Blue Card Starry Sky

Chapter 53 Underwater City

When Lan Tian woke up, his head was throbbing terribly. He had just been beaten so badly by those two that he hadn't been able to fight back at all; it was utterly humiliating, and he felt utterly ashamed. He couldn't go in yet; his strength wasn't enough. Just then, a servant came to report that there was a letter in Xiangyang City inviting his master to the Underwater City. The city lord there had extended an invitation and was currently in Xiangyang Prefecture. Hearing the report, Lan Tian didn't dare to go in to cultivate anymore. Well, it was fine. He could go out for a walk, meet the city lord, and see what the Underwater City looked like and what it was like. He wondered what he would encounter or gain.

Back in the council hall, Qin Lei reported on the recent situation to Uncle Lei. He also suggested that Qin Lei accept the invitation from the Lord of the Underwater City, but he hoped to wait for the young masters and ladies of Penglai Island to arrive before going together.

"Uncle Lei, are they really coming? That's wonderful! It's been so long since I've seen them." Lan Tian was overjoyed to hear that Lan Yu and the others were coming. He really missed them. Thinking back, time has flown by; almost three years have passed!

……

That afternoon, after a long sea voyage, Lan Yu and his companions finally arrived at Endless Island and visited the Lan family mansion. Lan Tian was overjoyed, embracing and greeting them enthusiastically. They shared their experiences and tribulations from the past few days. Listening to Lan Tian's legendary adventures left Lan Yu and his group speechless; none of them could compare. Look at Lan Tian, ​​already an eighth-tier powerhouse, while they hadn't even reached the sixth tier! They were all ashamed. Lan Tian looked at them with dismay.

"Haha, you'll improve gradually and you'll advance in your cultivation. Don't worry, with me here, you'll all advance quickly, right, Uncle Lei?" Lan Tian winked at Qin Lei, hoping they would cheer up.

"That's right, you'll all be able to advance soon too," Qin Lei said to the young masters and ladies with a serious expression.

"In a few days, let's go to the underwater city," Lan Tian said. Hearing about the underwater city, everyone immediately became interested and excitedly chattered incessantly. To save time, Lan Tian had long ago instructed Qin Lei to build a time-space portal connecting the Lan residence to the official residence in Xiangyang City. Lan Tian could now clearly see Qin Lei's rank and knew he had the ability and the Lan family the resources, so such a portal was necessary for convenient travel between the two places in the future. While Lan Tian could teleport anywhere at will, most people here couldn't; they didn't have that ability.

That morning, Lan Tian and his group were all ready. They opened the portal and instantly arrived at the official residence in Xiangyang City. Xiao Weiqing and Zhou Weiqing managed the place impeccably, and Lan Tian was deeply impressed by the orderly progress of everything. Xiao Weiqing explained the reason for the invitation from the Lord of the Underwater City. It was somewhat related to Weiqing; he had connections with the sea tribes and was a member of the Lan family who understood their language. The Lord of the Underwater City's daughter was seeking a husband, and they had heard that the Lord of the Lan family in Xiangyang City was a promising young man, so they specially invited him to come.

"Ugh, Wei Qing, why didn't you say so earlier? If it were like this, I wouldn't have gone, I would have let you go!" Lan Tian, ​​after hearing Wei Qing's explanation, felt that he was too young to consider matters of love and relationships, much less go on a blind date. However, looking at his two older brothers behind him, he had another idea. He would go, but his two brothers would be the ones to find husbands, while he would just go and have some fun. He privately discussed it with his two brothers, and they didn't object. Going to see what was going on wasn't guaranteed to make the princess take a liking to him. Everyone happily agreed, and so they prepared to go to the underwater city.

Lan Tian instructed Zhou Weiqing to guard the official residence in Xiangyang City, and sent Xiao Weiqing with everyone to the underwater city. Weiqing spoke the language of the sea tribe, which would facilitate communication and translation. Only Lan Tian and Qin Lei could walk in the sea without assistance; the other members needed to be equipped with breathing gear. They didn't know that walking in the underwater city didn't require breathing gear, just like in land cities. However, the path into the underwater city was still of a lower level, requiring the use of breathing gear.

The underwater city is enormous, located in a deep-sea valley. It has existed since ancient times. Above the underwater city, layers of energy spheres cover the entire valley, isolating it from the seawater. After passing through a special device at the city gate, you enter the city. Inside, the houses and streets are just like those in mainland cities, with buildings, hotels, farmland, trees, flowers, and air circulation. There is a fresh, salty smell of the sea, but it is still a bit humid and lacks the necessary sunlight.

After a difficult procession, Lan Tian and his group finally passed through the city gates and entered the underwater city. They showed the guards their invitation, and they were warmly received. They were arranged to stay in a VIP guesthouse not far from the imperial city. The guesthouse was already quite full, mostly young people from various ethnic groups. It seemed the city lord had invited elites from all races to come and find husbands for his daughter, hoping she would find a good match.

Lan Tian and his companions settled in comfortably, treated to fine wine and meat. However, Lan Tian's original intention in coming here was not to find a son-in-law, but rather to see the underwater city. He wanted to go out and explore, to see how the people lived, how trade was conducted, and whether he could open a shop here.

Lan Tian, ​​Xiao Weiqing, and Yingying went out for a stroll. The streets were filled with all sorts of people from various ethnic groups, speaking a mix of languages ​​that they couldn't understand. Fortunately, Xiao Weiqing understood a little, so they could barely communicate.

The streets and alleys were filled with a dazzling array of goods and countless delicacies. Lan Tian ate and bought a lot along the way, wanting to purchase everything he saw out of curiosity and excitement. Yingying was the most excited and ate the most. Sigh, aren't girls afraid of gaining weight eating like this? Xiao Weiqing's translation was truly excellent, saving Lan Tian a lot of money—a real bargain! Continuing their stroll, Lan Tian came across an antique shop run by humans. There weren't many customers, but the shopkeepers were very enthusiastic. The goods were mostly common land-based items, but the prices were quite high. It's understandable that items sold here require difficult transportation, so the higher prices are to be expected.

One item in the shop caught Lan Tian's attention: a crystal. Its exterior was unremarkable, just an ordinary blue crystal. But what astonished Lan Tian was the energy emanating from within it. He recognized this type of crystal from his master's records; his master considered it extremely valuable, an ancient energy crystal, incredibly rare. His master hadn't explicitly stated its purpose, but it was certainly a very precious energy crystal. Lan Tian now eagerly anticipated owning it and looked forward to asking his master about its uses next time he saw him!
(End of this chapter)