Zhao Quan

Daybreak was just beginning to touch the sky.

Li Feng stepped early through the gates of the City Guard Office.

Following his usual routine, he found his old spot in the front courtyard to sit, brewed a pot of coarse tea, and sipped it leisurely.

The debt for the Water-Cutting Saber Art had finally been paid off yesterday, granting him the rare luxury of sleeping in, which had him arriving unusually early today.

Normally, because he had to bitterly train in his blade technique through the night, he would always arrive right on the dot. The hour was still quite early now, leaving the front courtyard cold, quiet, and almost devoid of figures.

After waiting for a long time, Zhang San and a few familiar constables finally strolled in while yawning.

At that moment, Sun Yan also strode through the courtyard gates. Over the past month, Li Feng had been on duty by day and training with his blade by night, having almost no intersection with Sun Yan and rarely paying attention to him. Yet today, with time to spare, Li Feng glanced casually at him over his teacup and instantly detected subtle changes in the fellow's body.

This kind of trace left by the settling of qi and blood... Is it an internal training method?

Li Feng narrowed his eyes and pondered to himself.

Compared to a month ago, Sun Yan's complexion was noticeably much darker, and the skin exposed outside his clothes appeared somewhat rougher. Yet as he walked, his lower stance was steady, and his flesh and skin exuded a solid, grounded vigor-this clearly showed he had already begun contacting the "Skin-Grinding Method".

Yet, connecting this to the information he had learned from the pawnshop manager yesterday, this path of the Martial Dao-whether practicing external blades and swords or internal skin and flesh-was entirely the effort of dripping water piercing stone, and could never be rushed overnight.

Given Sun Yan's talent, even if his family sent him to a martial arts hall in the Inner City and provided him with the careful guidance of a martial arts hall master, wanting to bring the Skin-Grinding Method to the elementary threshold would take anywhere from three to five months, or even half a year. As for training it to perfection, that had to be measured in years, and was impossible without three to five years.

I heard Sister-in-law mention that the chief constables of the City Guard Office all cultivate a Skin-Grinding Method as well. I just don't know to what extent they have actually trained it...

Li Feng withdrew his gaze with a thoughtful expression.

This Sun Yan truly has extraordinary encounters. I originally thought that even if he went to the Inner City, he would only learn some external martial arts and blade techniques, but I never expected he would actually learn an internal training method either.

Li Feng shook his head slightly.

He was still pondering how he could scrape together more money to buy a Skin-Grinding Method.

"Brother Feng, why are you here so early today?"

Zhang San, Chen Song, and the others saw that Li Feng was already seated there, immediately greeted him with smiles, and crowded around.

After the group poured a few cups of hot tea and chatted casually for a moment.

A crisp sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from the front courtyard entrance. Everyone raised their heads to look and saw the newly appointed Chief Constable Jiang Yue wearing a crisp set of blue constable uniform, her expression cold and detached.

She was holding a stack of brand-new yellow paper, walked straight up in front of the crowd, and said in a loud voice, "The new wanted notice is out."

"The wanted major criminal Liu Wu stole valuables in the Inner City and is now roaming the Outer City. Providing accurate clues yields a reward of fifty silver taels; executing this person on the spot yields a reward of two hundred silver taels; capturing this person alive yields a reward of four hundred silver taels!"

Rustle, rustle!

Hearing this, all the constables immediately swarmed forward.

Li Feng, however, still sat steadily in his original spot, sipping his tea in a measured manner.

Relying on his agility, Zhang San was the first to squeeze into the front row and quickly brought back a sheet of yellow paper.

Chen Song took the yellow paper. A human face was drawn upon it, and the artist's craftsmanship was quite good-even the relatively distinct black patch on the forehead area had been drawn.

He immediately exclaimed with amazement, "Tsk tsk, what on earth did this Liu Wu steal? Just providing a clue is worth fifty taels, executing him on the spot is worth two hundred, and capturing him alive is actually worth four hundred. Did this fellow dig up the ancestral graves of some big shot in the Inner City or something?"

Wanted notices like this were common in the City Guard Office, and they were issued from time to time, but generally, a bounty of thirty or forty silver taels for a live capture was already considered very high. Bounties reaching four hundred silver taels like this one happened only a few times a year.

"Stealing valuables? Heh heh, I reckon the things he stole are worth far more than four hundred taels."

Zhang San let out a "heh heh" laugh and sat down to continue drinking his tea, evidently not paying much attention to this wanted notice.

Li Feng, however, fell into deep thought.

Four hundred taels... If he could get his hands on this colossal sum of wealth, he could immediately buy the "Black Jade Bone-Molding Paste".

Yet this thought flashed by for only a moment. Bandits worth this kind of price were definitely not targets for a low-level constable like him to provoke. If he dared to harbor ambitions, he might not live to see the next day. No matter how much silver there was, one needed to have the life to collect it.

After all, any fool could guess that a major criminal hunted with a bounty of four hundred silver taels was a terrifying existence to bottom-tier constables like them-the kind who would be instantly killed the moment they laid eyes on each other.

Furthermore, in the past whenever the City Guard Office issued imperial arrest warrants, they would always casually send an ordinary errand-running runner to handle it. Yet this time, the newly appointed Chief Constable Jiang had personally brought over the document. This kind of stance was enough to show that the case the thief had committed was far from being as simple as just "stealing valuables."

If it were someone carrying a bounty of a few dozen silver taels, he might weigh his strength before considering it. But at this level, it was better not to join the excitement; he would do much better honestly saving up silver to buy a basic Skin-Grinding Method and stepping into the Qi-Blood Second Level as quickly as possible.

"I reckon only the chief constables and constable commanders would even consider this."

Zhang San took a sip of hot tea and spoke.

Chen Song, standing to the side, was meanwhile shaking his head mysteriously, looking left and right to check that no one was paying attention to this area before he leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice, "Have you heard? Chief Constable Zhao is truly stepping down this time."

Li Feng heard this with some surprise. "Old Man Zhao usually regards his position as more important than his own life. How could he bear to step down?"

The Chief Constable Zhao whom Chen Song spoke of went by the full name Zhao Quan. He was the most senior and oldest person in the City Guard Office, looking as though he were about sixty years old.

"What happened?" Zhang San's spirits also perked up as he leaned in and lowered his voice to inquire.

Logically speaking, a position like chief constable was a lucrative post. As long as he held the seat for a single day, he held power in his hands; the wine restaurants, shops, and forces of all walks of life in the Outer City, out of respect for the City Guard Office's face, would more or less show courtesy and send tributes.

Yet once he stepped down and shed this uniform, he would become nothing more than an ordinary old man. Even if he still retained some foundation in martial arts, he would merely be a martial artist with empty strength.

Moreover, youth was precious, and once a person reached an advanced age, their qi and blood declined extremely rapidly. Even if he still retained some strength at present, he could not engage in combat with others at will.

If he sustained injuries during a fight, his qi and blood would decline even faster, until his entire strength withered away completely. When the enemies he had offended in the past came looking for him, even self-preservation would become a problem. Therefore, ordinary people would not easily abdicate unless they had already found an escape route for themselves.

"He has no choice if he doesn't step down." Zhang San sighed. "During the patrol led last month, Chief Constable Zhao carelessly sustained some injuries. Coupled with the lingering wounds he carried from his early years, he is merely holding on by sheer force now, but I reckon he won't be able to last much longer."

Hearing this, Li Feng nodded slightly, considering it understood.

So it wasn't that Zhao Quan wanted to step down, but that he had to. Since his body was wounded and could no longer support him, the superiors truly wouldn't continue letting him hold this chief constable post-much like what had happened to Sister-in-law back then.

Chen Song looked thoughtfully at the various constables in the courtyard and spoke in a low voice, "If Chief Constable Zhao steps down, a position will open up."

The chief constable positions in the City Guard Office were all fixed, each with their own division of labor. Everyone had their own jurisdiction to oversee and commanded different forces. Once Zhao Quan stepped down, either someone would be parachuted in from the Inner City just like the newly appointed Chief Constable Jiang, or a new chief constable would be appointed by choosing from the constables below.

At this, Chen Song pointed mysteriously toward the other side of the courtyard:

"This vacant chief constable position will most likely fall to Sun Yan. Chief Constable Zhao can probably still hold on for another half a year or a year. Although Sun Yan's strength isn't enough right now, looking at his appearance, he has clearly already started contacting the 'Internal Training Method'."

"After half a year or a year when Chief Constable Zhao steps down, Sun Yan's 'Internal Training Method' should also have reached the threshold by then. Even if his strength is still somewhat lacking compared to the other chief constables by that time, as long as he greets the superiors above, there shouldn't be any major problems. This is the advantage of having a family background..."

Hearing this, Zhang San sighed with full-faced envy and chimed in:

"What incredible good fortune! If he really does take over Chief Constable Zhao's position, he'll probably be the youngest chief constable in the history of our City Guard Office. But still... he'll definitely be the weakest one too."

"Who is saying otherwise?"

Chen Song nodded in deep agreement. "Even though he hasn't touched the threshold of a chief constable's strength, he manages to get his hands on an Internal Training Method to cultivate through family connections. Come to think of it, a month ago this kid was just like us-merely a temporary constable at the First Stage of Qi-Blood. Scarcely a month has passed, and he has already stepped into the Qi-Blood Second Level and risen to a regular constable."

Zhang San shook his head helplessly and lamented, "If this kid really does inherit Chief Constable Zhao's position in over half a year, he'll be leaping two ranks within a single year, rising straight from a white runner to a chief constable! This kind of soaring ambition has a bit of the flavor of a 'destined person' from storytellers' mouths."

Listening to the two men's deep sighs, Li Feng, who was sitting aside and drinking tea, felt rather surprised.

He raised his head, subconsciously glanced at Sun Yan once more, and pondered inwardly:

I never expected that without making a sound, this Sun Yan would break through to the Qi-Blood Second Level and even have his status promoted to a regular constable.

Yet upon slight reflection, Li Feng also felt relieved.

A scholar is poor while martial arts are expensive; Sun Yan himself possessed a wealthy family background as support, so he certainly never lacked nourishing soups and meat for tonifying qi and blood.

Perhaps prior to this, he had already reached the realm of consummation in the Qi-Blood First Stage, and was only a hair's breadth away from a breakthrough. Now, supplemented by his family's silver paving the way, obtaining an Internal Training Method, guided by cultivation techniques, and combined with this past month of bitter cultivation, his accumulated strength burst forth naturally, allowing him to step into the Qi-Blood Second Level. That wasn't entirely impossible.

Still, Li Feng didn't care much about this.

Others had wealthy family backgrounds, but he had a one-of-a-kind cheat.

As long as he could save up enough silver to get his hands on an Internal Training Method-even the most basic Skin-Grinding Method-he could instantly advance it to the realm of perfection through the panel.

By that time, surpassing Sun Yan in cultivation would be nothing more than a matter of the blink of an eye.

After finishing the remaining tea in his bowl, Li Feng stood up, straightened his lapels, and called out to Zhang San, Chen Song, and the others to head out together for street patrol.

The patrols of this day passed without ripples; the alleys of the South City District were safe and peaceful, with nothing happening.

When evening came and duty ended, Li Feng stopped by the market on his way. Since he was still relatively well-off for now, he bought a catty of beef, a catty of lean pork, and finally picked some fresh, tender green vegetables, carrying them all together in his hand.

Returning home, Li Feng lit the fire to cook. He stewed the beef until it was soft and tender, and stir-fried a plate of green vegetables with pork. The fragrance of the meal permeated the small courtyard, and the two of them sat facing each other at the table, eating a sumptuous dinner.

Once he had eaten his fill, Li Feng returned to his bedroom.

During this period, in order to repay the debt for the Water-Cutting Saber Art, he had bitterly trained almost every night, and both his mind and body had been strained to their absolute limits.

Now that the debt was cleared and the heavy stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground, the moment Li Feng touched his pillow, an intense wave of exhaustion rolled over him like a tide.

Before long, accompanied by the night scenery outside the window, he fell into a deep sleep.