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

As for the Ninth Prince Zhou Xing's days, they were as calm as a stagnant pool.

Ever since Zhao Gao entered the study of the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department, a subtle undercurrent has been stirring within the palace.

But all of this has nothing to do with Zhou Xing, at least not in everyone's perception.

Six-year-old Zhou Xing still lived in the quiet side hall. Every day, he would go to pay his respects to the Empress on time, and then return home to read and write. Occasionally, he would go to the Imperial Garden to catch insects and tease ants.

The two palace maids who served him were named Chunlan and Qiuju. They were both honest and dutiful people, and it was because of their honesty and dutifulness that they were assigned to serve the Ninth Prince.

Honest people are characterized by not being meddlesome, not being talkative, and not currying favor, so the Ninth Prince's surroundings were as quiet as a small, isolated island.

Zhou Xing really liked this tranquility.

What he did most every day was to lie on the windowsill and stare blankly at the sky outside the palace walls.

To outsiders, it might seem like a child being bored, but in reality, his mind was racing. Zhao Gao's entry into the chief steward's study was a good move, but one move was far from enough.

The information available to the Imperial Household Department's chief eunuch's study is related to logistics and personnel. Zhao Gao has not yet been able to obtain core intelligence such as the overall situation of the court, military movements, and the power struggles behind the princes.

He needs more pieces, more nets, and he needs to extend his reach beyond the Imperial Household Department to more distant places.

He needs a top-tier team.

The system's rules for summoning elite teams are very clear: each type, either elite or large, can be summoned once a year.

It has been a while since the last summoning of "Internal Affairs Bureau Trainees", and the summoning qualifications for large idol groups have long been refreshed.

Zhou Xing had been waiting for the right opportunity, and now it had arrived.

That night, he dismissed Chunlan and Qiuju, saying he was tired and should go to bed early.

Two palace maids tucked him in, blew out the lamp, and quietly withdrew.

Zhou Xing waited in the dark for fifteen minutes with his eyes open, making sure there was no movement outside, before turning over and sitting cross-legged on the bed, silently reciting a phrase in his mind.

"Summon, a super team!"

A golden light curtain silently unfolded in the darkness, wider than when it was last summoned, almost covering the entire wall.

Zhou Xing held his breath, watching the text on the screen appear line by line.

This time, instead of focusing on elite groups, he put all his attention on large groups.

He needs manpower, he needs coverage, and he needs a capable workforce outside the palace walls.

The light screen trembled for a moment, then stabilized.

A line of large characters slowly appeared in the center.

"A one-star super team."

One star.

Zhou Xing frowned slightly, but then relaxed.

Large idol groups are inherently different from elite idol groups.

The elite team focuses on the top potential of individuals; the four members of the five-star Zhao Gao group are all cunning strategists of the millennium-old fox spirit.

Large groups, with more than twenty members, are rated more based on their overall average potential and current fighting strength.

One star may not sound like a high level, but it's enough for a newly established force that is extremely short of manpower.

He continued reading.

"Team Name: Beggars' Gang Startup Team"

Zhou Xing was stunned for a moment, then almost burst out laughing.

A beggars' gang? Or a startup team?

The system's perverse sense of humor in naming things is indeed consistent with its own.

Last time they were trainees from the Imperial Household Department, this time they're a startup team from the Beggars' Sect, should they call themselves Liangshanbo Startup Co., Ltd. next time?

He suppressed a laugh and continued scanning downwards.

The list of members popped up line by line.

There were twenty people, and most of them had "not qualified" written after their names.

But the leaders were different—the one in the lead had three words clearly written after his name: Third-Rank Martial Artist.

Zhou Xing's eyes lit up.

He certainly knew what a third-rank martial artist meant in this world.

In the martial arts system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the lowest rank is first grade, and the highest rank is ninth grade.

Although the third rank is still a long way from the ninth rank, it is already beyond the standard for a six-year-old prince to currently wield.

It should be noted that most of the palace guards were between the third and fourth ranks, and those who could become guards commanders were only of the sixth or seventh rank.

A third-rank martial artist might not be considered a top expert in the martial arts world, but in the capital, they are a force that no one can ignore.

He continued reading.

Besides that third-rank martial artist, there were several second-rank martial artists, and the rest were not ranked.

The system thoughtfully added a small note in the cultivation technique section: "The cultivation techniques practiced by the members of this group are all third-rate techniques. To cultivate a third-rate technique to the third rank requires excellent aptitude and resilience."

After reading the line of text, Zhou Xing remained silent for a while, then gently exhaled.

A third-rate skill, cultivated to the third rank.

This sentence contains a lot of information.

In the world of martial arts, the grade of a cultivation technique has a decisive impact on the speed and upper limit of cultivation.

A practitioner of a first-rate cultivation technique might be able to break through to the fourth or fifth rank by the age of twenty.

Those who practice third-rate techniques may exhaust themselves and their entire lives without ever reaching the threshold of the third rank.

But these people managed to cultivate to the third rank using third-rate techniques. What does that mean?

This means that their resilience far exceeds that of ordinary people, that their understanding and comprehension of martial arts cannot be measured by grades, and that every bit of their cultivation is earned through hard work and perseverance, without any exaggeration or shortcuts.

Such people are more trustworthy than so-called geniuses who rely on top-tier techniques and massive resources.

The system's light screen continued to flicker, displaying explanations about the implanted identity one by one.

"The members of the supergroup are imbued with identities: beggars, vagrants, dockworkers, and Taoist priests staying at the City God Temple in the streets and alleys of the capital city."

"The leader is an old beggar from a dilapidated temple in the western part of the city. He has some influence among the beggar gangs in the capital. All members carry memories of their past lives and are absolutely loyal to the host."

Zhou Xing nodded slowly.

This identity implantation is very clever.

The beggars, vagrants, and low-level laborers in Beijing are the most inconspicuous yet ubiquitous groups in the city.

They are everywhere, in every street and alley, at the entrance of every teahouse and tavern, at every dock and market.

No one would be wary of an old beggar squatting in the corner sunbathing, and no one would be suspicious of a skinny, dark-skinned laborer carrying bags at the dock.

They are the capillaries of the city, the most basic and densest channels for information flow.

Zhao Gao's net was inside the palace, but this net was outside the palace.

Only by combining internal and external approaches can one truly achieve sharp hearing and clear vision.

However, the one-star rating also illustrates a point.

The combat effectiveness of this group is not high.

A third-rank martial artist might be considered a powerful figure among the beggars in the capital, but in the grand scheme of the imperial court, a third-rank martial artist is far from being significant.

The Three Dukes and Four Marquises were of the ninth rank, and there were also many masters of the fifth and sixth ranks among the retainers of the great families.

This Beggars' Sect founding team is sufficient for gathering intelligence and managing local networks, but they are not very useful when it comes to actual fighting.

However, there's no rush.

A large-scale super team can be summoned once a year. This year it's one star, next year it might be three or four stars.

He's only six years old this year, so there's plenty of time to gradually increase the difficulty level.

As he thought about this, a thought suddenly popped into his mind: the system said that these people all have memories of their past lives, so who exactly were they in their past lives?

Are they true members of the Beggars' Sect, or heroes from history who once mingled in the streets?

The system did not list the past identities of each person in detail as it did last time, but since it was a "Beggar Clan startup team," Zhou Xing thought it was most likely that they were the heroes of the Beggar Clan from Jin Yong's martial arts world.

After all, the most glorious version of the Beggars' Sect IP is right there.

He began to plan in his mind.

Among all the leaders and elders of the Beggars' Sect throughout history, Qiao Feng was undoubtedly the one with the highest martial arts skills.

But that person's level is too high; it's unlikely they'd appear in a one-star team.

Hong Qigong was also at the level of one of the Five Greats, so it's equally unlikely.

However, if it were a branch leader or a senior elder of the Beggars' Sect, such as Lu Youjiao, a third-rank cultivation level would be reasonable.

As for those members of the second rank and those who did not enter the rank, they were probably the middle and lower-level disciples of the Beggars' Sect who were known by name.

No matter who it is, they're all one of us.

Whether someone is an expert or not is not important; what matters is loyalty and coverage.