After saying goodbye to the First Prince, Bai Xiaofei went straight back to the Imperial Guard camp where his top priority was presented.

  “Overseer, you have returned.” Tian Hai came up to him as soon as he arrived.

  Tian Hai had always thought that he would never be able to make it in the Imperial Guard, but unexpectedly, the arrival of Bai Xiaofei gave him a pleasant surprise. He was sincerely thankful that he had never colluded with those people before.

  Those who stick to their heart will eventually get the rewards they deserve. If this return does not arrive, it is Heaven’s dereliction of duty, but Ol’ Heaven rarely makes such mistakes.

  “How’s the reconstruction of the backbone?” Bai Xiaofei had no time for small talk.

  “All of them have been replaced by those I’ve known to the roots. I promise that they will only obey discipline and not a specific person, including me,” Tian Hai solemnly guaranteed. He didn’t want to be the next former leader.

  “Good job. Next, you have a week to do these three things. First, integrate the entire Imperial Guard into an invincible sharp sword! Second, monitor the movements of every single person in the palace, from the royal members to the maids and eunuchs. No one is allowed to be out of our grasp! Third, be able to respond quickly. No matter where I am and matter what I want you to do, the troops must be in place within three minutes!” Bai Xiaofei ordered.

  Tian Hai listened with boiling passion. As soon as Bai Xiaofei finished speaking, he gave a standard military salute. “I guarantee to get the job done, please rest assured!”


  Looking at the serious Tian Hai, Bai Xiaofei’s lips curled up. He said, “To tell the truth, Brother Hai, it is the Imperial Guard’s honor to have people like you. I will stay in the camp for the next few days and watch the soldiers train. If you have any need for me, just ask.”


  Hearing this, Tian Hai assented and wisely withdrew from the room.

  “Aren’t you here to clean up the Imperial Guard?” Golden Feather came out from the puppet space. As a spectator, she recently became more and more interested in Bai Xiaofei’s work. Although having lived much longer than him, she knew that certain things required talent more than anything else.

  “I’m just a passer-by. I can’t stay here for the rest of my life. The Imperial Guard belongs to Ethereal and therefore their affairs should be under their own charge. I can at most give them a direction. Besides, I’m not here to waste my time on such things.”


  After explaining, Bai Xiaofei closed his eyes in repose. Before long, Tian Hai entered in a hurry.

  “Overseer, the Third Prince and Fourth Prince are here!” Tian Hai informed and gulped. Today was definitely the day he got to see so many important figures at once.

  “There is no need to yell. More will come later, so use the aura expected of the Imperial Guard commander, alright? Then you are the man who only takes orders from the Great Emperor,” Bai Xiaofei educated Tian Hai before standing up from the couch. “Let’s go, can’t let those two wait.”


  Along the way, the two passed through the training ground, where the troops were training according to Bai Xiaofei’s plan.

  “Fourth Brother, you are well-informed beyond my expectation!”


  At the entrance of the camp, the two candidates for the throne were joking with each other, not showing any hostility or rivalry on their faces at all. Moreover, they had a common feature: they didn’t bring attendants!

  “Third Brother, the two of us are already slow. Clearly our new overseer has just returned from Big Brother. He’s the one who is fast.” The Fourth Prince led the topic to the First Prince.

  “Big Brother is indeed formidable. The overseer captured the previous Imperial Guard commander, but Big Brother not only did not lose his temper, but even supported him. You can’t help but admire his attitude. This may be the biggest gap between us and him,” said the Third Prince with a sigh. He refused to lose to anyone in terms of diplomacy, but he didn’t have a clue about employing and using people. He wasn’t born with that talent!

  “I heard that this overseer is quite famous. How much do you know about him?” The Fourth Prince’s focus was Bai Xiaofei. Despite his developed intelligence network, he had never noticed such a character.

  “Fourth Brother, this is negligence on your part. The Yun clan made quite a lot of noise just some time ago, didn’t you know? That guy called Bai Xiaofei is quite unusual!”


  The Third Prince was not stingy with his compliments, but before he could continue, Bai Xiaofei came out with Tian Hai.

  “Imperial Guard Overseer Bai Xiaofei greets Your Highnesses. Please forgive me for keeping you waiting,” Bai Xiaofei humbly greeted.

  “Don’t say that, we’re just idly passing by. Right, Fourth Brother?” the Third Prince said at once with a friendly smile.

  “Yes, yes! The two of us are really idle and don’t know what to do, so as soon as we heard that the Imperial Guard had a new talent, we couldn’t suppress our curiosity.” The Fourth Prince had a friendly attitude as well, only that he was more eloquent.

  Meanwhile, Bai Xiaofei quickly weighed them. So far, the First Prince was clearly more fitting out of the three princes he had seen.

  “In that case, I’ll have food and wine prepared. Let us talk inside,” Bai Xiaofei invited with a smile.

  The two princes exchanged glances before agreeing. To tell the truth, they didn’t want each other to be present, but it wasn’t like they had a choice now that everyone already met.

  “Your Highnesses, please!”


  Along the way, the two princes were able to see a new revamped Imperial Guard and therefore gained a deeper understanding of Bai Xiaofei. He was indeed not a simple character.

  “Overseer Bai, you sure are capable. I heard that you just took office, and the whole Imperial Guard has totally changed in less than half a day!” the Third Prince complimented right after sitting down.

  “You flatter me, Your Highness. I didn’t actually do much. The Imperial Guard always has this kind of potential, they were only delayed by some people,” replied Bai Xiaofei with a smile as he poured a cup of wine for each of the princes.

  The table of food had been prepared way in advance as Bai Xiaofei knew he was going to welcome these princes.

  “Our addresses for each other are too stiff. If you don’t mind, you can just call us two big brothers.” As expected of a diplomat, Third Prince Ling Fan quickly got familiar and didn’t forget to pull his brother in, “Fourth Brother, what do you think?”


  “Certainly! I don’t want to be called ‘Your Highness’ wherever I go, too formal and uncomfortable,” Ling Hai agreed.

  Since both princes had spoken, Bai Xiaofei naturally could not refuse. “In that case, I can only oblige. A toast to you for not looking down upon me, big brothers!” He generously drained his cup and smiled knowingly. “Big brothers, you two didn’t come here for this, right?”


  Just like with the First Prince, Bai Xiaofei got right down to business.

  “You are refreshing, little brother. Then we will not beat around the bush.” Ling Fan placed his cup on the table with a sleazy expression not quite befitting of a royal member. “You should have known about Father’s decree, and the five of us are not quite… at odds like the outside thinks of us. However, we aren’t the type to willingly give up, so we are both here for the same purpose.”


  While saying that, Ling Fan looked at Ling Hai. The latter instantly understood and quickly picked up what his brother didn’t finish.

  “We want to know what you think.”


  Facing this question, Bai Xiaofei took a deep breath. Damn, I know I want to be direct, but you two are too direct! Is this a common characteristic of the Ethereal royal family?!

  “I’ll be honest, the Imperial Guard does not intend to be anyone’s help. Under my temporary lead, they only need to ensure one thing -” Bai Xiaofei decided to directly tell them the truth. “Ensure that everyone is safe!”


  Hearing this, the two princes realized that their thoughts had been too simple.

  At first glance, Bai Xiaofei seemed like he wanted to stay neutral in the competition, but when they considered his words carefully, by protecting everyone, he actually meant to participate in the whole process.

  “Brother Bai, you mean…” Ling Fan was puzzled.

  “To put it bluntly, the reason why I asked the emperor for this identity is to have an opportunity to communicate with you all, but this does not mean that I won’t actually lead the Imperial Guard during this time,” Bai Xiaofei explained. Revealing his cards fair and square was the attitude. “The result of my talk with you will determine what the Imperial Guard will do.”


  Ling Fan and Ling Hai frowned in unison. They had prepared that Bai Xiaofei would be a bit difficult, but for him to be this difficult…


  “Little brother, you don’t think that the Imperial Guard is that necessary, do you?” Ling Fan felt that Bai Xiaofei might misunderstand something.

  “The Imperial Guard is certainly not indispensable, but with me here, they will be!” Bai Xiaofei confidently smiled. Saying he was domineering was not just talk!