Ninefold Golden Crow

"What?!"

Inside the main hall of the Heavenly Patrol Division.

Xu Ming's eyes widened as he stared ahead in disbelief.

"Those are sixteen prodigies with Heaven-Grade Dao Chess Pieces! How could they... how could they still have to start as ordinary Heavenly Patrol Guards?!"

If the man standing before him had not been the genuine Pacification Commissioner, he would have nearly suspected some demon or evil spirit was impersonating him and spouting such outrageous nonsense.

Faced with Xu Ming's loss of composure, Pacification Commissioner Liu Qingshan frowned in displeasure. "What are you shouting for? Have you no sense of decorum?"

"I..."

"You've been in the Heavenly Court for so many years. How are you still so ignorant of how the world works, with your head full of childish fantasies?"

Seeing his subordinate act this way, Liu Qingshan sighed, a trace of helplessness surfacing in his eyes. "Talent... what the hell is talent worth? To get by in the Heavenly Court, what matters is family background and connections, knowing how the world works! No matter how talented you are, without someone backing you or a great clan supporting you, you're ultimately just a rootless Rogue Cultivator."

"But... but this is too..."

Xu Ming opened his mouth, only to find his throat tightening.

It was too absurd!

Before bringing Jiang Yuechu back to the Heavenly Court, he had expected resistance.

After all, she had killed an appointed official of the Heavenly Court—and she had also killed the Little Heavenly General.

But Xu Ming had believed even more firmly that such monstrous talent would surely shake the Heavenly Court and draw great powers from every side to vouch for her.

Yet he had never expected even Liu Qingshan, who had always cherished talent, to take this attitude.

Starting from the bottom, tempering her