The descendants of the Wu Clan, Qiao Zhi replied. The most prominent figure in the Wu Clan is Wu Siqi, a current serving secretary in the grand secretariat, and he’s also a Dao Comprehension-state martial artist. All the children of the Wu Clan are homeschooled by top-tier martial arts instructors, and they don’t even bother to attend Wise Hero Academy.

The grand secretariat was an extremely important organization in the Great Han Empire that could even serve as a check and balance to the emperor’s authority to a certain extent. At any given time, the number of secretaries in the grand secretariat ranged from about two to seven, and they decided all of the nation’s policies.

Wu Siqi may only be a secretary now, but in two months, the current serving grand secretary would return home for a mourning period, and Wu Siqi will take his place.

In the Great Han Empire, filial piety was considered a core societal value, and officials had to return home for a three-year period of bereavement in the event that one of their parents passed away.

The grand secretariat possessed immense power above even that of the six ministries, and the grand secretary was essentially the prime minister of the nation.

Chu Qiguang’s eyes lit up after hearing about Wu Siqi’s imminent promotion.

Looks like I’m going to have to pay a visit to the Wu Clan soon.

Are you looking for a new backer? Qiao Zhi scoffed.

That’s not my intention. I just like to make friends with people surnamed Wu, Chu Qiguang replied. By the way, you mentioned that Hao Zhiyuan was the governor general of the Dian Province. That’s equivalent to the position of regional commander, right? Azure Sun County really must be a very auspicious place if a provincial governor general, a left-hand minister of the Ministry of War, and a grand secretary all came out of this one place!

Indeed, Qiao Zhi agreed. Ever since the founding of the nation, Azure Sun County has produced many high-ranking officials, as well as cultivation prodigies like you and me.

We are like the Wolong and Fengchu of this world. What a blessing Azure Sun County for this empire, Chu Qiguang mused.[1]

Wolong? Fengchu? What’s that? Qiao Zhi asked.

Chu Qiguang let out a forlorn sigh. In spite of all of Qiao Zhi’s wisdom, there was no way he could understand a historic reference from another world.

All of a sudden, a thought struck Chu Qiguang.

The new county magistrate of Azure Sun County is recovering owed taxes from past years, and apparently, he’s also going to get all the plots of farmland re-measured. However, who would dare to do such a thing if Azure Sun County is the home of Grand Secretary Wu Siqi? Could it be that he’s precisely the one being targeted by this operation? Is Azure Sun County simply being implicated in a much higher political battle?

The thought sent chills down Chu Qiguang’s spine, and he could sense that some terrifying undercurrents lurked beneath Azure Sun County’s calm exterior.

At the same time, Chu Qiguang understood why the Wang Clan still dared to go against the county office and hide its land at such a sensitive time. Clearly, they believed that the Wu Clan was able to oppose the new county magistrate.

Chu Qiguang’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted when he was approached by Wang Cailiang, who dragged him into the crowd as he said, “Let me introduce you to someone, Brother Chu. He’s my most powerful connection in the county, and with him watching over us, you can do whatever you want in the county without fearing any consequences.

“He’s already reached the fourth state in martial arts, so he’s even stronger than the instructors of the academy! Everyone is saying that he’ll be able to skip the wusheng title and go straight to wujuren this year! He only stays at the academy for a short time each day, so we have to go see him while he’s still here.”

As it turned out, the fourth-state martial artist in question was none other than Ding Daoxiao.

“Brother Ding,” Wang Cailiang greeted humbly.

“Are you a new student at the academy?” Ding Daoxiao asked, looking puzzled.

“You don’t remember me, Brother Ding?” Wang Cailiang asked awkwardly. “I’m Wang Cailiang. We had a drink together at the Four Fortunes Restaurant once.”

“Ah, Brother Wang!” Ding Daoxiao exclaimed. “Long time no see. How’s your father’s clothing shop doing?”

“It’s doing alright,” Wang Cailiang replied quietly as he lowered his head in embarrassment.

Ding Daoxiao then turned his gaze to Chu Qiguang, who was wearing a newly purchased silk robe. However, a robe that cost less than two taels of silver was a clear indication to Ding Daoxiao of his commoner status.

“You must be a new student as well, right?” Ding Daoxiao asked with a smile. “Let’s work hard together so we can all serve the imperial court in the future. You can come find me if you run into any trouble in the county. I have to go now, but it was nice meeting you.”

He then gave the two of them an encouraging pat on the shoulder before leaving.

Wang Cailiang kept his head lowered, his face flushed with embarrassment, while Chu Qiguang maintained an oblivious facade.

Before long, it was time for the martial arts lessons, something that all of the students clearly took far more seriously than their morning academic lessons.

Of course, as first-state martial artists, Chu Qiguang and Wang Cailiang both went to the outer school.

The outer school had close to thirty students, the largest number among the three schools. Most of the students were children of village tycoons like Wang Cailiang, while the rest were children of businessmen.

As they arrived at the outer school, the first thing that they saw was a huge training ground complete with all kinds of weapons.

After stepping onto the training ground, everyone began to cultivate diligently. There was no longer any conversation, and the only sounds that could be heard came from the students’ training.

Even though the students of the outer school were considered the bottom feeders of the academy, all of them still took their cultivation seriously. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been sent here by their parents.

“We’ll be spending the next two to three years of our lives here, Brother Chu,” Wang Cailiang sighed.

Chu Qiguang shook his head as he replied, “I’m only going to be here for a month at most. In a month, I’ll be in the inner school.”

Right at that moment, the sound of someone clearing their throat rang out from behind them. An outer school instructor stepped forward with a stern expression and reprimanded, “Arrogance is a cardinal sin in cultivation. You two have only just come to the academy, so your top priority is to establish a good foundation. Do not be overly ambitious.”

Chu Qiguang was aware that this advice was being given to him for his benefit, and he nodded in response.

“You two must be Wang Cailiang and Chu Qiguang, right? What martial arts techniques are you using? Give me a demonstration,” the instructor ordered.

Thanks to an earlier introduction from Wang Cailiang, Chu Qiguang knew that this man was the outer school instructor, Lin Yao.

He and Wang Cailiang demonstrated their martial arts techniques to Lin Yao. However, since the Yaksha King Fist Techniques were reserved for the military, Chu Qiguang only demonstrated his Heavenly Spirit Body Refinement Fist Techniques to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

After watching their demonstrations, Lin Yao asked them some basic questions, such as their name, their age, how long they had been practicing martial arts, and their family backgrounds. His attitude became much colder once he heard that Chu Qiguang was only a normal farmer who had been practicing martial arts for three years.

Given Chu Qiguang’s humble background, Lin Yao was almost certain that he wouldn’t have the resources and connections required to take part in the martial examination.

In contrast, Wang Cailiang was much wealthier, so he had much better chances.

1. Wolong and Fengchu translate directly to “Resting Dragon” and “Young Phoenix”, respectively, and they are the nicknames of Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, two legendary strategists in Chinese history written about extensively in the Chinese classic “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” ☜