CHAPTER 544: CHAPTER 1: WOHUA IMPERIAL CITY

Wo Hua Imperial City, the biggest city of the Dragon War Empire, is also the largest and most densely populated super city on the entire Eastern Continent, and the destination of Yue Jinghua’s journey.

Before arriving in Wo Hua Imperial City, many traveling merchants who have visited various places used to think that there are indeed only two cities on the Eastern Continent—one is the northern Land City, and the other is the southern Water City.

This statement is also easy to understand, meaning that regardless of north or south, the scenery of each city is similar, which is a sentiment shared by many friends who have traveled.

The cities in the north are generally ancient and wide, much like the character of the northern residents—open-minded and unconcerned with trivialities. The southern cities, on the other hand, with their little bridges over flowing water, have completely learned from the southern people’s nature—cautious without losing attention to detail.

However, this saying does not apply to Wo Hua Imperial City.

Unlike other large cities on the continent, Wo Hua Imperial City has some very unique characteristics.

One characteristic is that transportation in Wo Hua Imperial City is extremely developed.

The Imperial City is divided into four major city gates that correspond to heaven, earth, and human unity, connecting the roads from all over the country to Wo Hua Imperial City.

In front of the city gates is a moat, which was dug and created by the command of thirty-thousand strong men during the founding of the kingdom by Long Teng I, with four steel drawbridges over the artificial river. It is said that the river contains a large number of ferocious Cannibal Green Eels and Ghost Head Frogs.

Beyond land and water transportation, the city also has a dedicated Sky Port for airships, skyships, and Flying Profound Beasts from various places to land and roost.

The second characteristic is that Wo Hua Imperial City is home to numerous Dark Beasts and has a specialized Imperial Beast Fighting Arena.

Beast fighting is very popular among the upper echelons of the Imperial City and is a daily form of entertainment for the people of the Imperial City.

This is not the case in other parts of the Eastern Continent, where Dark Beasts are not commonly seen. But in Wo Hua Imperial City, it’s an ordinary affair for nobility to breed Dark Beasts. As long as one acquires a Breeding Certificate, they can breed Dark Beasts at home.

Furthermore, among the private populace, Dark Beasts are even used as a standard to measure a person’s wealth and family fortune within the Imperial City.

Every year, the biggest buyers of Dark Beasts and Dark Beast Cubs caught by mercenaries and Mercenary Branches from the Xuan Beast Ridge are mostly from Wo Hua Imperial City.

Unlike the Ruison Federation’s philosophy of governing the country with virtue, the Dragon War Empire has been ruling by martial strength since its founding. The strong are everything; it has become the tradition of this nation and its capital city.

Even personal life-and-death battles are permitted, as long as a notary is invited.

The combination of the above two characteristics has led to another new feature of Wo Hua Imperial City.

The third characteristic of Wo Hua Imperial City is its extremely clear social hierarchy, where the rights of the nobility are sacred and inviolable. This is most directly reflected in the roads within the Imperial City.

Some may ask what’s so special about roads, which are merely meant for thoroughfare, from small alleyways to grand avenues. Where there are many people walking, that’s where roads are.

But what if it’s not only people who walk the roads of Wo Hua Imperial City?

In Wo Hua Imperial City, there’s a saying: "There is a human path for humans, a ghost path for ghosts—though the great road reaches to the heavens, you cannot afford a single misstep."

Indeed, in Wo Hua Imperial City, not only are people ranked into different classes, but roads are as well. Among these, the most eye-catching are the Dragon Roads on Wohua Avenue, where only Sub-Asian Dragons are permitted.

Three days before Yue Jinghua and Jin Nuo were set to arrive at the Wohua Imperial City, Yun Luo and Teng Wu returned to the Imperial City with the Jiao Long Ji Xuechen.

Upon arriving in the Imperial City, the first thing Yun Luo did was release Ji Xuechen to acquaint it with the environment of the Wohua Imperial City, as it would have to live there from now on.

Since its birth, the Jiao Long Ji Xuechen had always lived on the Xuan Beast Ridge and had never before seen such a grand and magnificent cityscape as the Wohua Imperial City.

After being trapped in the Dragon Pattern for some time, the Jiao Long was also tired.

As soon as the Jiao Long was released from the Dragon Pattern, it couldn’t help but let out a heaven-reaching roar, its imposing momentum so astonishing that it would certainly have caused a commotion at the Xuan Beast Ridge.

However, on the bustling streets, passersby saw it and merely showed reverence, staying clear from afar without causing any disturbance; clearly, the citizens of the Imperial City had grown accustomed to the presence of dragons.

In Ji Xuechen’s green dragon eyes as well, there was a touch of curiosity. After all, it was just a young dragon with a temperament not much different from a child’s.

It swayed its round head, with the reflections of a row of exceedingly refined stone houses in its watery dragon eyes.

Soon it took notice of the Wohua Avenue, which cut through the entire city and seemed wide enough to accommodate dozens of carriages racing side by side.

The Avenue was divided into several smaller roads, the central one reserved for the travel of nobles and their estate carriages, where about five carriages could ride abreast.

Beside the noble road, there was another made with Gold Iron Sand Ore which was about five inches lower than the normal road surface, and appeared to also allow five carriages to pass in parallel.

To the side of that was a smaller path designated for the Dark Beasts and Dark Practitioners, about the size of three carriages wide. The farthest to the side was the road for ordinary civilians and various beasts.

Along both sides of the road, tall Wo Hua parasol trees were planted everywhere. In this season, the trees had sprouted new leaves, and the sparse shade cast on the road made it even more spacious.

These four roads were known as the Four-stage Road, comprising the entirety of the Wohua Avenue in the Imperial City, and also highlighting a strict social hierarchy within the Imperial City that was more formidable than anywhere else.

If a civilian walked the wrong road, at best they might be punished with whipping, and at worst, executed by hanging. Sometimes, unlucky enough to clash with a noble accompanied by their Dark Beast, they might be trampled to death on the spot.

Therefore, everyone new to the Wohua Imperial City, upon entering, must be informed of these rules and tread with extreme caution.

After allowing the Jiao Long to briefly adapt to the city’s environment, Yun Luo retracted Ji Xuechen and returned to the headquarters of the Yunhu Commerce.

Her departure from Wohua Imperial City had been intended to last only two or three months, yet she hadn’t expected to encounter Yue Jinghua and become involved in the development of Fengdan County.

For some reason, she did not inform her family of these events in advance, not even mentioning them to her grandfather.

Instead, she had Teng Wu write a letter claiming that she had become weak and fallen seriously ill in Five Saints Town, needing time to recuperate.

Upon receiving her grandfather’s letter summoning her back, she also deliberately did not mention bringing back a purebred Jiao Long.

The Yunhu Commerce, situated on the most flourishing Mei Gong Street in Wohua Imperial City, had a grand entrance, glittering with gold and splendor.

Yun Luo and Teng Wu hastily returned to the headquarters of the Commerce. Just as they entered, before they could even report back to the grandfather, they heard a sarcastic voice: "Oh my, who did I think it was? It turns out to be the ailing Yun Luo. I am surprised you have the nerve to come back. You were merely asked to escort a few eggs, yet you turned it into a total farce, shaming Yunhu Commerce entirely."