232: Dragon's Journey Chapter: Substitute Returns to the Pavilion

"Line up properly, everyone!"

"Kaifeng is now implementing a strict inspection system. All entrants must undergo screening. Please line up in an orderly fashion; do not crowd."

Hearing the announcement from the front, Long Tianxing frowned slightly.

He didn't expect to have to queue as soon as he arrived. Judging by the situation, he probably wouldn't get in until noon.

"Yo, country bumpkin, first time in the capital, huh?" Just then, a somewhat arrogant voice came from beside him.

Long Tianxing knew the words were directed at him, but he wasn't in the mood to play around.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Long Tianxing ignored him, but the young man was persistent.

He provoked Long Tianxing for no other reason than feeling displeased by Long Tianxing's outstanding appearance.

There were many female cultivators in the long line, and those who had seen Long Tianxing's face were all whispering about his looks.

The young man was originally at the front, almost his turn to enter, but ever since Long Tianxing appeared, the chatter behind him had been incessant, making his already irritable mood even worse.

So, he defiantly claimed he was also handsome, only to be met with unanimous ridicule from the female cultivators.

In a fit of pique, he no longer bothered to hide his identity and intended to thoroughly deflate the other party's arrogance before swaggering into the Kaifeng in front of everyone.

That was his plan, but when he actually saw Long Tianxing's face, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Nothing else, simply because this guy was too handsome, so handsome that even he, a man, couldn't help but secretly think, could a man really be this beautiful?

But he had already stepped forward to provoke, so he couldn't lose his Aura; he could only grit his teeth and continue provoking.

"You, kid, can't you get in?"

"Let me tell you, I'm not like you country folk. I come from a great Sect. As long as I reveal my identity, I can easily get in."

Long Tianxing heard this and became somewhat interested, turning his gaze to size up the other party.

To him, it was just a casual glance, but in the young man's eyes, it was a sharp deterrence.

The young man seemed to be intimidated by his Aura, stammering for a moment, then hastily dropping a few harsh words before scurrying away towards the front of the line.

After the other party left, Long Tianxing slowly followed.

As the young man reached the Kaifeng gate to undergo inspection, Long Tianxing quietly lined up behind him.

He cast a Spell, concealing his Qi from only the young man, so only the latter remained unaware.

After the young man finished his inspection and rushed into the Kaifeng, Long Tianxing stepped forward, waiting for his turn to be screened.

Seeing Long Tianxing step forward without actively presenting his credentials, the guard spoke.

"This is the special staff channel. Do you have the relevant credentials?"

Long Tianxing said nothing more, merely tossing a token to the other party.

"I didn't bring my ID, but this should prove my identity."

The guard took the token, but his hand suddenly touched something else.

He recognized the feel of it instantly: it was a High-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Gulp."

The guard subconsciously swallowed, then coughed, pretending to examine the token.

After confirming the identity information on the token, he casually slipped the Spirit Stone into his sleeve.

"Ahem... Lianxing Pavilion's labor dispatch. This indeed meets the conditions for the special channel."

The guard paused, glanced at Long Tianxing's appearance again, then returned the token and waved his hand, signaling the other party to leave quickly.

"You... go in quickly, don't delay the work."

Long Tianxing took the token and strode into the Kaifeng.

"Brother Li, the higher-ups are checking strictly. Isn't it inappropriate for us to let people in like this?" A young guard next to him leaned in and whispered.

But Brother Li was an old hand and calmly said.

"Inappropriate? What's inappropriate?"

"This kind of person clearly has issues."

"If we block him outside and he finds a way to sneak in later, then it's us gatekeepers who will have trouble. And if we directly detain him, and he turns out to be a tough nut, then we'll suffer even more."

"So just record his name and appearance, and report it to the Yamen for their attention."

"If there really is a problem, we'll have made a contribution."

"If something unexpected happens, the responsibility will be pushed away, and since the Yamen isn't our department, the blame won't fall on us."

Saying that, he subtly gestured to the object in his sleeve.

"Learn more. You can't just rely on brute force to get things done."

"Brother just made a bit of money today. I'll treat you to drinks tonight."

"Thanks, Brother."

The two exchanged smiles, everything unspoken.

Before long, a document with a portrait of a handsome young man was sent to the Kaifeng Yamen, with the name marked: Zhao Da.

Someone from Lianxing Pavilion?

Or someone from the Truth Cult?

This is a hot potato; I need to find a way to suppress it.

The superior looked at the portrait, pondering to himself, and ultimately decided to secretly suppress it and send it to the Truth Cult's temporary action site, to be handled by the temporary station chief.

"Responsibility transferred. If anything happens again, it won't involve me."

Long Tianxing walked on the street, toying with the token he had conveniently stolen, lost in thought.

When the young man made those remarks, he sensed that the other party was not simple.

And the fact that the other party subsequently used the special channel further proved his extraordinary identity. Since he had provoked him, Long Tianxing merely borrowed his identity to enter the Kaifeng earlier, which could be considered fair and just.

In reality, as a Disciple of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven, he should also be able to easily enter the Kaifeng through the special channel.

However, this trip was to find Zhou Yan, so it was not suitable to be high-profile.

He had left the Sect under the pretext of going out for experience. If people knew he specifically came to find Zhou Yan, it would inevitably make them think he was a sore loser, petty, or even see him as an overgrown baby.

In that case, his new life would be overshadowed before it even began, practically social death.

Actually, few in the Sect cared about the matter between Long Tianxing and Zhou Yan; only he himself held a grudge.

After all, each batch of new Disciples always had a few special individuals, such as Niu Zhiyuan in this batch. His story with Wang Yao was much more exciting than Long Tianxing's and Zhou Yan's; he was the first Disciple of this batch to be locked in the "little black room."

Long Tianxing's thoughts drifted further and further, and for a moment, he stood stunned in the middle of the road.

Just then, a small mouse wearing a mask saw him, holding a Lianxing Pavilion token and possessing an outstanding appearance, and scurried over.

"You must be Big Brother Zhao, right?"

Long Tianxing snapped back to reality, looking at the token in his hand, and subconsciously replied.

"Yes, I am Zhao Da, labor dispatch from Lianxing Pavilion."

The words had barely left his mouth when he regretted them. He was about to explain to avoid trouble, but then he heard the other person say.

"That's great, Jeanne d'Arc eats mud!"

"Then let's hurry and report, or the competition registration will close."

Competition?

"Is it the competition Zhou Yan is participating in?"

Long Tianxing's question was abrupt; who wouldn't know their own job content?

But the other party thought for a moment, given Zhao Da's job nature, he probably rushed over right after finishing another task.

Young and so handsome—no, so diligent—it made her feel a good impression, and also made her feel even more sympathetic.

Because of his outstanding looks, she automatically filled in Long Tianxing's backstory in her mind. She nodded and replied.

"That's right, it's that competition."

"The preliminary selections are already over. Only we still have some channel quotas."

"But if we don't register quickly, even the channel quotas will be gone, and then we'll just have to go home."

Hearing this, Long Tianxing's heart stirred.

He had been so focused on finding Zhou Yan to compete that he overlooked the details.

After he threw away that promotional poster, he had no idea there were preliminaries.

Fortunately, he met this little fellow; otherwise, he might really have missed the chance to participate.

"That won't do! Lead the way quickly; we'll go register first!"

Seeing Long Tianxing suddenly become anxious, even reaching out to pick her up and carry her directly towards the Inner City, her face immediately flushed red, and she hastily said.

"Big Brother Zhao, please put me down first! The location is over there; we're going the wrong way!"

"Alright, little fellow."

"Also, don't call me 'little fellow,' my name is Hui Yuxuan!"

"Alright, little fellow."

Long Tianxing's plan was to register first to qualify. Even if his identity was exposed later, he could at least still participate, at most paying some money to settle the matter.

Meanwhile, the real Zhao Da still had no idea he had been replaced.

And he would never have the chance to know again.

Zhao Da, who had just left the Kaifeng, suddenly felt something and looked back towards the Kaifeng.

"Big Brother Zhao, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The beautiful girl beside him asked with concern.

Under Shi Suiyan's illusionary Spell, Zhao Da's eyes were momentarily dazed, then he suppressed that inexplicable palpitation.

"It's nothing, nothing. Let's keep going."

He smiled, quickly catching up with the girl and the lion beside her, and walked into the distance.