The Innkeeper

It would not require a genius to realize the value this realm held if it used to belong to the Crystal race - after all, they were the strongest race around. Furthermore, in the long history of the Crystal realm, it would be unrealistic to say that the Crystal race had never suffered any defeat, or given up any realms.

But, while suffering defeat was a possibility, it was much, much rarer for the Crystal race for several reasons. To fully explain the reasoning, a comparison between a settlement of the Crystal race and the human race can be made.

The first and foremost challenge of a human settlement would come from a hostile environment. The time required for a newborn human to even embark upon the cultivation road was 15 years, and so it was reasonable to say that on average, at least 20 years were required for humans to train a basic soldier from birth. If, during this time, a human settlement faced too many losses or deaths from hostile forces, the settlement would then become vulnerable. In contrast, a newborn from the Crystal race was born with the power level equivalent to a human Golden core cultivator. Even if at birth they could not contribute to security, just by existing, the Crystal race had a higher threshold for the danger they could tolerate.

The second challenge a settlement would face would be transmitting knowledge or skills. For example, a carpenter, no matter how good, is limited in how much they can work. More would have to be trained just to maintain the minimum requirements of a settlement, and regardless of field, the process was a long and tedious one. The Crystal race, however, had a much faster way of transmitting information, in which they could imbue their experiences to those who wanted to learn. While skill would still require training and effort, the learning period was drastically reduced this way. This not only allowed them to retain their settlement, but also easily expand if needed.

Lastly, one of the greatest challenges every settlement would face was the inevitable march of time, and the changes it brought. Leaders would die, buildings would collapse, policies would become outdated and so much more. If each successive generation of that settlement did not rise to the challenges of their times, a single lifetime was enough to destroy even the sturdiest of foundations. But for the Crystal race, while time brought its own challenges, the one thing it did not bring was old age and deterioration. This was because every member of the Crystal race, regardless of age or cultivation, was born immortal.

This was not to say that they never got sick, or could not be killed. Rather, it just meant that the declines that humans faced after they passed their prime was something the Crystal race would never encounter. This meant that they would forever retain their great leaders, their best doctors, their legendary crafters, and since each of them had all but infinity to master their crafts, their standard for 'legendary' was something the other races considered myths.

So now, looking at the ruins of what must have been some kind of Crystal race settlement, the entire group could not help but wonder what had happened here.

"Can you sense anything?" Cwenhild asked Patrick, who was already scanning the buildings using his beacon.

"There are many energy signatures in the buildings - but they're not living. Which means there are either items or treasures of very high value in there or, the most likely scenario, is that the buildings still have some functioning formations."

"Scout the area, I want to know if any beasts have made this their territory before going inside."

Most of the group waited while Patrick and Cindy, the tracking expert, a body and spirit cultivator, went out to scout the area. When they returned, they brought back predictable news.

The ruins had become the nest for a large predator, the Bloody Jit. It was a flightless bird, not because it lacked wings, but because its body was so massive, its wings could not support its weight.

It was extremely deadly, ridiculously strong and had the ferocity of a tornado, so naturally the first order of business was killing the bird. This is where all their training began to shine, and as soon as Patrick provided the group with a map of the ruins and the surrounding terrain, they began planning the fight.

One would expect that in a battle like this, Lex would serve as the bait to bring the beast to an ambush spot. But no, he had a different job, one that would finally allow him to put his arrays to use.

Once the creature was lured to wherever the group wanted to fight, and the combatants began fighting, they would have to ensure that the beast did not escape once the tide of the battle turned against it. Essentially, he would have to create an inescapable cage.

For requests of this level, Lex would have to rely on the book he had gotten from John. The author had recorded a number of excellent arrays, seemingly for any scenario and now Lex would put them to use. But, as he was still a beginner, it would take him well over an hour to create such an array.

Fortunately, preparing to fight the Bloody Jit would also take time. The group began working.

*****

Planet Aram, Jotun Empire Territory

This planet, which was several times larger than Jupiter, was one of the most popular tourist spots in all of Jotun territory. Such a claim was no small matter, as it was not just considering a single galaxy, but all the galaxies under Jotun rule. The reason for that was not only the fact that this planet was abundant in every kind of resource, rich in beauty, absolutely secure as well as a hub for commerce on an interstellar scale, but because this planet was the private property of one of the most noble families in the Jotun Empire.

The Jotun Empire, along with its royal family, had several noble families as well, all with varying levels of importance. Of those families, there were three ranked directly below the royal family, in both prestige and power. Each family had their own speciality, but in such a utilitarian universe, absolute power was the most important factor in deciding a family's worth.

The intricacies of the Jotun societal system were complex, and the standings of the noble families even more so, however, all complexities aside, no matter what, it was absolutely unusual that a member of such a family was running in such panic, on his own planet no less!

The 19 year old Golden core cultivator looked nothing like a scion as he ran through the empty, but usually crowded fruit farm. There was no one chasing him. In fact, this entire region of the planet seemed to be devoid of any people beside the running boy. But the lack of pursuers did not soothe the boy.

At this point, he was running on fumes, as not only had he been awake for several days, he had already overdrawn his spiritual energy. In a few minutes at most, he would collapse. As if aware of this, whoever was after the boy made no effort to close the distance. They were content to watch and wait.

"Where is it... where is it?" he mumbled to himself, his mind on the brink of collapse. Just as he was losing hope, the bracelet on his wrist vibrated and the boy's eyes widened in joy.

With no energy left to put on a performance, he did not hide his actions as he suddenly stopped and started digging in the ground.

As if sensing something unusual about his actions, hundreds of figures suddenly appeared in the farm, all of them hooded, ethereal figures. But, their arrogance had cost them.

The boy suddenly dug up a small container and smashed it open, revealing a golden key and a letter.

Not wasting any time, he grabbed the letter and crushed the key, disappearing in a golden light mere moments before the nearest hooded figure reached his spot.

"I've lost his trace," the hooded figure said, devoid of all emotions.

As if that was all they needed to hear, the remaining figures vanished into thin air, as if they had never been there.

*****

As soon as the boy arrived at the Inn, he fell to his knees, fighting to keep his consciousness. He didn't know where he was, or if it was safe.

As if sensing his distress, a hologram of a human appeared in front of him and informed him that he was at the Midnight Inn, and that he was absolutely safe. Help was already on the way to give him medical aid.

Upon hearing that, the boy smiled, and allowed himself to lose consciousness. After all, he, Noman Butt, was born with a very special power. No one or thing in the universe, regardless of their cultivation level, could lie to him without him finding out. The hologram had not lied when it introduced the Inn, and so he knew he was safe. For now.