"Everyone! Look this way, hey everyone, listen up! Anyone without identification, come this way! We're going to issue you temporary Twin Cities IDs so you can live in Zaun and Piltover for free for the next week. Twin Cities will cover all your normal expenses!"
On the steel bridge spanning the strait and standing on the sea, several law enforcement officers, from Piltover and Zaun, were extremely anxious, shouting loudly at the ever-growing crowd.
A group of people, accompanied by law enforcement officers, entered the New City area developed by Twin Cities, and immediately another group of people would appear, waiting to be escorted by Twin Cities law enforcement officers.
Scenes like this are playing out at other docks and intersections as well.
The reason for such a large influx of people is that in four days it will be the wedding day of Li Ke, the lord of Zaun. Starting today, Twin Cities will cancel the city entry tax for one week and will cover all normal expenses in Twin Cities for all those who have signed, had their photos taken, and obtained temporary identity certificates.
Normal expenses here refer to food, lodging, and transportation; transportation, meals, and accommodation are all free!
All of these expenses will be borne by Councilor Talis, who is the wealthiest man in the Twin Cities and also serves as the best man and sponsor of Councilor Li Ke 'Talis wedding.
For Twin Cities, money is a minor issue. Even if the number of employees doubled, enough to cover a week's worth of work, Twin Cities wouldn't suffer any serious damage. At most, they'd just be slightly bled dry.
Therefore, the problem is not about money, but about manpower.
All law enforcement officers from both cities have been dispatched. With such a large flow of people, accidents are inevitable if strict control is not exercised.
People from all over the world come here—legitimate and underworld figures, merchants, wanderers, pirates, lone rangers, and so on. Among these people, there are always some with strong tempers, and these are the groups that law enforcement officers will strictly guard.
Damn it, if something happens on Representative Li Ke's wedding day, then these law enforcement officers will be a complete joke!
"Ekko! Over here!"
A voice suddenly called out to the white-haired boy who was standing on the bridge on Hextech Flyboard, looking around. Ekko looked down and saw that the person who called him was Malson.
"Come here quickly!" Malson urged again. He was sitting at a table, his face flushed. Malson was surrounded by people, and Ekko even saw a few strangely dressed Vastaya.
"What's wrong? There's still half an hour until the shift change." Ekko landed nimbly on the ground. In the entire Twin Cities, his skill in manipulating the Hextech Flying Board was the best, after all, he was the one who created it.
Don't let Ekko's current image as a model student and young man fool you. A few years ago, he was a gang leader. As the leader of the Wildfire Gang, a major gang opposing Silco, how could he possibly be a weak scholar?
Malson stood up, grabbed Ekko's arm, and shoved him into a seat while saying in pain, "Do me a favor, my stomach hurts so badly, can you stay and watch over me for a while?"
"Where are the others?" Ekko asked, looking at Malson with amusement.
"They all have their own things to take care of. Isn't Scar leading a group of people patrolling the New City with Wei right now? If I weren't really short-handed, why would I have called you over?" Malson said, his body trembling with pain.
Seeing this, Ekko didn't ask Malson any more questions. Instead, he nodded and smiled, saying, "Okay, I understand. Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on things for you."
"Okay, I'll treat you to drinks tonight." After saying that, Malson dashed away through the law enforcement entrance and quickly disappeared from sight.
Sitting at his desk, Ekko looked at the registration record, then flipped over the sign next to him.
A law enforcement officer maintaining order not far ahead saw this and immediately called out to a group of people, saying loudly, "You, you, and you too, yes, you too, please come with me to process your identity documents."
Soon, a group of people appeared beside Ekko. Ekko looked up, pen in hand, at the young man in front of him, who was wearing a scarf and looked quite young.
"Name."
"Slori."
Where are you from?
"Nashramae".
"Shurima, alright, sign your name on this paper. If you can't read, just press the inkpad next to it. Don't worry, there are only two things written on this paper." Ekko said gently, noticing the young man's expression becoming somewhat uneasy.
"First, I will strictly abide by all the laws of the Twin Cities."
"Secondly, I will take full responsibility for all my actions in the Twin Cities."
"Remember the instructions the law enforcement officer just shouted at the dock? Those were just things on paper," Ekko said to him, meaning that the instructions the officer had shouted were the laws of the Twin Cities to be followed.
The young man nodded, then picked up a pen and wrote his name on the paper.
After finishing writing, he looked at Ekko, Ekko put the paper in the bottom drawer and looked up at him, saying, "You can go now. Wait over there. An officer will take you in shortly. After you get your pass, you can choose your accommodation. Finally, I wish you a pleasant week."
The young man was clearly excited and nodded vigorously. "Thank you."
He was Shurima from Nashramae, a fabric merchant, and he came to Twin Cities to look for opportunities to meet other businessmen and expand his sales channels.
Previously, there weren't many opportunities, partly because going to sea required a lot of money. But this time, with an important person getting married, the Hex Gate around the world around Twin Cities were all in operation, and the Hextech ships were constantly traveling back and forth around the world, covering the toll fees for traveling to and from Twin Cities.
This greatly helped the young man for seven days. Even if he didn't find a businessman he could negotiate with, it greatly broadened his horizons. All he needed to invest was some effort and time, wasn't it?
"Next."
In a short time, Ekko signed many people.
Just as Ekko was getting a little bored, suddenly, the sky seemed to darken, and Ekko felt himself enveloped in shadow. Then, he looked up and saw a figure in front of him wearing a tattered cloak. This figure wasn't particularly tall; in terms of height alone, Councilor Talis was much taller than him.
But isn't he a bit too muscular?!
Ekko stared blankly at the man. His arms, visible from under the cloak, were purple, with muscles bulging like steel. Dirty bandages were wrapped around his wrists, but instead of emitting an unpleasant odor, they smelled of mugwort.
Behind him was a bundle wrapped in bandages, shaped like a long staff, but with a rather thick head. Through the bandages, it looked more like a torch at first glance.
But where can you find a torch that long?
Looking further up, Ekko saw a... a mask? The steel mask had several small holes, from which a faint blue light emanated. It was looking down at Ekko.
"Surname, full name."
"Jax," the newcomer said calmly.
"Where are you from?" Ekko swallowed hard. He was known for his courage, especially considering he had participated in the Freljord War. Although he had only followed Sejuani's tribe around at the time, he had still witnessed the War of the Deity, and their enormous size had greatly shocked Ekko.
But for Ekko, a man who has seen countless storms and even Demigod, how could he possibly feel fear when facing this man named Jax?
"Where are you from?" Jax repeated, then added calmly, "A man without a home."
"No hometown? That's going to be complicated. You'd better be more specific," Ekko said immediately after hearing what the other person said.
"Those are the Shurima," Jax said.
"Alright, Shurima." Ekko nodded.
Then, he asked Jax a few more questions, and contrary to his imposing manner, Jax answered them all.
Then came the signing. Jax shook his head at the pen Ekko offered and instead looked at the inkpad beside him.
Then he stretched out his hand, and Ekko stared at it, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Purple skin is one thing, muscles as big as steel is another, but what's with those fingers?!
Ekko saw Jax's outstretched hand, a hand so enormous that Ekko had no doubt it could grab his head, but the question was, why did it only have three fingers?!
Jax has only three fingers: a thick thumb and two long, thick fingers, each the size of three normal fingers put together.
"Alright, you can go now. Remember, once you sign this, if you cause trouble in Twin Cities, we have the right to arrest you and send you to jail," Ekko warned.
But Jax didn't leave. Instead, he turned around, crossed his arms, and looked at someone behind him.
"???" Ekko was stunned.
What does that mean?
Ekko also peered over Jax's figure and saw a middle-aged man with long black hair, a thin face, and a rather short stature. His eyes were extremely beautiful, and he had a nice mark on his forehead and a very long beard. His demeanor was completely different from everyone else present.
He possesses an indescribable quality: gentle, refined, serene, and peaceful.
Jax turned to look at him and suddenly said, "Come on, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Wait for me? I don't know you."
"Does it matter?" Jax laughed. The enforcer beside him nudged him, but he stood there, seemingly oblivious, and said, "I didn't expect that on this trip, I would have already encountered two powerful individuals. Adding the woman I met before coming here, that makes three. For a long time, I haven't even encountered a worthy opponent, but this time I've encountered three!"
"Besides, you're stronger than the other two!" Jax told him.
"First warning to you! Obey the orders of the law enforcement officers and do not block the way here!" The faces of the several law enforcement officers pushing Jax were red. Several adults were pushing him, but he did not respond at all, standing still like a wall!
Seeing this, Ekko spoke up to stop the officers.
He realized that this man named Jax was no ordinary person, and neither was that middle-aged man over there!
The world is vast, and there are many powerful beings. If it weren't for Li Ke, Twin Cities would still be blindly considering itself the center of the world and believing itself to be powerful. However, after witnessing so many grand scenes with Li Ke, Ekko realized that there are a group of people in this world who are as strong as monsters.
Udyr, the Winter's Claw, is; Karma of Ionia is; Swain of Noxus is.
As for these two, although Ekko wasn't sure if they could compare to those monsters, even if they couldn't, they probably wouldn't be too far off.
Damn it, this is something a few law enforcement officers can't handle!
Even if Vander came, he probably couldn't handle it!
This matter clearly requires Li Ke to step in!
Ekko felt a headache coming on, and after a moment of silence, the middle-aged man finally spoke.
"I have no intention of sparring with you. I came to Twin Cities to see Jayce," he said calmly to Jax Talis.
"Don't want to spar with me? That's strange. In my opinion, you and I are the same kind of people." Jax tilted his head and looked at the other person, then he took a few steps to walk to his side.
Then they heard the other person say:
"In the past, I would have loved to do this, but not now. I have more important things to do now."
Jax was somewhat angry upon hearing this, because the middle-aged man in front of him was the person most similar to himself he had seen in the past thousand years, but now this person said that he was unwilling to spar.
Is there anything more important than pursuing and exploring the path of martial arts?
For beings like them, finding a worthy opponent in their lifetime is extremely difficult; having a qualified opponent is no easy feat!
"Do you know what you're saying? You're defiling your own martial arts! I've been watching you ever since you stepped onto the dock. Your sword intent is clearly incredibly sharp, and you're far stronger than the rogue I dealt with earlier. But now that you see me, you actually say you don't want to spar with me?"
Jax spoke, he suddenly exerted force in his arm, and the long staff he was carrying on his back was thrown swiftly.
No one present noticed what happened; they just felt a gust of wind pass by, and then they saw Jax carrying a long staff.
A hint of helplessness flickered in the middle-aged man's handsome, narrow eyes. He slightly cupped his hands and said, "I understand what you mean, but I also have my own difficulties. Blindly pursuing martial arts will only lead to losing oneself. I've experienced that myself."
Jax clenched his fists. He had just thrown the long stick at the middle-aged man, but the man simply reached out and lightly slapped it back with a deft touch.
This skill... indeed, his judgment was correct!
This guy's strength is really not much worse than mine!
But how old is he? Jax has lived for over a thousand years!
"I don't understand." Seeing that his opponent really had no intention of sparring with him, Jax felt somewhat bored.
For a martial artist like him, the greatest happiness is having a worthy and evenly matched opponent, and Jax believes that his opponent should be such a person.
There are many powerful creatures in this world, but very few powerful humans who can use their martial arts to slay extraordinary beings beneath them.
The woman with the sword and the wandering swordsman with the longsword were both very strong, but to Jax, their strength lay only in "skill"; their physical abilities and spirit were too weak.
To spar with them, Jax must seal his power, otherwise he might accidentally kill them. But this person in front of him is different; in a fight against him, Jax can unleash his full power.
But the other party doesn't have that intention.
This really bothered Jax.
But Jax wasn't an unreasonable person. He turned and walked towards the officer's position, leaving behind the words: "I don't know what your difficulties are, but in my opinion, you will be disappointed if you miss me, just as I am disappointed now."
As the middle-aged man watched Jax's departing figure, he hesitated in place. Just as Jax was about to be taken into the Twin Cities by the enforcers arranged by Ekko, the middle-aged man suddenly moved and took a step forward.
Jax stopped walking, turning his back to the middle-aged man.
"If you're still here after I've finished my business, then we'll find a place to explore the path of martial arts."
His long-sleeved robes fluttered without wind, and a single thought permeated the entire scene. The middle-aged man's tranquil aura transformed into an extremely sharp one, and his handsome eyes held a serious expression as he spoke to Jax's retreating figure.
"Alright! I'll wait for you, one year, five years, ten years! Even a hundred years! I won't leave until you finish what you've done!" Jax laughed heartily upon hearing this.
Jax understood his meaning from this sword intent.
He did indeed have his own reasons, because his sword intent allowed Jax to sense the other's feelings!
Powerful and resilient, yet tinged with bitterness and a hint of loneliness.
He didn't live long, but his insights and experiences were remarkable!
I understand how you feel, and I'll be waiting for you!
Jax strode forward, his back to the middle-aged man, waving his arms. "Icathia, Jax!"
He could hear the other person's voice in his ears.
"Wuju Order, Yi."