Chu Li replied, “Those thoughts never occurred to me at first, Commander Gu, only when you directed me did I figure it out. Looks like I’m not fit for working in Secret Guardians Hall, I might as well resign from my post as a secret guardian and stick to being a head chief. There are plenty of matters in the Imperial Residence. When King An leaves the residence, I’m in charge of everything, which is really hectic. Besides, previously when I went into isolated cultivation, work piled up, so I got even busier!”

　　“You must not!” Gu Yu quickly waved his hand. “You’re the elite of Secret Guardians Hall!”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “It’s an undeserved reputation. Being a secret guardian is too dangerous, finding out about something means that I’ll have to go guard the Imperial Mausoleum or I might actually die. It’s better for me to just remain as a head chief!”

　　“Hehe…” Gu Yu laughed. “Centurion Chu, you’re really overthinking. How can there be so many dangerous matters in the world? I’m guessing that what happened to Commander Xu happened not because he found out who the mastermind was but because he didn’t manage to find out who it was… The emperor is unusually furious about Consort Ping’s assassination and since Commander Fu is not in Fairy’s Capital, the responsibility fell entirely on Commander Xu. Who else was going to be responsible if not him?”

　　“Is that really so?” Chu Li furrowed his brows, he was dubious.

　　Gu Yu chuckled. “I came from the Imperial House, I know.”

　　“That’s good…” Chu Li heaved a long breath of relief.

　　He was secretly glad.

　　Gu Yu was trying to test if he knew the testimony received by Commander Xu. If Chu Li knew, he would be killed. Since he was only a centurion, he would not get the same treatment as a deputy commander. He would not even be sent to guard the Imperial Mausoleum as he would be killed right away.

　　Feeling bitterly disappointed, he wondered, ‘The emperor really views his courtiers as insignificant people, he’s merciless toward rank-one courtiers like me.’

　　Previously, he thought that his profound cultivation level and current powers were enough for him to protect himself.

　　Now, it seemed like he was too naive. Through the emperor’s eyes, whether one was a centurion or a head chief of King An’s Imperial Residence, one was not worth mentioning at all. Even a youth champion was so unimportant that the emperor would kill one whenever he wanted to.

　　‘I need to gain more power and achieve Heaven God’s Boundary as soon as possible to protect myself or else it’ll only take a flash of thought for the emperor to decide whether I live or die. That’s going to be terrible!’

　　At this moment, anger and motivation surged up equally in him. He must acquire greater power regardless of cost and he must cultivate faster so that he could achieve Heaven God’s Boundary!

　　He thought to himself, ‘Heaven God’s Boundary… Now, it looks like I’m quite hopeful of apotheosizing. I have almost no competitors among the young generation, but I’ll need to ascend to Heaven as an Enlightened Master if I want to be apotheosized.

　　‘I can’t wait that long, I have to find a way to defy nature to become God!

　　‘At least I passed Gu Yu’s test.

　　‘If I had revealed even a hint that I’m aware of the investigation results from Commander Xu, my life would’ve ended. Though I’m able to do as I please among the younger generation, I’m helpless against the sneaky old monsters.’

　　Gu Yu smiled. “Centurion Chu, you’ve done your isolated cultivation so shouldn’t you be coming back to work?”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “Commander Gu, I’m really tied up now, I’ll return to the hall after a while.”

　　“This…” Gu Yu looked dissatisfied.

　　Chu Li added, “Commander Gu, since you’re new here, you might not know this very well. Mei Er Courtyard doesn’t take up ordinary cases or we’ll be stealing other people’s jobs. We only deal with tricky cases.”

　　“Oh—?” Gu Yu appeared to be even more displeased.

　　He thought to himself, ‘Chu Li’s saying that he doesn’t normally work, and only takes part in big, difficult cases. He’s really quite arrogant, I finally witnessed it.’

　　“Mei Er Courtyard has so many grandmasters but they’re all idle. We don’t have enough grandmasters in the hall.” As Gu Yu spoke, his brows furrowed.

　　Chu Li shook his head. “The grandmasters from Mei Er Courtyard need to recuperate and store their energy. If they handle trivial matters on a daily basis, they won’t be able to perform fully during crucial moments. Should that delay the progress of those serious cases, it’ll be our fault.”

　　Gu Yu’s face darkened but he no longer said anything else.

　　He dared not say that he would bear all responsibilities or else Chu Li would intentionally instruct his subordinates to work slowly so as to cause a delay in work. As such, he would be faced with endless troubles if he took responsibility for everything.

　　Chu Li cleared his throat softly before saying, “But if Commander Gu really needs help, we can transfer some manpower from Mei Er Courtyard over. After all, we’re secret guardians of Secret Guardians Hall, we can’t just watch with folded arms.”

　　Upon hearing his words, Gu Yu finally loosened up a little and thought, ‘At least he still has some respect for me.’

　　Chu Li added, “If there are any difficult cases, feel free to find me anytime, Commander Gu. As for ordinary cases, the other courtyards in the hall are sufficiently competent!”

　　“Alright.” Gu Yu nodded his head slowly. “Thank you in advance, Centurion Chu.”

　　Subsequently, Chu Li did a fist salute. “I’ll be making a move then.”

　　“Alright, you may leave,” Gu Yu responded.

　　As Gu Yu watched Chu Li leave, the veins on his arms bulged faintly because he was extremely furious.

　　‘Good one, Chu Li, you really live up to your reputation. You don’t even treat me like your deputy commander.

　　‘You’re uncontrollable and self-conceited because of your abilities. I must show you where you stand, or else, who in Secret Guardians Hall will obey me?!’

　　Once Chu Li left the main hall, he shook his head.

　　‘Gu Yu is just like Fu Mengshan, he’s another smiling tiger. He pretends to be kind but has many evil intentions and is always thinking of harming others.

　　‘Since we’re not of the same kind, we’ll eventually have conflicts so I must not think of myself as lucky. Fu Mengshan is hiding somewhere, and I’m still unclear of Gu Yu’s background yet.’

　　When he returned to Mei Er Courtyard, his people surrounded him.

　　Chu Li waved his hand in dismissal. “Enough, carry on with your matters, don’t worry!”

　　Dong Qifei asked, “Centurion Chu, the one with the surname Gu didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

　　“He didn’t.” Chu Li shook his head. “But it’ll happen sooner or later, be careful.”

　　“What’s the big deal? We’ll just pretend that we’re sick.” Dong Qifei scoffed. “If we’re sick, is he going to insist that we still report for work?”

　　“Don’t go overboard,” Chu Li said with a shake of his head, “We must not be too domineering, it’ll enrage the others!”

　　“Yes.” Dong Qifei nodded helplessly. “We’ll be careful.”

　　Yang Zongwen asked, “Is he not going to use us to build his reputation?

　　Chu Li could not help laughing. “It’s not that serious, but you must be careful of his little tricks. I’ll be leaving first.”

　　“Yes,” responded the others while giving fist salutes.

　　With a wave of his hand, Chu Li left the Secret Guardians Hall.

　　Once he returned to his courtyard in King An’s Imperial Residence, he suddenly vanished.

　　…

　　Xu Huande was dressed in a green outfit as he wielded his sword. He was drenched in sweat, his face as pale as paper, and his left shoulder sported a long wound.

　　He was being attacked by four masked men in black. The attacks from their long blades were like violent storms.

　　Xu Huande’s sword seemed to have formed a shield of light around him that protected him entirely. Although he was at a disadvantage, Xu Huande did not crumble and managed to hold on due to his excellent swordsmanship.

　　A short distance away from them, two men in black were lying on the floor after being injured by Xu Huande. They laid still and were neither alive nor dead.

　　Nevertheless, Xu Huande had to pay the price for injuring both of them. His inner energy was completely drained and he had exhausted all his strength so he was unable to hold on any longer.

　　While he wielded his sword, he sighed to himself, and wondered, ‘These six men in black have exceptional blade techniques and it doesn’t seem like they’re from other sects in the martial arts world. It’s very possible that they’re protectors from the Imperial House.

　　‘Has the emperor finally decided to get rid of me?’

　　He could not accept this willingly and was thus reluctant to die so easily.

　　Even though guarding the Imperial Mausoleum meant that he was simply waiting for death as well, there was still hope for him to rise again. Once the crown prince was decided, he would be safe.