Bai Xiaochun had left in the highest of spirits, and came back feeling like he was at the bottom of the barrel. After returning to his command center, he thought back to the sight of the major general’s procession, and felt very irritated.

“Major general....” he thought, gritting his teeth. Then he considered how the major general had walked along with an escort of ten colonels, while he himself was only a colonel.

“I can’t settle for this. I have to become a major general!” With that, his eyes began to shine with determination. Over the course of the past half year, he had spent almost no time on cultivation, nor had he done any pill concocting. Most of his time had been spent enjoying the perks of being a colonel. However, as of this moment, he had received a sharp reminder that being a colonel was not the end of the line for him.

Now that the idea of being a major general was stirring in his mind, he thought back to how Bai Lin had encouraged him to work hard to get promoted.

“If I retire as a major general,” he murmured, “then when I get back to the sect, I’ll be an elder in...