Cultivating in Different Professions

This Su Mu was indeed a talent, and he had genuinely considered recruiting him.

But he hadn’t acted on it. He wanted to observe for a while longer before deciding what price to offer for Su Mu’s recruitment.

In this matter with the Xu Family, Su Mu had certainly demonstrated extraordinary strength.

Outsiders might think that Wang Lai was the main reason the Xu Family was annihilated, but Wang Zang had received a message from Wang Lai and naturally learned of Su Mu’s true power.

To be honest, strength of that caliber truly qualified him to be aggressively recruited by their Wang Family.

"What, are you reluctant to part with him, Brother Wang?"

Hu Gongxiu snorted coldly.

"Not at all."

Wang Zang shook his head. "That Su Mu has no connection to my Wang Family. Why would I be reluctant?"

"Isn’t that perfect? Bring me his head, Brother Wang, and we can consider the matter with the Xu Family settled."

Hu Gongxiu said.

"Don’t you know, Brother Hu? That Su Mu isn’t just a constable of the South City Bureau; he is also one of the Taiping Bureau White Clothes."

Wang Zang said.

"So what? Making someone die an unremarkable death... I don’t need to teach you how to do that, do I, Brother Wang?"

Hu Gongxiu sneered.

"On this matter, I’m afraid I cannot comply."

Wang Zang shook his head and stated firmly, "If he were a member of my Wang Family and did something wrong, I could execute him. But he is not. It is a principle of my Wang Family not to assassinate government Officials."

Hu Gongxiu scoffed. ’What bullshit principles! When your Wang Family does things, you have no bottom line!’

"In that case, if that boy surnamed Su has an ’accident’ someday, don’t you go sticking your nose in it, Brother Wang."

Hu Gongxiu said.

"Of course not."

Wang Zang asked, puzzled, "Su Mu is just a minor constable. Why are you so determined to see him dead, Brother Hu?"

He truly wanted to recruit Su Mu for the Wang Family, but this Su Mu had been exposed too early. To protect a genius who had not yet matured, he would have to fall out with the Hu Family.

Wang Zang was accustomed to calculating everything. He habitually weighed the pros and cons and decided it wasn’t worth it.

"Hmph! My son died in South City, so what right does he have to live? And to live so prosperously, no less! Now he even wants to climb up by stepping on my Hu Family. He’s dreaming!"

Hu Gongxiu said coldly.

...

"Constable Xiao Su, we’ve finished the inventory."

At the Xu Family estate, Zheng Wang approached Su Mu and said in a low voice.

It had taken dozens of constables working together more than half a day to sort through and inventory all the valuables seized from the Xu Family estate.

"We confiscated thirty thousand taels of silver, jewelry and paintings valued at a total of ninety thousand taels, one hundred and fifty acres of prime farmland, and twenty storefronts."

Zheng Wang reported.

Previously, not even Xu Mingchen’s family, the wealthiest in South City on paper, had this much confiscated during their raid. Of course, that was partly because they had managed to take most of their treasures with them, but it was still clear that this Xu Family had profited handsomely from illegally selling military equipment.

"Same as always. Take out two-tenths to split among the brothers."

Su Mu said after a moment’s thought, "I’ll speak to Sima about it."

"Thank you, Chief!"

Zheng Wang was overjoyed.

This was why they loved going on raids with Su Mu. Last time, when they raided Xu Mingchen’s home, they had all made a small fortune.

This time, they were going to have a very prosperous new year.

The Xu Family’s wealth was worth several hundred thousand taels in total. Even two-tenths of that was tens of thousands of taels. Split among dozens of brothers, each man would still get a considerable share.

The other constables nearby, who had been busy since last night, all broke into gleeful expressions upon hearing Su Mu’s words.

After this operation, their loyalty to Su Mu was absolute.

"Chief, your three-tenths..."

Zheng Wang said, lowering his voice.

"Convert it all to silver and have it delivered to my home."

Su Mu said.

Water that is too clear has no fish.

He certainly wasn’t going to turn away silver that came knocking at his door.

As for him taking three-tenths while Zheng Wang and all those men only split two-tenths, that was because he had contributed the most.

If not for him, Zheng Wang and the others wouldn’t have gotten even those two-tenths.

Su Mu took his share with a clear conscience.

"Did you find any Martial Arts Technique manuals?"

Su Mu asked.

Xu San was a Martial Artist at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, and the disciples in his family all cultivated the Martial Dao. It was impossible for them not to have any Martial Arts manuals.

That was what Su Mu cared about the most.

"I was just about to report to you, Chief."

Zheng Wang said, carefully pulling a silk-wrapped bundle from his robes and handing it to Su Mu.

"This was found in Xu San’s bedroom. Besides me, no one else saw it."

Su Mu nodded. Zheng Wang might be slick, but as long as you could keep him intimidated, he was quite reliable.

He waved for the constables to transport the bulk of the confiscated goods back to the South City Bureau, while he himself walked over to a quiet spot and unwrapped the silk bundle.

Inside the silk bundle were five manuals.

One Skin Tempering Technique, one Flesh Tempering Technique, one Tendon Tempering Technique, and one Bone Tempering Technique.

There was also a saber technique.

This was likely the foundation of the Xu Family’s Martial Dao.

While it didn’t seem to match the Xu Family’s wealth, this was actually normal for this world.

For Martial Artists in the Body Tempering Realm, regardless of which of the four stages they were in, cultivating a single Cultivation Technique was enough. Few people would, like Su Mu, cultivate multiple techniques simultaneously.

Cultivating multiple techniques at once drastically increased the cost in silver coins and would greatly slow down one’s cultivation speed for relatively little gain.

Therefore, choosing a suitable Cultivation Technique and rapidly advancing one’s realm was the best choice for most Martial Artists.

For ordinary Martial Artists, when it came to Cultivation Techniques, quality was more important than quantity.

The same was true for martial skills. An ordinary person might not even be able to cultivate a single saber technique to the Realm of Perfection in their entire lifetime, so how could they have extra time to practice other Martial Arts?

These few manuals from the Xu Family had clearly been carefully selected based on this principle.

’I don’t need the Skin, Flesh, or Tendon Tempering Techniques anymore. I can keep the Bone Tempering Technique. If I can’t find a better one later, I can practice this one for now.’

Su Mu tossed three of the five manuals aside, then set the Bone Tempering Technique by itself.

There was one manual left, which was a saber technique.

"Mountain-Opening Saber Technique."

Su Mu read the name silently. ’The name is a bit tacky, but the saber technique itself is actually pretty good.’

He had seen Xu San’s saber technique last night; it was as heavy as a mountain, with enduring power.

This Mountain-Opening Saber Technique belonged to the Gen Mountain lineage of Martial Arts, which was contrary to the Martial Arts Su Mu had practiced before.

The Martial Arts he had practiced before were from the Kan Water Lineage and the Xunfeng Lineage, both of which favored lightness, agility, and a softer, more yielding style.

Of course, after comprehending the Kan Water Realm, extreme softness could also transform into extreme hardness.

But generally speaking, they still lacked the sheer weight and power of the Gen Mountain lineage’s Martial Arts.

’The Mountain-Opening Saber Technique could compensate for the lack of weight and power in my Martial Arts.’

For others, practicing a new martial art required careful consideration, as it consumed a great deal of time and mental energy.

But for Su Mu, there was no such thing as having too many skills.

After all, as long as he had enough Points, he could master any martial art to the Perfection Realm in an extremely short amount of time.

’My Kan Water Realm is established. Next, I need to cultivate the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique to Perfection as quickly as possible. It would be best if I could also comprehend the Xun Wind Realm, and I should practice this Mountain-Opening Saber Technique as well.’

Thinking about all this, Su Mu suddenly felt that he didn’t have enough Points.

[Name: Su Mu]

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

[Points: 200]

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

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

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

With a thought, he called up the system panel.

He had been busy all night, and his Points had increased by one hundred and forty.

’I’ve cracked this major case of the Xu Family illegally selling military equipment. No matter how unhappy those bigwigs in the Inner City are, they have to acknowledge my contribution, right?’

Su Mu thought to himself. If he could accumulate merits and get a promotion, his speed of acquiring Points would increase even further.

"Zheng Wang, I’m leaving this to you. I’m heading back to handle official business."

Su Mu stood up and walked away.

Before his promotion, he still had to do the job of a constable properly. Every bit of merit had to be earned first.

Zheng Wang and the others watched Su Mu’s hastily departing figure, their faces filled with admiration.

Constable Xiao Su had just cracked a major case last night, yet he wasn’t even taking a moment to rest before going back to handle official business.

Look at his enthusiasm for the job. No wonder he was already a constable at such a young age.