It was indeed the right decision to bring Zi Ling, as it saved a considerable amount of time on the written aspects.
In mere seconds, Zhang Pingfan recognized the script before his eyes.
"Senior, this is the Special Affairs Office. However, passing their trials is not simple. With your strength, it's undoubtedly a sure thing. But you still need to queue, as this is the Black Dragon Imperial Capital, and everything here must follow the rules!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded.
Then, he retrieved ten thousand universal coins from his spatial ring and offered them to Kujiala.
Kujiala quickly refused.
"Senior, ten thousand universal coins is too much. According to our company's normal rates, only five hundred universal coins are needed!"
Zhang Pingfan said no more.
"The excess is a tip. Take it. I may need your help with things in the future!"
Upon hearing that this peak cosmic-level expert might need his assistance again, Kujiala was extremely excited.
"Senior, this is my communicator. If you have any errands, I will handle them the moment I receive them!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded. His communicator had already been modified by Zi Ling into a universally compatible device.
"Good!"
Kujiala, holding the ten thousand universal coins, happily departed.
Zhang Pingfan looked up at the Special Affairs Office and walked in.
Just as he reached the entrance, Zhang Pingfan was stopped.
At this moment, Zhang Pingfan had suppressed his aura, so the guards before him did not perceive his immense power.
"This is the Special Affairs Office. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter, or you will be dealt with according to Black Dragon Imperial law!"
Zhang Pingfan frowned, and his cosmic-level expert pressure instantly surged, making the two star-level martial artists before him struggle to breathe.
"Pre... Senior, please enter!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded. No wonder people here displayed their strength; it was to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Entering the Special Affairs Office, it was somewhat different from what Zhang Pingfan had imagined. Given it was for special affairs, the number of people should be small, yet here were no less than a hundred people.
Zhang Pingfan frowned. What was going on? As the Special Affairs Office of the Black Dragon Imperial Capital, why were there so many people, with such varied strength levels? He only saw a few cosmic-level experts; the rest were either planetary or stellar level, with even domain-level individuals being scarce!
The appearance of Zhang Pingfan, a peak cosmic-level expert, immediately drew everyone's attention.
At this moment, the only cosmic-level expert in the Special Affairs Office walked towards Zhang Pingfan.
However, this fellow's appearance was quite different from Zhang Pingfan's. This individual was a bull-headed humanoid, burly, with a large axe strapped to his back. His aura was immense; those with lower cultivation might not even be able to lift their heads in his presence.
Seeing Zhang Pingfan, the bull-headed humanoid greeted him with a smile.
"Brother, you're from the Ziwei Star Domain, right? I'm from the Shanhai Star Domain. With the strength of both of us, getting into Black Dragon Academy is a certainty. From now on, we'll be colleagues!"
No wonder they only allowed him to pretend to be from the Ziwei Star Domain. It seemed this person's appearance was similar to those from the Ziwei Star Domain.
"Friend, this is my first time here. I'm not familiar with the situation. Why are there so many people here?"
"Oh, these fellows are all trying their luck. While the difficulty of the formal assessment isn't high, the number of participants is huge, and the Black Dragon Empire has a limited intake of students. Anyone above the planetary level can come here to try their luck, though most attempts are in vain. By the way, where are your attendants? Why are you alone?"
Zhang Pingfan was a bit taken aback. Were they here to study or to be pampered?
Seeing Zhang Pingfan's expression, the bull-headed humanoid was also stunned, then realized that this guy said he was new to the place, likely his first time out and not knowing much.
"Brother, you really are here for the first time! Don't worry, I'm very familiar with this place. My name is Mobas, and yours?"
"Zhang... Gao Qiqiang!" He had intended to use his real name but decided to use an alias instead.
Mobas stroked his chin, appearing to be in thought.
"Brother Gao, I'm truly sorry, but I don't recall which faction in the Ziwei Star Domain is prominent."
Zhang Pingfan smiled and replied, "I am a rogue cultivator. As I couldn't break through, I came to the Black Dragon Empire to try my luck."
"Haha, I see. I thought so. I'm quite familiar with the Ziwei Star Domain, having visited many times. Since you're not familiar with this place, come, I'll show you around!"
When two cosmic-level experts, one advanced and the other peak, were present, others naturally made way, showing only respectful expressions.
Mobas led Zhang Pingfan to a massive screen.
"Brother Gao, look, this is the public list. Those whose numbers are called will proceed to that location for individual testing. If they pass, they can directly enter Black Dragon Academy without returning here. I just arrived not long ago, so it's not my turn yet. I'll take you to register."
Zhang Pingfan nodded.
The staff at the registration desk had already noticed him the moment he entered. As Zhang Pingfan approached, they wore respectful expressions.
"Please fill out this form, and then your name will appear on the big screen!"
Zhang Pingfan nodded and wrote down the name Gao Qiqiang. For his birthplace, he simply wrote Ziwei Star Domain. Other fields were filled with "rogue cultivator" or left blank.
After completing this, Mobas led Zhang Pingfan to the side.
"I see you're not very old, Brother. To have broken through to the peak cosmic level at this age, your talent must be extraordinary. How is it that you're stuck here?"
Zhang Pingfan was indeed not old, being only twenty-four years old.
Zhang Pingfan revealed a wry smile.
"This age is just how I appear. Like you, Brother Mo, you don't look old either, do you?"
"Haha, true. Especially some female experts who look to be in their early twenties but are actually tens of thousands of years old."
Zhang Pingfan, keeping a careful mind, asked, "Brother Mo, how old are you this year?"
"I'm ashamed. As a rogue cultivator, you might not know many things. Our race is known for its strength. Among those of the same level, only a few races can suppress us in terms of power. Therefore, our cultivation methods are also different from others. Generally, our race can reach the cosmic level around five thousand years old. I am ashamed; at eight thousand years old, I am only at advanced cosmic level!"
At this moment, Zi Ling's voice echoed in Zhang Pingfan's mind!
"Don't listen to his bragging. Reaching advanced cosmic level at 8,000 years old is already quite impressive. For their race, reaching the domain level is usually the peak at 8,000 years old!"
Zhang Pingfan never expected that this seemingly simple-minded bull-headed humanoid would play such a trick on him.
"Brother, please don't be modest. I received a fortuitous encounter and used all my resources to reach the peak cosmic level. I understand a bit about talented individuals like you, Brother. At your age, achieving your current success is already remarkable. It's different for me; after my resources were depleted, my cultivation was bound to be affected. My future achievements will definitely not be as high as yours!"
This tactic clearly worked well on Mobas, who greatly enjoyed it.
"Haha, not at all, not at all. I still believe Brother Gao has more potential!"
Who couldn't engage in mutual flattery?