The news sent back by Liu Kuan confirmed Shen Hao’s previous suspicions.

The Black Banner Battalion had become a coveted treasure—no one wanted to share it, everyone wished to keep it firmly in their own grasp. Thus, the Hundred Households Officers of various City Guard Stations and the newly appointed Thousand Households Wu Changhe became natural allies, while Shen Hao turned into their common enemy to be squeezed out.

Now, no matter what kind of order Shen Hao issued below, the subordinates would push back and instead slap him with the accusation of giving "chaotic orders," and they even had local nobles join forces to denounce him, nearly forming a full-blown suppression against Shen Hao.

The situation suddenly became quite tricky.

"Summon Wang Yiming to see me." Shen Hao instructed the guard at the door, and moments later, Wang Yiming knocked and entered.

As Shen Hao’s deputy, Wang Yiming would always be on call at the Thousand Households Station.

"Your subordinate greets you, Sir. May I ask what instructions you have for me?"

"Give the Black Banner Battalions of all local Hundred Households Stations a directive: tell them this month’s routine briefing will be postponed, the specific time will be announced separately."

"Ah? Oh! Yes, Sir." Wang Yiming hurriedly cupped his hands in response. As he lowered his head, a flash of puzzlement flickered in his eyes.

For the days that followed, Shen Hao went about his routine business as usual, paying no attention to the happenings at the Guard Stations below. At first, this made his subordinates doubtful, but after a few days they began to sneer, secretly telling themselves that Shen must have realized there was no winning here, so he played dumb as a retreat. At the Thousand Households Station meetings, Shen Hao even used "still familiarizing myself with all the personnel" as an excuse to gloss over the report on the Black Banner Battalion’s status.

For a time, everyone inside the Black Banner Battalion under Fengri City made no effort to hide their contempt for Shen Hao, recognizing his feigned indifference and silence as a sign he’d learned of their private collusion, but could only play dumb as he had no way to counter.

Too young, after all—unreliable. Maybe he’s good at investigation, but as an official... he’s far too green. Look at that, he hasn’t been in office long and he’s already been sidelined? Absolutely laughable.

At first, only those conspiring in secret among the various Guard Station Black Banner Battalions mocked him behind closed doors, but the wind quickly spread—who knows if someone fanned the flames deliberately? Now even staff at the Thousand Households Station sometimes whispered about the Black Banner Battalion, and their gazes toward Shen Hao took on a different tone.

A full month passed in this way; the most anxious was Liu Kuan of Tu Kui City. This Flag Officer, who’d already felt some regret, now had a gut full of remorse—he never expected that the so-called strong, and rumored disciple of Jiang Cheng, Shen Hundred Households would be so soft! The moment he heard news, he didn’t dare move? He surrendered way too quickly.

"Maybe I should just not recognize the deal anymore?" Liu Kuan didn’t just think of reneging on his earlier faction choice once—after all, it was only a verbal agreement, and if he refused to acknowledge it, Shen couldn’t do much about it, could he?

But... wouldn’t that be a bit too shameless?

Just as this thought surfaced, Liu Kuan’s musings were interrupted by a knocking guard outside.

"Flag Officer, urgent order from the Thousand Households Station!"

"Thousand Households Station? Let me have it!"

Liu Kuan took the order from the guard, seeing to his surprise Shen Hao’s signature seal at the closure.

"What’s this?"

He waved the guard away and hurriedly opened the order, reading the single directive: "On January the sixteenth, 7 a.m., Council Hall of the Thousand Households Station, assembly. Must attend. Signed: Shen Hao, Hundred Households of the Black Banner Battalion."

Today was the twenty-seventh year of the Jing Old Calendar, January fifteenth; so the assembly was tomorrow. Liu Kuan was astonished—Shen Hao was "back from the dead"? Hadn’t he been playing the fool for a whole month? Now he’s calling a meeting, isn’t that asking for humiliation? The other two Hundred Households were itching for Shen Hao to give any command, just so they could look for an opportunity to get rid of him.

Maybe I should just deny it tomorrow? Liu Kuan thought to himself.

...

January sixteenth, heavy rain.

Fengri City hadn’t seen such a downpour in ages—white threads of rain poured from the sky, water pooled above the ankles, luckily the drains were strong enough, otherwise the city would be a floodplain within an hour.

At 7 a.m., Shen Hao walked into the Council Hall of the Thousand Households Station—today, the whole morning had been cleared for the Black Banner Battalion. Yet upon entering, he found only Chen Tianwen of Li City and Liu Kuan of Tu Kui City were present.

"Greetings, Sir!"

"Sit. Zhao Tianyang and Xu Zhe aren’t here yet, right? Let’s wait for them." Shen Hao seemed in high spirits. When he saw the representatives from Pingshun City and Tan City weren’t present, he didn’t seem angry at all, instead smiling as he took his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

The waiting dragged on for half an hour, until 7 a.m. when Zhao Tianyang and Xu Zhe finally arrived, leisurely and late.

"We greet you, Sir."

"Heavy rain—the roads were bad, so we were delayed a bit."

They casually cupped their hands as greeting, no hint of embarrassment for being late, instead beaming with cocky confidence, even raising their voices, as if provoking Shen Hao deliberately.

Before Shen Hao could speak, Zhao Tianyang and Xu Zhe walked straight into the hall, pulled out chairs, and sat down, lounging back as if unbothered.

Liu Kuan thought to himself: Isn’t this too arrogant? Shen Hao is their superior after all; this complete disregard is like asking for trouble. Are Zhao Tianyang and Xu Zhe always so merciless in their actions?

As Zhao Tianyang and Xu Zhe sat down and Liu Kuan’s thoughts rounded one more time, Shen Hao, seated at the head, spoke.

"Chen Tianwen."

"Present, Sir."

"Did you bring the people I asked you to bring?"

"I brought them."

"Good. Call them in now and seize Zhao Tianyang."

"Yes, Sir!"

The verbal exchange barely ended before Chen Tianwen summoned five people in from outside, each clutching a Thunder Charm, moving swiftly to surround Zhao Tianyang before he could even process what was happening.

"Sir, what is this about?"

"Take him!"

Chen Tianwen ignored Zhao Tianyang and, with a wave, his five Warriors threw their Thunder Charms, leaving not a moment’s chance.

BOOM BOOM BOOM... Thunder blasted indoors—five consecutive strikes. Even with Zhao Tianyang’s Cultivation at Gathering Spirit Realm First Layer, he couldn’t dodge, forced to quickly raise a True Qi Shield to withstand the attack.

Two bolts shattered Zhao Tianyang’s True Qi Shield. As the remaining three were about to strike him, a layer of pale yellow halo suddenly emerged from his chest, at the critical moment blocking all three remaining bolts! Only the shockwave rattled Zhao Tianyang into coughing bloody phlegm, but he wasn’t subdued; instinctively, he dashed for the window to escape.

"Clang!"

As Zhao Tianyang reached the window, a figure suddenly appeared three feet to his side—it was Shen Hao, arriving via Earth Escape.

The Yanji Saber flashed out. With one upward slash, left to right, bottom to top, the saber moved with an impossible speed and angle, leaving Zhao Tianyang no time to react as it swept across his right leg.

Zhao Tianyang, still in a sprinting pose, immediately crashed down, right leg severed at the root, blood pouring like a fountain.

"Liu Zongqi, I hear you’re skilled in Five Elements Fire Skill. Would you mind helping Zhao Tianyang stop his bleeding?" Shen Hao sheathed his blade and, smiling, turned to the dumbstruck Liu Kuan.