Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Chapter 1544  Free City

Arriving at his destination inside of the Fleeting Cloud Empire, a free city operated directly by the Explorer Union outside of the control of the Fleeting Cloud Empire itself, Xuan Hao wasted no time as he descended from the sky before making the rest of the journey towards the city on foot.

Not just because he wanted to avoid attracting any attention, but also because flying was directly prohibited for anyone not part of the Explorer Unionʼs inner circle or part of the Fleeting Cloud Empire. Both of which were things he was not.

After all, to become part of the Explorer Unionʼs inner circle, he would not just have to became a true member of the Explorer Union and be tied down to it in a similar way as if he joined one of the major powers on the continent, but he would also have to endure an investigation into his background by the Explorer Union… And considering just how expansive and powerful the Explorer Union was on the continent; he doubted that he could hide his identity from them if they attempted to seriously investigate him.

Instead of taking any such risks, he much preferred to just go with the flow and follow what the wandering cultivators making their way to the free city were doing. Blending in with the crowd of people he soon found himself inside of the massive free city. Soon enough, realizing just how different it was from any city that he had visited so far, as the place was under the complete control of the Explorer Union. Not just a city under a major power with a branch of the Explorer Union inside of it.

The most obvious difference from any other city he had visited so far was the number of shops and other establishments present inside of the city, as it was clear that the Explorer Union attracted a lot of business or more specifically. Attracted wandering cultivators proficient in the Dao of Alchemy, Blacksmithing or other similar Daos. Giving them a place to freely practice and sell what they made without having to worry about the local power getting interested in them.

After all, the value of an alchemist or blacksmith to a large major power was obvious, causing many of them to end up with a rather difficult life if they didnʼt already have the support of a major power behind them.

Even if they were skilled, without any support from a major power, it would be difficult for them to make use of their skills without attracting unwanted attention.

The only real locations where they could operate without any worries would be the different free cities under the complete control of the Explorer Union, as the Explorer Union itself would act as a deterrent to any major power who might have some bad thoughts about the alchemist and blacksmith inside of the city.

This was all something he had learnt from Pei Yang, as the man was a skilled alchemist and had learnt this over his time wandering the world.

Of course, part of his bad state when he first encountered him also had to do with the fact that there werenʼt any free cities left inside of the Blue Sea Empire after it fell out with the Explorer Union. Taking away an important safe space that could have provided a great hiding spot for him during his time in the Blue Sea Empire.

”But… Outside of how impressive this place is, it also speaks to the strength of the Explorer Union…” Muttering this to himself as he slightly shook his head while looking in the direction of the Explorer Union branch located at the center of the city, Xuan Hao could not help feeling awed at just how powerful the Explorer Union was on the continent.

For them to have the ability to create something like a free city inside of the territory of a major power and completely operate said free city without any interference from said major power, it was clear as day that the Explorer Union was far more powerful than the average major power. Possibly even surpassing powerful empires like the Blue Sea Empire in terms of strength.

However, as he thought about just how powerful the Explorer Union was while slowly moving towards the branch at the center of the city, he couldnʼt help wondering where the headquarters or main branch of the Explorer Union was located.

From what little information he had managed to obtain on the Explorer Union so far, there was no real mention of a main branch, but it was clear that they should have a gathering location where their core members gathered and trained.

Maybe the information about the main branchʼs location is a secret to outsiders and only those who officially become a part of the Explorer Union will learn about it?

Thinking this to himself as he wandered through the bustling streets of the free city, Xuan Hao could not help feeling more and more interested in the Explorer Union whose mysterious only seemed to deepen the more he learnt about it.

Even after getting stronger and learning about the rest of the Ewaria Continent and its overall power structure, the Explore Union remained a complete mystery to him without any sign of being solved.

The only powers on the Ewaria Continent that had the same level of mystery about them would be the Nine Core Faiths that he had only recently learnt about.

Although, there is a clear difference between those nine religious organizations being that they were secluded and didnʼt interact with the world, while the Explorer Union could be said to be present everywhere on the continent.

Putting it in that kind of way, the Explorer Union suddenly seemed far more terrifying, as it was essentially everywhere on the continent.

However, the main strength of the Explorer Union didnʼt come from the union itself, but rather the countless wandering cultivators who decided to become part of it in the same way he was part of the Explorer Union.

When it came to actual power that they could mobilize, it was extremely limited.

An example would be the free city that he was currently in, there were countless Nascent Soul Realm and Domain Lord Realm wandering cultivators, along with a few in the Dao Seed Realm, while the actual core members of the Explorer Union were only a single person in the Dao Seed Realm and a few in the Soul Ascension Realm.

Although this was still terrifying when considering just how many locations the Explorer Union was in, it also made them relatively weak as their power was extremely scattered.

In a sense, Xuan Hao guessed that this should be the main reason why the different major powers on the continent had tolerated the existence of the Explorer Union, as it didnʼt directly present a threat to their power.

On the other hand, the presence of the Explorer Union caused a surge in wandering cultivators and wealth in most areas where they established a branch. Bringing only benefits to the major powers who could take advantage of the wealth and the opportunity to recruit powerful wandering cultivators to join them.

After all, most wandering cultivators wouldnʼt spend their entire lives as wandering cultivators and most chose to settle down when they reached their older age and saw no hope of advancing any further.

Normally, this would not matter, but if the other party was someone in the Dao Seed Realm, it was completely different, as someone like that could directly improve the strength of a major power.

All things considered, the Explorer Union was happily welcomed in most situations and places like the Blue Sea Empire that threw them out were relatively rare on the continent outside of the Southern Central Region.

Shaking his head as he thought about the Southern Central Region filled to the brim with all kinds of religions, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit of pity for the Explorer Union when it came to this region.

Even though they still did have a presence in the Southern Central Region, it wasnʼt as domineering as the rest of the Central Region and was one of the rare locations where the core members of the Explorer Union could be seen directly engaging with some of the major religious powers in the region.

Even if he had no idea about the reason behind these clashes, considering his past encounters with some of these major religious powers, he wasnʼt really one to take their side in this kind of situation.

On the other hand, he felt far more positive about the Explorer Union because they were directly engaged with these major religious powers.

”No need to worry about that for now, I just need to look through this place and see if any of the Dao Seed Realm cultivators here can be recruited…” Muttering this to himself as he refocused on the matter at hand, Xuan Hao slowly stepped inside the massive branch at the core of the free city.