Do You Have the Right to Say No?

That night, Yang Ling took his Official Saber to an uninhabited spot near the village to practice the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique.

The house was too small to practice it properly. Punching was fine, but practicing with a saber would chop the entire house apart.

Before he knew it, two hours had passed.

His proficiency had increased by 5 points.

That was 2.5 per hour, exactly as he had previously guessed.

He practiced until dawn was nearly breaking before returning to the wooden cabin to cultivate the Vajra Wisdom King Art.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

After his experience increased by 13 points, it stopped moving.

"The Vajra Wisdom King Art's limit has also become 13 points."

"Nearly four hundred points a month. I should be able to break through to the second level in a little over two months."

At that moment, Chen Xu's voice came from outside, calling him down to the mine.

"..."

Yang Ling suddenly realized that he simply did not have enough time.

"I haven't practiced the Mountain-Crushing Fist today, and I have to mine, practice martial techniques, and cultivate my inner art. There's not enough time at all."

"If I don't find a way to balance everything, I may have to cut down on martial techniques in the future..."

"Right, can I buy something as precious as Spirit-Nourishing Pills with my own money?"

"If I can buy Spirit-Nourishing Pills, the issue of martial technique proficiency can be temporarily resolved..."

With that in mind, Yang Ling picked up his refined steel pickaxe and went out.

By the time he returned, it was already evening.

He continued practicing the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique.

This martial technique had follow-up effects, and its benefits far exceeded those of the Mountain-Crushing Fist, so he wanted to push its proficiency higher.

Before he knew it, dawn arrived again. He switched to cultivating the Vajra Wisdom King Art, using it in place of sleep to restore his energy, then went out to mine again.

For the next several days, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

New miners were sent to the mine vein every day, and Yang Ling had already spotted several groups of players.

But he could not be bothered to pay them any attention.

He only interacted with Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing.

The two had also learned some lessons from Lin Guoliang's case and temporarily avoided contact with those players.

Mine Tunnel No. 4.

As Yang Ling mined, he suddenly felt a warm current.

He was about to level up.

A faint joy rose in his heart.

Sure enough, a crisp and pleasant sound rang out:

"Ding!"

Congratulations, you have leveled up and gained 1 free attribute point.

Without much thought, Yang Ling directly added it to Spirit.

"About time. Let's call it a day."

After leaving the mine vein, Yang Ling found another place to practice the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique.

As he practiced, another warm current appeared.

The Official Saber in his hand suddenly became several degrees sharper! Its speed also increased dramatically!

Yang Ling opened his status panel for a look:

Character: Yang Ling

Class: Constable

Level: 14

Strength: 11

Agility: 5

Spirit: 26

Exclusive Skill: Insight

Martial Arts: Vajra Wisdom King Art (Initial Mastery)

Experience: 140/1000

Mountain-Crushing Fist (Complete Integration)

Proficiency: 102/10000

Bandit-Catching Saber Technique (Initial Mastery)

Proficiency: 0/1000

Health: 210

"When I circulate my inner art, my Agility increases by 15 points. Adding the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique's 3 points and my base 5 points, my Agility can reach 23 points as well..."

Yang Ling's expression shifted as the Vajra Wisdom King Art slowly began circulating.

Holding the Official Saber, he unleashed the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique.

His saber grew faster and faster, while his body darted and shifted across the open ground.

At some point, a light rain began falling from the sky.

Yet beneath the sharp pressure of his saber, the rain could not approach him for the moment.

Yang Ling suddenly locked onto a tree as thick as a foot across and slashed down!

Pfft—

The tree was easily cleaved into two!

Only then did the rain gently fall upon Yang Ling, making him feel slightly chilled.

"So this is saber technique."

Yang Ling stared at the tree split in two and could not help falling into thought.

At most, he could currently grant himself 32 points of Strength.

Yet even if he used the Mountain-Crushing Fist, 32 points of Strength would not be enough to break this tree in a short time.

It would take at least two or three punches.

"This is probably why this saber has 20 points of attack power."

"It seems weapons naturally hold an advantage over bare hands."

"Accordingly, martial techniques like swordsmanship and saber techniques should be harder to obtain. If I hadn't become a constable, I wouldn't have gotten a saber technique so quickly."

Yang Ling immediately formed a plan.

From now on, he would focus on cultivating the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique. The Mountain-Crushing Fist could be put aside for the time being.

If his Vajra Wisdom King Art advanced to the second level,

and the Bandit-Catching Saber Technique reached Perfect Mastery, then his saber momentum would become utterly terrifying!

"I wonder how my current strength compares to Xu Qing and Hui Neng."

"I should be no weaker than the latter, though I may still be somewhat weaker than Xu Qing."

"But without an absolute advantage in strength, if I truly faced experts of their level, they definitely would not panic like Wu Que did. If they then used their extensive combat experience against me, I might not win."

Yang Ling pondered as he headed toward the wooden cabin.

After returning to the cabin, he continued cultivating the Vajra Wisdom King Art.

Until Chen Xu's voice came from outside.

The moment Chen Xu saw Yang Ling step outside, he hurried over and said quietly:

"Brother Yang, it seems another important figure has arrived today. I saw Steward Niu eagerly heading to Supervisor Wu's residence."

"Is that so?"

Yang Ling smiled. "That has nothing to do with us. Let's go mine."

"Right, let's go mine!"

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing nodded excitedly.

They felt that their next level-up was not far away.

They had not mined for long this time when a mine guard suddenly entered the tunnel and called for Yang Ling, saying he was to go to Supervisor Wu's residence.

"While I'm gone, mine outside. Don't go down into the tunnels. There are quite a few ore bandits here, so be careful."

After giving them this warning, Yang Ling headed for Supervisor Wu's residence.

He knew that someone from the Mountains and Rivers Sect had come to audit the accounts.

"A shortfall of a full three thousand jin? Hahaha! How exactly have you been serving as steward here?"

A grim-faced middle-aged man in brocade robes laughed in fury.

Steward Niu's face was somewhat pale. He had not expected the inventory to be short by three thousand jin!

"Where is Wu Que? Why is he absent when he clearly knew I was coming today?"

the middle-aged man asked coldly.

"Lord Li, please don't be anxious. I've already sent someone to call Yang Ling."

Steward Niu said with a bitter smile.

The middle-aged man said nothing further and waited quietly.

The moment Yang Ling arrived, he was met by the man's sharp gaze.

"Tell me Wu Que's whereabouts."

The other party went straight to the point.

Yang Ling repeated the explanation he had previously given Steward Niu.

"You don't know where he went either?"

The middle-aged man's gaze sharpened.

"I now suspect Wu Que of stealing Fire Crystal Rock. You seem to have been rather close to him, so come back to the Mountains and Rivers Sect with me."

"My lord, Supervisor Wu and I were not acquainted. He merely asked me to help him compete over ore, but it never came to that."

Yang Ling paused before saying, "As for going to the Mountains and Rivers Sect, I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Not possible? Do you have the right to say no?"

the other party shouted sternly.

Yang Ling said, "I am now a constable of Green Mountain City and have joined the Iron Garment Division. I occasionally need to be on duty, so I truly cannot go to the Mountains and Rivers Sect."

"Uh."

The other party froze for a moment and glanced at Steward Niu.

Steward Niu slapped his forehead. "Look at me—I got so frightened that I forgot to mention it. Yang Ling truly is now a constable of Green Mountain City."

"Oh..."

The other party's expression eased somewhat, and he spoke to Yang Ling more politely:

"Constable Yang, was anything unusual when you and Wu Que stayed in Green Mountain City that night?"

"Nothing seemed unusual... Wait, Supervisor Wu should have gone out once. He only returned around daytime."

Yang Ling's expression shifted as he spoke.