“Is that so?”
“Better be!”
“Vice Envoy He, if there’s nothing else, you may leave to attend to your duties.”
Lu Xuan did not press the matter further, having already made his decision.
“Envoy, there is one more matter. The Prefectural Capital Black Phoenix Guard Martial Arts Tournament will commence in ten days.”
“At that time, we will require Your Excellency to personally preside over it.”
“The Black Phoenix Guard Martial Arts Tournament is divided into two categories. The first is for Black Phoenix Guards aged twenty-eight and below.”
“The second is for those aged twenty and below.”
“The top three winners in each tournament, besides receiving generous rewards, will also be designated as Elite Training Targets for the Black Phoenix Guard for the following three years, until the next tournament cycle begins.”
The Prefectural Capital Black Phoenix Guard Tournament is held every three years.
Its purpose is to select the most outstanding talents and allocate substantial martial resources to train them.
Therefore, there are only six such precious slots in total!
Countless individuals are desperate to secure this opportunity, willing to fight tooth and nail for it.
“The top three from each tournament become Elite Training Targets…” Lu Xuan pondered upon hearing about these slots. It suddenly occurred to him that he might need three slots himself.
Liang Cheng, Lu Yunqing, and Ye Qingxuan!
Especially Ye Qingxuan. Lu Xuan recalled that she was likely a participant in the under-twenty tournament.
It would depend on whether she could make it into the top three.
If she could, that would naturally be the best outcome.
Lu Xuan would then not need to intervene regarding her slot.
Of course, if Ye Qingxuan failed to make the top three, Lu Xuan would certainly secure a slot for her.
Having made this decision, Lu Xuan saw no need for secrecy. He directly stated his intentions to He Yan.
“Vice Envoy He, proceed with the arrangements as you’ve outlined.”
“Additionally, besides the six fixed slots, I may add three more.”
“Let’s do this: add Liang Cheng and Lu Yunqing to the list now, designating them as Elite Training Targets within the Black Phoenix Guard.”
“As for the third slot, keep it reserved for now. I will decide whether to use it after the Martial Arts Tournament concludes.”
Three slots!
The Envoy actually intends to internally designate three additional slots!
This… this is against the regulations!
Moreover, three slots seems a bit excessive.
Pulling strings was nothing unusual to He Yan; it was quite commonplace.
Back in the day, his own son had also benefited from such connections. He had swallowed his pride and begged Li Chengfeng to create an extra slot, just managing to squeeze his son in.
But his son had, after all, ranked fourth. Adding one slot was somewhat justifiable, and even if others had objections, they couldn’t say much.
This Envoy was different, demanding three extra slots right off the bat.
Furthermore, two were already predetermined: the Envoy’s two younger brothers he had just mentioned.
When the Envoy mentioned his brothers, He Yan had also taken note of them.
One had just reached the Muscle Forging stage’s completion, which was passable and met the criteria for joining the Black Phoenix Guard.
The other had barely reached the Skin Tempering stage’s completion. With such aptitude, he didn’t even qualify to enter the Black Phoenix Guard.
Now, the Envoy, without any pretense, was designating these two as Elite Training Targets for the Black Phoenix Guard.
He Yan feared this decision might provoke significant discontent among some individuals.
If someone were to cause trouble then, it could become quite troublesome.
There was one person in particular, whose temperament gave He Yan a headache just thinking about him: Old Yu.
Yu Hong, Vice Envoy of the Black Phoenix Guard in Baidao Prefecture, holding the same rank as himself!
This old fellow Yu Hong had an overly strong character, intolerant of any impropriety, and held the rules of the Black Phoenix Guard in the highest regard.
Back when He Yan had secured a slot for his son, Old Yu Hong had angrily reprimanded him for it.
In the end, only out of consideration for their years of working together did Yu Hong reluctantly choose to turn a blind eye.
If it had been anyone else, Yu Hong would have shown no mercy whatsoever; a physical confrontation was even a possibility.
However, given this Envoy’s strength, He Yan wasn’t worried in the slightest for him.
What worried He Yan was that Old Yu might end up getting taught a lesson by the Envoy.
It seemed he would need to give Old Yu a heads-up when he returned.
“Envoy, the martial resources required for the Elite Training Targets are immense.”
“I am concerned that if we increase the number of slots, the martial resources in our storehouses might be insufficient to cover the expenditure.” Not daring to state his true thoughts outright, He Yan could only tactfully raise the issue of martial resource allocation for the elite training slots.
Lu Xuan was entirely unconcerned by He Yan’s worry; it was a minor issue to him.
“If martial resources are insufficient, simply apply to the Capital in my name for more.”
“……”
He Yan was left speechless upon hearing Lu Xuan’s words.
What the Envoy said made perfect sense… in theory.
The problem was, martial resources weren’t cabbages sold on the street.
You couldn’t just ask for them and expect someone to deliver.
The Capital had already allocated fixed quotas of martial resources to each prefectural city.
If every prefectural city followed the Envoy’s approach and made similar demands, even the Black Phoenix Guard, reputed to possess the greatest martial resources in the land, couldn’t sustain such consumption.
This was what He Yan thought privately, but the words that actually left his mouth were far more compliant.
“Understood. Then everything shall proceed according to Your Excellency’s command.”
“I shall now go and add the names of Liang Cheng and Lu Yunqing to the list of Elite Training Targets for the Black Phoenix Guard.”
After all, even with ten thousand times the courage, He Yan wouldn’t dare oppose this young Envoy.
Anyway, since he was following the Envoy’s orders, any resulting martial resource expenditures would be requested under the Envoy’s name and thus his responsibility.
Ah… wait a minute… Old Li, he…
It seemed this Envoy’s position was merely temporarily filling in for Li Chengfeng as Envoy.
So, using the Envoy’s name for responsibility…
Wouldn’t that essentially mean using Li Chengfeng’s name to shoulder all the liabilities?
“Hmm, very well. You may go now. I have other matters to attend to.”
Before Vice Envoy He could fully process his thoughts, Lu Xuan’s figure had already vanished.
The sound of his voice hadn’t even completely faded before Lu Xuan’s body, moving faster than the sound itself, disappeared from the hall.
