Chapter 634 - 5: Sights at the Museum

"Someone’s here?"

After all, Shao Qiming was also an Extraordinary Tier Cultivator. He had just activated his drone’s optical camouflage to start gathering intel on their surroundings, so he quickly heard the distant voices as well.

Listening to the clamor in the distance, a wistful look crossed his face. "Seeing those beasts in the Beast God Realm speak Chinese was one thing," he mused, "but I never expected to hear it in this Otherworld, too. It seems Chinese really is the universal language across worlds."

He was joking, of course. Shao Qiming knew perfectly well that the Divine Wood World and Earth were closely related. Their histories had been almost identical before the severance of Spiritual Qi, so the linguistic similarities were hardly worth mentioning.

"It’s a tour group." Su Zhou listened for another moment, confirming their identity. "Sounds like the old ruins in the Taibai Mountain Area were turned into a tourist spot and a museum? But I could’ve sworn there was a volcano eruption back then..."

However, he quickly convinced himself. "They dug up Pompeii, so excavating some ruins or rebuilding a memorial hall wouldn’t be a big deal."

"Let’s go. We’ll observe from a distance and see what this world is really like."

The drone’s camera, positioned high above, scanned the nearby area and transmitted the video feed to their respective terminals.

They were in a forested mountain region amidst a heavy snowstorm, which kept visibility low. Consequently, no one saw the two of them descend from the sky. The voices came from the east, where a distinct mountain path, a cable car, and a rest stop were visible. The cable car was carrying numerous passengers, suggesting the tourist spot was quite popular.

On the rest stop, a group was gathering. It consisted of adults and children—probably a few families on a holiday outing to climb the mountain and enjoy the snow. A female tour guide in an orange hat stood at the front, taking a head count. Strangely, she wasn’t using a megaphone.

The children were playing around on the platform, swinging inflatable toy knives. Looking closer, Su Zhou noticed that they looked a bit like the original Blade of Annihilation... But considering the Blade of Annihilation’s image and symbolic meaning in this world, it wasn’t all that strange.

"That woman... she has some foundational Cultivation."

Shao Qiming controlled the drone’s camera to focus. He saw that the tour guide actually had the Cultivation of an Awakening Tier, and he frowned slightly. "Don’t tell me this is another world where Cultivation is widespread?"

"They’re all part of the Hundred Schools, so their policies are likely similar," Su Zhou replied as he observed the crowd closely. He noticed that the vast majority of people were wearing some kind of metallic assistive device. This was especially true for the children, who had gear on their legs and backs, including a special small backpack and support structures that almost looked like partial Exoskeleton Armor.

After a moment, he exclaimed in amazement, "Well, what do you know. A True Qi Backpack, and walking assistance gear? Every single person in this group has some Cultivation, and a few of the stronger ones are even at the Awakening Tier. Not bad at all! It looks like the Divine Wood World’s technology really did develop in the direction of True Qi machinery."

"What’s the plan now?" Shao Qiming asked, continuing to pilot the drone in other directions to scan the surrounding terrain.

"First, let’s check out the old spot. We’re going to the Sword Casting Museum."

Su Zhou replied calmly, "We’ll see how much time has passed and how their history records the events. Through the tourists, we can also get a better understanding of the current state of this world."

Having previously considered the issue of clothing in the Divine Wood World, Su Zhou and Shao Qiming had prepared several different outfits, one of which happened to be a close match. After changing, the two of them circled around to an empty area behind them and began heading towards the museum at the end of the mountain path.

As they passed the rest stop, the tour group had finished gathering. When a teenage boy noticed Su Zhou and Shao Qiming’s attire as they walked by, he froze for a second, then excitedly whispered to the woman beside him.

"Mom, look! Over there, there are two people who aren’t using Walking True Qi Machines!"

The boy’s tone was full of surprise. The Walking True Qi Machine he mentioned was a set of sleek metal mechanisms wrapped around his legs. It was clear that by infusing it with Spiritual Qi, it could assist the user’s movements, allowing for less strenuous hiking.

Because it required a continuous infusion of Spiritual Qi during use, the device also served to train one’s control over Spiritual Qi. At the very least, it helped the user control the stability of their Spiritual Power output, preventing them from accidentally using too much Spiritual Power and launching themselves into the air.

The moment Su Zhou saw it, he found the design quite ingenious. He considered the possibility of bringing it back to Earth for use as a civilian device. Of course, that was the extent of it. Since it was only for assisting with walking, Earth had better methods for Spiritual Power conversion, though they were typically used in military hardware like Exoskeleton Armor.

"Don’t talk about others! What did they teach you at school?"

The boy’s mother scolded him in a low voice. She, of course, was also wearing a walking machine. The woman subconsciously glanced at Su Zhou and Shao Qiming, and then her heart skipped a beat. ’They’re both handsome young men... Huh? With my Postnatal Realm strength, I can’t see through them at all. And that aura, as steady as a mountain, as if they’ve merged with the world around them—could it be? Are these two both Innate Realm Martial Artists?!’

’Is it Rejuvenation?’

After realizing this, the woman then recalled that Innate Realm Martial Artists possessed senses far beyond those of ordinary people. She immediately grew a little embarrassed and stepped forward, pulling her son along to apologize. "I’m so sorry, sirs. My son is still young and doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut..."