Chapter 998 - 847: With Grand Dignity

Before leaving, Shi Chun also flew to the mountain outside the cave and found Qilin A San, asking, "San, do you want to find Yingze Mountain?"

Wasn't this one always wanting to go home? Hence, using this as bait, hoping to rekindle its longing for life.

San, who was gazing at the sky, lowered its head, looked at its sharp claws that it had subconsciously retracted, and said gloomily, "I don't want to anymore. Looking like this, do I even have the face to go home?"

Shi Chun: "You always stand here like a guard dog, affecting the image of Dingnan Prefecture. Come, I'll take you out for a stroll."

San turned its head to look at him, asking, "Master, do I look ugly in this form now?"

"..." Shi Chun was speechless, didn't he mean something else just now? So he explained, "No, much more imposing than before, claws are more imposing than hooves. Come, I'll take you out to relax."

San shook its head with an expression of despair, "Not going, not in the mood."

Shi Chun frowned, how long has he been persuading it, yet it still can't move on? He didn't have the patience to nag anymore and said, "If you feel that life is meaningless, then don't live. If you want to die, just say it, I'll definitely fulfill your wish."

"..." San paused, looking at him with a shocked expression, wanting to speak but holding back. Having once felt that life was meaningless, but when truly faced with death, suddenly being told to die seemed a bit abrupt.

Though life lacked excitement, it wasn't easy to let go when facing death, hence hesitating, feeling unsure of how to respond.

Seeing it didn't want to die, Shi Chun found it easier to handle, saying directly, "Come on, follow me to handle some matters."

San immediately shook its head again, saying, "Not going, not in the mood."

Shi Chun immediately widened his eyes and said, "Not in the mood? Do I have to consider your mood when handling matters? Last time asking, are you going or not? If not, I'll immediately reveal your identity as a Qilin and let everyone see how you look now."

"..." San was shocked, speechless.

Shi Chun said again, "From today on, you're no longer a Qilin. Now, you're Ao Long A San. Your past self is dead, and your current self starts anew. Don't think about irrelevant things. Come, first test if your transformation is a good thing or a bad thing, and see if your previous abilities are still there."

With his words, San thought it made sense and couldn't help lifting its paw to take a look, curious to know if its previous abilities were still intact.

Not wasting words with it, Shi Chun jumped directly onto its back to ride and shouted "Go," and San immediately took him into the sky.

Speeding along in the air, running backward, running sideways, it found that its ability to run at various angles wasn't lost. The key was that the speed was much faster, and for a moment, it didn't know what to compare to determine how fast it had become, but from the wind whizzing by, it was clear that it was much faster than before.

The sudden change brought San itself an unexpected joy.

Then through various tests, San's forehead could still shoot out dark light, not only breaking open mountains but also larger ones now.

Mountains that were too large to break before now required just one dark light to break open, and even the earth could crack open, though not too deep due to the earth's thickness, but deeper than before.

The sharpness of the claws also exceeded Shi Chun and San's expectations. Initially, while running past the cracked stone wall, it casually scratched with a paw, and the effortlessly destructive feeling made both the rider and mount feel something was amiss.

Shi Chun threw his weapon and armor shield for it to test the claws; indeed, a single scratch left a deep mark, not inferior to the large cat Cloud Demon of the Carefree Sect.

Not only the claws, the spikes on its horns were equally sharp.

Then there was the mysterious scaled armor on San's body, Shi Chun tried cutting it with various weapons, but none could penetrate it. Only the Sky Splitting Sword wasn't dared to be tested; its power was uncontrollable and might obliterate San during testing.

After various attempts, the duo finally stopped atop a mountain peak, San couldn't resist lifting its paw to look at the movements of its retracting claw, its eyes betraying an acceptance of the invincible feeling.

Shi Chun suddenly said, "Eating a Dragon Ball led to quite the transformation, San, what do you think would happen if you ate another one? I have eight more, do you want to eat them?"

San immediately and resolutely shook its head, "No!"

Shi Chun sneered, "Even if you wanted to eat them, I might not give them."

San muttered while lowering its head, "Not eating, if I keep eating, who knows what I'd turn into."

Shi Chun: "There's no free lunch, wait until you make new achievements, then we'll talk, let's go back."

On the way back, with lightning-fast speed, San's mood seemed much improved, it seemed to enjoy the faster pace.

Faster speed always brings a different passion...

Back at the cave, Shi Chun had someone carry the swaying bird from Feng Chi that calls for "sister," rode on San and took a squad away, marking the first official departure since entering the Demon Realm.

He now has two direct squadrons under his command, Dingnan Left Guard and Dingnan Right Guard, each commanding five thousand troops.

Shi Chun brought a hundred retinues from the Left Guard, with Left Guard Commander Jiang Wushou personally leading the protection on both sides.

The Left and Right Guard Commanders of Dingnan Prefecture are almost on the same level as the City Lord; both were personally promoted by Shi Chun, and the appointments of staff within the direct squadrons weren't interfered with by Manxi.

Jiang Wushou appeared to be a middle-aged man, with an exceptionally ordinary appearance, nothing remarkable, and no prestigious background. Most of the ones with good backgrounds were basically picked out by Manxi first.

Jiang Wushou's cultivation had also reached the Earth Immortal Upper grade. He had spent more than ten years in prison before this. Before imprisonment, he was an assassin, essentially a professional killer for hire, with quite a record, similar to Yu Xuanbing, but clearly not matching Yu Xuanbing's achievements. Later, he was betrayed by his liaison, leading to his capture in a manhunt.

Under his command was a motley crew, not many of whom could boast a clean record; the good ones were mostly taken by Manxi. Shi Chun could only pick a general from this batch of crooked melon and split dates, regardless of their background, only looking at their usefulness.

Appointing an assassin as the Dingnan Left Guard Commander was straightforward: an assassin understands assassination, so when it comes to protecting oneself, they should be able to look at and prevent problems from an assassin's perspective.

Jiang Wushou himself didn't expect that he, an assassin, would actually become a bodyguard.

When the commander's appointment came down, he even felt like he was dreaming.

He originally thought he could clear his name with some merit and live smoothly by relying on his grade to earn a stipend. After reviewing all the vacant positions in Dingnan, he found there was no suitable position for him. Who would use an assassin for those positions? Especially one responsible for the safety of the commander?

Yet, the commander did such an unexpected thing, appointing an assassin as the head of his close guard.

The key was that Jiang Wushou didn't even know the commander, which made him admire Shi Chun's boldness.

Little did he know, Shi Chun really had no one else to use; all the people he could use were transferred away by the upper levels through appointments. They were initially grateful to Manxi for his favor towards their brethren, only to now realize Manxi's sinister intentions. He had been planning to overturn Shi Chun's entire boat.

Since most of his subordinates were people he didn't know or understand, he could only select based on capability.

The general idea was to try it out first, and replace them if it didn't work.

However, from Jiang Wushou's perspective, what he saw was the commander's boldness and gratitude for recognizing his abilities.

He also had respect for Shi Chun, the commander. During the Battle of Great Pardon, he couldn't have done those astonishing feats, so he couldn't help but respect him.

Because he was quite close to Shi Chun, he saw that the commander was challenging the Domain Master, evidently winning the first round and making the Domain Master suffer a silent loss.

Daring to oppose the Domain Master, he had to admire that as well.

Through Shi Chun's words and deeds, he also saw the intentions of Domain Master Manxi, wanting to overturn all of Shi Chun's men. If Shi Chun fell, he felt sure the Domain Master wouldn't use him, especially since he now unavoidably bore Shi Chun's mark.

For various reasons, he was particularly concerned about Shi Chun's safety, showcasing the assassin's precision and caution.

The Heavenly Court gradually delivered new battle armor, and Shi Chun prioritized his own guards. They should still have the appropriate display.

This time, during the outing, Shi Chun had everyone wear it. He himself didn't wear it, still donning the Treasure Robe, with a belt representing his rank, riding Qilin A San, making a public appearance at the Xun Gate exit under the escort of a squad of Heavenly General armored soldiers.

Now, when they entered or exited the Xun Gate under the administration of the Heavenly Court and the Royal Court, they didn't have to pay fees.

The expenses for official trips didn't come out of their own pockets. Although they didn't yet have tax income, to obtain extra land through an influx of population required payment. Though most went to the Heavenly Court, a small portion remained locally for official expenses.

To attract population, it naturally counted as official expenses, so Shi Chun brought a contingent.

Once they emerged from the Xun Gate, they were instantly placed in the grand Heavenly Capital. A group of guards gave close attention to the group just emerging, most of their gazes landing on Qilin A San, trying hard to identify what mount it was.

In the watchful eyes of others, Shi Chun proceeded with an air of nonchalance and swagger through the public.

It had been years since he had openly acted so relaxed and carefree.

Previously, he'd always been sneaking around, given the offenses to various Great Sects, continually worrying about safety issues.

Now, regardless of how many people he'd offended before, normally people wouldn't dare to openly do anything against him. As a member of the Heavenly Court, no matter how strong someone might be within it, they couldn't just suddenly strike him down. Even his superior, Manxi, couldn't do that.

At this moment, Shi Chun was in great spirits, no longer hiding, reveling in being aboveboard.

Qilin A San curiously looked around, the first time venturing out of the Demon Realm since meeting its master.

The group didn't linger around the Heavenly Capital, heading straight towards the Stargazing Pavilion.

Since they were out, etiquette dictated they first pay respects to the Xuanji Token Master, Mulan Jin.

Unexpectedly, they met with a closed door, the gatekeeper reporting that the Commander was busy and couldn't meet.

Shi Chun brought so many guards to catch attention, to let people know he had ties with the Xuanji Token Master, but it backfired, leaving them in an awkward spectacle.

So he took his group straight to the Xunmen Central Hub and entered the Xun Gate leading to Nanshan Royal City.

Operations of Bowan Building in Nanshan were managed by Miao Dingyi, and according to news from Young Master Nan, Miao Yilan had now also been transferred by Bowan Building to Nanshan.