Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 57 Doubts about the Mandala

It is said that a new official makes three bold moves upon taking office, but Shen Baihu's fire was extinguished after only two.

The first move was to sideline Deputy Commander Wu. Although it went smoothly at first, it eventually ended with Commander Wu making a comeback.

The second act was to deliberately make things difficult for Lin Xuan, a trusted banner officer of Wu, the deputy commander. Unexpectedly, Lin Xuan rose to the challenge and not only successfully completed the task, but was also commended by the Commander's Office and became a model for the entire Jingbian Division.

After these two incidents, Commander Shen seemed to have completely given up on vying for power. He was late and left early every day, and he didn't care much about the affairs of the Jingbian Division.

For Lin Xuan, this peace and quiet was quite welcome.

However, there was another thing that troubled him quite a bit.

Cultivating spiritual power was not as simple as he had imagined. His progress in the cultivation of the "Starry Sky Technique" was very slow. Although he could sense the enormous spiritual power hidden within his body, he could not control it actively.

The benefits of his immense mental strength are only manifested in his extraordinary memory and unusual perception.

At this rate, he doesn't know when he'll be able to learn the Divine Shock Technique.

Lin Xuan would ask the man in black robes any questions he had on a daily basis.

But this technique was Lin Xuan's trump card against her, and no matter what, he couldn't let her know that he was secretly cultivating his spiritual power.

Footsteps sounded at the door of the duty room. Lin Xuan opened his eyes, and a clerk walked in and said respectfully, "Lin Xiaoqi, Commander Wu requests your presence."

Lin Xuan stood up and nodded, saying, "I understand."

A moment later, in Wu Baihu's duty room, after Lin Xuan sat down, Wu Baihu poured him a cup of tea and asked, "Has Shen Qingya made things difficult for you these past few days?"

Lin Xuan shook his head and said, "No."

Although the people following him were not removed, on the surface, Commander Shen did not do anything further.

Wu Baihu gave a mocking smile and said, "These spoiled brats from the capital are indeed restless. These past few days, Huang Yue has been taking him around, indulging in pleasure all day long. He's probably already forgotten about his duties..."

Then he looked at Lin Xuan and said, "I've come here this time to give you a task."

Lin Xuan stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Please give your orders, sir!"

Commander Wu patted him on the shoulder and said, "No need for formalities among us, sit down and talk... It's not a big deal, really. A few days ago, I had some insights into cultivation and decided to go into seclusion for a while. So I won't be able to take care of some things at the office. Could you keep an eye on things for me?"

Lin Xuan was slightly taken aback, and said with some difficulty, "My lord, this is not a good idea..."

Commander Wu waved his hand and said, "There's nothing wrong with it. I don't trust anyone else either. You just need to record the intelligence that comes up from below every day, and then sort and file it. Don't worry, I won't let you work for nothing. The department already has a subsidy for this..."

Lin Xuan wasn't actually unwilling to help; he just didn't want to get involved in these things.

But since Wu Baihu had already said so much, it would be inappropriate for him to refuse again.

Lin Xuan could only nod and say, "Since you trust me, I will do my best."

After leaving Wu Baihu's duty room, Lin Xuan pondered for a moment, then went to the door of Wenren Zongqi's duty room and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Inside the duty room, Wenren Yue's cold voice could be heard.

Lin Xuan entered the duty room, clasped his hands slightly, and said, "Commander Wenren, Commander Wu just summoned me. He said that he has been busy with cultivation recently and has handed over the task of filing intelligence to me. I have come to report this."

Although he had gained the trust of Commander Wu, in the Jingbian Division, Commander Wenren was his direct superior, and he still needed to know the proper rules.

Wenren Yue sat behind her desk, holding a book in her hands. She didn't look up, but nodded slightly and said, "Since Commander Wu trusts you so much, you can do it. If there are other tasks, I will assign them to others."

Before leaving, Lin Xuan suddenly asked, "I have a question about cultivation that I would like to ask Commander Wenren. I wonder if it would be convenient for Commander Wenren to ask me..."

Wenren Yue looked up at him, then shook her head and said, "I don't practice the Zhenyue Gong, so I may not be able to answer your questions."

Lin Xuan immediately said, "What I'm asking about isn't the 'Zhenyue Gong' technique. Actually... I have a friend who wants to improve his spiritual power, but he always gets distracted when he's meditating and can't concentrate fully, so his cultivation progress is very slow. Yesterday, I saw that Commander Wenren could control objects remotely, so he must be a practitioner of both martial arts and magic. That's why I wanted to ask him about it for my friend."

Wenren Yue didn't think much of it and nodded, saying, "It's common to lose focus in the early stages of visualization. Even those with high talent can't avoid it. You can take some calming and concentration medication before visualization to help you." She opened a drawer in front of her, took out a porcelain bottle, and casually tossed it over.

Lin Xuan instinctively caught it, and Wenren Yue said, "This is a calming pill. There should be a few more in the bottle. You can take it to your friend; it should help him."

Lin Xuan clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Commander Wenren."

As Lin Xuan walked out of Wenren Zongqi's duty room, he held a porcelain bottle in his hand, his heart filled with emotion.

This is the difference between a sect disciple and a rogue cultivator. Sometimes, asking one more question can save him from taking many detours.

When he returned to his duty room, the two flag officers happened to be absent.

Lin Xuan opened the porcelain bottle given to him by Wenren Zongqi and poured out three pills the size of soybeans. The pills were black and emitted a faint fragrance that was invigorating.

Lin Xuan poured two of the pills back into the pot, leaving one, and put it in his mouth.

After the pill entered my mouth, it gradually turned into a clear stream and flowed down my throat.

Lin Xuan clearly felt that his mind was becoming clearer, his distracting thoughts were decreasing, and he was in a state of unparalleled clarity.

He immediately closed his eyes and began to visualize.

The visualization process had never been so smooth; his mind was filled only with the image he needed to visualize.

As he meditated, he gradually sensed that a faint connection had finally formed between him and the immense power hidden within his body.

Lin Xuan slowly opened her eyes, her fingers twitching slightly.

There was no wind in the duty room, and a page of a book on the table in front of him suddenly turned slowly.

……

night.

The man in black robes sat down at the table and asked, "What business does Commander Wu have with you today?"

Lin Xuan said, "Commander Wu has gained some insights into cultivation. He will be focusing on cultivation for the foreseeable future. Let me file the intelligence for him."

The man in black robes nodded slightly and said, "Very good. It seems that after what happened last time, you have completely gained his trust. It will be easier to obtain intelligence in the future."

After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Later, did you go to see Wenren Yue?"

Lin Xuan said, "Wenren Zongqi is my direct superior, so it's best to inform her of this matter in advance."

Of the two things, Lin Xuan only mentioned one.

Lin Xuan chose to conceal the fact that Wenren Zongqi had asked him about spiritual cultivation and that Wenren had given him a calming pill.

He was certain that the man in the black robes could not possibly know the details of their conversation.

The man in black robes suddenly looked at Lin Xuan and asked, "Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?"

Lin Xuan was startled, his expression turned solemn, and he immediately shook his head, resolutely saying, "This subordinate has not concealed anything from you, my lord, Heaven is my witness..."

He didn't know if she actually knew something or if it was just based on her damnably accurate and terrifying intuition.

The man in black robes seemed to have asked casually and did not continue the conversation.

After teaching Lin Xuan some deadly moves, she drifted away.

Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she didn't know everything either.

After practicing on the wooden dummy for a while, he closed the door, lay down on the bed, took a calming pill, and quickly entered a meditative state...

(End of this chapter)