Huang Tian did not entirely believe Bai Yuanfu when the man claimed that the entire Commandery Martial Restraint Guard stood behind him.
No matter how united the Martial Restraint Guard appeared, it was ultimately composed of individuals. And whenever people were involved, conflicting agendas were inevitable. Bai Yuanfu protected him out of genuine appreciation for his talent, but others might not feel the same. Plenty of eyes were surely watching him in secret, eager to pry into the source of his rapid rise. Yet to Huang Tian, these were nothing more than skin-deep afflictions.
After all, the speed of their schemes could never keep up with the speed of his growth.
Stepping out of Bai Yuanfu's office, Xia Hong sighed with deep emotion. "Huang Tian, I never imagined that in a single month, you would become a Probationary Company Commander. Truly... thinking back on it now feels like a dream!"
Merely a month ago, when Xia Hong had visited the Huang Manor, Huang Tian was just a bullied son born of a maidservant who had never even touched the martial path. Yet in thirty short days, his status, standing, and strength had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.
"People often say a true man must possess the potential to transform from a serpent into a soaring dragon. But those who can truly seize the tide and rise are far too few. Most remain like earthworms trapped in the soil, scarcely ever seeing the light of day, let alone ascending as dragons."
After voicing his sentiments, Xia Hong's expression gradually grew solemn. "Being assigned a substantive post is a good thing," he cautioned. "It serves as valuable tempering, and without tempering, one can never become truly formidable.
"However, you must remain vigilant. Even though Baoqing Ward lies at the very heart of our Martial Restraint Guard's territory—where sect forces can scarcely reach—you still need to keep your wits about you during your patrols.
"If you run into anything out of the ordinary, handle it prudently and report it promptly. Do not charge in blindly, lest you fall into someone's trap."
Huang Tian knew Xia Hong was worried about sect forces secretly making a move against him. And yet, the danger was not necessarily limited to external sects. The deadliest blades were often those thrust from behind; those were truly the hardest to guard against.
"Thank you for the guidance, Battalion Commander. I understand."
"Good, good." Xia Hong smiled. "Baoqing Ward happens to be one of the wards under my jurisdiction. If anything comes up in the future, feel free to seek me out."
As a Battalion Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard—and one of the strongest among them—Xia Hong oversaw six wards in the Eastern City, Baoqing Ward included. In other words, from this moment on, Xia Hong had officially become Huang Tian's direct superior.
"Thank you, Battalion Commander."
"A small matter, nothing more!"
Xia Hong gave a hearty laugh, offered a few more words of advice, and presented the congratulatory gift he had prepared earlier before taking his leave.
Huang Tian looked up at the sky. The sun was already sinking beneath the horizon, and dusk was thickening into night.
'Even if I went to the Book Pavilion now, I wouldn't have much time to stay. Better to go tomorrow.'
With that in mind, he first headed to the Registration Chamber to register his new appointment and collect the official uniform and waist token of a Probationary Company Commander. Once finished, he made his way straight back to Qinghui Garden.
Upon returning home, he ate his evening meal and took a Blood Condensation Pill. While the medicinal potency was still circulating through his veins, he unhurriedly assumed the Cloud Dragon Stance.
Only this time, while maintaining the Cloud Dragon Stance alongside Thunder Sound Body Forging, he flicked open the mental "switch" of his consciousness.
In an instant, an array of multicolored voice lines pierced through the void, flooding into his ears.
He had long since deciphered their meanings: ordinary voice lines were colorless; those traversing worlds shone gold; people close or familiar to him who spoke his name took on a cyan hue; and those harboring profound hatred, seeking his life, appeared pitch-black.
Among the lines stretching before him, most were colorless. A handful were cyan, and only a scarce few were black.
Huang Tian started with the black lines. His vision pierced through space, conjuring scenes before his eyes.
The first image to manifest was Huang Jian, gnashing his teeth in fury. Next was Huang Rui, still recovering in bed, his eyes brimming with venom as he muttered curses under his breath.
That these two wished him dead was hardly surprising. What caught Huang Tian off guard was someone else entirely.
He Xu!
Yet the line connecting him to He Xu was not black, but dark gray. That meant he harbored intense resentment toward Huang Tian, though it had not quite curdled into murderous intent.
Inside Room B-32 of the Guard Academy.
The burly He Xu leaned against the head of his bed, his expression fluctuating wildly between envy, fear, and sheer rancor.
"He broke through again! He actually broke through again!"
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles popped. "In just a month, he's already reached the seventh rank! And me? I still haven't even produced force! How can the heavens be so unfair to me?! We're both flesh and blood—why should he be so much stronger than me?! Why?!"
Huang Tian's visit to the Registration Chamber to update his cultivation realm earlier that day had swept through the entire Martial Restraint Guard like a hurricane. The martial students at the Guard Academy had naturally heard the news as well.
Every single one of them had been stunned. After the initial shock came envy, awe, and secret resentment.
Those harboring secret resentment were naturally Huang Jian, Huang Rui, and He Xu—the last of whom was quietly being ostracized by some of his peers. In truth, it was not so much that many students deliberately pushed He Xu away; rather, he was excessively sensitive.
He constantly felt that everyone around him was mocking him, ridiculing him for failing to seize the chance to forge closer ties with Huang Tian when they shared quarters, and instead creating friction. It made him feel like a laughingstock.
Consumed by this mindset, he had grown increasingly taciturn, desperate to produce force as soon as possible to vindicate himself. Yet the more impatient one became with martial cultivation, the harder it was to succeed. He found himself utterly tormented, stuck hard against the threshold of force. Compounded by the relentless news of Huang Tian's breakthroughs, his composure had completely shattered, giving way to festering malice.
'Jealousy truly is poison...'
Shaking his head, Huang Tian severed the connection. Having surveyed all the black lines, he turned his gaze to the few cyan strands.
After all, he had only arrived in this world a month ago and had formed close ties with very few people, so the cyan voice lines were scarce.
Looking through them one by one, he found Aunt Qin, Heng'er, Instructor Xu, Liu Kuo, and Xia Hong mentioning him in conversation.
'Hm?'
Huang Tian's gaze halted on one particular scene.
Inside an elegantly decorated chamber, Bai Yuanfu, clad in his crimson brocade robe, was speaking to a middle-aged man with a neat beard and sharp, piercing eyes. "Nie Kun, Huang Tian is a talent our Martial Restraint Guard encounters once every several decades. The sects will surely resent and target him. Thus, I want you to protect him in secret for a time."
The middle-aged man named Nie Kun looked thoughtful. "Huang Tian... is that the young man who frequently visits the Book Pavilion?"
Bai Yuanfu smiled. "That's him. Didn't you cross paths with him once in the pavilion?"
This Nie Kun was none other than the guard stationed on the second floor of the Book Pavilion.
Nie Kun nodded slightly. "I did meet him once, though I couldn't tell anything particularly extraordinary about him back then. I never expected his aptitude to be so remarkable."
"What do you think? Are you willing to watch over him for a while?"
"That works. I've spent long enough cooped up in the Book Pavilion anyway; it will be good to go out and stretch my limbs," Nie Kun replied. "However, regarding the Book Pavilion..."
Bai Yuanfu said, "No matter. I will arrange a replacement in a few days. Besides, the Book Pavilion sits within our headquarters. Few would dare infiltrate it, so it hardly requires a fifth-rank martial artist like you to stand guard. Moreover, Elder Guan is on the third floor, so there is nothing to worry about."
"Then there is no problem."
The two exchanged a few more words before Nie Kun took his leave. Left alone in the room, Bai Yuanfu murmured under his breath, "Nie Kun alone is not enough. It would be best to find one more person. Only then can we ensure absolute safety..."
Judging by his words, he intended to assign two fifth-rank martial artists—combatants on par with Battalion Commanders—to protect Huang Tian from the shadows!
Chapter 76