Chapter 631 - 631: The Screen City
"So tell me, who are you? Are you a bandit?" Long Chen asked the man without removing his feet from the man.
" I'm not a bandit! I'm a Cultivator from the Light Speed Sect!" The man told Long Chen as tears kept falling from his eyes.
"Light Speed Sect? Is your sect nearby?" Long Chen asked another question.
" No! Our Light Speed Sect is not nearby. It is on the other end of the continent," the man told Long Chen.
"It's on the other end of the continent? Why are you here, then? You shouldn't even be here, let alone chasing me!" Long Chen told the man as he suspiciously looked at the man.
"It's the rule of this continent. Every major sect sends their outer disciple with a few outer sect Elders to guard the entrance of the continent. Our Light Speed Sect is one of the belt Major Sects too. That's why a small team of our sect is here along with teams from other sects. We were guarding our area when our Commander told us about an intruder entering our continent. We were told to find out and capture you!" The man explained to Long Chen as his face was covered in pain.
"Oh, so I was right. You were indeed following after me. People actually found out that I had managed to infiltrate this place. The question is, how. How did they find out that I had infiltrated, and how are they able to track me? Tell me the answers to these questions, and you'll be one step closer to getting free," Long Chen told the man as he smiled casually. Even though he was smiling, it made the man even more scared.
"It's because of the Alerting Formation. It alerts people whenever a person steps on the continent without proper registration. That thing is just like a warning system in case anyone manages to pass through the entrance without registration," The man told Long Chen.
" I understand how you found out about me breaking in, but what I don't understand is how you tracked me so fast. Even after knowing my General location, depending on where I entered the continent, it still shouldn't be so simple as to track me so fast. What method did you use?" Long Chen asked the man.
" That... That was luck. We were trying to find you, and coincidentally we found you on our first try. That was all," The man told Long Chen in full seriousness as he tried to bear the pain.
"Ah, so it was a coincidence. I thought so. You were indeed lucky to get to me on your first try," Long Chen muttered as he removed his foot from the man's body and turned back to leave.
The man sighed in relief as he saw Long Chen turn back, but he tensed up again as he saw Long Chen looking back at him.
"Oh, right. There was something that I needed to tell you," Long Chen muttered as he looked at the man.
The Spirit Sword was flying around the body of the man like a Vulture.
"You, you promised that you wouldn't hurt me if I answer you! You can't kill me!" The man told Long Chen as he saw Long Chen looking at him.
As he saw Long Chen turn back, he had realized that Long Chen was probably going to kill him and not let him go free.
"Nah, I just forgot to ask something. If you can answer this honestly, I'll leave," Long Chen said to the man.
"A-alright. What is the question?" The man asked Long Chen.
"The question is, Did you really think that I would believe that lie of yours?" Long Chen asked the man as he smiled.
The man's expression changed as his face turned white. He opened his mouth to say something, but that's when Long Chen's Spirit Sword plunged down and stabbed the chest of the man.
The sword stabbed the chest of the man but missed his vitals.
"Let's try once again. This time, I won't miss," Long Chen muttered as he grinned.
The Spirit Sword flew out again, and just as it was about to fall again, the man screamed, "Wait! I'll tell you!"
The Spirit Sword stopped just a free inches away from the man's heart. If he were a single moment late, the sword would have stabbed his heart.
"Tell me then. If you're late and I lose my patience, the sword will fall down," Long Chen said as he stared into the eyes of the man.
"It's a mark! The formation not only alerts us, but it has a different functions too. It leaves a tracking Mark on your shoes when you land on the ground. We weren't tracking you, but we were tracking that mark with a compass," The man said.
"Oh? Interesting. Such a simple trick yet so troublesome," Long Chen muttered as he smiled.
"Give me that compass," Long Chen told the man.
"I-it's in my storage ring. You can take anything you want from the ring. Just don't kill me," The man told Long Chen.
Long Chen looked around to find the hand of the man that he had cut apart. After going through the bodies for a few minutes, he found the hand of the man. Long Chen took the ring from the man's hand and started looking inside. He soon found a silver compass.
Long Chen kept the ring and took the compass to the man. Is this the compass you were talking about?" Long Chen asked the man.
"Yes. This is it," The man replied.
"Am I out of the formation, or will it leave a mark on me again after I take the shoes off?" Long Chen asked the man.
"You are out of its range. It can't leave a mark on you anymore," The man told Long Chen.
Long Chen looked at the man and used his Divine Sense to check if the man was lying again, but it seemed like the truth.
"That's good," Long Chen said as he took off both of his shoes and threw it away. He checked on the compass, and he was right. The compass was actually pointing towards the shoes.
"That's better. I can leave freely now," Long Chen muttered as he got a different pair of shoes out of his storage ring and wore them.
" Alright. Now that we're fine with this whole tracking, you're coming with me. I am new to this place, and I still need a lot of information here. You'll be answering a few more of my questions. I'll drop you when we reach the closest city," he said as he caught the man.
Long Chen stepped on his Spirit Sword and started flying away.
"Tell me about the next city," Long Chen asked the man as he continued flying. He didn't even ask the direction since he was following the talisman he had given to Ji Shan. It surprised the man how Long Chen was going in the right direction without him saying anything.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Tell me about the next city," Long Chen asked again.
"This is right. You can reach the next city after two days of travel at this speed. It is called the Screen City. It is not a major city, and no Empire or Kingdom controls it. Instead, this is an independent city that operates separately. All the nearby kingdoms have established their branches here, which they use to screen candidates that arrive from the outside. If they select a person, that guy or girl receives a move position in the Kingdom, and they become famous overnight," The man explained to Long Chen.
"A place where people are selected to high positions in the kingdom. Is this the first place where the people from other continents come to after arriving here?" Long Chen asked the man.
"Yes. It's the first city and the closest one to the entrance," The man told Long Chen.
"Doesn't this mean that your teammates and other Guard would be staying here too?" Long Chen asked with a curious look on his face.
"No. The guards have their base near the entrance. We only come to the city to get some supplies," The man replied as he shook his head.
" Tell me about this registration. Is this thing troubling? Is it checked in every city? And if it is, how can I get it now?" Long Chen inquired.
"The Pass is important if you want to work for the Kingdoms. It has many more uses too, but no one will check your pass unless they suspect you of a crime," the man told Long Chen.
" Meh, I can already see myself being suspected. Tell me a way to get a pass," Long Chen asked the man.
The man sighed as he shook his head.
"There is no way to get the pass now. You'll be killed if they find out that you have a pass," The man said to Long Chen.