Arriving at Dry City!

As Minos' group continued to travel back to Dry City, several teams that had left Yellow City had already arrived within the largest city of the Black Plain.

Since Minos announced the release of information that there would be jobs available here, many unemployed people gathered together and moved toward this city to investigate the situation here.

Upon arriving in Dry City, they all had the same reaction.

That was stupefying!

It was difficult for them to believe that this was a place that was far worse than their city. In fact, there was no such evidence to prove such claims. Even the spiritual energy in the town was on par with that of Yellow City.

Along with that, the sight of lush green fields of crops not far from the town confirmed to them that there was indeed a great demand for farmers in this place. After all, Dry City had less than 50,000 inhabitants who certainly couldn't handle all the available work on their own!

Because of this, as time passed and they got closer to the city, almost all of these people already knew that the rumor was true.

But since they were already here, they wanted to learn a little more about this place.

After all, just the presence of opportunities doesn't really mean that the quality of life here was better!

In certain places, these people might even be subjected to enslavement!

Nevertheless, they were even more excited. The city was experiencing steady growth, with several new buildings being constructed in regions further away from the city center while the existing buildings were being remodeled and expanded further to the core of Dry City.

It was the reality of a prospering place, a land of true opportunities!

But here, the growth was neither disorderly nor chaotic. In fact, everything here seemed planned to create the best infrastructure possible.

Some streets were wide and connected several parts of the city. At the same time, there were certain activities concentrated in some places, such as public buildings, residences, shops, etc.

The image that the city had was also charming, with public squares, tree-lined streets, clean and well-marked routes. In general, the town gave a very favorable impression to visitors of Yellow City.

...

Meanwhile, the pair of friends from Yellow City, the merchant Lance and the alchemist Edric, had also arrived in Dry City.

They had arrived in Minos' town yesterday morning and had already witnessed numerous things that had astonished them to their very core.

The mere fact that it was possible to plant on these lands was something that was like inverting the sky and the earth.

They had heard many tales from residents of Dry City about the 'miraculous' deeds that Minos had been doing in the city. And hearing so far, according to both of them, this your sovereign of Dry City was fascinating, perhaps even supported by a great power from the Central Continent...

At present, the two were enjoying their tea on a balcony of the Four Seasons Hotel, where they were staying. The place was not luxurious, but it was well-maintained and offered a fabulous view of the city.

There was a small table with space for two, a beautiful picture that was hung on a wall, and a glass balcony that completed the pleasant ambiance.

Edric broke the silence after taking a sip of his spiritual tea. "I'm honestly amazed by everything I've seen here so far. Although there are a few things that are missing in this city and the quality of services has not yet reached a high level, I believe that it is only a matter of time before this is resolved."

Lance nodded in agreement, with his gaze fixated on the cityscape. "Hmm, indeed. But I'm more curious as to what is the background behind this Minos Stuart. Once when I was still at the beginning of my career as a young trader, I heard an interesting story from a cultivator from the Eastern Empire."

"Oh! I don't remember you telling me about it before. What's the story?" the old alchemist inquired curiously as he was also interested to know.

"Haha, old friend, it happened over 200 years ago, so it's normal for me not to remember those old things," Lance let out a chuckle. "Besides, this might also just be a legend that has been augmented.

Nevertheless, the story goes like this. About 10,000 years ago, a revolutionary cultivator from the Eastern Empire emerged. According to the tale I heard, this person came from a humble background. Still, in a few centuries, he raised an entire weak region within that empire to a level equivalent to that of the strongest families in this world!

After that, he became the foremost defender of that empire against its great enemy, the Western Empire. They say that the prominent families of the Western Empire have not yet reunified these empires because of this person."

"Oh! There was such a character that existed?" Edric asked in awe. It was genuinely admirable that a single person could defend an entire empire!

This man would certainly deserve a round of applause!

Lance laughed and continued, "That's what I heard. If I have a memory, this guy was called Vico Trevisani. But then again, that might just be a made-up story..."

"And do you think that Minos resembles the cultivator of this story?"

"Who knows? At least he will raise this place to a level that no one has achieved in hundreds of thousands of years. Even though he won't be compared to the achievements of Vico Trevisani, he could still have his name in the legends. Haha," the old man remarked with a smile.

"Okay, let's change the subject. You must be excited to do business with this place, right?" the old alchemist asked with a bit of interest.

"Ehh, I am already old. Perhaps I will pass this news on to my grandson. He is very talented, and it can help him carve his own place within the family," Lance responded calmly.

"And what about you? That is certainly a golden opportunity for an alchemist who is just one step away from reaching grade-2, like you."

"Hmm, even if I didn't want to, I would still have to come here. With this place developing, Yellow City is finished for me. Many people from there will flock to this city. Hell, I dare say that with this place, Yellow City may as well end up being abandoned..."

"Hmm, but this is for the best. Even if this place already has another alchemist, they won't be able to supply such high demand," Lance said confidently.

"Ehh. About that..."

...

As the two old friends enjoyed a conversation, sipping their tea and admiring the cityscape, the other groups were uncovering some exciting discoveries in this new place.

It didn't take long for someone to find out about Dry City alchemist and the super-low prices he charged to the inhabitants of the city!

The cost of the pills here was less than a third of the value found in other parts of the North of the Central Continent!

That in itself was a significant advantage for those with low talent who could not afford those high-priced spiritual pills. Simply by residing in this city, they could receive a discount of 700 crystals when purchasing a high-level grade-1 pill.

It was like the city was giving them these crystals!

"Unbelievable, I can barely earn 100 crystals in a year, but these people get a discount of that magnitude..." one of the Yellow City inhabitants exclaimed to a friend who had informed him about it.

"Hey, Bernard, I also heard that they are planning to hire 600 soldiers in the next three months. It seems that the minimum criteria for that are to have Blue talent and be a resident of Dry City," a tall man shared with his close friend.

"Eh? Just that?"

"Of course not, you idiot! Only those with the highest level of each stage of cultivation will secure these vacancies. But it's only a matter of time before we can also have our chance."

"Oh, that's great! How about our group returning soon? What do you think, Greg?" Bernard asked his friend.

"Hmm, we better bring our family here as soon as possible!"

...

Time passed, and Minos and his group were already about to arrive in Dry City.

As they quickly approached the entrance to the city, nothing caught the group's attention.

The journey had been comparatively short, just over a week, so there were no significant changes visible to the group that left for the mission in Yellow City.

"Ahh! Home, Sweet Home," one of the soldiers exclaimed as he stretched in one of the carriages.

Not only was this soldier happy, but everyone else in the group also shared the same sentiments. This mission had paid off for all of them, and they even had got a few weeks off because of it!

It was truly the dream of many of them!

Meanwhile, Butler Dillian gazed at the city from inside the carriage and remarked to Minos, "I'm curious to know how many people came from Yellow City in the past few days..."

"Hmm, it's only a matter of time before many of them come here," Minos smiled and continued, "Hehe, I want to see the changes after I get back from the Spiritual Tournament. I wonder how much  Dry City will improve... But Grandpa Dillian will have a lot of work from now on. Haha."