In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

The next day at dawn, before full light had fully broken through the cracks in the dilapidated roofs of the temporary housing area, casting dappled patterns on the ground. Two clerks dressed in the standard blue robes of the Household Registration Office entered this lifeless area precisely on time. The bronze badges hanging from their waists gleamed coldly in the morning light. Their expressions were indifferent; they didn't even glance at the refugees huddled in the corners around them, and headed straight for the location of Lin Qiye's family.

The head clerk glanced at the temporary residence permit, then looked up at the large group of women and children behind Lin Qiye. His lips twitched almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing, simply stating in a businesslike tone, "Follow him."

Lin Qiye and his family followed them through the maze-like, narrow, and damp alleyways of the temporary settlement. The road was uneven and full of potholes, stained with the sewage left over from the previous night. Occasionally, coughs and the cries of babies could be heard from the simple shacks on either side. Manji walked behind him, carrying Xiaomanniu, who looked around curiously, only to be pulled back into Manji's arms.

After turning the last alleyway, the view suddenly opened up before me.

They finally stepped into the true "outer city" area of ​​the holy city.

In stark contrast to the cramped temporary quarters, the streets of the outer city were wide enough for three carriages to travel side by side. The cobblestone pavement, polished smooth by time, lined both sides with shops whose signs and banners fluttered in the wind. The clanging of blacksmiths echoed from their shops, the rhythmic cadence of storytellers resonated from teahouses, and waiters at the entrance of taverns wiped the doors with greasy cloths. The air was thick with the aromas of food, the bitterness of herbs, and a faint, sulfurous fumes from forging. The streets teemed with pedestrians, monks in various attire moving about, some hurrying, others pausing to chat. Occasionally, patrols of uniformed guards would pass by, their boots clicking on the cobblestones, their eyes sharp as hawks, scanning every corner.

Luo Sheng took a soft breath. It had been a long time since she'd seen such a bustling scene since leaving the Canggu Mountains. Shuang'er was even more overwhelmed, her little hands tightly gripping her mother's clothes, her eyes constantly darting between the sugar figurine stalls and doll shops along the street.

The Household Registration Office was located in the southeastern part of the outer city. It was a large, three-story building constructed of gray-white boulders. Two stone-carved mythical beasts squatted on either side of the entrance, their faces ferocious, holding copper rings representing order and law in their mouths. Eight armored guards stood on either side, holding long halberds, motionless, their eyes fixed on everyone who approached.

Upon entering, a whiff of aged ink, damp paper, and a faint scent of energy incense wafted through the air. The hall, nearly three zhang high, was adorned with several illuminating jade talismans that cast a soft, milky-white glow. The hall was quite crowded, with several queues—some ragged and fearful, clearly newly arrived refugees; others neatly dressed and accompanied by attendants, presumably members of a merchant guild or family seeking trade permits; and a few somber-faced customers, likely there to appeal disputes. The low murmur of conversation, the clinking of jade slips, and the impatient shouts of officials mingled together, filling the hall with a stifling, oppressive atmosphere.

The official in blue robes did not make them queue, but instead led Lin Qiye and his group directly to a separate inspection room in a side hall. The words "Special Inspection" were engraved on the lintel, and there were several fine rune patterns on the edge of the door frame, indicating that a soundproof barrier was in place.

The interior furnishings were simple and cold. A long table, several hardwood chairs, and a "Mirror of Truth" embedded in the wall, slightly smaller than the one at the city gate but with more intricate runes. The runes along the edge of the mirror were more complex than those on the city gate, faintly gleaming with a silvery light. Behind the table sat a stern-faced middle-aged official, with high cheekbones and two deep vertical lines between his brows—clearly the kind of rigid and strict person he was. On either side sat two young clerks, a man and a woman, holding jade slips for recording information, sitting upright.

"Sit down." The middle-aged man in charge didn't even lift his eyelids, and opened the register in front of him.

Lin Qiye sat down opposite him, with the women standing or sitting behind him. Xiaomanniu was being held by Manji, while Qingyin quietly retreated to the corner, trying to minimize her presence.

The verification process was so tedious it was suffocating.

The Mirror of Truth was activated again, and the image of Lin Qiye's aura, preserved by the First Investigation Division, appeared on the panel, comparing it one by one with the person in front of him. The middle-aged chief of staff compared it three times, and with each comparison, the vertical lines between his brows deepened—he had probably never seen such a "clean" aura record before, so clean that there was almost no trace of the past, as if this person had appeared out of thin air.

"Origin?" The person in charge raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife.

Lin Qiye recounted the agreed-upon statement with Steward Chen in a calm, almost indifferent tone—a rogue cultivator from the borderlands, long residing in a remote star region, who came to the Holy City seeking a breakthrough due to a bottleneck in his cultivation. Every sentence was concise and to the point, without elaborating on a single word.

The person in charge was clearly dissatisfied and asked several more rounds of questions about the details—who his master was, what kind of cultivation method he practiced, where he came from, and what he experienced along the way. Lin Qiye responded appropriately, giving ambiguous yet watertight answers. He had learned a lot of common knowledge about this continent from Yin He's fragmented memories, enough to fool them.

The person in charge frowned even more, feeling that something was wrong, but unable to put his finger on it.

Next, Luo Sheng, Shuang'er, Man Ji, Qing Yin, and others, as family members, needed to explain their relationship with Lin Qiye. Luo Sheng introduced herself as his legal wife, Shuang'er and Xiao Man Niu as his children, Man Ji as a distant cousin, and Qing Yin was vaguely categorized as a "guard maid." The person in charge's gaze lingered on Qing Yin for a moment—her unnatural expressionless face and the effort she was trying to conceal her aura couldn't fool an experienced person—but since there were formal guarantors and entry documents, this matter could be considered a big deal or a small one, and he didn't want to interfere.

Halfway through the verification, Manager Chen was summoned in.

This old manager of the Black Rock Chamber of Commerce was probably walking the most agonizing path of his life today. He was wearing a crisp, dark red Chamber of Commerce robe, with the collar and cuffs meticulously trimmed, but as soon as he stepped across the threshold, a fine layer of cold sweat had already seeped onto his forehead.

"Chen Youfu, the external affairs manager of the Black Rock Chamber of Commerce?" The middle-aged manager flipped through the guarantee documents that Manager Chen had submitted in advance.

"Yes, yes," Manager Chen nodded repeatedly, his voice slightly strained. "Mr. Lin is a guest instructor hired by our Chamber of Commerce at great expense. He is exceptionally skilled and renowned. He has now brought his family to settle in the Holy City, willing to serve the Chamber of Commerce."

After listening, the middle-aged manager fell silent, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table. Tap. Tap. Tap. His gaze lingered on Lin Qiye for a long time, then shifted to Manager Chen, before finally settling back on the register. His cultivation was not weak; he possessed the strength of the mid-stage Core Formation Realm. He could vaguely sense that the person before him had an aura as deep and unfathomable as a bottomless abyss, clearly not an ordinary guest elder. However, the Black Rock Merchant Guild was a reputable business in the outer city, with complete paperwork, and the guild seal on the guarantee documents couldn't be faked; for the moment, he couldn't find any obvious errors.