The guard beside them furrowed his brow and was about to open his mouth to rebuke him, but Fan Li stopped him.
"The Armory is only open to soldiers who have earned military merit. Even I don't have the authority to retrieve something for you." Fan Li shook his head.
"I was out of line." Zhao An cupped his hands.
"However, I can have one of the martial arts manuals from my private collection brought to you for a look. What kind of martial art are you after?" Fan Li asked with a smile, changing tack.
"I'd like a movement technique." Zhao An answered without hesitation.
His saber and palm techniques had already reached perfection, and he had also obtained a fist technique and a body-tempering art. On top of that, his Soul Slave was still painstakingly studying a lost finger technique.
The only thing he lacked was a movement technique.
If he could get one through this opportunity, that would be ideal.
"Very well. Tomorrow I'll have someone copy a movement technique and deliver it to you. Whether you can master it will be up to you."
"Of course, if you simply can't get the hang of it, all you need to do is accept my offer and join my residence. Someone will teach you then."
After speaking, Fan Li didn't linger and left Zhao An's small courtyard.
Zhao Ke gave Zhao An a long, deep look, then left in silence.
After what had happened today, he now understood just how much his good-for-nothing younger brother had changed.
He had never even dared to dream that someone like the County Vice-Magistrate would think so highly of him. And yet it had happened to Zhao An.
He had once coveted Zhao An's money and even thought of making a move against him. Now, he wouldn't dare entertain such a thought even if he had eight times the nerve.
"What's Zhao An thinking? The County Vice-Magistrate thinks so highly of him, and he still doesn't want to follow him?" Chief Constable Lu Yixiu asked in bewilderment after seeing the County Vice-Magistrate off.
"An opportunity so many people would kill for, and he can just throw it away. He'll probably regret it for the rest of his life." Gao Baoding shook his head repeatedly, lamenting that such a chance to rise straight to the top had never come his way.
"Forget it. This has nothing to do with us. Just remember not to offend Zhao An from now on."
Zhao Ke listened to the two colleagues beside him, remaining silent throughout.
He had other plans in mind.
After all, he and Zhao An were blood kin. Blood was thicker than water. If he could make amends with Zhao An, perhaps he could one day cling to his coattails and get a post in the Inner City—or even become an official!
Thinking of it that way, he suddenly felt that Zhao An's rise might actually be a wonderful thing for him.
Little brother, you really do make me love you and hate you...
In the carriage.
"Why do you think so highly of that boy?" Zhuang Ge asked.
Fan Li smiled faintly. "Don't you trust my ability to judge people?"
"I wouldn't dare say that." Zhuang Ge hurriedly lowered his head.
"Like you, he came from humble beginnings. He had no connections to speak of, yet managed to hone his abilities while still an unknown. That tenacity of his is as precious as gold." Fan Li looked out at the common folk passing by in all shapes and sizes and spoke slowly.
"The only thing I can't figure out is what upheaval he went through. How did he suddenly come to his senses, changing from a villain into someone who hates evil with a passion..."
The next day.
Soul Slave Xu Donglai completed his term of servitude, but the result left Zhao An celebrating for nothing.
Twenty days had passed in the real world, and twenty years in the Soul Pool.
Yet after all that time, Xu Donglai had failed to comprehend the secret art of Golden Scale Mountain as Zhao An had hoped...
He had wasted a Martial Master Soul Slave for nothing. It also made him realize that this so-called Golden Scale Mountain Piling Art wasn't something that could be comprehended simply by putting in enough time.
He needed Soul Slaves with greater aptitude.
Ideally, they'd be Red Name disciples from Golden Scale Mountain...
Zhao An muttered to himself. For the time being, he decided to set aside this bewildering secret art and stop wasting Soul Slaves on it.
Compared with this elusive secret art, he'd rather focus on the other martial arts he had obtained.
For example, the Martial Academy's eighth-grade body-tempering art, and the Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger technique he had wished for using Virtue Fruits.
In another couple of days, he'd be able to see the results of studying this finger technique.
Unlike the secret art from Golden Scale Mountain, this wished-for technique wasn't wrapped up in riddles. He could start practicing it as soon as he got his hands on it, so he had high hopes for it!
Meanwhile, the newly appointed County Magistrate couldn't stand the sight of even a speck of dust.
It had only been a few days, and the magistrate's office had probably not even finished handing over its affairs, yet he had already called up the troops and sent them into the mountains to attack the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold for a second time!
When Zhao An heard about it, he actually felt tempted to join the campaign.
After all, that place was unquestionably packed with Red Names. Even if he blended in and cut down a few, he'd come out ahead.
But the County Magistrate hadn't organized any local volunteers to go along, so Zhao An could only let the thought go.
At the same time, the County Vice-Magistrate kept his promise and had someone deliver a movement technique.
And it was an eighth-grade movement technique!
"Eighth-grade Roaming Body Steps!"
"Eighth-grade—now that's good!"
Holding the manual in his hands, Zhao An's opinion of the County Vice-Magistrate improved considerably. He immediately put three Soul Slaves to work studying and practicing it together.
By now, he had three Soul Slaves working on nearly every martial art. It was the most cost-effective approach, and it also produced the fastest progress.
"Brother Zhao, the County Magistrate's notice is out. The county examination will begin in the middle of the fifth month—in ten days." Li Gou'er came running back and told Zhao An.
"Got it." Zhao An remained calm as he roasted a plucked fat duck and a fat chicken over the courtyard brazier, along with a leg of lamb and a leg of pork!
Since he had started practicing martial arts, his appetite had grown by the day. If he didn't eat several pounds of meat at every meal, he could hardly fall asleep.
And on the days he extracted the Soul Slaves' cultivation results, he had to eat six or seven meals just to stave off the hunger that followed.
These days, grain and meat prices were soaring. Food had become a problem, small but not insignificant.
His money only went out, never came in. No matter how much he had, he'd eventually eat through it all.
He had already begun considering that once he earned an official title, he would wipe out a few gangs in the city. That was one of his main ways of making money.
He casually cut off a piece of meat and tossed it to Li Gou'er.
Seeing Zhao Chunzi already eating with grease all over his mouth, Li Gou'er immediately drew near and began wolfing down the food too.
"Brother Zhao, are you confident?"
"Mm." Zhao An nodded.
In his view, passing the county examination and earning the title of Martial Student wouldn't be difficult.
He was already prepared.
Three days later, Soul Slave He Song, who had been studying the finger technique, completed his twenty-year term of servitude!
[Soul Slave He Song's twenty-year term of servitude has ended. Extract Karma Fruit?]
"Extract."
As Soul Slave He Song transformed into a crimson Karma Fruit, Zhao An extracted it.
A densely packed flood of information poured into him through an infusion!
Everything flashed past like scenes from a turning lantern, and little by little, he came to know it by heart.
Twenty whole years of study and practice, of grinding away at it again and again—as if nothing else had existed during those two decades, only the finger technique before him!
"Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger..."
Zhao An's expression shifted from blankness to focus, and life returned to his eyes in an instant.
The insights from twenty years of practicing this finger technique, a martial art that had been lost for decades, were now stored in his mind.
All its countless wonders, its peerless techniques on par with divine powers—there was no doubt about it. His Soul Slave had mastered part of the art, and now Zhao An had mastered it too!
He let out a long breath and murmured to himself.
"What a divine art..."
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