Chapter 94 - 87: Underestimated

Chapter 94: Chapter 87: Underestimated

"I get by on my own merit in the South City Bureau. It has nothing to do with the Wang Family."

"Back when Hu Yuxing was the Sima of the South City Bureau, I didn’t align myself with the Hu Family. My attitude is the same now that Wang Guan is the Sima."

Luo Anning thought about it seriously for a moment. It seemed that was indeed the case.

Wang Guan couldn’t represent the Wang Family, nor was he qualified to recruit Su Mu on their behalf.

And besides Wang Guan, Su Mu really hadn’t had any contact with anyone else from the Wang Family.

"I understand."

Luo Anning said, "I misjudged you."

"It’s nothing."

Su Mu waved his hand magnanimously.

"Su Mu, if there ever comes a day when you truly want to switch sides, you must tell me. I don’t want things to get ugly."

Luo Anning looked at Su Mu and said with great seriousness.

"Sister Ning, you seem convinced that I’ll be eliminated from the Taiping Bureau. What if I succeed in getting the word ’Taiping’ embroidered?"

Su Mu couldn’t help but laugh. "In that case, I wouldn’t have to choose a side among the four great families of Wuling City, would I?"

"Naturally."

Luo Anning said, "If you can become a Taiping Capital Captain, I will be happy for you."

"If that day truly comes, I will call you... Junior Brother."

With a rare, mischievous smile, Luo Anning leaped lightly onto the roof ridge and departed into the moonlight.

Su Mu smiled and shook his head.

The Taiping Bureau had a custom: unless there was a vast difference in rank, members addressed each other as Senior and Junior Brother.

The one who got their embroidery first was the senior.

The one who got it later was the junior.

The stronger one was the senior.

The weaker one was the junior.

’You might have to call me Senior Brother.’

Su Mu muttered to himself. ’How could she underestimate me?’

...

[Name: Su Mu]

[Identity: Ghostwriter/Constable/Taiping Bureau White Clothes (Ninth Grade)]

[Points: 860]

[Realm: Third Stage of Body Tempering (Extreme Skin Tempering, Extreme Flesh Tempering)]

[Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Tendon Tempering Technique (Minor Accomplishment)...]

[Martial Arts: Broken Water Flow Saber Technique (Major Accomplishment/+), Jade Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Cloud Rain Saber Technique (Perfection), Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship (Perfection), Archery (Initiate/+)]

......

「Several days passed.」

Ever since Ding Zhidou was killed, South City had remained as chaotic as ever, but no major cases had occurred.

As for turning South City into an ideal place where lost items are left untouched and doors remain unlocked at night, Su Mu had been working hard, but with little effect.

Unless he one day became a truly great figure, he could not change the state of the world by his own power alone.

All he could do was focus on his own duties.

Over these past several days, although his Tendon Tempering Technique hadn’t progressed, he had mastered another martial art to Perfection. Moreover, his fourth saber technique was about to reach the Realm of Perfection tonight.

’I’ve already cultivated three saber techniques of the Kan Water Lineage to the Realm of Perfection. I wonder if perfecting this fourth one will cause a quantitative change to become a qualitative one.’

Su Mu thought to himself and silently pressed the "+" on the system panel.

HUM!

Scenes of him practicing the saber surged from the depths of his mind. This knowledge of saber techniques, which seemed as if he had already mastered it, flashed continuously through his mind before being deeply imprinted there.

Everything about the Broken Water Flow Saber Technique became crystal clear to him.

How to use this saber technique, how to unleash its greatest power... it all ultimately evolved into the Broken Water Saber Momentum.

The fourth level of Saber Momentum was finally mastered.

Based on past experience, the upgrade should have ended here.

But this time, Su Mu felt new "knowledge" continuing to pour out from the depths of his mind.

His understanding of saber techniques and Saber Momentum began to merge and integrate at this moment.

He gained countless experiences of practicing with his saber: in streams, under waterfalls, in great lakes, by the sea, and even in torrential rain.

All these different experiences collided and merged in his mind.

The highest good is like water. Water is good; it benefits all things and does not compete.

After an unknown amount of time, a feeling of sudden enlightenment washed over Su Mu.

His state of mind became incomparably calm, and his consciousness seemed to plunge into boundless darkness.

Then, millions of water droplets fell in the darkness. The water gathered into streams, the streams into great rivers, flowing endlessly.

Su Mu drifted with the current. At that moment, he finally understood what the Realm above Momentum was.

It was no longer an ordinary set of moves, but something that pointed directly to the fundamental nature of things. It pointed directly to heaven and earth itself.

Before, his Saber Momentum had only imitated water.

Now, he himself was in the water. The power he could unleash was naturally completely different.

Su Mu opened his eyes and slowly raised his hand.

Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky.

The rain was confined to a radius of about ten feet around Su Mu.

He held his fingers together like a sword and waved them forward gently.

SWISH!

As if he had plucked some cosmic string, the raindrops shot out, instantly piercing through the distant wall.

Staring at the dozen or so holes that had appeared out of nowhere on the wall, Su Mu couldn’t help but be slightly stunned.

’This is a Realm?’

A moment later, Su Mu was filled with emotion.

After comprehending the Realm, he truly felt that he had leaped to a completely different level. The change was far greater than he had imagined.

The power of a Realm was simply immeasurable.

For instance, with a mere wave of his hand, he could make it rain. And the raindrops he casually flicked resonated with the essence of heaven and earth, their power no less than that of a blade.

It was like the legendary formless Qi Force. Even without a blade in hand, he could injure people with flying flowers and falling leaves.

It truly was turning the mundane into the miraculous.

Although his Cultivation was still only at Minor Accomplishment in Tendon Tempering, now that he had grasped a Realm, he himself couldn’t clearly judge the extent of his current strength.

After all, he had never fought an expert who had mastered a Realm before.

The only thing he was sure of was that even if he encountered an expert at Bone Tempering Perfection, he stood a chance of victory.

Looking across all of Wuling City, the only ones who could be said to have a definite victory over him were likely the Taiping Capital Captains and Taiping Captains of the Taiping Bureau.

’I wonder where my strength ranks among the Taiping Bureau White Clothes now.’

Su Mu looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped, and the sky was clear and cloudless again.

Su Mu felt a much closer connection to the heavens and the earth.

At the same time, he also felt how impure and heavy his body was.

He knew it was because his Body Tempering Realm couldn’t keep up with his newly comprehended Realm.

As far as he knew, the pursuit beyond the Rebirth Realm was to merge one’s body with heaven and earth, to control the forces of nature with one’s physical form, and to overturn rivers and seas with a single gesture.

However, there was likely not a single expert of that caliber in all of Wuling City. Even the Governor of the Wuling City Taiping Bureau might not have reached that state.

Su Mu reined in his thoughts and summoned the system panel.

[Name: Su Mu]

[Identity: Ghostwriter/Constable/Taiping Bureau White Clothes (Ninth Grade)]

[Points: 60]

[Realm: Third Stage of Body Tempering (Extreme Skin Tempering, Extreme Flesh Tempering)]

[Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Tendon Tempering Technique (Minor Accomplishment)...]

[Martial Arts: Kan Water Realm (Minor Accomplishment), Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship (Perfection), Archery (Initiate/+)]

On the system panel, the Broken Water Flow Saber Technique, Jade Wave Saber Technique, Cloud Rain Saber Technique, and Submerging Wave Saber Technique had all disappeared, replaced by the Kan Water Realm.

This didn’t mean Su Mu had forgotten those four saber techniques. Rather, his saber arts were no longer confined to specific moves.

Those four saber techniques were now completely integrated into his very being. Every move he made, no matter how casual, was in harmony with the Kan Water Realm.

Skill advances to art, and art advances to the Dao.

Having comprehended a Realm, he had stepped into the domain of the Martial Dao.

’A Realm only has three stages: Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection.’

As Su Mu focused on the system panel, a piece of information surfaced in his mind.

Minor Accomplishment in a Realm: see mountains as mountains, and water as water.

Major Accomplishment in a Realm: see mountains not as mountains, and water not as water.

Perfection in a Realm: see mountains once again as mountains, and water once again as water.

At that stage, one could merge with the Realm itself. The step beyond that was the legendary Vision!