Chapter 1040 1040 Zeal

Shun Long had originally planned to turn the empty courtyard behind the shop into a small house and reinforce it with a few protective formations that would enhance the qi in the area. Whether that was for his own cultivation or for Fu Li and Lan Jinjing to have a place to rest comfortably, it had to be done.

Still, despite having all the necessary materials at hand, he had to admit that building houses wasn't his forte. There were others far more qualified than him to do this in Amber Dawn. That was why he asked Fu Li to hire someone from the 'White Tiger chamber of commerce' for the task.

But considering it would take at least a couple of days before that was completed, he gave up on attempting his breakthrough inside the city and headed for the southern entrance of Amber Dawn.

The southern part of the city was where most of the inns were located, but that wasn't where he was headed this time.

He had long since heard that the city's southern borders neighbored a vast mountain range, so he was planning to take a look there first.

Liu Mei and the others would take at least a month to complete their missions and come back, so that should be more than enough time to reach the peak of the Dao King realm with all the resources he had amassed inside the 'Stone of Time'.

Even so, it took nearly two hours to reach the southern city gates and have a look at the guards who were heavily inspecting everything that went in and out of Amber Dawn. Even those who lived there and had their own permits didn't get a pass.

It was clear that the Amber Dawn Sovereign was doing everything he could to limit the freedom the two assassin guilds had inside his turf.

Still, Shun Long simply nodded and joined the queue with a dozen more cultivators in front of him, as he waited for the inspection to come to an end.

Of course, the thought of simply teleporting out of the city was the first thing that crossed his mind, but he was surprised to find out that he couldn't do that in this place. Putting aside how it was impossible to even use his 'blink' inside the city, even opening space tears was nearly impossible... or at the very least, much harder than it was in the outside world.

The space inside the city felt unstable, as if it could collapse at any moment, and even the energy required to manipulate it was several times harder than before. Shun Long could probably force it if he really wanted to, but he was sure that the city guard would be alerted the moment he did so.

It was obvious that Amber Dawn had more than a few anti-teleportation formations installed throughout the city, specifically to counter anyone who wanted to bypass the inspection of the city guard.

''Next!'' The armored guard shouted in a monotonous tone, his indifferent gaze finally falling on Shun Long.

''State your name and the reason you are leaving, as well as how long you plan on staying out, if possible.'' The middle-aged man repeated the line he had already said numerous times before, as he took out a small recording jade and captured the face of the old man in front of him.

Shun Long glanced at the middle-aged man who was covered from head to toe in peak gold-grade weapons and armor before he nodded and answered with a smile

''My name is Han Long. I heard there's a mountain range not far from here, so I'm planning to take a look there. Who knows, if I'm lucky, I may even find a couple of rare herbs while I'm at it. It shouldn't take me more than a month to come back, too.''

The man raised his head and glanced at Shun Long with a curious look, when something inside him seemed to click. His expression changed, and as he deactivated the image recording jade in his hands, he continued with wide eyes

''Han Long? Senior, are you perhaps the owner of that new pill shop?'' The guard's voice had turned noticeably more excited as he asked that question, his eyes now staring at the azure-robed old man while completely ignoring the dozen more people behind him who were also waiting to be inspected.

Shun Long was a bit taken aback by the man's fervor, but upon second thought, he realized he should have expected this. Virtually every Dao King and Dao Emperor should have already heard the news of his shop and would probably be planning to visit in the upcoming days, so the name Han Long would naturally be making rounds in Amber Dawn as well.

The guard was definitely among those people too, so his reaction was only natural. Shun Long could tell that his cultivation base was at the late stages of the Dao King realm, and even if it wasn't at the peak of rank 9, it wasn't that far off either. Unfortunately, the guard's armor seemed to conceal his aura to a certain degree, so it wasn't possible to pinpoint exactly how strong the man was.

Regardless, Shun Long nodded and the man's expression turned another notch more excited as he continued

''Ah, senior Han, forgive me for not recognizing you! I haven't had a chance to pay a visit to your shop yet, so I've never seen your face before. But now that I do, I can tell: You truly look wise! No wonder you're a star-rank alchemist!

Ah, you said you are planning to go to the Scaled Mountains? You know, my brother-in-law visits that place often. Would you like me to go and call him? I'm sure he would be more than happy to act as your guide! No, in fact, I should come with you too. That place is dangerous! You never know when a magic beast will attack you from some godforsaken hole!''

The guard continued, his voice getting progressively more excited as he spoke. He looked like he would abandon his post at a moment's notice as soon as he was given the word by the azure-robed old man.

Shun Long had to admit, he hadn't expected this level of zeal, either. It had been a while since he last met someone who flattered him so shamelessly.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to take anyone with him this time around, so despite the guard's disappointed look that bordered the face of a devoted zealot, he had to decline the man's offer.

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Author's note: I didn't edit this chapter as much so there may be a few repetitions that would otherwise not be present. I was planning to spend more time editing it, but I know you guys have been asking for more chapters and I can't take too long. I'm trying to find a good balance between quality of chapters and speed of daily releases, but I can probably increase the pace if this chapter was good.

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