Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

An hour later, the main hall of the Night Patrol Office was packed with people.

Fifty strongmen dressed in black, with demon-slaying knives at their waists, were all cultivators at the Turbidity Realm.

Five flag bearers dressed in red casual clothes were at the head of these black-clad warriors.

These five junior officers are all cultivators at the Food Calamity Realm who have already transcended their previous realms once.

Standing on the steps, the Lu Sifu in the middle stood with his hands behind his back. To his left stood two old generals, Fengyun, dressed in embroidered blue-green official robes, and to his right stood three new generals, Zhou, Xiao, and Ye.

Lu Sifu said, "There is an important announcement today. The city lord has specially dispatched someone from his mansion to serve as the chief of the Night Patrol Division. This is an honor we would never have been able to obtain under normal circumstances."

"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Zhou Qingfeng, Commander Zhou. He's a young and outstanding man. From now on, he will be in charge of leading all of you brothers in investigating cases and catching criminals. Commander Zhou, is this arrangement acceptable to me?"

Zhou Qingfeng was surprised that the Lu Sifu directly handed over the power to investigate cases and apprehend criminals.

He was a little unsure what the Lu Sifu was up to.

However, one must seize any opportunity to gain power, no matter what it is. Otherwise, even holding the position of a general is merely a nominal one, and one will be unable to do anything one wants to do.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Commander." Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands, bowed, and smiled.

"Hey, hey, hey... We're all brothers, no need for thanks, that would be too formal." Lu Sifu supported Zhou Qingfeng's arm, preventing him from bending over, appearing genuinely affectionate, as if the two had a very good and familiar relationship.

Lu Sifu addressed the crowd, saying, "This is Xiao Hongyun, Commander Xiao. From now on, he will be in charge of prison interrogation. All criminals will be interrogated and decided by Commander Xiao and his men."

"This is Ye Tingxiu, Commander Ye. From now on, he will be in charge of night patrols and security. You all must obey Commander Ye's orders. Otherwise, if you are punished by Commander Ye to patrol every night, don't come looking for me. I won't care."

"Ah, it's so relaxing to have nothing to do. Tonight, I can finally get a good night's sleep."

"Commander Feng, Commander Yun, you two elders are not allowed to bully the newcomers. All three commanders are from the City Lord's Mansion. You must cooperate with the three commanders. No matter what they do, you are not allowed to interfere or say no."

Upon hearing this, Commander Feng and Commander Yun exchanged a smile, cupped their hands, and said, "We will obey the Commander's orders."

Apart from Lu Sifu and the two captains Fengyun, everyone present was completely bewildered, wondering what had gotten into Lu Sifu, who had voluntarily relinquished his power to investigate cases, apprehend criminals, conduct prison interrogations, and maintain nighttime security.

What power does the Road Administration still hold?

Isn't it just an empty title of the Sifu (司府) now?

Does this mean I'll become a mascot in the future?

"I'm tired. You guys handle it." Lu Sifu nonchalantly washed his hands of the matter and left.

Commander Feng cupped his hands and smiled, "I haven't been home to be with my wife for a long time. She's been making a fuss about separating the family. It's just in time that the three commanders have arrived. I'll entrust all the important matters I have to you. Farewell."

"Thud!" Chief Yun was even more decisive. Holding a wine gourd, he pretended to be drunk and fell to the ground, thinking: Kid, I've been stripped of my power, I'm heartbroken and drunk, so it's reasonable that I can't cooperate with your work.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "Someone, escort Commander Yun home."

The people below exchanged glances, somewhat unaccustomed to suddenly having such a superior. For a moment, no one obeyed Zhou Qingfeng's orders, and the atmosphere turned cold. Many people were secretly watching the spectacle unfold.

Most people would either be angry or panicked, since no one would obey their orders—how embarrassing!

However, Zhou Qingfeng remained calm. He would not lose his temper in public, as that would be a sign of incompetence. But he could take this opportunity to make an example of someone, to warn others that if someone disobeyed orders, then they should quit.

Zhou Qingfeng then pointed sharply at a black-clad strongman: "You come here."

The strongman who was called upon looked around, unsure whether he should obey the order.

"Hard to hear? Then don't come tomorrow!" Zhou Qingfeng swiftly struck, smashing the man's rice bowl.

The black-clad strongman was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands: "Commander, what wrong have I done? Why are you taking away my job? Even if you're going to fire me, you need a reason."

Zhou Qingfeng stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, looking down coldly: "A mere strongman, do I need a reason to fire you? Now go to the accounting office, collect your monthly salary, and get the hell out of here!"

"Ah, this..." The black-clad strongman suddenly looked up, panicked and at a loss. Looking up at Zhou Qingfeng's cold and stern appearance, he knew that there was no use in saying anything more, so he left with a grieved bow.

Those present were immediately terrified and dared not move an inch. Only then did they realize that the person standing in front of them was not an ignorant boy or a servant, but the Commander-in-Chief who could decide their fate.

Zhou Qingfeng then pointed to a small flag bearer in red: "You go."

"Yes, Commander Zhou." The red-clad junior officer deftly helped the tipsy Commander Yun to his feet and led him outside.

Zhou Qingfeng coldly swept his gaze around, and everyone whose eyes fell upon him lowered their heads.

A person cannot stand firm without being ruthless. If you want to seize power, you must establish your authority by punishing others and letting your subordinates know the consequences of disobeying orders. This black-clad strongman was innocent; his mistake was simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

However, given the current unstable situation, anyone who intentionally or unintentionally obstructs my rise to power must be decisively eliminated.

The Night Patrol Division only lasted for a short hour.

The Lu Si Mansion was reduced to a mere mascot, and the two chief officers, Feng and Yun, were stripped of all their power, leaving them with only titles.

The real power lies with the three servants who came from the city lord's mansion.

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back and said coldly, "What are you standing there for? Everyone do your job and do what you're supposed to do."

"Yes, Commander Zhou." The group of squad leaders and strongmen immediately clasped their fists, bowed, and quickly dispersed.

"Wait!" Zhou Qingfeng called out.

The group of flag bearers and strongmen stopped in their tracks, quickly turned around, bowed, and clasped their hands in greeting: "Commander Zhou."

"It's nothing, just checking if you have any hearing problems. You can leave now." Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand, a smile playing on his lips.

Upon hearing this, the subordinates immediately bowed and took their leave.

Ye Tingxiu curled his lip and said bluntly, "Old Zhou, I didn't realize you were the kind of person who would become arrogant once you gained power."

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at him sideways, chuckled, and offered no explanation.

Even with Ye Tingxiu's intelligence, he could only see this much.

Xiao Hongyun laughed and said, "If you're not arrogant when you're successful, you're just wasting your youth. In my opinion, Old Zhou did a great job. We've been working hard day and night, striving to be the best, all for the sake of standing out from the crowd today."

"Tch!" Ye Tingxiu glanced at Xiao Hongyun with disdain, shouldered his knife and walked out: "You guys chat, I'm going to take a stroll in the streets. I've been cultivating in the City Lord's Mansion for a while now, not even leaving the gate, I'm so bored."

"You, you, it's you, take me out for a stroll." Ye Tingxiu pointed at a sweeper, who immediately dropped his broom and ran to lead the way for Ye Tingxiu.

Xiao Hongyun shook his head as he watched Ye Tingxiu's retreating figure, then looked at Zhou Qingfeng and said with a smile, "Old Zhou, investigating cases and catching criminals is not an easy job. If you do it well, you can easily achieve results, but if you do it poorly, you'll be the one to take the blame."

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "Prison interrogation work is not easy either. It's easy to make mistakes and be caught red-handed. Instead of worrying about me taking the blame, you should worry about yourself."

After saying that, Zhou Qingfeng turned and left. Now that he had the power to investigate cases and apprehend criminals, he had to first find out exactly how many cases were currently backlogged so that he could have a clear understanding of the situation.