V.2 Chapter 180: World Map

"Thank you for helping me with everything, Elder Ovian!" Kai said with a smile and bowed gratefully.

"It's nothing. I'll be watching your progress with interest! Don't worry about the tokens; I'll ask to pass the information to Elders Kayus and Brud myself." The old man replied.

"Thank you once again!" Kai thanked again.

After this exchange of words, Elder Ovian turned around and started to walk away through the corridor of the Palace of Shadows.

Presently, Kai stood by a large white door, seemingly coated with a barely visible layer of energy. It was the entrance to his private quarters.

Previously, Ovian had helped Kai rent his new abode. This saved Kai a lot of time, as the old man, being one of the principal people in the Palace of Shadows, had swiftly handled all the paperwork.

Kai's new home indeed deserved the title of Personal Disciple. It costs about 300 Reputation Points per month.

For others, this was a very impressive sum. It was more than the salary of a good Alchemist, not to mention ordinary workers like guards or herb preparers in the Alchemy Alliance.

But Kai understood that the monthly payments of 2000 Reputation Points would more than cover his expenses. Moreover, it turned out that by renting a residence in the Palace of Shadows, you could order food directly to it. And most importantly, it was absolutely free. It could seem too good a deal until one considered the cost of rent...

"Well, let's see..." said Kai and placed his palm on the door.

"Boom!" A resonant sound echoed, and the doors began to open slowly.

Before this, Kai had already inspected everything with the Eyes of Truth. As expected, everything was covered with a large array. Now, only Kai could open these doors.

Currently, he was somewhat anticipating, as he had not seen his new home before. Kai simply trusted Elder Ovian, and the old man chose a room for him independently.

Entering, Kai stopped and began to survey the surroundings while the door slowly closed behind him. Immediately after, it was covered again with a thin layer of energy.

"Wow… It's hard to call this a room…" Kai said, a bit shocked.

Now, a large circular hall unfolded before his eyes. Everything here was made in white tones and from beautiful stone. Paintings hung on the sides, and the walls themselves were in decorative carving. There were also many bookshelves. A table and black sofas were in the center of the room.

But the most beautiful part was not this…

Right opposite the entrance, in front of Kai, were giant windows! They stretched from the floor to the ceiling! And through them unfolded an incredibly beautiful view of the entire Shadows City! After all, the Palace of Shadows was located at its highest point!

But that's not all… Kai noticed that there was a balcony behind the windows, which he didn’t notice right away.

"I need to go check it out!" Kai thought and started to walk quickly in that direction.

Stepping out onto it through the side doors, Kai’s breath halted for a moment. From the room, he hadn’t noticed the most beautiful element. Standing on the balcony, he was treated to a view of endless blue waters…

Kai's room was situated in a very advantageous location. One could watch both the Shadows City and the infinite watery expanses… It's just from inside the round hall, this was not visible.

“Ah… Elder Ovian truly made a good choice…” Kai exhaled contentedly.

The landscape before his eyes was incredibly beautiful! Somehow, it happened that all the time on his journey as a master of martial arts, Kai cultivated without daylight… He was either in a stuffy little room, a cave, or underground! This was his first home where it was so spacious and bright.

Breathing deeply, Kai was very pleased. After standing for a while, he decided to return inside.

Looking around a bit, Kai realized that the layout was quite convenient. From the central round room, you could access 4 others.

To the left, there was a spacious bedroom and a bathroom with its own hot spring.

To the right, there was a room with an incredibly high-quality array for gathering energy and a room completely covered in protective arrays. It was clear that the first was intended for closed cultivation, and the second, most likely, for experiments.

Entering the last room, Kai noticed that near the entrance was a small disc platform, covered with an array. But he didn’t use it, as he roughly understood what it was for… Most likely, it’s some kind of array to test his strength.

“Hmm… Interesting… But first, I want to freshen up and rest…” Kai said a bit lazily and exited.

Now Kai was not up for tests of strength… He wanted to start his research as soon as possible. But now it was late lunch, and it will get dark in a few hours.

“I'll rest today and head to the library at dawn tomorrow. Even without the Alliance tokens and their payments… Considering the Reputation Points received from Elder Ovian, I will have no problems.” Kai thought, heading to the bathroom.

……………………

“And this one might be interesting!” Said Kai, looking at the bookshelf.

Currently, it was already dark outside, and the city lights were shining through the windows. The room was bright enough, thanks to luminous stones and arrays. Kai decided not just to have a drink, but also to read something in the background. But alas, in this case, there were only various novels and nothing interesting…

Kai wanted to find something with useful information. When he was about to go to the table for a glass of wine, he noticed a book titled “Heavenly Continent”. It became his favorite!

Sitting on the sofa, Kai poured himself some more wine and opened the book…

“Hmm… So, let's start…” Kai said in his mind.

Reading, he didn’t come across much interesting information. Mostly, it talked about different types of zones existing on the continent. It spoke of vast deserts, dense forests, and much more. But no specifics, just descriptions…

And only towards the end did something useful appear! Kai’s eyes lit up, and he continued to read…

“The Heavenly Continent consists of three massive regions, named: “Mysterious Sea Region,” “Wild Region,” and “Holy Region.”

The Wild Region occupies the entire north. The Mysterious Sea Region is located in the southeast. The Holy Region takes up the southwest.

There are many forces controlling their territories, such as Sects, Family Clans, Countries, or others. But all of them, to some extent, are subordinate to the main hegemony of the Heavenly Continent!

The Mysterious Sea Region is governed by the Shadow Sect, the Sword Sect, and the Spirit Fire Sect!

The Wild Region is ruled by the single Beast Dominion Sect! It consists of a union of savages and beasts. Their territories are respectively called the Wasteland of Savages and the Wild Beasts Steppe!

The Holy Region is mainly governed by the Holy Empire! However, also located there is the Samsara Temple, situated in the far west. One can only approach it by passing through the territory of the Holy Empire!

Many consider the Samsara Temple as a completely separate power of the Heavenly Continent. It is a very remote and mysterious land, with incredibly strong masters… It is said that they have not participated in any conflicts for thousands of years. They maintain a distance from all other Sects of the Heavenly Continent.

The only ones who have contact with them are the Holy Empire. And that, only because they are their neighbors.

All who once expressed doubts in the power of the Samsara Temple ended very tragically. Some researchers of the Heavenly Continent are convinced that they are the most powerful force in our world. They suggest that we are very fortunate that the Samsara Temple never seeks conflicts…” Narrated the author of the book Kai was reading.

“Can it be that our world harbors so many marvelous powers…” Kai uttered, shocked.