Star Trace Gate

Chapter 935 Entering the Capital, Meeting Dragon 2

In the misty forest.

Ren frowned as he looked at the fisherman and immediately asked, "Since Beifeng Town has already been captured by the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, if I don't have a legitimate identity, wouldn't going there rashly be tantamount to suicide?! The Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon will definitely set up checkpoints at every level and check the identities of those entering the town."

"You've considered everything very thoroughly, but the problems you can think of, my great Lord of the Fulong Pavilion, and his many advisors, can naturally also think of." The old fisherman was also a seasoned sycophant; even though he wasn't in Tiandu, he still held the Lord of the Fulong Pavilion in high esteem. "As I said before, with the Fulong Token, you are qualified to meet the Lord. You should set off now and arrive in Tiandu City around 5 PM today, then go to the Qionghua Pavilion in the bustling West Tower area. Once inside, simply say that you've come to see Young Master Long the Second."

"Young Master Long is the head of my Fulong Pavilion. He will give you a new identity and tell you what you need to do in Beifeng Town."

"I understand." Ren listened carefully to the fisherman's words, and then tentatively asked, "Is this Qionghua Pavilion a brothel?"

"Yes." The fisherman gave his advice very seriously: "If you have plenty of time after meeting the Pavilion Master, you can stay overnight at the Qionghua Pavilion. The starting fee for lodging there is 30,000 Star Yuan, but the girls are all very attractive. We earn our own money and spend it ourselves. It's good to balance work and rest. It's not a problem to eat some snacks."

Ren was shocked when he heard this: "As expected, the old guys in my Great Order camp... would rather wrong themselves than wrong their 'second brother'."

"I have other business to attend to, so let's part ways here and meet again in the future." After explaining the details of the rendezvous to Ren Ye, the old fisherman smiled faintly, raised his right arm, threw the fishing rod into the air, and then leaped into the air, stepping on the fishing rod with both feet, and sped away.

Ren Ye stared at his retreating figure and suddenly shouted, "No, this place is like a maze! How am I supposed to get out?!"

"Traveling north, the fog dissipates and the capital city is revealed."

A clear, ethereal response came, and Ren Ye noticed that the surrounding fog had inexplicably thinned out a bit.

He had originally planned to take advantage of the time after leaving the Illusion Village Secret Realm to return to Vermilion Bird City to see his first and second masters, report the whole story there, and also inquire about the situation of the park's team members. However, he hadn't expected that the Heavenly Grace Token's mission would continue, and the timeline was extremely tight, requiring him to reach Tiandu that very night to see the Pavilion Master of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion…

There was no other way, so he could only take care of his business first, and then wait and see if he could find an opportunity to return to Vermilion Bird City on the way to North Wind Town.

As he pondered this, he headed north.

……

Tian Du City, also known as the Divine Capital, is the most dazzling pearl of the migration destination. It symbolizes the supreme power, endless wealth, and unprecedented prosperity of the migration destination. It is also a super capital city with an extremely long history and an incomparably magnificent heritage.

The power structure of the entire migration area was actually composed of "countless feudal lords" plus an "ancient royal court." For example, the Ancient Tan Sect, which gave birth to the human swordsman Jiang Yu, was actually a feudal lord of moderate size. They not only controlled the territory of a city, but also had their own sect's blessed land, common people and believers, and had the right to implement their own unique policies in this place, making Ancient Tan City prosperous in commerce, with its people living in peace and contentment, and attracting cultivators to flock there.

However, feudal lords like the Gu Tan Sect were numerous in the migration areas. They all revered the Heavenly Capital Divine Court as the legitimate authority, obeyed its commands and commands, and gradually formed a system of order alliances and a situation of jointly resisting "ominous" forces.

However, according to some ancient books and historical records from the migration site, taking the 251st year of the migration site calendar as a point, going back four or five hundred years, the Heavenly Capital Divine Court was actually a nominal power institution, a puppet regime manipulated and controlled by various feudal lords.

To put it bluntly, in the past, whatever the Divine Court wanted to do, it had to consider the whims of various feudal lords. Its rulers were puppet monarchs who had to repeatedly endure and make concessions in the power struggles.

It wasn't until the emergence of the eleventh and twelfth Divine Court that the situation of feudal lords and aristocratic families in power was completely ended, and a perfect transition from local government to centralized power was completed. In fact, it also completed the unification of the population, territory and countless forces in the migration area.

In particular, the twelfth ruler of the Divine Court was hailed as a powerful ruler comparable to the ancient emperors, celestial beings, and great emperors. He not only effectively unified the migration areas and personally ended the era in which local lords obeyed orders but not summons, but also ushered in an unprecedented golden age.

This era, in the history of the place of migration, is also known as the "Prosperous Age of the Divine Emperor," and the "Divine Emperor" here actually refers to the current twelfth ruler of the Divine Court.

Why is it that the migration destination has such a long history, even much longer than Earth, yet the current calendar year is 251?

That's because everyone in the Divine Court's inner cabinet thinks that our new boss, "Master Shenzong," is simply too awesome. Not only is his personal character unparalleled throughout history, but his civil and military achievements, as well as his personal accomplishments, are also the most dazzling among all the rulers of the Divine Court.

Most importantly, he personally ended the era of chaotic rule by feudal lords, truly achieving unification and ushering in a golden age.

Such a remarkable figure would inevitably be remembered with a new calendar. Therefore, the 251st year of the Migration Calendar is actually calculated from the time Emperor Shenzong unified the Migration Area. The endless years before that are all referred to as the Old Law Era.

Back then, when Senior White-Striped Chicken participated in the Divine Court Gathering in Tiandu, his sword strike suppressed the world for fifty years, and no one in the mortal realm dared to call themselves a prodigy. His might shook the migration and amazed the world. Later, it was this very Divine Sect that personally bestowed upon him the name "Sword of the Mortal Realm".

However, White-Striped Chicken Senior later committed a "serious mistake," which was originally punishable by death. But Emperor Shenzong valued talent and secretly intervened, thus saving White-Striped Chicken Senior's life, though he was imprisoned in the ancestral land.

In this respect, the two have quite a history.

The time when Little Bad King was heading to Tiandu was May 16th of the 251st year of the Migration Calendar, which should be the most prosperous and glorious time of Tiandu City.

……

The city of Tiandu, including its surrounding counties and towns, has a total population of approximately 45 million.

Judging from its population alone, it surpasses all the super capitals of past dynasties, and its scale and prosperity are unprecedented.

Within Tiandu City, most of the buildings are ancient structures, reminiscent of the prosperous Han and Tang dynasties, yet they are not lacking in modern facilities, such as electric lights and appliances, though not in such a wide variety or complex manner. The reason why the architectural style here adheres to ancient charm may be related to the prevalence of Taoist practices and the large number of tourists visiting the area.

Cultivators strive to return to simplicity, to seek the past, and to glimpse the future. You can't expect a fifth-rank expert to stand on the 108th floor of a grand apartment, hands behind his back, drinking beer, wearing tight pants, and looking down at the alluring black-stockinged figures under the city lights, can you?

This damn dazzling world is so captivating, how can anyone properly contemplate the Dao and attain enlightenment?!

Everything was kept simple, and everything was done with the pursuit of artistic conception as the main goal. Therefore, the entire Tiandu was very much like a super magnificent Chang'an city.

Within the city of Tiandu, cultivators are not allowed to fly through the air, and the height of buildings is also strictly limited. This is to prevent some ignorant low-level stray dogs from overlooking forbidden areas or accidentally touching some formations.

Within the city, one can only travel on foot or by carriage. Carriages are divided into private and public ones. Outsiders unfamiliar with the city can hire a public carriage driver for a starting price of thirty star coins, and then add three star coins for each mile, eventually allowing them to travel throughout the entire city.

Even Liu Laolao, visiting the Grand View Garden, felt curious, shocked, and unfamiliar with everything in Tiandu. Therefore, this usually stingy owner of the park ultimately chose to "take a taxi" at the city gate and spent more than sixty star points to reach the Qionghua Pavilion in the bustling West Tower area.

As soon as he entered the brothel, the still-attractive madam came out to greet him: "Hehehe... Young man, the sun hasn't even set yet, and you've already come to support us?! You look like a robust and refined young master from a wealthy family...!"

"No one comes in the afternoon, but there are plenty of girls." The mischievous boy, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," immediately gave the madam a knowing, ambiguous look.

"Oh, hearing you say that, you're here to test me. I'm afraid ordinary girls wouldn't be able to serve you well...!" The madam showed an exaggerated expression of surprise, then shook her two large breasts violently and said seductively, "Young master, my Qionghua Pavilion has just received a few exotic fox maidens... and they're still the original kind, wouldn't you like to come in and have a look?"

"What's the price range?" Ren asked curiously, planning to find an opportunity to break up with his beloved for three hours before coming back to try it out.

"Five thousand star resources, you can enter the pavilion for a drink and a short chat for two hours," the madam quoted.

"What do you mean? Five thousand star sources can only be viewed and drunk, not handled?" Ren was very surprised.

"The fox spirit is a pure courtesan; unless she's willing... otherwise... she's indeed difficult to play with," the madam replied shyly.

Wow, that's too expensive! Five thousand Star Sources could turn a little songstress into noodles, so why bother spending money outside? Ren Ye immediately put on a serious face and said solemnly, "I'm here to see Young Master Long the Second."

"Huh?!" Upon hearing this, the madam's face immediately tightened, and she hurriedly said, "Oh dear, so you've come to see Young Master Long. Please come upstairs to the Jade Pavilion for a short while, and I'll send someone to inform him right away."

"Okay." Ren Ye nodded, following her upstairs as he tentatively asked, "Does Young Master Long come here often?"

“He comes more than often.” The madam smiled charmingly and said in a low voice, “The little jade pavilion upstairs is prepared for him. Sometimes he comes once a day, but sometimes he comes once in the morning, once at noon, and two or three times in the afternoon… In short, Young Master Long is in excellent health and is our most regular guest.”

"Holy crap, this Master of the Fulong Pavilion isn't exactly a decent person either." Ren was stunned: "He spends all his energy here."

He hadn't even met his new boss yet, but he already had a bad impression of him and felt that the person was somewhat unreliable.

Upon reaching the sixth floor, Ren Ye entered the Jade Pavilion, where he drank tea and waited.

Less than an hour later, light footsteps were heard outside the jade pavilion.

"Squeak."

The door opened, and a slender, tall man, dressed in a white satin robe with gold trim, holding a folding fan, wearing a jade crown, and with a green jade mask covering his face, stepped into the jade pavilion.

Ren was somewhat surprised to see that the other person's face was covered by a jade mask, so he simply stood up but did not speak.

The jade mask the man wore looked very thin, but it had a rich texture, and two lifelike flying dragons were engraved on its surface, with a faint blue light shimmering on it, making it very gorgeous.

"So you're the punching bag?" the man asked gently, looking Ren Ye up and down.

"Are you the Pavilion Master of Fulong Pavilion, Young Master Long?" Little Bad King also tried to ask.

"Yes, I am Long Er." The man played with a folding fan in his right hand, walked lightly to the square table, and with just a slight lift of his arm, the door outside closed by itself.

Holy crap, this Lord of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion is way too flamboyant! Not only is his clothing excessively luxurious, but he also has a jade dragon mask on his face. With that kind of appearance, he'd definitely turn heads wherever he goes.

But shouldn't those who do underground work be discreet and cautious? Is he afraid that others won't notice he's abnormal?