He pondered for a moment before he suddenly disappeared from the couch, only to appear on his bed in King An’s Imperial Residence, where he began cultivating.

　　For the time being, he did not need to worry about Gale City. Since Kou Qiong and the others were his confidants, they would not say anything even if there were any abnormalities and would turn a blind eye. Besides, he had informed them in advance.

　　Furthermore, Gale City was very stable as the four sects were busy going against Li Dynasty’s martial arts world. Thus, they had no time to cause trouble. As it was their priority to remain solid, he had nothing to worry about.

　　One could say he had complete freedom in Gale City which meant that he could return to King An’s Imperial Residence any time he pleased.

　　Even after cultivating for a night, he did not progress much. Currently, his cultivation level was so profound that a night’s cultivation only allowed him to make insignificantly little progress.

　　On the morning of the next day, Leng Qiu and Leng Qing were there to practice their swordsmanship. Chu Li did the same as well but he was practicing the Less Ultimate Sword.

　　The wonder of the Less Ultimate Sword was that it was integrated and flawless.

　　Theoretically, no swordsmanship in the world was flawless for every swordsmanship had its imperfection. As the saying went, heavenly clothes were seamless and only heavenly clothes could be seamless. As such, it was impossible for any swordsmanship to be flawless. It would depend if one could put it to good use by exploiting its strengths and avoiding its shortcomings.

　　That being said, it was different for the Less Ultimate Sword that had a dissimilar approach. It was truly a simple yet exquisite technique that had completely uninterrupted sword energy, which was similar to the Taichi Blade from his past life.

　　Nevertheless, the Less Ultimate Sword was not as soft as it seemed. Not only was it not gentle in nature, but it was also extremely fast. It seemed like every time a circle was completed, the sword energy had quickened as well as if the sword was sped up through a centrifugal force, thus making it exceptionally magical.

　　Chu Li was very interested in the Less Ultimate Sword as he found it extraordinary. It contained the wonders of Heaven and Earth, which needed to be studied thoroughly so that he could fuse it with the Seven Forms of Godly Sword.

　　However, the wonders of this swordsmanship could not be comprehended easily. As smart as he was, there were still many aspects that needed to be figured out carefully.

　　While he was practicing, a knock was heard on the door. “Centurion, I’m Yang Zongwen.”

　　“Come in!” Chu Li instantly stopped his practice.

　　Yang Zongwen entered the courtyard with a light push upon the door. He had a slender figure and was still as elegant as ever. With a fist salute, he greeted, “Centurion.”

　　He then greeted the other two ladies who were also practicing their swordsmanship.

　　Chu Li waved his hand before he pointed at the stone table, to which he promptly took a seat beside.

　　Yang Zongwen sat opposite him.

　　Chu Li asked, “Is there something urgent for you to be here this early?”

　　“Yes,” Yang Zongwen answered, “Out of guilt for the incident where the consort was assassinated, Commander Xu resigned from being the deputy commander and requested to guard the Imperial Mausoleum.”

　　“I’m already aware.” Chu Li looked up at him.

　　“A new deputy commander arrived yesterday.”

　　Chu Li frowned. “So soon?”

　　It seemed like they could not wait to replace him.

　　Yang Zongwen shook his head and sighed. “The new deputy commander is really…”

　　Chu Li asked, “What exactly is it?”

　　Yang Zongwen furrowed his brows. “He seems to feel hostility towards Mei Er Courtyard and he asks that you meet him tomorrow.”

　　“What’s his background?”

　　“His name is Gu Yu and he was a protector of the Imperial House. He also has a high cultivation level but is overbearing at doing things.” Yang Zongwen continued, “He’s more like a commander than the commander. It seems that the commander is quite fearful of him because the commander always allows things to go his way.”

　　“Sounds like he has strong supports.” Chu Li nodded.

　　“He’s from a distinguished family as well. His father was a general who had later died honorably in the war, hence his father was highly valued by the emperor. Thus, he served in the Imperial House for a long time and is quite well-known.”

　　“No wonder. He’s young and vigorous.”

　　“He’s already 63 years old. He was sent to training before this and is known to be quite tough.”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　Yang Zongwen added, “He mentioned that the people at Mei Er Courtyard are too leisurely and that you don’t act like a centurion.”

　　Chu Li simply smiled. “Looks like he’s ready to punish me as an example to the others!”

　　“This is going to be interesting.” Yang Zongwen’s expression darkened as he continued, “Mei Er Courtyard stands out the most. Only by taking us down will he be able to suppress the other courtyards!”

　　“That depends on how capable he is,” Chu Li commented.

　　Yang Zongwen quickly asked, “Centurion, what should we do?”

　　“Since he asked for a meeting, I’ll go visit him tomorrow,” Chu Li responded.

　　“…It’s best that you don’t meet,” Yang Zongwen lamented worriedly.

　　He thought to himself, ‘Centurion is unyielding and would rather break than bend. The same goes for the new Commander Gu. If the two of them meet, there’s definitely going to be a conflict.

　　‘But it won’t do if he avoids meeting him since then the commander will only think that the centurion is looking down on him. Even if there’s a supposed chance to turn things around, they’ll only end up in a deadlock, which will make things worse. After all, he’s the deputy commander and he can take anyone out easily.’

　　Chu Li expressed, “If I don’t meet him, he’ll surely go against you.”

　　“We have nothing to be afraid of.” Yang Zongwen responded, “Besides, we have nothing to do now, we just have to pull through this period of time.”

　　Chu Li chuckled as he shook his head. “How can we already be on bad terms when we haven’t even met? I’ll just go meet him, he’s not the emperor!”

　　“We’ve got no other choice.” Yang Zongwen groaned. “He’s treating us like we’re pushovers, are we going to just let him be?”

　　“He’s the deputy commander!”

　　“The commander always seeks help from you, right?”

　　Chu Li laughed. “You’re more arrogant than I am.”

　　“We’re your people after all.” Yang Zongwen smiled. “Anyway, is there a conclusion on Consort Ping’s assassination?”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “I only caught the culprit, I’m not sure about the interrogation result. Aren’t you aware of the Secret Guardians Hall’s rules? You shouldn’t ask what shouldn’t be asked, it won’t do any good for you!”

　　“Yes,” Yang Zongwen replied seriously.

　　He immediately understood that it was an extremely important matter, thus making it extremely treacherous.

　　Chu Li waved his hand. “You may leave. Let the others know to not go against the new deputy commander!”

　　“Yes.” Yang Zongwen replied, “I’ll ask the others to be more diligent.”

　　“Mmm,” Chu Li responded.

　　After Yang Zongwen left, Chu Li fell into deep thought by the stone table.

　　‘Gu Yu immediately targets me as soon as he’s promoted, I should find out about his background. As for Xu Huande, while he seems like a cold person, he’s a man of just. He won’t trip somebody up and is also a good superior.

　　‘Fu Mengshan is cunning, merciless, and only values his own benefits. As long as he’s capable, he’ll protect himself, but now, he’s keeping a good distance away from Gu Yu too. I believe there’s an inside story, I’ll have to ask him.’

　　…

　　In the main hall of Secret Guardians Hall.

　　A person with a slender figure was sitting in the armchair in the center of the hall. He wore a luxurious purple robe, had ordinary looks, and appeared to be in his sixties. His eyes that were radiating vigor looked so sharp as if he could see through one’s heart.

　　He sneered at Zhe Liang. “Is Centurion Chu here?”

　　“Commander Gu, Centurion Chu is not here yet.” Zhe Liang shook his head, then continued, “Usually, Centurion Chu won’t be here at normal timings. If he’s here, he’ll head to Mei Er Courtyard first and he rarely stops by here.”

　　“Hmph, is he truly the centurion of Secret Guardians Hall?!” Gu Yu jibed.

　　Zhe Liang explained, “He’s also the head chief of King An’s Imperial Residence so he has much work to handle, hence he rarely comes over. We’ll call him over only when he’s needed in a case.”

　　“Sounds like the commander always accommodates to him!” Gu Yu was displeased.

　　Zhe Liang nodded. “Yes, both the commander and Commander Xu tolerates him, which is why those fellows in Mei Er Courtyard are also full of themselves and always disregard others!”

　　“Very well!” Gu Yu scoffed.

　　Zhe Liang continued, “Commander Gu, you must be careful. Centurion Chu has many elite soldiers and strong generals. Although they’re quite haughty, they have a good reason to act that way. Commander, since you’re new here, it’s best that you don’t provoke them!”

　　“I’d like to see how snobbish he can be!” Gu Yu asked, “How long has it been since he was last in Secret Guardians Hall?”

　　“Oh… I think it has been half a year,” Zhe Liang answered.

　　Gu Yu smirked. “Isolating himself for cultivation, he’s living quite leisurely!”

　　“Commander Gu, Centurion Chu is at Mei Er Courtyard!” came the report of someone on the outside.

　　“Ask him to come to meet me!” Gu Yu instructed unhappily.

　　Zhe Liang quickly said, “Commander Gu, I’ll go ask him personally.”

　　“Mmm, go.” Gu Yu said with a wave of his hand.