Versatile Sword Cultivator

The head guard frowned upon hearing his words and retorted, "Which eye of yours saw me abusing my power?"

"Both of my eyes saw it! And not just me, everyone here saw it!" Wang Fuchun shouted.

The head guard sneered, "So what if you saw it?"

"You... I'll report you! I'll report you to your superior! You must have taken his bribe. Once I report you, you'll lose your position!" Wang Fuchun threatened.

"Fine, go ahead, report me all you want."

"You..."

As the argument heated up, a female general walked out, displeased. "What's all this noise? The royal city must remain quiet!"

Seeing her, Wang Fuchun was overjoyed and rushed forward to report loudly, "Ma'am, I want to report that your men are taking bribes, abusing their power, and letting people cut in line!"

"Is that so? Who is it?" The female general frowned and asked angrily.

"It's them!" Wang Fuchun pointed at Lin Jichen and the head guard.

The general's eyes froze upon seeing Lin Jichen. She immediately walked over, bowed respectfully, and cupped her fists, "I apologize for not recognizing you, Young Master Lin."

"It's fine. I asked your subordinate to take me to the royal city. Don't blame him, General Wei," Lin Jichen said.

Lin Jichen recognized this female general; she was the one who had saved Tong Yin back then.

Wei Qingqing quickly waved her hand, "Of course not. Young Master Lin doesn't need to report to enter the royal city. I'll lead the way."

"Thank you."

Wei Qingqing led the way, leaving Wang Fuchun dumbfounded.

Lin Jichen pointed at Wang Fuchun and said to Wei Qingqing, "This man falsely accused me and your subordinate, trying to sow discord between you. What do you plan to do, General Wei?"

Wei Qingqing's eyes turned cold. "Men, take him away and lock him up for three days as a warning to others!"

Wang Fuchun was dragged away by the guards, facing three days of confinement.

Everyone else fell silent, wondering about Lin Jichen's relationship with the Hidden Dragon Royal Family. How could he have such strong connections?

My goodness, what kind of luck does this guy have?

"By the way, General Wei, this is my friend. Can you make an exception for her too?" Lin Jichen pointed at Jiang Luoyu.

"Since she's a friend of Young Master Lin, of course, she can pass," Wei Qingqing agreed readily, though she looked a bit puzzled upon noticing Jiang Luoyu's beauty.

With that, Lin Jichen and Jiang Luoyu entered the royal city together.

"What's your status in the Hidden Dragon Royal Family? Even the princes and princesses are polite to you, the chief steward treats you with utmost respect, and now you can enter and leave the royal city freely. Are you the crown prince or something?" Jiang Luoyu asked Lin Jichen quietly as they walked.

Lin Jichen could only mumble evasively. He couldn't exactly say he was the emperor's prospective son-in-law, could he?

In truth, he didn't want to be associated with the royal family, but the situation back then was special. He had taken a Heavenly Grade secret manual and couldn't refuse, so he had to go along with it, waiting for Leng Feiyan's response.

As a result, the entire royal city treated him as the prospective son-in-law, giving him all sorts of privileges.

Lin Jichen was anxious. He knew he couldn't continue like this, but there was no way to turn back now. He could only take it one step at a time.

They arrived at the City Administration Hall, and Wei Qingqing left.

The officials inside were equally respectful to Lin Jichen, not daring to neglect him.

They began selecting shops.

With six hundred thousand reputation points, Jiang Luoyu didn't need to buy small shops anymore.

"By the way, why didn't you come to buy shops yesterday? With so much reputation, you should have come first thing," Lin Jichen asked curiously.

Jiang Luoyu calmly replied, "I went to Jiangling yesterday, so I didn't log in."

Lin Jichen's heart skipped a beat, and he asked nervously, "You... really went to Jiangling?"

Jiang Luoyu smiled sweetly, "Yes, why?"

"Nothing... nothing..." Lin Jichen quickly shook his head, secretly relieved that he hadn't run into her at the branch office's recruitment fair yesterday. That would have been awkward.

Jiang Luoyu pretended to be disappointed and sighed, "It was my first time in Jiangling. I wanted to treat you to a meal, but you didn't show up, so I had to leave after finishing my business."

Lin Jichen felt embarrassed and said, "Next time, next time you come, I'll treat you to a meal."

Jiang Luoyu's eyes lit up, "Really? You're not lying?"

Lin Jichen smiled, "Of course not."

"What if I said I haven't left and I'm still in Jiangling?" Jiang Luoyu asked mischievously.

Lin Jichen was stunned and said with a wry smile, "Then... when are you free? I'll treat you to a meal."

"Really? Then it's a deal. You can't go back on your word. Before I return to Magic City in a few days, you have to treat me to a meal at a restaurant with Jiangling's specialties."

Lin Jichen hesitated but eventually agreed. A man's word is his bond, after all.

It's just a meal, nothing to be afraid of. It's like meeting an online friend in real life.

With Lin Jichen's promise, Jiang Luoyu seemed in a great mood and began discussing which shop to buy with him.

"How about this one?" Jiang Luoyu pointed to a large shop.

Lin Jichen took one look and recognized it as a bad choice.

The shop itself was fine, but in his previous life, the court had planned to build a Hanlin Academy nearby, specifically for teaching royal family members. Once it was built, the area was restricted to avoid disturbing the royal students, severely impacting the businesses around it.

"I don't think it's a good choice. Let's pick another one," Lin Jichen suggested.

Jiang Luoyu didn't ask why and decisively moved on to other options.

"What about this one? It looks good."

"This one is fine. Good location, large area."

"And this one?"

...

The two of them huddled over the map, whispering and discussing which shop to buy, looking very much like a young couple out shopping.

In the end, Lin Jichen bought three large shops, and Jiang Luoyu bought two.

She wanted to buy another, but she ran out of Spirit Stones.

Although she had plenty of money to exchange for Spirit Stones, they were limited. Her shops were numerous but couldn't match the profitability of Lin Jichen's Golden Shop.

That's why Lin Jichen could surpass Jiang Luoyu on the wealth leaderboard. If there were no limits on exchanges, Lin Jichen wouldn't even make it into the top ten.

"I guess I'll have to wait until next time," Jiang Luoyu said regretfully.

Lin Jichen asked, "How much are you short?"

"Six hundred thousand, not much. Once my gold farming team and shop revenues come in, I'll have it in a few days," Jiang Luoyu replied.

"I'll lend it to you," Lin Jichen offered.

Even he couldn't believe he was offering to lend money to the daughter of the world's richest man.

Proofreader & Editor: Lotas