Chapter 950

Anton wouldn’t have been surprised if he encountered xenophobic people. He was deep in the middle of Huoxi, far from the ocean. He knew that the kingdoms more accustomed to accepting foreigners were usually those near the water, since they tended to become major trading hubs. It was inevitable for trading hubs to receive visitors from other places.

He remembered when he had first reached the Kingdom of Whaling in Rendindura while fleeing from the Undead Coalition. It had been the first kingdom where Anton had seen people from many different places, and the diversity had astounded him.

Anton had already cast the Tongue spell so that the local populace could understand him. He also walked slowly, making sure that the guards wouldn’t perceive him as a threat.

When he got close enough for people to notice him, Anton saw that most of those on the road heading into the town stopped to stare. Some began talking to each other, and he overheard the word “foreigner” repeated several times.

At least they weren’t talking about him as if he were an alien monster or an invading creature. They were simply calling him a foreigner.

Anton noticed that when the large guards saw him, they immediately began preparing themselves as if he might suddenly attack the town.

“Halt! Who are you, foreigner, and why are you here in our town?” one of the guards shouted as he walked toward Anton.

“My name is Anton Sunder, and I’m a wizard from the continent of Izmorta. I was tasked with retrieving an item from the Xinati Wilderness by my organization, and I have completed the mission. Since this was my first time visiting your continent, I decided to explore a little before returning home,” Anton replied.

“Please wait here while I report your presence to my captain,” the guard said.

He then returned to the gate and went inside the town.

Anton assumed that the man had gone to someone with more authority to report his presence. After several minutes, the guard returned, accompanied by another guard, probably someone with greater authority, and a man who looked soft but wore expensive-looking silk clothes.

More than likely, the chubby man in the fine clothes was a bureaucrat.

“My name is Captain Wang Liu. I’m the captain of the guards here in our town. This is Bo Chen, an assistant to our mayor. May we ask what your intention is in visiting our town?” the burly man who had introduced himself as the captain asked.

“Just to explore and probably buy some things that I can give to my family and friends. I wanted to continue exploring the continent, so I won’t stay long. Probably just a few hours.”

“We did not see you riding a mount or traveling in a carriage,” the captain said.

“I flew.”

Anton saw all of their eyes widen.

“Are you an Immortal?” the pudgy man who had been introduced as the mayor’s assistant asked.

“I don’t know what you mean by an Immortal, but I’m a wizard,” Anton said.

However, he felt a surge of excitement when the pudgy man used the term “Immortal.”

The Tongue spell mostly translated languages into concepts that the caster could understand. The fact that it translated the word the pudgy man had used into “Immortal” meant that Anton’s understanding of the term was probably connected to his knowledge of cultivators from the cultivation novels he had read.

In truth, Anton wasn’t particularly interested in learning how to cultivate.

He already had a system that granted him prodigious power, and he could also learn the wizardry path of this world. Adding another power system to what he already had would probably overwhelm him.

“What do you mean when you say that you’re a ‘wizard’?” the pudgy man asked.

“I’m guessing that a wizard is the equivalent of an Immortal on your continent,” Anton said straightforwardly.

Anton immediately noticed a shift in the behavior of the guards and the pudgy man.

Fear and respect appeared on their faces.

That told Anton that the people in power in these lands probably ruled with an iron fist.

“You’re welcome in our town. Captain Liu will be your guide and answer your questions regarding our local people,” the pudgy man said.

Anton was somewhat pleased by the arrangement. He wouldn’t have to find a local to guide him, and since the captain was someone with authority, he could avoid accidentally causing misunderstandings with the locals.

The captain walked toward Anton and invited him to enter the town.

The moment he stepped inside, Anton felt a little giddy at the sight.

The town resembled the ancient towns described in the cultivation novels he had read.

Anton would have liked to immediately ask the captain about their cultivation system, but he didn’t want to come across as someone overly eager to learn about sensitive matters. Instead, he asked general questions, such as what local products the town specialized in.

When they passed a street filled with street food, Anton stopped and asked the captain beside him whether he could use the gold coins he carried to purchase things.

He retrieved a few gold coins and showed them to Captain Liu.

“You can use these, but it would be better if we went to a local merchant who specializes in such matters. You can exchange your currency for local coins there,” the captain said.

“That’s fine. I’m planning to buy more things, including local clothing. I want to wear what the locals are wearing,” Anton told the captain.

As they walked toward the merchant the captain knew could exchange Anton’s coins, Captain Liu praised Anton for his command of the local language.

“I don’t know your language. I cast a spell that translates my language into yours and vice versa,” Anton said absently.

He didn’t notice the amazed expression on the captain’s face.

Captain Liu told him that their town was called the Town of Dong Yun, which meant Eastern Cloud. He explained that their town was average in size and that if Anton continued traveling, he would encounter much larger towns and cities.

The captain also said that the only cultivators in their town were the town’s mayor and his wife.

“While I was flying, I didn’t see any monsters nearby. How did your people clear the lands of monsters?” Anton asked.

“Monsters are rare. They usually appear in lands uninhabited by people, such as deep forests, jungles, and wildernesses. The resources found in such places are also abundant, but danger always accompanies opportunity. Only powerful people can obtain those resources,” the captain said.

Anton and Captain Liu soon arrived at a general merchandise shop.

Upon entering, Anton saw that the shop contained many things a traveler might need, including waxed tents, ropes, lanterns, barrels of horse feed, candles, torches, blankets, and more.

The two approached a heavyset man with a salesman’s smile.

“Wei, my foreign friend wants to exchange his foreign coins for the local currency,” Captain Liu told the merchant.

Anton noticed that the captain stared at the merchant afterward. He assumed that the captain wanted to tell the merchant something about him.

“Can I browse around the shop while you talk to your friend?” Anton asked.

The captain nodded.

Anton wanted to give Captain Liu and his merchant friend some privacy. The captain probably wanted to convey the fact that Anton was some kind of cultivator, which meant that the merchant shouldn’t try to cheat him and risk causing trouble.

Even though Anton had moved far enough away to give them privacy, his enhanced physical stats allowed him to hear their conversation clearly.

Apparently, the merchant didn’t believe the captain’s claim that Anton was an “Immortal” because he hadn’t actually seen Anton use any sort of power.

The merchant also said that they couldn’t feel the powerful aura an Immortal was supposed to possess, an aura that everyone should be able to sense when they approached one.