Mo Zhenglin glanced at Hong Fan's corpse and said somewhat wearily, "The Mo Family was able to avenge its blood feud this time entirely thanks to Militia Commander Wu. Please take the Mo Family's share of the money."
This time, Mo Zhengxing did not object and nodded.
Wu Shuangren looked at the two men and did not decline. He cupped his fists in salute. "All right, then I'll accept it!"
Only then did a smile appear on Mo Zhenglin's face. "Militia Commander Wu, you'll be getting the militia in order next. If you need any help, just say the word. The Mo Family has a stock of clothes and spears in its storeroom that we can provide."
Wu Shuangren was delighted. "That would be wonderful. Thank you!"
Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
The Mo Family had first given up its share of the money, then offered to help of its own accord. It was yielding leadership of the militia.
With that attitude, their alliance had truly become a reality.
The day after Hong Fan was killed.
Wu Shuangren rose at the hour of the rabbit as usual and practiced Sun-Observing Meditation.
After breakfast, he continued learning the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps from Xu Nanzhi.
The footwork had proven its worth in his fights against both Wei Laohei and Luo You.
But Wu Shuangren felt that the enhancements he had gained in both fights had only improved his use of the footwork. [Match for One Person] had not raised the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps to a higher level as it had the Three Ultimates Tiger Baleful Intent Saber.
For one thing, the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps had a much higher ceiling to begin with, far surpassing the Three Ultimates Tiger Baleful Intent Saber.
For another, against opponents of Wei Laohei and Luo You's caliber, Wu Shuangren only needed to use the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps proficiently to win.
Having experienced using the footwork proficiently twice, Wu Shuangren felt as though he possessed advanced memories, and had experienced them throughout from his own first-person perspective. This gave him a deeper understanding of the footwork.
So when he practiced the footwork with Xu Nanzhi again today, he was like a completely different person from a few days ago!
Wonder flashed repeatedly in Xu Nanzhi's eyes, and she even regretted not teaching her son martial arts from childhood.
The [Nine Rivers Suppressing the Mountain] was one thing. After all, Wu Shuangren had already mastered an Internal Skill, so it was naturally easy for him to get started on another.
But the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps was a profound martial art and very difficult. When Xu Nanzhi had learned martial arts, it had taken her a year just to get started on the footwork.
Even that had been considered excellent aptitude.
But what about Wu Shuangren?
He had gotten started in just a few days!
Xu Nanzhi had never even heard of such aptitude, let alone seen it!
Could my son have the makings of a martial god?
Xu Nanzhi silently blamed herself, feeling that she had held her son back.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Wu Shuangren had noticed something unusual in her expression.
Xu Nanzhi said guiltily, "I was thinking, if I'd taught you martial arts from childhood, what heights might you have reached by now?"
Warmth filled Wu Shuangren's heart, and he smiled. "Mother, things are already very good as they are."
Xu Nanzhi said with relief, "Fortunately, you met that expert. Otherwise, your aptitude would have been buried."
Wu Shuangren nodded. "Yes, I think I'm very lucky too."
Lucky to have a Trait like [Match for One Person].
Lucky to have parents like these.
A gentle breeze stirred the wind chimes beneath the eaves, and sunlight streamed down.
In the courtyard, Wu Shuangren continued practicing.
That afternoon, Wu Shuangren went to the county yamen.
"Uncle Liao."
He found Liao Yu. "I want to find a suitable place in the city to train the militia."
Previously, the Mo Family had built Mo Family Village outside the city specifically to serve as the militia's base.
But now that they had openly broken with the Mist Hidden Temple, they could no longer go outside the city. Otherwise, the tragedy at Mo Family Village would happen again.
Wu Shuangren could only look for a place in the county seat.
Now that he had become militia commander, he naturally wanted to make the force under his command strong as quickly as possible.
Like his own martial arts, it was a foundation for establishing himself in a chaotic world!
Liao Yu thought for a moment and said with difficulty, "The county seat is only so big. There's no suitable place where dozens of people can spread out and train at once."
Wu Shuangren settled for the next best thing. "Then could we buy several adjoining courtyards, tear down the walls and open them up?"
Liao Yu sighed. "That might be possible, but it would cost far too much."
Wu Shuangren said firmly, "We have to do it even if it costs a lot. The militia must start training as soon as possible."
Liao Yu nodded. "I'll have someone make inquiries for you. We should have news in a few days. By the way, the three officials all accepted the money you sent them. Only Official Xu refused."
Wu Shuangren frowned slightly. "Did Official Xu say anything?"
Liao Yu said, "He told you to lead the militia well."
Wu Shuangren breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Of the four officials in Bo County, the one he cared most about was Xu Jing, who held the lowest post.
As for County Magistrate He Zhixu and the others, they would take their full share of benefits, but he could not count on them at all when it mattered.
Wu Shuangren only wanted to use those benefits to shut them up and keep them from causing trouble.
After leaving the room, he went to the back courtyard out of habit, only then remembering that Hou Huai could no longer spar with him.
After standing in the back courtyard for a while, Wu Shuangren noticed a stone lock in the corner.
The stone lock weighed two hundred jin and was used specifically by martial artists to train their strength.
An idea occurred to Wu Shuangren. He carried the stone lock to the middle of the courtyard, circulated his Internal Skill, gripped it with both hands and lifted with all his might.
He easily raised the two-hundred-jin stone lock over his head!
He put it down, then lifted it again.
Wu Shuangren circulated his Internal Skill and lifted it seventeen times in a row before his whole body began to ache and his breathing struggled to keep pace.
Uncle Hou said the hardest part of the martial examination for the seventh, eighth and ninth ranks is lifting the stone lock. I weigh about one hundred and thirty jin. If I can lift a two-hundred-and-sixty-jin stone lock at least once, I'll pass the ninth-rank test.
Wu Shuangren recalled what Hou Huai had told him.
He could lift a two-hundred-jin stone lock seventeen times in a row, so he should be able to lift a two-hundred-and-sixty-jin one at least once.
In other words, he had practiced martial arts for less than a month, but his actual strength was already enough to be ranked ninth.
45 Young Tiger
Wu Shuangren had previously asked Hou Huai how long someone who practiced an Internal Skill from childhood would need to reach the Ninth Rank.
Hou Huai had said that someone with ordinary aptitude would need at least six or seven years. For someone with good aptitude, one or two years would suffice.
It took me less than a month. What kind of aptitude does that make mine?
A smile appeared on Wu Shuangren's face.
He had made such remarkable progress partly because he cultivated a superior Internal Skill, and partly because his Internal Skill was enhanced while [Match for One Person] was active, the equivalent of having an expert help him circulate his Qi and blood.
Even after the enhancement ended and his Internal Skill cultivation returned to normal, he still benefited from having experienced a more profound Internal Skill.
So I need to find another sparring partner, someone I can trust completely. Otherwise, people might grow suspicious of my actual strength. That leaves Father, Mother and Uncle Liao. Mother has to see patients at the clinic every day and look after Uncle Hou...
After thinking it over, Wu Shuangren could only turn to Liao Yu, because Wu Dongrong's leg injury had not fully healed.
Before long, Liao Yu and Wu Shuangren came to the back courtyard together.
"You're already this formidable, boy, and you still want to spar with me?"
Liao Yu looked puzzled.
Wu Shuangren lowered his voice. "Uncle Liao, you know I didn't even realize I'd mastered an Internal Skill before. It only burst out by chance, so my martial arts aren't stable. I need more practice."
Hearing this, Liao Yu grew serious. "All right. How do you want me to spar with you?"
"Uncle Liao, you only need to attack with all your strength."
"Here I come!"
The sound of iron rods clashing rang out in the back courtyard once more...
Liao Yu was a little stronger than Hou Huai. Though his saber techniques had fewer variations than Hou Huai's, they were clean and efficient, every move attacking an enemy's vital points in the simplest, most direct way.
By fighting Liao Yu, Wu Shuangren came to understand the difference between martial artists of the jianghu and those of the military.
The former paid more attention to their moves, striving to outdo their opponents in technique.
The latter focused more on efficiency, with everything directed toward killing.
One cared about the process, the other about the result.
During a break, Wu Shuangren shared his insights with Liao Yu.
Liao Yu nodded. "That's right. Military techniques are completely different from jianghu moves. There's far less flash. On the battlefield, if you can kill an enemy with one stroke, you won't strike a second, even if you have to trade your life for theirs without hesitation!"
Wu Shuangren fell into thought. "In that case, are military martial arts better in actual combat?"
Liao Yu said, "Not necessarily. The vast majority of military martial arts are designed for quick results, so more people can rapidly learn and use them. The martial arts passed down by jianghu sects, on the other hand, may have been studied and improved by generations, or even dozens of generations, over hundreds of years before taking their final form. They have a higher threshold, are harder to cultivate and have a higher ceiling. If you run into a jianghu expert who has mastered such an art, they're formidable in actual combat too."
"But..."
He changed tack. "When their realms aren't far apart, a martial artist from the military has a better chance of surviving a fight to the death. People in the military are accustomed to life and death, which gives them an advantage in temperament."
Wu Shuangren asked curiously, "Uncle Liao, are there more Grandmasters in the military or in the jianghu?"
Liao Yu said, "The military has the most, followed by the great aristocratic families, the imperial palace and the Six Doors. The jianghu comes last. Ever since our dynasty introduced the martial examination system, the jianghu has gradually declined. Once one has mastered the civil and martial arts, one sells them to the imperial house. Almost everyone with talent and ability is recruited by the court. Few go into the jianghu."
Wu Shuangren looked at Liao Yu. "Uncle Liao, did you take the martial examination back then?"
Liao Yu shook his head and sighed. "No. Neither your father nor I took it. We enlisted directly."
"Why didn't you take it? Wouldn't entering the military through the martial examination have made it easier to get promoted?"
"That's true, but over the years, the martial examination has become just like the civil service examination: a way for the various frontier armies and aristocratic families to win over talent and divide up the spoils. Unless your talent stands out and a frontier army or one of the great families takes a liking to you and is willing to support you, taking the martial examination is just a waste of time if you have no connections."
Liao Yu spoke bitterly. "Take Bai Jinhuan, the Mo Family's chief guard. He took the martial examination back then and was ranked Fourth Rank. But he wasted three years at home and spent quite a lot of money, yet still couldn't secure even the smallest official post. In the end, he could only come to a little place like Bo County and guard someone's home..."
Wu Shuangren understood. For someone truly talented, with a chance of becoming a first-rate expert, the martial examination was a grand road to the heavens.
Otherwise, without connections or backing, taking the martial examination was at best like getting a certificate to make finding work easier later...
"Shuangren, with your age, talent and current strength, taking the martial examination is really the proper path for you!"
Liao Yu suddenly looked at Wu Shuangren with a serious expression. "Bo County is too small. Rather than fight for power and profit with people in a place like this, you'd be better off taking the martial examination. Whether you join the military or the Six Doors afterward, the road ahead will be smooth. When you return home in glory a few years from now, perhaps even Bo County's magistrate will have to address you as 'my lord'!"
Liao Yu had been thinking this ever since he witnessed Wu Shuangren kill Luo You.
But Wu Dongrong and his son Wu Shuangren seemed never to have considered it, so he had held his tongue.
Today, however, the subject had come up in conversation with Wu Shuangren, and he finally could not help speaking his mind.
Hearing the suggestion, Wu Shuangren shook his head.
If the Wu Dynasty were currently in a golden age, he would have chosen without hesitation to take the martial examination, become its top candidate and make his name before the emperor!
But whichever way he looked at it, he felt that the Wu Dynasty's fate was nearly spent and a chaotic age was coming.
"Uncle Liao."
Wu Shuangren thought for a moment and decided to reveal some of his thoughts to this trusted elder. "If I take the martial examination, the best outcome is that some military bigwig or aristocratic family takes a liking to me, and I go risk my life for them. But if I stay in Bo County, I'll have a chance to build something of my own. Rather than risk my life for someone else, I'd prefer to make my own decisions."
Liao Yu looked into Wu Shuangren's eyes. "You want to establish another Mo Family?"
Wu Shuangren smiled. "Too small."