A fortnight passed in the blink of an eye.

In a secluded barracks within G Camp of the Jingwu Bureau.

Chen Sheng sat cross-legged, his aura deep and contained, absorbed in his cultivation.

[Six Extremes Golden Bell Technique: Minor Achievement (56/500)]

[Basic Saber Skill: Perfection (1455/2000)]

[Fishing Toad Force Secret Technique: Perfection (39/2000)]

[Demon-Suppressing Triple Extremes Saber: Perfection (166/2000)]

After a fortnight of arduous cultivation, he had completely refined and absorbed the medicinal essence of the Snow Lake Flower given to him by Xu Yuanhai, and his cultivation had progressed remarkably.

However, looking at the still-long progress bars, Chen Sheng couldn’t help but sigh. ’Cultivating in the Innate Realm is so difficult. It’s like water dripping through stone; it can’t be accomplished in a day.’

In addition to his rising cultivation, his various Martial Techniques had also progressed.

His Demon-Suppressing Triple Extremes Saber and Fishing Toad Force had both reached the realm of Great Success, with the former now more powerful than ever.

The only exception was the seemingly simplest of them, the Basic Saber Skill, which was progressing the slowest.

This wasn’t because his technique was unpracticed. On the contrary, his understanding of the Basic Saber Skill had reached the Transformation Realm, with every single form executed to near perfection.

Yet the closer he came, the more he could feel an indescribable film separating this level of perfection from something beyond. During his cultivation, Chen Sheng had a strong premonition that once he truly broke through...

...this most fundamental of saber skills would undergo an unimaginable transformation.

The past fortnight had been quite peaceful for Chen Sheng.

Since he had yet to be truly accepted by G Camp, he hadn’t been assigned any specific duties or tasks. He was happy to have the free time, however, as it allowed him to focus all his energy on his training.

The only unpleasant part was that his supply of Cultivation Resources was being deliberately choked off.

The Profound Magic Bureau refused to allocate his rightful cultivation resources, citing "insufficient merit" and "lack of a stamped approval from the G Camp commander."

This left his subordinates, like Li Huai Sheng and Xu Shenzhi, deeply dissatisfied. After all, the feeling of having one’s lifeline squeezed by another was truly suffocating.

Chen Sheng, however, told them to endure it for the time being and not to cause any trouble.

Chen Sheng knew full well who was pulling the strings.

The Celestial Book of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil had already shown him. Ever since he and Zhan Fusheng had parted on bad terms, the man had begun investigating his background. After confirming that Chen Sheng was merely from Changshan County and had no powerful backer, all sorts of difficulties, both overt and covert, had followed.

Zhan Fusheng had even plotted to "temper" him as soon as his appointment was official, forcing him to accept reality.

Unfortunately for Zhan Fusheng, for all his scheming, he had overlooked the most crucial detail: Chen Sheng’s transfer into the Jingwu Bureau was the direct result of personal intervention by Governor Nie Xuanfeng.

The matter hadn’t been publicized, but if Chen Sheng were to invoke his powerful backer, all of Zhan Fusheng’s machinations would instantly vanish. Even with ten times the courage, Zhan Fusheng wouldn’t dare to openly oppose the Governor.

But Chen Sheng wouldn’t do that.

Nie Xuanfeng had already made it clear: the position of Deputy Captain was not one to be held lightly. He had to fight for it himself and command the respect of others.

To ask for help over such a minor setback would not only make him seem incompetent but would also cause Governor Nie to look down on him. Besides, in his eyes, Zhan Fusheng... wasn’t even worthy of him pulling strings.

For while Chen Sheng had appeared to be engrossed in his cultivation for the past fortnight, he had not been idle in the shadows.

He had already gotten a general grasp of the backgrounds of the several Peacekeeper Envoys in G Camp.

Zhan Fusheng’s backer was a Vice Envoy with the surname Sun in the Jingwu Bureau.

As for his own cultivation, he was still at the Chaoyuan Realm, the initial stage of the Innate rank; otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn’t have delayed his promotion for so long.

Since they were in the same realm, what did Chen Sheng have to fear?

Lu Cheng, meanwhile, had some connection to a Captain of Jing’an from another town. Of all the Peacekeeper Envoys in G Camp, the only one who was truly without a foundation was, ironically, Zhao Changqiu—the first one to show him kindness.

...

Outside the barracks, Yan Ming wore an indignant expression and couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

"Damn it! Those snobs at the Profound Magic Bureau rejected our allocation again! If the Captain hadn’t strictly forbidden us from stirring up trouble, I’d go give them a piece of my mind!"

In the past fortnight, the old brothers who had followed Chen Sheng from Changshan had suffered endless cold shoulders and indignities.

It wasn’t just outsiders; even some of the Jingwu Guards within G Camp itself were dismissive and unresponsive, making the atmosphere unbearably oppressive.

"Why the impatience?"

Xu Shenzhi’s expression was calm as he meticulously polished his Cyan Furnace Sword without looking up.

"Have you forgotten what the Captain usually teaches?"

Li Huai Sheng chimed in from the side, his tone sinister, but his face held a trace of amusement, as if enjoying a good show. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Those who achieve great things must first master forbearance. Yan, you still need to work on your self-control."

One of them had fought Chen Sheng in a battle to the death, and the other had been completely won over by him; they understood their master’s style better than anyone.

The calmer Chen Sheng appeared, the more it meant he already had a plan in motion, waiting for the right moment to unleash something earth-shattering.

In their eyes, this current turmoil was merely the calm before the storm.

Yan Ming pouted and said sullenly,

"Of course I know the Captain has a plan. It’s just holding all this frustration in that’s so damn unpleasant!"

As one of Chen Sheng’s earliest and most trusted followers, he had experienced the early struggles of the North City Military Camp. The current situation was strikingly similar.

This moment was just like that one.

Yan Ming was confident that Chen Sheng would break the deadlock, but the frustration along the way was unavoidable.

Then, changing the subject, he lowered his voice and asked,