The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

Late spring of the twentieth year of Yonghe.

Zhou Xing's seventh birthday was celebrated quietly.

As was customary, the Empress bestowed upon him two bolts of plain silk and a box of pastries. The Imperial Household Department, following the rules, added several seasonal garments. Chunlan and Qiuju cooked him a bowl of longevity noodles and added an extra egg.

Apart from that, the entire palace remained completely undisturbed.

A prince who is not favored by the emperor has a birthday, and it is not worth anyone's attention.

Zhou Xing didn't seem to care.

After finishing his longevity noodles, he broke the egg yolk into pieces and fed it to a gray sparrow that had flown onto the windowsill at some unknown time. Then he lay down on the table, spread out a sheet of Xuan paper, and used a brush to draw a crooked chessboard on it.

When Chunlan came in to clear the dishes, she glanced at the drawing and assumed it was just a child doodling. She smiled and praised, "Your Highness draws so well," before leaving.

What she didn't notice was that each square on that "graffiti" corresponded to a certain passageway, a certain palace, or a certain key position in the palace.

The system has been refreshed.

The summoning qualification for large-scale teams will have to wait a while longer, but the annual summoning qualification for elite teams has already been lit up.

Zhou Xing put down his pen, closed his eyes, and unfolded the golden light screen in his mind that only he could see.

He was seven years old, taller than last year, and his wrists had finally gained some strength, but in everyone's eyes, he was still the Ninth Prince who lived in a secluded side hall and only spent his days catching insects in the Imperial Garden.

This is the best disguise.

He silently recited the summons in his heart.

Golden light surged up like a tide, more intense than the previous two times, so intense that his eyelids felt burning even when he closed his eyes.

The text on the light screen no longer appeared slowly, but was suddenly slammed into the void as if by an invisible hand, each stroke carrying a heavy weight.

"Six-Star Elite Team"

Six stars.

Zhou Xing took a deep breath, his heart involuntarily quickening its pace.

Zhao Gao's Imperial Household Department trainees were five-star, Lu Changfeng's Beggars' Sect startup team were one-star, but this time they jumped directly to six-star.

It's a whole level above five stars.

He held his breath and looked down.

Team Name: Hidden Dragon Guards

The name is much more serious than the previous two, at least it doesn't have those quirky suffixes like "trainee" and "startup team".

Zhou Xing lowered his gaze to the list of members, and then his pupils suddenly contracted.

Members: Xu Chu, Dian Wei, Li Yuanfang, Zhan Zhao.

Four names, spanning nearly two thousand years of time and space, were forcibly dragged together by the system and crammed into a corner of this world.

Zhou Xing stared at the four names for a long time, the corners of his mouth gradually curving upwards, eventually turning into a silent, almost unrestrained smile.

Xu Chu, courtesy name Zhongkang, was Cao Wei's top bodyguard.

During the Battle of Wei River, he fought Ma Chao naked, protecting Cao Cao and earning Cao Cao's personal nickname "Tiger Fool".

Historical records describe him as "over eight feet tall, with a waist ten spans in circumference, a majestic appearance, and extraordinary strength."

A ruthless man who could carry Cao Cao out of a sea of ​​fire amidst thousands of troops.

Dian Wei, also a close bodyguard of Cao Cao, covered the rear for his lord during the Battle of Wancheng. He was wounded dozens of times but did not fall down even after death, his eyes wide open. No one of Zhang Xiu's soldiers dared to walk in front of him.

If Xu Chu was Cao Cao's shield, then Dian Wei was Cao Cao's unyielding sword.

Li Yuanfang may not be a very famous name in history, but Zhou Xing, as a hardcore fan of online novels, is very familiar with him.

The highly skilled and loyal bodyguard general by Di Renjie's side was nicknamed "Hanging Spirit" by the people of the martial arts world.

Zhan Zhao, the Southern Hero, is Bao Zheng's most trusted bodyguard. He is a fourth-rank bodyguard of the Emperor, and his name, "Imperial Cat," resounds throughout the Song Dynasty. His lightness skill is unparalleled, and his swordsmanship is divine.

Four people, four eras, four styles, but one common label.

Bodyguard.

Moreover, they are all the kind of bodyguards who would go through fire and water for their lord and die without hesitation.

The system grouped them into a "Forbidden Army Team," a name that actually sounded quite fitting.

The team's role as imperial bodyguards infiltrating the palace was like a dagger stuck next to the emperor's heart.

The system's ratings were indeed accurate. The five-star team was already at the level of a thousand-year-old fox, while the six-star team had taken another step forward in terms of potential and strength.

The light screen continued to flicker, displaying line after line of information about the members' cultivation levels.

Zhou Xing's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked.

"Xu Chu: A seventh-rank martial artist, whose implanted identity is a centurion under the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, responsible for guarding the east side of the Qian Yuan Hall."

"Dian Wei: A sixth-rank martial artist, whose identity is implanted as a sword-wielding guard of the Imperial Guard, stationed at the palace gate."

"Li Yuanfang: A sixth-rank martial artist, whose implanted identity is a secret agent of the Imperial Guard, specializing in night patrols and covert protection of the palace."

"Zhan Zhao: A fifth-rank martial artist, whose implanted identity is a light-footed martial arts instructor in the Imperial Guard Battalion, and also in charge of patrolling various palace gates."

Zhou Xing sat cross-legged on the bed, going over the information about the four people in his mind several times. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this card was a godsend.

His current strategy has a fatal flaw: force.

On Zhao Gao's side, no matter how high one's martial arts talent is, it still takes time to grow. A second-rank martial artist is insignificant in a real power struggle.

On Lu Changfeng's side, a third-rank martial artist is enough to get by on the streets of the capital, but not enough to stand up to the experts in the palace.

Now, four powerful generals have directly filled this gap.

One seventh-rank official, two sixth-rank officials, and one fifth-rank official—these would all be considered the backbone of the Imperial Guard. Xu Chu, the seventh-rank official, could even rank among the top ten in the Imperial Guard.

More importantly, the system clearly stated: "All four carry memories of their past lives and are proficient in concealing their cultivation levels. They can suppress their aura to below the third rank when necessary, so that no one can detect them."

Conceal your cultivation level.

When Zhou Xing saw these four words, the last weight was lifted from his heart.

Imperial guards were the emperor's personal bodyguards, and they underwent the most rigorous background checks, as well as the most frequent daily training and assessments.

If the true cultivation levels of the four people were exposed, Xu Chu's seventh-rank cultivation would be too conspicuous in the Imperial Guard Camp, inevitably attracting countless investigations and tests.

Since the system has given them the ability to conceal their cultivation level, it means that their implanted identities can withstand investigation, and their cultivation level can also be hidden.

The last line of text on the system's light screen slowly appeared, then vanished into the air.

"Absolutely loyal to the host."

Zhou Xing opened his eyes. Moonlight shone through the window paper onto the quilt, making the brocade appear as smooth as water.

He turned over, buried his face in the pillow, and suppressed the excitement that was about to burst forth from his chest.

After the last summons, he gained access to spies within the palace and a network of intelligence outside the palace.

This summons filled the gap in his most lacking area: raw power.

What's even more interesting is that they were guards.

Who are guards?

He is the only person in this palace who is legally allowed to carry a sword, move around legally, and appear near any palace.

It would be suspicious if a eunuch were to loiter outside the Imperial Study, but it would be perfectly natural for a guard to stand guard outside the Imperial Study.

This means that Xu Chu and his companions can legitimately move around in the core area of ​​the palace, legitimately contact people from various palaces, and legitimately approach the emperor, empresses, princes, and other high-ranking figures at the top of the power pyramid.

Everyone else just treated them as ordinary imperial guards and wouldn't give them a second glance.

This card cannot be moved now, nor does it need to be moved.

Let them stay quietly in the Imperial Guard Camp, stand guard as required, do night duty as required, and get promoted if they deserve it.

When the day comes that force must be used, these four spies planted beside the emperor will become four deadly swords.