Chapter 196 Political Web

A refreshed Leonardo in a white tux and long sleek hair alighted from a lavish carriage in front of the City Magistrate Manor.

It was only this morning that he realized what Raymond meant by the pending promotion.

Becoming a four-star citizen wasn't usually something big, but that's when taking the entire province into the equation. For a place like Greenheart City, and the various districts within nonetheless, the government sector had little space to offer for those pursuing higher authority.

The legislation committee had its own department in a separate small building behind the City Magistrate Manor, and that was Leonardo's current destination.

"I thought the manor might look grander than this…"

Leonardo looked up at the manor that didn't seem much larger than the white house back on Earth, thinking that it didn't exactly live up to the grandeur and authority it held.

Someone to the side heard Leonardo and chuckled with a reply, "You wouldn't say that if you knew that every room inside is a sub-dimension. I mean, even places like the Alchemy Association have a total of five sub-dimensions in their building, you tell me if it matches the grandeur now."

Leonardo was a bit shocked, "How many rooms are there inside then?"

He knew how difficult it was to find sub-dimensions with stable laws, let alone the resources required to maintain the stable space of these sub-dimensions.

Of course, some sub-dimensions are the size of a regular room, some are very spacious, and rarely does one find a sub-dimension the size of an entire building of a floor to designate as a room.

Typically, people get only one chance of finding a sub-dimension with the size of a massive plot of land, and that's when they're undergoing the ascension from sainthood to divinity.

Even Rosaline and with the support of the stellar world, when she achieved immortality in the stellar world, she pulled a total of three sub-dimensions into her immortal kingdom.

"Ah— haha, I don't really know how many rooms they have, I just know that all of them are separate sub-dimensions. Then again, that's really scary. What if all of them were destabilized and exploded? The entire city will become a thing of the past…" The man shuddered just by thinking about it.

Leonardo laughed as well and comforted, "You don't have to worry about that, the collapse will transition inwardly unless someone deliberately redirects the force to the outside."

"Is that so?" The man mumbled to himself in a bit of relief, giving this massive building a skeptical look before turning back to Leonardo as he had something else on his mind to say. However, he realized that this handsome buddy was already gone.

The man blinked, "I was talking to a powerful cultivator…"

This man didn't expect the random guy he spoke to on the roadside to be a powerful cultivator, he would definitely brag about it to his friends in the bar tonight for some drinks.

"Hm, I should think about how to exaggerate things but make them seem realistic too…" The man touched his chin with interest, already forgetting his plans for the rest of the day.

…

Leonardo moved through minor transportation formations that shuttled him around the vast area, eventually ending up standing on a transportation circle leading into a long white corridor.

Two knights with the auras of high saints stood to either side of the transportation platform, but Leonardo knew that they were here only for the maintenance of the platform as the actual guards wouldn't reveal themselves so blatantly, much less stand directly in the most vulnerable position in case of a hostile infiltration.

The two knights didn't speak or move a muscle, and Leonardo didn't bother entertaining them either. Instead, he stepped off the platform and made quick yet light steps down the corridor as he curiously examined the various formations inscribed on the walls.

With a bloom of white light, he knew he phased into a sub-dimension.

Looking around, it was a small square with various single-floor buildings, about nine of them.

Each building had a grand starry diagram above it, clearly indicating the number of stars required to receive service.

From one star to nine, the higher the number of stars, the less commotion there was in front of the building.

Leonardo's eyes landed almost immediately on the three stars building, his destination for today.

Since his servants completed the 100 mission quota for the three-star missions, he required a stamp of approval from the post and the accompanying application to receive the four-star Soul Script Card; also known as SSC.

…

"How can I help you?" Asked a receptionist who had a cold expression on her otherwise beautiful face.

She didn't even bother smiling, clearly, the years spent on this monotone job scarred her personality.

Leonardo didn't mind that as he could relate to the feeling of finding yourself in a deep emotionless ditch without the motivation to struggle out of it. At times like these, inner determination isn't enough, as one would require an external stimulus.

In Leonardo's case, it was his daughter.

Hence, he smiled faintly at this beautiful woman and spoke in a tone that was awkward, yet warm and empathetic all the same.

"I would like to fill out an application to promote my contribution status from a three-star citizen to a four-star citizen." As he spoke, Leonardo handed over his SSC, leveling his sight to maintain eye contact.

Even back on Earth, the beautiful woman behind the counter would sit in a lower position than the client. Other than exposing the stretch of the female's cleavage and satisfying the ego of some people who like to look down on others, Leonardo couldn't find any practical reasons behind this practice.

Of course, in the cultivation faction, the person with the higher status would take a seat whilst the counterpart must stand up. Regardless, even as they sit, their seated position would be very high and elevated.

The same practice could be found in the royal court or the throne room of kings and emperors.

These thoughts flashed through Leonardo's mind in a split second, his eyes glazing unfocused for but a brief moment that went unnoticed by the woman. If anything, she noticed that Leonardo's eyes were fixated on her own, not deviating the slightest to rove around her tightly bound chest despite them bulging as though about to rip the uniform apart.

Lightly clearing her throat, she received the SCC from Leonardo's hand and nodded, not speaking a word.

As for whether her thoughts wandered somewhere, her body didn't indicate it and Leonardo didn't dare to pry into the matter, especially since he could feel the impatience of the man right behind him.

Although he couldn't sweep with his spiritual sense, he assumed the man must be impatient as the repetitive tapping on the floor was quite distinct.

The woman must have noticed it as well hence the practiced urgency of her movements while processing the paperwork.

"Shi Yunhe."

For reasons unknown yet perhaps known only to herself, she muttered the name aloud on her thin lips before stamping hard on the application papers.

"Will you please hurry up already? How long are you two gonna keep flirting for?" A voice dripping with displeasure and disgust sounded from behind Leonardo, eliciting a frown from the young man.

He of course ignored it, but the woman's body trembled slightly as though she recognized this voice.

Seeing her reaction, Leonardo realized that it wasn't that this man was deployed by some local lord to make things difficult for him, inadvertently catching the innocent woman in the web of political conflict.

Instead, it was the opposite.

He was the innocent party caught in a web of political conflict.