Official Water Soldier

"Is this sweat towel for me? Much obliged!"

The soldier had already enjoyed Hong Ming's service before, so he took the offered towel without a hint of hesitation.

He even remembered to offer a word of thanks before leaving.

Hong Ming, however, acted as if he hadn't heard, his fixed gaze revealing a sudden realization.

He finally understood the changes brought about by the upgrade of the Entry Master: he could now sense entries without needing physical contact!

"What is the range?"

Hong Ming watched the entry vanish, a new question forming in his mind.

Too lazy to guess, he put it into action and began to explore.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he reached a precise conclusion: his range for sensing entries was a radius of half a zhang!

The range was not vast, but Hong Ming was quite satisfied.

Being able to sense entries out of thin air was far more convenient than having to make contact.

Having tasted the benefits of the upgrade, Hong Ming's mind became active, and he no longer had any thoughts of practicing martial arts.

He decided to take this opportunity to expand his exploration to all the impoverished water soldiers training along the bank.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go to the areas where the wealthy youths were, but he couldn't get close.

Those wealthy youths were all spread out, occupying their own space, and guarded by servants; they were not so easily approached.

Now that he could sense entries, the efficiency had undoubtedly improved.

Hong Ming walked and explored, and in less than half an hour, he had thoroughly checked all the water soldiers.

It was much as he had expected; the entries he found were few and far between.

Most were merely Breathing and Exhalation entries, and entries related to innate talent were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

It wasn't hard to see that those like Qin Hao, who rose from the bottom, were ultimately the minority.

[Entry: Lowest-Grade Innate Talent]

[Status: Cannot be solidified]

[Required Luck: 5 points]

[Solidification Effect: Greatly increases the efficiency of practicing any martial art.]

This was one of the few talent-related entries Hong Ming had discovered.

What caught his attention was the "Cannot be solidified" status.

It had appeared on Qian Biao before, and at the time, he had speculated it was because he already possessed the "Thirty Years of Age" entry, thus preventing solidification.

Now, that was confirmed; the two situations were identical.

"It seems my baseline is at least Lowest-Grade Innate Talent," Hong Ming speculated.

He wasn't very satisfied and intended to figure out his own talent level.

It didn't take long to conclude that he was Lower-Middle-Grade Innate Talent—not exactly outstanding, but certainly among the top tier compared to the many impoverished water soldiers.

Once he finished exploring, Hong Ming cast aside all distractions and focused single-mindedly on practicing the Coiling Dragon Stake.

The Coiling Dragon Stake was a superior stake-work technique taught by the River Bureau that could lead directly to the Transformation Force.

Transformation Force was the realm beyond Bright Force and Dark Force, representing the top of the pyramid among experts within the River Bureau.

A martial artist who develops Bright Force has truly stepped onto the path of martial arts; reaching Dark Force makes one a pillar of a faction, as only one in a hundred achieves it.

If one could reach Transformation Force, they would be able to walk sideways through any district in Clear River City.

Hong Ming practiced while waiting for his identity token to arrive; this wait lasted for three days.

It was evening when he finally received word from the General Affairs Department.

Without delay, he headed straight to the General Affairs Department and finally received the identity token he had been longing for.

After tucking the token away, he asked about the benefits and treatment associated with being an official water soldier.

This was the most important part of his visit.

"Lord Hong, let me briefly introduce the benefits of being an official water soldier..."

As the soldier spoke in detail, Hong Ming gained a further understanding of the treatment for official water soldiers.

Official water soldiers were indeed the foundation of the Water Army, and their benefits were far superior to those of non-official soldiers.

They were generally divided into three parts: monthly salary, cultivation resources, and provisions for food, clothing, and housing.

Regarding the monthly salary, an official water soldier would receive five silver coins for the first month.

It wasn't a high amount—equivalent to what Hong Ming earned in half a month of rowing—but the difference was that this was given for free.

Future monthly salaries were not fixed and would be determined by the combat battalion he was assigned to later.

However, according to the other man, it would only be higher than five silver coins, never lower!

Regarding cultivation, one Force-Nourishing Pill can be collected every half month; this is a medicinal pill that assists in the cultivation of force.

Furthermore, every official Water Army soldier will receive one free fist technique to cultivate.

This technique is called the Frost Sky Fist, and it will be taught personally by the instructor once Hong Ming reports to the Preparatory Camp.

As for daily necessities, regarding clothing, one can receive two sets of spring and autumn uniforms and boots; regarding food, one can eat free meals at the dining hall; regarding housing, one can move into a six-person dormitory; regarding transportation, there is currently no provision.

Having understood everything, Hong Ming did not go directly to the Preparatory Camp, but instead returned to his rented single room.

The hour was already late, and the Preparatory Camp would have long since emptied out, so he could only go tomorrow.

After putting his clothes away, Hong Ming set off for home, stopping on the way to buy some wine, food, and pastries to celebrate.

He arrived shortly after, and before he had even walked inside, he saw someone hurrying toward him from within the shop.

It was Zhong Ping, the manager of the Zhong Family Cloth Shop.

At this moment, he no longer possessed his original haughty air, saying with a face full of sycophancy, "This humble one, Zhong Ping, greets Master Hong!"

His tone was respectful and his attitude fawning; compared to the past, he seemed like a completely different person.

"Manager Zhong, why such a grand gesture?" Hong Ming's eyes flickered slightly as he asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.

Hearing the mockery in Hong Ming's words, Zhong Ping said in fear and trepidation, "Master Hong, this humble one was blind and committed many offenses previously. I have come to offer a sincere apology and hope you will be magnanimous and not hold it against me. This is a small token of my sincerity; it is not worth mentioning, just a way to celebrate your promotion, Master Hong!"

As he spoke, he took a silver ingot from his bosom—a generous sum worth ten taels!

"Since that is the case, then many thanks, Manager Zhong." Hong Ming did not refuse.

He accepted this money without any psychological burden, considering it the price for the wages Zhong Ping had previously withheld from him.

Seeing that Hong Ming was willing to let the matter slide, Zhong Ping felt as if he had been granted a pardon, saying with tears of gratitude, "Many thanks, Master Hong! Many thanks, Master Hong..."

He was even happier than Hong Ming.

Heaven knows how restless he had been ever since he learned that Hong Ming had become a Bright Force martial artist.

He felt as if one of his feet was already in the grave, and he was living in misery.

Perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration, but his fear was genuine.

A Bright Force martial artist, who was also a soldier in the Water Army—dealing with him would be nothing more than a single word, wouldn't it?

He had been so terrified that he hadn't slept a wink all last night.

Having finally endured until daybreak, he didn't dare delay for even a moment; he prepared his sincerity and hurried over without stopping to beg for forgiveness.

"Master Hong, then you go ahead and get busy. If you have any matters in the future, just give the order!"

Seeing the wine and food in Hong Ming's hands, Zhong Ping took the hint and took his leave.

Only after Hong Ming nodded did he dare to turn and depart.

However, he hadn't walked more than a few steps when he suddenly heard Hong Ming say, "Manager Zhong, I wonder how your shop handled that scoundrel Liu Hu who robbed the goods?"

The original owner had already reported this matter to the cloth shop.

"The scoundrel Liu Hu?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ping pondered for a moment before replying, "Reporting to Master Hong, this humble one does not know much about this matter. It is rumored that Liu Hu seems to have some connections, so the shop owner did not pursue the matter further."

He has connections?

Hong Ming's eyes flashed, but he said nothing more and waved his hand to dismiss Zhong Ping.

Zhong Ping felt not the slightest dissatisfaction with this and retreated slowly from Hong Ming's sight with a bow.

Once he was far away, he let out a long breath as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He straightened his back and suddenly felt a wave of chill; only then did he realize that his back had long since been soaked through with cold sweat.

After shaking himself off a few times, he returned to the cloth shop.

Halfway there, he suddenly ran into a group of aggressive-looking men coming straight toward him.

"Qian Bao?"