Chapter 142 - Arriving at the Southern Imperial Capital

The ship finally arrived at the port. It docked in one of the spaces designated for the ships along one of the many piers. There was an incredible amount of boats of all different sizes. The smaller ones weren't so different from the war galleons used by Ho Ri-Na, while the larger ones were like giant horizontal buildings that traveled in water.

As soon as the ship lined up on the pier, the ship's crew began mooring, tying the ship to the dock with robust ropes. In this way, they wouldn't run the risk that the ship would be carried away by the current or crashed with the other ships moored nearby.

Meanwhile, a group of officials working at the port came to the ship and started talking to the captain. They had a duty to check the ship's travel documents and information on the type of cargo and passengers carried on board. When the captain mentioned the officials of Hei and Lian, the port officials were incredibly surprised. They never expected that a martial artist from the islands would come to the Continent legally, not to mention a couple of young youths, clearly belonging to the younger generation.

When the officials finished checking that everything was in order, Hei and Lian were finally allowed to go ashore. Instinctively, they began to stretch their bodies as soon as they touched the ground after weeks of sailing.

"Well, my job is done. It's a cover letter signed by the commander of the outpost on Dream Island. Don't miss it. I remind you that flying in the city is forbidden. If you follow the directions of passersby, though, you should be able to find the Royal War Academy with ease. I would accompany you, but I have various things to do, and I am already late." The captain of the ship turned to Hei and Lian while delivering a letter with a scarlet seal.

"No, that's okay. We thank you again, captain, for bringing us this far." Hei said goodbye to the captain, and with Lian and his little sisters, he left the pier heading for the central area of ​​the port. At first glance, what immediately entered the eye was the number of people and the careful disposition with which the city had been built.

Being an oceanfront city and one of the imperial capitals, the Southern Imperial Capital was undoubtedly one of the most important cities in the entire empire. It was the center of the economic activities of the whole Southern Region and therefore attracted all kinds of people interested in doing business or looking for rare objects.

The port of this city, therefore, assumed priority importance since almost half of the travelers used the Oceanic Road Network of the Sun Empire to reach the Southern Imperial Capital safely. Full tides of people came and went from all sides. Yet despite all those people, although the port activity was lively, it wasn't chaotic.

The Sun Empire had built the Southern Imperial Capital conscious of all the implications that the increase in citizens would bring with time. The buildings had therefore been arranged according to a block grid, alternating neatly with a simple but elegant geometry. The various blocks were separated by an intricate system of roads that intersected precisely and were divided into secondary and primary roads.

All the buildings featured an architecture designed for the functionality rather than appearing gorgeous and intriguing to the eye. After all, the empire's policy was more focused on maximizing the efficiency of all its resources to avoid any waste, whether they were buildings and cities or human beings.

"Incredible!" Hei exclaimed, amazed at that sight.

'Big brother, look over there!' Ye said as she pulled a lock of his hair using her slender tail.

In addition to humans, there were also quite a large number of spirit beasts walking along the streets. They were used as a means of transportation for goods and people. The incredible thing was that the weakest of them were second-level spirit beasts. But it wasn't only the spirit beasts that encountered this phenomenon. Looking closely, Hei realized that even the simplest of the imperial officials was a martial artist.

The peak of society in the Forgotten Ocean Islands, the spirit soldiers, made up the largest portion of the number of people in the port. There were also spirit apprentices and people without spirit power, but they were a minority. In addition to them, there were a lot of martial artists of the higher ranks.

Hei and Lian were genuinely impressed by this. Once again, the strength of the Empire had shocked them. In the Forgotten Ocean, they could be said to be sovereigns in the martial artist's society, so much so that they could even found their own sect. But here, they were on the same level as a mere paperwork official. How could this not leave them speechless?

'A martial artist can understand even without using his spirit sense, the rank reached by a person but without knowing their precise stage. Obviously, that was true only if the person being examined wasn't actively using a concealment technique and is weaker. As for those stronger, it isn't possible to understand that. I was already surprised by the strength of the ship's crew, but I thought it was normal since they were traveling in dangerous waters. But what I have before me is on a whole other scale.' Hei meditated to himself as he clenched his fists.

He had promised his mother that he would protect his family, and a part of him, after the successes in the Forgotten Ocean, believed that he was going better than expected. However, seeing all this led him to downsize the ratings on himself and the strength achieved.

"It is not enough. I have to work harder. Even harder and more intensely." He murmured as he took a deep breath. His tumulting heart calmed down, and he returned to his usual calm.

"Everything will be fine. Together we will go ahead step by step. You don't have to hurry at all costs." At his side, Lian laid her hands on his tight fists. She also had a surprised expression because of the strength of the empire's inhabitants, but she took courage like Hei and reassured him.

'Yes, don't worry, big brother. You will see that in no time we will become stronger and beat everyone.' (Ye)

'Lian is right. Mother would also tell us to proceed with calm and do things right. The important thing is always to stay together and face things a little at a time.' (Xing)

Listening to the reassuring words full of love from the three 'women' of his life, Hei smiled. Caressing their heads one by one, Hei reassured them in turn. "You are right. I lost my clarity for a moment. One step at a time then. What is most important is the journey between the starting point and the destination - how you deal with life's difficulties."

Ye, Xing, Lian smiled at Hei's words. They were glad that they had been able to reassure him and ease his worries. Together, all four began to follow the road that led from the port to the heart of the city. Fortunately, in anticipation of the large number of foreign visitors, the city was equipped with various signs indicating the precise point where one was located and the map of the city. Also, each street had its name written in a sign hanging on the walls. So, even without asking passersby, Hei could find his way around that intricate road system.

Regarding the Southern Royal War Academy, although it was one of the crown jewels of the Southern Imperial Capital, it wasn't located in the middle of the city. Instead, it was located on the outskirts, far from the daily frenzy that dwelled in the streets. The reason for this was that in that way, the various students could concentrate undisturbed on their studies as martial artists.

It must be known that the Sun Empire's War Academies were of extraordinary importance. In these structures, the young promises of the empire were trained to become soldiers. And not just simple soldiers used as cannon fodder but soldiers capable of commanding other soldiers and bringing the empire to victory. In particular, the Royal War Academies were the most important of all because they trained what would be the future generals of the Empire's army - the military backbone for a possible war against demons.

So the preparation of these talents was something that had to be carefully planned. At the same time, they also had to be protected from possible dangers, at least as long as they were within the academy's walls. The Empire then chose to build the war academy of the Southern Imperial Capital in a corner of the city outskirts. In that way, it would be able to close all that area under quarantine and monitor the academy continually.

After an unspecified period of wandering through the city streets, Hei and Lian, together with Ye and Xing, arrived in the suburbs, outside the entrance of the Southern Royal War Academy. On the way, they had been tempted to take an exploratory tour but refrained from doing so. It was better to proceed immediately with the registration to the war academy. After all, they were just miserable first stage spirit soldiers. If something had happened, they wouldn't have had a chance to react since they didn't know anyone.

The entrance to the Southern Royal War Academy was a large metal door that opened in the middle. At its sides, a boundlessly long stone wall began and stretched for kilometers. From where Hei and Lian were, it wasn't possible to define how far it extended.

"They aren't normal walls. I see an intricate system of symbols drawn all over the stone walls, but I really can't understand how it is possible to create such an immense formation." Lian revealed as she carefully examined the walls. As a scholar of formations, she could understand some points here and there of the used symbols. But the formation was too complicated for her, at least for the moment.

"The empire places a lot of importance here. It is good because we won't have to fear external attacks. Furthermore, from the length of the walls, it can be understood that the territories inside aren't at all small. The Flower Sect already occupied a large section of land, so it isn't strange that one of the most important war academies of the empire is so impressive." Hei rationally analyzed the information he could perceive only by looking at the external walls.

After a few moments looking at the walls, Hei and Lian approached the metal door. There, in a kind of small wooden house, a group of guards was stationed, and they were chatting carefree and drinking alcohol. From their behavior, it didn't seem like it was the first time they had been doing this. When Hei and Lian approached, one of them noticed them and ordered them to stop.

"Who are you? Hic... what business do you have at the Southern Royal War Academy?"

"My name is Hei while she is Lian. We come from one of the islands of the Forgotten Ocean. We took the test in the outpost of the empire on Dream Island, and we were deemed suitable. The commander of that outpost had us brought here to register for the Southern Royal War Academy. We have a cover letter attesting to this."

Despite the unprofessional attitude of the guard, Hei maintained his respectful behavior. He couldn't read the cultivation of the guard although the latter was quite drunk. The guard took several seconds before Hei's words were recorded and understood in his brain.

"Forgotten Ocean? From there? It is the first time that I hear that someone has been accepted from there. Hey, you guys, do you know anything about someone accepted from the Forgotten Ocean?" The guard seemed doubtful about the veracity of Hei's words and called his colleagues who were drinking.

"Ocean? Do you mean the islands far from the Continent? I haven't heard of anyone who has ever come from there. Besides, the martial artists of the islands hadn't always proved to be trash? How did two of them get this far? Not to mention that they even want to enroll in the Southern Royal War Academy. Bah... just a simple war academy is too much for them."

"They said they have a letter of introduction, didn't they? Check it and confirm the authenticity of the facts."

Following the advice of one of his colleagues, the guard took the cover letter that Hei handed. He quickly read the contents and flowed his spirit power. The scarlet seal on the letter glowed red bright as the guard's eyes lightened slightly.

"Apparently, that's true. There is the signature of one of the imperial scouters. Well, considering that they sent him to the islands of the Forgotten Ocean, it's no wonder that they named him a scouter. All right, you can come in. Let's go. I lead you."

The guard motioned for his companions to open the door. Quickly, they started a formation, and the large metal door opened by itself just enough to get a small group of people in. The guard then began to lead them along a straight road that started from the entrance. The road pavement had been built with polished stone tiles and arranged according to a rectangular geometry to create a smooth path.

"You said the word 'scouters' before, what did you mean by that?" Hei asked as he followed the guard along with Lian.

"What? The scouters are martial artists chosen by the empire. Each of them has the task of traveling to remote areas of the empire and assessing the strength of young martial artists from common families. If they have acceptable talent, they are selected to be enrolled in one of the various war academies. For every talented young person they bring, the scouters receive rewards, and if this young person does particularly well, the scouter will receive extra rewards."

"So you can only enter if chosen by a scouter? Are there no other ways? For example, as an entrance test or something?"

"The scouters are only pinned for remote areas far from big cities, but they aren't indispensable. They only serve to find those few talents hidden in rural towns. The people from those areas are unable to analyze the potential of a talented martial artist. But in general, as long as you have the minimum requirements, an indeterminate number of martial artists can enter. However, do not think that everyone wants to enter the war academies. It's no surprise that the number of dropouts is greater than you might think, haha. You will find out very soon."

"I understand. And what are these minimum requirements?"

"To enroll in the Southern Royal War Academy, you must be a spirit soldier and not be older than sixteen. The same goes for the other royal academies. The course of your training is approximately three years. But as I said, a large chunk of people don't hold out for all three years. And this also happens in the royal academies and not only in the normal ones. Now, enough questions that I am coming to vomit. I have to look clear when we get there, do you understand?" The guard glanced intently at Hei as if he wanted to warn him not to reveal that they were drinking on duty or otherwise it would have been trouble.

Hei nodded and continued to follow the guard in silence along that smooth stone road that stretched for miles. They continued to walk that way for a long time until it was possible to glimpse a gigantic building from afar.