Chapter 862: 862. City

The structure of the city was simple. It had its best buildings around the Stele and a series of quarters and markets in the more peripheral areas.

As a neutral territory, the city was the perfect place where to exchange the resources generated by the new continent. After all, some rather independent cultivators traveled through the various habitable areas to trade goods or make a living.

The grip of the three ruling forces over their assets wasn't as strict as before. Many cultivators needed some independence even if they were bound to powerful oaths. The new continent was slowly obtaining the social environment that had been popular in the old one for centuries.

Of course, it would never reach the point where the leading forces only ruled one nation and considered the regions on their borders as mere territories in their area of influence. The fact that only heroic cultivators could travel freely through the majority of the continent placed too much power on the various organization that controlled those areas.

The weaker forces would lack the means to expand their power without the authorization and help of their leaders.

Noah went directly for the central buildings as he flew over the city.

As a rank 5 cultivator, he knew that the resources exchanged in that market couldn't possibly interest him. Materials that were useful to experts at his level couldn't appear in the open so easily. They didn't have techniques and spells above the fourth rank either since the various leaders would keep those teachings for themselves.

It was possible to find something valuable from time to time, but he didn't have time to waste looking for items that didn't influence his cultivation. He could send someone in his place to keep track of the market anyway.

It wasn't hard to find the buildings that belonged to the Hive. Long banners depicting an octopus enveloping a series of islands with its tentacles hung everywhere on the structures on the southeastern side of the Divine Stele.

That division had been purely geographical. The Elbas family had built its structures on the northeastern side, while the Council had its palaces on the northwestern part.

Those buildings encircled the Stele and acted as a line of protection for the most important resource in the area. Also, they skimmed the cultivators and envoys that sought to train near that trace left by divine beings.

There weren't only core members of the three forces there. Many members of the sects and noble families went there daily, hoping that the troops handling the entrance to that incredible training area would just let them pass.

That system had already given birth to an intricate array of bribes and favors that the forces in place gathered to increase their influence.

Just as it happened in the Coral Archipelago, the population there would eventually discard their ties to a specific organization as new generations took over. So, there was a need for a supreme authority there, something that would suppress any thought about rebellions just by existing.

That was the reason why the three factions had decided to send a series of rank 5 cultivators to live and train there. The sole rumor about their presence there made the cultivators living there behave and increase their offers to the heroic cultivators of the three organizations.

Those were just casual bribes that didn't affect the overall accumulation of resources of those forces, but it was a good source of income that could potentially last forever.

A series of heroic cultivation welcomed Noah when he neared the designated buildings of the Hive. He could recognize Morgan, Roy, and Duke among the ten experts that had organized the celebration for his arrival.

However, there weren't only cultivators of the Hive waiting for him.

Noah could recognize June, Faith, Elder Estelle, and Elder Clara from the assets of the other forces. It seemed that the political environment had reached a level of serenity that welcoming an influential expert of an allied nation wasn't so unusual anymore.

The celebration was extremely formal. The heroic cultivators on the scene exchanged only a few toasts and a series of short conversations concerning the management of the city before returning to their buildings.

The only meaningful discussion concerned the choice of a name for the city, but the rank 5 assets on the scene quickly settled for Divine Market.

The Elders accompanied Noah inside the buildings belonging to the Hive and described in detail all the features that those structures had.

There were a series of training areas with multiple quarters containing formations for various purposes. There were large halls open to the public, where both human and heroic cultivators worked on skimming through the insane number of requests to take a look at the Stele.

In the end, the Elders escorted him to his quarters, which turned out to be a large underground structure that had a better version of all the services offered in the buildings above.

Noah felt satisfied with his new quarters. It wasn't easy to build something so intricate in just eight years, but he could imagine how the Hive had given priority to the Stele rather than to the barren central regions.

'There is only me as a rank 5 cultivator in the Hive,' Noah thought as he dismissed the Elders, 'But there are Faith and June here. Life sure it's funny at times.'

Noah couldn't help but feel strange as he walked under the azure walls of his underground quarters. After all, he was now at the head of an organization that handled a neutral city.

The similarities with the political system in the Coral Archipelago were stunning. The only difference was that he was on the other side of that environment now.

Also, some of the cultivators there were real allies, which made the situation even funnier in his eyes.

However, he didn't want to waste too much time remembering how far he had gone since he first set foot on the Coral Archipelago. There were too many projects in line, waiting for him to start one of them.

As his memories started to reach the Odrea nation though, he senses a series of steps resounded in that underground world. Noah didn't even need to turn to understand who was behind that sound. Those steps followed a rhythm that he knew far too well to forget.

"I thought we would have used Faith like the last time," Noah said as he turned to face his lover.

"Noah, we are rank 5 cultivators managing one of the best resources in the entire new continent," June said as she stepped on the ground. "We can do whatever we want."

Noah revealed a smile, but June spoke before he could say anything. "I've already spread the rumor that I would have requested for a battle. Don't hold back."

At those words, black sparks began to run through June's body, and her aura began to radiate a thick battle intent.