After getting to know each other for a minute the group finally left the guild hall under Liam's lead. They walked through the bustling Duabalis City and entered the teleporter.
Light flashed and the group appeared in a completely new area. They found themselves within a circular pagoda-like tower with five floors. Each floor was constructed from dark mahogany wood, extremely luxurious. The walls all around were covered in artful paintings depicting dragons and phoenixes, heroic fighters, and a powerful ruler.
The tower was open towards all sides allowing people to come and go freely. Stepping out, the group appeared at a circular plaza surrounding the teleportation platforms. A refreshing air caressed their faces, but it was difficult to enjoy with so much noise coming from all sides.
"Welcome to Heavenly Pearl City!", announced Liam with a grin.
Out of the group only Lenn had been here before. The others looked around full of curiosity, studying this unique human city. Their eyes were attracted to an elevated platform at the side.
Two old men stood on it, wearing white robes, and holding various scrolls in their hands. Their backs were straight, and an intelligent light shone in their eyes as they discussed something in front of a few dozen spectators.
"Morals have been on decline ever since the factions rebelled against the dynasty. Your argument, my dear friend Han, doesn't hold sway. In my opinion the current weakening of the dynasty's economy should be attributed to the unwillingness of the young folk to shoulder hard work."
"Friend Ming, I will surely agree with you on that point. But aren't these two sides of the same medal?"
"Indeed, indeed. Wise words soliciting further thought."
As the two old scholars discussed, the people below nodded along, occasionally praising the old men's wisdom.
Fortune rose her brows strangely, commenting:
"Those two don't look like they ever worked a day in their lives."
"Haha."
"You got a point."
Her friends chuckled as they agreed. But just then an NPC woman walking by glared angrily at Fortune.
"Foreigners, show some respect to the honourable scholars! Hmpf!"
Looking at Fortune's bewildered expression, Liam couldn't help but say with a laugh:
"That's the current Xia Dynasty for you. After the Ancient Xia Dynasty split due to infighting, the throne has changed hands a few times. The current emperor, calling himself Xia the Scholar, unsurprisingly values scholars and wisdom extremely highly, even more so than the military. He is also working hard to bind the factions, which split from the dynasty in the past, back to the dynasty by means of diplomacy."
The friends listened to Liam, showing curiosity. None of them were averse to learning the game's lore. Melodious Edelweiss even asked carefully:
"Is... the emperor successful?"
"He's successful in improving relationships but the dynasty itself could do better. Don't be blinded by the prosperity of Heavenly Pearl City. As the capital, it is the pearl of the dynasty. Other cities are doing much worse. Especially those not on the main island."
Liam's words reminded the group. They looked along the main street, which led away from the plaza and slowly down the mountain on which Heavenly Pearl City was located.
A breathtaking view opened up. Lush forests and misty landscapes gave the entire area a mystical appearance. In the distance one could see the vast Western Ocean, a faint fog rolling about.
Heavenly Pearl City was located on an island in the Western Ocean. Although it could barely be called an island anymore. Compared to it, the islands inhabited by the nephilim were but tiny specks of land.
And yet this island wasn't the only one of its kind in the Western Ocean. The Xia Dynasty still holds sway over five similar ones and there were many other influences in the area, some of them not any weaker than the dynasty.
And somewhere among these islands was the origin of the human race. Too much time has passed to make out the exact location. Many people surmise that humans appeared on multiple islands simultaneously. No matter what the truth was, humans eventually became the rulers of the Western Ocean.
Under constant battles with their rivals, the merfolk, they grew in power, exploring in all directions, eventually discovering the main continent. It took a long time but at some point, large parts of humanity decided to head for the new continent. Leveraging their immense population and lead by powerful mages humanity gradually took over the entire Central Plains and even regions beyond that.
But all of this had little to do with Liam's group.
They walked along the main street, refraining from summoning their mounts just yet. The city was densely crowded. Not only with NPCs but players as well.
As a large city Heavenly Pearl City naturally had a lot of quests to offer. But apart from that, the players had also made it out as a centre for relaxation. Be it exploring the ancient temples, enjoying the scenery in refined teahouses, or joining the NPCs in painting, all of these could be enjoyed in the city.
Thus, it took the friends a while until they made it through the main street and left the city area. Finally, they could use their mounts, their speed increasing sharply. In no time at all they had reached a sprawling harbour city.
This city called Foggy Waves City was even bigger than Duabalis Harbour. It was a hub connecting most of the Western Ocean. From the city's entrance one could see an armada of ships. Most of those had elliptical, curved sails, the ship's main body designed with a flat bottom and watertight bulkheads. The were quite distinct compared to the ships the group knew from Duabalis Harbour.
Liam didn't linger within the city, leading his friends to a place close to one of the biggest piers. Three ships were docking here, obviously amidst preparations to set off.
Soldiers in multiple layers of armor as well as simple workers were busying themselves, readying the ships. And amidst the busy crowd stood a large palanquin.
In its shadow a young man was stead on an opulent armchair. He wore the white robes of a scholar, impatiently tapping the armrest as he talked to an important-looking soldier next to him.
Liam brought his group towards the palanquin, approaching the scholar.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
The soldier's commanding voice shook the players, making them involuntarily freeze in place.
"Sir, we are adventurers. We heard the honourable Scholar Feng is about to set out on a diplomatic mission and is recruiting help."
The soldier stared at Liam and his group, eyeing them from head to toe with distrust evident on his face. But before he could answer, Scholar Feng waved his hand, prompting the soldier to take a step back.
"Adventurers, I am pleased that you have answered my call. I am indeed in need of a strong deterrent force. Although the word shall prevail over violence, our uncivilised neighbours have unfortunately not discovered the truth yet."
As soon as the scholar stopped speaking, a notification appeared in front of the party's eyes.
[Do you want to accept the quest 'Scholar Feng's diplomatic mission'?]
[Yes]
[No]
Of course Liam quickly accepted. After all this was the reason for them coming here.
"Thank you, scholar. We will be your sword and shield."
"Of course. You can enter the 'Graceful Swan', we will be setting off any minute now."
[
[Step one: Board the Graceful Swan and reach Jailed God Island]
Liam clasped his hands at the scholar, taking his group away. They stepped on the pier and approached the middle of the three ships, which was the prestigious Graceful Swan.
As they were out of range for Scholar Feng to hear them, Braag couldn't hold back anymore, asking Liam suspiciously:
"Hey Mirage, didn't you tell us how unapproachable scholars are and that we should be patient?"
"Hmm, that's now wrong. But maybe my charisma is just too convincing."
"Charisma? Do you think you're Silver Blade?"
Everyone smiled at the comment. Liam didn't answer but instead played around with the inconspicuous championship ring on his finger. An additional fourteen points of charisma, of course NPCs would respect him.
While talking the group reached a broad plank which led up to the ship's deck. More than a dozen soldiers were already waiting on the ship's deck, scrutinizing the players with sharp gazes.
Quickstep shot a stern gaze back as she confidently boarded the ship first. A grin formed on her face. She had always been a big fan of seafaring. For her taste there had been too little opportunities to board a ship so far.
The rest of the group swiftly followed behind her. They searched for a comfortable position towards the front of the ship, taking seat on some crates.
With their appearance the quest officially began. A short while later Scholar Feng arrived. Forced to leave his palanquin he had called a worker along, who carried a paper umbrella to protect the scholar's delicate skin.