As they continued their wild gallop across the plain, Jing felt a profound sense of connection to the land and its creatures. And amidst the symphony of life unfolding around him, he reveled in the sheer joy of the ride, knowing that at this moment, he was truly alive. Deep down, his desire to survive grew even stronger, and with it the vast implications of what he had to do, and what he had to be for that to be possible..

A few hours later, Jing's eyes were tired, dead, and unfocused as the horse continued running. As astonishing as everything was, he was still starving, dehydrated, sleep deprived, and an even more immediate issue, his thighs burned!

He had been holding a sitting position for hours, something that shocked even him. Even the sun had gotten tired as it dipped below the horizon, and he still held on. How was he able to hold his thigh muscles that tightly, for that long, astonished him. However, there was something in the very distant horizon that had been pushing him to hold on, to wait just a minute longer, and motivated him to soldier on.

As they were galloping atop a towering green hill, their gaze stretched out across the horizon, where a vast city sprawled beneath the canvas of the sky. Before they rose the imposing silhouette of the city's beige massive walls, their towering heights seemingly reaching to touch the heavens above.

The walls encircled the city in a protective embrace, their weathered stones bearing the scars of time and history. Towering battlements lined the top, manned by vigilant guards who donned exquisite armor and kept watch over the bustling streets below.

Within the city, towering pagodas and intricately carved palaces pierced the skyline, their graceful curves and elegant lines echoing with a mystical worldless feel. Lanterns adorned the rooftops, their gentle glow illuminating the winding streets below, where the hustle and bustle of life unfolded in a song of both mundaneity but also beauty.

Merchants peddled their wares in bustling market squares, their voices rising in a melodic chorus of shrewd bargaining. The scent of incense wafted through the air, mingling with the aroma of exotic spices and fragrant teas, enticing passersby to pause and indulge in the sensory delights of the city.

Temples and shrines dotted the landscape, their ancient facades adorned with intricate carvings and gilded ornaments, offering refuge to those seeking enlightenment and spiritual guidance. Monks clad in flowing robes moved gracefully through the streets, and all of them were strangely followed by big knee-height cats that joyfully played behind them, intriguing Jing.

As he gazed upon the city from afar, a sense of reverence and wonder washed over him, for he knew that what he was seeing at that very moment, was something very special, especially to him. The horse's steps had already halted as he rested above it, taking everything before him in strides.

'What a beautiful sight,' He exclaimed, eyes shining in anticipation for what he might uncover within it. 'A city in a strange world!'

"Let's go," Shen Yun yelled back at him at the bottom of the hill.

Jing spurred the horse to resume its journey, but he discovered that after he had rested atop the hill, he was no longer to use his thigh muscles as he did before. Observing that they were already close enough, he just continued on a gentle trot as he sat atop the horse.

Though the two men glared at him for some reason, he didn't care. At that moment, he was doing the thing that would suit him best, not others. Thus, with a wide grin, he surveyed his surroundings.

The outside of the city was equally bustling with activity from what he observed. Caravans slowly marched along the cobblestone road leading to the towering gates, hunters exited the city armed with swords and bows donning leathery armors, and cultivators with flowy robes marched in groups in and out of the city.

However, he quickly noticed that it was boys and girls around his new body's age that existed in bulk. Just from a cursory glance, Jing observed close to a hundred of them. All of them wearing different clothes, robes, simple tunics, vests, and so on... Yet, their expression was all the same, a mixture of unbridled excitement and endless nervousness. He knew that they were here for the Golden Mountain's entrance test, and that sight made him slightly nervous too.

Witnessing that he wasn't listening to their call, the two men merely waited beside the gates. Once Jing approached, they all alighted from their horses, and the man who they had learned was called Xu Fufu led the way.

With the reins on hand, and a majestic grey horse following behind, Jing gazed up at the vast city walls amidst the big crowd as they slowly walked into the city.

Though the towers above, and even the chambers by the gate were filled with guards, no one stopped their entrance. The moment they stepped foot inside the city, the clamor increased even further, something that Jing found really comforting.

The moment he woke up in this world he found himself in an underground world where he was shunned by most, hated by others, and tolerated by the rest. Then, a journey straight out of nightmares followed along frigidly cold mountain peaks that threatened to freeze the blood inside his body and where the sound of the howling winds kept eroding his desire for survival and sense of sanity with every second.

Finding himself amongst people once again filled him with gratification. 'How long had it been?' He thought slightly emotional. 'How long had it been since I was around this number of people?'

The hospital room wasn't exactly a preferred hang-out spot for most people, and after some issues with his family and the nurses, it became even more desolate. Just a dark grey room with beeping machines and bland white-colored walls. How he still had any semblance of sanity after all of that was a mystery to him.

To his right, Jing noticed a street vendor with a wooden cage beside him where a dozen small white bunnies were stored. Their coat looked soft, their ears gently hung down around their ears, and they had the most innocent look he had ever seen an animal have. If he lived there and wasn't about to leave the city in a day he would have bought the whole bunch and thrown them in his backyard to roam around.

Picking up his steps, he followed after the two and swiftly caught up to them. The three walked side by side with three horses dutifully following behind them, and yet the road still offered enough space for carriages and other people to pass through, a testament to its width.

On either side of the roads were wooden and stoned houses, some looked especially simple and others had an unfathomably exquisite craftsmanship. Some of them had stores that sold a variety of products, and others looked like simple residential buildings.

Xu Fufu suddenly spoke, his grey cold eyes still glued ahead. "Shen Yun, you go to the Brown Silk Inn and take two rooms for each of you. Just ask around and you'll find its location. Me and your friend here will put the horses in the stables." Saying that he stretched out his arm and gave him a brown pouch. "Here is your gold."

"Which direction should I go?" Shen Yun asked.

Using his left hand, Xu Fufu pointed to the upper left, prompting Shen Yun to slightly nod, give Jing the reins of his brown horse, and leave.

Jing felt encouraged to start a conversation after hearing the man speak. "So," He said. "What do you guys do inside the city?"

"I can't tell you," the man perfunctorily replied.

"Hmm," Jing murmured. "And where does this Yang family live that I heard about before?"

"This city," The man replied once again, his answers short, simple, and from the asker's perspective teetered on the verge of being rude and antagonistic. Jing scowled facing such a lack display of manners and stopped asking questions.

[Worldwide Announcement: Player Bearfeast Has Killed Player Young Dragon.]
[Worldwide Announcement: Player Bearfeast Has Achieved This World's Third Blood. Achievement Granted.]

Jing's steps paused after the majestic voice echoed in his ears and the golden notifications appeared in front of him once again. With every death, the reality of his situation seemed to sink even deeper into his mind. Ironically, the people he would be the closest to by virtue of them being of the same world were the most dangerous to his survival. With a heart filled with worries and endless thoughts about how such a vicious game might change them, might change him, his steps resumed.

The duo with the three horses navigated through the bustling city street heading to the southern part of the city. From what Jing observed, they had entered from the western gate, and so their trajectory was gradually veering to their right.

On a long brick-paved road that was suffocated by an inch-thick layer of dirt, feces, sticks, vegetable leaves, and other random things, Jing found himself on a deserted street heading to the mentioned stables.

The establishment had a closed roof that resembled a huge wooden house with no interiors. Just narrow fences where he could hear all types of beasts roaring or growling at one another, and several paddocks in the middle where monsters freely roamed.

However, something quickly caught his attention. Two people were heading in their direction from the stables.

One of them had wide impressive shoulders, long, a light brown robe and a sword sheathed to the side, and the other was a boy around his age, in fact, a boy he recognized all too well. Zho Tu, the twin that survived.

Jing frowned at the sight, and he felt a sudden sense of danger. Peak Master Li Yan had stressed the danger of how much that family posed to him, and yet he was now surrounded by people that he didn't know.

When Zho Tu was but an arm's length away from him, the two of them paused. The man who accompanied him asked Xu Fufu something, but Jing was too preoccupied to listen in because Zho Tu stretched out his arm for a handshake. As innocent as that gesture looked, he was alarmed. The boy's mixture was stiff, his face looked complicated, and his hands slightly shook.

Though he found it strange, he didn't want to let the man reach out with his hand for too long because if the situation was as dangerous as he believed then a handshake or not, it hardly mattered.

The moment their hands touched, he could feel something slightly poking him at the center of his palm. Their eyes still locked, Zho Tu turned his palm upside down, and the thing inside of it fell into Jing's hand.

He quickly noticed that it was a simple coarse yellowish piece of paper, and by then the duo had already left them behind without the remaining twin saying another word.

Just as he was about to open the paper and take a look, Xu Fufu suddenly spoke, "You are Xie Ran's son, correct?"