Chapter 1749: Xuanwu Avenue

Knock, knock, knock—

The night was deep when a series of knocks sounded at the gate of the auto repair shop.

Li Shangfeng, who had just returned home with Li Lanhua, felt a flash of confusion in his eyes as he looked toward the gate.

"Is that Boss Chen back?" Li Lanhua asked.

"Probably not, I gave him the key to the gate." Li Shangfeng shrugged. "It's probably someone else whose car broke down on the road... I'll go check."

"Then you go ahead, I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep... I have a midterm exam tomorrow."

Li Lanhua yawned lazily and walked toward the bathroom.

Li Shangfeng walked straight to the gate and opened it skillfully, only to see a young man with gray hair standing outside, wearing a retro shirt and silver-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking scholarly.

"You are..." Li Shangfeng felt this person looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Tai Shi Si, He Jing." The gray-haired youth smiled slightly. "Mr. Li, we met a few days ago."

"Oh, oh, oh, I remember now, you're the one by Lord Brand's side... It's so late, is something the matter?"

"Mr. Li, Lord Brand would like to see you."

"...Now?"

"That's right." He Jing nodded. "Mr. Li, don't worry, it's a great thing."

"Oh?"

Hearing the words "great thing," Li Shangfeng's eyes lit up immediately. Could it be that Tai Shi Si had another big job for him? The kind with a very generous reward?

"Then let's go."

Li Shangfeng was somewhat expectant as he followed He Jing into the night toward Tai Shi Si.

……

This wasn't Li Shangfeng's first time at Tai Shi Si.

But every time he stood on Xuanwu Avenue and saw the brightly lit vermilion palace walls standing in the night in the distance, he couldn't help but feel moved...

What kind of person could live in such a magnificent and solemn imperial palace?

The core of the Chengtian Domain was this Chengtian Imperial Palace. Centered on the palace, four main thoroughfares extended to the outer urban areas, like blood vessels connecting royal power to the masses, named after the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise (Xuanwu).

Each of these four main roads could accommodate eighteen carriages side-by-side, and the shops on both sides were extremely prosperous. The wealthiest and most powerful merchant guilds in the entire Chengtian Domain, and even the nobility, had a place here. Various gorgeous commercial districts were brightly lit, illuminating the entire street as if it were daytime.

Li Shangfeng's repair shop was, geographically speaking, on the edge of the Chengtian Domain. He had been to Xuanwu Avenue only a handful of times. He had heard that there was almost no night on this avenue; it was brilliant with flowing light all night long, and pedestrians were endless.

"Xuanwu Avenue, it really is a place of luxury and decadence..." Li Shangfeng couldn't help but sigh.

He Jing chuckled, speaking with deep meaning: "Mr. Li, there's no need to envy it. Perhaps before long, you will have a place here too."

Li Shangfeng was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Me? If I'm reborn into a good family in my next life, maybe I'll have a chance."

Li Shangfeng followed He Jing across Xuanwu Avenue, constantly approaching the vermilion palace walls that were filled with a sense of oppression... At the very front of Xuanwu Avenue, at the junction with the vermilion palace walls, a tall, mysterious black-purple building stood imposingly, like a terrifying giant beast guarding the dynasty.

The Chengtian Imperial Palace was the Emperor's residence, and all other administrative departments could only surround the palace walls. Although Tai Shi Si's status in the entire Chengtian Dynasty wasn't considered crucial, it wasn't low either, so it was located on Xuanwu Avenue. Whenever pedestrians passed by the gate of Tai Shi Si, they were always intimidated by the mysterious aura emanating from it, their heartbeats quickening involuntarily.

When Li Shangfeng stood in front of Tai Shi Si again, that feeling became even more intense... He frowned as he looked at the towering black-purple building, always feeling that it was staring at him like a predator, as if it would swallow him whole at any moment.

"Mr. Li, please." He Jing smiled and led the way for Li Shangfeng.

Li Shangfeng shook his head, cast the strange thoughts out of his mind, and followed He Jing inside.

He Jing didn't take Li Shangfeng through the main entrance but instead circled the perimeter vigilantly, and after confirming no one was watching, they entered quietly from the back.

Soon, Li Shangfeng met Lord Brand of Tai Shi Si. Although Li Shangfeng didn't understand the ins and outs of officialdom, he knew that there were only two people who truly ran Tai Shi Si... one was the Chief, Lord Chong, and the other was Brand, whom he had personally cultivated.

As soon as Brand saw Li Shangfeng, a faint smile hung on the corner of his mouth, and he got straight to the point:

"Mr. Li, Lord Chong has already seen your masterpiece... I'll be direct: Lord Chong and I appreciate you and intend to arrange for you to work under us. What do you think?"

Li Shangfeng was dumbfounded.

Before coming, he had thought of countless possibilities for the "great thing," but he never expected that they would want him to join Tai Shi Si directly?

He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Ever since His Majesty established Tai Shi Si, Tai Shi Si has been working wholeheartedly for the Chengtian Domain... The alchemical walls of the nine great prisons used to resist the waves of disaster, the domain trains shuttling between domains, and even the alchemical arrays on the walls of this Chengtian Imperial Palace—all of these were accumulated bit by bit by the painstaking efforts of generations of Chiefs."

"Tai Shi Si has spent over three hundred years forging the strongest fortress for the dynasty, and now, Lord Chong and I have a more grand, world-subverting plan... In this plan, your strength is indispensable."

Brand's rhetoric left Li Shangfeng somewhat confused. Although he could be a bit arrogant, he wasn't stupid. What kind of plan would require the strength of a low-tier Craft God Path user like him?

Moreover, that Emperor had long ago issued an edict that the Chengtian Dynasty's recruitment of talent must go through layers of screening; no matter how capable one was, one had to follow the process. How could one just walk in?

Furthermore, Tai Shi Si's meeting with him was chosen in the middle of the night, conducted sneakily... they didn't even use the main gate.

The words Brand just said seemed to emphasize Tai Shi Si's contribution to the dynasty, but in reality, every time he mentioned the plan and Li Shangfeng, he said "he and Lord Chong," not the Tai Shi Si of the Chengtian Dynasty.

A sense of vigilance rose in Li Shangfeng's heart immediately.

"What plan?" he asked tentatively.

"This, I cannot tell you yet." Brand shook his head. "When the time is ripe, you will naturally know..."

"Then what do I need to do?"

"What you need to do is very simple. Your current strength is not enough to meet our requirements... After you come in, just focus on raising your tier and don't make contact with the outside world casually." Brand said confidently,

"Of course, we won't treat you poorly. During this period, we will cover your food and living expenses and give you triple the salary every month... I believe you should be able to feel our sincerity."