Office Power-Content Formula

Xu Jingyang smiled.

"Little Su, you've got a quick mind. Help your teacher weigh this over too."

Su Yuan was overjoyed. Venus Star Lord truly meant to take charge of the central administration—no wonder he had casually settled Su Yuan's transfer to the Ministry of Rites just now.

He hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Congratulations, Master! This is the tide of the times, the will of the people!"

Venus Star Lord waved a hand lightly.

"Favors and hard-earned credit accumulated over tens of thousands of years will probably all have to be staked this time. There are several vacancies at present, and they're quite crucial."

He counted them off on his fingers.

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Heavenly Court Defense System, mainly responsible for the Milky Way Navy and the training and deployment of the various heavenly troops; Chairman of the All-Heaven Constellation Committee, overseeing the operations of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and the three hundred and sixty-five divisions of star officials; Minister of Foreign Affairs, meaning Emperor Wenchang's immediate superior; Minister of Personnel, overseeing the selection, promotion, and demotion of immortal officials; and also..."

Xu Jingyang took over, his tone grave.

"This is the crucial step for your master to truly enter the core decision-making circle. He and I have gone over it again and again. Our preliminary inclination is for him to serve as Chairman of the All-Heaven Constellation Committee. The position is lofty and powerful, highly independent, and can avoid quite a few whirlpools."

Hearing this, Su Yuan merely furrowed his brow and fell into thought.

The All-Heaven Constellation Committee? Its rank was indeed extremely high, second only to an Emperor Lord of a given domain—a proper Da Luo-level post. But...

Su Yuan did not immediately reach a conclusion. Instead, he cupped his hands and said,

"Master, True Person Xu, please wait a moment."

As he spoke, immortal light flowed around his fingertips, projecting a light screen in midair. It was covered in complex immortal-script runes and streams of constantly calculating data.

"This is...?"

Xu Jingyang leaned forward curiously.

"This is an 'Office Power-Content Algorithm' I devised in my spare time. It's quite crude. Please don't laugh at me, True Person."

Su Yuan spoke modestly, but his hands did not stop. Several core indicators swiftly appeared on the light screen.

"Regarding the positions Master just mentioned, in this humble official's view, their 'power content' can be preliminarily quantified. Please look—"

A formula appeared on the light screen.

Su Yuan flicked his fingers in rapid succession. Data scrolled at breakneck speed across the Mindlink Light Screen as he fed several key positions into his "Office Power-Content Formula" for calculation.

[Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Heavenly Court Defense:]

"Manages most of the Milky Way Navy and some heavenly soldiers and generals. Actual command coefficient: high."

"Jurisdiction is mainly concentrated in military defense, relatively closed off. Scope of influence coefficient: medium."

"Fiscal control is constrained by the Heavenly Court budget. Though the resource scale is immense, autonomy is low. Fiscal command coefficient: medium-low."

"Only one of several deputies, with a commander-in-chief and various marshals above him. Rank constraint coefficient: relatively high."

"Overall assessment: a passerby."

[Chairman of the All-Heaven Constellation Committee:]

"Manages the operation of the constellations of all heavens and maintains the power of the stars throughout the cosmos. Actual command coefficient: moderately high."

"Jurisdiction covers three thousand worlds, but is rather specialized and has little contact with other departments. Scope of influence coefficient: medium."

"Fiscal command coefficient: relatively high."

"As the committee's top leader, rank constraint coefficient: relatively low. Considerable autonomy."

"However—"

Red adjustment coefficients immediately popped up beside the parameters on the light screen.

"Below him are the Four Symbol Divine Beasts, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and the three hundred and sixty-five divisions of star officials. Every last one has deep roots and ancient seniority; factions stand everywhere, their hilltops firm and entrenched. At the beginning of his tenure, I fear seven-tenths of his energy out of ten would have to be spent sorting out internal affairs and balancing relationships. He could easily be hollowed out, with decrees unable to leave the committee's doors."

"After major correction through this 'internal attrition' coefficient, overall assessment: garbage."

Xu Jingyang pressed his face close to the light screen and asked,

"What does 'garbage' mean?"

Taibai waved a hand, signaling him not to interrupt and to keep watching.

[Minister of Foreign Affairs]

"Oversees the Heavenly Court's external negotiations, but is constrained by the Heavenly Court's broad policies and has little room for practical maneuvering. Command coefficient: moderately low."

"Management scope involves the Three Realms and the four directions. Scope of influence coefficient: extremely high."

"Foreign affairs funding is ample. Fiscal command coefficient: high."

"Rank constraint coefficient: medium."

"Overall assessment: above ordinary men."

Just as the light screen was about to begin calculating the Ministry of Personnel's data, Xu Jingyang raised a hand to stop it. He shook his head slightly and said,

"Little Su, your formula is exquisite, but some of its parameters remain too superficial. Unless one holds the office oneself, it is difficult to grasp its true essence."

"The Heavenly Court's Ministry of Personnel appears to hold the mighty authority to promote and demote immortal officials across the realm. But what is the reality? My second brother, Ge Xuan, holds a post in the Ministry of Personnel. Which of those high-ranking immortal officials does not have deep roots and heaven-reaching cultivation? Their positions often remain unchanged for thousands or tens of thousands of years. What matters is background, cultivation, and opportunity—how could a single document from the Ministry of Personnel easily shake them? As for the promotions and transfers of lower-level immortal clerks, they are trivial and complicated, mostly handled step by step according to heavenly laws and old precedents."

He looked at Su Yuan and asked, "So when calculating the Ministry of Personnel's 'actual command coefficient,' shouldn't you multiply it by an enormous 'attenuation coefficient' as well?"

Hearing this, Su Yuan nodded.

"What True Person says is indeed the reality. It was certainly so in the past. But—"

His tone shifted.

"Master, Lord Xu, have you two overlooked the single most important 'variable'?"

"Oh? What variable?"

Venus Star Lord and Xu Jingyang asked almost simultaneously.

Su Yuan said,

"It is the red-headed decree, <Several Measures on Deepening the Reform of the Heavenly Court Immortal Clerk System and Mechanisms>, jointly issued by the Heavenly Court General Office and the various ministries three years ago, when this humble official was preparing to be selected for the special pacification task force! In black and white, it expressly proposed to 'break the practice of ranking by seniority' and 'vigorously advance a dynamic management mechanism under which immortal officials and heavenly clerks can rise or fall, enter or leave'!"

"This heavenly decree is the sharpest knife in the Ministry of Personnel's hand from now on! The ministry may not have held much power in the past, but now it holds the authority to assess, evaluate, and implement this policy of 'rising and falling.' There is a great deal of learning—and room for maneuvering—in that!"

Venus Star Lord immediately understood Su Yuan's meaning and personally began rapidly revising the Ministry of Personnel's parameters on the light screen.

[Minister of Personnel]

"Actual command coefficient: first-class!"

"Scope of influence coefficient: first-class!"

"Fiscal command coefficient: medium."

"Rank constraint coefficient: low."

"Overall assessment: insanely awesome."

Venus Star Lord's hand trembled slightly. He drew a deep breath.

"What is a Heavenly Official? This is a true Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel!"

At this moment, Xu Jingyang no longer cared to understand what "insanely awesome" meant. He sucked in a cold breath.

"Hiss... Even if the Five Elders of the Five Directions, the various Emperor Lords, and the heads of the ministries hold transcendent positions that are difficult to shake, whose family does not have a hundred and eighty descendants, relatives, and disciples serving in every corner of the Heavenly Court? The futures of those people must now pass beneath the Ministry of Personnel's sharp blade of 'rising and falling' assessment! The favors that can be traded here, the connections that can be accumulated..."

"Your power-content formula is rather interesting."

Xu Jingyang sidled up to Su Yuan and shamelessly said,

"This old man is also moving up half a rank this time. Take a look—which of the seventy-odd positions I picked would suit me?"