Situation

The Gold Jade Mo Pi Fa needs one hundred experience points to be raised to Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment, and three hundred points to be raised to Great Accomplishment.

"Now that my Mo Pi is at Minor Accomplishment, my Qi, blood, endurance have all improved. Next, I'll change the Mo Pi practice from twice at dawn and dusk to three times a day, which I should be able to withstand. If that's the case, it will probably take another ten days to reach Mo Pi Great Accomplishment."

Chen Mu thought to himself.

Mo Pi Great Accomplishment!

For ordinary people, it would take at least a year of hard work, but he can achieve it in less than a month. This kind of progress is unimaginable for ordinary people, but it is just right for him.

Now his apparent strength is that he has not yet practiced body tempering methods, and has only practiced Saber Intent. Therefore, it is best to lie low carefully, accumulate background, and silently practice Mo Pi to perfection, or even step into Lian Rou.

Just as he was thinking.

Suddenly, the old servant's voice sounded from outside.

"Master, Master Min has come to visit."

"He's here."

As soon as Chen Mu heard this, he immediately restrained his thoughts, quickly put on his clothes, stood up, and greeted him at the door.

He saw Min Baoyi standing outside in plain clothes. Seeing Chen Mu come out, he smiled and said, "Brother, are you free today? Will you accompany your brother for a few drinks?"

"Since brother invites, how dare I refuse."

Chen Mu cupped his hands, turned around and instructed the old servant a few words, then followed Min Baoyi out the door.

Min Baoyi didn't bring anyone with him, just himself. He led Chen Mu along the clean and tidy bluestone streets, walking while twitching his nose slightly, and said, "Brother, you should be practicing Mo Pi Fa, right? Am I delaying your practice?"

"Just finished practicing."

Chen Mu didn't hide it. Practicing Mo Pi Fa is naturally not a secret.

Min Baoyi smiled and said, "The Gold Jade Mo Pi Fa is a very good skill. If I could have used this Mo Pi Fa to get started when I was young, maybe I would have hoped to step into the realm of Yi Jin now. It's a pity that I only got the Yu Family's support later."

"Yu Family?"

Chen Mu was slightly startled when he heard Min Baoyi's words.

Min Baoyi pointed out the 'Gold Jade Mo Pi Fa' in one sentence, indicating that his relationship with Xu Hongyu was more than just a simple superior-subordinate relationship, and was probably Xu Hongyu's confidant. But Chen Mu was a little confused about the Yu Family mentioned later.

But then Min Baoyi explained his doubts.

"Although Chief Constable is surnamed Xu, she is a direct descendant of the Yu Family..."

Min Baoyi simply pointed out Xu Hongyu's background. The Yu Family in the Inner City has a huge influence, spread all over the city. He was able to sit in the position of Yamen Director because of the Yu Family's support. After Xu Hongyu took office as Chief Constable, he naturally became Xu Hongyu's direct descendant.

Soon.

Min Baoyi took Chen Mu to a restaurant in Middle Street. With the shopkeeper's personal reception, they asked for an elegant room on the second floor. They entered the elegant room and sat down with Chen Mu, and then began to talk in detail about the various forces in Yu City.

During the few days that Chen Mu served as Yamen Runner Captain, although most of his time was spent practicing saber techniques and Mo Pi Fa, he actually learned about some of the forces in Yu City through various aspects, but many parts were relatively vague, far less clear than Min Baoyi.

"There are four major families in this Inner City, namely the Yu, He, Xie, and Xue families. The City Lord's surname is Xue, I don't think I need to say more about this... The remaining three families, the Xie Family controls 99% of the medicinal material business in Yu City. Basically, all the martial artists need for cultivation must go through their hands. The He Family monopolizes the iron refining and cloth business, and the Yu Family controls the salt affairs."

Min Baoyi spoke eloquently, obviously these were not secrets for people with a little status.

Chen Mu had a vague understanding of these news before, but now that he heard it clearly, he was not surprised. Yu City is a big city with a population of over one million. Mastering salt, iron, cloth, and medicinal materials basically controls 99% of it.

As for rice and grain... this most important thing, naturally cannot be controlled by one family alone. It's estimated that all four families have a hand in it, just like the City Guard of the Outer City, which isn't controlled by a single family.

"Salt business..."

Mentioning the salt business, Chen Mu was thoughtful. Unfortunately, he wasn't a talent in the chemical industry in his previous life, and he never thought of collecting any salt and iron refining methods for 'emergencies'. There's no profit to be gained in this area.

Master Min only mentioned the four families of the Inner City briefly, and then spoke of the City Guard.

"Yu City has a population of over a million. The four City Guards of the east, south, west, and north together total more than ten thousand people. Now, basically, all four families want to control this division and turn it into their private army. Therefore, they secretly undermine each other. He Mingxuan, the Deputy Chief Constable of the South District, comes from the He Family of the Inner City and is at odds with the Chief Constable. You must be careful of this person in the City Guard in the future."

Master Min lowered his voice slightly as he said this.

Chen Mu's eyes flickered upon hearing this, revealing a thoughtful expression, and he cupped his fist and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Min."

He didn't know this kind of news before. Although he had always vaguely guessed that the City Guard was not a monolithic entity, it now seemed to be the case. Xu Hongyu didn't directly transfer him to the Main Division, but instead let him stay in the Nine Stripes Ward City Guard to 'train', probably wanting him to grow more.

After all, the Nine Stripes Ward City Guard belongs to Master Min's territory. It can be said that Master Min almost has absolute power there, which is a relatively safe environment for him. Once he goes to the Main Division, he will be directly involved in the conflict between the two major Power of Intents. Various conspiracies and tricks will emerge, and a single mistake could lead to eternal doom. Not only will he be unable to do things for Xu Hongyu, but he may also become a burden.

Seeing Chen Mu's solemn expression, Master Min laughed again to ease the atmosphere and said, "There's no need to worry too much. The Chief Constable is ultimately above that person, and this Nine Stripes Ward is my territory. As long as you are cautious, nothing will happen."

"In addition, there are the 'Red Gold Gang' and the 'Black Crow Sect' in the Nine Stripes Ward. Try not to provoke these two forces. I haven't figured out who is behind the Red Gold Gang for the time being, but it's nothing more than those few families. As for this Black Crow Sect..."

Speaking of this.

Master Min revealed a hint of fear and said, "This Black Crow Sect seems to only bewitch some ordinary people, respecting its teachings and worshiping some Black Crow God, but in reality, it is also taking the opportunity to amass wealth, and the mastermind behind it is also a vicious person."

Chen Mu was very clear about the two forces, the Red Gold Gang and the Black Crow Sect. As a Yamen Runner Captain, two days ago, a deputy gang leader of the Red Gold Gang came to visit and gave him a 'Moving gift'.

This Moving gift was very interesting. It was a sum of silver along with two people. The two people were the gang members who had tried to kidnap Wang Ni earlier, took his money, and left. They were beaten black and blue and thrown there.

Chen Mu didn't take this matter to heart. Since the other party gave him so much face, he gave the other party a step down, accepted the silver, and considered the matter completely settled, with no follow-up.

As for the Black Crow Sect...

Any similar force is quite dangerous in a chaotic world.

It seems that this world is ruled by martial artists. Even if ordinary refugees and rioters form hundreds of thousands of people, it is impossible to cause much trouble, but in reality, it is not the case.

Amassing wealth on a large scale through similar forces, and then using the collected money to cultivate elites, this is their path.

In the Body Tempering Method, the two steps of Mo Pi and Lian Rou can basically be piled up with resources. If you don't consider the side effects and the damage to the body, using the worst quality formula, it doesn't take two hundred taels of silver to pile up a Lian Rou martial artist.

Although the overall quality of this kind of forcibly created existence is extremely poor, if there are a large number of them, it is quite remarkable. If there are a few hundred people, equipped with armor and weapons, it is quite terrifying. It is even possible for someone to comprehend the Power of Intent.

Actually.

Nowadays, families with a little power are secretly cultivating such private soldiers.

"In addition to these two gangs, the other people from all walks of life basically have no background and don't need to be concerned about. There are no noteworthy powerful figures in the Nine Stripes Ward. People with a little power either move to the Inner City or to the central area of the South District." Master Min briefly talked about the situation in the Nine Stripes Ward.

"Understood."

Chen Mu nodded slightly.

Master Min picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Alright, I've explained it to you clearly. You should concentrate on practicing your skills now. In two or three years, when you break through to the Lian Rou realm, you can be transferred to the Main Division to help Master Xu."

As he spoke, Master Min felt a little emotional in his heart. He was born as an affiliate of the Yu Family and had practiced martial arts since childhood, but the Saber Intent stage had stuck him for many years. He didn't comprehend it until he was thirty-four years old. If he could have done it earlier and received more attention, things might be different now.

Chen Mu, however, first cultivated the Saber Intent and caught Xu Hongyu's eye, but it was a bit late to start practicing the Body Tempering Method now, delaying a lot of time. It is estimated that it will take three or four months to reach Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment, then one year to reach Great Accomplishment, and two or three years to reach Perfection.

It wouldn't be difficult to reach his current realm before the age of thirty.

It's just that taking it a step further to impact the third realm, Yi Jin, would be very difficult. A step behind now means being behind every step.

A Lian Rou martial artist who has mastered Saber Intent is considered someone in the outer city, but looking at the entire Yu City, they are only considered middle-class. Only those who step into the third realm of Yi Jin, who can unleash a thousand pounds of force with every move, can be considered to have entered the upper class and be able to grasp Power of Intent in the Inner City.