Chapter 3: Initiation

Chen Mu always believed that everything had a cause and effect.

He had come to this world and become a Yamen Runner at the very bottom, taking care of his little sister who was seven years younger than him while living a hard life. For more than two years, apart from the meager salary that was heavily deducted by those above him, he hadn’t encountered any strokes of luck.

However, the accumulated misfortune had finally brought him a reward: he had found a blade technique manual and, what’s more, he had also obtained a small modifier that could enhance his martial arts.

“Hmm, it seems I can add points by consuming experience, but I might not have enough experience points now.”

After studying it for a while, Chen Mu roughly understood the function of this thing.

As long as he practiced the Wild Wind Blade Technique, even if nobody guided him and he practiced incorrectly, he could still gain ‘experience’ as long as he kept at it. Then, by accumulating experience, he could directly improve the mastery of the Wild Wind Blade Technique.

In other words, even without guidance from a Martial Arts Master, he could slowly refine his skill to perfection through closed-door practice.

“Brother?”

Chen Yue looked at Chen Mu with confusion, standing beside him.

She had been watching Chen Mu as he suddenly waved his hand toward empty space and then, after a moment of contemplation, chuckled to himself. It made her feel a little scared.

“Oh, I’m fine. I was just thinking about some things.”

Chen Mu smiled at Chen Yue and couldn’t help but reach out and vigorously rub her face. He then said, “Yue’er, we might not have to live a hard life for much longer.”

Chen Yue looked at Chen Mu with her big eyes, blinking a couple of times, not really understanding where his confidence came from.

“Okay.”

Still, she smiled and echoed his words.

Whether life was hard or not didn’t really matter. She thought things were fine as long as Chen Mu was safe and sound. With their parents gone, she was a source of comfort in Chen Mu’s heart, and Chen Mu was the only light in her life.

After letting Chen Yue return to the bedroom, Chen Mu picked up his Yamen Saber and practiced again. However, compared to the hesitation and experimentation of before, this time, his practice was not hesitant, regardless of whether his movements were correct or not. He simply practiced according to the moves.

After practicing for a while.

Chen Mu indeed saw the words ‘Experience +1’ appear in his vision.

“Very good.”

Chen Mu smiled; everything was basically consistent with his judgment.

He just didn’t know how much experience it would take to upgrade the Wild Wind Blade Technique from ‘Uninitiated’ to the next level, but as long as there was progress, he would eventually be able to master this blade technique one day through persistent practice, unlike before, when he had no direction at all.

…

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.

In these seven days, besides going to the City Guard for his regular duties and patrolling with Liu Song and others, Chen Mu had spent almost all his other time immersing himself in practicing the Wild Wind Blade Technique.

Gaining experience in the Wild Wind Blade Technique was not easy. It could be said that every point of experience came from hard work. He had to immerse himself in hard practice for almost an hour to gain two or three points of experience.

However, no matter how slow it was, it was still genuine experience points, not just aimless practice without direction.

Finally.

On this afternoon, after practicing until he was covered in sweat again, Chen Mu’s Wild Wind Blade Technique experience had accumulated to a full one hundred points.

[Martial Arts: Wild Wind Blade Technique (Uninitiated/+)]

[Experience: 100 points]

The modifier indeed showed a change. After the uninitiated blade technique, a ‘+’ symbol had appeared.

Chen Mu took a deep breath, looking at the interface seriously, then moved his mind and clicked on the ‘+’.

Buzz!

A faint golden light flashed.

[Martial Arts: Wild Wind Blade Technique (Initiated)]

[Experience: 0 points]

Along with the changes on the interface, Chen Mu suddenly felt a massive amount of information flood into his mind. The Wild Wind Blade Technique, which he had no idea how to use force with or how to change the direction of each move, was being corrected move by move in this information.

It was like practicing diligently for months along the most correct path.

When all the changes disappeared.

Chen Mu took a deep breath, grasped his Yamen Saber, and immediately felt a completely different sensation. He was thoroughly familiar with each of the twelve stances of the Wild Wind Blade Technique and all their variations.

How to apply force, how to change, everything became crystal clear, unlike before, when he knew nothing.

“Initiated.”

“Just this light click is probably comparable to a month or two of hard training in a Martial Arts Gym with the guidance of a Martial Arts Master… but I have also been training hard for seven days.”

Chen Mu muttered to himself, then suddenly swung his blade forward, executing the first move of the Wild Wind Blade Technique, Random Wind.

This time, it was completely different from before. The stance, which had previously seemed strange, had instantly become extremely refined. The flexing of his legs, the tightening of his abdomen, the slanting slash… This slash even brought about a whistling sound of wind!

“It is indeed completely different from ordinary Unorganized Fighting Style.”

Chen Mu nodded to himself.

Just this initial stance alone, after every part of the body performed up to standard, was already stronger than the horizontal and vertical slashes he used to practice, let alone the fact that this move had several variations, which could further connect to the subsequent moves. Unlike ordinary Unorganized Fighting Style, which was just chaotic swings of pure strength after a single slash.

According to the description in the Wild Wind Blade Technique manual, this blade technique was divided into Initiated, Small success, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection.

Following the proper path of practice, most people could reach the Initiated stage in a few months, Small success in one to two years, at which point they could defeat two to three armed bandits who had no Martial Arts Training. It could take five to six years to reach Great Accomplishment, where five to six opponents would have difficulty getting close to you.

As for Perfection…

That step was extremely difficult, requiring the mastery of the true mysteries of the wild wind and the cultivation of Blade Momentum. Once mastered, one could easily handle at least ten opponents and easily pass the Martial Arts Exam to become a Martial Scholar.

Nowadays, with corrupt officials and a chaotic world, the civil examinations were practically defunct. Not to mention the lowest-level candidates, even those who reached the level of a successful candidate were basically reduced to a means of trading silver and coin. With no power or influence, it was virtually impossible to reach that level.

In comparison, the Martial Arts Exam was different. Because it involved martial power, even if the spots were controlled by powerful clans, anyone with sufficient strength could still rise through the ranks and even be courted by various parties.

“If I can pass the Martial Arts Exam and become a Martial Scholar, it is almost certain I will be promoted to Yamen Head. Even if I don’t pass, as long as I demonstrate that level of strength, I can still become a Yamen Head.”

Chen Mu mused to himself.

External Skills like the Wild Wind Blade Technique, once mastered, basically gave you a chance to become a Yamen Head. As long as a position opened up or if you were appreciated by your superiors, you could basically move up. If nothing else, you could slowly accumulate seniority, and still have a chance to sit in that position.

And if one could reach Perfection and cultivate Blade Momentum, then becoming a Yamen Head was a certainty. Because as far as he knew, even among the many Yamen Heads, only a very few had managed to cultivate Momentum with either blade or sword techniques.

One should know that people who reached this level in the past could easily pass the formal Martial Arts Exam to obtain the title of Martial Scholar, and use this to directly join the Imperial Court. Now, it was just that the official system was falling apart, and the formal Imperial Court promotion route had basically been abolished, leading to more buying and selling of official posts.

“To train a blade technique to Great Accomplishment, a person with average talent and comprehension can achieve it through over a decade of hard practice. But wanting to cultivate ‘Momentum’ is a one-in-a-hundred chance.”

A few days ago, Chen Mu had chatted with some Yamen Runners at the City Guard who he had a good relationship with and had learned that among the five Yamen Heads in his current City Guard, only one had managed to cultivate Momentum and had become Yamen Head through their own power.

Among the other four, the oldest Yamen Head, Zhao Zong, was even over sixty years old and had practiced the blade his entire life, but had failed to comprehend Blade Momentum. The Zhao family was considered to be powerful in the area. If Zhao Zong had managed to cultivate Blade Momentum, he might have even had a chance to become a Yamen Constable.

“They cannot comprehend that little spark of inspiration, so they are stuck. But I am different. As long as I patiently practice, I will reach Small success, Great Accomplishment, and finally Perfection sooner or later… Perhaps it will only take me a year to reach Perfection.”

A hint of light flashed in Chen Mu’s eyes.

His blade technique was now initiated, and to reach Small success, he would need three hundred experience points. Based on his previous practice, it would take him about a month. After that, Great Accomplishment and Perfection, even if the required experience increased with each stage, should be achievable in about a year.

Once his blade technique reached Perfection and he had cultivated Momentum, whether he took the Martial Arts Exam to obtain a title or secretly showed off some of his strength in the City Guard, he would be sure to be promoted to Yamen Head. His identity and status would then be different from what they were now.

He had already been in this world for more than two years.

In this dangerous and precarious lowest level of society, he had lived cautiously for so long. He didn’t mind enduring for another year, especially since the feeling of having a goal was completely different from his previous days where he could not see any hope.