Chapter 1074
Chapter 1074: Chapter 1074
Meanwhile, in the heart of Iron Dawn, a full day had now passed since Lin Xu left for the city lord’s estate.
Inside the quiet, incense-filled room on the fifth floor of the White Tiger Chamber of Commerce, Shun Long remained seated on that small, thick cushion, while the protective formations around the room hummed incessantly.
Since Lin Xu’s departure, red-robed attendants entered his room one after the other, making sure the azure-robed old man had everything he needed.
Every few hours, his door would open, and a new pair of attendants would come in, carrying trays filled with rare delicacies. From freshly cooked meat from rank 6 and rank 7 magic beasts, spirit herb wine that could rival that of high-level restaurants, and even rank 6 spiritual herbs that gold-rank alchemists would only use during their pill refinement, everything was prepared with utmost precision and attention to detail.
But the White Tiger chamber of commerce’s hospitality didn’t end there.
Last night, Shun Long even had to deal with a very pretty female cultivator at the peak of the Dao King stage, who visited his room at midnight and was there to ’keep him company’. Shun Long shooed her away without a second thought, even though the woman insisted she was there under orders of their branch manager to entertain their guest.
"Honored guest," she said gently with a small bow, "the branch manager instructed me to keep you company for the night. Should you require anything... I will gladly accom-"
"Leave."
Shun Long didn’t even let her finish.
His voice was calm and raspy beneath his aged facade, but his gaze was sharp enough to make the young woman stiffen. She blinked in surprise and tried again with a sweeter tone, but Shun Long raised his hand and waved her toward the exit without another word.
He wasn’t interested in that kind of entertainment.
Besides, even though the woman was objectively pretty, she could not match up to Liu Mei or Xingyi. And even if she could, it still wouldn’t be enough to change his mind.
The woman lingered a moment longer, biting her lip as though she wished to protest, but the old man’s indifferent gaze was enough to push her back. In the end, she bowed once more, far deeper this time, and left without another word.
Peace returned to the room shortly afterward, as Shun Long closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged while he waited for Lin Xu to return.
..
It didn’t take too long for the silver-robed manager to return.
On the eve of the second day, the door of the private room opened again, and a haggard Lin Xu stepped inside.
This time however, the powerful Sovereign seemed to have lost most of his poise and grace. His once-immaculate silver robes were now creased and dirty, while even his footsteps dragged across the sandalwood floor as though he were carrying a mountain on his shoulders.
If Shun Long didn’t know better, he would assume the branch manager in front of him was someone who had just gone through a horrible ordeal and had barely come out alive.
Lin Xu’s expression was complicated as he stepped into the room.
Finally, after a few moments of silence, the man recomposed himself and turned to the azure-robed elder, before he cupped his hands and said,
"Honored customer, I have completed your request... but I’m afraid the results may not satisfy you."
Lin Xu let out a long breath and took the seat opposite Shun Long, before he continued in a solemn voice,
"It looks like the master from the Immortal Dimension is investigating something peculiar that supposedly took place in our mortal world 10 years ago or so. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that thing is, and that senior refused to share any details either. He merely informed the city lord that he will be staying in Iron Dawn for a while... until he completes his investigation."
Shun Long tapped his wrinkled finger on the thick blackwood table as he considered what Lin Xu had just said.
"Ten years ago..."
There was no denying it anymore.
In reality, Shun Long already had a guess as to why those people from the Immortal Dimension had even descended into a mortal world like this one, he just didn’t want to entertain it — not because he was afraid, but because the possibility was too far-fetched to even consider it seriously.
But Lin Xu’s ’useless information’ all but confirmed it.
Ten years ago...
Either a supreme treasure had been born in this mortal world and was something so valuable to alert even an overlord from the Immortal Dimension...
Or-
His ’World Zero’ had been noticed by people who shouldn’t have noticed it.
A deep, unfathomable gleam flashed in Shun Long’s golden eyes when he came to that conclusion, but it disappeared just as quickly, swallowed by calm indifference.
As Shun Long fell deep into thought, Lin Xu seemed to have completely misread his expression.
Seeing the elder’s unmoving posture and unreadable gaze, the silver-robed manager could only assume that the azure-robed elder in front of him was left unsatisfied with the information he managed to obtain.
In the end, Lin Xu lowered his head slightly, a faint look of apology flickering in his eyes as he said,
"Unfortunately... that is all I know, honored customer. Even with the network of our White Tiger chamber of commerce, it is very unlikely we will unravel that person’s goals anytime soon."
Lin Xu cupped his hands once more and rose to his feet, bowing deeply before turning toward the door.
"If there is anything else our chamber can assist you with, please inform us. Otherwise... I wish honored customer a pleasant stay."
With those final words, Lin Xu stepped out of the private room and gently closed the door behind him.
But Shun Long didn’t even glance in his direction.He paid no attention to the man’s consoling tone, or his hushed steps that slowly faded away.
His mind was elsewhere.
Far elsewhere.
The faint tapping of his finger had already ceased as the private room grew still once more.Even the incense smoke seemed to move slower.
For a long moment, Shun Long simply sat there, his expression unreadable.
In the end, he shook his head and slowly stood up, putting the matter of the Immortal Dimension cultivators aside for now.
Even if those people were looking for him, so what? The entire Tianxuan dynasty, no, most likely the entire central continent was looking for him right now, including some of those old freaks at the Earth Immortal realm. Even if a few Sovereigns from the Immortal Dimension were added to the mix, so what? It didn’t make any difference.
The incense drifted lazily through the room, casting faint ripples across the protective formations on the walls as Shun Long came to that conclusion.
In the end, he simply shook his head and grinned, his old wrinkled face cracking a rare smile.
It was just a shame that Little Black was asleep right now, still absorbing that giant piece of the ’Sun-blessed spiritual rock’ he’d obtained from the Heavenly Tower. But by the time he woke up, Shun Long was confident the black dragon would be able to blow away every single Sovereign in the central continent.
Without any hesitation, he pushed open the door of the private room and stepped into the long corridor of the fifth floor. The red-robed attendants in front of each room stiffened the moment they saw him, their backs straightening before cupping their hands in salute.
Moments later, he was back at the entrance of the towering white building.
As soon as he stepped out, the bustling noise of Iron Dawn washed over him once more, and for a moment, he just stood there, taking everything in.
It was time to return to Amber Dawn.
As for his commissioning of Lin Xu... Shun Long wasn’t really worried that his request would raise any alarming bells among the higher echelons of Iron Dawn or the cultivators from the Immortal Dimension.
After all, there were countless cultivators throughout the continent that were curious about the appearance of those Sovereigns who were wreaking havoc everywhere and were even clashing with some of the first-rate powers of the continent.
One more person asking questions wouldn’t attract any particular attention.
Having already come to this conclusion, Shun Long turned to the air in front of him and raised his right hand.
A moment later, he swept it through the air in a clean, practiced motion.
*Crack!*
A thin, almost invisible black line tore open in front of him, splitting the space like a piece of cosmic silk.
Several cultivators passing by stiffened when they saw that, their eyes widening in surprise.
They just watched as the unassuming old man stepped into the spatial rift, and a heartbeat later, the tear sealed shut behind him.
The bustling noise of Iron Dawn continued as if nothing had happened.The marble steps remained empty.
And the azure-robed elder vanished from Iron Dawn as though he had never set foot in the city.