Eternal food paradise

Three days later, the world of "Chinese Ichiban".

Guangzhou City.

In the suburbs, the pavilion is quiet at night.

In the darkness, figures were scattered here and there, each with some vigilance and at least one meter apart.

Xia Yan wore a black cloak and used the hood to hide his face. If he really didn't want to be exposed, according to Yan Xian, he could just put on a mask and become a cold masked man, a ruthless person who doesn't talk much.

After he arrived at the scene, he found that 90% of the people present were dressed similarly to him, with their heads and hands wrapped up so that not an inch of skin was exposed.

No one spoke, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

In the wilderness, the sound of the night wind is particularly real.

As a participant in the "Imperial Examination" in the Light World, Xia Yan compared it secretly and clicked his tongue.

Sure enough, the "chaete" of the dark world.

The opening moments where the contestants appeared were all dark and cold.

"Da da da--"

Soon, the sound of horse hooves broke the dead silence.

"Everyone is here?" But it was a female voice. The steward in charge of counting people quickly ran to the horse, clasped his fists at the woman in black robe on the horse, and reported: "There are still seven people who have not arrived."

"No need to wait."

The woman waved her hand in a capable manner, and Xia Yan and the waiting people could detect the cold gaze coming over her from under her hood.

So, the woman rode in front, while the stewards and the soldiers from the dark cooking world escorted the contestants of this year, walking on both sides of them. The group of people deviated from the official road and headed towards the mountainous countryside. A powerful fortress left.

Wubao can be understood as a Chinese-style castle.

From a distance, the Wubao located at the foot of the mountain had a square shape. But actually standing under the gatehouse of the Wubao, Xia Yan couldn't help but stretched out his hand to make a gesture, and visually inspected the "city wall" in front of him, which was seven or eight meters high. .

There are regular holes on the wall, which are arrow holes.

If it weren't for the scattered residential houses around Wubao, which looked like a small and clean village, Xia Yan really doubted that this Wubao was really a private reserve for powerful people with the ability to separate themselves and protect themselves in troubled times.

There are dense buildings inside and not enough light.

Everyone walked in a straight line, and as they walked, another doorway appeared in front of them, and another castle within a castle lay across the field of vision.

"Bang--"

The heavy door was closed behind everyone. The men from the dark world who had been hiding behind the door leaf also lowered the crossbar and fastened it to death. Then they stood in the dim light of the lantern with their hands behind their hands, their expressions solemn and motionless, just like the terracotta warriors and horses.

The woman who was leading the way on horseback abandoned her horse and walked up a narrow staircase.

Xia Yan looked at her back and felt vaguely familiar.

It is better to say that it is a castle within a castle than a building within a building.

Similar to the structure of an earth building, the square patio area is completely empty, and you can see the starry sky full of stars when you look up.

The three-story buildings on the four sides were filled with lanterns. The spectators seemed impatient to wait. Seeing that the contestants finally arrived, they crowded to the railings and pointed at the patio below.

"It doesn't look like it's going to work this year."

"Just this few people?"

"About a hundred people, 10 people form a group, exactly 10 groups. If only one person is selected from each group, it will soon be a fierce duel between the ten qualified people!"

These onlookers include men and women, old and young, but it would be a big mistake to think of them as ordinary passers-by.

Xia Yan glanced around and found a few familiar faces near the railing on the second floor closest to him.

‘Dumpling Brothers’?

The tall and thin figure has attracted much attention on the paradise forum a while ago. There are screenshots of the characters from various angles. Although Xia Yan did not personally participate in the Guangzhou Spring Festival Dumpling Convention, he can still remember the faces of the important characters from these screenshots. .

Hiss, there is also an elder from the Guangzhou Kitchen Association?

Almost meeting each other's eyes, Xia Yan quickly lowered his hood.

The reason why he knew this elder was because he settled in Elder Guan's mansion. As the head of the Kitchen Association, Elder Guan often entertained these colleagues who came to visit him. Xia Yan always met when he went in and out of the mansion.

"Compared with the official assessment in the light world, why does this 'challenge' in the dark world feel like a martial arts competition?" Xia Yan secretly complained.

It's not that this elder is a young man or something, there is a high probability that he was invited to participate in the grand gathering.

Xia Yan carefully observed the people next to him.

In addition to him, the other "players" had obviously noticed it, and they were no longer as calm as they were on the road. Some of them even whispered, and then fell into a state of suspicious muttering.

"Why are there so many time-honored businesses in Guangzhou?"

"Hey, isn't that Boss Han from Dongjiang Restaurant? I heard that his son Han Wu was eliminated from the imperial examination and suddenly disappeared in the past few days. Could it be..."

Hearing someone talking like this, Xia Yan subconsciously focused his attention on a tall figure wearing a black robe.

This person, among the crowd of "players", is like an iron tower, with an eye-catching figure.

The fierce man who was being looked at by others snorted, as if he didn't bother to explain anything, but there was also a sense of acquiescence.

"Oh, it's not the same group of people, right?"

Xia Yan's mouth twitched, "I hope there will be some ruthlessness, otherwise the 'bomb card' I prepared will be meaningless."

The words trailed off.

His shoulder was lightly tapped.

"Mr. Yan, please come over and have a chat." A Dark Realm gangster said politely. He and the surrounding bodyguards were all dressed in the same leather armor, cloak, and waist knife.

When he heard that it was Mr. Yan, Xia Yan had no doubts. He nodded and followed the soldier up the stairs.

His figure that stood out from the crowd and separated from the crowd of "players" naturally attracted a lot of attention.

At first it sparked some surprised discussion.

However, when he saw the soldiers leading Xia Yan past the second floor and up to the third floor, and the guards between the second and third floors quickly gave way to the passage, these sounds suddenly disappeared.

"disciple!"

"Which King of Heaven is he?!"

third floor.

Compared with the overcrowded stands on the second floor, the situation on this floor is like an inn lobby with bleak business. Each table, even if there are people sitting on it, is alone. There are no groups of three or five gathering together for lively drinking and eating. Tea scene.

Therefore, it is obvious that the "spectators" on this floor are the real people in the dark cooking world.

Xia Yan walked to an elegant seat isolated by a bamboo curtain and saw his old acquaintance Yan Xian, the prodigal son. He was smiling, without wearing any shoes, sitting cross-legged on the couch, with his elbows supporting a low-legged tea table. The copper aromatherapy burner emits curls of smoke.

With his loose clothes and a bohemian smile on his face, Xia Yan couldn't help but be in a trance, thinking that some famous celebrity from the Wei and Jin Dynasties who was taking drugs was sitting on the couch.

"Coming?" Yan Xian continued to support his cheek with his hand, raised his other hand and waved it casually.

"sit--"

Seeing Xia Yan looking at him with a strange expression, Yan Xian patted the wooden couch under his butt, pointed to the empty seat next to the coffee table, and explained:

"You are different. You don't have to participate in rounds of selections, so you can sit leisurely for a long time."

Just as Xia Yan was about to take off his shoes and sit down on it, there was a vague and burly figure sitting next to the bamboo curtain on the sofa next door. Suddenly, he moved, and a majestic and deep voice came over:

"Directly entering the final arena is a privilege possessed by the disciples and recommended candidates of the 'Five Tigers'."