Entering the Personal Guard Battalion

The day after Li Jinshui entered the Inner Strength Realm, the governor's messenger arrived.

"Centurion Li, the governor requests your presence."

As Li Jinshui followed the messenger into the General's Mansion, he had a pretty good idea what this was about.

Sure enough, Zhao Zheng was seated in the place of honor. When he saw Li Jinshui enter, his eyes lit up. He gave him a once-over, then burst into laughter.

"Good! Good! Good!" He said the word three times in a row, stood up, and walked over to Li Jinshui. "Inner Strength Realm! Three days ago, you were still at the ninth level of Body Forging. Now you've broken through to Inner Strength? How?"

Li Jinshui lowered his head. "I was practicing last night, and it came naturally."

"Came naturally?" Zhao Zheng studied him for a while, then suddenly laughed again. "All right. However you broke through, the breakthrough itself is impressive."

He patted Li Jinshui on the shoulder. "As we agreed, once you broke through to the Inner Strength Realm, you'd join my Personal Guard Battalion. From today on, you're one of us."

Li Jinshui clasped his fists. "Thank you, Governor."

"Don't thank me just yet." Zhao Zheng waved a hand. "The Personal Guard Battalion's benefits are far better than a centurion's. Twenty taels a month, fifty jin of meat, and five Blood-Qi Pills every month. And—"

He picked up a token from the desk and handed it to Li Jinshui.

"The Scripture Pavilion in the General's Mansion is now fully open to you. No military merit required. Go in whenever you want, and take whatever cultivation technique you want."

Li Jinshui took the token and looked down. Unlike the one he'd received last time, this one was solid gold, with the character "Order" engraved on it.

"This is the Personal Guard Battalion's token?" he asked.

"That's right." Zhao Zheng nodded. "In all of North-Rejecting City, fewer than twenty people can enter the Scripture Pavilion and take whatever techniques they please. You're the seventeenth."

Li Jinshui tightened his grip on the token, his mind racing as he weighed the possibilities.

Full access to the Scripture Pavilion.

Take whatever cultivation technique he wanted.

That meant—

He could record every cultivation technique he could learn into his panel.

No need to specialize in one. No need to agonize over what to choose.

He'd take them all.

He had his panel, after all. As long as he had points, he could put them into anything.

"Thank you, Governor," he said. This time, there was a little more sincerity in his voice.

Zhao Zheng waved a hand. "Go on. Rest up these next few days and get familiar with the rules of the Personal Guard Battalion. Once the regular army arrives, you'll have your hands full."

Li Jinshui nodded and turned to leave, but then Zhao Zheng spoke behind him.

"Oh, right. You can come and go from the camp as you please these next few days. The fighting's over, and the vanguard has withdrawn. The restaurants in the city are open, so go unwind."

Li Jinshui paused and looked back.

Zhao Zheng smiled at him, his expression carrying a hint of deeper meaning.

Li Jinshui nodded and strode away.

The Scripture Pavilion was still the same small, blue-brick building, and the two old soldiers with white hair and beards were still at the entrance.

Li Jinshui handed over the golden token. After checking it, one of the old men looked up at him, surprise flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"From the Personal Guard Battalion?" He glanced at Li Jinshui. "You've got talent, young man."

Li Jinshui said nothing and pushed open the door.

This time, he didn't have to leave after just one hour.

He first went to the internal arts section, picked up Evergreen Art, and flipped through it again to confirm it had already been recorded. Then he headed for the blade techniques section.

The racks were lined with every kind of blade technique, dazzling to the eye.

His gaze swept over them, finally settling on a booklet made of animal hide—White Tiger Blade Technique.

On the first page, it read: This technique was created by the General of the North-Suppressing. Its strikes are fierce and deadly, its power unmatched. It consists of seven forms, each powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone. Once mastered, blade energy takes shape, like a white tiger pouncing on its prey.

The General of the North-Suppressing.

The very general who commanded an army of a hundred and fifty thousand and was heading to Yanmen Pass to confront the main force of the Di People.

Li Jinshui put the booklet away.

He continued on.

The footwork section.

He remembered the night raid, when he'd run dozens of li until his legs nearly gave out. If he had a footwork technique suited to long-distance marching, he wouldn't have to exhaust himself like that next time.

He searched around and finally found a booklet in the corner—Marching Step.

On the first page, it read: This footwork technique was created by the General of the North-Suppressing and designed specifically for long-distance assaults. Once mastered, one can travel a hundred li in a day without tiring. It is suited to forced marches by large armies.

A hundred li a day.

Li Jinshui nodded and put it away.

He also remembered the fighting on the city walls. Sometimes, all that separated him from landing a killing blow was the blink of an eye. If only there were a footwork technique that could unleash speed over an extremely short distance—

He kept searching.

Inch Step.

The booklet read: A method of moving at extreme speed over short distances. Within a square inch, one moves like a ghost, like a phantom. Once mastered, no one can escape within a single step.

This was the one.

He headed for the fist techniques section.

He had a blade technique and footwork. All he lacked was a close-combat skill.

His gaze swept across the racks of fist techniques before finally settling on a thin booklet—Iron Thread Fist.

It read: This technique specializes in close-quarters combat, combining hardness and softness. The fist shoots out like an iron thread, appearing light and delicate, yet its force penetrates muscle and bone. Once mastered, a single punch can shatter a person's internal organs.

Li Jinshui cradled the four booklets in his arms and went to the entrance to register them.

The old soldier stared at the stack in his arms and froze. "You're taking this many?"

Li Jinshui nodded.

The old soldier opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he kept it to himself. He merely shook his head and wrote them down in the register:

"White Tiger Blade Technique, Marching Step, Inch Step, Iron Thread Fist."

He looked up at Li Jinshui. "Young man, bite off more than you can chew, and you'll choke. Any one of these techniques could take you years to master."

Li Jinshui said nothing, only smiled.

The old soldier shook his head and said no more.

Back at camp, Li Jinshui set the four booklets on his bed and sat down cross-legged.

He opened White Tiger Blade Technique first.

As soon as he finished reading the first page of the formula, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind—

[Blade technique detected... Recording...]

[Recording complete: White Tiger Blade Technique]

[White Tiger Blade Technique: Not yet initiated (0/50)]

Next, he opened Marching Step.

[Recording complete: Marching Step]

[Marching Step: Not yet initiated (0/30)]

Inch Step.

[Recording complete: Inch Step]

[Inch Step: Not yet initiated (0/40)]

Iron Thread Fist.

[Recording complete: Iron Thread Fist]

[Iron Thread Fist: Not yet initiated (0/40)]

Looking at the four "Not yet initiated" entries on his panel, Li Jinshui slowly curled his lips into a smile.

It didn't matter if they weren't initiated yet.

As long as he had points, initiation would take just an instant.

He put the four booklets away and placed them together with Evergreen Art and Rock Body.

He now had six cultivation techniques.

Evergreen Art, Rock Body, White Tiger Blade Technique, Marching Step, Inch Step, and Iron Thread Fist.

And on top of those, Iron Shirt, Wolf Killing Seven Forms, and Tiger Walk were already at perfection.

That was enough.

As long as he had enough time and killed enough people—

He'd master all these techniques to perfection.

Footsteps sounded outside. The door opened, and Monkey poked his head in.

"Jinshui! I heard you joined the Personal Guard Battalion?"

Li Jinshui nodded.

Monkey's eyes lit up. He rushed in and plopped down beside him. "Holy crap! The Personal Guard Battalion! It's the best in all of North-Rejecting City! So you belong to the governor now?"

Li Jinshui thought for a moment. "You could say that."

Monkey grinned, happier than if he'd joined the Personal Guard Battalion himself.

After laughing for a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something. Lowering his voice, he asked, "By the way, I just heard someone say the governor's letting us come and go from camp as we please. Is that true?"

Li Jinshui nodded. "It is."

Monkey's eyes lit up even more. "Then how about we head into the city tonight? To Drunken Immortal Restaurant? To Gentle Haven?"

Li Jinshui looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Sure."

Monkey's grin stretched from ear to ear.

That evening, the two of them gathered their things and headed into the city.

As they walked, Monkey chattered away, asking this and that. Li Jinshui answered now and then, but most of the time he just listened.

When they reached the city gate, Li Jinshui suddenly remembered something and asked Monkey, "Do you have any money on you?"

Monkey felt around inside his clothes and pulled out a few pieces of broken silver. "Yeah. Why?"

Li Jinshui took a pouch of fifty taels of silver from his clothes and tossed it to Monkey.

Monkey caught it and opened it. His eyes went wide. "Holy crap! Fifty taels?! Where'd you get this?"

Li Jinshui didn't answer. He only said, "My treat tonight."

Monkey stared blankly at him, then at the pouch of silver. Suddenly, he grinned.

"Sounds good! Tonight we're milking the rich guy!"

The two of them walked through the city gate and disappeared into the lights.

The General's Mansion.

Zhao Zheng stood by the window, gazing at the lights of the distant city gate.

A personal guard stood behind him, reporting.

"...Li Jinshui visited the Scripture Pavilion today and took four techniques: White Tiger Blade Technique, Marching Step, Inch Step, and Iron Thread Fist."

Zhao Zheng raised an eyebrow. "Four? The kid's got quite an appetite."

The guard hesitated. "Governor, should we remind him? Bite off more than he can chew, and he'll choke..."

Zhao Zheng waved a hand.

"No need."

He looked out the window, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

"Someone who can go from the ninth level of Body Forging to the Inner Strength Realm in three days can't be judged by ordinary standards."

He paused, his voice as soft as a mutter to himself:

"I'm curious to see just how far that kid can go."

Outside the window, night deepened.

The lights of North-Rejecting City swayed in the darkness, like countless eyes.