Inner World, border of the Fansait Kingdom.

The difference hit like a salt wind off a bright sea; prosperity shimmered thicker than in other lands. Even a border town pulsed like a main city in those small countries we’d passed—no wonder this is the Inner World’s largest nation. It hugs the coast like a silver scythe, vast lands gleaming with rich veins, set in a fine position. In an age when trade rides the waves, a coastline is a tide that lifts every market.

Mages were everywhere, sparks in a night sky. Even here, half the people were true magic-users, not folks with a few low-tier tricks. So that’s how it is—magic education in the Inner World outstrips the Prime Realm by a mountain. In this small border town, I saw two magic academies rise like twin cranes, though both were modest.

"Even a border town shines like this. What will the Fansait capital look like?" FrostyLily Dream sighed, her long-still heart thawing like ice under spring sun. Years in the Nine Cold Labyrinth dull surprise; the Inner World’s bloom clearly outran her guesses.

"You’ll see soon. It won’t let you down," Xiyue said, eyes bright like a fox under moonlight. Then she glanced at me, pride spilling like sunlight. "Xinuo, how’s it feel? When we reach the capital—Saiyu City—don’t be too shocked."

"It’s fine. The growth is vibrant, but it hasn’t stunned me," I said, a cool tide steady under the words. "And…"

A sour wind had blown recently from the Soulless Sanctuary. I eyed Xiyue with a thorn of annoyance. "So that’s why you invited us. You’re aiming at the Soulless Sanctuary."

"Even with worlds walled off, you still catch the scent—as expected of Xinuo." Her smile was a drifting cloud. "Since I’m exposed, I’m curious. Will you keep touring the Fansait Kingdom with me, or rush back to deal with the Soulless Sanctuary?"

I felt the prickle of wariness like rain on the neck. "You won’t let us go that easy, will you?" Xiyue never moves without a shadow.

"Soulless Sanctuary? That’s where Wanxin’s brat is sealed… don’t tell me—!" FrostyLily Dream snapped, anger blazing like frost under sudden sun. If I hadn’t held her sleeve, she’d have lashed out like a storm.

"Easy, little sister," Xiyue said, voice smooth as lacquer. "And if you insist on leaving, I couldn’t stop you. You know that better than anyone."

Troublesome as ever—she drifted like willow, without a shred of apology.

"Forget it. With Wanxin the way he is, he can’t stir much. Lotus and the others are there; I don’t need to rush," I said, letting the matter sit like a stone in water.

If I wanted, a thought could carry me to the Soulless Sanctuary like a hawk’s drop. I didn’t care to. Still, irritation fluttered like a moth. I flicked Xiyue’s forehead, sharp as a pebble.

"Ow. Xinuo, can’t you be gentler?" she laughed, rubbing the reddening spot like a cherry.

We traded no more words. We crossed the border like birds over a hedge and moved deeper into Fansait. Saiyu City sits on the eastern coast, a pearl far off; we’d need time to reach it unless we skipped everything. But we have oceans of time; rushing would drain the color from the trip.

The Inner World felt fresh, like rain on dust. New things kept blooming, and I found a spark of curiosity for a place again.

We skimmed through smaller towns with little flair, sampled local flavors like fireflies on the tongue, and by noon drifted into the largest city of the western region—Yunhe City.

True to its name, Yunhe grew beside a river like a jade belt, ancient-toned and heavy with history. Landmarks dotted it like mossed stones, though more than half had been rebuilt. Xiyue said that since the Magitech Industrial Revolution, wars had raged like wildfires across the world. Yunhe never escaped; it took scorch after scorch.

War in the Inner World long left behind blades and shields. When it breaks, it’s tides of magical weapons and sky-rending barrages between powerhouses. In the end, victory still hangs on personal strength. With no one at the Origin Realm stepping in, two or three at the Zenith of Law Realm can turn a war like wind flips a banner.

Modern magical weapons, at their peak, hit like the full-force strike of a mid-tier Law Realm. Picture a single-use magic scroll, but inscribed with Law Realm-grade art.

So among the Inner World’s nations, true strength still comes from how many Law Realm powerhouses a country can call. If one Origin Realm sits in town, all the better. After that, you count magitech, economy, culture, and population.

Within Fansait, Yunhe is middling. Tenth in population, eighth in economy and trade, and—charmed by books and songs—fifth in culture. The city lord’s strength is ordinary; he only reached mid-tier Law Realm in his eighties. His clan shelters an old-timer at the Zenith of Law Realm—the city’s only one. I felt all that the moment I stepped under the gate, like reading grain in wood.

People flooded the streets like a river. Other races mingled like wildflowers. Broad avenues thrummed with magitech cars, their bodies glittering like beetles. It was a blur of wheels and faces, a proper tide of steel and flesh. If the Servant were here, that would be his first thought.

We hadn’t seen him beyond that brief reunion. The absence sat like an empty chair; life felt missing a thread without his quiet care.

"Evening’s close. And traveling should never rush; time’s the one thing we don’t lack. Let’s wander Yunhe today and stay the night," Xiyue suggested, voice as casual as a drifting leaf.

"Fine. In a main city, slowing down is right. Where are we sleeping?"

For anyone at the Origin Realm, any corner of the world is a breath away. But on a trip, doing that strips away the flavor. Travel needs the ordinary lanes.

"Obviously we’ll make a resting space by hand," Xiyue said, as if stating that snow is white. "You really want to sleep in houses mortals built?"

"I’m not picky. But we’ll do it your way. It’ll be quieter."

Back on the Eastern Moon Continent with the Servant, we stayed even in ordinary inns, and living in local homes is half the joy of travel. But here, with crowds thick and air muddied, I let that go.

"Where sister stays, I stay," FrostyLily Dream said, sticking to me like a small moon.

"Mm."

…

Meanwhile, above a stretch of sea near the Soulless Sanctuary, a girl of sublime beauty sat on a floating staff, thinking, her silhouette like a white egret over blue water.

Her pale-cyan curls streamed like spring rivers. She wore a dress of blue and white, puffed with frills edged in lotus-pink petals. Long legs were sheathed in semi-transparent patterned white stockings, and a small blooming lotus pinned her delicate boots.

Her aura carried a mystery like mountains after rain. It felt like standing before nature’s divine craft, easy to sink into. Elements in the air seemed to find their home; they gathered and danced around her like swallows.

The staff beneath her looked more like a branch, grown not forged. Shape, color, and size were just right, seamless as if born that way. Two or three tender green leaves tipped it, the perfect finishing stroke.

It was a branch, yet power throbbed inside it like sap in spring, life surging and terrible.

"How rare—orders from Teacher Xinuo," she murmured, voice like tinkling water. "So Xiyue still hasn’t given up, and now she’s eyeing the Soulless Sanctuary. I’ve got time to burn. I’ll go take a look."

The words fell, and the sea swallowed her absence; she was gone like a fish slipping into deep blue.

…