The Wild Goose Pavilion was the biggest and also the best restaurant in Split River City. The restaurant belonged to the Forbidden Path Sect. People who came here were mostly cultivators, and most of them were rogue cultivators.

Wild Goose Pavilion has a rule. Inside the restaurant, violence was absolutely not allowed. In the Forbidden Path Sect’s domain, only the Forbidden Path Sect would dare have such an overbearing rule.

Although Wild Goose Pavilion had such a custom, there were still a lot of people who came to the building to eat. This was because food in the pavilion were not only delicious, it was also inexpensive.

Zhao Hai’s group of three arrived in front of the Wild Goose Pavilion and found that it was almost full. A few waiters were seen running around.

When Zhao Hai and the others entered the restaurant, a waiter immediately ran over and bowed, “Guests, are you here to eat?”

Zhao Hai calmly nodded. Meanwhile, Ma Long and Liu Cai were surprised when they saw the waiter. This was because the waiter was a Soul Fusion Stage cultivator.

The waiter nodded at Zhao Hai, then he immediately said, “Guests, please come with me.” Then the waiter gestured inside. Zhao Hai nodded and followed the waiter into the restaurant.

Shortly after, the waiter turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Will the guest eat in private, or do you prefer in the main hall?”

Zhao Hai smiled and said, “We’ll eat in the main hall. The private room is too quiet compared to the lively main hall.”

The waiter smiled faintly and said, “Follow me.” Then he led Zhao Hai and the others to an empty table in the main hall. After giving the table a wipe, the waiter gestured and asked the three to sit down. Then he asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Zhao Hai smiled and said, “This is our first time here, so we don’t know what to choose. I’ll have to trouble Brother to prepare four dishes for us. Two meats and two vegetables. We also want three pots of wine.”

Hearing Zhao Hai, the waiter immediately smiled and said, “Please wait for a moment.” Then he turned around while shouting, “Table five wants four dishes, two meats and two vegetables. Three pots of wine as well!”

Looking at the waiter, Ma Long whispered to Zhao Hai, “I didn’t expect the True Spirit Realm to be this formidable. They actually have a Soul Fusion Stage cultivator working as a waiter. That’s terrifying to think about.” Liu Cai also nodded as he had the same thought.

Zhao Hai looked around and saw that nobody was paying attention to them. Then he whispered, “Don’t talk too much. It’s impossible for the True Spirit Realm to be as strong as you think. If they’re really as strong as having a Soul Fusion Stage cultivator working as a waiter, then they would have already eliminated the Underground World. This restaurant is a business of the Forbidden Path Sect. The waiters in the restaurant might be disciples out on a trial. They will stay here for a period of time before leaving.”

The two nodded and looked around, making sure that nobody was listening in. At the same time, as they looked around, they saw that the rogue cultivators were mostly at the Clone Stage. They couldn’t compare to the waiter’s strength. Then they felt relieved.

Zhao Hai looked at the two and said, “Pay attention to what the rogue cultivators are discussing. We might be able to gain a few important pieces of information.” The two nodded. Then they began to focus on listening.

Not long after, the waiter came over carrying a tray of food. There were four plates of dishes as well as three pots of wine. After serving the food, the waiter wished Zhao Hai and the others a good time eating before leaving.

Zhao Hai looked at the other two and said, “Alright, let’s stop listening around. Go and eat. Let’s taste the food of the True Spirit Realm. Let’s see what’s different.”

Ma Long and Liu Cai smiled, then they took a pot of liquor each and clinked their cups. As they downed the liquor, they couldn’t help but let out a sigh of approval as they exclaimed, “Nice wine!”

Zhao Hai placed the wine cup down and said, “Let’s explore the city after eating. The city has a lot of rogue cultivators. It’s impossible for them to do nothing in the city. They certainly have a source of income. This city might have a place that issues missions. We must find that place. But remember, after finding that place, don’t take any missions. Observe for a while.”

The two complied, then Ma Long said, “Why aren’t we taking missions?”

Zhao Hai replied, “We have to be careful of the people around us. I heard from Master that there are also gangs in the True Spirit Realm. Although they don’t go so far as to control the city, their existence in the city means that they have some control over the missions. Therefore, we have to be more careful.”

The two nodded, then they continued to drink and eat while listening to the cultivators around them. They wanted to get as much information about the city as they could.

From the discussions of the rogue cultivators, Zhao Hai knew that there are at least four gangs in Split River City. Moreover, each gang held formidable strength. These gangs control the mission office of the city. All good missions were all taken by the gangs. Rogue cultivators not associated with the gangs could only get missions with poor pay.

After eating, Zhao Hai and the others went out of Wild Goose Pavilion and then separated to look for the city’s mission office. It didn’t take long for Zhao Hai to find the building. The mission office was established by the Forbidden Path Sect, so the gangs can’t control which missions get issued. However, the gangs could take whatever missions they want.

Zhao Hai entered the mission office and looked at the missions on the wall. Ma Long and Liu Cai had yet to find the building, so Zhao Hai wasn’t in a hurry. He just stood there and looked at the various missions available. He believed that Ma Long and Liu Cai would find this place, so he was waiting for them to arrive.

At the same time, Zhao Hai felt several cultivators looking at him. Moreover, they seem to be surrounding him bit by bit. Zhao Hai paid attention to these cultivators and discovered that although they wore the same gray clothes as rogue cultivators, their sleeves were embroidered with an image of a knife dripping with blood.

As soon as he saw this image, Zhao Hai recalled what he heard while in Wild Goose Pavilion. He guessed that these cultivators might belong to one of the gangs in the city, the Blood Knife Gang.

From what he heard, the Blood Knife Gang was the most overbearing gang in the city. Almost all of the money-making missions fell into this gang’s hands.

Although Blood Knife Gang wasn’t the most powerful gang in the city, its strength couldn’t be underestimated. Moreover, when it came to being overbearing, they were definitely at the top.

Zhao Hai knew what the Blood Knife Gang members were doing. They were stationed in the mission office to keep watch. Since Zhao Hai was a new face, he naturally drew their attention. If Zhao Hai dared to take missions at will, these Blood Knife Gang members would most certainly call him over to “talk.”

After looking at the mission board for some time, Zhao Hai turned around and found a spot to sit nearby. Then he observed the rogue cultivators in the building. He didn’t look like he was going to take a mission.

Zhao Hai only waited half an hour before Ma Long and Liu Cai arrived one after the other. Seeing Zhao Hai sitting on a corner, they immediately walked over.

Zhao Hai nodded towards the two and then stood up. Then he said, “Let’s go. We’ll talk after we head back.” The two didn’t understand what Zhao Hai meant, but they still nodded and followed Zhao Hai out of the building.

When they left the mission hall, Zhao Hai found that they had been followed by some people from the Blood Knife Gang. Zhao Hai didn’t say anything and continued walking along. When they reached their hotel, Zhao Hai invited the other two to his room.

Although the three didn’t get the best rooms, Zhao Hai’s room still had a small living room inside. After the three sat down, Zhao Hai found out that the Blood Knife Gang members had already left. Zhao Hai then opened his mouth and said, “People from the Blood Knife Gang are looking at us in the mission hall. Some of them even followed us to this hotel. You should have heard about the gang back in Wild Goose Pavilion. They are the most overbearing group in the city. Now that we attracted their gaze, things might not be great. We might have to leave.”

Ma Long frowned, “The other cities might not be any different. Even huge cities would have gangs like that. If that is the case, then we might as well stay.”

Liu Cai also nodded, “And if the situation is worse in the bigger cities, then won’t it be harder for us to survive?”

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “It’s actually the opposite. The bigger cities will be better than here. Big cities are very important to any sect. This is where their main income comes from. Because of this, they wouldn’t let gangs control important functions of the city. Every major business in bigger cities will be in the hands of the sect.”

“Sects also wouldn’t control the rogue cultivators who did their missions. From what I can see, it would be better for us if we move to a bigger city. It would also be easier for us to hide our identity there. Most importantly, information in mid-sized cities like here isn’t as comprehensive as information in big cities. If we want to get information about the actions of the Forbidden Path Sect, then we will have to head to a city that the sect has full control of.”

Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Ma Long and Liu Cai stared. They didn’t expect Zhao Hai to be so bold. He actually wants to go to a major city controlled by the Forbidden Path Sect. If their status were to be discovered while they are in a major city, they would have no place nor time to run.

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