Xuanqing Guard
Chapter 204: Miscellaneous Affairs
Before dawn, Shen Hao was fully dressed and went to the backyard.
He habitually stretched his legs a few times, then began practicing with his blade—three rounds of forms, three rounds of killing techniques. After finishing, he sheathed the blade and set it aside, then continued practicing magic.
As his cultivation kept increasing, Shen Hao needed less and less sleep. Now, two and a half hours were enough for him, giving him extra time for cultivation.
Shen Hao could already feel the threshold of his Gathering Spirit Realm Second Layer loosening. By his estimate, he would be able to break through again within this month.
Earth Escape and Palm Thunder had become so familiar to Shen Hao that he could use them as naturally as moving his own limbs—one thought, and the skill would deploy instantly, completely smooth.
His figure vanished with Earth Escape, flickering in and out like a specter, always accompanied by thunderous rumbles whenever he appeared, faintly wrapped in flashes of lightning.
This was Shen Hao’s own routine—using Earth Escape together with Palm Thunder. The goal was to strike with Palm Thunder the moment he engaged with Earth Escape, catching the enemy off guard for a decisive blow.
The only regret was that the power of Palm Thunder had plateaued. It seemed he’d reached the ceiling of this skill; even if his cultivation rose in the future, Palm Thunder wouldn’t become any stronger.
"Looks like I need to find an advanced technique for Palm Thunder."
Advanced techniques were more cost-effective than learning a whole new skill. Because you have a base to build on, the advanced technique overlaps with the basic skill in its use of the soul, easing some of the soul’s strain. That’s why cultivators’ skills so often extend in series.
But Thunder Techniques of the Five Elements Wood Attribute were always in high demand. Shen Hao didn’t know when he’d find a suitable one.
After practicing Escape Skills and Palm Thunder for a while, Shen Hao began working on Soul Suppressing Skill. This technique was much harder than the previous two; he’d been practicing it for a long time and could only barely reach the level of Mind Seal Technique by breaking it down into components. He wasn’t able to use it as naturally as his own limbs yet, but he could maintain the casting for long periods without interference from other actions.
By the time he finished Gathering Qi and closed the practice, dawn’s pale glow was already spreading across the sky.
Xia Nu bustled in carrying hot water for Shen Hao to wash up, also helping him put on the upper emissary’s waist token and other items.
"Did you have enough to eat back in the tribe?" In the main hall, eating breakfast, Shen Hao casually asked Xia Nu, who stood nearby.
"We did. Our tribe had to farm, but we didn’t grow rice, we grew wheat. The soil where we lived was good, so every year there was a harvest. We never went hungry." Xia Nu answered without hesitation, but when she remembered what happened to the tribe later at the hands of the slave traders, her expression grew gloomy. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Seeing this, Shen Hao reached out and pinched the ear of the simple slave, a gesture of comfort. Still, he continued, "Never lacked food?"
"Sometimes. The big tribes would come to collect grain, leaving us only enough to eat and taking the rest. Sometimes they’d leave iron tools in exchange, other times nothing at all."
That’s the style of the Southern Barbarians—survival of the fittest, brutal and natural. They called it ’grain collection,’ but in truth it was grabbing and pillaging, not just grain but sometimes people as well. Even when the Southern Barbarians united under the Black Stone Royal Court, this still happened often.
That’s why barbarian slaves were so easily subdued, most of them broke quickly after capture. These races have been shaped by the harsh rule that the weak lose everything.
"Do the big tribes go hungry?"
"Yes. They have lots of warriors. The warriors don’t have time to work the fields; they spend all their time training and eat a lot, so bigger tribes are more likely to run out of food."
"Do you Fox Race have warriors?"
"A few, but not many. Fox Race bones are delicate, not well-suited for warriors. I heard more become assassins." Xia Nu didn’t know much, only spoke about what she’d seen or heard.
Shen Hao nodded, asked no more, and after breakfast he set out for his duties.
The Thousand Households Station had its regular monthly meeting today. Shen Hao poured himself a cup of cold tea, carried it into the council hall. His seat was on the left, next to a Deputy Thousand Households.
The routine meeting was held monthly, attended by all Hundred Households Officers in Fengri City’s jurisdiction. Usually, the Chief Officers of subordinate Hundred Households Stations would report the primary events of the past month, while the Thousand Households Station coordinated responses. Sometimes important personnel changes were also announced at the meetings.
Since the founding of the Black Banner Battalion, everyone had expected to hear internal updates from the Black Banner at these meetings. When Chen Yiyun was still in charge, there were occasional bits of information, but since Shen Hao took over, Black Banner became nearly invisible at the monthly meetings—not even polite formalities were uttered.
Wu Changhe used to press for information, hoping to get insight into Black Banner’s movements, but Shen Hao stonewalled him every time. Then Shen Hao, with sharp means, secured control over three of the four Black Banner Camp Commanders under him, cutting off Wu Changhe’s influence entirely—barely stopping short of open conflict.
So now, Shen Hao only brought his ears to the meetings, rarely spoke, and left as soon as it was over—never communicating with the others, acting like a lone wolf.
Lone wolf? That label gradually stuck to the Black Banner Battalion because of Shen Hao. Whether within the Thousand Households Station or the four subordinate Hundred Households Stations, the surrounding units tacitly kept their distance from Black Banner.
Wu Changhe was very pleased to see Black Banner Battalion isolated.
Shen Hao did it on purpose.
Internal inspection shouldn’t make enemies out of colleagues, but a necessary sense of distance was essential. This benefited Shen Hao’s reputation in the eyes of higher-ups.
But just as Shen Hao was starting to get sleepy listening, he was suddenly jolted awake. From Wu Changhe, who’d taken over the proceedings, he heard: On the seventeenth of this month, the Fifth Prince would visit Fengri City. All departments must make proactive security preparations, and Black Banner Battalion was specifically named, expected to assist fully.
Fifth Prince? A visit?
Shen Hao agreed to the arrangement immediately, but inside he felt it was abrupt. Normally, only after a prince became Crown Prince would he have real authority over military or official bodies, and only then would ’visit’ make sense. Before becoming Crown Prince, it was usually called ’traveling.’
But now, Wu Changhe used the word ’visit.’ Shen Hao quietly glanced around; he noticed others were puzzled by Wu Changhe’s wording too, though they chose not to speak out.
Wu Changhe didn’t seem to notice the problem; he continued, ordering all Xuanqing Guard units to carry out a comprehensive disciplinary sweep across their districts within three days. Every issue had to be fixed—nothing could happen during the Fifth Prince’s visit that would damage Xuanqing Guard’s reputation.