A soldier from the Heavenly Court approached the barrier to closely examine the content on the slate, and one soldier after another continued to join, until a crowd had gathered.

Shi Chun, to facilitate their viewing, also pushed the slate closer to the barrier, accompanying it with a sycophantic smile.

As he smiled, he suddenly felt something was amiss; the soldiers' expressions seemed somewhat abnormal.

Some soldiers looked left and right at their comrades, some alternated between looking at them and the content on the slate, repeatedly comparing, while others eyed them both with a strange expression.

One soldier spoke out, "You know, these randomly carved slate characters have quite a flavor, have you trained in this?"

Chen, who had a beard: "I heard they came from the Land of Exile. That place doesn't use paper and pen; it's normal to write and draw on the ground and stones."

"Oh, no wonder they are so tanned."

"Then why do they claim they are from Xuan State? Hey Chen, are you sure you didn't recognize the wrong people?"

Bearded Chen: "I would like to doubt that I have recognized the wrong person. Do you think it is likely? Even if there are many who have tanned a lot, and even if I got the big guy wrong, I couldn't mistake that sword. If you can find another sword like it at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, I'll eat this sword!"

"What are these two idiots up to?"

"Are they playing with us or deceiving us?"

"Does deceiving us benefit them in any way?"

Unable to make sense of it, a group of soldiers applied the same technique and clumsily scratched some characters onto a slate despite their lesser skill in writing, but it was still legible.

Their reply was straightforward: "People from Wukang Mountain, what are you up to?"

As soon as this content on the slate appeared, both Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were dumbfounded; even their sect's name was pointed out, and if they denied knowing them, they wouldn't believe themselves. Was this blatant deception a bit too much?

Wu Jinliang felt somewhat anxious.

However, Shi Chun reacted quickly, pretending to turn over the slate and revisiting the content once more before slapping his forehead as if he had made a mistake, picked up a dagger, and scraped off the "Xuan" character from Xuan State, and re-carved it into "Sheng." Then he quickly added a few more characters.

He turned the slate over again to show the new content, which was essentially the same as before: "We are from a sect in Sheng Province, looking for the Xun Gate of Shengzhou people because we are lost, and kindly ask you, Heavenly Generals, to point us in the right direction. It was a slip of the pen before."

His smile, as he held the slate, was even sweeter than before.

Wu Jinliang, after reading the content, also nodded repeatedly, bowed, and pleaded incessantly.

This explanation seemed correct to the group of soldiers who suddenly realized, "So that's why everyone was confused."

They immediately refreshed the surface of the slate and quickly scratched a few characters to show them: "Follow the barrier back the way you came, and the next Xun Gate will be there."

They even included helpful gestures.

A soldier nearby asked curiously, "What do they want with the Xun Gate they came through?"

Some said, "Not sure."

Others said, "Probably want to hang around the entrance waiting to go home."

Someone else questioned, "Does this count as a violation?"

"It has nothing to do with the competition, so no."

"No."

Inside the barrier, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang repeatedly bowed and clasped their hands, thankful as they walked away, repeatedly bowing as they retreated, seemingly full of unending gratitude, the more polite the better.

Shi Chun even took the slate with him, not daring to leave behind any incriminating evidence or destroy it on the spot for fear of raising suspicion.

Following the direction indicated by the soldiers, they walked a bit farther before Wu Jinliang wondered, "Strange, how did they recognize us as from Wukang Mountain? Have we met them before?"

Shi Chun scoffed coldly, "What's so strange? It's all because of you."

Wu Jinliang immediately objected, "Chun Tian, it's not a good idea to blame me when your idea didn't work out, and it has nothing to do with me."

Shi Chun: "How is it not related? They must have seen us during the assembly. No, it has nothing to do with me. In a vast crowd, I wouldn't stand out that much. But with your tall stature, it's hard not to notice you, and that large sword of yours is also hard to overlook. Anyone who has seen you once would recognize you again."

Speaking logically and factually, Wu Jinliang felt uniquely suited for the role and realized that similar mishaps had occurred because of him before, so he felt a bit embarrassed, but he wouldn't admit it, instead trying hard to find loopholes, "Remembering me is possible, but how did they know our sect?"

Shi Chun, not wanting to argue endlessly, reached the other side of a hill and immediately shattered the slate in his hand, pointing to the terrain, "Go around and keep heading that way."

They knew where they had come in through the Xun Gate, which was also the closest one to them when they started. The reason they decided to take a roundabout route instead of going straight there was to avoid being recognized, and they didn't need those Heavenly Court soldiers to guide them back. Going back was out of the question. They would avoid the soldiers' sight and continue searching for the next Xun Gate.

Wu Jinliang, crouching and moving stealthily behind Shi Chun, asked in a low voice, "What if the next gate recognizes us too?"

Shi Chun: "Then we'll continue to handle it the same way as before. I don't believe every person at every Xun Gate could recognize you."

Thus, the two bypassed the gate they had initially approached and continued on their original route, flying along the border barrier.

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