Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 473 Entering the Palace
The next morning, Xiao Ran finally saw off Taoist Wuye.

The second in command looked at the Taoist Wuye swinging his tattered robe, turned around and asked Xiao Ran: "Today is the day of the second review, should we go to Yanzheng Gate today?"

It is now the fifth day of the sword review. All the swords that need to be reviewed have been reviewed. Today we are preparing to start the second round of sword reviews, which is also the day to determine the results of the sword reviews.

The most important thing is to be able to meet the emperor. This time the emperor will come in person to serve as the judge.

This is also the reason why Taoist Wuye said goodbye in a hurry before dawn.

"Well, get ready."

Xiao Ran nodded, and then came to the small courtyard where Gao Yuting was in seclusion.

Although there was a heavy snow a few days ago, the sun has been out in the past few days. The snow in other places has melted long ago, but the snow here still retains its original appearance, and as long as you get close to it, you will feel freezing cold.

Xiao Ran pushed open the gate, glanced at the closed door, and then looked at the huge snowman in the yard. He saw that the snowman was more than two meters tall and stood in the yard like a small mountain.

When Xiao Ran walked up to it, he saw a small crack on the snowman's abdomen and a thick tentacle sticking out from it.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran took out a piece of meat from the space and threw it over. The tentacles rolled up the meat and then retracted it into the body. Soon, the sound of swallowing and biting could be heard from inside.

"Haven't you been able to break through yet?"

Xiao Ran turned his head to look at the house in front of him, wondering whether he should continue waiting.

In fact, Xiao Ran doesn’t care whether there is a sword review or not. So what if he is the best in the world? After leaving this maze city, can he go out and shout, “I am the best in the world?”

If you meet a big guy, he can beat the shit out of you.

But if he missed the sword review this time, his next task would be difficult to complete. After all, this was the only chance to get close to the emperor smoothly.

Yesterday, he discussed with the old Taoist priest all night.

According to the emperor's intention, those who passed the second evaluation can enter the Hanyuan Hall in the imperial palace to participate in the second evaluation this time.

The old Taoist said it very clearly, the imperial palace is a place where all gods avoid, it suppresses all things and all laws, and anyone who enters there will be suppressed.

In order to ensure the smooth convening of this sword review, the emperor specially ordered the talisman to be covered up.

Without the suppression of the talisman, it would be a good opportunity to kill the emperor.

Of course, the old Taoist priest will also be there to help.

So if Xiao Ran really can't wait for Gao Yuting to come out, he will have to do it himself.

Xiao Ran stood in front of the door and waited for a long time, until it was almost noon. After confirming that Gao Yuting showed no signs of coming out, he left the butcher to guard the door and asked the second in command to guard here, and then went to the palace with Li Jie.

This time, we will not go through Yanzheng Gate, but enter from the nearby Wangxian Gate.

Although this gate is only separated from Yeongjeong Gate by a wall, the entrance to Yeongjeong Gate is the East Inner Courtyard, which is similar to the royal garden.

Entering through Wangxian Gate is the real Daming Palace.

This time, Li Jie could not take a carriage directly into the palace. When he arrived at the palace gate, he still had to get off the carriage and walk into the Daming Palace like most people.

As soon as Xiao Ran got out of the car, many people's eyes were on him.

"It's him! He is Group C No. 36!"

"Oh, the one who defeated Gu Xintang looks quite young, and he is a genius."

There are people who praise it, and naturally there are also people who despise it.

"What genius? It's just that Gu Xintang is too lazy to argue with him. Gu Xintang is not willing to fight for the title of 36th in Group C."

"That's right. This person is clearly strong enough to be in the first tier, but he pretends to be a rookie. He deserves death."

Xiao Ran could clearly hear the praises and curses from the crowd, but the person they were cursing was Xiao Xingbang, so what did it have to do with him?

The moment Xiao Ran followed Li Jie into the palace gate, he felt a special force passing by him.

It’s hard to describe what the feeling is, but Xiao Ran noticed that many sculptures in the palace were wrapped in red cloth.

"One, two, three..."

When Xiao Ran glanced over, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

My goodness, it’s just a palace gate, but there are six or seven talismans on it. No wonder even Frost Fei couldn’t kill the dog emperor back then.

Keep walking forward and you will reach Hanyuan Square through the side door.

Directly in front is the Hanyuan Hall.

Xiao Ran raised his head and looked over, a faint light flashing in his eyes, but he couldn't see anything unusual.

However, some people in Hanyuan Square have already started the second review.

There is no need for any arena this time.

The huge square was divided into two sections, with specially built auditoriums on both sides. Of course, most people could only stand below the auditoriums to watch.

Because those sitting up there were not only court officials, but also royal relatives, princes and nobles. Xiao Ran glanced around and actually saw the old man of the Zou family and others sitting up there.

In comparison, those Jianghu grasshoppers, even masters like Qiu Shaoling, can only stand below. This inevitably makes people feel the court's deep contempt for these Jianghu people.

In front of the court, what are the Jianghu people? They are just a group of unruly people who break the law with force. Those with some status are just bodyguards who guard the house. Those without status will definitely not be wrongly arrested now.

Only the emperor is so absurd that he attaches so much importance to sword reviews. Otherwise, if it were the emperors like Emperor Taizong in the past, what kind of grasshopper would be qualified to come to my Hanyuan Hall to do sword reviews? The government would have given them to you long ago.

But even so, many people in the martial arts world could not hide their excitement on their faces.

This is the imperial palace, and the old emperor is sitting in the hall in front.

No matter what the second review is, I've made a profit this time.

"You go ahead. I'll go into the temple and wait."

Li Jie pointed in a direction to Xiao Ran, indicating that he should just stand with those gangsters. As the emperor's brother, no matter what the reason was, he had to kowtow to the emperor first upon entering the palace. This was the rule.

"it is good."

Xiao Ran nodded and separated from Li Jie, then came among the crowd.

After seeing Xiao Ran, many people tacitly made way for him.

Xiao Ran is very famous now, but good reputation also comes with bad reputation. People in the world can’t figure out his background, so it’s better to stay away from him.

When Xiao Ran looked up, he saw Taoist Wuye sitting on the chair in front. There was also a man sitting next to him. He was wearing armor, had a handsome appearance and a serious expression. He should be the other judge, Chu Tianming.

There is an empty chair in the middle. It was originally the seat of the great Zen Master Lingfa, but now it can only be left empty. As for the emperor, he must be sitting in the Hanyuan Hall and watching, and will only appear when the top three in Group A are announced.

"Zhang Bing, Group C, eighty-seven!"

At this time, someone walked down from the ring. This person was previously in Group D, but now was changed to Group C. The smile on his face was as bright as a flower.

After this person stepped down from the stage, another official came forward and handed him a scroll written in light gold, as well as some silver.

This made this person very happy.

"What is this?"

Someone was watching from afar, and when he saw what was happening, he asked the person in front of him.

"Oh, I heard that after participating in the second evaluation, the court will personally issue a letter of accreditation with the court's seal on it. You are a master certified by the court, and it is said that you can get a lot of silver depending on your ranking."

“There is such a good thing?”

When some people heard this, they were immediately overjoyed. This proclamation issued by the imperial court itself was much better than just bragging about it.

Someone thought about it and laughed: "Hehe, it is said that those who passed the imperial examination are all disciples of the emperor. Although we did not pass the imperial examination, if we count it this way, we are also disciples of the emperor."

"Yes."

Everyone thought about it and realized that this was the truth. When the time comes, the emperor will personally select the top three sword candidates, and that will be just like the imperial examination, and will be enough to bring honor to the family.

Xiao Ran stood in the crowd and listened. He curled his lips when he heard the words and thought to himself, "What a bunch of idiots! A piece of torn paper will become your invisible chain. Then I will recruit you and change you into a dog skin. At most, you will be a group of bad people."

There are many people who share the same idea as Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran heard someone in the crowd say in jargon: "Humph, by then we'll all become Eagle Claws, and we won't be shoulder to shoulder anymore."

This was a reminder, but apparently few people listened.

However, not everyone can successfully raise their rank in the second review. After someone was ranked higher, not only did their rank not improve, but it dropped a lot.

After all, everyone was reserved during the first review, and although the judges were all experts in their fields, their levels were limited.

For example, some people’s swordsmanship looks really cool and they can get good reviews in the first review. But when it comes to the second review, the judges are masters like Wuye Taoist and Chu Tianming, who can tell at a glance that the person is just a useless person and directly kick his name out.

Therefore, if you don’t have real skills, it is not a good idea to participate in the second review.

However, many people still feel unwilling to not participate in the second review and to lack the appointment letter with the imperial seal. No matter how lively the sword reviews were in the past, they were, after all, the wild ways of the martial arts world. Now that the imperial court has issued the appointment letter, it is different.

With official endorsement, the value can be said to have skyrocketed.

Xiao Ran was looking at the arena, but he was thinking about something else.

"I've been waiting at home for two days, but that bastard Huang Chao hasn't shown up yet. Could this guy be planning to take action in the palace?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran looked around.

But there was no sign of Huang Chao.

"Could it be that he plans to wait until the sword review is over before taking action?"

Just when Xiao Ran was suspicious, he turned his eyes and suddenly noticed a person. He was stunned: "Why is he here too?"

I saw a figure standing in the crowd, it was none other than Shen Xuanjun. When Xiao Ran looked at him, Shen Xuanjun also looked at Xiao Ran.

Just a glance between the two of them, Xiao Ran saw that Shen Xuanjun's face had changed, and that face was actually turning into Wu Man's face little by little.

(End of this chapter)