Promoted to Banner Commander

The annual assessment had come to an end.

Captain Hu slowly rose to his feet, his voice shaking the training ground:

"Lu Li, troop leader of Team Ding Three, has been with the Route Bureau for just over a month. He has won every bout in the Martial Examination, defeated a Banner Commander, and achieved outstanding martial merits. He is hereby exceptionally promoted!"

"Effective immediately, Lu Li is relieved of his post as troop leader and promoted to Banner Commander of the Ding Company. He shall hold the rank of Subordinate Eighth Rank, command ten squads, ten squad captains, thirty troop leaders, and two hundred seventy archers, and take charge of patrol and defense across the northern district of the city!"

"He is awarded ten taels of gold and granted the ultimate art, Wind-Rending Mountain-Splitting Blade!"

"In addition, he shall be assigned five personal guards for permanent service. After selecting them from among his subordinates, he is to report them to the Route Bureau for registration."

The entire grounds erupted in uproar.

Someone had actually challenged a superior and succeeded!

By old custom, for a troop leader to rise to Banner Commander, veterans had to endure hardship and spill blood, while newcomers had to grind away their hearts. At the very least, one needed three to five years of seniority and three middling merits.

Lu Li had reported for duty just over a month ago. One martial contest, and he had soared straight to the heavens!

Lu Li was the only troop leader today who had fought his way up and successfully been promoted to Banner Commander.

A true man should be like this!

The archers, troop leaders, and squad captains below all showed envy. Just moments ago, more than half the troop leaders and squad captains present had refused to accept Lu Li and challenged him one after another. All of them had fallen beneath his fists. Lu Li had not even drawn his blade!

They had lost, yet they had lost with wholehearted conviction. Not a trace of disdain remained in their hearts.

The blazing sun shone down upon the training ground.

Captain Hu personally bestowed armor and a crown upon the youth.

Lu Li accepted them calmly.

His eyes were clear and bright. Though his expression remained composed, a faint excitement stirred within it. That excitement was only natural—both for Captain Hu's appreciation and out of respect for everyone below the platform.

This was the first time Lu Li had stood at such a height, upon a platform watched by three thousand five hundred people. His thoughts inevitably surged and churned.

There was no panic in his heart. This was real strength, forged through daily fist training. Martial prowess emboldened a man's courage.

All at once, he remembered the boy who had once slept beneath a gatehouse. He remembered the two-man sedan he had carried beneath the scorching sun with his frail shoulders clenched tight. He remembered the figure outside Shunhe Sedan Service, nearly dropping to his knees for a few copper coins, racking his brains to hide his money...

He recalled a saying.

The hardships you have endured will one day become the confidence beneath your feet.

Those nights he had endured alone, those moments when he had gritted his teeth and held back his tears, those days when others looked down on him and all he could do was remain silent.

They would not be wasted.

They would become bricks beneath his feet, lifting him higher and allowing him to see farther.

As thoughts flooded his mind, those eyes gradually grew deeper and brighter.

In truth.

He knew little about the Route Bureau from top to bottom, aside from the three archers under his command. After all, he had not been here long.

As for whether his rise today would touch upon certain people's interests?

The answer was probably yes.

But so what?

He had finally gotten his hands on the post of Banner Commander. He could not possibly give it up simply out of worry. As for whether he would offend some people because of it and be drawn into the whirlpool of conspiracies, he had no way of guessing, nor could he guess. There was no need to fret and grow anxious over things that had not yet happened.

At this moment, he was riding high on the spring breeze. He only needed to enjoy the glory before him. Whatever challenges the future held, he feared none of them.

The autumn wind swept over the training ground. The youth wore the regulation combat uniform of a Banner Commander, his figure standing tall and straight.

The three hundred men of the Ding Company clasped their fists and shouted in unison:

"Greetings, Banner Commander Lu!"

"Greetings, Banner Commander Lu!"

"Greetings, Banner Commander Lu!"

The cries shook the skies. The wind gradually rose, making the surrounding banners snap and flutter.

The autumn sun hung high overhead, and the Archer Bureau's training ground was broad and level as a whetstone.

Upon the hard-packed yellow earth, three hundred patrol archers stood in formation with blades at their waists, row upon row, a sea of black filling the entire Ding Camp.

Lu Li stood before the ranks, still as the windless air.

The entire ground fell silent in reverence.

Not long ago, at the end of the annual assessment, they had watched Lu Li alone fight through fifty-six squad captains who refused to accept his promotion to Banner Commander. With the bearing of one man who could stand against ten thousand, he had easily and steadily suppressed them all, establishing a fearsome prestige!

Everyone lowered their heads and stood in formation.

"A sixteen-year-old Banner Commander?"

"We've clawed and crawled for ten years, yet we cannot compare to his one day of soaring into the clouds."

"To hold high office while still young... that is a sight found only in dreams..."

Wang Boxing looked at the Banner Commander before him, his heart filled with sighs. The gap between people could truly change in the blink of an eye.

Yesterday, Lu Li had still been a martial official like him, patrolling the streets with a blade at his side. Today, he had risen three ranks in succession and attained Subordinate Eighth Rank. This youth, three years younger than himself, had reached a height Wang Boxing would never attain in his lifetime.

Wang Boxing had already failed Gate-Breaking once. If he attempted Gate-Breaking again, not only would the difficulty increase greatly, but should he fail, his body would decline. His condition would fall off a cliff, and he would enter old age ahead of time.

A faint hope rose in Wang Boxing's heart. Among the five personal guard positions, would Lu Li remember their old friendship and choose him?

Wang Boxing's thoughts turned over and over. Should he take the initiative and ask for a chance? Yet he hesitated. The words lay in his heart, but would not leave his lips.

Before the formation.

Lu Li wore a brand-new blue-black regulation uniform for a Subordinate Eighth Rank Banner Commander, martial insignia decorating his shoulders and a standard blade hanging at his waist.

His gaze flickered. Amid the surging thoughts in his mind, he selected five men. They were young, and all had recently succeeded in Gate-Breaking and become Skin Tempering martial artists. What Lu Li valued was their potential.

"Wang Han, Ma Chao, Zhang Hu, Zhao Long, Zhou Xiaotong, step forward!"

After the five stepped out, they bowed and clasped their fists.

"Your subordinates are here!"

"From this day onward, you shall follow at my side, inspect the streets and alleys, and attend my commands!"

"Your subordinates swear to follow Banner Commander to the death!" the five roared in unison.

After receiving their orders, the five stepped behind Lu Li and took up protective positions.

Some below the platform were envious, while others were regretful, but they could only accept it.

After the personal guards had been selected.

Lu Li's gaze slowly swept over the three hundred men standing in neat, solemn ranks. His eyes suddenly turned clear and sharp as he spoke sternly:

"This is our first assembly. I will say only one thing."

"Before long, Dean Gao of the Martial Academy will arrive to preside over the Martial Examination. During this time, our northern gate district must remain peaceful!"

His voice was calm and steady, yet every word struck the ground with weight:

"This is a handwritten order passed down by the garrison commander!"

"It is also an order personally issued by Captain Hu!"

Lu Li's gaze sharpened further. Each word was measured, his tone severe:

"I hope all of you will remain vigilant in your duties and never slacken!"

The three hundred archers bowed as one, their voices shaking the training ground:

"We obey Banner Commander's order!"

After the bureau's affairs had been properly arranged, Lu Li led his five personal guards along the road back to Lu Residence.

It was now past the middle of the Hour of the Snake, when the streets were at their liveliest.

Pedestrians flowed back and forth like a shuttle, porters hurried along, merchants chatted idly, and the streets rang with voices and billowing life.

Only when he reached the familiar Chessboard Street did Lu Li's emotions gradually settle.

He began reviewing everything that had happened today.

Dean Gao of the Martial Academy was coming to Blackwater City to personally preside over the Martial Examination two days later. This likely also involved the "miracle" his master had mentioned.

What exactly was this "miracle"?

Perhaps he needed to make a trip to the escort agency and seek out Lin Lanyi for information.

Lu Li pondered briefly.

First, the Martial Examination had been moved up.

Then today, the Route Bureau's annual assessment had also been moved ahead, deciding superiority through martial combat in such a simple and brutal fashion. At this critical juncture of the Martial Examination, did that mean it was also connected to that "miracle"?

Was some major event about to occur?

All at once, he sensed that wind and rain were on their way.

Because he realized that, when all these matters were linked together, they seemed to point toward that "miracle."

And the task Lin Lanyi had asked him to handle—could it also be related to that "miracle"?