The Dao- 44

The week passed fairly quick as Zhou Fan spent it with the beasts.

However, it was now time for Zhou Fan to leave. After saying goodbye to each of the beasts, Cao Lin, and Yipeng, Zhou Fan was ready to leave.

He flew up and went to the exit tunnel. As he was leaving the cave, he turned around and took one last look at the blue crystal.

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As Zhou Fan flew out of the hole, he saw the recognizable courtyard. However, Zhou Fan didn't stop as he continued to rise into the air.

It wasn't long before Zhou Fan was directly under the clouds. If one looked from the ground, they would only see a black dot in the air.

Zhou Fan flew out of the city as fast as he could. Although he planned to experience the world, he was first going to go to another empire.

With his perfect memory, he was able to instantly recognize the surroundings. After a couple seconds of indecision, Zhou Fan flew to the east.

By going that way, Zhou Fan would first pass through the truth empire, then the 9th rank koi empire, then the 3rd rank sword empire, and finally, the mortaniel empire.

After an hour of flying at a speed that exceeded sound by more than 5 times, Zhou Fan landed in front of a big gate.

Above the gate, there was a sign that said 'Clarity Kingdom'.

This was one of the biggest kingdoms within the truth empire. If he recalled correctly, it was ranked 7th. After paying a fee of 5 copper, Zhou Fan walked into the city.

The first area he passed was a middle class area. Here, he could see many different types of people. There were kind and gentle people along with arrogant and rude people..

While walking, he could see a few homeless people around. There weren't many, but there were a few. As he passed another homeless person, he saw some guards roughly grab him and drag him somewhere.

Without stopping, Zhou Fan continued on.

The next place he saw was the noble district. Although he couldn't go far due to the gates and guards, Zhou Fan got a good look at it.

Not a single homeless or unhappy person in sight. He did, however, see one person with a suspiciously long mustache.

After another round of walking, Zhou Fan made it to an area much different than the rest.

In most places, it was referred to as the slums. Here, homeless and unhappy people were just about the only thing to see.

Most people were dirty and eating dirty food. There was trash on the ground and at some point, Zhou Fan almost started to fly in order to avoid it.

However, he remembered why he came here. To understand life in the world. Although he hadn't been prosperous as a child, Zhou Fan didn't have it too bad.

Comparing his previous life to any other person in the slums was ridiculous. After all, Zhou Fan had never had to eat dirty bread or sit around with dirt on his face.

Stepping on and over the trash on the ground, Zhou Fan almost had the urge to throw up. After a little, he became used to it and his reaction was no longer so intense.

Stopping in the middle of the street, Zhou Fan lifted his head up and took a deep breath. Although the smell was revolting, Zhou Fan acted as though he didn't notice it.

All of a sudden, a knife stabbed into Zhou Fan's body. A pain that he had never felt before started to run through Zhou Fan's mind.

As he fell on the ground, Zhou Fan looked up at the person who had just attacked him. Alongside him were 3 other people. All four of them looked dirty and poor.

There was nothing special about these people. There was absolutely no reason why they should have been able to pierce through Zhou Fan.

However, as he saw them coming towards him, Zhou Fan sealed his cultivation and returned to the same state that he was before he started to cultivate.

Of course, Zhou Fan wasn't a masochist, but he realized that he had never truly experienced pain. Although he had been worn out and tired, he had never been stabbed or slashed.

'Ouch' Zhou Fan thought.

Since his goal was to experience life, he needed to do it thoroughly. If that meant getting stabbed or beaten, Zhou Fan was willing to accept it.

As the boys saw him fall on the ground, they started to kick him and beat him. Zhou Fan was also stabbed 3 more times before they searched him for money, which he didn't have, and left.

As Zhou Fan laid on the ground, beaten and bruised, he passed out.

When Zhou Fan woke up, it was still day. Not the same day, but daytime. Getting up, his injuries were fully healed. Although he had sealed his cultivation, he couldn't be killed so easily.

Zhou Fan looked around and frowned. He was in the same exact place. Not a single person or guard woke him up or even moved his body.

'Pathetic' He thought.

After all, he was in the middle of the street! There should have at least been someone to collect his corpse. It was only now that Zhou Fan realized just how bad these people have it.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Zhou Fan got up and walked. As he passed out, Zhou Fan felt his understanding become clearer. As for what he was understanding, he couldn't quite describe.

It was as if it both existed and didn't exist. As if it was life and also death.

Since Zhou Fan had neither heard of it or felt it before, he decided to name it.

The Dao.

It was the first time he came into contact with something 'semi-magical' besides himself and lightning.

As he continued to walk, Zhou Fan exited through the other side of the kingdom. Although he had left it, he didn't unseal his cultivation and fly. Instead, he continued to walk on the path, now barefoot since the thieves stole his shoes. Luckily, they didn't steal his clothes.