The first problem that he encountered in all of this paradise was that there still weren’t any Branch Metacs for the Space Pathway, Luck Pathway, and the Time Pathway. But this only disappointed him for a short while. He didn’t dwell on it because it was as he expected.
However, the second source of disappointment was pretty difficult to let go. This was because it was more useful than any Branch Metac.
This second problem was that he also couldn’t find any Dragon Heart. This is a big source of disappointment because Dragon Heart can be used to increase the talent of cultivators.
According to his research, the extent to which Dragon Heart can increase one’s talent is dependent on the individual, not the Dragon Heart. It was said that the Dragon Heart can double the talent of a cultivator.
It was also said that this immense increase in talent is why Dragon Heart was sought after at all costs and why dragons are extinct. He wasn’t surprised to hear that dragons were extinct after hearing about the doubling of talent that their heart could provide.
So he has not been able to find Dragon Heart. Sure, there are many people selling Dragon Heart on the public trading platform, but he is willing to bet that those offers are scams.
The absence of the Dragon Heart in this heavenly city has only proven his suspicions right. After all, if Dragon Hearts can’t be found in the literal heavens, it is unlikely to be found anywhere on earth.
This made him say to himself, "I guess I can only wait until I become a divine being before I can increase the size of my energy well."
The last vendor he went to saw that he was disappointed after he was told that Dragon Heart is a mythical item that hadn’t been seen in thousands of years.
So the vendor said to him, "It is not like there is no other alternative."
This attracted Loki’s attention immediately. He swiveled and turned his head to the man immediately and said, "What is the alternative?"
In response, the man said, "Have you ever participated in any Heavenly Battlefield?"
Before he could reply, the man shook his head and said, "I doubt that you have, because if you have, you would know the alternatives."
This made Loki frown and say, "Are you going to talk or not?"
The shopkeeper heard his words and saw the unpleasant expression on his face, so he clicked his tongue in disapproval before saying, "So anxious. The alternative isn’t running away."
The only reply he got from Loki was a glare of impatience, so the man said, "The alternative is to become the highest contributing soldier during a heavenly battle. If you do, the sect will reward you for your effort by increasing the size of your energy well by 60%."
Loki’s eyes lit up when he heard this. Then he said, "There is such a thing?"
The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Yes, there is. The reward is given to the soldier who kills the most during the battle. So if you had participated in one, you would have seen it. Of course, that’s only if the Four Directions Sect wins."
"But you should forget about it because only rank 5 cultivators can earn it. As far as I know, it is the main reason rank 5 cultivators participate in the Heavenly Battlefield."
Loki became silent and deep in thought after he heard this. The show keeper thought that he was thinking about his chances of earning the highly coveted reward.
But Loki wasn’t thinking about how difficult it would be to earn the reward. He was mainly wondering why the information broker didn’t tell him about this when he asked for it.
So he said to himself, "Is it that they didn’t know or they didn’t want to tell me?"
He couldn’t figure out why they didn’t tell him, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He wasn’t angry because the money he paid for the information was expensive. In fact, the cost of the information was cheap, and he had raised concerns about it only to be told that the information he asked for was common sense.
What is making him angry is the fact that if they can omit information about this, they can omit information about things that he asked for. Intentionally or unintentionally, it is something that he finds unacceptable. Being cheated didn’t feel good at all.
His anger made his face become frosty, and his eyes become unnerving to look at. This made the shopkeeper step back from him and say, "I hope you don’t plan to rob me. You won’t get away with it in this city."
Loki didn’t bother to explain himself. He simply turned and walked away, leaving the bewildered shopkeeper, who didn’t know what he had done to make Loki angry, behind.
After walking away, he consoled himself by proceeding to buy the rank 4 versions of the Branch Metacs of the Dual Cultivation Pathway. Then he went around checking the functions of the Branch Metacs of the other sects.
He wanted to know what the other sects were capable of since he would be fighting them soon. But there were too many Branch Metacs to go through. So his exploration of the city quickly devolved into researching the abilities of Branch Metacs.
He spent the rest of the day doing that. It could also have been the whole night. He couldn’t tell for sure because there was no nighttime in this city.
This turned out to be another difference between this floating city and a normal city. The fact that he didn’t need to sleep made this difference all the more glaring to him because even his body couldn’t tell him when it was time to sleep.
Eventually, he returned to his accommodations to meditate and refine his Dao Heart. This went smoother than it usually did.