The night stretched on, tense and restless.
Few managed to find any real sleep.
But Bai Zihan didn’t waste a second.
After putting everyone in order and giving out tasks, he turned his attention to gathering information—specifically, everything about the city and the world he was in.
Even if it seemed odd for someone to ask such basic questions about a place he was supposedly from, he didn’t hold back.
Hong Tao sat cross-legged near the fire and began explaining.
The city he was teleported to was called Ironmist.
Once a bustling trade hub, it had grown around a large mining operation just beyond the outer walls.
Mostly iron, but some veins contained useful alchemic minerals, which attracted cultivators and merchants alike.
The city had even hosted a minor sect branch at one point, though they had withdrawn a year ago.
Ironmist was divided into three distinct layers: the Outer City, Middle Ring, and Inner City.
The Outer City was the largest and most impoverished, home to workers, traders, and the general population.
The Middle Ring was wealthier, filled with workshops, guild branches, and merchant offices. It boasted stronger walls and better-trained guards.
That’s where Bai Zihan and the others were now.
The Inner City, however, was a fortress in itself. It housed the nobles, high-ranking cultivators, and the City Lord’s Manor.
Once the gates of the Inner City closed, nothing entered or left.
Its residents were safe and sealed off, leaving everyone else outside to fend for themselves.
(Ironmist…)
It wasn’t a name he was familiar with. Well, there was no way he’d know the name of every city when there were millions in the world.
He also asked Hong Tao what year it was.
Year 237 of the Heaven Cycle!
Bai Zihan didn’t know what that meant. It definitely wasn’t the current system to track the year.
It also wasn’t the calendar used a thousand years ago—he had learned about that.
(Perhaps tens of thousands of years… Considering that Immortal Emperor Feilian existed tens of thousands of years ago, that would make sense.)
Bai Zihan came to the conclusion that the world he was in—or more specifically, the time period—was likely the same era as Immortal Emperor Feilian.
He then asked whether there was a Righteous Cultivator Sect or Clan nearby, to which the answer was negative.
There was one tens of thousands of miles away but getting reinforcements would take days.
Not to mention, only those in the Inner City had the means to contact those cultivators.
And one should know—cultivators didn’t work for free. They were expensive.
Perhaps the people in the Inner City didn’t even bother contacting the sect, just to save money.
In a sense, the situation was hopeless. Reinforcements weren’t something they could count on.
“Then what about the Inner City’s strength? Can they deal with these demonic beasts themselves?”
While it wouldn’t be easy, considering the Inner City had much stronger people, better defenses, and superior weapons, Hong Tao answered that they should be able to.
Bai Zihan asked this because if he couldn’t handle the demonic beasts, then he’d have no choice but to involve the people in the Inner City.
Well, whether they volunteered or were made to get involved—that was up to him.
But he didn’t want to take such drastic measures yet. The trial’s objective might be to protect the Inner City, after all.
He couldn’t take any chances. And things weren’t desperate enough yet to justify exploiting that option.
***
The next day, Bai Zihan set out to kill more demonic beasts, along with a few people whose primary responsibility was to save others.
Bai Zihan didn’t just wander to where the beasts were.
Using the map they had, he picked his destination carefully.
The first place he was heading to was a blacksmith’s—hoping to procure better equipment and maybe even a blacksmith.
If Bai Zihan could get one, he even considered the possibility of making a gun.
Well… whether he could get a blacksmith was already unlikely, not to mention the skills required to craft guns in such a short time.
Still, the trip would be a success as long as he could get weapons.
Hong Tao, meanwhile, went with his four helpers to the same path as yesterday, where Bai Zihan had already killed most of the beasts.
They would all return to the shelter before sunset.
Bai Zihan hadn’t gotten far when the first demonic beast appeared—a hulking, four-legged creature with skin like cracked stone and molten eyes that glowed with hunger.
Bai Zihan didn’t hesitate.
He surged forward, sword flashing. The beast lunged, jaws wide—but it never got the chance to bite.
In a single, fluid motion, Bai Zihan twisted his body, ducked beneath the strike, and drove his blade into the creature’s throat.
A burst of Qi exploded from the impact, and the beast collapsed, its head rolling to the side.
The helpers stared for a moment, wide-eyed.
“So fast…”
“Those demonic beasts are like animals to slaughter before Captain Bai!”
“We have nothing to fear with Captain by our side!”
…
The helpers Bai Zihan brought were full of confidence after watching him handle what should’ve been a powerful demonic beast so easily.
They kept moving, cutting through abandoned alleys and shattered buildings, until another beast—a scythe-tailed lizard with bone spines jutting from its back—crawled from the ruins of a toppled watchtower.
This one hissed and launched itself at the group, tail slicing through the air like a whip.
Before the others could react, Bai Zihan had already struck with his boar tusk blade, aiming for its head.
Bang!
Since the scythe-tailed lizard’s focus was on the group and not on Bai Zihan, his attack caught it completely off guard.
It had no chance to defend against the sudden strike and was killed easily.
The helpers watched in awe—and also a bit of pity for the beast that died so pathetically.
Bai Zihan didn’t waste time standing around.
As planned, they followed the route marked on the map, and before long, they stumbled upon a collapsed shop front bearing the faded symbol of a hammer and flame.
The blacksmith’s forge.
Inside, the building was surprisingly intact.
Rusted tools lined the walls, and crates of half-finished weapons were scattered about. Most were junk—but not all.
In a locked cabinet near the back, Bai Zihan pried open the lock and uncovered several solid weapons.
Though none were even Yellow-Graded artifacts, they were well-crafted—reinforced alloy blades, spiked maces, even a few bows with finely woven spiritstring.
A few suits of armor, though slightly damaged, were still usable. Not elegant, but functional. Durable. Practical.
They couldn’t carry everything.
“We’ll take what we can,” Bai Zihan ordered, taking a sword and inspecting the weight.
“Later, we will bring more people.”
“You mean civilians?”
“They’ll do. This path’s cleared of beasts—for now. If they move in groups, I can keep them safe.”
His helpers nodded. They were clearly impressed, but didn’t waste time gawking.
Before leaving, they also found three survivors—a woman and her two sons—hiding beneath the forge’s cellar. Weak, but alive.
The group gave them food and helped them walk.
But to Bai Zihan’s disappointment, none of them were blacksmiths.
Still, his mission to get equipment was at least fulfilled.