The Cockroach-like Girl Is My Beast

Chapter 766 - 520: Xi Caught Peeping_2

These were the traces left by the skills and bodies of Spirit Beasts.

Clearly...

Although this city is massive, with a population of seven million, it is not prosperous.

The nearby wilderness is an endless dark red, the land appearing quite barren, with only sparse shrubs and certain plants stubbornly growing, most of which are oddly shaped and covered in thorns.

On the positive side, the overall strength of Spirit Beasts here is not high, with the highest being only Tier Three Spirit Beasts roaming within several hundred kilometers of wilderness, making beast tides not excessively dangerous.

On the downside, this wilderness is barren, the environment harsh, with neither an ideal Ether concentration nor a favorable resource distribution, almost to the point of being described as arid, with the majority of resources produced being poisonous or of Evil Attribute, unsuitable for normal human habitation.

Furthermore, ’not excessively dangerous’ is relative.

Due to the influence of the barren environment and chaotic Ether, the habits and characteristics of Spirit Beasts here are somewhat close to Magical Beasts; although their Level is not high and their forms primitive, they are often more ferocious and greedy, frequently possessing toxicity or bizarre Abilities.

Packs of carrion-eating, acid-loving [Hyena Badgers].

Capable of mimicking dead branches, launching poison spines [Poison Arrow Bug].

Lurking under the red earth, attacking passing creatures [Sand Heart Cricket].

Occasionally screeching in the sky, unleashing Evil Attribute Skills from a distance [Death Herald Crow].

For the lords dwelling in the Upper City District, these might just be training targets or sources of Spiritual Materials, but for those Low-star Spirit Masters and even common folk in the Lower City District, every trip outside the city is akin to gambling with their lives.

In Chi Zhang City, Spirit Masters are one in tens of thousands, and most are of Grey Talent; White is as rare as one in a hundred miles while Green is a layer totally unreachable for ordinary people.

The proportion of those who can awaken Talents in Great Yue Country is less than ten percent, and these scarce Spirit Master resources are mercilessly siphoned by the capital and more central cities.

Those who stay in such fringe areas are either those of mediocre aptitude with no hope for the future, the Low-Star Spirit Masters, or the local tyrants who have rooted and exploited here for generations; apart from these, there is no one else.

Thus...

Under the division of classes, the city’s layout is crudely divided into two layers.

Upper City District and Lower City District.

The Lower City District occupies most of the city’s area, clinging to the inner side of the high wall, stretching to the foot of the mountain.

This is the world of the lower class.

The outermost slums are overcrowded, with low mud houses, crooked wooden buildings, and large patches of iron shanties densely packed, streaming with sewage and mud, and the air is always mixed with the smell of sweat, excrement, cheap oils, and decaying organic matter.

The faces of these people are mostly marked by the scorching sun and poverty, their eyes numb, only to quickly lower their heads when Spirit Master lords with their Contracted Spirit Beasts pass by, revealing a complex expression mixed with fear, awe, and humility.

The middle City’s industrial area is densely packed, with buildings and factory districts towering, the sound of mechanical production roaring loudly, narrow alleys never seeing the sun throughout the year, and the citizens working there might not even have a day off every ten or fifteen days, yet many still fight tooth and nail to get a job there.

Because working in the factories, deprived of sunlight as it may be, is considered a decent job.

Working in the dangerous plantations outside the city, dealing with the Low Tier Spirit Beast materials with poisonous and Evil Attributes brought back from the wilderness, that is the truly hazardous occupation.

And those who have successfully awakened, possessing Spiritual Power, and contracted a Spirit Beast have much better living conditions, able to at least enjoy standalone houses, and the surroundings are much cleaner, generally living closer to the mountain.

And further above, the Upper City District is almost completely separate, projecting from the mountain like a bright flower blooming from the mire, prosperous and magnificent.

This is the high-end pleasure district of Chi Zhang City, the residence of Spirit Master lords of Tier Two and above, guild leaders, and their kin.

The buildings are mostly made of stone or sturdy composite materials, even featuring a lot of Great Xia style decorations, rare plants dotting the area, and occasionally small ornamental Spirit Beasts can be seen frolicking in the courtyards.

At night, the Upper City District is always bathed in a steady glow, emanating from several [Luminous Stone Towers] powered by Ethereal Crystals, a luxury unimaginable for the commoners below.

From here, Spirit Master overlords can leisurely sip tea, overlooking the ant-nest-like city district below, and the endless red wilderness beyond, as if they are the rulers of this land of suffering.

This is Chi Zhang City.

Or rather...

It is the epitome of countless borders and even insufficiently prosperous towns in nearby sovereign nations.

Spirit Beasts are scattered all over Blue Star, and for a powerful nation like Great Xia, akin to the Celestial Kingdom, this means resources and wealth are everywhere.

But for these nations...

If mortals cannot awaken Talents, it means they have no channel to continue climbing upward.

Thus, the divide between immortals and mortals becomes evident.

Within the walls, there is oppressive struggle; beyond the walls, stark brutality.

However.

At this moment.

The numb people in the stilted houses of the slums suddenly raised their heads, looking at the distant sky outside the window.

In the bright and clean mansions of the Upper City District, the dignified Spirit Masters looked at the distant sky.

No matter where they were, their pupils mirrored the same traces.