Chapter Twenty: The Camp of Dao Soldiers

As the largest city in the Fuyou County, Azure Cloud City did not charge an entrance fee. Precisely because of this policy, the flow of visitors passing through the city was unprecedentedly high.

Yang Xuan led the Dao Soldier squad and spent almost half a stick of incense’s time in line before it was finally his turn to have his identity token inspected.

“Dao Soldiers are not allowed into the inner city. They may only be stationed in the Dao Soldier Barracks in the outer city. You’d best go and register there before entering the inner city,” the city guard, a Dao Soldier himself, reminded Yang Xuan kindly after checking his identity token.

“Thank you for the reminder!” Yang Xuan replied gratefully and led his squad into the city.

“Do you know where the Dao Soldier Barracks are?” he asked.

His previous self had rarely left Yellow Maple Mountain, and had never visited Azure Cloud City before, so he was unfamiliar with the city’s layout. Wild Ox, however, had once served as a captain among the Yellow Maple Mountain Dao Soldiers and had experience escorting merchant caravans to and from Azure Cloud City. That was why Yang Xuan asked him instead of seeking out a local.

“I do, sir. The Dao Soldier Barracks are in the East City,” Wild Ox replied.

“Good. Lead the way. I’ll settle you all in first before heading into the inner city myself.” Yang Xuan gestured for him to go ahead.

Wild Ox promptly took the lead.

Azure Cloud City was a place where the immortal and mortal worlds coexisted. The outer city was home to mortals and martial artists, while only cultivators were permitted into the inner city.

Thus, the streets of the outer city were crowded mostly with mortals. Even the occasional cultivator was usually just a wandering practitioner at the Qi Refining Stage.

As Yang Xuan’s Dao Soldier squad marched forward, their fierce and intimidating aura made the common folk instinctively step aside, clearing a path for the soldiers.

In the world of Immortal Cultivation, Dao Soldiers, though selected from martial artists, were markedly different from ordinary warriors. Each Dao Soldier, upon joining the ranks, was taught a specialized cultivation technique by their clan. Their armor and weapons were also distinct from those of regular fighters.

Take Yang Xuan’s squad for example: they cultivated the Yang clan’s inherited Dao Soldier art, the Black Fiend Dao Soldier Method. This not only made their physical bodies notably strong and allowed them to form the Black Fiend Formation, but their armor was inscribed with special formation patterns to better enable them to assemble into battle arrays.

It was precisely because they practiced the Black Fiend Dao Soldier Method and wore such armor that, even though nearly half of Yang Xuan’s current squad was newly recruited, their intimidating aura had not diminished in the slightest. Ordinary people, upon facing these Dao Soldiers, could not help but feel a chill of fear run through them.

Following the wide avenue, Yang Xuan and his men soon arrived at a massive compound. Even from outside, one could sense the overwhelming killing intent within, as well as the shouts and cries of Dao Soldiers training.

There was no need for Wild Ox to point it out—Yang Xuan immediately recognized this as the Dao Soldier Barracks of Azure Cloud City.

He took the initiative to step forward, entering a courtyard beside the main gate, above which hung a plaque that read “Dao Soldier Registration.”

“Here to settle Dao Soldiers, are you?” the man inside said. “The regulations are posted there. Have a look, then fill in your identity information and pay according to the number of Dao Soldiers you have.”

From the outside, the courtyard seemed small, but inside, space expanded vastly—evidence of a spatial formation at work.

The whole registration office resembled a bank lobby from Yang Xuan’s previous life, with several counters manned by clerks. Unlike a bank, where every clerk was a young lady, here the staff were all men, each dressed in standard Azure Cloud Sect uniforms, exuding the aura of cultivators.

Since few came to register Dao Soldiers, most of the clerks lounged lazily in their chairs. In particular, the one at Yang Xuan’s counter reclined with one foot propped up on the desk, a book entitled “The Ten Great Beauties of Azure Cloud” covering his face.

Cultivators possessed spiritual senses and were highly attuned to their surroundings. As soon as Yang Xuan approached, the clerk stirred and pointed at a sign beside the counter.

Yang Xuan glanced over and read:

“Ten Dao Soldiers: one spirit stone per day. Activating the Blood Qi Formation: ten spirit stones. Meals not included. Meal standards as follows:
Standard set for ten: one spirit stone per ten men.
Luxury set for ten: five spirit stones per ten men.
…”

After reading, Yang Xuan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain for his spirit stones.

Yang Huaiyun had been right—Dao Soldiers were money pits. No wonder independent cultivators could hardly afford to maintain them.

But there was no choice. If one wished to stand firm in the wars of overseas expansion, Dao Soldiers were indispensable. Even if expensive, he had to grit his teeth and pay.

“One hundred Dao Soldiers for one day, activate the Blood Qi Formation for one night, standard meal set for one hundred,” Yang Xuan declared. “Here’s my identity token and thirty spirit stones.”

The clerk took the token and spirit stones, placed the token on a round disk before him, and pressed several times. An image appeared, displaying Yang Xuan’s identity information and likeness. After confirming the details, the clerk nodded, returned the identity token, and tossed over a command tablet.

Yang Xuan carefully stowed his identity token in his storage pouch and, holding the command tablet, left the office.

In the Profound Yellow Realm, the identity token was vital—it determined whether one could freely enter and exit the alliance cities of the various sects. Much like an ID card in his previous life, without it, one could go nowhere.

Especially in a world of cultivation, those without proper registration often met grim fates. Should any city discover an unregistered person, they would be treated as enemy spies and executed on the spot. Whether or not a mistake was made was never a concern; better to err on the side of harshness.

Therefore, every child born within the alliance’s territory—whether to immortal clans or to commoners—would first have their identity token processed. Of course, the tokens for mortals were different from those for cultivators. Mortals’ tokens were not as strictly regulated, nor did they display an image; they were ordinary tokens with only the necessary information to prove allegiance to the alliance.

Leaving the registration office, Yang Xuan handed the barracks command tablet to Wild Ox, gave him a few instructions, and, without entering the barracks himself, headed straight for the inner city.

The airship seats for distant destinations in Azure Cloud City generally had to be purchased in advance, so he still needed to go to the inner city to secure a ticket for tomorrow.

Moreover, his brother-in-law, Chen Zhisheng, and those talented individuals and resources from the Yang family of Mount Qiyun were also in the inner city awaiting him; these matters needed to be settled today.

Finally, the journey overseas was fraught with dangers, and relying solely on his current means made him uneasy. He planned to acquire some additional resources for his own safety.

Azure Cloud City was truly vast, and with flight prohibited, Yang Xuan walked along the grand avenue for nearly an hour before finally reaching the inner city.

Compared to entering the outer city, entering the inner city was far more stringent. Each person had to present their identity token for inspection, and the guards would inquire about their place of origin and purpose for entering.

All in all, the procedures were exceedingly strict.