Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 73: An Eye for an Eye
After Luo Anning left, Su Mu sat in the courtyard for a long time.
He slowly digested the various pieces of information he had learned from Luo Anning.
Martial arts techniques were distinguished by the attributes of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.
For example, the Submerging Wave Saber Technique that Su Mu cultivated belonged to the Kan Water Lineage.
And the Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship belonged to the Xunfeng Lineage.
According to Luo Anning, there were eight Realms and sixty-four Phenomena.
For Su Mu, these things were still quite distant.
Luo Anning had suggested that he cultivate several more saber techniques from the Kan Water Lineage. This would increase his chances of comprehending the Kan Water Realm in the future.
If the attributes of the martial techniques he cultivated were too mixed, the probability of comprehending a Realm would be greatly reduced.
As for Phenomena, Luo Anning herself had never even considered them and didn’t think Su Mu could touch such a level.
After all, even the great Governor Zhao Poni of the Taiping Bureau had only mastered a Realm.
’For others, it takes a few years at least, or even decades, to cultivate a martial art to Perfection. It’s even possible they’ll never manage it.’
’But I’m different. Maybe I should find a few more saber techniques from the Kan Water Lineage to try. A Realm... that sounds pretty powerful.’
Su Mu thought to himself.
He looked up at the moon. Midnight had passed, so today’s Points should have arrived.
With a thought, Su Mu summoned the system panel.
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable/Taiping Bureau White Clothes (Ninth Grade)]
[Points: 1020]
[Realm: Second Stage of Body Tempering (Extreme Skin Tempering Realm)]
[Cultivation Techniques: White Ape Marrow Refining Skill (Major Accomplishment/+), Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill (Perfection)...]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship (Major Accomplishment/+), Archery (Entry-Level/+)]
His identities as a constable and a Taiping Bureau White Clothes earned him one hundred and twenty Points a day. Two "+" signs had conspicuously appeared on the panel.
After perfecting the Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill, the number of Points Su Mu needed to cultivate the White Ape Marrow Refining Skill was greatly reduced.
The Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill had required a full two thousand Points to go from Major Accomplishment to Perfection.
But for the White Ape Marrow Refining Skill, the same upgrade only required one thousand Points.
The Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship was the first Sword Technique Su Mu had mastered. Just like the Submerging Wave Saber Technique before it, it required one thousand Points to reach the Realm of Perfection.
Now, Su Mu had two choices. One was to upgrade the White Ape Marrow Refining Skill to Perfection, which would give him a high chance of cultivating his Flesh Tempering to the extreme realm.
The other choice was to upgrade the Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship and master the Wind-Breaking Sword Momentum.
Both were excellent choices.
However, thinking about what he was about to do, Su Mu quickly made his decision.
He focused his mind and heavily tapped the "+" behind the Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship.
In a daze, countless images suddenly flooded Su Mu’s mind.
In those images, he held a longsword, practicing the Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship over and over again.
Practicing in the wind and rain, practicing under the scorching sun, practicing in the heavy snow...
Countless clashes with others, countless times hovering between life and death...
Finally, he grasped the true essence of the Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship.
To break the wind with the sword, with momentum like splitting bamboo—this was the Wind-Breaking Sword Momentum.
... ...
South City Bureau, the rear office.
Hu Yuxing sat in his study, holding a letter of appointment in his left hand and stroking his beard with his right, his face full of smug satisfaction.
’So what if I have no talent for the Martial Dao? I, Hu Yuxing, still reached the sixth grade at the age of forty, didn’t I?’
Hu Yuxing muttered to himself smugly, ’In a few more years, I’ll be fifth grade, then fourth grade! Who will dare look down on me then?’
’I never thought that kid Su Mu would turn out to be my lucky star. It’s a good thing I didn’t kill him back then, or where else would I find such a diligent workhorse?’
Hu Yuxing mused, ’Without the hard work of this workhorse Su Mu, how could this old master have been promoted and gotten rich?’
’Now that I’m being promoted to the Inner City, should I bring him along?’
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he decided Su Mu was unlikely to agree.
Peasants like him always had this stupid kind of backbone.
’If I can’t take him with me, I can’t let that brat Wang Guan benefit for free. I have to find a way to stop Su Mu from becoming the constable of the South City Bureau.’
Hu Yuxing muttered to himself.
Some people are just born bad to the bone.
"Sima—"
Just then, the voice of his Master, Fu Peisheng, came from outside.
"Come in," Hu Yuxing said, putting down the letter of appointment.
"Sima, everything has been prepared as you instructed."
After entering, Fu Peisheng placed a small Zitan wood box in front of Hu Yuxing, then gently opened the lid, revealing its contents.
"I’ve liquidated all of our properties in the South City, which came to a total of sixty thousand taels of silver. After setting aside twenty thousand taels for the family, the remaining forty thousand taels are all here. Unmarked silver notes from Datong Bank, redeemable on presentation."
Fu Peisheng’s face was wreathed in smiles. With Hu Yuxing’s promotion, he would also be able to move to the Inner City.
The Inner City was where the true elites lived. He had long since had enough of this Outer City.
"And this—"
Fu Peisheng placed a scroll in front of Hu Yuxing and said in a low voice, "The Xunfeng Realm Map. Although it’s a replica, it still cost us a full fifty thousand taels of silver. It’s the perfect gift for the Young Master."
A pained look flashed in his eyes. If not for buying this, they would have had even more silver.
However, even though he didn’t cultivate the Martial Dao, he knew how important such an item was to a Martial Artist. If not for a lucky coincidence, it was something that couldn’t necessarily be bought even with money.
If they could win the Young Master’s favor, then the silver was well spent.
The Young Master’s status in the Hu Family was much higher than Hu Yuxing’s.
"A job well done."
Hu Yuxing nodded in satisfaction, closed the box, and looked up at Fu Peisheng. "You handle things well, I can rest easy. When we get to the Inner City, you just keep doing good work, and I’ll find a way to get you an official position."
Before he could finish his sentence, Hu Yuxing suddenly saw Fu Peisheng’s face contort in terror.
He was just wondering what was wrong when he suddenly felt that something was amiss.
He instinctively looked down, only to see a gleaming sword tip poking out from his throat.
’What is this?’
The thought flashed through Hu Yuxing’s mind, and then a look of terror and unwillingness appeared on his face.
SHUNK!
The longsword was pulled out, and Hu Yuxing fell from his chair with a CLATTER. He clutched his throat with both hands, making gurgling sounds. He wanted to call for help, but could no longer make a sound.
He twitched and struggled a few times, then gradually went still.
Only then did Fu Peisheng snap out of his terror. He opened his mouth to scream.
But a flash of light, faster than his scream, instantly entered his mouth.
A wet SQUELCH.
The sword tip drilled out from the back of Fu Peisheng’s head, choking his scream back down.
Su Mu withdrew his longsword and watched as Fu Peisheng fell to the ground, struggled to crawl a few steps, and then went completely still.
He took the Zitan wood box and the scroll from the table, and, longsword in hand, lifted open a nearby window and vaulted out.
It wasn’t until dawn the next day, when a janitor cleaning the premises pushed open Hu Yuxing’s study, that a terrified scream shattered the morning tranquility of the South City Bureau.
... ...
