On Blue Star, in an ordinary region.
The sky was overcast, with not a sliver of sunlight visible. Wisps of gray mist drifted through the air, accompanied by sinister roars. The vegetation in this environment was gradually withering.
Suddenly,
A slightly denser patch of gray mist emerged. The space seemed to ripple, and figures stepped out from within.
There were six figures in total!
Leading them were a noblewoman and a burly man.
However, upon closer inspection, their forms appeared somewhat peculiar, akin to lifelike doll puppets, yet not entirely convincing.
In reality, they were indeed dolls.
This was due to a precious, disposable anomalous artifact – the Doll Embodiment. Once branded and infused with life energy, the doll could transform into one's likeness. Other appearances were also possible, allowing for self-sculpting, whether male, female, old, or young.
These anomalous artifact dolls could also inherit a portion of one's abilities, capable of reaching combat power comparable to non-human entities at their peak.
The sole drawback was their disposability. The doll embodiments could not exist permanently, and their power would continuously wane until they were completely ruined.
This anomalous artifact was not manufactured in Sword Flower City but purchased from Falling Star City.
Thus, it was even more expensive.
However, doll embodiments were initially intended for such situations, so using them was inevitable. Dean Rose and Dean Battle Song were both top-tier experts at the Six Awakening level, and they would not be overly concerned about the cost.
Dean Battle Song, in particular, could have sufficed on his own for this trip. He had joined purely out of curiosity, finding the prospect amusing.
"So, this is Blue Star. It seems no different from a regular world?"
"Hahaha, I almost forgot. Blue Star is only special in the Dawn Zone."
Dean Battle Song chuckled.
Besides the two Deans, the remaining three newcomers were chosen from the Sword, Battle Song, and Rose Academies, each being a top-tier talent at the Three Awakening level. They were either classmates of Meitisha or her seniors.
At this moment, while the three newcomers conscientiously maintained vigilance and cleared the surrounding sinister entities, Dean Rose and Dean Battle Song turned their attention to Meitisha.
Their gazes inquired, "Where do we go from here?"
A world is vast, and searching aimlessly on foot with only Three or Four Awakening cultivation would take an unknown amount of time. Of course, they could employ simple divination methods to locate human settlements on Blue Star, which wouldn't be overly difficult.
However,
Students were meant to bear the burden of tasks, and this was precisely how students were utilized.
Meitisha was also quite aware of this.
She had initially intended to descend directly into Shuize City based on a previous positioning, but the Deans had rejected this plan, slightly adjusting the landing point. However, without a specific anchor, the landing point became somewhat random.
From the environment alone, there was no indication of their location.
In the distance, a dead city could be seen beyond the mountains.
Seeing this, Meitisha took out her custom-made "Kindling" mobile phone, opened the positioning system, and after a series of somewhat clumsy manipulations, she finally confirmed her location.
It was within the territory of Donghuang Country's Shuize Prefecture.
Not too far from Shuize Base City.
The group immediately set off.
The weakest among them were Three Awakening elites, and they could easily travel hundreds of miles a day. However, for people from Sword Flower City to travel solely on foot was far too inelegant.
Dean Rose produced a flower-bud-shaped anomalous artifact and began watering it. In a short while, roots burrowed into the soil, and the flower-bud artifact grew larger and larger, reaching over two meters in height. The flower bud bloomed, and two creatures resembling horses, but with a healthy green hue, emerged from the flower.
She then rummaged through her storage anomalous artifact and brought out a carriage.
Soon, Dean Rose's transportation was assembled. Dean Battle Song shamelessly joined them. The healthy green horses neighed twice, then raised their hooves and, without any prodding, pulled the carriage and sped off.
The scenery on both sides flashed by, and they encountered occasional sinister entity attacks. However, the number seemed to be small, and no Calamity-grade sinister entities were sighted.
"Because not long ago, Shuize Base City was attacked by a wave of sinister entities, the number of entities in this area has become sparse."
Meitisha explained.
However, even sparse meant encountering Three-star sinister entities from time to time, and occasionally large groups of hundreds of them. The difficulty for ordinary awakened individuals to travel long distances in such an environment was imaginable.
For the group from Sword Flower City, it was very easy.
After a short while…
Well, the two healthy green horses still huffed and puffed for quite some time. Until, at a certain moment, the light ahead seemed to brighten considerably. Dean Rose couldn't help but lean out, look up at the sky, and her gaze became fixed.
"What is that…"
Dean Battle Song also emerged, his gaze landing on the distant horizon, on the dividing line between blue-white and black-gray, unable to look away.
To see the dawn sunlight in a world shrouded in overcast skies and gray mist was indeed awe-inspiring. The two Deans were not shocked for eternity; they were simply pondering what power could tear through the gray mist and maintain the dawn.
Dean Rose put away the carriage, deciding to walk the remaining distance.
Upon arriving here, they could already see the city in the distance. It was magnificent and grand, and still under construction, with a massive wall being erected.
Of course, Sword Flower City was also very grand, with a hard, giant wall tens of meters high that had withstood many onslaughts. In comparison, the massive wall under construction at the Blue Star base city seemed rather ordinary.
Not worth mentioning.
"Although the buildings on Blue Star are grand and tower into the clouds, they do not contain mysterious power, nor are they etched with ritual patterns. At most, they are simply exquisitely crafted ordinary buildings."
Dean Rose and Dean Battle Song, with their discerning eyes, could immediately discern the nature of many of the buildings.
Of course, this was the norm.
Even in Sword Flower City, buildings etched with ritual patterns or integrated with special materials and anomalous artifacts were rare. Blue Star, a nascent world that had only recently experienced the descent of mysteries, should naturally be ordinary.
However,
Gazing at the drifting white clouds, and the golden radiance that filtered through them, falling upon the earth and the buildings, it seemed as though these ordinary structures had also become extraordinary and sacred.
The two Deans were still contemplating.
As they approached Shuize Base City, sinister entities had vanished, and human activity gradually increased.
Outside the city was still dangerous, with countless two and three-star sinister entities. The two Deans had assumed that the people of Blue Star would be holed up within the base city, relying on the unique dawn power for defense. However, upon approaching, they saw a bustling crowd in front of the under-construction city wall, with people preparing to go out and others returning from outside.
At this city gate (highway toll station), it was very lively.
Their ears twitched, and their keen hearing picked up shouts drifting on the wind.
"Take a look, take a look! Mysterious herbs just collected from the wilderness at the risk of your life! They possess miraculous effects. Miss this opportunity, and you'll never get another!"
"Yang Family Village sinister entity clearing mission, ten-person team, three spots still available. Those who wish to sign up, hurry... A certified hunter's license is required."
"Eight-One Manufacturing Plant transportation mission, led by the Three-star hunter mercenary group 'Wild Hunt'. Only Two-star or above hunters, or One-star support or scout-class hunters needed."
"The convoy led by Pei Family Security Group, preparing to depart for Huangdu Base City, is about to leave."
"Are these large convoys safe? If they are, I'd like to bring my girlfriend over from Jiangnan Base City."
"It's said that a terrifying sinister entity has appeared in Taimu Town, and it's currently listed as a no-go area?"
"Heh heh, your news is outdated. Taimu Town did indeed spawn a terrifying disaster, but it has already been eliminated by a powerful figure."
"Which powerful figure?"
"That's not entirely clear, but I heard the powerful figure was wearing a windbreaker with a flame pattern."
"Take a look, take a look! Beer, drinks, mineral water, peanuts, melon seeds, and eight-treasure porridge. Anyone need anything?"
At the city gate, a small market had formed. Not only were awakened individuals selling their spoils from exploration, but many ordinary people, sensing business opportunities, had procured portable food, mineral water, and other goods from within the city and brought them here to sell.
And their business was doing quite well.
Shuize Base City was larger than the former Huangdu. The distance from the city to here was considerable. Even if sold at a slightly higher price, many awakened individuals wouldn't mind the extra cost.
It was convenient for the awakened, profitable for the merchants, and collected management fees for the relevant departments – a true win-win situation.
More awakened individuals were finding teammates here, forming parties, and accepting missions from the Hunter's Association. This was also very convenient, as there was no need to visit the association; a simple click on the official website sufficed.
Indeed, in most areas outdoors, the signal was very weak, only strong enough for basic satellite positioning at best. But in the Dawn Zone, the signal was fine. However, compared to the old "Blue Star Village," playing games or chatting with people here meant they were essentially just in the same city.
Awakened individuals came and went at the city gate. Some teams passed by the group from Sword Flower City, glanced at them, and paid them no mind.
Dean Rose observed with interest. Through the faint waves of power inadvertently leaked by some awakened individuals, she could judge their strength. She could also infer some things from their gait and the brightness of the light in their eyes.
This was the rich experience and intuition of a Six Awakening expert!
"Are these the mainstream forces of the Blue Star world? They are indeed not weak."
"Uh..."
Hearing the Dean's words, Meitisha hesitated for a moment before replying, "These awakened individuals belong to the Hunter's Association, a semi-official organization of Donghuang Country. The true official organization consists of investigators wearing unified black windbreakers."
A few black windbreakers could be seen on-site.
Their demeanor seemed to be superior to that of the sinister entity hunters dressed in various attire.
"Yes, they are quite good. No wonder young Meitisha so highly recommended this world."
Dean Battle Song crossed his arms and chimed in, echoing Dean Rose.
However,
Meitisha's expression turned slightly awkward, not wanting the two Deans to continue. She quickly said, "The organization that established the Dawn Zone on Blue Star is a special organization called 'Kindling,' with the mission of protecting humanity and continuing its legacy."
Not from Donghuang, she added internally.
Dean Rose, Dean Battle Song: "..."