Steady and Cautious

"Here in Diannan City, the east and south are Shen Family territory; the north falls under the government's sphere of influence; as for the west, it used to be occupied by various small gangs, a muddle of fish and dragons. Half a year ago, the Medicine King Gang suddenly rose to power and unified the area. It is now considered Medicine King Gang territory."

Ping Yongfeng first laid this out, giving Zhuang Jin a general impression of the city's power structure, before continuing, "The Shen Family's current assignments can roughly be divided into five locations.

"The first is the east and south of the city, the Shen Family's old-established territory. We have operated there for a long time. Even now, assignments there are extremely safe, and the profits are plentiful—but ordinary people cannot get them.

"The second is Shen Family Headquarters. It is even safer, and precisely because of that, the compensation is lower.

"The third is the Herb Fields Outside the City. As I just said, you must face Exotic Beasts, but it can still be considered safe. The casualty rate is extremely low, the compensation is slightly higher, and there are also hidden benefits involving Exotic Beast Meat.

"The fourth is North of the City. Although the north is government territory, now that the Shen Family and the Medicine King Gang are at odds, open and covert clashes between our two sides are not uncommon there. The compensation for assignments there is relatively high, and killing enemies brings substantial rewards, though the casualty rate is somewhat higher as well.

"The final location is the part of South of the City bordering West of the City, near the Medicine King Gang. This is where our Shen Family's conflict with the Medicine King Gang is most intense, and it is also the most dangerous. Naturally, the compensation is highest there too, and there are likewise rewards for kills... Put it this way: as long as you do not die there, the number of Medicine King Gang members who die by your hand certainly will not be small. You will not lack silver... Some Shen Family martial artists who have fallen into bottlenecks also fight and kill there in search of a breakthrough..."

As Zhuang Jin listened, he silently categorized the five locations:

East of the City and South of the City: extremely low risk, negligible enough to ignore, with plentiful profits—the best places to be;

Shen Family Headquarters: the safest of all, virtually risk-free, but with low compensation and little profit;

Herb Fields Outside the City: low risk, slightly higher compensation, and benefits in the form of Exotic Beast Meat;

North of the City: relatively lower-intensity conflict with the Medicine King Gang, medium-high risk, but higher compensation and money to be earned from enemy kills;

The part of South of the City near West of the City: bordering the Medicine King Gang, high risk, high compensation—earning money with one's life.

"Generally speaking, risk and compensation are matched in every location. There will not be too much that is unreasonable. If there truly is a task with high danger and low reward, report it to the Supervision Department, and it will quickly be revised."

As Ping Yongfeng spoke, he added, "I know that this month, your study of martial techniques comes with the reward of choosing your own assignment. But in reality, only the latter four locations are available for selection. Assignments in the east and south of the city—so safe and so profitable—will not appear on your list of choices."

Zhuang Jin nodded in understanding. He understood the ways of the world. The Shen Family recruited Martial Students from outside to deal with pressure from the Medicine King Gang, to raise cannon fodder to fill the gaps. When it came to closeness and distance, the Shen Family's old hands were naturally the most trustworthy.

He calculated silently and had already made his decision: Other than the best areas in the east and south of the city, and excluding the part of South of the City bordering West of the City—the highest-intensity battlefield, which cannot be chosen—the other three places all look good. Especially the Herb Fields Outside the City: low risk, slightly higher compensation, and benefits in Exotic Beast Meat.

So the Herb Fields Outside the City are indeed very good, but... I choose Shen Family Headquarters!

Yes, Shen Family Headquarters—not the Herb Fields Outside the City!

Although the Herb Fields Outside the City carry extremely low risk, slightly higher compensation, and the benefit of Exotic Beast Meat, there is still risk. What if something happens?

If Zhuang Jin took an assignment at the Herb Fields Outside the City and encountered a powerful Exotic Beast, leaving him dead or crippled, who could he reason with?

Whether in people or in matters, one must seize the principal contradiction. The secondary contradictions... Right now, my situation is this: I do not lack money for the time being, but I lack a safe environment and time to turn potential into tangible strength.

Since I know the principal contradiction is this, I should anchor myself to it and not be distracted by the temptations of side branches! If I covet the seemingly higher compensation and benefits of the Herb Fields Outside the City, wanting this and that both, I may lose the great for the sake of the small... In a sense, that is also gambling. Though the odds of winning seem high and losing seems nearly impossible, if I do not gamble, I will never lose!

What Zhuang Jin hated most were the protagonists in novels and storybooks who could clearly stay hidden and cultivate, yet insisted on taking risks and fooling around... In reality, if you dared to fool around, you would truly die!

Lie low, stay steady, don't get carried away! he silently warned himself.

"Looks like you have already made your decision."

Ping Yongfeng looked at Zhuang Jin and waved a hand. "You need not tell me. I will only remind you of one thing: the Shen Family recruits Martial Students from outside to deal with the Medicine King Gang's pressure, not to recruit you so that you can enjoy yourselves. Whatever choice you make, remember not to slack off in your Martial Practice."

At this point, his expression grew slightly grave, and he lowered his voice. "According to a secret piece of news that spread from the Inner Courtyard, there is an unwritten rule for Martial Students like you: after breaking through to become a Formal Martial Artist, if you cannot break through to the Second Meridian within three months, or to the Third Meridian within half a year... you will be forcibly assigned to South of the City, near the Medicine King Gang."

"Even beyond you lot, some of the older people in the Shen Family Outer Courtyard who have no potential left for breakthroughs are being transferred to South of the City, near West of the City, to fill that pit. Only because I have been in the Shen Family for many years, treated people kindly, and have a few connections, have I temporarily... Sigh!"

After saying this, Ping Yongfeng sighed softly, then looked at Zhuang Jin. "But Zhuang Jin, your talent is excellent, so you need not worry about this for now. For a genius like you, I understand a little of what those people above are thinking. They will probably wait until your potential is exhausted in the future, until you are stuck at a bottleneck for a long time without advancing, before transferring you over there."

Although the Shen Family had these Martial Students cultivate the Black Fiend Art, positioning them as expendable materials, expendable materials were not all the same. A talented expendable material like Zhuang Jin was called "high-grade expendable material." Naturally, they would wait until his potential had been converted to the greatest extent before using him.

Hearing this, Zhuang Jin found it somewhat strange. Wait until my potential is exhausted and I get stuck at a bottleneck? But the problem is, I seem to... perhaps... not have any bottlenecks at all!

Especially since I am cultivating the Black Fiend Art—a rapid-success technique that breaks through quickly, squeezes out and consumes potential, but makes future bottlenecks harder to overcome. It does not suit others, but it fits me perfectly. Perhaps one day, I really can carve a path out of the impossible, leap beyond the chessboard, and become a chess player instead of a chess piece...

But he suppressed that thought the next instant. It was still far too early to think about such things.

In short: the future was promising, but for now, he needed to lie low.

After chatting with Ping Yongfeng for a while longer, Zhuang Jin took his leave and prepared to go practice martial arts. Ping Yongfeng brought out two taels of silver as compensation for the wine and dishes Zhuang Jin had brought, though even counting the value of the Exotic Beast Meat, it was nowhere near that amount.

"Master Ping, what are you doing?" Zhuang Jin naturally refused to accept it.

But Ping Yongfeng said, "You have broken through to the Second Meridian, and I am happy for you. This is a small token of my regard, a congratulatory gift. You know that I have been stuck at this bottleneck for years. I stopped refining Black Essence Powder long ago, so my hands are still fairly well-off."

In truth, it was not as though he could not have given more. But then the excuse of a congratulatory gift would no longer suffice, and he knew Zhuang Jin would not accept it.

Hearing Ping Yongfeng put it this way, Zhuang Jin pondered for a moment before accepting it. He then gave Ping Yongfeng a deeply respectful bow. "Thank you, Master Ping!"

Ping Yongfeng calmly accepted the bow and looked at Zhuang Jin. "I am thirty-six this year and only in the Two Meridian Realm, merely a Two-Striped Servant of the Shen Family. Though I have seniority and some connections, connections are ultimately built upon strength. Now that you too are in the Two Meridian Realm, if you encounter something difficult to resolve, I imagine I probably will not have any way to help."

"Only in matters of money—if you run into difficulties, you may come find me. I should still be able to offer some help."

As he spoke, he gripped Zhuang Jin's wrist tightly. "I am stuck at the bottleneck between the Second Meridian and the Third Meridian. I expect I will never break through in this lifetime. But you have great hope. If you have the chance in the future, take a good look at the scenery of the higher realms of martial arts for me."

If, at the beginning, Ping Yongfeng had been more utilitarian toward Zhuang Jin and merely wanted to forge a good connection, human hearts were made of flesh. As they spent more time together, he came to appreciate Zhuang Jin more and more, and now genuine feelings had gradually taken root.

Hearing those words, Zhuang Jin felt faintly moved and bowed to Ping Yongfeng once more.

He was not an idealist. He knew there were no truly pure feelings in the absolute sense in this world; even between parents and children, or husband and wife, it was so. How could he demand more from others?

He merely silently kept this bond in his heart, intending to repay it someday if the opportunity arose.