Division

Apart from the eight new recruits who had joined yesterday, including Lin Feng.

There had been three earlier batches.

Altogether, the four batches came to exactly forty new recruits.

At this moment, several Generals arrived one after another.

Among them was General Huang Qiong, whom Lin Feng had seen yesterday. There were three others as well, all individuals with an aura as formidable as Huang Qiong's!

More than a dozen Banner Officers followed behind the four men.

Seeing so many superiors arrive, the drill grounds, which had been somewhat noisy just moments ago, immediately fell silent.

"Greetings, Generals!"

Everyone bowed in salute.

"Mm, I am Zhou Xiu, one of the Generals of our Reserve Camp.

Today, I will mainly be announcing your assignments.

I will also introduce you to the various Generals."

At that moment, a General of average build stepped forward and spoke.

"You should all already know General Huang Qiong.

This is Wu Peng, General Wu!"

As he spoke, Zhou Xiu pointed to Wu Peng beside him, a man in his thirties or forties with a goatee.

"This is Bai Sheng, General Bai!"

Afterward, Zhou Xiu pointed to another man, Bai Sheng, a tall and burly fellow with muscles bulging all over his body.

"Today, the Hundred-Household Commander was supposed to announce your assignments personally, but he had no time, so I will handle it in his stead!"

After finishing the introductions, Zhou Xiu spoke again.

"No more nonsense. When your name is called, step forward."

"Wu Xing, Zhang Cong, ..."

After ten names had been called.

Those people stepped forward one after another.

"You people will be assigned under my command. The five Banner Officers will have you report to your respective squads later!"

"Li Duan, Li Qing, Li Gui, Wu Shi, Wu..."

Next, Zhou Xiu called another seven or eight names, assigning them under Wu Peng's command.

"Why are most of the people in this row members of the Li Family and the Wu Family?"

Hearing those names, Lin Feng felt somewhat curious.

Could these people all be descendants of the Li Family and Wu Family among the Four Great Families?

At the same time, he wondered under which General he would be placed.

The people stepping forward seemed utterly confident, as though they had known the outcome long ago.

A faint sense of foreboding rose in Lin Feng's heart.

He had not expected the Demon Purging Division Reserve Camp to be such a complicated place as well.

Another eight names were called.

This time, more than half the names bore the surnames Zhao and Yu.

They were assigned under Bai Sheng.

Lin Feng thought that Zhou Xiu's status should be rather high. Since the Hundred-Household Commander had entrusted this matter to him, he was likely the person closest to the commander among these four Generals.

Meanwhile, Wu Peng and Bai Sheng each represented the Li and Wu, Zhao and Yu factions.

"It seems there are rifts even among the Four Great Families. At the very least, the Zhao Family's Second Young Master and that Li Wuyi did not see eye to eye yesterday!"

Lin Feng secretly surmised.

Now that the three men had finished choosing, he should be assigned under General Huang Qiong, right?

His first impression of Huang Qiong had been fairly good.

Yesterday, Huang Qiong had handled their assessment impartially. If Li Wuyi had not meddled, there would never have been that matter of competing with Mei Changyun.

Though the final result had been good.

That was only because of Lin Feng's formidable strength.

If it had been an ordinary person, Mei Changyun would have eliminated him long ago.

But that should not have been the case. Had Zhao Chengzhe not brought him into his faction?

Or had General Bai simply not taken a liking to him?

Just as Lin Feng was thinking.

Zhou Xiu called another string of names.

Eleven more people stepped forward and were assigned under Huang Qiong.

This time, only three people remained standing in the back, including Lin Feng.

The three looked at one another, then at Zhou Xiu, unable to understand why General Zhou had not assigned them under any of the four Generals!

The four rows of people in front all looked toward Lin Feng and the other two, strange expressions appearing on their faces.

Their gazes seemed to carry both pity and mockery.

That made Lin Feng feel even worse.

As someone with no background, it seemed he had been assigned to the worst team!

Sure enough, Zhou Xiu spoke!

"Lin Feng, You Lin, Mu Yu."

"You three will be assigned under Ding Yun, General Ding. Once General Ding returns from the Spring Red Brothel, go report to him yourselves!"

"Ding Yun? Spring Red Brothel?"

Those words meant nothing on their own, but put together at this moment, they seemed rather baffling.

What kind of General was away from the Reserve Camp in broad daylight, wallowing in a pleasure quarter like the Spring Red Brothel?

He seemed utterly out of place in the Reserve Camp!

Mu Yu, especially, as a girl, found her future superior rather strange.

If the General was absent, there should at least be a Banner Officer, right?

Soon afterward, the Generals left with their respective new recruits.

On the vast drill grounds, only Lin Feng, Mu Yu, and You Lin remained, three solitary figures.

"Ah, who would have thought we would ultimately end up under General Ding!"

At that moment, You Lin sighed.

"Brother You, right? Why has this General Ding not come, and is instead at the Spring Red Brothel?"

Lin Feng could not help asking.

"Exactly. Is joining General Ding's command bad? Why did they all look at us so strangely?"

Mu Yu also asked You Lin.

"Ah, since we will be colleagues from now on, let me tell you both about it!"

You Lin sighed again.

"In the Demon Purging Division Reserve Camp, aside from Hundred-Household Commander Zhao Hu, the five Generals hold the greatest authority!

And just now, you should have noticed something.

Zhou Xiu is the Hundred-Household Commander's trusted confidant. He is practically the second-in-command. In the camp, joining General Zhou's command is the best option.

Basically, all kinds of resources are supplied to them first.

Next come General Wu, who represents the Li and Wu Families, and General Bai, who represents the Zhao and Yu Families.

General Huang Qiong is a neutral party who keeps out of worldly disputes. Most of the people under his command have countless ties to those in the county yamen."

"And the worst is our General Ding.

Rumor has it that General Ding made a mistake before and was demoted to our Kaiyang County. If General Huang keeps out of worldly disputes, then General Ding has simply given up! Those two gate guards, Chen Fei and Song Que, are under General Ding's command."

"Ah!"

Hearing this, Mu Yu cried out in alarm.

"Then wouldn't we be at the very bottom of the Demon Purging Division Reserve Camp?"

Lin Feng also frowned slightly upon hearing this. Although he did not know how You Lin knew so much.

What You Lin had said basically matched Lin Feng's own guesses.

It should be trustworthy!

"But that is not even the most fatal part!"

You Lin continued.

Lin Feng and Mu Yu both turned their gazes toward You Lin again.

"Can you guess why not a single Banner Officer came to receive us?"

You Lin asked.

"Why? Could it be because all the Banner Officers under General Ding have gone out?

Surely it cannot be that there is no one at all!"

Mu Yu asked anxiously. After hearing You Lin's words, she realized that joining General Ding's command was a very bad thing!

"That is right, there is no one!"

You Lin said.

"How could that be?"

Even Lin Feng could no longer keep his composure!

"One of my elder brothers is an old recruit in the Demon Purging Division. These things are not secrets; once you stay long enough, you will naturally learn them.

The people under General Ding's command basically have poor aptitude and no background, so their cultivation progresses very slowly.

Very few pass the assessment and become official Banner Officers.

There were originally several Banner Officers assigned to him, but they all died while fighting Monsters!

Perhaps because of General Ding's give-up attitude, the camp no longer assigns Banner Officers to him!"

Only after quite a while did Lin Feng digest the information You Lin had shared.

Following this General Ding was truly something that left one at a loss for words.

Whether new or old, the recruits assigned under him basically did not amount to much in the Reserve Camp.

They either guarded the gates, worked in the mess hall, and so on.

Fortunately, everyone cleaned their own quarters. Otherwise, they would surely have been assigned to sweep the camp as well.

The Demon Purging Division was an important stronghold, unlike a Lineage where servants could be ordered about. Some menial work still had to be done by the recruits themselves.

As for the cultivation and daily lives of those under him, this General Ding basically left them to fend for themselves.

For recruits with no background and poor talent, this was simply a disaster.

Just then, a figure strolled in leisurely through the gate, looking utterly disheveled.

He held a jug of wine in his hand, drinking as he walked.

His long hair hung loosely around him, his face was covered in stubble, the front of his robes hung half-open, and his hat sat crookedly on his head.

Wine ran down his neck and into his clothes, soaking them through.

A mighty flying-fish uniform had somehow been worn with the air of a beggar.