that could only be breached by high-ranking individuals.