Chapter 156: Du Fang... an Apprentice Dream Voyager?

Du Fang did not stay cooped up inside the hotel after checking in.

Since he had arrived only in the morning, the day had barely begun. After resting until noon and enjoying an exquisite lunch personally delivered to his room by his little assistant, Du Fang put on a black trench coat and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Standing by the glass, he looked out at the scenery of the capital.

This massive city was brimming with a vitality that ordinary people could scarcely imagine. As the largest city in the Great Xia Nation, the capital had even surpassed metropolises like Modu and Guangzhou-Shenzhen to become the economic and cultural center of the nation.

The headquarters of the Dream-Crossing Master Association was established right here in the capital.

All examinations for City-Crossing level Dream-Crossing Masters were held entirely in this place.

Therefore, relying on resources, economy, culture, geographical advantage, and even special policy support, the capital had transformed into a gathering place for Dream-Crossing Masters. The majority of Dream-Crossing Masters converged here.

Coupled with the constant influx of talent, most City-Crossing level Dream-Crossing Masters who came to the capital to take their examinations ultimately chose to stay.

Consequently, the vast majority of the most powerful Dream-Crossing Masters in the Great Xia Nation resided in the capital.

After lunch, the afternoon sun blazed fiercely.

Du Fang stepped out of the hotel.

With a thought, he entered the dream space. Inside, Luoluo was sitting listlessly inside the small wooden cabin, kneading and pulling at the utterly lifeless little pig Qiqi, while swinging her slender legs back and forth.

Du Fang materialized and pushed open the door.

"Daddy!"

Luoluo instantly lit up with surprise, leapt off her chair, and sprinted toward Du Fang.

Du Fang patted Luoluo's head and said with a smile, "How about Daddy takes you shopping?"

"Yay!"

Luoluo giggled incessantly. Her boredom vanished in an instant, and she was overjoyed.

Little pig Qiqi was equally thrilled, finally free from being tugged and stretched by the little master.

The Wife's Hand floated over and settled on Du Fang's shoulder. The sister-in-law did not say anything; she simply remained seated in the corner of the wooden cabin, wearing a white dress and quietly painting on her easel.

When she was not having a psychotic episode, she exuded a strong artistic aura.

After Du Fang left the wooden cabin with Luoluo, little pig Qiqi, and the Wife's Hand, he opened his eyes in reality, and his family members all manifested in the physical world alongside him.

Du Fang smiled. Carving out a small wooden cabin within the dream space for his family to live in had indeed been a wonderful decision.

Without having the little assistant tag along, Du Fang took his family away from the hotel and headed toward the bustling pedestrian street of the capital.

Throughout the entire day, Du Fang paid no attention to cultivation matters whatsoever.

Instead, he spent his time taking his family shopping, eating delicious treats, and buying fun toys.

He bought Luoluo new toys, along with a massive pile of delicious White Rabbit creamy candies.

As for the Wife's Hand, Du Fang stepped into a jewelry store and bought accessories for every single one of its fingers.

The Wife's Hand was clearly overjoyed as well, spreading its five fingers wide apart, constantly admiring them like a young woman unable to suppress her inner delight.

The family strolled along the capital's pedestrian street, bathed in a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Whether it was Luoluo, little pig Qiqi, or the Wife's Hand, everyone was extremely happy.

The family played and wandered around until late into the night.

At Du Fang's request, the little assistant found a nice restaurant where they all enjoyed a hearty meal together.

When the restaurant waiter saw that Du Fang was dining alone yet required three sets of bowls and chopsticks, he looked slightly bewildered, feeling as though he might have encountered someone out of his mind. However, he dared not voice his thoughts because Du Fang was wearing the trench coat that signified a Dream-Crossing Master.

Once fully fed and satisfied, Du Fang had his family return to the wooden cabin within the dream space.

Humming a little tune, Du Fang walked back to his hotel room.

He did not continue training or practicing cultivation. Instead, he pulled a book from the bookshelf provided in the hotel room and began to read quietly.

When deep night descended, Du Fang closed the book, lay down on the bed, and drifted off to sleep.

……

The next day dawned clear and bright.

Du Fang woke up early and headed down to the hotel restaurant for a hearty breakfast.

The little assistant rubbed her sleepy eyes as she finally found Du Fang, who was in the middle of eating a meat bun.

"Brother Du, you're up so early?"

The little assistant felt a tinge of confusion.

"Eat your breakfast. Once you're done, we'll head over to the Dream-Crossing Tower." Du Fang swallowed the remainder of his bun in a single bite and spoke calmly.

The little assistant instantly snapped awake, full of energy.

Were they going to the Dream-Crossing Tower now?

Was Brother Du planning to make a push for the City-Crossing level Dream-Crossing Master examination?

The little assistant could hardly wait.

She immediately grabbed two meat buns, jammed them indiscriminately into her mouth, pounded her chest with one hand, and mumbled indistinctly, "Brother Du, let's go!"

"No need to rush, take a sip of water," Du Fang said with a smile.

After breakfast, the little assistant arranged for the hotel's extended luxury limousine to transport both of them to the Dream-Crossing Tower.

……

Over the past two days, the capital's Dream-Crossing Master circle had been anything but calm.

With the opening of the rookie Dream-Crossing Master Invitational Tournament and the battle for the top spot, genius champions from various provinces had flocked to the capital, naturally stirring up extraordinary ripples.

In particular, the rumors surrounding this year's rookie champions grew more mystical by the day.

Word had it that a certain provincial rookie champion had actually slain a City--Extinction level powerhouse and even participated in the elimination of a Nation-toppling level powerhouse...

The Grand Master of the Night Sect even intended to bestow a special commendation upon this rookie champion.

What kind of concept was that?

Such a show-stopping rookie had never been seen before!

One had to know that in previous competitions for the top spot, the national champions were mostly Upper-level Dream-Crossing Masters.

Being barely able to exchange blows with a City-Extinction level powerhouse was already considered quite impressive.

Yet this year, a monstrous anomaly had emerged who could actually slay City-Extinction level powerhouses! Furthermore, he had even helped take down a Nation-toppling level threat!

Naturally, this sent the capital's Dream-Crossing Master circle into a boiling frenzy.

Many City-Crossing level Dream-Crossing Masters felt deeply unconvinced.

After all, Nation-toppling level powerhouses were equivalent to National-level Dream-Crossing Masters—each and every one of them existed high above the rest.

For this year's rookie to receive a commendation simply for participating in an assisting kill naturally left many people disgruntled.

After all, as the gathering place for the Dream-Crossing Master community, the capital housed countless outstanding and talented Dream-Crossing Masters. Yet, for all these years, no one had ever achieved such a combat record.

Instead, a rookie Dream-Crossing Master from outside the capital had produced such feats.

This commendation felt almost like a slap to the face of the capital's Dream-Crossing Masters.

Additionally, everyone had learned another piece of news: the rules for this year's top-spot competition seemed to have been altered, abandoning the traditional arena-style format of previous years.

This left many busybodies burning with curiosity and an unbearable itch.

All sorts of rumored rule variations began circulating everywhere.

Of course, until the official authorities announced the actual rules, none of the circulating versions could be taken seriously.

……

At nine o'clock in the morning, the extended black luxury limousine pulled up in front of the capital's Dream-Crossing Tower.

Towering into the clouds, the capital's Dream-Crossing Tower was much taller than the one in Jiangling City, carrying an even heavier sense of oppression!

Du Fang stepped out and looked up, unable to see the top at a single glance.

Cang Yuan and the members of the Crimson Wolf Squad emerged from inside the Dream-Crossing Tower.

The members of the Crimson Wolf Squad were quite familiar with Du Fang, and seeing him brought a hint of excitement to their faces.

Cang Yuan nodded toward Du Fang, his expression somewhat solemn.

"All the preparations for the examination are complete. Follow me," Cang Yuan said.

Du Fang walked alongside Cang Yuan, while the little assistant mingled with the members of the Crimson Wolf Squad.

Like an inspection team, the group marched imposingly toward the elevator banks of the Dream-Crossing Tower.

In the grand lobby of the Dream-Crossing Tower, many Dream-Crossing Masters clad in black trench coats smoked cigarettes with narrowed eyes as they watched Du Fang walking beside Cang Yuan.

"Du Fang, for today's examination, you'd better give it your all," Cang Yuan said. "Many City-Crossing level Dream-Crossing Masters, and even National-level ones, will be coming to watch your assessment."

Du Fang raised an eyebrow, though his heart remained completely unruffled. He replied calmly, "Many?"

"Virtually all City-Crossing level personnel who have completed their missions and are currently on leave will probably come, and at least ten National-level ones on leave will show up. All in all, no less than fifty people will be observing."

Fifty people?

And ten of them were National-level Dream-Crossing Masters...

Du Fang paused for a moment before stepping into the elevator with Cang Yuan, the doors sliding shut behind them.

The little assistant and the Crimson Wolf Squad members headed for a separate elevator on the other side.

"Do you know why so many National-level Dream-Crossing Masters are coming to observe your assessment?" Cang Yuan asked.

Du Fang was momentarily stunned. He pondered for a second and replied, "Did I beat up Zhao Lingyin?"

Cang Yuan: "..."

He opened his mouth, but the reason Du Fang gave left him utterly speechless.

"Well... uh, that's one reason, but not the whole story."

"It's mainly because you participated in the killing of a Nation-toppling level powerhouse yet are still receiving a commendation from the Grand Master of the Night Sect. I mentioned this to you before."

"When many National-level Dream-Crossing Masters were young, they also participated in such battles, but... none of them ever received a commendation. As a result, they feel unconvinced and want to come see your performance for themselves," Cang Yuan explained.

He had only learned upon returning to the capital yesterday just how tumultuous the atmosphere here was and how intensely focused everyone was on Du Fang's situation.

Even before Du Fang had arrived in the capital, he had already caused such a massive backlash.

Seeing that Du Fang genuinely seemed unaware of the magnitude of it all, Cang Yuan gave a light cough and said, "Didn't you slay a City-Extinction level powerhouse from the Divine Core Organization in Jiangling City and help safeguard the city?"

"On top of that, you also helped assist in the slaying of the Divine Core Organization's Nation-toppling level White Jade Priest."

"All of those kills carry rewards, and President Tang Nai submitted them all. Combined with your assistance in capturing two Nation-toppling level powerhouses of the Heavenly Demon Organization on your way to the capital, the Grand Master of the Night Sect intends to issue a formal commendation."

"A commendation... does it come with prize money?!" Du Fang asked again, refusing to give up.

"No... prize money is far too vulgar. Normally, prize money isn't even worthy of being called a commendation; it's only used as a minor embellishment for tournaments and competitions," Cang Yuan laughed. Then, leaning in close to Du Fang, he whispered secretively, "According to the grapevine information I received, after consulting with the financial tycoons supporting our Dream-Crossing Master Association, the Grand Master of the Night Sect has confirmed that they really are preparing to reward you with a Serial Forbidden Artifact!"

"Are you excited?" Cang Yuan chuckled softly.

A very forced smile hung on Du Fang's face.

A Serial Forbidden Artifact... what use was that to him?!

Was he someone who lacked Forbidden Artifacts?

For auxiliary recovery, he had the auntie's tea leaves.

For large-scale area attacks, he had the auntie's playing cards.

For ultimate offense and assassination, he had the sister-in-law's pen.

When it came to sheer might, the sister-in-law's pen was not even inferior to a Serial Forbidden Artifact.

Du Fang felt as though countless banknotes had sprouted wings and flown away from him.

*Ding—*

With a crisp chime, the elevator doors slid open.

Cang Yuan stepped out first, with Du Fang following closely behind.

Exiting the elevator led them into a white corridor.

Cang Yuan looked at Du Fang and said, "Right, hand me your Dream-Crossing Master booklet first."

Without hesitation, Du Fang pulled the small booklet from his pocket and handed it to Cang Yuan.

Cang Yuan took it and flipped it open.

Greeting him first was Du Fang's extraordinarily handsome ID photo.

Below that was Du Fang's official ranking recorded in the booklet.

The next second, Cang Yuan froze, the expression on his face turning utterly bizarre.

Because inscribed in the booklet was a short line of text:

[Assessment Project: Forbidden Artifact Manipulation]

[Novice Dream-Crossing Master]

Cang Yuan: "???"

Novice Dream-Crossing Master?

Du Fang was actually a Novice Dream-Crossing Master?!

A Novice... capable of slaying City-Extinction levels?!

Novice?

What the hell!