Deformed

During this visit to report on his duties, Hua Hong covered everything regarding the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce—from total munitions production down to the development of small-scale mines. The only thing he hadn't done was hand Xu Yuan a list of appointments and dismissals for low-level section cadres. This left Xu Yuan feeling stretched thin, both in his knowledge reserves and his capacity to learn. According to what Hua Hong had said the day before, Xu Yuan's old man could pick up the basics of virtually any skill the moment he laid eyes on it. Even with something as intricate as arrays, he had reached the level of a First-Class Grandmaster in just one year of spare time. Among the people Xu Yuan knew, even Jiang He admitted he had fallen short of such natural genius in his youth. Perhaps only his little fourth sister back home could match their old man in array talent. Yet that was solely in the dao of arrays. Being a genius wasn't even the threshold to meet his old man; you had to be a genius among geniuses. Learning of this past, beyond marveling that his father was a juggernaut dropped straight from heaven, Xu Yuan spent the rest of his thoughts pondering whether the current system of the Prime Minister's Manor was far too deformed. Personal competence and professional expertise complemented each other. The former could be innate, but the latter required time to build. By Xu Yuan's rough estimate, merely adapting to the work of the manor's heir would take at least three years of learning relevant skills. To possess even the rudimentary capacity of the master of the Prime Minister's Manor would take a timeframe measured in decades—ten, twenty, thirty years. If he wanted to match his old man, he would probably have to wait until he was past a hundred years old. That timeframe seemed normal on the surface. After all, the great factions of Great Yan groomed their successors over decades; for a colossus like the Prime Minister's Manor, a slightly longer development cycle was hardly unacceptable. Yet the problem was that Xu Yuan's calculation was based on the premise that he started from the Transcendent Realm. A powerful cultivation base brought qualitative changes to the brain. Upon stepping into the Transcendent Realm, Xu Yuan had attained eidetic memory. Complex numerical calculations required just a glance to yield precise answers. Channeling his cultivation method further accelerated his perception of the world, vastly boosting his efficiency. Xu Yuan's experiences could not be replicated. His old man's talent could not be replicated either. This absolute autocracy reliant entirely on the leader's personal capability was walking a tightrope; the slightest slip, and it would snap. If the two of them were gone and loyal veteran retainers like Hua Hong passed away, with the manor's current system, the Xu family would likely perish within three generations if the next heir proved even slightly incompetent. The system of the Prime Minister's Manor had to be reformed. However, Xu Yuan also understood that now was by no means the time. Pressed by external circumstances, this strongman autocracy remained the optimal solution for weathering Great Yan's tangled web of external pressures. Inside the quiet, elegant chamber, incense smoke rose in curling wisps from the desk. Lou Ji understood human hearts well. The moment she caught the weariness in Xu Yuan's eyes, she perceived the pressure weighing on the boy's mind. After a brief pause, looking at his back, she advised softly, "The Chancellor is still here. There's no need to rush like this." Xu Yuan's steps toward the door did not falter as he replied offhandedly, "I just feel I'm still far too inadequate." A complicated look surfaced in Lou Ji's emerald eyes, and she curved them into a smile. "Don't you still have big sister and Hua Hong to help you?" "Sis, we're almost out of time." With those words, Xu Yuan reined in the exhaustion in his eyes and reached out to pull open the door of Jiulong Xuan. This was Xu Yuan's first time seeing Zong Qingsheng in recent years. During the war against the Barbarians, the old man had avoided meeting him face-to-face to keep Xu Yuan from interfering with his battle plans. The man's appearance had barely changed from his childhood—hale, hearty, and still resembling an iron tower of a giant bear. Zong Qingsheng glanced at the handsome young man inside the door and moved to stride in casually, his deep, resonant voice echoing, "This old man thought you'd keep hiding from me forever—what are you doing, brat?" Before his words finished, Zong Qingsheng felt a gentle qi dynamic coalesce into an invisible barrier before him. His tiger eyes went wide with bewilderment. "Wait, that's not right. When did your cultivation get so high, boy?" Xu Yuan did not answer. He gazed calmly at the bear-like colossus and said unhurriedly, "Mr. Zong, you must be here for military affairs concerning the Black Qilin Army?" Hearing this, Zong Qingsheng pushed aside his bewilderment for the moment and nodded. "Aye, that's right. Let me say this upfront—given the current situation, the Black Qilin Army's pay and provisions cannot be..." "Everything stays as before." "Eh?" "Though I've taken my brother's place, I don't intend to change the decisions he made anytime soon," Xu Yuan replied with a smile. "Nor do I intend to reduce the Black Qilin Army's share." "Changtian!" Lou Ji's displeased voice came immediately from behind him. The pie of the Chancellor's Manor was only so large. Hua Hong had departed beaming with satisfaction, and now the Black Qilin Army was to maintain its immense expenditures. The only place left to cut funds was her Black Scale Guards. She felt betrayed by Changtian. She should have been the greatest beneficiary of Changtian taking power, yet the boy had prioritized satisfying Hua Hong's and Zong Qingsheng's demands instead. Lou Ji spoke swiftly to Xu Yuan, "War is on the verge of erupting! It's already too late to train new troops now—giving this money to his Black Qilin Army is a waste! Right now, the Black Scale Guards need vast resources to activate our overt and covert networks..." "When the Third Young Master speaks, since when does the Chief of the Black Scales have any say?" Zong Qingsheng's booming voice cut Lou Ji off directly, ringing with righteous indignation. "Do you know how long this war will last? Without silver to train fresh reserves, if we fail to hold vital passes and key garrisons, are you going to throw your Black Scale Guards in to plug the line? And do you have any idea how much material a full-scale war burns through in a single day, woman?!" Lou Ji's beautiful eyes narrowed into two crescents glinting with cold light. Just as she was about to lash back, Xu Yuan cut in, "Mr. Zong, since you've achieved your objective, speaking a few words less won't cost you anything." Zong Qingsheng frowned slightly, but remembering that this god of wealth had just promised the silver, he gave a chuckling nod. "Since the Third Young Master has spoken, this old man won't say another word. I'll take my leave." With that, Zong Qingsheng swept a casual glance from his tiger eyes over the woman and left with a booming laugh. Lou Ji clenched her fists, trembling with rage inside the room. Xu Yuan paid no heed to his older sister's sulking for the moment, calmly watching Zong Qingsheng's laughing figure disappear down the corridor. The old man had shown no intention of reporting on his duties. It seemed that beyond the disbursement of pay and allocation of supplies, the entire Black Qilin Army answered directly to his old man. Even the heir of the Prime Minister's Manor had no authority to mobilize a single soldier. Yet Xu Yuan wasn't particularly surprised. No matter how loving and close their family might be, military authority was always an absolute bottom line. With that thought, Xu Yuan turned to look at his elder brother and the three Feng youngsters waiting outside, smiling as he said, "Brother, bring the three of them in."