If you don't bring disaster to the world, what kind of henchman are you to be?

The next day, someone came to the palace.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

Zhu Qing, the commander of the Right Guard of the Northern Garrison, suppressed the White Lotus Demon Cult, destroyed its lair and captured its leaders, captured the demoness Qiao Manyue alive, and beheaded dozens of people. His achievements were truly remarkable.

"I hereby appoint you as a centurion, a hereditary title, and bestow upon you a Xuan-rank military arsenal command, while retaining your original duties. You shall purge the traitors and not fail my trust. This is my decree."

The young eunuch read the imperial decree aloud, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Commander Zhu, receive the decree."

Zhu Qing knelt on one knee, reached out to receive the imperial edict, and replied in a deep voice, "Your subject thanks Heaven for its grace!"

Immediately, two eunuchs stepped forward from behind.

One of them was carrying a centurion's robe and a sword; the clothes were dark blue with some floating cloud patterns.

The other person held a silver token with the word "Martial" written on it in a flamboyant style.

The moment the token was displayed, the eyes of many officers and soldiers from the Right Guard were drawn to it, and they all swallowed hard, more or less feeling horrified.

It's an armory order!

The Great Yu Dynasty has a special fourth-class armory, which contains all kinds of martial arts training resources, such as martial arts techniques, treasure beasts and treasure plants. The armory token is the quota that allows one person to enter and select rewards.

This armory token is extremely valuable, and it's even a Xuan-rank token. Looking at the entire Right Guard, only Commander Yang Ting has ever possessed one.

Even Zhang Sanshi, who was dedicated to his duties and made numerous contributions, had only received a Yellow-Rank Armory Token once before.

But now, Zhu Qinggang has just been promoted to centurion and has already received a genuine Xuan-rank Armory Token, which is something no one expected.

Capturing that vixen Qiao Manyue alive—the achievement is actually that great?!

Zhu Qing was also caught off guard, and even after the token was handed to him, he still felt as if he had been in a different world.

Without a doubt, Xu Lai must have secured it for himself.

Otherwise, even if he were promoted to a centurion, the imperial court would at most reward him with a few hundred taels of silver.

"Hahaha, Little Seven, in the blink of an eye, you're now on equal footing with your elder brother!"

Immediately, Zhang Sanshi walked over and laughed heartily, his eyes filled with only satisfaction.

Zhu Qing snapped out of his daze and smiled, "This time it was just good luck. Big Brother will always be Big Brother."

"Congratulations, Lord Zhu, on your promotion to centurion!" Qian Wei shouted loudly from the side, even more excited than Zhu Qing.

Congratulations!

"May the centurion be honored."

"Congratulations on your promotion to centurion, sir!"

His colleagues offered their congratulations, and Zhu Qing immediately raised his arms and shouted.

"Tonight, I'm hosting a banquet at Yipinxiang Restaurant. All of you are welcome to attend!"

Amid cheers, Yang Ting stood alone in the central hall, hands behind his back, gazing silently with a gloomy expression.

A moment later, he smirked coldly.

"Ha, what a smug Commander Zhu is!"

"I think my godfather is old and senile. He not only gave him the Disheng Pearl, but also bestowed upon him an armory token. I have served him for so many years, and I have never seen him be so generous."

Feeling extremely resentful, he turned to look at Guo Zhendong, who remained equally unmoved beside him.

"Zhendong, why don't you go celebrate your sworn brother's victory?"

The latter looked dejected with his eyes downcast. Upon hearing this, he mocked himself, "Lord Yang, don't joke around. He's gone from a chicken to a phoenix, why would he still acknowledge me as his third brother?"

"I'd rather not go looking for trouble."

……

That evening, Yipinxianglou was bustling with noise.

Zhu Qinghao spent a hundred taels of silver to host a banquet, which was quite a lively affair.

Although it hurts to spend the money, it's necessary.

Firstly, it's a matter of social etiquette; having been promoted, one should at least hold a celebration banquet.

Secondly, it wins people's hearts.

Now that I've been promoted to centurion, if I don't have any capable subordinates, I'm just a commander without any troops.

Therefore, after the banquet, many people from the Northern Garrison expressed their loyalty to him and their willingness to follow him.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

After the banquet, Zhu Qing walked out of the restaurant feeling a little dizzy. He then used his qi and blood to dispel the effects of the alcohol before bidding farewell to everyone and going home.

As soon as I entered the door, my mother, Chen Guihua, hurriedly came over carrying a candlestick.

"My son, you're finally back."

"A lot of people came to my house this afternoon, and they brought a lot of gift boxes. What... what's going on?"

She stared blankly at Zhu Qing's robes and said, "They say... you're a centurion now..."

He smiled and said, "That's right, your youngest son got promoted, it's normal for some people to come and offer their congratulations."

"My God, you really..." Chen Guihua's eyes were filled with astonishment, and she was unable to calm down for a long time.

She was not a short-sighted person; she was well aware of the cruelty of the imperial court.

The higher the official rank, the easier it is to offend people.

Therefore, upon hearing this news, she could be said to have mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

"Mother, this is a good thing."

"Once we get promoted, some people will have to think twice if they want to bully us."

After Zhu Qing finished speaking, she stepped into the gift room and looked at the gift boxes. Most of them had labels on them.

"Dr. Duanmu from Huichuntang, Jin's Silk Shop, Liu's Rouge Shop... they're all acquaintances."

He glanced at it and got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Most of them were neighbors who brought their best items, along with a total of more than two hundred taels of silver.

Ultimately, this is a society based on personal connections.

You can't hit someone who's smiling, so I should take care of them a little bit in the future.

After carefully storing all the gift boxes, Zhu Qing still felt no fatigue. He simply lit a candle in the courtyard and began practicing the White Ape Kung Fu.

He was not blinded by the joy of his promotion.

Everything we have now is based on our own strength, so we must seize every second!

……

The next day, since he was promoted to centurion and no longer needed to clock in as before, he went to the Ministry of War's Armory Department early in the morning.

The sooner you use that Xuan-rank Armory Token, the better, so that others won't covet it if you leave it in your hands.

The Xuanjie Armory was a three-story wooden building standing in the center of the Ministry of War, with several guards standing watch on the first floor.

"Imperial armory, no trespassing!"

One of them raised his hand, his voice deep.

Zhu Qing pulled out a Xuan-rank armory token from his waist: "Recognize the token, make way."

The guard took it, examined it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, put it away himself: "Commander Zhu, please move to the table and wait a moment."

As he spoke, he pointed to a square table on the first floor, and Zhu Qing nodded and walked down.

Before long, a soldier brought over a thick ledger and laid it out in front of him.

"The Xuan-rank Armory contains 360 martial arts manuals, 76 precious beasts, 1,250 precious plants, and fine steel weapons..."

After the soldier gave a brief introduction to the armory's contents, he said, "You may choose any item to take with you, but the martial arts techniques are for your own use only and must not be passed on to others. If you violate this rule, your cultivation will be abolished and you will be thrown into a death row cell."

So strict.

Zhu Qing clicked her tongue slightly upon hearing this, but then thought it made sense.

Unauthorized teaching is a major taboo in martial arts.

This applies not only to the imperial court but also to the martial arts world, and in some cases even more so.

He regained his composure and turned the pages one by one.

He didn't care about rare treasures or weapons, as these could be obtained with money outside; he only cared about cultivation techniques and martial arts.

"Now that the White Ape Skill can be practiced for quite some time, and the Thunder Blade Technique and Wild Goose Flight Skill have also been mastered, only one last step is needed to complete them, so we will not choose sword techniques or lightness skills for the time being."

"The rest... finger techniques?"

Zhu Qing's gaze lingered on a name.

"The Jade-Destroying Finger"

At the same time, a memory from the Records of the Wanderer came to mind.

[The Jade-Crushing Finger, a simplified version of the Shaolin Vajra Finger, is characterized by its speed and power. At its peak, it can shatter steel with a single finger; anyone at the same level who touches its vital points will die. Upon reaching perfection, the Jade-Crushing Finger can project energy arrows, striking vital points from a distance of ten steps, making it virtually invincible.]