A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Chapter 125 Rapid Progress

That evening, Su Bai summoned the prison warden and said only one sentence: "Li Yuehu's food and water have been cut off."

The leader paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he wanted to ask something. But when he met Su Bai's gaze—those same unfathomable black eyes, calmly looking at him—he swallowed his words and bowed his head, replying, "Yes."

As they retreated, the leader walked much faster than when they arrived.

The news quickly spread among the prison guards.

The next day, when they changed shifts, it was just getting light. A few people were squatting in a corner eating porridge. The morning mist hadn't completely dissipated, and steam was rising from the porridge bowls. Someone said in a low voice, "Wow, Warden Su really dares to do this. He even dares to go back to the Li family."

"What do you know? Prisoner Su is now a member of the Ning family, so of course he has to work for the Ning family." Another person slurped down his porridge and wiped his mouth.

"There's no need to go to such extremes, is there? What if—"

"What if what?" The man drinking porridge slammed his bowl on the ground. "Do you think Prisoner Su is a fool? He knows what he's doing."

Startled by the noise, the mouse in the corner squeaked and scurried into its hole in the wall.

Su Bai was indeed aware of the situation.

That night, he sat alone in the back office, thinking for a long time by the candlelight.

The candle had burned halfway down, the wick had spun into frost, and the flame had dimmed. Only then did he pick up the scissors and trim it. The flame flickered again, illuminating his face.

When Steward Zhao arrived, he did not give prior notice—which shows that the Li family did not take him seriously at all, thinking that he was just a jailer and that it was already a favor to be greeted.

Su Bai had seen this condescending attitude far too often. Back when he worked at the county government, he always got this kind of attitude from prisoners with connections when their families came to visit. At that time, he was just a lowly clerk, standing aside serving tea and water, watching those people talk with their noses in the air, and he still had to smile obsequiously.

I'll just have to put up with it.

But it's different now.

He wasn't unaware of what it meant to send the Li family back. But the shadow of the old locust tree outside the window, standing quietly in the moonlight, reminded him of the path he had walked over the years.

From the moment he took over Li Yuehu's case, and from the moment he had that deep conversation with Ning Yuechan, in the eyes of outsiders, he was already a member of the Ning family.

This isn't a question of whether he wants to or not; it's a fact.

If he tries to please both sides, doing the Li family a favor today and giving the Ning family face tomorrow, he will end up pleasing neither. The Li family will think he's playing both sides, and the Ning family will think he's unreliable.

When it really comes down to it, neither side will protect him.

Once you understand this, the rest will be much easier.

Rather than wavering between the two sides, it's better to stand firm on one side.

Moreover, he could use this opportunity to probe Ning Yuechan's situation.

Three days later, Su Bai went to the Ning residence.

Ning Yuechan met him in the waterside pavilion in the garden. The pavilion overlooked a pond of lotus flowers, but at this time of year the flowers had already faded, leaving only withered leaves standing yellow and bare in the water. There was no one else around, only two personal maids standing at a distance, one embroidering with her head down, and the other peeling lotus seeds.

She was dressed in a moon-white casual dress, the fabric of which draped softly, and held a round fan in her hand, embroidered with two butterflies. Seeing Su Bai enter, she gently waved the fan, gesturing for him to sit.

Su Bai sat down and recounted the whole story. From Steward Zhao's arrival to his order to cut off food and water, he didn't omit a single word. As he spoke, he looked at the withered lotus flowers outside the waterside pavilion, his tone flat, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs.

After listening, Ning Yuechan paused in fanning herself, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Good for you." She placed the fan on the stone table, and the two butterflies on the fan fluttered. "If you ask me, you haven't done enough. The Li family dared to come to your door like this because they took advantage of your low rank and lack of connections. Now that you've made this decision, they'll have to think twice—a prison warden who dares to cut off your food and water, is he really without any support at all?"

Su Bai didn't reply, but listened quietly. His gaze fell on the stone table, looking at the fan.

Ning Yuechan glanced at him, her smile fading, and her tone becoming serious. She leaned forward, her moon-white sleeves brushing against the stone table, creating a soft rustling sound: "Don't worry, you did the right thing. As for the Li family, no matter how much trouble they cause, I'll cover for you. Don't even mention cutting off their food and water; even if you drag him out and give him a beating, I can still guarantee your safety."

Su Bai stood up, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting. His movements were perfectly measured, neither too high nor too low, neither too forward nor too backward: "Thank you, Miss Ning."

Ning Yuechan waved her hand, gesturing for him to sit down. Then she chatted for a few more minutes, asking about some trivial matters in prison, before letting him leave.

Leaving the Ning residence, Su Bai walked down the street. The sun was blazing, making his eyes water, and the stone pavement reflected a blinding white light. He squinted as he walked, his shadow a short, indistinct mass beneath his feet.

But something else was on my mind.

Ning Yuechan's words just now were very confident.

But Su Bai remembered that she said "I", not "Ning family".

This isn't about nitpicking.

In the county town, he had seen far too many people who flaunted their power and influence by relying on their master's influence, and he had also seen even more pitiful creatures who were sacrificed by their master to save their chariot. He remembered the fates of all those people.

Ning Yuechan personally admires him and is willing to protect him, that's fine.

But whether Ning Yuechan can represent the entire Ning family is another matter entirely.

If one day the Ning family needs to exchange the life of a jailer for greater benefits, can Ning Yuechan stop them?

Su Bai didn't know the answer.

He only knew that it was okay to borrow power, but not to rely on it.

The momentum you gain is used to buy yourself time; the time you gain is used to make yourself stronger and more useful.

Only when you are useful will others truly protect you.

Useless people, once they die, are gone.

Back at the prison office, Su Bai stood in the courtyard for a while. Looking at the old locust tree, he suddenly felt that the sun was particularly dazzling today. The tree's shadow fell on the ground, creating a dense shade, but he stood in the sunlight and did not move to the shade.

He turned and went into the house, closed the door, and began practicing his martial arts.

He had already completed the sacrifice of Lieyang Jin.

For more than two months, he diligently practiced, without fail, morning and evening. Sometimes it was early morning, before dawn; sometimes it was late at night, when the entire prison office was asleep, only his room was still lit.

I don't know what happened today. Maybe it was because of the things that had been weighing on my mind these past few days, or maybe it was because Ning Yuechan's words made him realize something. As he practiced, the energy within his body suddenly began to stir.

It wasn't the usual orderly flow, but rather it seemed to come alive, rushing in a certain direction on its own.

Su Bai didn't panic. He guided the energy, letting it circulate through his meridians. The first circumference was awkward, like a pedestrian who didn't know the way, taking two steps and then stopping. The second circumference was smoother, and he could feel the energy flowing along a fixed route. By the seventh circumference, the energy suddenly seemed to break through some obstacle, bursting apart and then gathering again.

When he dispersed, he felt like a leaf drifting in a gale; when he gathered, all his strength returned to his body, becoming more solid and substantial than before.

The Blazing Sun Force had actually reached the True Qi Realm.

The intense power of the blazing sun transformed into even more formidable true energy.

Moreover, there was a warm feeling inside my body. That warmth rose from my dantian, traveled up my spine, passed through my back, through my neck, all the way to the top of my head, and then slowly descended. Wherever it passed, it felt as if someone had applied a warm towel, an indescribable comfort.

Su Bai opened his eyes and found himself drenched in sweat. His undershirt was soaked through and clung to his body, but he felt refreshed, all the fatigue of the past few days gone. His breathing was more steady, his heartbeat stronger, and even his vision seemed clearer—the patterns on the window paper and the spiderweb threads in the corner were clearly visible.

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

It was already dusk outside. A fiery sunset painted the western sky, as red as if cinnabar had been splashed on it. The old locust tree cast a long shadow, stretching all the way to the center of the courtyard, with the shadow of its top pointing precisely to where he was standing.

Looking at that shadow, Su Bai suddenly remembered when he first came to the county town.

At that time, he had nothing but his life and a fierce determination. He lived in the most dilapidated house, ate the coarsest food, and did the hardest work. But he never thought of bowing his head or turning back.

Now, he still has to rely on that ruthlessness.

However, he is a little stronger now than he was back then.

Just a little bit.

But that's enough.

Time flies, and another month has passed.

The old locust tree in the yard had lost all its leaves, its bare branches stretching towards the gray sky. When I woke up in the morning, there was already frost on the ground, which crunched underfoot.

The conflict between the Li and Ning families has subsided considerably recently, but a resolution is still pending. Fewer unfamiliar faces are peeking around the government office, and the friction at the docks has calmed down somewhat, but Li Yuehu remains imprisoned on death row, and neither side shows any sign of backing down. It's like two wrestlers, both exhausted and panting, but neither willing to withdraw first—whoever withdraws first will lose.

On the other hand, Su Bai has been diligently cultivating.

He handled prison affairs during the day and practiced martial arts in the back office at night.

After breaking through the Lieyang Force, he focused all his attention on the Qingyuan Technique.

For the past month, every night when all was quiet, he would sit cross-legged on his bed and practice circulating his qi according to the Qingyuan Technique.

The warm, true energy flowed slowly through the body, starting from the dantian, passing through the perineum, the coccyx, and ascending along the spine to the Dazhui point. It then split into two paths, passing through the Jianjing point, the Quchi point, and finally reaching the fingertips. From the fingertips, it returned, passing through the Shousanli point, back to the Dazhui point, down to the Mingmen point, and back to the dantian.

One lap, two laps, three laps.

Sometimes, while I'm practicing, it gets light outside the window.

That night, he finally sensed that his breakthrough in the Azure Origin Technique was imminent.

As night fell, a breeze picked up, rustling the paper windows. Su Bai sat cross-legged on the bed as usual, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and even. There were no lights in the room, only a few drops of moonlight filtering in from the window, casting a thin layer of white light on the floor.

When his inner energy had completed its seventh cycle, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

The originally lukewarm true energy began to become active, like a gently flowing stream suddenly encountering a steep slope, its flow accelerating. He calmed his mind, remaining undisturbed, and simply guided the flow with its momentum.

Soon, even sooner.

True energy surged from the dantian like water released from a dam, rushing along the meridians. Wherever it passed, the meridians felt slightly warm, not scalding, but warm and full, like parched land finally receiving rain.

Su Bai's breathing remained steady, but a thin layer of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

After completing one cycle of circulation, the true energy did not return to the dantian as usual, but instead began to swirl within the body. One circle, two circles, three circles—each swirling felt like it was impacting something, as if some kind of barrier was blocking its way, but it was already on the verge of collapse.

His brows furrowed slightly, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

The true energy circulated for the seventh time before suddenly stopping.

In that instant, all was silent. The wind outside the window seemed to have stopped, and even one's own heartbeat could not be heard.

Then, a loud boom—a sound that could only be heard deep within one's consciousness.

The true energy seemed to break through something, suddenly dispersing and then suddenly gathering. When it dispersed, it was like smoke and mist, spreading to every limb and bone, soaking every inch of muscle and every bone; when it gathered, it was like iron and stone, condensing into a ball in the dantian, denser, more solid, and heavier than before.

Late stage of True Qi Realm!

Su Bai opened his eyes.

The room was still the same room, the moonlight was still the same moonlight, but he knew it was different now.

He slowly raised his right hand, and with a thought, the true energy in his dantian rose up and surged out along the meridians of his arm. He felt that true energy emanating from the Laogong acupoint, like an invisible tentacle, extending forward.

One foot, two feet, three feet away, was the long table by the window. On the table sat a rough porcelain teacup, filled with the leftover tea from the day.

The moment his true energy touched the teacup, he felt it clearly. It wasn't seeing or hearing, but an indescribable sensation—the shape of the teacup, its temperature, even the slight movement of the remaining tea leaves inside—all were within his perception.

The true energy is three-dimensional and extends three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in distance.

Within a radius of three zhang, he could sense anything he wanted. Things that were originally invisible and intangible were now completely exposed under the cover of his true energy.

He withdrew his inner energy, stood up, and walked to the window. Pushing it open, a cold wind rushed in, carrying the chill of early winter. In the courtyard, the bare branches of the old locust tree cast messy shadows in the moonlight, and in the distance, a watchman walked by, striking his clapper, the sound clear and distinct.

It was so clear, it felt like it was right next to my ear.

He stood by the window, letting the cold wind blow against his face, and suddenly remembered when he first arrived in the county town. Back then, he knew nothing, knew nothing, and all he had was his life and a fierce determination.

When Ning Yuechan passed on the Qingyuan Technique to him, she said: This skill nourishes people, but it also torments them. If you can withstand it, your future will be bright; if you can't, your life will be just like that.

He recovered.

Not only did it nurture him, it nurtured him to the late stage of the True Qi Realm.

Su Bai looked at the moonlight outside the window, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. It wasn't exactly a smile, but the lines of his face softened for a moment.

Then he closed the window, turned around and went back to the bedside, where he sat down cross-legged again.

He knew that reaching the late stage of the True Qi Realm was just the beginning. The road ahead was long, and many more battles lay ahead.

But at least, he is a little better now than he was a month ago.

Just a little bit.

But that's enough.