On this early summer morning, candles burned brightly in the spacious Disciplinary Hall, yet Li Qingxian felt a cold draft from time to time.
Li Qingxian walked to a spot at the very back and leaned casually against the wall.
’It saves energy.’
A moment later, Zhou Chunfeng looked at Cao Ming and gestured with his eyes in Li Qingxian’s direction.
Cao Ming glanced over, a look of resignation on his face. ’What a pampered young master,’ he thought. He got up, walked to Li Qingxian’s side, and sent a telepathic message. "Mr. Xiaoli, this Disciplinary Hall may not be Jinluan Hall, but there are still rules. You can stand around lazily if you must, but you can’t lean against the wall."
Li Qingxian nodded. ’Being an official is so much trouble. I wonder how long it’ll take me to get used to it.’
Li Qingxian moved slightly away from the wall, imitating the other Tenth-Grade Officials by lowering his head and slumping his shoulders. In his mind, however, he began reviewing the Fate Skills he had learned.
Fate Skill was a broad, all-encompassing concept.
In the narrow sense, Fate Skill referred to techniques used by Fate Masters that consumed Magical Power, such as the Qi Observation Skill, the Observing Fate Skill, the Inference Technique, the Life Acceleration Skill, and so on.
Li Qingxian glanced up at the hall, which was a sea of officials in red and green robes. He resisted the powerful urge to use his Observing Qi and Divining Fate skill.
’If I use it now, my Life Mansion would probably be shattered by the combined force of the Life Mansions of all these powerful figures.’
The Night Guard was a major government office on par with the Six Ministries, a self-contained entity that had long since formed its own Great Trend Formation.
’Me using Observing Qi and Fortune at a time like this would be like a six-year-old poking a hornet’s nest—over a hundred of them, in fact.’
’Aside from my finite supply of Qi Fortune Fish, the best way to enhance my Observing Qi and Divining Fate power is with the Spiritual Eye, Seeing the Dragon. I need to cultivate Covering Eyes as soon as possible.’
Li Qingxian focused his mind, entering his Spirit Platform.
With a mere thought, the full text of the Covering Eyes technique materialized before his Thunder Dragon Fire Seal.
This was Magic Text, which was written by consuming Magical Power and could be directly imprinted onto a Spirit Platform.
The tiny, neat script was clean and imbued with a powerful grace—the handiwork of Jiangg Youfei.
Jiangg Youfei had once instructed him that learning magic required a combination of diligence and ingenuity.
Diligence meant not looking for shortcuts at the beginning. One had to first quiet the mind, memorize the text, and understand the fundamental meaning of every sentence and every word.
Ingenuity meant that after memorizing and understanding, one had to begin thinking deeply: What was the great path underlying this magic? What were its characteristics? How was it different from or similar to other kinds of magic? Only by thoroughly grasping everything related to the magic could one be considered to have truly learned it.
Li Qingxian decided to start with diligence and slowly memorize the text.
As for the brain-twisting combination of diligence and ingenuity, he would set that aside for now.
As he silently recited the text, the Thunder Ball held in the Thunder Dragon’s mouth began to spin faster, accelerating the accumulation of his Magical Power.
After a long while, Li Qingxian felt a bit tired and stopped his cultivation of Covering Eyes.
He looked up to see that the Disciplinary Assembly had already begun.
Several scarlet-robed Disciplinary Officers were discussing personnel appointments.
The black stone dais was still empty. Of the four Purple Sandalwood Master Chairs, only one was occupied.
Those four seats belonged to the four highest-ranking officials under the Guard Commander. In descending order of rank, they were the Left Commander, Right Commander, Left Deputy Commander, and Right Deputy Commander.
Han Anbo had told him yesterday that "Deputy Commander" was simply a deputy role.
The man sitting in the fourth-ranked chair must be the Right Deputy Commander, Lord Yuu Xianhe. He was a Senior Fourth Grade Literature Cultivator who presided over the Night Guard’s daily affairs.
Yuu Xianhe was slightly portly. He sat sipping his tea with his eyes narrowed, seemingly not participating in the discussion.
Li Qingxian listened for a while. The Middle-Third Grade officials were discussing high-level Night Guard matters; there was no point for a mere Tenth-Grade official like him to listen in. So, he resumed practicing his Fate Skills, silently reciting the Observing Fate Skill in his Spirit Platform.
The Observing Fate Skill primarily involved arranging Life Pillars, determining the Life Land, divining Destiny Stars, calculating the Life God, and perceiving hidden elements.
After finishing his recitation of the Observing Fate Skill, he moved on to the Inference Technique.
The Observing Fate Skill was used to determine "what" existed within a person’s Life Mansion, while the Inference Technique was used to deduce the "relationships" between all things.
This mainly included the relationship between the Life Land and the Four Pillars, between the Life Pillars and Destiny Stars, among the Destiny Stars themselves, between the Life Formation and the Life God, as well as the relationships between the Fate Grids of different people, and so on and so forth.
After some time, Li Qingxian paused his cultivation, closing his eyes to rest and recover his energy.
A moment later, a familiar voice rang out. "Lord Tao, the Street Patrol Room is already short-staffed. We cannot afford to send anyone on an external assignment."
Li Qingxian immediately opened his eyes. It was Hex Lei, the Room Leader of the Divine Capital Bureau’s Street Patrol Room.
Another man countered, "Every summer, the Demon Race dispatches small squads to harass our territories, either by sneaking across the Great River or crossing the Western Desert. For the sake of the Imperial Court and the people, we in the Night Guard should do our part. Patrolling the Divine Capital is a task the Five Cities Military Department can handle, but venturing out to exterminate demons is something they cannot."
Li Qingxian looked at the speaker. The man wore the puma patch of a Seventh-Grade official, unadorned with gold thread. With his pale face, crimson lips, and delicate features, he was exceptionally conspicuous among the swarthy Martial Artists. Compared to Zhou Chunfeng, however, he was nothing but dust.
"Then perhaps your Finance Department should send more people. Our Street Patrol Room’s new Tenth-Grade official will not be going to battle. On the other hand, Lord Tao Zhi has just been promoted to Room Leader of the Finance Department’s Accountants. He could go out and serve the nation," Hex Lei said lazily. He then turned his head, glanced at Li Qingxian, and gave a slight nod.
The Finance Department, the new Room Leader of the Finance Department’s Accountants, the Street Patrol Room, leaving the city to fight demons, a new Tenth-Grade official... Li Qingxian’s eyes widened slightly. ’Are they targeting me?’
Li Qingxian took a careful look at Tao Zhi. ’This is the man who replaced Pang Mingjing.’
Then, Li Qingxian narrowed his eyes, searching for Wei Yong, the Disciplinary Officer of the Finance Department.
’He was the one who sent Pang Mingjing to kill me that day.’
Soon, Li Qingxian’s gaze fell upon a man in the scarlet robes of the Fifth Grade. He had an average appearance, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. He was of medium build with a black mole on his left ear, and his hands were dark from practicing the Iron Palm.
He matched Han Anbo’s description of Wei Yong perfectly.
Wei Yong happened to look over at that moment, a faint smile touching his lips before he turned his gaze away.
The man’s gaze was mild, and his smile seemed casual—as if he were merely glancing at a stranger. But Li Qingxian knew he had been recognized.
’At my age, I stand out too much among the Tenth-Grade officials.’
A meeting of foes, yet the air was deceptively serene.
The Lower Three Grades officials from the Finance Department and the Divine Capital Bureau began to argue.
The Middle-Third Grade officials either remained silent or put on a show of amicability.
After a moment, the pale, scholar-like Tao Zhi looked toward Li Qingxian. "I say, why don’t we let the Divine Capital Bureau’s new Tenth-Grade official speak for himself? The nation is in peril; should he go to the front lines and fight the enemy?"
Li Qingxian was about to speak, but he saw Hex Lei repeatedly signaling him with his eyes. Recalling Han Anbo’s advice, a chill ran down his spine. He looked toward Right Deputy Commander Yuu Xianhe, seated at the very front, and cupped his hands. "Reporting to Lord Yuu, Lord Tao has a question for me. However, this subordinate is young and speaks bluntly. I am not sure if it is appropriate for me to answer publicly."
Yuu Xianhe chuckled. "You’re a man of the Divine Capital Bureau. Feel free to speak your mind."
"Thank you, Lord Yuu," Li Qingxian said. He then turned to Tao Zhi, the new Room Leader of the Finance Department’s Accountants. "The most urgent task for the Night Guard is to first root out the traitors who are harming our own colleagues, and only then should we venture out of the capital to exterminate demons."
Some officials gaped in astonishment. ’Is that something you can say in the Disciplinary Assembly Hall?’
Some of the Military Officers, however, laughed heartily, finding this spirited young man more and more to their liking.
Tao Zhi was stunned. He had intended to trap Li Qingxian in a dilemma but never expected him to sidestep the question entirely and launch a direct counterattack.
Tao Zhi glanced at his direct superior, Wei Yong, cleared his throat, and said, "You must be Li Qingxian?"
Li Qingxian cupped his hands respectfully. Adopting the calm, measured tone of a Middle-Third Grade official, he slowly replied, "To answer Lord Tao, yes, I am the Li Qingxian who was nearly killed by Pang Mingjing of the Finance Department on Ministry of Revenue Street."
Tao Zhi’s face darkened.