Leaving Jiang Cheng’s Public Office, Shen Hao walked toward the Commander’s Office, contemplating as he carried the newly acquired warrant.
Getting promoted is a good thing, especially stepping into a Senior Fifth Grade post, and considering he’s just over thirty, once Shen Hao reaches a Senior Fifth Grade position, his career will keep expanding, not stall here.
To be honest, this went more smoothly than Shen Hao himself expected; originally, he thought his promotion might have to wait until the southern war ended, relying on the so-called big operations of the Commander’s Office to be realized. But now, it’s ahead of schedule.
Still, there’s pressure. According to Jiang Cheng, what he’s about to command is all the Black Banner Battalion in Jingxi—far bigger than what he’s been handling so far.
If it were another Government Office, being put in charge of such a large operation at once could get very troublesome; without some experience and time to digest, you’d never get a grip on it. But in Xuanqing Guard, once you’ve mastered the most fundamental tactics, it’s actually not that difficult.
What’s the most fundamental aspect of being an official in Xuanqing Guard? In Shen Hao’s understanding, it’s two words: reward and punishment.
As long as you play those two well, you basically won’t screw up, and with a few sharp, targeted tactics you can quickly get new subordinates in line. Once the people are sorted out, everything else tends to proceed smoothly.
What if there are troublemakers below? Just kill them. That’s the part Shen Hao likes most about the Xuanqing Guard system—and what always keeps him alert.
The brutality and harshness of Xuanqing Guard aren’t just directed outward; internally, it is always the same. If anyone dares to provoke him, openly or secretly, Shen Hao’s killings have never known what "hesitation" means.
Besides, what Shen Hao is mostly thinking about is what comes next. Once he commands the whole Black Banner Battalion in Jingxi, he’ll have to deliver results, make changes—if nothing impressive comes out, there’s no way to satisfy his superiors.
Thinking all the way, Shen Hao reached the Commander’s Office, handed in his warrant, and waited in the tea room. As always, once Shen Hao sat down, idle chatter in the tea room ceased. A faint, almost tangible Evil Qi flickered through the air, prickling skin and prompting people to sigh: Lord Shen really just returned from the front lines, didn’t he? That Evil Qi seems thicker than before!
After waiting for about the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, the process was done. Shen Hao received the receipt and left the tea room for the Commander’s Office Library.
The largest, most comprehensive library in all of Xuanqing Guard is here—especially concerning magic, this place has the most material.
He asked the library Deacon, then headed up to a corner on the third floor—where writings and books related to Soul Techniques were specially kept.
Coincidentally, Shen Hao spotted a familiar figure: Li Qing, Deputy from the Major Case Department.
Shen Hao had no interest in greeting someone who obviously disliked him; he simply treated Li Qing as air, and began searching both shelves for any clues about the technique used in the case.
According to Shen Hao’s hypothesis: to embed a Killing Skill in a book, it certainly isn’t just a soul technique, but some kind of insidious, blended magic. After all, he himself possesses Soul Power, a skill that most ordinary cultivators haven’t even heard of, and his Soul Strength far surpasses others at his level. Yet he couldn’t manage to weave soul-based power into a regular book—much less do it that covertly.
So, Shen Hao sought out material generally related to Soul Techniques, but not purely restricted to them—miscellaneous writings blending other skills.
Focusing on miscellaneous writings. Shen Hao didn’t believe such a bizarre technique would be formally documented; more likely, it’d show up as "hearsay," in miscellaneous essays.
While Shen Hao was busy digging through texts, beside him, Li Qing—the one he’d been ignoring—had a whole silent drama. Mainly, she noticed Shen Hao was almost exclusively reading miscellaneous writings, and scoffed inwardly: Does Shen Hao not even know the difference between essays and proper books? Skipping real evidence and searching for unreliable stories?
Moreover, since it was already confirmed to be a Soul Technique, why look at blended techniques? Isn’t that just wasting time?
"Lord Shen, honestly you didn’t have to come. Lord Xue already sent me to track down the origin of the magic used in the case. You might as well take a rest." Li Qing felt Shen Hao was just wasting time on pointless tasks; after holding back a long time, she couldn’t resist speaking up, her tone clearly a bit contemptuous.
Shen Hao looked up at Li Qing, lips curling ever so slightly. He found it amusing—he had found all the leads for the case, and now the entire Ministry of Justice Major Case Department was basically scavenging after him. Where did Li Qing’s sense of superiority come from?
"Either shut up, or I’ll throw you out."
"You..."
Shen Hao’s oppressive aura was no longer something Li Qing could withstand. If he didn’t want to "interfere" with the Major Case Department’s affairs, just for her last words Shen Hao was ready to toss a Soul Power field and sling this self-important woman out the third floor window. Now, only suppressing her with aura—keeping her from nagging—was already showing significant restraint.
Li Qing’s experience was entirely different now. Before, Shen Hao seemed like a smiling tiger—his gaze sharp as blades—but now, she felt like a venomous snake beside her, fangs bared, forked tongue flicking, ready to take her life at any moment. Especially the oppressive aura; it made speaking nearly impossible, her throat clogged as if with a heavy stone.
This damned Shen Hao! How could he dare be so disrespectful!
She thought about lashing out, but immediately dropped the idea. Reason told Li Qing: don’t provoke him further, or you really might die.
Inwardly still cursing that Shen Hao wouldn’t die a good death, she quickly spun her mind and quietly continued reading, no longer casting a glance at Shen Hao.
From morning until afternoon, Shen Hao ate lunch in the Commander’s Office mess hall, continued searching, and only after Lower Emissary time did he leave the library.
"Phew..." Letting out a long breath. It had been ages since he’d spent so many hours poring over texts—truthfully, it was a bit exhausting.
But the outcome was pretty good.
Just as Shen Hao thought: the technique that hides Soul Technique in written words, killing by text, did not appear directly in any essay or book. Judging by Li Qing’s blank face, still leafing through classics, it was clear.
However, though none recorded the technique outright, Shen Hao found a vague but plausible reference: once, in the Weak Water Basin, there was a prodigy Talisman Master—not only skilled in engraving talismans, but able to forcibly blend simple skills right into ordinary text.
But the Talisman Master died young, and their skill was never passed on. Only a few scattered anecdotes are whispered about in the Cultivation Realm.