I'll Take That Position

All night, until dawn.

Early in the morning, Fang Xing woke up bright and early.

After breakfast and washing up, he instinctively checked the Crimson Panel.

Name: Fang Xing

Cultivation: Bright Force

Enhancement Level: One Star (3%)

Enhancement Points: Sixteen

"Hm?"

"Sixteen?"

Fang Xing froze when he saw the Enhancement Points on the panel.

They had increased by two!

What was going on?

"Could it be related to my breakthrough in cultivation?"

A thought surfaced in his mind.

Fang Xing stared at the Crimson Panel, his eyes gleaming.

He remembered clearly.

Yesterday, it had been fourteen points, but now it had become sixteen.

Two Enhancement Points a day.

"It should be. If that's the case, then once I break through to Dark Force, I should be able to gain even more Enhancement Points."

The thought flashed through his mind, and his heart warmed with excitement.

The stronger his cultivation, the more Enhancement Points he would gain.

Two a day at Bright Force. How many could he get each day at Dark Force?!

Three?

Or double?!

If things kept progressing like this, he would definitely gain even more Enhancement Points in the future.

With enough Enhancement Points, improving himself wouldn't be a problem.

A virtuous cycle!

Looking at the Crimson Panel, he felt a sudden clarity spread through him.

Wonderful!

At this rate, reaching the transcendent and entering sainthood would be no problem.

In thirty days, he could earn sixty Enhancement Points.

If he stuck with it for a month, he would have enough to enhance Capture Hand.

"I have sixteen now... I'm still forty-eight Enhancement Points short. At this rate, I'll be able to enhance my martial arts in just twenty-four days."

"I'll just have to be patient for now."

Looking at the Crimson Panel, Fang Xing quickly made up his mind.

Putting up with it for twenty-odd days wouldn't be a problem.

Once his martial arts were enhanced, with his heaven-gifted comprehension, his strength would surely rise by leaps and bounds.

As for breaking through from Bright Force to Dark Force, that wasn't something he could accomplish easily.

It was several times harder than reaching Bright Force after hitting the Blood-Qi Limit.

The Three Foundation Establishment Realms were like three Dragon Gates!

Each gate stood higher and was harder to cross than the last!

The Dragon Gate for Bright Force was three zhang high. The one for Dark Force was ten zhang, while the Dragon Gate for Transformation Force towered over a hundred zhang!

Martial cultivation was like a pyramid!

After crossing one Dragon Gate, a person might spend their entire life struggling to cross the next.

Talent, physique, aptitude, comprehension, fortune—these factors all played a huge role!

There was no need to rush.

After closing the panel, Fang Xing left home and headed for the County Yamen.

He crossed the streets and soon reached the County Yamen.

By the time he entered the ward office, almost everyone else had arrived.

"Le, why do you look so pale?"

Fang Xing came over to Xu Le. Seeing how pale he looked and sensing his weakened blood and qi, Fang Xing couldn't help asking.

"Ugh, don't ask. I failed at Gate Knocking," Xu Le sighed.

"Failed at Gate Knocking..." Fang Xing froze.

From his memories, Xu Le had reached the Blood-Qi Limit almost six months ago.

This was his first attempt at Gate Knocking, but who would have thought that half a year of preparation still wouldn't be enough?

No wonder his blood and qi were depleted after failing.

Without the help of his enhancement ability, he might well have ended up just like Xu Le.

For ordinary people, this step was simply too difficult.

Failing at Gate Knocking meant spending a long time recovering one's blood and qi, as well as using up considerable resources to stabilize oneself again.

The older a person got, the fewer advantages they had.

By the standards of this world, if someone failed to break through by the age of twenty, their chances of reaching Bright Force were extremely slim.

They might never reach Bright Force at all.

Xu Le was nineteen this year. In other words, after this failed attempt, his chances of reaching Bright Force were probably poor.

"I can't support him just yet... I'll wait. At the very least, I need to reach Dark Force myself first."

Looking at Xu Le's dejected face, Fang Xing thought to himself.

Xu Le had treated him well.

Whether toward his former self or during the month or so they had spent together, Fang Xing had a good impression of him.

Still, even though he had reached Bright Force, there wasn't much support he could offer.

Things would be different once he reached Dark Force.

By then, giving Xu Le some resources and helping him reach Bright Force wouldn't be much of a problem.

At present, he was already struggling to provide for his own cultivation and couldn't offer much support.

"It's fine. Failure is the mother of success. Take your time to recover, and you'll definitely succeed at Gate Knocking one day," Fang Xing said, patting him on the shoulder.

Xu Le sighed. "Easy for you to say. After failing this time, I'm afraid it'll be hard for me to try again. I might have to give up on martial cultivation here."

Fang Xing could only offer words of comfort.

Just then, Xu Zhengxiong appeared at the ward office entrance, dressed in a red constable uniform.

Everyone quieted down and looked at Xu Zhengxiong.

Xu Zhengxiong surveyed the room, then went to sit in the chair at its center. "Let's start with something today. It concerns changes to the North City ward office."

Everyone was taken aback.

But soon, someone in the crowd seemed to understand. A young man looked at Xu Zhengxiong and asked, "Boss, is this change you mentioned about the Deputy Constable position?"

Deputy Constable.

The question immediately drew everyone's attention to Xu Zhengxiong.

The previous Deputy Constable had died in the line of duty while pursuing a fugitive, leaving the position at the North City ward office vacant for over a month.

It was obvious that what Xu Zhengxiong had brought up today was, with a ninety-percent likelihood, about filling the Deputy Constable vacancy.

As the Constable's deputy, the Deputy Constable outranked all the other constables.

It was a position every constable wanted.

Everyone's excitement surged.

But it lasted only an instant before their spirits quickly settled again.

The Deputy Constable position wasn't one just anyone could fill.

There was one ironclad requirement.

The candidate had to be a martial artist!

But at the North City ward office, Xu Zhengxiong was the only martial artist. The others weren't, and some hadn't even reached the Blood-Qi Limit.

They had no chance of taking the Deputy Constable position.

The only possibility left was that someone would be transferred from another ward office.

At that thought, everyone's expressions changed.

The County Yamen had four ward offices, each its own little circle.

Having one of their own promoted was completely different from having an outsider parachuted in.

No one knew who might be sent over, or what their temperament and disposition would be!

The ward office fell silent.

Looking at their expressions, Xu Zhengxiong said calmly, "That's exactly what I'm talking about. The county magistrate has issued an order: the Deputy Constable position must be filled."

"Boss, has a candidate already been chosen?" one constable asked.

Xu Zhengxiong looked at him. "There are currently two candidates: one from the East Ward Office and one from the South Ward Office. Nothing has been fully decided yet, but we should have an answer today."

Everyone fell silent.

They wanted to compete for it, but their strength simply wouldn't allow it.

A martial artist!

Without being one, they had no right to take the position!

"Too bad none of our own can keep up," Xu Le sighed.

Hearing that, Fang Xing glanced at him. "Le, do you think it'd be better if one of our own got the position?"

"Obviously. We know our own people well, so of course that'd be better." Xu Le rolled his eyes.

Fang Xing smiled faintly. "Then I'll take that position."

Xu Le: "???"

As soon as he said that, Fang Xing strode forward and came to stand before Xu Zhengxiong.

Everyone stared, stunned.

But what Fang Xing said next left them even more dumbfounded.

"Boss, since it hasn't been decided yet, I'd like to try for the position."

Fang Xing cupped his hands in salute, neither servile nor overbearing, his expression calm.

The moment he spoke, the entire room fell silent!