Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique

"The night before last, he suddenly disappeared. Commander Zou mobilized a great many people to search for him, and they only found him by the riverbank outside the city this morning." Chen Ju could not hide his amusement as he spoke. "His arms and legs had been broken before he was thrown into the river. Luckily, he ran into a fishing net and was hauled out. They say he still hasn't woken up."

Liang Yue laughed. "Those fishermen sure love hauling up things they shouldn't."

He had been worried that Zou Huainan would retaliate over their conflict. Well, that worked out nicely—the other man had suffered retribution first.

"Old Hu learned the news when he went to the South City headquarters for a meeting today. He also said the list of Official Guards being promoted had come out. Both you and Da Chun are on it." Chen Ju said, "As long as you two pass next month's martial arts assessment, you'll officially be promoted."

"Heh heh." Pang Chun grinned broadly. "A Yue and I definitely won't have any problems."

Liang Yue thought so too. Old Hu had said before that the assessment was merely going through the motions, weeding out those truly too weak to truss a chicken. An ordinary Imperial Capital Guard could pass with peak First Realm cultivation, while he could now even take down someone at peak Second Realm.

The three youngsters were walking and chatting when, as they passed a narrow alley, they suddenly heard shouts and the sounds of fighting within.

"Let's take a look." Liang Yue gripped his scabbard in his left hand and turned into the alley.

After reaching the depths of the alley and turning a corner, he saw several rogue thugs surrounding a young man on the ground, raining fists and kicks upon him without pause.

"Stop!" Liang Yue immediately shouted.

"Imperial Capital Guard!" Seeing someone arrive, the men immediately turned to flee from the other end, only for Pang Chun's iron-tower-like frame to suddenly appear there.

Thud! Thud!

Pang Chun seized the leading two men by their faces, one in each hand, and lifted them straight off the ground. The remaining two swung their fists and legs, still trying to attack him.

But with another two smacks, one man's punch and the other's kick landed on Pang Chun. The next instant, they clutched their respective hands and feet and collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain. "Ow..."

Pang Chun's gaze was somewhat bewildered as well. He looked innocently at the two men on the ground, then at Liang Yue and Chen Ju, wearing the expression of someone who had just been falsely accused.

"Get up!" Chen Ju strode over and barked, "Quit pretending!"

"I'm not pretending..." The thug with the injured arm could still get to his feet, but the one who had kicked Pang Chun was already unable to rise. He howled, "This officer's body is hard as iron!"

Chen Ju glanced at Pang Chun and poked him with a finger, discovering that the muscles all over Pang Chun's body truly were incomparably hard. A trace of envy appeared in his eyes.

Liang Yue had already walked up to the beaten young man and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." The young man got to his feet. Apart from a few abrasions on his head and face, he really did not seem to be hurt.

He was rather tall, with a head of messy long hair. Beneath it, his face had firm, square lines, and his narrow eyes gave his heroic features a hint of coldness.

"He already said he's fine, so let us go, officer!" one of the men held down by Pang Chun cried. "We're from the Righteous Tiger Gang!"

"What gang you belong to is none of my concern." Chen Ju snapped. "Causing trouble in Fukang Ward is not allowed!"

They knew the name of the Righteous Tiger Gang, but they did not care in the slightest.

There were many poor people in South City, and likewise many lowly street gangs like this. They usually made their living running illicit brothels and gambling dens, or squeezing protection money out of shops.

The sole reason such gangs could exist was that the Imperial Capital Guard could not conveniently extort dirty money directly from commoners and businesses.

After these small gangs amassed wealth, they would offer a portion—or even most—of their income as tribute to the Imperial Capital Guard commander of their ward, completing the transfer of benefits. In return, the other side provided them protection. So long as they did not cause any major trouble, they could continue existing in the shadows.

But Hu Tiehan of Fukang Ward did not engage in such practices, and the gangs did not dare cause trouble here either. This so-called Righteous Tiger Gang was one of the fastest-growing small gangs in South City in recent years, but it only held considerable influence in several other wards. In Fukang Ward, it had no standing whatsoever.

"Officer, there wasn't any trouble." The beaten young man suddenly spoke. "We were just playing around."

"That's right!" The men immediately echoed him. "We were just playing around with him."

"Fine." Liang Yue nodded. "Then you can go."

With that, he released the rogue thugs. A moment ago, they had been swaggering about, but now they were injured and crippled, supporting one another as they limped away.

Only after they had gone far away did Liang Yue catch up to the young man leaving alone. "Wait a moment."

"Hm?" The young man turned around and looked at Liang Yue in confusion.

"You may be afraid that they'll retaliate if you accuse them to their faces. That's all right. If they have been bullying decent people, just tell us." Liang Yue said sternly, "The Righteous Tiger Gang is nothing much."

The young man looked at Liang Yue with an oddly subtle gaze. After a pause, he said, "There really wasn't anything."

With that, he turned and left again.

The other man seemed to think Liang Yue was meddling in his affairs. Liang Yue could not interfere any further and could only watch him leave, though he faintly felt that something was strange.

Once everyone had left, he turned to Pang Chun and said, "Da Chun, your Iron Cotton Armor is coming along nicely. Judging by those men, your flesh is already as hard as someone at the early Armor Forging Realm."

"But I've never practiced it." Pang Chun said in bewilderment. "Every time I look at that secret manual, I fall asleep."

"Then that's strange." Chen Ju rubbed his chin in thought.

Pang Chun chuckled. "Maybe it's from eating sweet potatoes."

Early the next morning, when Liang Yue arrived at the station, he saw Chen Ju clutching his stomach with a pained expression.

"What's wrong?" Liang Yue asked.

"Seeing Da Chun yesterday, I thought eating sweet potatoes could really make your flesh harder, so I ate a little extra." Chen Ju said miserably. "Who knew that stuff would burn so badly if you ate too much?"

"Heh." Liang Yue laughed. "So, do you think it worked?"

"Not a damn bit. That stuff is soft and mushy—the more you eat, the softer it gets, and it makes you fart all the time." Chen Ju said indignantly.

Judging by his expression, he had probably gone through a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Sometimes, people really were the exact opposite of their names.

Liang Yue saw through his thoughts and advised, "I think you should find a proper physician."

"What are you talking about..." Chen Ju's face reddened, and he slunk away awkwardly.

Just as they finished speaking, Liang Yue suddenly saw a white paper crane in the air. It flapped its wings like a butterfly and flew all the way to him.

At the sight of this mystical scene, Wen Yifan immediately came to mind.

Only Mystic Sect Disciples possessed such methods.

Sure enough, once he caught and unfolded the paper crane, he found a line written inside: "Come to the small alley outside the station."

The handwriting was slender and crisp; at a glance, one could see its owner's shadow within it.

Without giving anything away, he rose, walked out of the station, and entered the alley outside. There he saw Miss Wen in white. Standing upon that dusty gray ground, she was like a white epiphyllum blooming atop a lofty mountain.

The reason she was being so mysterious was likely out of consideration for him. It was also a good thing if people did not discover that Liang Yue had too much contact with the Evil Extermination Division.

"Yesterday, I obtained a movement technique for you." Miss Wen never wasted words. She directly took out a thin booklet bearing six large characters.

"Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique?" Liang Yue's eyes lit up.

"The techniques we Mystic Sect practitioners cultivate are all Qi Refiner arts, which you cannot use. I requested this from a martial arts-practicing martial uncle of my sect near the divine capital. You asked for a higher grade, and this should count as one of the finest movement technique secret manuals in the world, though its Dao resonance is extremely difficult to comprehend." Wen Yifan added.

"That's fine!" Liang Yue said unconcernedly. "I'll just work harder."

He now had absolute confidence in his own comprehension. Difficulty did not matter; high grade and great power were what mattered most. No matter how complicated the Dao resonance was, he merely had to spend more time comprehending it.

Wen Yifan continued, "This martial uncle has recently been searching for a successor. If you can comprehend this movement technique within three months, I can recommend you to him and have you become a Nominal Disciple."

"Really?" Liang Yue was delighted.

What kind of figure was someone who could be Wen Yifan's martial uncle?

Without exception, those of that generation were great powers of the Mystic Sect!

What he could learn from such a person would definitely be far more than he could learn from treating Old Hu like a father.

Leaving aside the tangible things he could learn, even his status would become different. Though a Nominal Disciple could not compare to an official successor, it would still mean he had a master and lineage. When he went out, he could borrow the Mystic Sect's name.

No, it would not count as borrowing it. At that point, he would be a legitimate member of the Mystic Sect!

Sure enough, following a rich woman came with benefits. Just a little of the connections and resources she casually offered was enough to feed him forever.

For a moment, Liang Yue's heart pounded wildly.

But he quickly suppressed his joy, doing his best to calm himself before earnestly saying to Wen Yifan, "Thank you, Miss Wen. I will certainly cultivate with all my strength!"

Wen Yifan hesitated slightly. She had actually wanted to remind him... that he need not be so excited. Even if he had a chance to enter that martial uncle's tutelage, it might not necessarily be a good thing...

But seeing how happy he was, and knowing that the possibility of this happening was ultimately slim, she did not say it aloud. She merely nodded gently and said, "All right."

Good morning.