At best, Lin Yuan could only interact with ordinary, unaffiliated low-level cultivators, and even then, he treated them with extreme caution and respect. Anything beyond that existed in a world he had neither the strength nor the right to step into.
"Tsk… I should go out and cool my head before I suffocate from frustration."
With a strained smile that did not quite reach his eyes, he pushed the door open and stepped out of the shop. The salty air of the Tide-Line brushed against his face, carrying the distant roar of waves and the restless murmur of trade.
The Tide-Line itself was simple in structure, yet full of life. It was divided into four main areas: Stone Street, where Twin Shores Shop stood; Merchant Square, the center of trade; the Old Docks; and finally, the Iron Yards.
As he walked, Lin Yuan casually asked a few nearby shop owners whether the authorities had visited them as well. His tone remained relaxed, as if making idle conversation, but his gaze quietly observed every detail.
To his relief, several of them confirmed that a man named Chen Wei had indeed stopped by their stores.
"So I really was overthinking it," he muttered as he reached the end of the street, releasing a slow breath.
"That Chen fellow works fast though… visiting almost every shop on the street in one day?" he added with a faint chuckle before turning toward the carriage station.
A carriage arrived shortly after. From a distance, it resembled something familiar—a boxy frame, two lantern-like lights at the front, a compact passenger cabin, and a driver seated behind a narrow console.
But that resemblance faded the moment it came to a halt before him. The faint hum rising from beneath it was neither mechanical nor purely spiritual—it carried a strange, steady quality, like something flowing rather than turning.
Spirit Flow Carriage.
That was what mortals called this form of transportation that had spread across the Verdant Origin Realm. These carriages did not rely on fuel or beasts, but on Spirit Flow, a subtle force drawn from Hollowstar Iron itself.
Cultivators ignored such traces entirely, as they could not be refined or absorbed. Mortals, however, had found a way to guide it, shape it, and put it to use.
On the Verdant Origin Realm, where spiritual energy remained beyond the reach of most mortals, Spirit Flow became something entirely different. It was not power in the traditional sense, yet it allowed mortals to sustain motion without exhaustion or cost.
Street lamps, cargo lifts in harbor towers, storage halls, communication lines, and even fishing vessels had begun to rely on it. Slowly, quietly, it was changing everything.
The driver leaned slightly out of the window, glancing at him with familiarity. "Twin Shores Shop, right? Need a ride, Shopkeeper Lin Yuan?"
Lin Yuan nodded. "Just heading to the Iron Yards."
He stepped inside and settled into the seat as the carriage gave a low hum. The vibration was steady and contained, like a current cycling endlessly beneath his feet.
"Funny… We mortals can't cultivate, yet we still found something that never runs dry."
The driver shrugged. "Cultivators chase power that runs out. We just use what keeps going."
Lin Yuan allowed himself a faint smile. The words were simple, yet they carried a quiet truth most cultivators would never acknowledge.
Years ago, the Oceanic Highlands experienced a winter so devastating that even cultivators recorded it in their sect records. Froststorms tore through entire regions, freezing cities overnight and leaving countless mortals buried beneath ice.
When the season finally broke, veins of a strange ore were discovered beneath the thawing earth.
They named it Hollowstar Iron.
It was lighter than copper and stronger than ordinary steel, yet its true value lay within. Its interior was filled with microscopic hollows, as if countless tiny stars had carved paths through it.
Those hollows did not store power in the way cultivators understood. Instead, they allowed something subtle to pass through, something that could not be seen, only felt through motion and resonance.
That subtle presence came to be known as Spirit Flow.
For a time, Hollowstar Iron remained little more than a curiosity. Then everything changed when a mortal smith from the Flowing River Alliance developed a method to refine it.
The Resonant Flow Forging Method.
It was a purely mortal technique that relied not on strength, but on precision. It required controlled low-heat hammering, rhythmic alignment of internal structures, and a cooling process using flowing river water.
There was nothing flashy about it. Yet in its precision, it surpassed expectation.
When forged using this method, Hollowstar Iron could guide Spirit Flow through stable, continuous pathways.
The moment the first Flow Core began to hum without stopping, the world shifted—at least for people like him.
The carriage moved forward, merging into the busier paths leading toward the Iron Yards. Lin Yuan leaned lightly against the window, watching lantern light flicker across passing buildings.
For a moment, he allowed himself to relax, letting the steady hum settle his thoughts.
Back in his village, elders often said that the world never stood still. Mortals had to run twice as fast just to keep up with cultivators who could cross mountains in a single breath.
He had never truly believed those words before. But here, in Azure Harbor, they felt undeniably real.
The driver steered around a row of freight carts and chuckled. "People complain these Spirit Flow carriages are noisy, but it's still better than walking everywhere. Look around—the harbor's faster now."
Lin Yuan could not deny that. Even the smallest shops relied on Spirit Flow tools in some form, and life had undeniably changed because of them.
Mortals had found a way to stand a little taller in a world ruled by cultivators. It was not true power, but it was something of their own.
That thought brought both comfort and unease.
"You alright back there, Shopkeeper? You look like you're about to wrestle a sea beast."
Lin Yuan blinked, then let out a quiet laugh. "Just thinking too much. Happens sometimes."
The driver laughed as well. "Happens to everyone. Even cultivators, I bet—though they'd never admit it."
Lin Yuan smiled faintly, the tension in his shoulders easing little by little.
The road widened as they approached the industrial stretch of Azure Harbor.
Warehouses with reinforced walls lined the path, while towering cranes forged from Hollowstar Iron moved steadily along fixed tracks. They lifted crates of ore and preserved goods with careful precision.
Within those massive structures, Flow Cores operated continuously, driving motion without pause. The low hum spread through the ground itself, faint but constant.
Below, mortals worked in coordination, guiding each movement with practiced skill. It was a scene of labor and noise, yet strangely reassuring.
Even in a world dominated by cultivators, ordinary people still shaped parts of it with their own hands.
Lin Yuan settled back into his seat, letting the hum of the carriage blend with the distant ringing of metal.
The carriage slowed as it reached the final stretch before the Iron Yards. Dockworkers stepped aside, waving casually at the driver as they passed.
Lin Yuan straightened slightly and absentmindedly touched the pendant at his chest. The small motion steadied him, pulling his thoughts back into focus.
"You heading to meet someone on Ironforge Street, right?" the driver asked. "It's a bit early for business there."