Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 330 - 67: The Ringer

Night of February 12, 2018

Shen Jinghai closed his eyes and pondered, simulating the martial arts competition scheduled in the Outer Courtyard two days later, meticulously considering every detail to ensure nothing would go wrong. In front of him on the desk, discarded drafts of plans piled up like a mountain.

The martial arts proposal draft, hurriedly crafted by two secretaries exhausting their Divine Sense and working overtime, was now the twenty-third version presented, and the two elite secretaries who had churned out over a hundred thousand words in a short period were both mentally exhausted and seemingly delirious, exhibiting early symptoms of a vegetative state. The doctor and nurse from the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion were awaiting nearby, ready to provide emergency care, while two intern secretaries from the Outer Courtyard watched senior secretaries A and B with hopeful eyes, anticipating a miracle.

They were equally perplexed about the urgency of this matter that made the Deputy City Lord, who usually advocated for punctuality and efficiency, so tense. The Deputy City Lord’s Mansion hadn’t experienced such strenuous overtime in many years.

Typically, for an event of such scale, the Deputy City Lord wouldn’t be personally responsible; Coach Shen Herong would propose a plan for approval by the Deputy City Lord, which would suffice. The fact that the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion was handling this single-handedly was like using the Dragon-slaying Saber to kill a chicken.

Only those involved truly understood the significance of this matter. The Dragon-slaying Saber wasn’t enough; if necessary, even a Divine Blade from beyond the heavens would be summoned. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Moreover, the complexity of the situation isn’t something Shen Herong alone could manage adequately.

Although organizing a martial arts competition for over a hundred people may not seem complicated, on one hand, the schedule must appear fair and reasonable without any obvious flaws, while on the other hand, opportunities must be found within this fairness to secure a place for the Li Family, or at least Shen Qingming. Ultimately, the feelings of the Outer Courtyard students must not be hurt. Considering all these aspects together truly exhausts a person’s energy.

And as Shen Jinghai began to feel fatigued, a sudden coolness emerged at his temple. Several slender fingers, dabbed in revitalizing flower dew, gently massaged his head.

He raised his head and opened his eyes, finding a flawlessly smiling woman’s face before him.

"I’ve made you sweet porridge, take a short break."

A warmth arose in Shen Jinghai’s heart, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile.

"The matter isn’t finished, no time for rest." After a pause, he added, "If you’re tired, go rest inside; I’ll probably pull an all-nighter."

The woman nodded without further words and withdrew.

Shen Jinghai exhaled deeply and no longer fixated on the proposal’s design but instead picked up the sweet porridge from the table, sipping slowly. The sweetness on his tongue gradually spread through his body, bringing an inexplicable comfort.

Recalling working diligently alone in this office for twenty years, this feeling of a gentle companion indeed feels better. Anything is better when someone lends a helping hand...

Yet this moment of relaxation suddenly made Shen Jinghai snap awake.

Why did things have to be so complicated? Handling everything from start to finish under the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion was inherently an impossible task, but if some pressure were offloaded, many difficulties would be easily resolved.

Realizing this, Shen Jinghai waved his hand, causing the proposals modified over twenty times on the desk to vanish, leaving only the initial draft.

A simple, straightforward, and fair martial arts proposal.

On the proposal, under secretary B’s tense and serious handwriting, it now appeared so smooth and natural.

[Speed Competition]

——

"Speed Competition?" Shen Qing looked hesitantly at his leisurely brother before him, "Are you certain?"

Shen Feihu shrugged and spread his hands helplessly, "I’m not a secretary of the Deputy City Lord’s Mansion, how could I be certain? But based on common logic, arranging such a martial arts competition, a speed-based independent calculation project is the most fair choice. Be it five people or fifty makes no difference; only the top five performers can secure a spot. If it were up to me, I would choose this project."

Shen Qing pondered for a while, feeling Shen Feihu’s reasoning held merit, but...

"Why are you involving me in this matter?"

Shen Feihu replied, "You are the Outer Courtyard’s top master, whom else would I consult? Whether the Outer Courtyard can pay back past grievances this time depends entirely on your great performance."

Hearing this, Shen Qing chuckled, "What kind of toppled general talks about being the top master."

Before he could finish, the normally laid-back Shen Feihu straightened up and said, "Shen Qing, the prior defeat wasn’t just your loss; it was the entire Outer Courtyard’s defeat. There’s no shame in losing, but failing to rise after falling truly besmirches the Shen Family’s honor."

Shen Qing was left stunned.

Such grand principles that every Shen Family member was ingrained with from a young age.

The Shen Family can lose but never concede. Losing ahead is temporary; losing later is losing for a lifetime. Shen Qing knew this principle all too well but never expected it from Shen Feihu’s mouth, who usually quietly watched changes unfold behind Shen Feihong.

"I’ll also be participating in the competition this time, and I’ll give it my all." Shen Feihu declared, "This isn’t a personal matter anymore; it concerns the entire Outer Courtyard and even the younger generation of the Shen Family. What we need to do isn’t difficult; we just have to ensure those five invitations to the gathering are securely in the hands of the Shen Family. Otherwise, if five Li Family members grab those invitations amid a crowd of over a hundred, we’ll become the shame of the entire family."

After a pause, Shen Feihu displayed a slight bitter smile: "Shen Qing, you know my nature; if I could slack off, I wouldn’t seek prominence, but now we have no choice."

Shen Qing scrutinized him for a long while, confirming that this usually reserved individual was indeed serious this time, thus nodded, "What do you need me to do?"

Shen Feihu smiled and said, "What’s needed most is your words! As long as you’re willing to help, our Outer Courtyard can certainly reclaim our honor, and currently, I do have an important task I want to entrust to you."

Shen Feihu stated, "Speak, I’ll do my utmost."

Shen Feihu’s demeanor turned exceptionally focused and serious.

"Steal the topic."

"..."

"I’m serious." Shen Feihu said, "To ensure victory in this competition, securing the topic beforehand is necessary. I can roughly deduce the martial arts project is speed, but accurately guessing which figure from the Battle Array Map to use for testing is impractical. Thus, we must find ways to obtain the specific topic."

Shen Qing became a bit angry: "You were just talking about not dishonoring the family name, and now this plan to steal the topic, is this what honors the Shen Family’s name? Gaining deceptive fame obviously insults the Shen Family!"

Shen Feihu sighed bitterly: "I agree, I indeed insult the Shen Family’s honor, but I’m doing this for fairness."

"Stealing the topic equals fairness!?"

Shen Feihu explained, "Because the Li Family will surely obtain the topic first; if we don’t have it, then aren’t we already at a disadvantage, is that fairness?"

"Wait, the Li Family will get the topic?" Shen Qing was skeptical, "How can you be certain?"

Shen Feihu hesitated several times before finally saying, "Just... trust your instincts, Shen Qing. If you’re willing to trust me this once, do me this favor. You don’t need to overstep family rules, just use your channels to investigate some allowable family materials."

Such reasoning was somewhat self-deceptive, since family rules were largely principled regulations; although certain actions didn’t violate specific rules, stealing topics before a competition clearly contradicted fundamental principles.

But sometimes, just having a reasonable excuse suffices.

Shen Qing deliberated for a long time.

"Speak, what do you need me to investigate?"

Upon hearing these words, Shen Feihu finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "It’s simple; just head to Lingshan and check the recent intake charts for the High-Tech Zone and Industrial Park."

"Recent intake charts?"

Shen Feihu clarified: "You remember the Battle Array Map speed test, right? Using the Battle Array Map to simulate the famous historical demons, adjusting intensity for young cultivators to challenge, judging their strengths by duration. If they aim for speed this time, they will surely use the Battle Array Map, which requires corresponding raw materials, so checking the intake charts allows us to speculate which role they’ll use!"

Shen Qing gave this usually discreet brother a deep look.

"Okay, I’ll swiftly head to Lingshan and retrieve the intake charts for you."

——

Shen Qing’s work efficiency was excellent.

Late that night, he secretly returned to the Outer Courtyard, where Shen Feihu had been waiting by his room for a long time.

"How did it go? Did you get it?"

Shen Qing nodded, exhaled lightly, and sent a Divine Thought into Shen Feihu’s mind.

Receiving Shen Qing’s findings, Shen Feihu immediately sank into thought, his left hand instinctively calculating.

Shen Qing took just one look at his hand gestures to realize that this usually inconspicuous individual had already achieved graduate-level proficiency in calculations.

Soon after, Shen Feihu presented the result.

Without speaking, happiness was already evident on his face.

"Not bad, barring surprises, it should be Shen Bailin!"