Conquest of the Dragon Sovereign

After finishing his meal, Feicui Long got up and left. He had already paid, and he needed to make money if he wanted to make a living as an alchemist. Fortunately, he had 7 years of experience gathering plants in this area. Although, according to the law of the absolute heaven, 50% of the plants, fungi, etc., in all omniverses, multiverses, and universes are things that will inevitably be found everywhere, 25% may be shared with some omniverses, multiverses, and universes, and the remaining 25% are entirely unique and different for each omniverse, multiverse, and universe. That small 25% that isn't shared could include billions or trillions of species. He knew many of the species shared across all places, but if it were one of those unique species, he couldn't claim to know them all. That's why those 7 years of experience were very useful to him, and it's also one of the reasons he chose to dedicate himself to alchemy, even though his pure inscription mastery is more advanced.

Soon, Feicui Long arrived at the gate of the fortress city and headed to a place etched in his memory—a spot in one of the forests near the city. When he finally arrived, it was a small clearing with some fruit trees and various medicinal herbs. Although there were energy beasts here, they were all docile and herbivorous, so as long as he didn't attack them, he wouldn't be in danger.

"I'm glad I found this safe place a few years ago. Thanks to this, I have a constant source of blood grass and 50 to 100-year-old ginseng. First, let's gather what I can carry in my bags." Feicui Long happily collected herbs in the clearing until a thought crossed his mind, and he said to himself, "Now that I think about it, what I have are normal bags, not storage bags. I'll have to store most of them in my necklace and then pretend I'm taking them out of my bags…" "…Well, anyway, I can store my necklace inside me and take it out in that case, so I guess it doesn't matter much." By the time he finished his monologue, he had already collected about 10 kilograms of blood grass and 5 kilograms of 50-year-old ginseng, along with a few 100-year-old ones.

Straightening his back, he looked up at the sky. "Judging by how high the star is, it must be around noon. I should take advantage of the fruit trees to eat a few fruits for lunch and then head to another area." Feicui Long quickly gathered several fruits, storing some in his necklace, ate 2 or 3, and began walking along a small stream that ran through the clearing.

...

Feicui Long had arrived at his next destination, an open field with a large lake at its center. Many knew it as a safe place, despite the presence of numerous beasts around the lake. The reason was that all the energy beasts in this area were herbivores, peaceful creatures that lived in herds. Whenever they spotted a predator, they would gather and trample it to pieces. Because of this, it was an excellent place to rest. However, Feicui Long had come here for medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Specifically, he sought the water flower, a common bloom found in freshwater bodies rich in energy, and the lingzhi mushrooms growing on the trees around the lake.

Getting straight to work, he diligently gathered what he needed. In about an hour, he had collected one kilogram of water flowers and one kilogram of lingzhi. He had to limit himself, as he couldn't risk revealing his storage necklace in a place filled with people—from adventurers to hunters and mercenaries. After packing his bags, he left the area, heading to his last stop.

It took him 45 minutes to reach his next destination, a lesser-known area that almost always had an abundance of medicinal herbs. Upon arrival, he uncapped his canteen and took a few gulps of water before scanning his surroundings with quick, watchful eyes.

"There's the bone recovery fruit, and underneath, the spiritual herb should be growing," he noted.

Feicui Long walked over to where he had spotted the plants and picked the fruit. The bone recovery fruit was whitish in color, resembling an orange on the outside but more like an apple inside. The spiritual herb, on the other hand, was a type of bright, bluish-green grass. He spent the next few hours harvesting until the sun was close to setting, gathering around five kilograms of the fruit and ten kilograms of the spiritual herb.

Wrapping up his day, he left the forest with quick steps. Staying there after dark was too dangerous unless it was in a safe area like the lake. With his current cultivation level, it wasn't worth the risk. Before long, he spotted the city gates and the people entering. Blending into the crowd, he moved forward with them.

…

Once inside the city, he walked to the market. The fortress city of Vienna is a city with a lot of activity both day and night, as it was specifically created to contain the various biomes that exist around it and prevent them from threatening the Habsburg Empire. To achieve this, it relied heavily on the mercenary union, the hunter union, and the adventurer union. One way to remain attractive to these groups, aside from the benefits it provided, was to meet their needs. Since these professions are very active and require constant coming and going to the city, the market remains open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The reason he came here was mainly to sell almost everything he had gathered. To practice alchemy, besides needing to reach the state of inscription mastery, you obviously need some other things, things that money can primarily provide. Although the goal is more to obtain money to survive, after all, he doesn't like the idea of sleeping on the ground in an alley.

As he said this, he had finished evaluating all the stalls and shops that buy herbs. In the end, he chose one that was being attended by a middle-aged woman. From everything he could observe and hear while walking through the market, the woman was the most polite and kindest of all. Additionally, he could tell she had a lot of knowledge in her field of work, which would make the process faster.

Soon, he entered the small shop, which had several shelves with plants in preservation boxes and a few in pots. He approached the counter and, following his plan, spoke to the woman, "Good evening, ma'am. I'd like to sell you some of the plants I've brought."

The woman, with a kind smile, replied, "Of course, young man. Can you show me what you want to sell?"

Feicui Long soon put into action the plan he had devised while gathering herbs. He pretended his bags were spatial storage bags and began pulling everything out of his necklace. First, he took out 9 kilograms of blood grass, 4 kilograms of 50-year-old ginseng, 500 grams of lingzhi, 500 grams of water flowers, 9 kilograms of spiritual grass, and 4 kilograms of bone-recovery fruit.

"Oh, what a surprise! That's quite a lot, and all of very good quality," the middle-aged woman said as she examined everything. She began calculating with an energy artifact, and numbers floated in the air with bright colors. In the end, she stopped at 2,500 copper coins. "That would be 25 silver coins, but since it's your first time selling here, I'll give you an extra 5 coins. If you ever want to sell more herbs, I'll buy them all from you."

Feicui Long nodded politely and said, "That's fine. It would be my pleasure to sell to you, ma'am." He collected the money she handed him and then asked, "By any chance, ma'am, would you know where I can buy cheap equipment like tents, tools, and such?"

The woman, a little surprised by the young man's courtesy, replied, "Oh, of course! When you leave this shop, turn right and walk for about 3 to 5 minutes, and you'll see the shop you're looking for. Here, take my card and tell them I sent you. I'm sure they'll give you a discount on your purchase." Feicui Long delicately took the card from the woman's hand, bowed slightly, and walked out the door.

He walked slowly in the direction the lady had indicated, and soon, he saw a sign that read "Tools & Equipment." Pushing the wooden door open with minimal force, he found himself inside a well-organized shop stocked with tool sets, tents, blankets, weapons, and more. He continued toward the counter, where a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair watched him with a serious expression.

Noticing the man's stern face, Feicui Long spoke calmly: "Good evening, I've come on behalf of Nancy's Herbal Shop. I'm here to purchase a few things." After finishing his sentence, he handed over the card. The middle-aged man relaxed his expression slightly before speaking.

"I see. What kind of things are you looking for?" the man asked.

"Would it be alright if I look around first and bring everything I intend to buy to the counter?" Feicui Long replied.

"Sure, no problem, as long as you don't walk out with them," the man added with a playful tone at the end.

Feicui Long then picked out a tent, a blanket, five spatial storage pouches, a spatial canteen, three knives of different sizes, and four tool sets—one for repairs, another for excavation, a third for exploration, and the last one mainly used by alchemists or doctors, which included silver needles. He also took a common longsword made of mortal materials, specifically steel. Once he was finished, he returned to the counter and placed everything on top.

"Hmm, you're picking up quite a lot. Normally, I'd charge 35 silver coins for all this, but since Nancy recommended you, I'll let you have it for 20. What do you say?" the man offered.

"That sounds good. I also wanted to ask, how much for that spatial backpack hanging behind you?" Feicui Long inquired.

"That one? It's 50 silver coins, but I could let you have it for 40," the man replied.

"Alright. I'll pay for these now and come back for the backpack when I have the money."

With that, Feicui Long placed the silver coins on the counter and took everything. He stored most of the items in one of the storage pouches, which he tied to the front of his waist. The remaining four pouches were split evenly between his left and right sides.

…

He walked slowly in the direction the lady had indicated, and soon, he saw a sign that read "Tools & Equipment." Pushing the wooden door open with minimal force, he found himself inside a well-organized shop stocked with tool sets, tents, blankets, weapons, and more. He continued toward the counter, where a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair watched him with a serious expression.

Noticing the man's stern face, Feicui Long spoke calmly: "Good evening, I've come on behalf of Nancy's Herbal Shop. I'm here to purchase a few things." After finishing his sentence, he handed over the card. The middle-aged man relaxed his expression slightly before speaking.

"I see. What kind of things are you looking for?" the man asked.

"Would it be alright if I look around first and bring everything I intend to buy to the counter?" Feicui Long replied.

"Sure, no problem, as long as you don't walk out with them," the man added with a playful tone at the end.

Feicui Long then picked out a tent, a blanket, five spatial storage bags, a spatial canteen, three knives of different sizes, and four tool sets—one for repairs, another for excavation, a third for exploration, and the last one mainly used by alchemists or doctors, which included silver needles. He also took a common longsword made of mortal materials, specifically steel. Once he was finished, he returned to the counter and placed everything on top.

"Hmm, you're picking up quite a lot. Normally, I'd charge 35 silver coins for all this, but since Nancy recommended you, I'll let you have it for 20. What do you say?" the man offered.

"That sounds good. I also wanted to ask, how much for that spatial backpack hanging behind you?" Feicui Long inquired.

"That one? It's 50 silver coins, but I could let you have it for 40," the man replied.

"Alright. I'll pay for these now and come back for the backpack when I have the money."

With that, Feicui Long placed the silver coins on the counter and took everything. He stored most of the items in one of the storage bags, which he tied to the front of his waist. The remaining four bags were split evenly between his left and right sides.

…

After leaving the shop, Feicui Long went to the bar where he had breakfast and ordered dinner. He sat down quietly to eat while drinking a cheap beer. When he saw the waitress, he signaled for her to come over and asked, "Do you have any rooms available tonight?"

The waitress looked at him and replied, "I'm sorry, sir. All the rooms are occupied today."

Feicui Long said softly, "I see. Thank you very much anyway." He paid 15 copper coins—though the beer and food cost 7 copper coins, the rest was a tip for the waitress who had treated him kindly today and yesterday while he was drinking. After doing so, he simply got up and left.

He left the bar and headed to the alley where he had slept last night. Resigned, he said to himself, "I couldn't find a room in any of the inns I asked at on my way to this bar. I guess I'll have to set up the tent right here." As he organized the area, he spoke to himself again, as if consoling himself, "At least this place doesn't smell bad, and it's not dangerous either. But just in case, I'll use a few of my energy stones to set up a formation." After finishing his thoughts, he began writing on the dirt ground with a stick. When he finished, he sprinkled crushed energy stone powder around and placed a stone in the center of the formation. He said, "Activate," and the formation began to glow with a faint light, like a circuit, drawing energy from the surroundings and channeling it to the stone in the center.

Once the formation was ready, he began setting up the tent and laid his blanket on the ground. After that, he simply started reading a few books he had found in his necklace earlier. The books were mostly about botany and the beasts found in the different biomes near the city.

As he read, he realized how strange this city was. In its surroundings, there was a desert, three different forests, two mountain ranges, an area facing the sea, a swamp, a jungle, and a snowy zone. In these areas, there were various dangers and different energy beasts, monsters, undead, plants, fungi, and elemental leaders. He understood why a fortress city like this was necessary. It was obvious that if left unchecked, these biomes could easily break through the empire's defensive line.

Little by little, time passed, and sleep began to take over. Although it didn't seem like it, it had been a very tiring day, both physically and mentally, for Feicui Long, and that was allowing sleep to overcome him. In the end, he ended up falling asleep while reading one of the books.

...

Meanwhile, in another location, a group of adventurers was engaged in battle near the Sky Lion Mountains.

A handsome young man wielded a claymore with a lion's face engraved on its hilt. He swung it at a swarm of black iron ants, slicing some in half and sending others flying.

"Charles, hurry! Get over here!" shouted a woman with a kind face and a well-endowed figure.

"Calm down, Andrea. This is just a scouting group. We need to take care of them quickly instead of retreating," the young man named Charles responded.

Just as he finished speaking, a fireball exploded, burning a group of three to five ants. The one who had cast the spell was a short mage wearing a brown hat. "Charles is right, Andrea. The best way to deal with these ants is to kill them quickly before they can call for reinforcements from the nest."

Right after that, a tall elf clad in a tight leather outfit fired a barrage of energy shots from an energy rifle, eliminating another small group of ants. Speaking in a low voice, she added, "Rather than arguing about what we should do, Charles, Arianne, Andrea, and Freja, we should work together to get rid of the ants as fast as possible."

A warrior priestess with wolf-like ears and a tail, armed with a shield and a mace, was in the midst of combat with several ants. Crushing one of them, she suddenly asked, "Caroline, why are you mentioning me? I haven't said a word." Her expression was clearly one of confusion.

The elf, named Caroline, looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, Freja. It's just a habit, you're always arguing with Andrea and Arianne."

The team continued fighting until they had completely wiped out the scouting group.