Reaper of the Martial World

historical

Book 11: Chapter 69: Patterns (2)

Upon closer inspection, Dyon realized that there were actually three domes. The largest one, which was currently over their heads, was the most outward dome of glass. Further forward, There was another medium sized dome with yet another much smaller one beneath it, separating this underground world into three regions.

The current region Dyon and his wives were in was very close to the outer wall of the dome. In fact, if it wasn’t for the sharp vision of Dyon’s right eye, he wouldn’t be able to see out of their current situation at all.

Dyon was effectively observing all of this from within an extremely confined space. The details he could see through made it seem as though he was standing in the open air, but the reality was that he was in what amounted to a cage without a door.

He and his wives stood at the mouth of an underground cave, the entrance of which was not only blocked by the several blue armored warriors, but also diverging tunnels. Dyon’s gaze had followed along these diverging tunnels to witness what was outside, but to anyone else, there was nothing but the pale light of an underground space before them.

In fact, even the so-called ‘entrance’ that was being blocked was hundreds of meters away from their current location. It was just that with Dyon’s eyesight, it might as well have been right before him.

If Dyon set all of these things aside, though, his immediate surroundings felt as though he had just stepped foot into a bizarre sci-fi movie.

The portal he and his wives had just walked out from was surrounded by all sorts of metallic machines and black wires as thick as a human’s forearm.

The pale lights he thought of before were eerily reminiscent of light bulbs Dyon had once read about in a textbook long ago.

[Author’s Note: Reminder that Dyon’s mortal world wasn’t set in our modern times, but several generations into the future. I think I’ve dropped numerous hints about this, but I’ve been writing RMW for so long I can’t remember the specific times I did anymore, lmao].

For a second, Dyon thought that instead of stepping into a world of cultivation, he had returned to his mortal world by some sort of odd means. Of all the things he could have expected… This was the very last.

Sending his gaze out through the diverging tunnels once more, Dyon’s suspicions were confirmed.

Below the three domes, there were countless futuristic structures. Of course, there weren’t things as ridiculous as flying cars, but there were numerous transportation vehicles that screamed of technological advancement, one of which was a silver pod with tracks that winded around the city as though it was a rollercoaster rather than a means of getting from point A to point B.

Seeing Dyon’s skeptical expression, it was clear the warriors before him completely misunderstood what he was thinking about.

“Pay up.” One of the warriors jabbed their fellow soldier with an elbow.

“Buzz off, does that look like a shocked expression to you?”

“If you want to renege on your debts, just say so. Who asked you to bet on country bumpkins?”

“You’re ridiculous. At the end of the day, they’re cultivators. How many ridiculous things have they seen in their lifetimes? Descendants of our bloodline wouldn’t be so uncultured.”

“Members of our bloodline? Do you think anyone important would be sent out for so long? Plus, with so many generations separating us and how much their blood has mixed by now, how could they still be considered one of us? They don’t even have their adult patterns.”

As the warriors were jeering, one of them stepped forward. There was no doubt that he was the undisputed leader, because the moment he took action, no one dared to speak anymore.  

Dyon, though, hardly paid attention to such things. Instead, he was lost in his own train of thought.

Who said that the mortals were the only ones who could make advancements in science? He had always neglected the possibility because of the special circumstances his ancestors were under…

In a world of cultivation, what was the point of science? Though Dyon didn’t prescribe to such thoughts, this was a reality he saw being played out everyday. There was no point in delving into this unconventional path, especially since the rewards were so little in the beginning, if one could progress through cultivation.

However… There was something else he hadn’t thought of until now.

What if you could progress in cultivation any longer? What if you knew you had reached the absolute extremities of what cultivation could provide to you? What if you lived in a place where you knew it was impossible to transcend or take another step forward in cultivation… A place where the absolute limit was the Overlord Realm…?

Would you start caring about science then…?

‘… How interesting…’ Dyon’s lips curled into a smile.  

“State your name and purpose.” The commander of the squadron of blue armored warriors finally spoke.

His steely blue eyes seemed to try and bore into Dyon’s soul. On his cheeks, just below his eyes, there were scales the shimmered a beautiful bluish green. In fact, now that Dyon looked, all of the warriors had this feature. Maybe this was the ‘adult patterns’ that guy referred to…

“My name and purpose?” Dyon tilted his head slightly. “Who are you exactly? Is your clearance high enough to know of my purpose?”