Figures like Old John are not uncommon throughout the empire.

Among them, there are some tall figures.

In the west of the Holy Mania Empire, within a large city with a population of over two hundred thousand.

At the northern end of the city, in a rundown and dirty urban district.

The low buildings exude a sense of age, unauthorized structures are everywhere, the pothole-ridden roads are long neglected, filled with filthy puddles, and the discarded household garbage in the corners is almost piled into mounds.

Flies buzz and dance in the air, which is tainted with a sour and rotten stench, yet the residents living here are long accustomed to it.

They are dressed in rags, malnourished and emaciated... either curled up in the corners or sitting inside the half-opened buildings, their hands busy with simple tasks, like weaving grass crafts.

This is a world seemingly forgotten.

Only the occasional sound of laughter, like silver bells, brings a touch of color to this world.

These are young children, frail but with bright and pure eyes; hopping around near the stinking ditch, playing around joyfully, dressed in tattered clothes yet as happy as little angels.

This is the impoverished district.

And districts like this can be found almost everywhere in the cities of the Holy Mania Empire.

The people living here are mostly bankrupt farmers, artisans, some disabled professionals, low-level mercenaries, and so forth.

They are the ones forgotten by the world.

No one knows how the earliest impoverished district came to be.

It’s just that, according to various records of the empire, ever since the empire’s center began massive enfeoffment of nobles and city expansion, such rundown districts have proliferated.

Some resulted from poorly maintained, aging public facilities in old towns; others from farmers who lost their land due to noble land grabs, forced into the city seeking livelihood, eventually forming clusters.

Nobles despise these areas and never tread here, and the inner city rich fear the lawlessness and seldom visit...

Suddenly, a hooded figure appears on the streets of this area.

Upon seeing this figure, the playing children brighten up and instantly gather around, even the eyes of the people in the corners show a slight sparkle.

"Lord Cyber! You’re here!"

The children exclaim excitedly.

Upon hearing their cheers, the hooded figure slightly pauses.

He adjusts his hat, revealing half a handsome smiling face.

"Lord Cyber... it’s Lord Cyber!"

"Lord Cyber looks so good!"

The children’s eyes shine.

Cyber raises a hand to gently wave.

Gradually, as if a pebble was cast into a calm lake, the lifeless impoverished district starts to come alive.

More and more of the impoverished gather around, their eyes gleaming slightly, like light amid darkness.

The quickest runners are the children.

They swiftly gather in front of Cyber, eyes filled with excitement and anticipation:

"Lord Cyber, I have memorized what you taught last time!"

"Lord Cyber... what will you tell us this time?"

"Can you tell us about the Fengyue Free Territory?"

"No, I want to hear the story of the Frost Elves!"

The children chatter excitedly.

Soon enough, an elder’s voice of reproach quiets them:

"What are you buzzing about? Lord Cyber is our esteemed guest, be a little obedient!"

It’s a white-haired old man, looking as aged as dried wood, with an empty space below the right leg, supported by a cane.

Yet, he carries a powerful aura, and with his words, the children instantly become quiet and behave, only sticking out tongues at him or making faces behind his back.

The old man is a disabled professional, the most reputable person in the impoverished district.

He limps towards Cyber, holding a cane in one hand, the other tremblingly drawing an imperfect Life Scepter symbol on his chest:

"Praise nature, praise life, praise the great World Tree... Eve Goddess!"

"Lord Cyber, we’ve prepared a room, what do you plan to talk about today?"

The elder looks at Cyber expectantly.

The other impoverished also look at him with eyes full of longing.

Cyber smiles slightly, taking out a crystal projection gemstone from his pocket, saying:

"I brought some image stones today, to show some materials of the Fengyue Free Territory."

"Besides, continuing from the last lesson, we’ll proceed with the analysis of Chapter Seven from the Holy Scripture appendix: ’Life, Rights, and Struggle...’"

Upon hearing Cyber’s words, the impoverished people’s eyes fill with more anticipation, they swarm around Cyber and move to the grandest house in the district.

Grand, only relatively speaking to other buildings in the impoverished district.

In fact, it’s an abandoned small chapel, once belonging to the God of Trade.

Now, it has been utterly abandoned by Priests, even its statue and Holy Emblem have long been taken away.

The chapel is cleaned thoroughly, with freshly picked wildflowers specially placed on windowsills, and the gathered impoverished wear their tidiest, least patched, cleanest clothes.