"I see you kid, the way you are now, you must have come from another city to our Tongguan City, right?"
"We've investigated you for a month and found that you're not a native resident of Tongguan City at all. If that's the case, then the crime of injuring the Silver Armored Guard is not as serious as we thought."
"However, you were too reckless. You dared to appear in the recruitment area of the West City without even asking about the rules."
"It's good that way, it's both a blessing and a curse. After all, by causing such a disturbance in the recruitment area, you've caught the attention of the young lady."
...
Two Golden Armored cultivators in the early Nascent Soul stage, one of whom resembled a middle-aged man, finally spoke. His tone seemed to be quite appreciative of Wu Tao's actions.
"Senior, what do you mean? I don't understand," Wu Tao, startled by the other party's immediate recognition of his outsider status, subtly shifted the Chuxi Sword.
After hearing the subsequent words, his expression eased, but even so, he didn't let down his guard in the slightest.
...
"What do I mean? You spent a month in prison, didn't you ask your cellmates anything?"
The Golden Armored cultivator who resembled a middle-aged man twitched the corner of his mouth and said faintly.
"Senior, I still don't understand," Wu Tao sounded confused, a hint of surprise on his face.
...
"Kid, consider yourself lucky. The young lady personally vouched for you and recommended you to join the Silver Armored Guard system. You should just be happy about it."
"Why ask so many questions, what's there to inquire about?"
The other, younger Golden Armored cultivator replied impatiently.
Wu Tao's expression changed again upon hearing this.
He pondered for a moment, then looked up at the prison behind them, and then at the beast carriage beside the two men.
His entire body flickered, and he was instantly inside the beast carriage.
The two Golden Armored cultivators in the early Nascent Soul stage exchanged glances, smiled, and showed no surprise at this.
Anyone who had stayed in the Yougang Prison for three days would have their arrogance worn down.
Then, when faced with a choice between survival and death, everyone would choose the former, barring any exceptions.
...
Once inside the beast carriage, Wu Tao discovered that it was inscribed with formation arrays and restrictive script.
After the two Golden Armored cultivators in the early Nascent Soul stage boarded the carriage, they activated the formation arrays and restrictions.
This beast carriage, entirely made of exquisite jade, instantly transformed into a gust of wind and vanished from its spot.
In fact, before this, there were other people waiting outside the prison.
However, upon seeing the beast carriage with its uniquely carved patterns, they all retreated far away.
Only after the beast carriage disappeared did they emerge from the dark, secluded corners.
They all sighed in unison, exchanged glances, and saw a trace of relief on each other's faces.
"Brother Chen, it seems the Golden Armored Guards are not as terrifying as rumored. Is the rumor mistaken?"
A woman dressed in a blue skirt hesitated for a moment before asking. She was the highest-level and most esteemed cultivator among them, at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
"What do you know? Around Tongguan City, the Golden Armored Guards wearing golden armor are all high-level existences at the Nascent Soul stage and above. Each of them possesses the right to freely traverse various regions without restriction."
"Not only that, these Golden Armored Guards also have the right to openly kill any cultivator who poses a potential threat to Tongguan City."
...
"Their authority is so great, how can it be imagined by cultivators like us? If an alien army attacks the city, we would also have to obey the command of the Golden Armored Guards in name," the middle-aged man in the yellow robe, who was surrounded by the others, hesitated before revealing some of the secret information he knew.
"Is the authority of these Golden Armored Guards really that great?"
"So, if we happen to displease them, they can kill us right on the street?"
The woman in the blue skirt, at the early Foundation Establishment stage, heard this and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. After a while, she asked.
"What do you think? Those are Nascent Soul cultivators. To them, we Foundation Establishment cultivators are just slightly larger ants!"
Upon hearing their conversation, the several Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby, although they knew some things about the Golden Armored Guards, did not know as much detail as the man in the yellow robe. Their faces turned pale.
...
In Tongguan City, although the number of cultivators reached a million, which was a considerable amount.
However, let alone Nascent Soul cultivators, even cultivators at the Core Formation stage were very few, only a few hundred.
After all, the path of cultivation and seeking the Dao is extremely difficult.
Coupled with the limitations of aptitude and resources, the vast majority of cultivators, right at the beginning, had to fail miserably and could never advance further, remaining stuck in the Qi Refining stage.
As for those lucky individuals with excellent aptitude, without great perseverance, great wisdom, and great luck, it was impossible to reach the Core Formation or Nascent Soul stages.
However, in the cultivation world, power and status are closely related to the level of one's cultivation. Although those with profound cultivation do not necessarily become the rulers of a faction.
However, to occupy high positions and become part of the upper echelon, one must have profound cultivation.
Currently, the five most powerful and authoritative individuals in Tongguan City are City Lord Xie and the four Deputy City Lords.
The Lu family of Lv Liang, the Deng family of Deng Yiping, the Jiang family of Jiang Xinglai, and the Lu family of Lu Liang.
The Supreme Elders of other Nascent Soul stage cultivators were considered somewhat inferior, as they were all in the early Nascent Soul stage. Therefore, their power and status were inferior to the other five main and deputy city lords.
The high-ranking officials of the eighteen departments under the Tongguan City Lord's Mansion – the Strategic Department, the Supervisory Department, the Political Affairs Department, the Logistics Department, the Military Department, the Internal Affairs Department, the Personnel Department, the Garrison Department, the Intelligence Department, the Assassination Department, the Judicial Department, the Rites Department, the Works Department, the Rewards and Punishments Department, the Security Department, the Deliberation Department, the City Defense Department, and the Earthly Division Department – are all ministers of these departments.
As for the commanders and captains below, most of them were cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above. Although the power and resources they controlled were much less than those of Nascent Soul cultivators, they were still much stronger than Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators.
And Foundation Establishment cultivators, although their status was slightly lower, could still be minor officials, team leaders, or managers.
As for Qi Refining cultivators, there was nothing to think about; they were destined to be common soldiers.
...
At this moment, the beast carriage Wu Tao was riding in had already arrived at the cultivator military camp of Tongguan City.
And at the base of the imposing military camp walls, more than ten feet high, stood twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators on guard, all wearing silver armor.
...
The style of these silver armors was identical to the one worn by the Foundation Establishment cultivator whose arm Wu Tao had severed with a sword.
The moment the beast carriage appeared, these twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators in silver armor immediately looked over with vigilance.
However, when they saw the two Golden Armored Guards, Nascent Soul cultivators, alighting from the carriage, their expressions relaxed.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak of the late stage, who was the leader among the twenty, strode forward.
He respectfully bowed to the two Golden Armored cultivators and said, "Greetings, two Golden Armored Guard sirs!"
Wu Tao's gaze swept over them, and his eyes moved.
These twenty individuals were all cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above; ten were at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and ten were at the middle Foundation Establishment stage.
"Rise. Huang Zhijie, this fellow is newly recruited. I recall your guard team seemed to be short of a Silver Armored Guard, right?"
"Heh heh, perhaps he will be assigned to your guard team and become one of you."
"First, find him an unoccupied military room to stay in and rest well for the night. After we complete our mission with the young lady, we will need to see him again."
The older Golden Armored cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage instructed faintly.
"Yes!"
This burly man had already noticed Wu Tao.
Now, upon hearing this, the leader, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, showed no other expression apart from a hint of surprise.
...
"You'll rest here with them for one night. Your identity as a Silver Armored Guard will be arranged for you tomorrow."
The younger Golden Armored cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage said this to Wu Tao.
Wu Tao nodded, showing no objection.
The leader, named Huang Yingjie, led the way, with Wu Tao following behind.
Wu Tao glanced back and saw that the other nineteen Silver Armored Guards were still diligently guarding the front of the military camp.
It seemed this military camp was indeed a vital area of Tongguan City.
It required twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators to be on guard here at all times.
The military camp was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Wu Tao had no idea how large it truly was.
Huang Yingjie led Wu Tao through a series of turns, taking a long detour without reaching their destination.
Wu Tao, following closely behind, frowned deeper and deeper.
Fortunately, after a while, other cultivators walked past them from time to time. Most of them were Qi Refining cultivators in green armor, but they also encountered three or four cultivators wearing white armor.
These white-armored cultivators all possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation, clearly these were the so-called Silver Armored Guards.
Upon seeing an outsider like Wu Tao, these cultivators showed no curiosity, as if it were commonplace.
Furthermore, these cultivators moved with haste, appearing disciplined and more like soldiers than cultivators.
Seeing this, Wu Tao fell into deep thought, as if pondering a certain question.
After walking for another two hours, Wu Tao's vision suddenly brightened. Before him appeared a vast square, nearly ten thousand feet across.
Within this massive square, over a thousand cultivators were engaged in their respective tasks.
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