Ning looked outside his carriage at the thousands of people and carriages making their way to the Five Professions city. There were just way too many people here and that got Ning a little curious.
"Are all of these people really going towards the academy? Or are some just going towards the city?" Ning asked.
"Oh, um… it should be a mix of both. But, I would say it's primarily people that are going for the academy. The entrance exam is in a month, so it's not that early for students to come and learn from the experts in preparation."
"Although, since the Five Professions City does have a lot of experts in every field, it's not impossible that a lot of the people are just going to the city to look for professional help," Ender said.
"I see…" Ning said as he looked outside.
He continued his conversation with Ender and learned that he had been on the carriage for 3 days now, moving without stop. The horse-like beasts that pulled the carriage could go on for days without a single drop of sweat leaving their bodies.
Ender's home was in a small city known as Fairdust city. However, Ender talked about how the city would soon become big since his sister had managed to find a job in the academy, and he too would soon become a student there.
Together, they would become the future pillars of House Rigot and make waves in the empire. Or so Ender fantasized. His first struggle was just a month away from him. He could truly do what he wanted to do once he passed the entrance exam.
The carriage stopped all of a sudden and one of the men from outside shouted in, "We're here, Young Master."
"Oh, seems we've made it, brother Ning," Ender said and stuck his head out of the window. Ning did the same thing as it would be highly disrespectful and even illegal in some places to spread one divine sense inside the city.
When he looked out, he was immediately in awe.
In front of them was a massive city at the foot of a giant mountain. There were no walls to protect them from attacks, or any sort of defense against invasions or illegal entry.
The houses started small but got bigger and bigger as they went closer to the mountain, and then a set of stairs ran up the mountain to the top where the biggest building Ning had ever seen lay.
He finally caught sight of the academy. "Woah!" he said in pure shock. He hadn't expected the building to be so big, let alone it being on top of the mountain. He had fully expected to see it at the foot of the mountain.
'That actually looks good,' he thought. Suddenly, a divine sense landed on the carriage.
'Huh? Who is daring enough to send divine sense here,' Ning thought and was about to send out his own when Ender stopped him.
"Brother Ning, don't do that. Only a few people such as the guards and the starred individuals are allowed to use divine sense inside the city," he said.
"Oh, so this one is a guard then," Ning thought. They must've been checking through the carriages was what he believed.
"Maybe, but…" Ender was about to say something when the two men from outside suddenly spoke out loud.
"Welcome, Young Miss."
"Ah, sister is here," Ender immediately got excited and opened the door to his carriage.
Just then a girl that looked to be in her mid 20's entered the carriage and sat opposite to where Ning and Ender were seated. The girl had a small, beautiful face with fair skin and long jet-black hair. She was wearing a plain green robe with translucent sleeves.
The one thing that was weird on her body was the golden star-shaped pin on the left side of her chest. The pin was about 5 centimeters big and had a Hammer engraved onto it.
'Is she what he called a starred individual?' Ning thought. The star certainly did look quite fancy in his eyes and was probably something that was not very common in the city if only they got to use it.
The girl looked at Ning with blue eyes and suddenly squinted them as if she was looking for something on his face.
"Uh… hello," Ning said not knowing what else to say.
"Who are you?" the girl asked with a threatening voice. Her cultivation base of the 5th Nascent Soul realm undulated as if it was something alive with a pulse.
"Umm… I'm Ning Ruogong. I was hitchhiking and your brother let me ride in the carriage," Ning said.
She suddenly turned towards Ender to look at him for confirmation. "Y-Yeah sister, he looked like he wanted to travel and I let him. He's going to the academy to become an alchemist just like me," Ender said.
"NO! He leaves now," the sister then turned to Ning and shouted once more. "Leave! Don't ever come close to my brother," she said.
"What?" Ning was surprised by the sudden order. Still, this was technically her carriage so he decided to do what she said.
"Alright, I'll leave. I'll see you later in the academy, brother Ender," He said and walked out the door. Ender wanted to say something, but his sister stopped him.
Ning simply nodded to the two drivers and walked towards the city, along with the many other people that were walking there. A divine sense followed him all the way until he reached the city.
Only then did it go away.
'Damn, why was that girl such a b*tch?' he wondered. He could understand her trying to protect her brother from strangers, but there was no need for her to be so angry about it.
'Sigh, whatever,' he thought and walked into the open city. Another few divine senses landed on him for a few seconds before disappearing.
'The guards?' he wondered for a moment and stopped caring. He walked into the city and looked at the massive buildings.
'Where should I go now?'