Director Zhen - Thanks to "Among All Crows, I'm the Whitest" for the Alliance Leader Reward!

"Director Zhen really lived in the southern district."

The Liang siblings were both people of action. Once they had settled on a plan, they immediately went out to inquire about the Zhen family's address. Liang Yue took Liang Peng to buy a fruit basket, and together they went to apologize in person.

Dragon Abyss City's land prices were unquestionably high in the north and low in the south. Land near the northern imperial city was worth its weight in gold, occupied by government offices and the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles. Court officials generally chose to live there as well, for the convenience of daily work.

The eastern and western districts each had their own wealthy neighborhoods, thanks to the presence of the two markets.

By comparison, the liveliest place in the southern district was Red Sleeve Brothel, where pleasure houses gathered. But land prices did not rise simply because one lived close to brothels. Thus, the south became the poor district of the divine capital, Dragon Abyss City, where common folk were most numerous.

It was no wonder Liang Yue felt surprised.

A sixth-rank official of the Ministry of Works—never mind a grand residence in the northern district, surely it would not have been difficult for him to secure a courtyard in either the east or west? For him to appear in this southern district was truly rare.

The Zhen residence was not large even by southern-district standards. Its facade looked much like an ordinary home's, with only the additional gate corridor lending it a little more grandeur. Perhaps mindful of his status as a court official, they had hung a black plaque with gilded lettering. To one side was a gatehouse, where a white-haired old man was dozing.

"Sir... sir?" Liang Yue stepped forward and called twice. The old man remained muddleheaded, so he raised his voice. "Sir!"

"Ah?" Only then did the old gatekeeper wake with a start. He stared blankly at the two brothers. "What is it?"

"We have come to visit Director Zhen over a family matter. Please trouble yourself to announce us," Liang Yue said.

"Ah?" The old gatekeeper nodded stupidly. "What are your names?"

"My name is Liang Yue, and this is my younger brother Liang Peng. We are classmates of your young master, Zhen Xiaohao," Liang Yue answered.

"Ah?" The old gatekeeper cocked an ear. "Yue what Peng?"

Liang Yue raised his voice again. "Liang Yue! And Liang Peng!"

"Oh..." Only then did the old gatekeeper acknowledge him. Then he turned and shuffled tremblingly through the gate corridor.

A moment later, he dragged his feet back and called out, "Master is waiting for you in the study. Follow me."

The brothers followed him through a gate corridor, only to discover that the corridor was rather unnecessary. Zhen Changzhi's courtyard was not much larger than the Small Courtyard the Liang family had in Peaceful Lane. At most, the buildings were more orderly, with more blue tiles, white bricks, upturned eaves, and standing pillars on all four sides, making it seem a notch more refined. But in the end, there were only four or five rooms.

In the center of the courtyard knelt a young man with white cloth wrapped around his head. He appeared badly injured and knelt there with his head hanging in dejection. When he saw the brothers enter, he lifted his head toward Liang Peng, and his gaze immediately filled with hatred. "What are you here for?"

"To apologize to you," Liang Peng said calmly.

Then, without looking back, he followed the old gatekeeper to the entrance of the Zhen family study.

"The master is inside. Please enter." The old gatekeeper pointed inward, then left on his own.

The brothers stepped into the study. At first glance, they did not see anyone. What they saw instead was a wall—the Zhen family's study had been decorated quite strangely.

Normally, the rooms of great households were open from south to north, with at most a screen placed in the middle. Yet at the center of this study stood a solid wall, and a beaded curtain hung at the end of one side of it.

The wall divided the room into an inner and outer chamber. The outer room held only flower arrangements and ornaments, while the inner room was likely the true study. The brothers lifted the beaded curtain and saw that the rather cramped space contained a desk and a bookcase.

A gaunt, stern-faced middle-aged man sat behind the desk, holding a letter and staring into space as though lost in thought. Hearing the beaded curtain rustle, he pinned the letter beneath a book beside him before lifting his head to look at the brothers. "You are Liang Peng and his elder brother, correct?"

This was naturally the master of the residence, Zhen Changzhi, Director of the Ministry of Works.

"That's right." Liang Yue nodded. "My younger brother had a conflict with your young master today at the academy. I specifically brought him here to apologize in person."

"I asked Xiaohao about what happened at the academy when he returned home," Zhen Changzhi said. "The conflict arose because he repeatedly provoked Liang Peng first. Though Liang Peng acted somewhat impulsively, it was understandable. Both were at fault in this matter. By rights, Xiaohao should apologize first. I have already punished him by making him kneel for an hour, and I intend to have him speak properly with Liang Peng at the academy tomorrow."

"Uncle Zhen, Zhen Xiaohao was merely a little mischievous. He often played around like this with his classmates, and everyone had grown accustomed to it. When I reflected afterward, I realized that I truly was too impulsive, and I have regretted it deeply. I was the one who made the grave mistake, while he was injured. You should not punish him further," Liang Peng said earnestly.

Yet upon closer consideration, his words carried a faintly saccharine edge.

Liang Yue secretly gave his younger brother a thumbs-up in his heart.

"I had long heard of his unruly conduct at the academy, but I had no spare time to discipline him. Letting him receive some punishment this time is good for him as well, so Liang Peng, you need not blame yourself." Zhen Changzhi spoke gently. "I have long heard that you are consistently first at the academy. Focus on your studies and earn scholarly honors in the future. I guarantee you that Xiaohao will never again interfere with your studies."

"Director Zhen is truly too kind and generous. My younger brother will certainly get along well with Zhen Xiaohao in the future, and such a thing will not happen again," Liang Yue said with a smile when he saw how agreeable the other man was.

"Heh, that would be best. Best if he can learn Liang Peng's devotion to learning." Zhen Changzhi smiled, then said, "I still have official duties left unfinished today. Since this matter has been settled, I will attend to my own work first."

"Very well, we will not disturb you, Director Zhen." Liang Yue responded, setting down the fruit basket in his hand. "We brought some fruit for you. It is not worth much, merely a token of our sincerity."

"This is absolutely unacceptable." Zhen Changzhi's face suddenly darkened. "In my twenty years as an official, I have never accepted so much as a single coin in gifts, nor have I engaged in the slightest personal exchange of favors. If you insist on giving me a gift, you would be ruining my good name."

Liang Yue hurriedly picked up the fruit basket again. "For the Yin Dynasty to have an upright official like Director Zhen is truly its good fortune. Then we brothers shall take our leave first."

When the brothers left, Zhen Xiaohao was still kneeling facing the study entrance. Seeing Liang Peng emerge, he continued to curse under his breath. "You fatherless thing! Happy now?"

Liang Peng walked away as calmly as drifting clouds and gentle wind. Only after turning around did he lightly toss back a sentence. "Same to you."

The day's business had gone unexpectedly smoothly. After leaving the Zhen residence, Liang Yue sighed, "No wonder Director Zhen has such a good reputation as an official. He truly is kind and reasonable. How could a father like that raise such a son?"

Liang Peng shook his head, equally unable to understand.

By the time the two brothers returned home, night had fully fallen. Liang Peng returned to his room, while Liang Yue remained in the courtyard to practice his fist techniques.

It was still the Tiger Might Fist. Once he spread his stance, his qi and blood immediately surged, sharp as thunder, its force far greater than it had been two days ago. He owed such progress to the pill Wen Yifan had given him.

When they had unexpectedly uncovered the Nine Yang spy, the three young Imperial Capital Guards had all been injured. Liang Yue had suffered the lightest wound, merely a bruised leg bone and no internal injuries.

Yet that Miss Wen from the Evil Extermination Bureau had given them three pills.

She had handed them over casually, saying they were for stabilizing qi and blood and treating injuries. Liang Yue had believed her.

Only after Chen Ju took one did he recognize it as the exceedingly precious Profound Gate Deer Blood Pill. Among pills that replenished qi and blood, it was absolutely among the finest of the finest. The Profound Gate Pill Forging Lineage did not particularly care to refine such minor pills, so their production was limited and even fewer circulated on the market. Many powerful and noble families would only seek out a few when their children were attempting to break through into the Second Realm.

Stabilizing qi and blood was its least valuable effect.

After the three of them took the pills, they indeed felt their qi and blood gradually fill, receiving a surging, torrential strengthening!

As Liang Yue practiced the Tiger Might Fist again, he could already sense the phantom image of a roaring tiger beginning to form in his mind. His entire bearing increasingly took on the shape of the king of beasts.

This meant that his qi and blood had reached their peak and extended straight to the divine palace. As he breathed and circulated them, he could sense the martial essence. His previous bottleneck had vanished without a trace.

Only a thin membrane remained.

He could break through at any moment and enter the second level of martial cultivation, the Contemplation Realm!

After reaching the Contemplation Realm, one could cultivate all manner of powerful martial arts techniques through contemplating their essence, no longer limited to fists and kicks. For martial artists, the first level was merely the tempering of foundations. Only from the second level onward had one truly entered the gate and stepped into the world of martial cultivation.

Whether martial cultivation, the Qi Refiners of the Three Sects, or the legendary, unfathomably mysterious Mystic Art Masters, all paths of cultivation were divided into three great realms—the Layered Building Realm, the Grandmaster Realm, and the Immortal Realm.

The first of these, the Layered Building Realm, was further divided into seven minor realms.

Each breakthrough through a minor realm was like ascending another floor. The seven floors of martial cultivation were enough to trap the vast majority of martial artists for their entire lives.

At the first level, the Qi Blood Realm, one could still rely on hard work, and after years of effort, a breakthrough was possible. But upon reaching the second-level Contemplation Realm, one had to look to that elusive, intangible thing called talent.

Without talent, it was common to contemplate for a lifetime and achieve nothing.

Liang Yue was diligently practicing his fist techniques when he suddenly heard a shrill whistle-arrow cry from the sky not far away, accompanied by a piercing streak of light shooting straight upward.

"Something happened?" He immediately stopped.

This was a whistle arrow unique to the Imperial Capital Guard, used to summon personnel. One whistle arrow meant that the Imperial Capital Guards stationed in the ward had to immediately assemble, whether on duty or not. Two whistle arrows fired in succession meant all Imperial Capital Guards in the southern district had to rush to provide support. If three whistle arrows were fired in succession, then every Imperial Capital Guard in the city had to set out at once.

Though this time there was only one whistle arrow, it was already quite rare in Fukang Ward.

Liang Yue immediately put on his official uniform, strapped on his saber, hurried out of Peaceful Lane, and rushed toward where the whistle arrow had been launched. As he arrived, he saw Chen Ju waiting at the street corner.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Something terrible..." Chen Ju pointed to the residence behind him. "Zhen Changzhi, Director of the Ministry of Works, died in his own home!"

"What?!"

Thank you, Teacher Crow, for becoming this book's sixth Alliance Leader of genuine strength. Thank you, thank you.