Chapter 8: Haimen (Part 1)

Haimen is a large sect on the Core Continent, possessing considerable strength. It has numerous disciples, controls many major merchant firms, and owns numerous secret realms. There are also many affiliated families and spellcraft sects from the intermediate continents. On the higher continents, it is considered a quite famous sect.

Haimen is located on a plain without any mountains. As far as the eye can see, it’s an open expanse with no apparent defenses. Guo Shier was stunned and asked, “Is your sect right ahead?”

Xuan Ai replied, “There’s still some distance, but we’re almost there. There’s a settlement not far ahead, and then the sect itself.”

More and more flying vehicles and flying professionals appeared in the sky. On the ground, there were neatly arranged farmlands and small villages. As they approached Haimen, smaller towns gradually appeared. Soon, Guo Shier saw tall buildings on the horizon—Haimen was near.

About a kilometer away from Haimen, pillars of varying heights began to appear. They were all black, as thick as a person’s arms, scattered sparsely across the ground. Guo Shier asked, “Are these large spell arrays?”

Xuan Ai nodded. “Yes. There’s only one path to enter. Look!”

The flying professionals and vehicles in the sky gradually gathered at a certain angle and descended one after another in order. The vehicles stopped on an open area, where attendants took care of them. After getting off, the people walked along a road inward.

Guo Shier asked, “Do we have to enter through this road too?”

Xuan Ai smiled. “Yes. We can’t fly; we have to walk. This road isn’t long. We’ll soon reach the outer perimeter of Haimen, where the affiliated families and the families of professionals live.”

Although there didn’t seem to be many flying people or vehicles in the wild, the crowd they formed amazed Guo Shier. When those professionals gathered on one road, it became extremely crowded, just like walking on a bustling commercial street, packed tightly with people.

Guo Shier followed the road and after a while said, “At least tens of thousands of people come in and out on this road!”

Xuan Ai said proudly, “The number of professionals within our Haimen sect exceeds one million. Adding the affiliated families from the surrounding areas and professionals from other places, the total reaches tens of millions. As for those who rely on Haimen in general… there are as many as seven hundred million.”

Guo Shier was shocked. Just one sect had a population larger than that of some countries in his past life—it was truly a giant. He asked, “How many professionals are there at the level of Saint or above?”

Xuan Ai said, “It’s around more than ten thousand but less than twenty thousand. I’m not exactly sure of the exact number. Those who can reach the level of Saint Master hold a certain status within the sect.”
Guo Shier felt dizzy hearing this. Nearly twenty thousand Saint Masters—that was terrifying. He didn’t even dare ask how many Great Masters there were. This was the strength of a large high-level sect. In the Chenxiao Sect, reaching the Saint Master level meant one could become an elder, but here, Saint Masters were only considered core disciples, not top professionals.
Although terrified, Guo Shier still maintained a smile and said, “Oh, if I join Haimen, I shouldn’t fare too badly, right?”
Xuan Ai replied, “It depends on the individual. In fact, with so many Saint Masters spread across various families, internal organizations, and external cities and merchant firms, if you break it down carefully, there aren’t actually that many. Only a few thousand can remain in a combat-ready state year-round. This is the case for all major sects.”
Hearing this, Guo Shier finally understood. He thought to himself, “That’s more reasonable. If there were nearly twenty thousand Saint Master-level professionals always ready for battle, that would be too overwhelming.”
Guo Shier asked, “Since there are so many Saint Masters, there must be quite a few Grand Saint Masters as well, right?”
Xuan Ai said, “Of course. There are definitely a few thousand. But most of them are low-level Grand Saint Masters. High-level Grand Saint Masters are probably no more than a few hundred. Hehe, those even more powerful than Grand Saint Masters… there are at least a dozen of them. And those are just the ones known to the public. No one knows how many there are in secret.”
He added, “Those are the ones who truly control the sect. They are the sect’s trump cards.”
Guo Shier realized that such people were on par with experts like Zhu Jiamao and the Fiery Beauty, even more powerful than high-level Grand Saint Masters. Professionals like Chou Mo and Li Ran were likely at an even higher level. He gradually understood what a major sect really meant.
The group continued walking as the crowd headed inside Haimen. The journey wasn’t short—it took over an hour—to reach a large square paved with black stones covered in numerous runes, clearly related to magic arrays. Guo Shier wasn’t surprised by this.
Xuan Ai pointed to a row of buildings in the distance and said, “That’s where registration is done. You’ll need to get a new identity badge, temporary… I’ll act as your guarantor.”

Many disciples of Hai Men invited friends from outside or rogue professionals to enter the exclusive secret realm to complete their own tasks, so the registration area was very busy, with people coming and going, calling out to each other, creating a noisy atmosphere. Xuan Ai explained, “Even without an introduction from a sect disciple, ordinary rogue professionals who come for training can enter the exclusive secret realm. Of course, they can’t receive rewards. Many of them simply come to hunt mutated talisman beasts for materials. Hai Men doesn’t forbid them from entering.”

Guo Shier was deeply impressed. “What a grand scale! Only a major sect with substantial resources can have such ambition.” He asked, “So… can disciples from other sects enter your exclusive secret realm?”

Xuan Ai smiled and waved his hand. “How could that be? It’s absolutely not allowed, unless it’s a sect allied with us and there’s some kind of deal between us. Their disciples can enter if they apply. Otherwise, no professionals from any sect are allowed to enter the exclusive secret realm. If anyone sneaks in and gets caught, they’ll be killed. There are people killed like this every year.”

Guo Shier said, “I see.”

Xuan Ai said, “We’re here. Follow me.”

With Xuan Ai’s guarantee, Guo Shier and the others successfully obtained identity badges, allowing them to move around the outer area of Hai Men. These badges couldn’t be used to enter the inner area of Hai Men; they only allowed movement in the outer residential area, but they did grant access to the exclusive secret realm.

Xuan Ai said, “Let’s go straight to the exclusive secret realm. I bought a small courtyard there, and everyone can move in there instead of staying in inns.”

Guo Shier asked, “How far is it to the exclusive secret realm?”

Xuan Ai smiled. “It’s neither far nor near. We can take a flying vehicle. It takes just over an hour to reach the exclusive secret realm, so there’s no need to rush.”

The group arrived at the flying vehicle station, where dozens of large flying vehicles were parked. Each vehicle could carry about 200 people, and one would be launched as soon as it was full. Xuan Ai didn’t wait in line. He found a friend and took Guo Shier and the others straight into one of the flying vehicles. After finding seats, he smiled and said, “There are always 300 large flying vehicles here, transporting a large number of professionals and goods in and out of the exclusive secret realm every day.”

Before long, the flying vehicle also started filling up with passengers, quickly becoming full. Guo Shier felt as if he were on a plane from his past life, though of course, the equipment in the flying vehicle was much simpler than that of the planes from his past life.

Inside the flying vehicle, one couldn’t see the outside scenery, and it was very unstable once it started moving, bumpy to the extreme. Fortunately, it didn’t take long—after just over an hour, the flying vehicle landed on the ground. Guo Shier even didn’t know where the entrance to the exclusive secret realm was; they had already entered a city.

Only after getting off the flying vehicle did Guo Shier realize how large the city was. To his surprise, it was snowing inside the secret realm. Watching the heavy snowfall, he couldn’t help but sigh, “I hate snow, I hate the cold!”

Xuan Ai said with a smile, “It’s okay. Winter in the secret realm will pass soon. At most in a month, the weather will start to warm up. We’ll also need to rest for over a month before going out to hunt.”

Guo Shier replied, “That’s better.”

The flying vehicle landed on a large square in the east of the city, where there were many large flying vehicles lined up. As they walked out of the square with the crowd, Guo Shier asked, “Is your place far?”

Xuan Ai replied, “Not far. My living area isn’t very good, but it’s much better than where many outsiders live. It’s near the flying vehicle parking lot. It only takes the time it takes for a meal to get there.”

Turning from the main street into a small alley, they soon arrived at a modest door. Upon entering, it resembled the quadrangle courtyard Guo Shier had seen in his past life—houses on all four sides with a small courtyard in the middle. As soon as Guo Shier and the others entered the courtyard, they saw a person standing there, smiling at them.

Guo Shier recognized him—it was Pang Guang, who had partnered with Xuan Ai at sea. A great martial artist and also an inner disciple of Haimen.

Xuan Ai asked, “Old Pang, did you get them?”

Pang Guang smiled and said, “I did. Three hunting token cards in total.”

Xuan Ai continued, “Shier, Old Pang will stay here to handle the mutated spirit beasts we hunt. They can help him with that. Just the three of us will go hunting; the rest should stay in the city.”

Guo Shier asked, “What are hunting token cards?”

Before Xuan Ai could answer, Pang Guang said, “Hunting token cards… Every professional who takes on missions must obtain them. In Qingcheng, they also serve as a status symbol. More importantly, during hunting, every time you kill a mutated spirit beast, the token card absorbs a trace of its essence, thus recording your achievements so that no one else can steal them. Even if someone steals the corpse of the mutated spirit beast, this record won’t change.”

Xuan Ai added, “Yes, it’s a fair guarantee. Otherwise, it would be impossible to calculate your reward.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “That’s not bad.” He secretly admired them; truly a sect from the Advanced Continent—this method protected the interests of professionals to the greatest extent.
Xuan Ai said, “I’m sorry to impose this on you two. You’re considered my assistants, so you’ll suffer a slight disadvantage in the calculations.”
Guo Shier didn’t mind. “I don’t care. I’m already very satisfied to have found such a secret realm.”
Xuan Ai said, “That’s good. The main contribution goes to the sect, and part of it also has to be allocated to Pang Guang. He’s our chief logistics officer, and there are many matters he needs to handle.”
Guo Shier had no objections, nor did Ying Mo. Luo Zhan asked, “Can I go with you to hunt the mutated talisman beasts?”