The communication within the Town Martial Office was swift, and the reply from the Principal Officer above Officer Bai was also very prompt.
Therefore, Bai Yucheng soon gathered all the martial artists from the Town Martial Office at Solitary Mountain Manor.
"Gentlemen, this time our ambush on the Demon Cult Followers not only resulted in the slaying of twenty-seven of them but also the capture of four, and the elicitation of important intelligence. The Principal Officer is very satisfied with the efficiency of our Chuan-Yu Road Town Martial Office."
Upon hearing these words, everyone was very happy.
As long as the Principal Officer was satisfied, rewards were certainly forthcoming.
"And next, the Principal Officer has given us an even more important mission, and that is—to go to Dragon Serpent Gang and obtain the blueprints for the Seven-Star Repeating Crossbow."
When the Seven-Star Repeating Crossbow was mentioned, everyone started discussing it eagerly.
"Isn't that the Treasure of the Manor for Martial Marquis Manor?"
"I heard the treasure of Martial Marquis Manor was the Old Manor Master's granddaughter, wasn't it?"
"This thing is said to easily penetrate even the defense of the True Core Realm. If we get it, I'm afraid our Town Martial Office's strength could at least double! In the future, we'd be able to instantly kill anyone below the True Core Realm!"
Bai Yucheng waved his hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down first.
"But if we depart as the Town Martial Office this time, we're likely to become the target of public criticism, so the Principal Officer has instructed us to disguise ourselves as members of the Heavenly Punishment Sect and head to Dragon Serpent Gang to seize the blueprints opportunistically."
Mohism has pledged allegiance to the Great Sui and is a loyal force.
Therefore, the Town Martial Office need not worry about lacking help to forge the Seven-Star Repeating Crossbow even if we do seize the blueprints.
"So, the selection of the leader for this mission is very important."
Upon hearing Bai Yucheng say this, Zhang San immediately asked in shock, "Officer Bai, aren't you going to be our leader? What will we do without you?"
Although it was a shallow attempt at flattery, it was still music to Bai Yucheng's ears.
"The Heavenly Punishment Sect is a part of the Demon Sect, and I... indeed don't make for a convincing disguise. I've reported to the Principal Officer that the reason why such valuable information was quickly obtained this time was that Zhang San's contribution was indispensable. It would be just to reward him generously."
"Furthermore, Zhang San has extracted intelligence about the Heavenly Punishment Sect, making him the most knowledgeable about the sect among us."
"Therefore, for this operation to steal the blueprints of the Seven-Star Repeating Crossbow, Zhang San will be the leader, and everyone, including myself, will follow Zhang San's commands."
If it had been the day Zhang San arrived at Xiongfeng Manor, everyone would surely have felt it was unfair for Bai Yucheng to assign such a critical role to Zhang San.
This fellow's strength was mediocre, and he'd even been beaten into amnesia, what qualifications or abilities did he have?
But now, it was different, Zhang San, although he had just entered the Primordial Qi Realm, had an interrogation method that quite resembled the Demon Path's style, making him the perfect fit for the role of the leader pretending to be from the Heavenly Punishment Sect.
However, Zhang San was pondering whether the Principal Officer might be attempting to harm him.
Otherwise, why assign such a high-profile task to him?
Given his strength, being the leader would only make it easier for him to die, wouldn't it?
But on second thought, this mission was about stealing blueprints...
During the fight, he shouldn't need to act, after all, as the leader, he would naturally let his subordinates charge.
There was no danger in thinking.
And as the leader, he would surely be closely protected by everyone, which might actually make him a bit safer.
Of course, there were certainly risks involved.
But Zhang San weighed the risk factor of blending in with the crowd as a subordinate against the protection he would receive as a leader, and felt being the leader was a safer bet.
"Since Officer Bai has given me this opportunity, I will surely not let down Officer Bai's expectations of me, nor the trust everyone has in me, nor the training of the Town Martial Office upon me..."
"Pah!"
Zhang San's cliched speech was interrupted as Wang Ziteng, with a look of dissatisfaction, suddenly stepped forward.
"Officer Bai, I object! The leader should naturally be the strongest among us."
"Even if he's not the strongest of them all, he must at least be the strongest among the youngest few; otherwise, how can he make others believe that he is truly fit to lead?"
"I believe, compared to Zhang San, I am more suitable to be the leader, both in terms of demeanor and strength."
No sooner had Zhang San felt safer as the leader than someone came to snatch his position, which he naturally would not accept.
Thus, Zhang San turned his gaze towards Officer Bai and started to insinuate.
"Officer Bai, I don't know what kind of person you are, but I can't tolerate such questioning!"
Officer Bai pondered for a moment and then said, "Strength is not the sole criterion, but Wang Ziteng does have a point. Why not let the two of you fight to show us who is more capable of leading?"
Zhang San's heart skipped a beat.
Although Officer Bai did not say that losing would disqualify him from leading, if he lost, he would indeed feel somewhat embarrassed to remain as the leader.
The martial artists immediately made room for Zhang San and Wang Ziteng to prepare for the battle.
Wang Ziteng drew the sword from his waist, while Zhang San also picked up a horizontal blade.
Officer Bai planned to take this opportunity to see what strength Zhang San truly possessed.
After all, since meeting Zhang San, no one had ever seen him make a move.
As soon as the two engaged, everyone keenly noticed that Zhang San was very fast, but he had no idea how to use a blade technique.
Wang Ziteng's swordsmanship was fluid and his steps steady, pressing closely with each move against Zhang San.
Clearly, Wang Ziteng was a notch above Zhang San in strength.
However, although Zhang San did not know blade techniques, his speed was sufficient.
After all, Zhang San had practiced Wei's version of the "Xun Wind Breathing Technique"—if nothing else, it made him fast!
For a moment, even though Zhang San was at a slight disadvantage, he was able to fight Wang Ziteng to a standstill.
Seeing Zhang San had some skills, Wang Ziteng immediately unleashed a more powerful Qi, attempting to overpower him with Qi.
After all, Qi was Wang Ziteng's advantage.
Zhang San saw that the situation was not good and realized that he might lose if they collided head-on; fortunately, he had never been accustomed to facing opponents directly.
With the "Swift Wind Technique" activated, he used the "Three Steps Xun Flash" to circle around Wang Ziteng.
For a moment, Wang Ziteng was completely thrown off balance by Zhang San's martial style.
Wang Ziteng, lacking practical experience, was somewhat panicked when faced with such an unconventional fighting method.
But just because Wang Ziteng had little experience, it did not mean he was foolish.
Someone valued by a great family and cultivated with vast resources was naturally no idiot.
So Wang Ziteng seized an opportunity and executed a technique, sending Sword Qi flying behind Zhang San and forming a barrier to block Zhang San's escape route.
Zhang San inwardly cursed his luck!
Wang Ziteng took advantage of the moment to thrust his sword out.
Zhang San immediately adopted a desperate stance, holding the horizontal blade with both hands and bellowing, "Forceful Mountain Splitting!"
Although Wang Ziteng did not know what blade technique this was, judging by Zhang San's momentum and the name of the move, it was an attack from above.
He quickly shifted from offense to defense, using his long sword to deflect Zhang San's overhead assault.
However, although Zhang San shouted "Forceful Mountain Splitting," in reality, he flipped his wrist and turned the horizontal blade upward from below, aiming a strike at Wang Ziteng's waist.
Whoosh—
That blade was incomparably brilliant!
It cut straight through Wang Ziteng's belt.