363 The Inevitable Wedding Dress

Within the Fragrance Sect, ranks were strictly divided. The "Twenty-Four Incense Registers" determined seniority within the sect, clearly separating ordinary followers from the sect's core hierarchy. Once one rose into the ten middle-grade incense ranks, one would be classified into four levels: Sect Leader, Elder, Protector, and Champion General.

Below the Sect Leader were five Elders, seven Great Protectors, and twelve Champion Generals. The five Elders held exalted status and handled such matters as assistance, law enforcement, transmission of teachings, funds, and provisions. The seven Great Protectors were stationed across various regions, responsible for spreading scriptures and teachings, guarding the sect, liaising with incense halls and followers in different places, and stockpiling provisions, wealth, and military equipment.

As for the twelve Champion Generals, they served as aides to the seven Great Protectors and formed the backbone of the sect's upper and middle ranks. Song Tengbao was one of those twelve Champion Generals. He belonged to the older generation and had long overseen affairs in Western Wasteland Province. He was unwaveringly loyal and steady in his work, an old hand whom the previous Sect Leader had promoted from the lowest ranks.

Peng City, Xueluo Prefecture, Western Wasteland Province. That day, rain poured down in a steady patter as Song Tengbao huddled in a tavern within Peng County, drinking himself into a sullen stupor.

He was an old hand in the sect. Given his seniority, he should have been able to rise to the position of Protector.

But a new emperor brought new courtiers. No matter how loyally Song Tengbao had served the Fragrance Sect or how many contributions he had made, as an old minister of the former regime, he had never found favor in the eyes of the current Sect Leader, Shi Wanhai. In the end, he could only remain