Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 321: Chapter 321: In Sight

You can’t judge a person just by what’s on the surface; you also have to look at temperament and confidence.

On the surface, Shen Hao seems outstanding—he’s capable, savvy, sharp-minded, and lucky too. These are exactly why he could quickly gain a foothold in Jiang Cheng’s faction and earn Jiang Cheng’s trust and support.

Moreover, Shen Hao’s temperament suits Jiang Cheng well, which is why he’s able to keep this "disciple" position so securely.

But Shen Hao’s confidence has always been his weak point.

First, he has no solid background, not even a real faction. He’s supposedly part of the Qinggui group, but he hardly knows anyone—he’s just rootless floating grass. Second, he doesn’t have outstanding talent; the remarks in his personal file are still "ordinary." Later, thanks to the Black Beast Tattoo, people started thinking his talent was misjudged. But good aptitude doesn’t always equal potential.

Breaking through the Realm Barrier from Qi Refinement to Gathering Spirit Realm is already perilous, let alone advancing from Gathering Spirit Realm to Primordial Pill Realm—an even deadlier trial. Out of ten who reach Gathering Spirit Realm Perfection, only two or three can smoothly ascend to Primordial Pill Realm.

And in the Jingjiu Dynasty, for any military position, cultivation is an unavoidable threshold. Just like when Jiang Cheng meant to raise Shen Hao up, but Shen Hao was stuck below the Middle Stage of the God-Gathering Realm for nearly half a year.

But now things are different.

For every cultivator, a serendipitous realization is like heavenly favor—a blessing that anyone would envy, since it directly boosts their potential. Judging by Shen Hao’s current state, when he crosses from Gathering Spirit to Primordial Pill Realm in the future, his odds of success are basically assured.

What does it mean for a cultivator destined to reach Primordial Pill Realm to be in Xuanqing Guard? It means he’s a fourth-rank official in the making, someone worth grooming in advance and entrusting with real responsibility in future! And that’s just the floor; the ceiling depends on how Shen Hao develops from here.

That’s why Jiang Cheng was specially called over by Pang Ban yesterday—to verify whether Shen Hao’s breakthrough was real. Now, with Shen Hao’s confirmation, Jiang Cheng is naturally delighted. It means someone in his faction can finally shoulder major responsibility.

Shen Hao didn’t overthink it. He knew he had "appreciated in value," but underestimated how important he’d become for Jiang Cheng.

"Lord, is my identity really safe? There are rumors out there, I’m afraid..."

"No need to worry. I’ll report your relationship with Nie Yun directly to Lord Commander for endorsement. And anyway, Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute doesn’t even have you on their roll. Those with idle mouths can only idle talk; what else can they do? Do you know you’ve really caught Lord Pang’s eye now?"

As he spoke, Jiang Cheng pulled out a thick dossier from his drawer, handed it across to Shen Hao, hinting for him to open it.

Shen Hao took it, realizing it was the document he’d submitted before—the proposal for special treatment of Black Banner Battalion in Fengri City as a pilot project. He flipped through and saw that several red annotations had been added. Judging by the handwriting, they weren’t from Jiang Cheng.

"I reconsidered your idea numerous times. It felt aggressive, but you’ve always shown insight, so I didn’t want to make the call alone. I reported your proposal to Lord Commander for review—and he’s very impressed. Especially your use of ’pilot project’; he gave a high rating."

That’s the second reason Jiang Cheng called Shen Hao over.

Though Black Banner Battalion was only recently founded, its impact has emerged quickly. In Jingxi, Fengri City is most distinguished, but outside Jingxi, other Black Banner Battalions are performing as expected on their own fronts, and doing very well.

It started as internal inspection, but soon it was clear Black Banner Battalion was a sharp blade—cutting out internal tumors, and externally providing swift, ruthless surprise attacks. "Special handling for special cases" sidesteps most bureaucratic bottlenecks of daily operations. Xuanqing Guard’s leadership realized Black Banner Battalion might be their best answer for breaking deadlocks.

So boosting Black Banner Battalion’s strength in all aspects is under consideration.

But with high expenditure, if it fails to deliver results, what then? This hesitation is exactly why Xuanqing Guard’s higher-ups are cautious.

Worry about wasting money and becoming a joke.

Yet, when Shen Hao brought up the tried-and-true "pilot project" strategy, it instantly caught people’s attention. Jiang Cheng, seeing its promise, sent it up the chain. Sure enough, those two words struck Pang Ban’s eye.

"These are Pang Ban’s personal red annotations. Take a close look."

Shen Hao nodded silently, carefully reading through. He discovered Pang Ban’s thinking was very direct and even blunt—cutting away all tangential details, dramatically increasing resource allocation, well beyond the original estimates in Shen Hao’s document.

After reading, Shen Hao summarized Pang Ban’s intent: money if needed, resources if needed—but efficiency must be sped up, and sped up again! Since it’s a pilot project, there’s no need to hesitate. Go bold. If issues arise, adjust as needed. Being "conservative" isn’t what a pilot project should be.

"Lord, does this mean Lord Pang has approved the strategy?"

"Mm, he’s basically agreed. But you need to refine it further and submit a detailed step-by-step plan for record-keeping. And think carefully: once you start piloting this in Fengri City, you must deliver impressive results. Otherwise, with such costly expenditure, Lord Pang won’t spare me, and I won’t spare you! Understand?"

"Rest assured, Lord. I won’t let you down."

Jiang Cheng nodded, satisfied. Truly, Shen Hao has never disappointed him up to now. Even when things slipped with Ma San, Shen Hao identified the breakthrough point and handled the aftermath superbly—Jiang Cheng couldn’t find fault even if he tried.

With this in mind, Jiang Cheng asked, "By the way, any leads yet on that Ma San matter?"

"Lord, that involved the military—you know how hard it is to investigate from outside without raising alarms. So I found someone to help out."

"You found someone? Reliable?" Jiang Cheng frowned, following up.

"Zhang Qian and Gan Lin."

"Oh? Them, huh. Heh—you know how to pick. Good, those two are trustworthy; they’ve mixed with the military for years, have deep connections, and their usual rough-and-tumble antics won’t arouse suspicion. Any progress?" Hearing Shen Hao chose those two, Jiang Cheng’s frown relaxed.

"Nothing back yet, but results should come within this month. Also, progress on the Bai Changqing matter is good—the two girls have successfully hooked him, and looks like it won’t be long before we reel him in..."