Another Promotion

2024-07-31

Another Promotion

Song Residence courtyard.

Silver moonlight poured down, illuminating sheets of icy saber light.

Song Changming deftly controlled the long saber in his hand, thrusting and slashing without pause.

Gusts of saber wind whirled up, sweeping nearby fallen leaves, long grass, and clumps of dirt into the air as they followed Song Changming's movements.

A careful look would reveal that no Ghostly Saber Momentum manifested upon Song Changming's blade at this moment.

The moves he used had nothing to do with the Soul Severing Saber; even the faint hum produced by his swings seemed to have changed.

Without question, this was the Flying Swallow Style martial art he had newly learned.

Only after a long while did Song Changming stop practicing his saber and glance at the martial arts section of his panel.

Tonight's saber practice, Flying Swallow Style experience +13.

[Flying Swallow Style: Beginner (5/1000)]

A decent rate of progress. He had now successfully reached the beginner level in this set of Flying Swallow Style.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiangnan, who had taught him this technique, could not yet see that he had achieved something with it.

Once he had entered the beginner level, the Flying Swallow Style could basically be used in actual combat.

Though he had yet to master this technique and his realm was still low, the power it displayed was already quite impressive. It held many subtle wonders, leaving Song Changming unable to help but marvel as he practiced his saber. As expected of a high-tier martial art.

Compared to it, his Soul Severing Saber was indeed rather crude and shallow.

And this was only the impression he had gained after learning a mere sliver of this martial art's surface.

As he continued to explore and comprehend it in greater depth, he would surely discover more of the essence and might within such high-tier martial arts.

Once he trained it to truly profound heights, he could become like Liu Xiangnan—without holding office or serving in an official post, he could still make a name for himself in the martial world as a Great Hero.

"The Flying Swallow Style is progressing quickly, but the movement technique I want is still advancing far too slowly," Song Changming muttered as he looked at the panel.

[Flying Swallow Light Body Technique: Not Yet Initiated (37/200)]

More than ten days had passed, yet entering the beginner level was still a distant prospect.

Just as Liu Xiangnan had said before, the difference between having a foundation and having none at all was truly enormous at the start.

If, like with his saber technique, he had previously trained a low-tier Light Body Technique and reached a decent realm in it, then learning this high-tier Light Body Technique now would have been entirely different in difficulty.

One could not grow fat from a single bite. There was still a need to begin cultivating from low-tier martial arts.

It was like laying a foundation. Once the foundation was solid, it would benefit the practice of any profound martial art afterward.

Fortunately, Song Changming had the panel. Even if it was slower, as long as he could still gain experience points, he could raise his martial arts realm.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, without a renowned master at one's side to provide long-term guidance, the chances of an ordinary person achieving anything by starting directly with high-tier martial arts were practically zero.

After resting for a while and drinking a pot of water, Song Changming continued practicing his Light Body Technique.

These two high-tier martial arts were now the focus of his daily Practicing Martial Arts. Next came body refinement, which yielded results even more slowly, and lastly he would spare some time to practice the Soul Severing Saber.

Only after completing this whole training routine did he rest.

Though greedily pursuing too many things meant one could not chew them all, he could endlessly grind martial arts experience, and his Lifespan seemed to keep increasing without end. He intended to be greedy, to train every one of his martial abilities until they reached the peak, until they became miraculous and sublime.

The principles that applied to ordinary people, he believed, did not apply to him.

The next day, Song Changming dressed neatly and headed out. By chance, he spotted two newborn puppies curled up against each other among the roots of a dead tree outside the alley.

He merely glanced at them and paid them no mind.

There were quite a few stray dogs wandering these small streets and alleys. Some mother dog had probably carried them there and left them behind.

When he arrived at the Patrol Guard Headquarters, he saw several people still trying to give Liang Chuanshan gifts so early in the morning. They were driven out in a sorry state by the patrol guards. Seeing their resentful and even aggrieved expressions, Song Changming only found it amusing.

These people could not tell their heads from their tails. They had openly come to the Patrol Guard Headquarters to give gifts; it would have been stranger if they had not been thrown out.

This matter required avoiding suspicion. If they wanted to give gifts, they should have gone to the Liang Residence.

"Captain Song!"

"Captain Song!"

"..."

After entering the Patrol Guard Headquarters, every patrol guard he encountered along the way respectfully greeted him.

The gift-givers on the street watched in great surprise.

"Who exactly is that young man? How could he make all those patrol guards treat him with such reverence?"

"I think I remember him..."

"I remember him. He used to work under Director Liang. Though he is young, he is a man of great ability. He was once Director Liang's second-in-command!"

"That's right. I heard that several cases some time ago were all solved by him!"

"No wonder. Now that Director Liang has risen straight into the blue clouds, this young man will likely ride the wind and rise with him."

"I have truly been ignorant and poorly informed. When I return, I must look into this man's name."

"..."

Leaving aside the astonishment of those people on the street, the reason the patrol guards had all greeted Song Changming so courteously early that morning was that Liang Chuanshan had already appointed him to temporarily fill his former post as Patrol Captain.

Though it was only a temporary appointment, Song Changming had once been Liang Chuanshan's trusted subordinate. Anyone could see that this was no different from an official appointment.

Once the time was right, he could be formally confirmed in the position.

With Liang Chuanshan behind him as well, no one currently dared to offend Song Changming.

Lu Gang was in the same situation. Of the six Patrol Captains at the Patrol Guard Headquarters, he and Song Changming, the two newly promoted Patrol Captains, had instead become the highest in status.

Zhao Dezhi and Qian Wen, who had previously held considerable prestige, had lost in the contest for the Director's position. As a result, their standing within the Patrol Guard Headquarters had plummeted.

It would be exceedingly difficult for them to be valued and entrusted by Liang Chuanshan again in the future.

On the other hand, Zhu Bairen and Zhang Sihai, the two old hands who had originally seemed content to coast toward retirement, showed signs of being brought back into use by Liang Chuanshan.

Looking at the patrol guards who treated him with such respect along the way, Song Changming could not help feeling somewhat moved.

In merely a few years, he had risen step by step from an insignificant Torch-bearing Night Watchman to the position of Patrol Captain.

From being ignored and looked down upon, he had become one of the people with a say in this small corner of the Houli Street Patrol Guard Headquarters, gaining no small amount of authority and status, becoming the man of the hour.

It had to be said that the changes were quite immense.

And if someone were to investigate Song Changming closely, they would find that he had been promoted nearly once a year. To describe him as rising straight into the blue clouds would not be an exaggeration at all.

The key was that Song Changming was only about to turn twenty this year.

A twenty-year-old Patrol Captain—such youth was not unheard of in the past, but it had always been an extremely rare exception.

Merit, strength, and background were all indispensable.

If Liang Chuanshan had not taken the Director's seat this time and deliberately promoted his own people to suppress Zhao Dezhi and Qian Wen while strengthening his control over the Patrol Guard Headquarters, then it would have been nearly impossible for Song Changming, who lacked a powerful background, to become a Patrol Captain this year.

Without a solid background of his own, Song Changming becoming a Patrol Captain this year would have been almost impossible.

(End of Chapter)