Inside the Evil Punishment Office, Xiao Zhengyan, the Deputy Chief Inspector, sat in the seat of honor, flicking through page after page of candidate records with impatient fingers.
Case files towered on the desk, their corners creased under the weight, but he worked without hesitation. He looked over everything that crossed his eyes, then tossed it aside for preliminary screening.
"Zhao Tiezhu, lower B-grade aptitude, early qi-blood sixth level, thirty-eight years old."
He glanced over it and made a casual judgment to himself:
Not bad, but with his age and foundation, reaching the first inner qi level will be his ceiling. Not much use.
He pushed the file to his left, into a stack marked "Pending discussion."
"Sun Wenyuan, upper C-grade aptitude, middle qi-blood sixth level, forty-five years old."
Xiao Zhengyan barely raised an eyebrow before delivering another verdict:
"Useless."
"Qian Guangde, Grade C, Middle Tier aptitude, late qi-blood sixth level, fifty-one years old."
This time, he could not even be bothered to look closely. He simply tossed the file aside.
"Too old. His bones are practically hollow already. Giving him a cushy post would be fine, but the Evil Punishment Office doesn't need people like him."
Who in the prefectural city or the Heaven Patrol Office did not know the temper of Xiao Zhengyan, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Evil Punishment Office? Anyone who hoped to catch his eye needed both ability and natural aptitude.
Without those two things, no matter how impressive the achievements listed in their promotion records were, they would never win his approval. They could only be assigned to work in other ordinary county towns.
He quickly finished the first dozen or so files. The candidates either had poor aptitude or were too old.
Growing increasingly impatient, Xiao Zhengyan lifted his teacup and took a