The sky had just begun to brighten, and the morning glow dyed the old roof tiles in Southern District a pale gold.
Ye Qingxuan stood in the courtyard, with several broken roof tiles he had picked up the night before scattered by his feet. He bent down and picked one up. It was about two fingers wide, with a fairly smooth edge.
He did not assume any particular stance. He simply stood there casually, pinching the tile in his right hand. Following the "Hidden Hand" method described in the codex, he gave his wrist a slight flick.
"Whoosh!"
The tile left his hand, tracing a crooked path before striking the opposite courtyard wall. With a "smack," it shattered into several pieces.
In his mind, that silent scroll stirred almost imperceptibly.
[Locust Throwing Technique, failed to grasp its method, Merit +1.]
Though he had "failed to grasp its method," he had still gained Merit. This proved he was on the right track; he simply had not yet reached the required level of refinement.
Ye Qingxuan remained neither hurried nor impatient and picked up another piece. This time, he settled his mind and recalled the little vermilion-brush figures in the codex. Qi rose from his dantian, his waist and hips twisted slightly, and a force traveled up his spine, over his shoulder, down his arm, and finally into his fingertips.
Imitating the "downward flick" posture, he sent the strength of his entire body outward.
"Shoo!"
This sound tearing through the air was far sharper than before. The tile became a black line and drove straight into the blue brick of the courtyard wall, embedding itself half a finger deep. Yet the tile itself did not break.
[Downward Flick Technique, initial glimpse of the path, Merit +1.]
Ye Qingxuan walked over to the wall and pried the tile out with a finger, leaving a clear white mark behind. Looking at his fingers, which were not even the slightest bit swollen or red, he had already formed a plan. This technique did not train finger strength, but rather the clever coordination and exertion of force throughout the entire body.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
Ye Caiwei rubbed her eyes as she stood by the door. She looked at the mark on the wall, then at the tile in her brother's hand, her little face full of curiosity.
Ye Qingxuan turned around, tossed the tile aside, and dusted off his hands.
"I'm practicing a new skill."
He picked up a pebble, one he had deliberately searched for by the river. In front of his sister, he flipped his wrist, and the pebble vanished without a trace. With another flip, it reappeared in his palm. He imitated the concealment method of the "Hidden Hand" described in the codex, and after only a few repetitions, he had already become rather proficient.
Ye Caiwei stared, her eyes going wide, then clapped her little hands.
"Brother, you look just like those street magicians! No, you're much more amazing than them!" She thought for a moment, then nodded forcefully. "Brother, you're a genius."
Ye Qingxuan laughed at her words and walked over to scratch her nose. He did not know whether he was a genius or not, but he knew that in this world, relying on genius alone was not enough to survive.
The Fengtian Division's compound was as bustling as ever that morning.
Ye Qingxuan, Wei Datong, and Xiong Tiezhu were counting the Water-Fire Cudgels used for patrolling the streets.
"Well, well, isn't this our great hero, Constable Ye?"
An insincerely mocking voice came from the side.
Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes and saw Zhang Lingxiao strolling over with his hands behind his back. Today, he had changed into a brand-new black outfit designed for movement, making his already sturdy frame look even more robust. The tassel on the regulation saber at his waist was a fresh, bright yellow, while the black iron waist token on the other side glinted dazzlingly in the morning light.
He walked up to Ye Qingxuan and looked him up and down, his gaze falling on the temporary constable's short jacket, washed so pale that it had nearly lost its color. The corner of his mouth curled into a disdainful arc.
"I heard you received five taels of silver in reward a few days ago. What, you didn't even think to change your clothes? I'm afraid this outfit is older than you are, isn't it?"
As he spoke, he deliberately puffed out his chest, making that brand-new waist token sway before Ye Qingxuan's eyes.
Wei Datong's face twitched as he listened. He was just about to speak when Ye Qingxuan stopped him with a glance.
Ye Qingxuan paid Zhang Lingxiao no attention. He merely lowered his head and continued wiping the Water-Fire Cudgel in his hand with a cloth, doing so with extreme seriousness, as though the cudgel bore some exquisite pattern.
Zhang Lingxiao felt as though his punch had struck empty air, and his expression grew awkward. He stepped forward, then slammed his shoulder into Ye Qingxuan.
He secretly put force into that impact. An ordinary person would have been knocked stumbling.
However, Ye Qingxuan's body merely shifted to the side with the force, his foot turning half a step as he completely dispersed the momentum. His entire person was like a floating log in water: no matter how the waves crashed against him, he simply rose and fell with them without suffering the slightest injury.
He turned sideways to make way, still lowering his head as he wiped the cudgel.
Zhang Lingxiao's collision missed, and he nearly lost his balance instead. Once he steadied himself, he turned around and saw Ye Qingxuan's utterly unconcerned expression. He assumed Ye Qingxuan was too cowardly to fight back, and the nameless fire in his chest burned even hotter.
"Hmph, coward."
He tossed out the words, found the encounter dull, and walked away with his hands behind his back.
"That brat!" Wei Datong lowered his voice and spat onto the ground. "He forgets his own name the moment he gains a little power! Qingxuan, don't take it to heart. He's just a good-for-nothing who relies on his uncle!"
Ye Qingxuan raised his head and leaned the cleaned Water-Fire Cudgel against the wall.
"Brother Wei, it's fine."
He watched Zhang Lingxiao's retreating back. In his eyes, that brand-new black outfit was no different from a living target.
In the past, he might have been angry or resentful. But now, he possessed two martial arts, his strength was growing every day, and his horizons had long since changed. Why should he quarrel with a summer insect chirping at his feet? When the autumn wind came, it would perish of its own accord.
All he had to do now was wait. Wait for that autumn wind to arrive.
The sun sank in the west at dusk. After a full day of patrolling the streets, nothing much had happened.
Ye Qingxuan returned home. The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, a rich fragrance of meat rushed toward him.
The fire in the stove roared brightly, and something simmered in the little clay pot with a steady "gurgle, gurgle." Ye Caiwei had moved a small stool in front of the stove and was sitting there, holding a palm-leaf fan and waving it now and then. The firelight had turned her little face bright red.
"Brother, you're back!"
She spotted Ye Qingxuan, immediately dropped the fan, and ran over cheerfully.
"What did you stew today? It smells so good." Ye Qingxuan set down the Water-Fire Cudgel and asked with a smile.
"Hehe, guess!" Ye Caiwei tugged on his hand and led him to the stove.
Ye Qingxuan lifted the lid. Steam billowed out, revealing half a chicken stewing in the pot. The broth was milky white, and several round, plump bird eggs nestled beside it.
"Where did the chicken come from?"
"This morning, I went to the market and ran into the butcher Zhang's wife. She said this old hen had been raised for several years and was still laying eggs, so she sold it to me cheaply." Ye Caiwei spoke as though presenting a treasure. "I also bought some quail eggs. The book said they're the best for nourishing the body!"
Looking at her smug little expression, Ye Qingxuan's heart grew warm. His more than three taels of silver truly could not be kept hidden. This girl kept talking about frugality, yet she was thinking of nourishing him every moment of every day.
Dinner was set out on the little table in the courtyard.
There was a pot of chicken soup, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a large basin of white rice.
Ye Qingxuan was genuinely hungry. He did not stand on ceremony. He poured chicken soup over a large bowl of rice and shoveled it down in three mouthfuls.
Beside him, Ye Caiwei nibbled a chicken wing in small bites, but her eyes remained fixed on her brother's bowl. The moment he finished, she immediately rose to fill it again.
"Brother, you've been... eating so much lately." She spoke softly as she held the bowl.
"Practicing martial arts takes strength, so naturally I eat more." Ye Qingxuan accepted another heaping bowl of rice and placed a chicken leg in his sister's bowl. "You should eat more too. Look how thin you are."
He ate a full five large bowls of rice during that meal and drained the pot of chicken soup to the bottom. When he set down his bowl and chopsticks, he felt a warm current rise from his stomach and flow through his limbs and bones, sweeping away the fatigue from the day's patrol.
Martial cultivation truly was a bottomless pit. It not only consumed silver, but also required an appetite far beyond that of ordinary people. Without the Heavenly Machine Codex, the money he earned would probably not even be enough to fill his stomach.
After putting his sister to sleep, Ye Qingxuan returned to the courtyard.
He retrieved a small bag of pebbles he had prepared in advance from the corner by the wall and drew a deep breath.
Under the night sky, his figure flashed repeatedly as he twisted his waist, turned his hips, and swung his arm.
"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"
The sounds of objects tearing through the air continued without end.
One pebble after another flew from his hand. Some traveled in straight lines, while others followed arcs, striking different points on the courtyard wall with precision. At first, he was still somewhat awkward, but as he practiced, his movements grew smoother and smoother. The force throughout his body twisted into a single current, flowing freely as he wielded it.
[Locust Throwing Technique, gradually entering perfection, Merit +3.]
When he threw the final pebble from the cloth bag, the scroll in his mind finally changed.
[Name: Ye Qingxuan] [Realm: Body Tempering Second Layer (Complete)] [Martial Art: Indestructible Vajra Body (Complete, measure: six inches, Merit: 0/500)] [Locust Throwing Technique (Not Yet Initiated, Merit: 5/5)]
His Merit was full.
Ye Qingxuan's thoughts stirred.
[Merit complete. Connect and comprehend?]
"Connect and comprehend."
Boom!
A stream of heat utterly different from the one produced when the Indestructible Vajra Body broke through surged out from the Heavenly Machine Codex. This heat was not violent, but it was incredibly sharp. Rather than charging into his muscles, bones, and flesh, it precisely followed several meridians in his right arm, coursing through them at high speed.
The muscles and tendons in his arm gave off faint resonances beneath the scouring of the heat. A feeling of unprecedented clarity traveled from his fingertips. He seemed able to "see" clearly how the force from each exertion was transmitted from his waist and hips to his fingertips.
After a long while, the heat dissipated.
Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. His arm looked no different on the outside, but when he loosely clenched his five fingers, he could sense an explosive force within that he could release and retract with ease.
He summoned the scroll.
[Locust Throwing Technique (Realm: Initiated, Merit: 0/20)]
After initiation, raising it further would require twenty Merit.
Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist. The qi and blood in his body had become several degrees more active because of this breakthrough, faintly showing signs of surging against that invisible barrier.
The Indestructible Vajra Body specialized in tempering the flesh and had already reached completion. Although the Locust Throwing Technique was an external skill focused on clever force, it trained the method of exerting power throughout the entire body. It could actually nourish his qi and blood in return, helping him draw closer to the threshold of the Body Tempering Triple Layer.
He had a premonition. Once he practiced the Locust Throwing Technique to minor mastery, the two would verify one another, and the moment he entered the "Body Tempering Triple Layer—the Tendon Transformation Realm" would arrive.
At the Fengtian Division, the Body Tempering Triple Layer was enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with an old constable like Hong Qingshan. In the martial world, it also counted as being a capable fighter—enough for a gang like Fierce Tiger Hall to truly regard him as someone important.
At most, three days.
He looked at the night sky and set himself a deadline.
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