Chapter Ninety: Permitted to Enter the Court with Sword and Shoes, Saluted Without Being Named!

At the same time.

Lin Fan stood dumbfounded at the security checkpoint for the special passage, staring at the unsmiling guard before him. In disbelief, he said, “You’re stopping me?”

“Yes, Mr. Lin.” The guard looked at him with apology. “You have prohibited items on you.”

“Prohibited items? Me?” Lin Fan rummaged through his trouser pockets in confusion, then lifted the only thing he had on him, his phone. “Other than this phone, I don’t have anything else on me! What prohibited item could I possibly have?”

“Um...” The guard gave Lin Fan a complicated look, then pointed at the massive Azure Dragon Crescent Blade hanging at his waist and said awkwardly, “That counts as a prohibited item under the rules.”

A prohibited item, and then some.

At that length, even with half the handle missing, the blade was still a regulated weapon.

If he were walking around with that on the street, he would have been detained long ago.

The guard was puzzled too. He knew Lin Fan was the commander of the Supreme Command Center, second only to the Head of State in Great Xia’s current hierarchy.

He wanted to make an exception for Lin Fan if he could, within reason.

After all, with that kind of status, even if he secretly brought a prohibited item onto the stage, it would not amount to much. He could simply turn a blind eye, and no one would ever know.

But the problem was, that thing was just far too big.

And he was not even trying to conceal it, either. He had it hanging there so blatantly at his waist that one look was enough to make it impossible to ignore.

If only he had hidden it somewhere, the guard could have pretended not to see it.

To be fair, though, with the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade’s outrageous size and shape, even if Lin Fan wanted to hide it on his person, there was nowhere to put it.

Hearing that it was a prohibited item, Lin Fan was not having it.

“This is not a prohibited item.” Lin Fan took a deep breath and said sternly, “This is a weapon.”

“Mr. Lin, a weapon is a prohibited item. Please do not play word games.” The guard spoke politely. “Please hand it over. We will keep it safe for you, and once the press conference is over, I will personally return it to your hands.”

“So please, cooperate with us.”

The guard remained very courteous.

He did not want to make an enemy of Commander Lin either. If this were any other time, he would have simply pretended not to notice.

But the problem was, what kind of occasion was this?

The Great Hall of the Nation.

There were countless district chiefs, military governors, and all sorts of prominent figures present, not to mention reporters from home and abroad.

Every gesture represented the image of Great Xia.

Every word and deed represented Great Xia’s stance.

Everyone else was sitting there in proper dress, and you show up with a great blade hanging at your waist? What sort of thing is that?

Since the founding of Great Xia, no one had ever done such a thing. Even when the Head of State went up to give a speech, no one had seen him carrying a blade.

So it could not really be said that the security guard was wrong. He was acting for the greater good and faithfully carrying out his duty.

“You may have misunderstood me.” Lin Fan took a deep breath. “This is a weapon of the God-Slaying Army!”

“No one can order the God-Slaying Army to lay down its weapons!”

“Well, you can actually trust our security. It is absolutely safe inside. If you really do not trust it...” The guard lowered his voice. “You could secretly keep something in your pocket, like a pistol... cough, cough. As long as it is not this obvious.”

He was, in effect, giving Lin Fan a hint.

Hide something else properly, and I will quietly play along and pretend I never saw it. You get into the press conference, and no outsider will be able to tell.

That would be good for everyone.

Just please do not walk in with a giant blade hanging there, all right?

It could be said that the guard’s attitude was already very friendly.

“The God-Slaying Army never parts with its blade!” Lin Fan said coldly.

He had never imagined that, as the commander personally named by the Head of State to hold a press conference, he would be stopped by security...

Seeing the two of them locked in stalemate, Old Chen, who had brought Lin Fan here, walked over helplessly and said in a low voice, “Ahem, he was personally named by the Head of State. Look, the time is almost up. If he does not get in... please understand, just understand.”

The guard also looked helpless. “Old Chen, I’m not trying to make things difficult on purpose. It’s just that in a place like this... even the military district chiefs are sitting there neatly dressed and proper. If he walks in carrying a blade, and this is broadcast live at home and abroad, what will people think of Great Xia?”

At that, Old Chen had nothing to say.

He could only turn to Lin Fan and say, “Actually, there’s no need to keep holding it. Why don’t you set it down here for now...”

“Then let me ask you this. If some hidden evil suddenly appears, or if a god descends here ahead of schedule,” Lin Fan looked at Old Chen and said gravely, “as a member of the God-Slaying Army, am I supposed to go look for my blade first?”

The God-Slaying Army had been established precisely to deal with all possible crises.

No one could guarantee that a god would not suddenly descend early, and no one could guarantee that some hidden evil would not appear.

Back then, Lin Fan had made the fatal mistake of carelessness. He had assumed everything would unfold in orderly fashion, exactly as he remembered it. As a result, the being known as Jiang Chen, who had awakened ahead of schedule, slaughtered those young and inexperienced soldiers who were the same age as he was.

That was a sin Lin Fan could never forgive himself for.

It also taught him that danger could appear at any moment. His return had not only changed Great Xia, but also altered the course of history itself.

The blade must never leave his side.

For a moment, Old Chen was left speechless.

And then, in the next instant,

Footsteps sounded.

“Lin Fan, why are you still not inside?”

Lin Fan turned and immediately straightened his back, saluting crisply. “Greetings, Head of State!”

Old Chen and the security guard at his side also snapped to attention. “Head of State, you’re here.”

The Head of State’s gaze swept over the three of them. Though he was an ordinary man, that gaze made even Lin Fan feel a suffocating pressure.

Head of State Zhang Maoyuan.

The soul of Great Xia, carrying the fate of the nation on his shoulders.

If this had been in earlier times, he would have been the emperor of all Great Xia.

“Looks like something is going on,” the Head of State said calmly.

“Reporting to the Head of State, he will not let me in!” Lin Fan said with an aggrieved expression.

The staff member also looked wronged, pointing at the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade at Lin Fan’s waist. “Head of State, this is a prohibited item... If he had hidden something else, I would have turned a blind eye... But the problem is, he is hanging it out in the open, practically begging people to notice it. And that’s inside the Great Hall of the Nation...”

Lin Fan looked at the Head of State with the air of a hardened rogue. “Reporting to the Head of State, the God-Slaying Army never parts with its blade!”

Chen Yan nearby hurriedly added, “Head of State, Lin Fan is indeed being somewhat unreasonable. But... he is also doing this for Great Xia’s sake. If something were to appear here that ordinary modern weapons could not handle... like that Jiang Chen from before...”

“All right, I understand.” The Head of State gave Lin Fan and the staff member a calm look, then said softly, “Rules are dead, people are alive.”

“From this moment on, all members of the God-Slaying Army may enter the palace armed, and their names need not be announced at court.”