"Kekeke. It is not like I can do anything to help directly. I don't dare use my power here. But, good news for you. I have already mobilized all the celestial clouds out there to search for the portals again," Lapin announced.
"That is good to know. I'm not sure if we can convince people to go out and look for the portals. At first, that was my plan, but after seeing this plaza, I don't think it would be easy. Most of them seem to be under their factions' control one way or another. Even if they know the portals are not here, they can't leave without permission." Leyvi said thoughtfully.
"So what will you do now?" Lapin asked.
"I don't know. I am at a loss." Leyvi sighed. Suddenly he understood why people in high positions wanted the masses to obey their orders. If he could have that authority right now, he would command everyone to search for the portals.
"Then just proceed with your plan. If it doesn't work, you can figure something else out later," Lapin suggested.
"I guess so," Leyvi replied.
He then brought out the mask again and began inspecting its contents more carefully.
"Eh? There is no manual? What a letdown," Leyvi complained.
He had expected something more substantial than the manual Dastan had given him, especially since the spiritual imprint had originated from someone from the vast galaxy.
He had faced such danger only to end up with no new cultivation method. Now that he thought about it, it was highly likely Vincent had received his spiritual cultivation techniques directly from the sentient imprint, without any physical medium.
Since the spiritual imprint had been completely destroyed, there was no way to gain that knowledge now.
However, Leyvi did not end up with nothing. Aside from Vincent's personal wealth, he found many spirit artifacts specifically designed to train different aspects of spiritual sense. Some could even enhance the usage of spiritual sense, whether for offense, defense, or other specialized applications.
Furthermore, he also discovered numerous treasures that benefited one's Sea of Consciousness, either through passive enhancement or through direct consumption.
Considering that Spiritual Cultivation in his continent was still in its early stages of development, there was no way he could have obtained any of these convenient resources to aid his progress anytime soon.
But thanks to Mental Lord Vincent delivering all of these to him, his own Spiritual Cultivation was poised to progress even more smoothly.
So in the end, he was still very satisfied with his haul.
In the following few days, Leyvi approached all the people on his list who were present in the commerce plaza. The result was within his expectations. Every single one of them had already joined a faction, or had been forced into one.
Among all the factions, only Formation Prodigy Bellion and Princess Waniwani's group did not coerce people into joining. Because of this, their factions became more favorable to newcomers considering where to pledge their loyalty.
Leyvi and Ava also met the two representatives from the Clover Family, who had surprisingly survived their journey here: Jodi Clover and Romali Clover. Leyvi had met them briefly before they departed from Holy Cat City back then.
Jodi had been forced to join Prince Ozan's faction and could not leave. On the other hand, Romali, who had voluntarily joined Princess Waniwani's faction, did not want to leave when Ava invited him into their small group.
Instead, Romali flipped the script and tried to invite Leyvi's group to join Princess Waniwani's faction. He said he could recommend them for suitable work within the commerce plaza.
This left Leyvi puzzled.
He then approached others from Princess Waniwani's faction, but the responses were nearly identical.
None of them seemed eager to leave.
They spoke casually about staying, about work assignments, about adapting. There was no resentment, no urgency, no desperation to return home.
After returning to the brothel, Leyvi finally voiced what had been bothering him.
"Don't they want to go home anymore? Why does it feel like they've already accepted their fate here?" he asked Ava.
Ava shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I'm confused too."
Leyvi stared at her for a moment. "Did you secretly scare them or something? Try smiling a little."
Pain shot up his shin immediately.
"…Alright." Leyvi sighed. "We'll think about it later."
He waved the matter aside and changed the subject. "Now, let's enjoy some heavenly dishes. Come, Ava."
He took out several sets of heavenly dishes and placed them neatly on the table.
He had picked them up from the restaurant earlier before returning here. Judging by his usual eating habits, the stock should have lasted a little over a year.
Ava, of course, didn't refuse such delicacies. She even asked for seconds.
Leyvi paused, watching her eat.
…Maybe it wouldn't last a year after all.
---
Colossal Tree. East Region.
Princess Waniwani Territory.
A regal beauty with long, flowing blue hair and striking blue eyes sat gracefully sipping tea while scrolling through messages on her array communication device.
Exquisite and uncommon jewelry adorned her attire, each piece carefully chosen, subtly amplifying the royal aura she naturally exuded. She did not need to act dignified. Dignity followed her wherever she went.
Behind her, two valiant ladies stood guard, their posture straight and alert.
The regal beauty was none other than Princess Waniwani herself.
Since her commerce plaza, where most people gathered, was the closest to her main territory, setting up a signal transmitter array between the two locations had been straightforward.
This meant she could receive news much faster than the other factions, giving her a clear advantage.
"I have been cultivating for a few days. Let me see if anything interesting has happened," she murmured softly.
Her gaze swept across the incoming reports.
"Oh, someone brought a few dozen demonic beasts to the restaurant. That is nice. We'll have surplus ingredients. The hunting team does not have to rush their next trip. I trust the logistics team informed them already. I do not want my followers to overwork themselves," Princess Waniwani said with a satisfied nod.
"Let me see. What else. I see. Faction leader Bellion is still trying to install signal transmitter arrays from his territory to my plaza, but Prince Ozan and Alchemist Mujin's men keep sabotaging him. Hihihi. These guys are so funny. They keep targeting Bellion just because he is from the Cloud Continent. They simply cannot accept that such a prodigy comes from that place." She giggled, clearly enjoying the situation.
If Bellion managed to connect the signal between his territory and her plaza, her own advantage would diminish somewhat. But she was not someone who liked to compete using petty methods, so she would never resort to sabotaging her competitors.
However, if her competitors were busy sabotaging each other, she would gladly sit back and enjoy the show.
Although the plaza was under her control, she allowed people from other factions to operate there freely. She took full advantage of her superior communication network to dominate the market, fulfilling as many demands as possible through efficient logistics and timely information. Currently, her faction alone occupies half of the market share.
Sooner or later, her faction would become the wealthiest. And when that happened, they would naturally grow into the strongest as well, or so she believed. Wealth created strength.
She had decided to join the Mystic Realm expedition for fun, but she had ended up in a situation that was even more exciting. Her journey from the beginning until now has been nothing short of thrilling, adventurous, and full of unexpected turns.
Now she was enjoying a completely different experience, employing what she had learned from royal governance to play a real-life game of kingdom building. So far, she felt she had done very well and was deeply satisfied with the current development.
At that moment, she received a new message.
"What? How is this possible?" Princess Waniwani stood up immediately, a frown darkening her elegant features.
"Princess, what is happening?" one of the valiant ladies behind her asked.
"Pink Enchantress. She just announced that the portals were never up there!" she replied, her voice tight with worry.
"Eh? Then, the plan you prepared to go up there..."
Both valiant ladies looked at each other with visible concern.
"Exactly. It will be useless! But the bigger problem right now is not the loss of a business opportunity before we go home. We might not even be able to go home at all now!" Princess Waniwani began biting her lower lip, a nervous habit she fell into whenever she felt uneasy.
"Princess, is it possible she is lying? Intentionally creating chaos? Why would Mental Lord Vincent lie to everyone about this?" the other valiant lady asked.
The princess fell silent, her mind racing.
She could not afford to leave this shrouded in uncertainty.
The only reason she had been able to enjoy herself so freely, playing her game without restraint, was because she possessed a method to bypass the realm's restrictions with sufficient preparation.
But if the portals had never been there from the beginning, then everything changed. As much fun as she was having here, she still wanted to return home eventually.
"Milana, Darina. Accompany me. We need to confirm this directly with her. She is staying in her brothel currently," the princess decided, her tone resolute.