The clouds gathered their skirts, and the rain ceased.
On the county yamen's training grounds, Wang Ping rested one hand on his saber while dragging a corpse bisected in two with the other, leaving a stark, bloody streak across the flagstones.
Along both sides of the field, the county constables had all been alerted. They stared at the scene with indescribable expressions, exchanging glances filled with sheer astonishment. What they were witnessing was completely beyond anything they had imagined.
"Who is that kid?"
"Can't recall. Just remember he's a newcomer."
"Isn't his name Wang Ping? The chief gave specific orders earlier for Old Liu to mentor him... No way, hasn't he only been with the yamen for half a month?"
"Did he kill that White Lotus rebel?"
"Could he really have the chops for that?"
"Must have scavenged the kill... Ah, pity about Brother Qin. He threw away his life, only for a newcomer to swoop in and steal the credit. He won't see a copper of the bounty now."
Wang Ping paid no mind to the chatter around him.
At that moment, he was silently reviewing his earlier actions, weighing the advantages and disadvantages. Strictly speaking, this had been his first kill since transmigrating.
'First of all, my current strength isn't actually that formidable—or rather, it isn't well-rounded enough. The true dragon sinews certainly gave me tremendous power, but in terms of speed, defense, endurance, and explosive burst... I still fall far short. Slaying him this time was purely a matter of seizing the right moment.'
Cutting Xie Shi down in a single stroke seemed effortless, but it had required meticulous preparation.
Without his spiritual sense locking onto the target in advance, he could never have intercepted Xie Shi along his route while the man was fleeing in mad desperation.
Even that decisive strike had relied on the assistance of spiritual sense.
Using the perception granted by his spiritual sense, he had steered clear of where Xie Shi's power surged most ferociously and struck directly at his weakest flaw, using four ounces of force to deflect a thousand pounds.
'Thanks to my spiritual sense, I was able to push my advantages to the absolute limit. Xie Shi had forged dragon sinews as well, but they were clearly inferior to my true dragon sinews. In a pure contest of raw strength, he was no match for me. By dragging him onto my own ground, I brought him down.'
Naturally, he had not emerged entirely unscathed.
Despite dodging swiftly, he had still been grazed by Xie Shi's desperate dying blow. The inner force packed within that strike had dealt him serious internal trauma.
Under normal circumstances, he would have spent at least several months bedridden to recover.
Yet the moment he was injured, he had channeled Qi Restriction, using true qi to halt the bleeding and regenerate flesh. By the time he walked back onto the training grounds, the injury was almost completely healed.
At this thought, one conviction took firmer root in his mind.
'Immortal cultivation truly blows martial arts out of the water!'
With merely the most fundamental spiritual sense of a cultivator and a single rudimentary spell, he had overcome a superior martial artist from a position of weakness. Which path had a brighter future was clear at a glance.
Just then, a voice called out.
"Congratulations, Brother Wang!"
Wang Ping turned at the sound. Catching sight of the man, he hurriedly cupped his hands. "Lord Liu..."
Before he could finish, Liu Ye waved his hands frantically. "You mustn't, you mustn't! Brother Wang, by slaying that White Lotus rebel, you've rendered immense meritorious service!"
With that, Wang Ping saw Liu Ye reach into his robes and pull out a money pouch. Seizing the opportunity while gripping Wang Ping's hands, he shoved it straight into his grasp.
"Oh, right. This is the silver you dropped earlier. I picked it up for you."
"Count it. Is the amount right?"
Wang Ping glanced down at the purse and swept it with his spiritual sense. The truth became clear at once: 'It's the broken silver I gave him before, with an extra ten taels thrown in...'
Was this... returning the favor, paired with an apology?
Wang Ping understood Liu Ye's intention in an instant. This veteran constable truly hid his depths well. Through such a dense curtain of rain, had he clearly seen that single blade strike?
'He knows I've forged true dragon sinews.'
'He thinks I have a brilliant future ahead of me, so he's currying favor in advance? Perhaps he's even worried that pocketing so much of my money earlier left a thorn in my side?'
Having thought it through, Wang Ping suddenly broke into a smile.
The next instant, he decisively shoved the purse back into Liu Ye's hands and murmured softly, "Elder Brother Liu, don't think so little of me. Aren't we friends?"
He could have kept the money, of course, but there was no need. The Iron Ox Art had genuinely been a tremendous help to him, and he had only spent a paltry bit of broken silver for it. Strictly speaking, he had already made an enormous profit. If he demanded the money back now that his fortunes were rising, it would be pushing his luck too far, which went against his principles.
Moreover, compared to a cold financial transaction, he valued the personal goodwill between him and Liu Ye far more.
In this world, when you lacked connections and goodwill, no amount of money could solve certain problems. But as long as you possessed personal rapport, resolving them took no more than the lift of a finger.
"This..."
Staring at the pouch pushed back into his hands, Liu Ye's mouth fell slightly open. Then he let out a helpless sigh. "Brother Wang... your future is shining brighter and brighter by the moment."
"You flatter me, elder brother," Wang Ping chuckled softly.
Liu Ye shook his head, pressing the matter no further. Stashing the pouch away, his expression turned solemn. "The chief constable just passed down word. He wants you to go see him at once."
Was it time for the reward?
Wang Ping's spirits lifted. Acknowledging the order, he hurried toward the county yamen's inner courtyard.
The moment he stepped through the doors, he saw Chen Haoyan, the Chief Constable of Longxing County yamen, sitting squarely and steadily upon an armchair in the center of the inner courtyard's main hall.
Almost simultaneously, Chen Haoyan's gaze swept over him.
Wang Ping's pupils instantly constricted. An intense sense of crisis washed over him, as though an invisible giant hand had clamped tightly around his heart.
'Is this... the gaze strike art?'
By now, Wang Ping was no longer a novice to martial arts. After talking with Liu Ye for so many days, he had gained a clear understanding of Dashun's martial arts hierarchy.
'The gaze strike art doesn't belong to the external arts of skin, flesh, sinews, bones, blood, and marrow, nor does it belong to the higher realm of internal jin. It is a secret technique accessible only to martial artists who have climbed even higher and touched upon the spirit. If so, Chief Constable Chen's martial arts must be on the verge of a breakthrough...'
Wang Ping pondered quietly in his heart.
"Not bad. Truly an impressive talent."
A moment later, Chen Haoyan spoke. His tone was not stern, but remarkably gentle. "You've come today as a meritorious subordinate receiving a reward. There is no need to be so restrained."
"Come, take a seat first."
With that, Chen Haoyan gestured toward a nearby chair, signaling Wang Ping to sit.
Immediately after, he drew a gleaming gold ingot from his sleeve and casually tossed it into Wang Ping's lap. "This is your bounty for slaying the rebel."
"Furthermore, I summoned you here because there is one thing I wish to ask."
As his words fell, Chen Haoyan's imposing gaze locked directly onto Wang Ping, and he enunciated each word: "What grade are your dragon sinews?"
Wang Ping had anticipated this long before.
Showing not the slightest trace of panic, he cupped his hands with neither servility nor arrogance, answering in a deep voice, "Reporting to Your Honor, after reaching perfection in blade technique, your subordinate forged true dragon sinews."
If Wang Ping wished, he could have easily concealed his true dragon sinews using his spiritual sense to keep them hidden from prying eyes. But after turning it over in his mind, he had deemed it unnecessary.
'Hiding one's light is modesty, not tying one's own hands.'
'Doing it out in the world is one thing, but hiding your ability within officialdom without showcasing what you can do—how will your superior ever assign you greater burdens, and how will you advance?'
Naturally, there was risk in this course of action.
Having died abruptly two lifetimes ago, he knew Chen Haoyan's habit of burning bridges all too well. His willingness to act this way stemmed mostly from having a different foundation of confidence.
'This is the self-assurance my cheat provides.'
'If this dog tries to burn bridges again, even if it costs me this life, I'll carve a pound of flesh out of him. The cooldown on Fiend from Beyond has already reset anyway...'
Silence settled over the hall.
Only after a long while did Chen Haoyan say softly, "At the end of the day, the Three Demon Blades of Yanluo is merely a low-tier martial art. Theoretically speaking, it is impossible to nurture true dragon sinews with it."
"Unless you secretly learned a superior sinew-forging martial art."
"That is absolutely not the case!"
Wang Ping shook his head in denial with complete confidence. After all, he truly had not practiced any other martial art; he had not even achieved basic proficiency in the Pure Moon Lotus Blade yet.
Chen Haoyan narrowed his eyes slightly. "If that is not the case, how did you forge true dragon sinews?"
Wang Ping scratched his head. "Perhaps... I was born with divine strength?"
"...Hahaha!"
The next instant, Chen Haoyan's stern expression broke into hearty laughter. "Born with divine strength... Indeed. If that is so, forging true dragon sinews is entirely possible."
"After all, I was the same in my youth."
Having said that, Chen Haoyan stepped forward of his own accord, patted Wang Ping on the shoulder, and smiled. "Do you know what kind of martial art is best suited for talents like you and me?"
Wang Ping shook his head.
"The bow and arrow!"
Chen Haoyan emphasized his words: "My family's secret art, the Cloud-Piercing Sky-Shaking Bow, suits you best!"
"If you specialize in this martial art, you might be able to enter the Divine Constabulary just like me, become an internal strength martial master, and perhaps even earn a place on the Weapons Register in the future."
And what was the price?
Wang Ping knew full well that Chen Haoyan was dangling bait, clearly hinting at the perilous, near-suicidal mission he had mentioned earlier on the training grounds.
'Still... this plays right into my hands!'
With that thought, Wang Ping deliberately let a look of temptation and hesitation show on his face. After pondering for a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Dare I ask, Your Honor, what would you have me do?"
Seeing this, Chen Haoyan flashed a satisfied smile and said crisply, "I need you to escort an item for me."
With that, he produced a silver-white flying blade that Wang Ping knew all too well. In an instant, blade radiance spilled forth like moonlight, carrying a crisp, chilly aura.
The Lotus Blade!
"This is the natal weapon of the White Lotus Sect Master, Shouchong," Chen Haoyan explained. "Not long ago, the fortune attached to this flying blade suddenly plummeted."
"I do not know the exact reason, but Shouchong grew visibly anxious. That White Lotus rebel you slew had infiltrated deep into the county yamen precisely to recover this weapon. Yet he was merely an appetizer sent to scout the way. That old thief Shouchong is the main prize. For this item, he is bound to strike in person."
"To me, this is a tremendous opportunity."
Chen Haoyan's expression seemed remarkably earnest, and he explained patiently, "In short, I intend to return this flying blade to Shouchong first, and then defeat him before the public eye."
"Although most of the fortune on the blade has scattered, its prestige remains."
"By defeating Shouchong in public and shattering the blade, I can strip away that prestige to nourish myself, helping me break through the shackles of internal jin to reach a higher plane."
"However... I have no absolute certainty of victory."
At this point, Chen Haoyan looked at Wang Ping. "Therefore, while this blade must be returned to Shouchong, it cannot be handed over too easily. He must be made to pay a price first."
'So you can kick him while he's down and finish him off, right?'
Wang Ping understood tacitly, yet one question remained unclear. "But Your Honor, your subordinate's martial prowess is meager. If I truly cross paths with Shouchong, I would be utterly outmatched..."
"You will not need to fight him."
Chen Haoyan shook his head. "It is Youshen Temple. I have already invited Perfected Youshen; he will personally intervene and publicly destroy this flying blade."
"However, Perfected Youshen refuses to leave Youshen Temple."
"Thus, your mission is to deliver this flying blade into Youshen Temple... Remember, you must deliver it openly and honorably, where everyone can see."
Wang Ping understood completely.
'Escorting the blade is just a pretense. He's fishing!'
'He plans to deliberately leak the news, openly declaring that the Lotus Blade is being sent to Youshen Temple for Perfected Youshen to destroy, thereby forcing that old bastard Shouchong to intercept it.'
'Left with no other choice, Shouchong will inevitably clash with Perfected Youshen, who clearly possesses real capability. Chen Haoyan wants the snipe and the clam to fight so the fisherman can reap the spoils. Whether Shouchong wins or loses, Chen Haoyan can jump out afterward to beat the drowning dog.'
This scheme was truly insidious and vicious, yet it bore the unmistakable flavor of an open conspiracy.
However—there was one problem.
"Dare I ask, Your Honor," Wang Ping frowned deeply and lowered his voice, "what if your subordinate fails to deliver the Lotus Blade into Youshen Temple?"
If it never reached Youshen Temple, Perfected Youshen might not lift a finger.
Wouldn't that turn the blade into a meat bun tossed to a dog?
"That is precisely why this mission is nine parts death and one part life."
Chen Haoyan smiled. "Should the mission fail, you, as the one escorting the blade, will surely die... So if you do not wish to die, do not let it fail."
'Sidestepping the issue, are we?'
'It seems he has other preparations in place, but simply refuses to tell me... Then again, why would he ever reveal secrets of genuine importance that concern his own interests?'
The next instant, Chen Haoyan continued, "Well? Do you dare accept?"
Wang Ping wore a bitter face and replied tactfully, "Reporting to Your Honor, this affair is nine parts death and one part life. Your subordinate's death would be a minor matter, but if I were to ruin Your Honor's grand design, ten thousand deaths would not atone for it."
Chen Haoyan's expression remained unchanged. "I can teach you the Cloud-Piercing Sky-Shaking Bow."
"If you fear dying and finding the martial art useless, I can also grant you a quota. If you wish to pass the technique outside to leave it to someone else, that is permissible as well."
With that, he pulled out a manual.
Wang Ping's eyes flickered with a brief gleam, but then he shook his head. "Such a thick volume... it would probably take a month or two to train."
"That is merely the table of contents. Over there is the actual manual."
Following the direction of Chen Haoyan's finger, Wang Ping saw a stack of volumes piled like a small mountain, containing at least forty or fifty tomes.
"So many? It would take a full year just to read through them."
Chen Haoyan chuckled softly. "I studied for three years and trained for thirty before achieving my current martial prowess. Practicing martial arts has always required perseverance."
Wang Ping's mouth hung open. "Thirty years? Then how much time does your subordinate have to train?"
"Three days."
The corner of Wang Ping's eye twitched violently. "Three days... Isn't that just nine parts death and one part life all over again?!"
Chen Haoyan's smile broadened. "Not so. If you train, it is nine parts death and one part life. If you do not train, it is ten parts death and no life at all. You should understand how to choose."
Wang Ping was speechless.
The hall plunged into silence once more. Chen Haoyan was in no hurry, waiting with leisurely composure. He believed the young constable before him was sharp enough to catch his subtext.
Refuse? What a joke.
From the moment Wang Ping stepped into this hall, Chen Haoyan had left him no room for refusal. From the very beginning, obedience was the only path Wang Ping could walk!
Otherwise, how could he possibly live up to the praise of being an impressive talent?
After a long while, Wang Ping finally raised his head. Gritting his teeth, he forced the words past his lips: "Your subordinate can accept this mission, but... you'll have to pay me extra!"
Chapter 14