Jin was clueless about the undercurrents and the shadows moving about across the world. Instead, he was finally reaching the end of the forest he landed in.

As he escaped the last few trees blocking his sight, a wide plain appeared. And in the horizon, to the right, he could vaguely distinguish the shape of a town. It was difficult to guess how big it was from his position but it was doubtlessly a settlement of some kind. He looked around some more and found a road to the right side, a few kilometers away. Well, it could not quite be considered a road as it was more akin to a trail in the wild formed from people walking over.

He pondered for a moment before he opted to move towards that settlement while on the trail.

He did no longer rush now that he was outside the forest. It provided cover but the plain did not. It was quite unlikely but not impossible for the locals to be against strangers. Small communities were often wary of travelers. If this was the case here, he did not want to alarm them.

Obviously, he could have dodged the settlement but he was hungry for some cooked meal and maybe a glass of Frone... He also needed to understand his situation. Where he was and where he would go next were the questions that he had to ask himself now. There were a few options but he would first need to figure out his options.

What he knew of Vrislorin was only what he read or heard about. The natives would likely be more aware of things here.

And so, with calm steps, he walked towards the settlement.

As it grew closer, it became increasingly obvious that this was only a simple rural village on the outskirts. There were around a hundred buildings but not much more. Jin could also see a few parcels of land being farmed.

Rural...

That was the best word to describe this little town at the end of the continent. There were no guards and no walls around the city. The villagers wore simple clothes and the houses lacked any decorations. Still, the place was bubbling with activity. Jin was surprised to see many more people than he expected.

If you considered an average farmer's family to have seven members, with a hundred houses, you could estimate the population to be around 700. However, there were many more people than that. In fact, the small roads were crowded. To the point that people sometimes bumped into each other.

Even more surprising than that was that most of the people here were cultivators. Not those who spent their days growing vegetables but those who pursued the peak of power.

Warriors like Jin.

However, they were weak and had shabby equipment. Jin could perceive that most of them were not even at his stage. A lot of them were sitting on the sides and showcasing some items they intended to sell. Jin witnessed all kinds of herbs and monster parts being sold. However, they were lacking. To his eyes, it seemed lacking. Most of these things were gradeless with very few being grade 1 level. Yet, they were being sold for shockingly high prices here.

It was quite the eye-opener.

Jin just arrived and he was already starting to understand how much of a gap there was between the higher and lower continents. If the prices of basic cultivation resources was this high... He could not even guess how the usually high-end goods would be costing around these parts...

In any case, it seemed like he did not need to worry about natives being wary of strangers. This village was filled with travelers.

He looked back to the forest and understood. This was a hunting ground for resources and, as such, trading became a part of the city. Nothing too unexpected.

However, as he walked within the small crowded town, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He spun around as his sword was getting drawn. In an instant, it was resting at the neck of a man. Jin checked the man's stage and surprisingly discovered him to only be a body refinement stage 3. That guy had big balls to dare sneak attack him with such low abilities.

Then again, the man remained smiling even with a sword at his neck and both hands up in the air.

It attracted the attention of the people around. They were frowning.

Jin did not let out though and it was the man who spoke first: "It's a misunderstanding, friend. I saw you come from the forest and wondered if you had any good things to sell is all. I swear to give you a fair price!"

Jin sighed internally as he sheathed the sword and stated: "Found nothing" before he departed and disappeared within the sea of people. The man who grabbed him snickered and walked away dejectedly.

Jin moved towards the signs of the closest tavern. What he needed was not resources but information. Gossips and rumors were exactly what he required and taverns were the best places to harvest them.

As he pushed the doors open, he noticed that it was just as crowded as outside if not even more. This establishment was rather big but it seemed like more than a hundred of people were already boisterously chatting, eating and drinking.

He was not even sure whether to wait for a waiter at the entrance, go to the counter at the far end or try to find a seat himself. However, he did not need to figure out the answer as a man entered after him and told him: "First time here, kiddo? Come with me, no need to wait for waiters in this place, ahahah!"

Jin followed the man as he felt no dangers from him. He looked to be in his fifties and was quite beefy. Yet, even though his stature was big, his true power was low, at stage 5 of spiritual accumulation.