Across Drill Ground Tian One, exclamations of shock rose and fell in waves. Not only were Liu Kuo and Luo Chan left stunned, but the martial students instantly erupted into a boiling uproar upon hearing that Huang Tian had broken through to the eighth rank.
"Is he even human?"
"Brother He, let me slap you twice to see if I'm still dreaming."
"I'll slap you twice!"
"Can this even be called genius anymore?"
"The making of a Grandmaster!"
"Merely a Grandmaster? If he maintains this pace of breakthroughs, going beyond Grandmaster in the future isn't out of the question either!"
"A Celestial Being? That's far too distant. Besides, which Celestial Being powerhouse in this world wasn't a peerless genius or prodigy in their youth? They weren't necessarily inferior to Huang Tian—they might have been even stronger! Are you praising him to the skies just to set him up for a fall?"
"Ahem, Celestial Beings are legends, but Grandmaster is definitely not an issue. We might have a future Grandmaster as our fellow graduate!"
"..."
Everyone chattered at once, flushed with excitement.
Liu Kuo gave Huang Tian a profound look, then projected his voice: "Instruction is suspended for today. I am making a trip to the Guard office. Wait here, understood?"
With two people breaking through in a single day—and Huang Tian's talent being so downright terrifying—how could he possibly focus on teaching? His only thought was to report this up the chain as soon as possible.
"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.
Liu Kuo hurried away immediately.
Once he was gone, the crowd gathered around Huang Tian, offering joyous congratulations in high spirits. Faced with their goodwill, Huang Tian smiled in return.
Seeing his thunder stolen, Luo Chan didn't mind in the slightest; once the shock passed, he was genuinely happy for Huang Tian.
Roughly two quarters of an hour later, a hurried Liu Kuo finally rushed back.
"Huang Tian, come with me to see Pacification Commissioner Bai!"
The words fell, prompting yet another chorus of gasps.
Pacification Commissioner Bai Yuanfu, a fourth-rank martial powerhouse, was one of the three Pacification Commissioners of the Kunyun Commandery Martial Restraint Guard and the strongest among them. He stood just a half-step away from the Grandmaster realm, capable of breaking through at any moment!
"Luo Chan, you come along too."
"Me?"
Luo Chan pointed at his own chest. "I can... go too?"
In truth, what he meant was: *Do I even qualify?*
A faint smile touched Liu Kuo's lips. "You two broke through on the same day. The commissioner was quite pleased to hear it and told you to accompany Huang Tian."
Luo Chan understood.
He was just a tagalong bonus.
Yet even as a tagalong bonus, he was thrilled!
That was a grand Pacification Commissioner! If one could earn his favor, securing martial cultivation resources and climbing the official ranks would become infinitely easier!
Didn't he see the envious gazes being cast his way by the surrounding martial students?
"Let's go. Move out now!"
With a wave of Liu Kuo's hand, Huang Tian and Luo Chan followed closely behind him toward the Martial Restraint Guard government office, leaving behind a crowd of martial students who no longer had any heart for practice.
The government office, the Pacification Commissioner's chambers.
When Huang Tian and Luo Chan followed Liu Kuo inside, they immediately saw a scholarly-looking middle-aged man seated on a cushioned divan. He wore a bright crimson brocade robe embroidered with a vivid, claw-baring winged tiger.
"Pacification Commissioner!" the three greeted.
"Mm. So you are Huang Tian?" Bai Yuanfu's gentle gaze settled on Huang Tian, carrying a hint of curiosity.
"I am."
"You entered the Guard Academy barely twenty days ago, yet in rapid succession you cultivated force, entered the ranks, and broke through to the eighth rank. Is this true?"
"It is."
"Mmh, good! Exceptionally fine!"
Bai Yuanfu rose from the divan and said with a smile, "In our Kunyun Commandery, not a single person in decades has possessed talent greater than yours. No—not even in the entire province!"
Huang Tian caught the nuance in his words. *Neither the commandery nor the province had one, but the Imperial Capital does?*
Luo Chan was no fool either; he caught Bai Yuanfu's implication and marveled inwardly, *Could the Imperial Capital truly have talents who can match Huang Tian?*
Bai Yuanfu seemed to sense their confusion and gave a hearty laugh. "Don't jump to wild guesses. Huang Tian's talent would be among the very top even at our Martial Restraint Guard headquarters in the Imperial Capital. In several decades, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone more outstanding than him. However, further back in the past, it was a different story..."
A trace of fervor surfaced in his eyes. "A hundred years ago, our Martial Restraint Guard's Chief Commander, Wan Shenyang, burst onto the scene. In a mere twenty years, he rose from someone who had never even cultivated force to a supreme Celestial Being! His 'Sun Patrolling the Heavens' shone like the Golden Crow suspended aloft, its divine majesty reflecting over towering peaks and mighty rivers!
"During the Battle of Wuzhou, the Chief Commander defeated two lineage masters of the Demonic Sect single-handedly and suppressed and slew several first-rank Demonic Sect Grandmasters! Decades have passed since, his cultivation has attained miraculous heights, and he stands third on the Five Nations Celestial Being Ranking!"
The Chief Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard!
A supreme Celestial Being!
Luo Chan held his breath at the revelation, Liu Kuo looked on with yearning, while Huang Tian wondered curiously, *I wonder who would be stronger—a Celestial Being powerhouse or a Golden Core great cultivator?*
Bai Yuanfu looked at Huang Tian. "The Chief Commander is a figure seen once in a thousand years; you need not compare yourself to him. Yet do not belittle yourself either. Cherish your gift, cultivate diligently, and when you achieve the Grandmaster realm in the future to hold sway over an entire region, how exhilarating that will be!"
Huang Tian did not argue and simply nodded.
Bai Yuanfu shifted his gaze to Luo Chan. "You must be Luo Chan, who broke through on the same day as Huang Tian?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Mm, you did well too."
Luo Chan gave a sheepish grin. Though the praise carried a perfunctory air, it still thrilled him. Others didn't even have the chance to meet the Pacification Commissioner, yet here he was, personally commended!
Bai Yuanfu continued, "Huang Tian, in view of your extraordinary talent, I have decided to grant you rewards.
"First, as an eighth-rank martial artist, regulations dictate you be appointed to the post of Platoon Commander to patrol local territories under a superior officer. But for now, while your official title remains as Platoon Commander, you need not take up duties. Focus peacefully on cultivating to the seventh rank before anything else.
"During this period, the medicinal pills, silver, and gold required for your cultivation will be provided by the Martial Restraint Guard. Mm, your stipend will not be docked in the slightest, and I will grant you an additional five thousand taels of silver alongside a three-courtyard residence in Baoqing Ward.
"That residence is only a street away from this Guard office, ensuring utmost security. Should you encounter any danger, you need only channel your inner force and shout, and reinforcements will arrive in moments."
At a time when the imperial court and the pugilistic world stood locked in tense confrontation, Huang Tian, as a rising prodigy of the Kunyun Commandery Martial Restraint Guard, was bound to be viewed by the five great sects as a latent threat to be eliminated swiftly. That was why Bai Yuanfu had arranged his living quarters close to the Guard office for easy protection.
"Many thanks, Pacification Commissioner!"
"No need. I merely wish to see more talents and powerhouses emerge from our Martial Restraint Guard. If you wish to thank me, dedicate yourself to cultivation and break through early. I look forward to the day you step into the Grandmaster realm!"
"I will."
"Haha, good! I love seeing young people with high spirits!"
Bai Yuanfu laughed heartily, then turned to Luo Chan. "You are still young and have achieved the eighth rank; that is quite respectable. I will grant you five bottles of Blood Condensation Pills and two hundred taels of silver as a reward."
Luo Chan was overjoyed. "Many thanks, Pacification Commissioner!"
"Mm, that is roughly all."
With that, Bai Yuanfu tossed over a piece of white jade carved with intricate patterns, which landed steadily in Huang Tian's hand. He added meaningfully:
"If you run into trouble, you may show this jade of mine. In all of vast Kunyun Commandery, few dare not to give me face..."
Chapter 67