The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 359: Chapter 353: The Choice

When Bai Yuan walked out of the gates of the Ministry of Personnel, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

That Senior Vice Minister Guo was simply too talkative.

From the Senior Vice Minister, Bai Yuan finally understood why Yue Xiaobai was so familiar with the Ministry of Personnel.

As it turned out, Senior Vice Minister Guo was Yue Xiaobai’s senior martial brother.

However, after Guo Yingru abandoned the martial path for a scholarly one, he left the Xiyue Sect. Despite this, their relationship had always remained excellent.

Every time Yue Xiaobai came to the Capital City, he stayed at the Guo Mansion.

Besides Yue Xiaobai, for the past century, any member of the Xiyue Sect who left the mountains had also stayed at the Guo Mansion.

Their relationship could be described as exceptionally good. Whenever this Senior Vice Minister Guo was free, he would even leave the city to visit the Xiyue Sect.

It was precisely because of this connection that Bai Yuan was able to acquire that grand, eight-courtyard mansion.

Minister Chu, who was away on an inspection tour, had entrusted all of Bai Yuan’s affairs to Guo Yingru. And so, Senior Vice Minister Guo took the liberty of pulling out all the stops, maxing out Bai Yuan’s official benefits.

Bai Yuan stepped onto the paving stones of the Black Tortoise Great Path.

Although the Black Tortoise Great Path was not paved with gold bricks as that young lady Fang E had hoped, each paving stone, while appearing ordinary, was actually anything but.

It was said they were all Black Tortoise Stones, transported all the way from the Southern Border.

This was the very reason the street was called the Black Tortoise Great Path.

Each piece of Black Tortoise Stone was far more expensive than Gold.

Viewed this way, that old man with the surname Zhou hadn’t actually lied.

Bai Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head again and again.

The people of Ling Province were still worrying their hair white over their next meal, while the Capital City was paved with the equivalent of gold bricks. The vast inequalities of life were truly beyond comment.

Then again, he couldn’t exactly bring himself to hate the rich. After all, he was now one of them.

Just as he was lost in thought, a resonant voice rang out.

"What are you thinking about?"

Startled from his reverie, Bai Yuan looked up toward the voice.

An old man with a ramrod-straight back and a snow-white beard stood a short distance away, facing him.

Although Bai Yuan had been lost in thought, how could a Martial Artist fail to perceive someone nearby? The only explanation was that the old man’s cultivation realm was far higher than his own.

’A true master!’

Bai Yuan abruptly bowed, bending at the waist to a ninety-degree angle.

"This junior greets Grand General Xu."

Hearing Bai Yuan’s words, a faint smile finally broke through the old man’s stern, rigid expression.

"How did that fool Dong Wanjun end up with a clever little devil like you for a disciple?"

Bai Yuan straightened up, his smile as bright and radiant as a young boy’s.

’And how could he not smile? The old man before him was his great, as-yet-unmet patron—the former Grand General of the North, Xu Dingchun!’

Bai Yuan had addressed him as Grand General Xu, not Minister Xu.

There was a great deal of significance in that choice of address.

Although Xu Dingchun’s current position as Minister of War was a noble one—even half a rank higher in the official hierarchy—his actual power had been greatly diminished.

To call him Minister Xu would be akin to congratulating someone on a promotion when they had, in fact, been demoted.

Furthermore, the connection between Bai Yuan and Xu Dingchun had been forged back when Old Dong served in the Northern Garrison Army. Given that history, addressing him as Grand General Xu was naturally more fitting.

Xu Dingchun waved his hand. "You shouldn’t call me Grand General anymore."

"Yes, Grand-Master."

Xu Dingchun was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. "You crafty boy."

Seeing Xu Dingchun fall silent, Bai Yuan knew his claim to the man as his grand-master was secure.

Back in Huanglong Prefecture, Old Dong was famous for having many Cultivation Techniques and even more masters—he had acknowledged no fewer than a hundred of them. That was why he didn’t care that Bai Yuan was also truly Zhou Siming’s disciple.

While Xu Dingchun and Old Dong only had a commander-subordinate relationship, Old Dong’s breakthrough into the realm of Perception was the direct result of Xu Dingchun’s guidance.

Though they were not master and disciple in name, they were in practice.

’So, it’s perfectly reasonable for me to acknowledge a grand-master on my master’s behalf, isn’t it?’

’From Xu Dingchun’s reaction, he had probably wanted to take Dong Wanjun as his disciple for a long time.’

Xu Dingchun said, "This Black Tortoise Great Path is perfect for a stroll. Why don’t you walk with me for a while?"

"Yes, Grand-Master."

Hearing the word "Grand-Master," Xu Dingchun felt a wave of comfort, and it seemed even the crow’s feet around his eyes smoothed out a little.

Xu Dingchun walked ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, while Bai Yuan deliberately stayed half a step behind him.

Despite having been away from the army for many years, Xu Dingchun hadn’t lost any of his military bearing. He walked with the powerful and imposing gait of a tiger.

"His Majesty the Emperor will summon you tomorrow. Have you given it any thought?"

Just like his walk, Xu Dingchun’s speech was always direct, never beating around the bush.

Bai Yuan considered this for a moment.

It was no surprise that Xu Dingchun knew he was to enter the palace for an imperial audience tomorrow.

If Xu Dingchun were to be kept in the dark about something so important, he likely wouldn’t be able to hold on to his position as Minister of War.

"This disciple... wishes to enter the Imperial Inspection Office."

"..."

Xu Dingchun stopped in his tracks.

He let out a laugh of exasperation.

’My own grand-disciple wants to go to the Imperial Inspection Office, of all places.’

He had asked, of course, because Bai Yuan’s meeting with His Majesty the Emperor tomorrow would be what truly decided his future official post in the Capital City.

This was a crucial step, one that would directly affect Bai Yuan’s entire future.

That was why Xu Dingchun needed to know Bai Yuan’s intentions beforehand, so he could use his own influence to give him a push.

But he had never imagined that Bai Yuan would want to join the Imperial Inspection Office.

It wasn’t that the Imperial Inspection Office was a terrible place, but joining it meant becoming a "lone courtier." The highest one could climb was to the position of the Left and Right Chief Imperial Censors of the Court of Imperial Supervision.

Though it was also a second-rank position, it was widely considered by the other courtiers to be the most useless of them all.

While everyone feared their intimidating power of oversight, it was nearly impossible for one to advance further and join the ranks of the Three Grand Ministers. It was even difficult for them to build up their own family’s influence.

’Does he really think being an official is all about serving the nation?’

Therefore, the Imperial Censors of the Imperial Inspection Office were typically young men vying to be outspoken officials. When the time was right, they would maneuver for a local posting, but most of them never advanced far.

In the last several hundred years, the only exception to this rule had been Du Qinghui.

In officialdom, what could be more feared than being universally disliked?

Xu Dingchun looked at his grand-disciple. "Why?"

Bai Yuan’s reputation might have been tarnished by that sect-slaughtering incident, but with the backing of both Xu Dingchun and Yan Shao’an, not to mention his status as a prodigy on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, it wasn’t out of the question for him to become Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Bai Yuan replied, "Grand-Master, as long as your fist is strong enough, it’s all the same."

Xu Dingchun’s eyes narrowed slightly. He studied Bai Yuan for a long moment before finally waving his hand dismissively. "As you wish. It saves me from having to call in a favor."

If Bai Yuan had wanted a key position in the Capital City, he might have had to call upon his old comrades.

’But the Imperial Inspection Office... Who ever heard of needing to pull strings for a demotion?’

He resumed his stride, but the smile on his face was even wider now.

’This grand-disciple of mine has certainly inherited the temperament of our lineage.’

Back when he fought the Demon Sect in the Northern Territory, he had known full well that building the Great Wall to fend them off would provoke the Emperor’s suspicion. But he had done it anyway.

Even when the Thirteen Golden Orders had recalled him to the Capital City to serve as an official with no real power, he still had no regrets.

It was just as Bai Yuan had said.

’As long as I can break through to the realm of Divine Connection, then even a Minister of War can stand among the Three Grand Ministers.’

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