Chapter 41 - Pang City
After flying for a little under an hour, Yuan was beginning to feel fatigued from using his spiritual energy constantly.
'How am I feeling tired already?! I have over 100 million Qi!' Yuan was baffled by how quickly his Qi depleted when he had over 100 million Qi.
Either flying requires a massive amount of Qi to maintain or the large number of Qi does not justify his actual amount of Qi.
'No wonder why Cultivators rather walk than fly!' He sighed inwardly.
"Hold on a little bit longer, Brother Yuan." Xiao Hua suddenly said to him. "There's a small city up ahead. We can rest there."
A few minutes later, Yuan could see the city walls with buildings inside a few miles in the distance. Although it did not appear to be as big as Spirit City, it was still considerably spacious.
«You have discovered 'Pang City'»
Sometime later, Yuan and Xiao Hua descended from the sky and landed near the city entrance, instantly attracting the attention of everyone there.
"An expert! It's an expert!"
"I have never seen anyone fly without the assistance of a flying sword before!"
The people there began mumbling to each other with awe, their gazes filled with respect.
When the guards at the gates saw Yuan and Xiao Hua, they immediately approached them and bowed to them, "Welcome to Pang City, Seniors!"
"Seniors?" Yuan raised his eyebrows in a baffled manner. Does he really look that old in the eyes of these guards?
"Listen here, I am only 18 years old. Don't address me as if I am an old man… That's disrespectful." Yuan said to them.
"..."
The guards stared at Yuan with even larger eyes after hearing his words. What kind of prodigy could control a flying sword at such a young age?! Calling him a genius would still be an understatement!
"O-Our apologies, Young Master!"
The guards apologized when they snapped out of their daze.
"Brother Yuan, people care about your power above anything else in the Cultivation world. Being called a Senior means they acknowledge that your strength is above theirs, and it's not disrespectful at all."
"Is that so? But it still feels weird to be addressed in such a manner." Yuan said.
"Anyway, what do you want with us?" He asked the guards a moment later.
"If it's not too much to ask, we would like to know the Young Master and Young Lady's reason for visiting this place." The guards responded still with their heads lowered.
"We don't have any reason, really. We're only taking a break here before we resume our journey." Yuan said to them.
"If the Young Masters are looking for a place to rest, may we recommend the Lord's Manor," said one of the guards.
"The Lord's Manor? That sounds like a very expensive place, and we won't be staying here for long, so it's not necessary." Yuan quickly rejected their offer, as he was personally penniless.
"Don't worry about the expenses, Young Master. The Lord won't charge you even a single coin." The guards said to him.
"But I don't want to intrude on this person without any reason," Yuan said. In his eyes, it was simply too awkward for him to stay in someone's house without any good reason, not to mention a place as impressive-sounding as the 'Lord's Manor'.
"To tell you the truth, we are only following the Lord's orders, as he is currently in a troubled situation and is looking for experts for help." The guards suddenly revealed the real reason why they wanted him to go to the Lord's Manor.
"Oh?" Yuan's eyes flickered with interest upon hearing the guards' words.
'Could this be a quest? Maybe the real reason they approached me is because I am a player…' Yuan thought to himself.
"I guess it won't hurt to visit this person who might need our help. What do you think, Xiao Hua?" Yuan nodded a moment later.
"Xiao Hua will follow Brother Yuan's decision," she quickly responded.
"Okay, then let's go to this Lord's Manor," Yuan said to the guards, who immediately wore very bright smiles on their faces.
"Thank you very much, Young Masters! The Lord will be filled with joy once he learns of this!"
"Please wait a moment while I find an escort for the Young Masters!"
One of the guards quickly left the scene.
A few minutes later, the guard returned with a very beautiful lady who did not have the appearance of an ordinary escort.
"Welcome to Pang City, esteemed guests." The lady greeted them with courtesy before introducing herself, "I am Luo Ling, the eldest daughter of the Luo Family that governs this humble city. Allow me to escort you back to my home."
"You can call me Yuan, and this is Xiao Hua." Yuan gave her a quick introduction.
"Senior Yuan and Senior Xiao, right?"
"You can drop the formality and just call me Yuan." He said to her, as it felt incredibly weird for a beautiful lady who only appeared to be in her mid-twenties to call him 'Senior'.
"How does Daoist Yuan sound? I do not dare to address someone as powerful as you so casually." Luo Ling said to him.
"Powerful…? You are giving me too much credit. I am only at the Spirit Warrior level." Yuan said with a bashful smile.
"Despite that, you emit a very formidable aura, not to mention the Young Lady beside you…" Luo Ling looked at Xiao Hua with a nervous gaze.
Although she cannot see Xiao Hua's entire cultivation base, she was certain that Xiao Hua was at least at the Spirit Grandmaster level, as many people here have witnessed her flying without the assistance of a flying sword, and she even emits the aura of a true expert.
"Daoist Yuan is fine, I guess." He nodded a moment later.
Luo Ling proceeded to escort Yuan and Xiao Hua into the city.
Meanwhile, the people that had to wait in line to get inside the Pang City began mumbling to each other.
"Did you see that? I have never seen Lady Luo personally receive guests before!"
"Of course I saw it! I am not blind! And those two were clearly experts! It'd only be obvious that they would be treated with the utmost respect!"
"Hey… did you hear that young man just now? I think he called himself 'Yuan'..."
"Could he be the Player Yuan that everyone and their mother has been talking about?"
"Are you sure you heard right? He didn't give off the feeling of a Player, much less an unfathomable individual such as Player Yuan. He's probably just an NPC with a similar name."
"Yeah, probably."
"It would be amazing if he was the real Player Yuan, though."
A group of players within the line chatted with each other while they waited for their turn to enter the city.