Truly

When the clerk first saw Huang Tian walk in, he had wondered what business brought him here. After all, the Registration Chamber was only responsible for recording information such as the names, native places, and martial cultivation ranks of every member of the Martial Restraint Guard, as well as preliminarily sorting and organizing various documents for classified storage in the Archives Depository. It neither oversaw personnel nor possessed any say in the distribution of logistical supplies, so he had no idea what Huang Tian had come for. Yet he never expected that Huang Tian's very first words would leave him utterly dumbfounded. He froze, then shot to his feet, craning his neck forward like a turtle poking its head out. "C-could you please repeat that, Platoon Commander Huang? I'm afraid my ears are playing tricks on me!" Huang Tian was very patient and repeated, "I have broken through. I am now in the seventh martial rank and have come specifically to register." "Ahhh..." The clerk let out an incredulous groan and muttered as if in a daze, "Broken through again! Broken through again!" It was as though he had fallen into a nightmare. After standing in a stupor for quite a while, he took out a ledger with mixed emotions, dipped his brush in ink, and updated Huang Tian's record, changing the eighth martial rank to the seventh martial rank. Once the registration was complete, he said with a strained voice, "Now that you have attained the seventh rank, Platoon Commander Huang, you should report to your immediate superior. He will arrange your official duties." As for Huang Tian's immediate superior, Xia Hong barely counted as one. By normal conventions, there should have been a Company Commander or Probationary Company Commander above him, but since Huang Tian had never been assigned to an outside post, he had no such direct supervisor. Huang Tian gave it some thought and asked, "Has Battalion Commander Xia returned yet?" He was aware that Xia Hong had gone to the subordinate counties to pursue Zhang Yu. The clerk replied, "What a coincidence—he just returned today during the hour of the sheep, and he's in the official yamen right now." Speak of the devil. Just as Huang Tian was thinking of looking for Xia Hong, a hearty laugh boomed from outside. Clad in a qilin robe, the burly Xia Hong strode in like a whirlwind and brought a palm as large as a cattail-leaf fan down firmly onto Huang Tian's shoulder. "I heard you reached the eighth rank and were even granted an audience by Pacification Commissioner Bai, who bestowed a tranquil garden on you! I was just planning to visit you at Qinghui Garden to present my congratulations, but then someone reported you'd come to the yamen. What good fortune!" Compared to his previous elder-like warmth, Xia Hong's attitude toward Huang Tian this time was markedly more fervent, almost treating him as an equal. Hearing Xia Hong's words, the clerk behind the desk wore a peculiar expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Xia Hong had always possessed sharp eyes and keen ears, so how could he miss the clerk's odd look? He asked curiously, "What's the matter with you? Did this Battalion Commander say something wrong?" With that, he seemed to recall something and turned back. "Huang Tian, by the way, what brought you to the Registration Chamber today?" The clerk stammered, "Battalion Commander, Platoon Commander Huang... he has broken through again!" Xia Hong frowned. "Of course I know he broke through to the eighth rank! Why else would I have prepared a congratulatory gift?" The clerk sighed. Huang Tian remained silent. The atmosphere turned strangely tense, and Xia Hong's heart gave a sudden lurch. In an extremely subdued voice, he asked the clerk, "Broken through... again?" The clerk gave a weak nod. Xia Hong's eyes went wide, and he turned to Huang Tian. "Truly?" "Truly." Huang Tian gave a clear, definitive reply. "Ahhh..." Just like the clerk, Xia Hong let out a long, drawn-out sigh, struck speechless for a time. Thirty days! Only thirty days! He had broken through three realms in succession—was this kid even human?! If Huang Tian had relied on precious pills and spiritual herbs to advance realm after realm, Xia Hong might still have found it acceptable. That would merely be the power of external aids; given enough heavenly treasures, anyone could do it. Yet to his knowledge, Huang Tian had taken no miraculous elixirs whatsoever. The only pills he had ever swallowed were the Blood Condensation Pills gifted by himself and Pacification Commissioner Bai. Blood Condensation Pills were nowhere near precious. They were merely practical, common pills that nearly every martial artist in the lower three ranks would consume. Yet when others took Blood Condensation Pills, it took years to advance a single realm, and some remained stuck for over a decade without making an inch of progress. And yet, after swallowing them, Huang Tian made leaps and bounds! This proved it was never a matter of medicinal potency, but that his talent was separated from that of ordinary martial artists by the distance between clouds and mud! Xia Hong clicked his tongue several times in awe. Remembering how he himself had been stuck at the fifth rank for years without advancing a single step, a wave of bitterness washed over his heart. Following that bitterness was an uncontrollable burst of ecstasy. The greater Huang Tian's natural talent, the greater the returns he, as the young man's recommender, would receive! He threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Good! Good! Good!" His voice was so booming that the clerks and guardsmen bustling outside the Registration Chamber all heard it. One by one, they poked their heads forward, eager to see what was happening inside. Over in the Merit Registry Bureau, Huang Qian was buried in scrolls and dossiers when he also heard Xia Hong's loud laughter. Faintly catching the two words "Huang Tian," his heart skipped a beat. Ever since entering the yamen, every mention of Huang Tian's name had heralded bad news. Setting down the official document in his hands, he walked to the door and tilted his ear to listen to the commotion outside. Inside the Registration Chamber, Huang Tian asked, "With this breakthrough, I wonder what post I should assume?" Xia Hong pondered for a moment. "If it were anyone else, I would decide on the spot. But as for you, I'd better take you to see Pacification Commissioner Bai. He may already have plans in mind." Prodigies always received distinct treatment, and even as a Battalion Commander, he did not dare casually assign Huang Tian's future post. The two walked out of the Registration Chamber. Facing the curious gazes of the clerks and guardsmen, Xia Hong waved his hand, his tone carrying a touch of smugness and bluster. "What are you all looking at? It's just another breakthrough to the seventh rank, clearing three realms within thirty days! What's there to gawk at?!" The moment his words fell, the crowd of clerks and guardsmen erupted into an uproar, and the scene grew even livelier. The corners of Xia Hong's mouth curled up, and he gave two dry coughs. "Quiet down! Making a scene like you've never seen the world—embarrassing!" With that, in high spirits and with brisk steps, he led Huang Tian straight toward the office of Pacification Commissioner Bai Yuanfu. He left behind a flock of chattering subordinates—and Huang Qian, who had been listening in secret, struck as if by lightning. "H-he... he has attained the seventh rank?!" The crushing blow nearly sent Huang Qian slumping to the floor. Clinging weakly to the back of the door, his mind turned to mush. Previously, before Huang Tian's breakthrough, Huang Qian could still cling to his psychological advantage as a seventh-rank martial artist with superior strength. But now, Huang Tian had matched him in rank and was by no means weaker than him. That psychological superiority had completely crumbled. "What... what should I do?" He walked slowly back to his chair, sat down, and forced himself to calm down, deep in thought. "I... I must break through to the middle three ranks and stay ahead of him!" He was currently on the verge of completing the three changes of qi and blood and was preparing to try absorbing spiritual qi between heaven and earth. However, his progress was agonizingly slow; he had not even condensed a single wisp of true qi, let alone formed a qi vortex. Spiritual qi was simply too violent. The moment it entered his body, it damaged his muscles and bones, forcing him to halt, adapt gradually, and further temper his foundational physique. But now, he could wait no longer! "Take a pill! A Qi Gathering Pill!" He made up his mind completely. "I will ask Father to buy me a Qi Gathering Pill, swallow it to guide qi, and break through to the sixth rank!"