October 7.
Now that Xu Yuan had become the battle overseer of the Level Three zone, he had the authority to allocate military duties among the various wards, and his control over Changlin Ward and Qunlong Ward was especially strong.
So on his very first day in office, he convened a meeting to discuss the troop distribution needed for the next deployment to the front line.
At the meeting, people from both wards gathered together.
Huo Gang was naturally among them as well.
However, this former Workshop Master could now only stand there in the crowd in a miserable state, keeping his head lowered and his manner submissive, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Xu Yuan did not bother paying him any special attention. Instead, he summoned the various Street Guards and the ordinary martial artists from the squads beneath them and began assigning duties.
This round of assignment was not based on rank, nor was it some random drawing of lots. It was utterly blatant favoritism based on closeness and distance.
Those who had stood on Xu Yuan’s side in the previous incident were designated as the main force. After the vanguard force wore down the Bai Family’s offensive, they would be sent in to reinforce them.
Not only was it less dangerous, it also required far less effort while still allowing them to earn a great deal of battle merits. It was practically a free benefit.
As for everyone else, including most of Qunlong Ward and those from Changlin Ward who had fled at the critical moment, all of them were assigned to the vanguard force.
The moment this method of allocation was announced, it stirred dissatisfaction in the hearts of most of those present.
The people of Qunlong Ward had already had their fill of trouble following the Huo Gang at the front line, so they knew they were in the wrong and hardly anyone dared provoke Xu Yuan.
But Changlin Ward was different.
In the eyes of some people, everyone belonged to the same ward, and Xu Yuan was their Workshop Master. So why was he lumping them together with Qunlong Ward and sending them into the vanguard force?
Was he not treating them like outsiders?
The martial artists who had left during the previous incident watched this unfold with envy and resentment. Though they secretly cursed Xu Yuan for using public office for private gain, most of them only dared to be angry in silence.
Still, once a crowd grew large enough, there would always be a fool in it. Among the hundred or so people present, one martial artist gathered his courage and spoke up.
“Battle Overseer Xu, everyone says you handle matters fairly, but this allocation seems a little…”
Whoosh!
Before Xu Yuan could even speak, those who had benefited from the arrangement—people like Chen Sanli, Hong Qianshan, Gao Yuan, Lin Yue’e, and the others—turned to look at him in unison, their gazes full of cold hostility.
The martial artist shrank his neck in fright and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Xu Yuan swept him with a glance and said calmly, “First, I am now the battle overseer. I have the right to decide how things are allocated.”
“Second, when I went out on that mission and my life and death were unknown, these people did not abandon me. If I give them benefits now, what is the problem?”
If one truly examined that reasoning, it was entirely legitimate. Even if someone reported him to a higher level or the Law Enforcement Hall investigated, it would still hold up perfectly well.
Hearing that, the others had nothing to say. One by one, they fell silent as cicadas in winter.
At that moment, however, a rather discordant voice rang out. It was Qin Yang. In full view of the crowd, he dropped straight to his knees and cried out miserably,
“Brother Xu… no, Battle Overseer Xu, I was blinded by greed before. I still have an old mother to support. Please, for the sake of our time as fellow students, let me stay in the main force!”
When he had first heard that Xu Yuan was temporarily taking charge of Qunlong Ward, he had been completely dumbfounded.
He had thought Huo Gang had the strongest backing among all the Workshop Masters, yet in the blink of an eye he had been stripped of his post.
Qin Yang had gone in circles and spent quite a lot of money to force his way into Qunlong Ward, yet after all that, leaving had turned out to be no different from not leaving at all.
If he had known it would end up like this, why had he run in the first place?
Hong Qianshan, Lin Yue’e, and the other Street Guards, along with Chen Sanli and Gao Yuan, all looked at him with contempt when they saw how shamelessly he had thrown away his dignity.
The sheep had already run off, and only now he wanted to mend the pen?
What had he been doing earlier?
Xu Yuan looked at Qin Yang kneeling on the ground, and not a ripple stirred in his heart.
‘Do I look like the kind of person who gets morally blackmailed and hands out benefits just because I can’t bear the embarrassment? If I really let him get his way, how would the people who stood on my side feel about it?’
He let out a faint scoff, looked at the man, and said flatly, “Qin Yang, get up.”
“Then… Battle Overseer Xu, does that mean you’re agre—” Joy rose in Qin Yang’s heart as he tried to press the matter home.
But under Xu Yuan’s icy glance, his body gave a violent shudder, and he hurriedly explained, “I… I just want to follow you, to walk your path!”
“Then do you listen when your superior speaks?”
“Yes, I listen! I will definitely listen!”
“Good.” Xu Yuan nodded. “Then be obedient and stop making noise here.”
“I…”
Qin Yang froze.
He had thought that, in front of such a large crowd, Xu Yuan would agree out of consideration for appearances. Instead, Xu Yuan had blocked him off with a single sentence?
A burst of laughter rose from below.
Qin Yang’s face flushed bright red, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Xu Yuan did not spare him another glance. His eyes swept across the crowd, and his tone returned to calm.
“Although all of you are in the vanguard force this time, the Bai Family’s sharp momentum has already been shattered by us. They are nothing more than grasshoppers after autumn. If any of you can win merits by killing the enemy through your own ability, then naturally no one will be able to take that away from you.”
He then began going through the usual motions of painting a grand future and soothing everyone’s emotions.
He had already made his stance clear, but the obligatory nice words still had to be said.
…
The next day.
The Level Three zone was set to march once more toward the Bai Family’s battle line.
Several Workshop Masters, including Huo Gang, were discussing matters inside a military tent.
As they looked at Xu Yuan, whose shoulder bore seven embroidered horizontal stripes, both Xiao Han and Yuan Danqing wore complicated expressions.
Although Xiao Han was inwardly shocked by Xu Yuan’s speed of advancement, he had always maintained a good relationship with him, so he was not too unsettled.
Yuan Danqing, on the other hand, felt somewhat uneasy. She had always stood together with Huo Gang before, and now she was worried she might be dragged down by it.
As for Huo Gang, he kept his eyes lowered and his mind withdrawn, saying nothing. Whatever orders he received, he simply carried them out.
He had already received a secret letter from the Third Young Master saying that once this period passed, he would be transferred to the Level Four zone.
Things were more chaotic there than here, but the overall situation was still fairly stable. In any case, it was better than staying beside Xu Yuan every day in constant anxiety.
Xu Yuan paid no attention to what any of them were thinking. He merely looked at the strategic map in silence.
At that moment, Xiao Han stepped forward and asked, “Battle Overseer Xu, do you know what our plan is this month?”
Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then replied, “However things were done before, we’ll keep doing them that way now.”
The offensive framework Han Li had laid out was already quite complete, and its results had been rather effective.
Xu Yuan had no desire to gild the lily. Rather than wasting time making unnecessary additions, was it not better to use that time for quiet cultivation?
After giving a few more instructions, Xu Yuan stepped out of the tent and returned to the battle overseer’s quarters.
By then it was already afternoon. From beyond the camp, he could vaguely hear shouts of battle in the distance. The vanguard force was already clashing with the Bai Family.
Xu Yuan turned a deaf ear to it.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he let his thoughts stir slightly and opened the panel in his mind.
[Skills: Jade Platform Stance Art (Mastery 31%) Benlei Fist (Perfected 29%) Wandering Dragon Step (Perfected 78%) Iron Garment Art (Perfected 80%)]
[Aptitude: 35 (One in Ten Thousand)]
[Martial Seed (0): Berserk]
“At this rate, in about another half month, I should be able to break through to eight-meridian…”
Xu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, his eyes settling on the several martial arts.
Benlei Fist was already at Perfected, and Wandering Dragon Step and Iron Garment Art were close as well.
Once all of them reach Perfected, he should be able to obtain two more Martial Seeds.
He wondered what attributes would be extracted then.
A faint sense of anticipation rose in his heart.