CHAPTER 125: FRONTWATER TECHNOLOGIA

With a casual wave of his hand, the Nascent Soul leader summoned a small flying boat.

It hovered a few inches above the ground, carved from smooth blackwood and inscribed with glowing runes. The vessel looked simple, but Yu Xuan could sense the formations embedded into its hull.

The entire group boarded silently. It was just large enough to fit twenty people comfortably — likely a standard issue for official matters.

The leader took position at the front, placing his hand on the steering formation. With a light pulse of his Qi, the boat lifted higher into the air and began gliding forward, smooth as silk.

Yu Xuan, still dealing with a lingering headache, eyed the vessel and thought to himself, ’An actual flying boat. So original means of travel.’

He had one himself, a much smaller version in his space ring given to him by his mother, though it required high grade spirit stones or a far deeper cultivation base than his to operate smoothly. So he never used it.

As they soared into the sky, Yu Xuan noticed the boat wasn’t heading toward the town he’d come from.

’Ah... so we’re not going back to the local town. Must be the main one.’

It made sense. He’d chosen the nearest town for convenience, it was closest to the main peak and offered easy access.

He knew there was a larger city nearby, a proper hub, but that required at least three days of travel on foot. And without a spirit beast, that had been far too troublesome.

Every main town served as a central node, surrounded by multiple satellite villages and smaller towns.

The one now happened to be among the top three largest settlements on the Elemental Heaven Peak — likely because of its proximity to the main peak.

Of course, there were other major towns, but those lay scattered across the sect’s minor peaks.

Still, Yu Xuan felt a vague sense of curiosity. ’So this is where the real sect politics happens, huh?’

He exhaled and leaned back slightly, hands still cuffed, watching the clouds pass overhead as the flying boat cut through the skies.

They traveled in silence for nearly an hour. Not a word was spoken.

Yu Xuan didn’t mind the quiet, he welcomed it, actually.

But the other disciples seemed uncomfortable. Some cast him side glances, their expressions unreadable, before turning away.

He noticed a few shaking their heads, as if to remind themselves that there was no point in making small talk with a "designated criminal."

Eventually, the silhouette of their destination came into view.

’That’s not a town. That’s a city.’ Yu Xuan thought.

The sheer scale of it stunned him. Massive walls encircled its outer edges, with pagodas and towers at each corner.

Layers of buildings rose within, some sleek and modern, others ancient and carved from stone. It was clearly a main sect city, not just some temporary outpost like the one he had visited before.

Scattered near its perimeter were a few smaller villages likely housing for poorer disciples, or those who couldn’t afford to burn their sect contribution points on the luxuries of the main city.

The elite lived lavishly within the walls, while the others rested outside.

From above, he could see the flow of disciples moving between the main city and those villages, like rivers of color and motion.

He even spotted a unicorn a real, winged unicorn — soaring through the sky.

Upon its back sat a female disciple dressed in silver-blue robes, her figure regal as she rode the spirit beast effortlessly across the clouds.

’Some people really are living the dream’, Yu Xuan thought dryly.

There was no formal verification process to enter the city. A medallion scan at a floating formation was all it took, overseen by a few stationed disciples.

As their boat began its descent toward the city, it naturally drew attention. After all, it wasn’t every day that the Discipline Committee arrived with a bound prisoner in tow.

Whispers spread quickly. Eyes turned their way.

And Yu Xuan, even with shackles around his wrists, lifted his chin slightly and gave them a faint smirk.

The Discipline Committee disciples disembarked from the flying boat and moved toward a different gate than the one used by common disciples.

The main entrance ahead was bustling with activity. disciples coming and going, scanning their medallions, chatting noisily. But just to the side of it was a smaller, far less crowded gate.

They headed there instead.

As they passed, the stationed disciples along the path saluted the committee members with visible respect. Some even stood straighter as the group walked by, their eyes cautious and deferential.

Yu Xuan raised a brow.

’So... money and power really do come with respect’, he mused internally.

Soon after, the squad leader retrieved twelve disk shaped devices from his storage ring and handed one to each committee member.

They looked like thin, polished platforms with faint inscriptions etched across their surfaces.

Yu Xuan tilted his head. "What’s that?"

A nearby committee member scoffed. "Tch. Typical backwater brat. Never seen a glide disk before? Stand on it, tap your foot twice to activate direction mode, and then just shift your leg in the direction you want to go. It’ll move on its own."

Yu Xuan blinked. Now that’s a quality ride.

The disciple added with a huff, "Just be grateful you don’t have to insert your own spirit stones into it."

Yu Xuan gave him a sideways smirk. "I’m rich, you poor one."

The disciple’s face twitched in annoyance, but he said nothing, especially with the nascent soul level leader still walking ahead.

Yu Xuan stepped onto the glide disk and tapped his foot twice. With a soft hum, the disk hovered a few inches off the ground, smooth and responsive.

Then he leaned too far to the left.

Crash.

He slammed straight into a nearby disciple, who let out a grunt of pain and glared at him.

"Still learning," Yu Xuan said shamelessly, brushing imaginary dust off his cuffs.

After ten awkward minutes, two near collisions and one full spin later, he finally got the hang of it.

And with that, the group glided into the city, swift, smooth, and silent.

Despite the restraints around his wrists and a few wobbling moments, Yu Xuan somehow still managed to ride with the air of someone entirely in control.

Who said cultivation world’s technology was backwater, it was frontwater too. Yu Xuan had an image of an Arab riding this and yelling, "Technologia!!!"

[A/N: I think sometimes, words randomly spawn in my head, is it talent?]