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

Chapter 132 Demanding the Cultivation Technique

The moonlight, as white as frost, quietly spread across the bluestone slabs of the Fenjiang County Magistrate's Mansion's backyard, making the edges of each stone brick exceptionally clear. Qiang Su Bai stood with his sword sheathed, his chest rising and falling slightly, exhaling a misty white breath.

On the ground about ten feet in front of him, a dark figure was curled up in a strange posture. The wound on its neck had long since stopped bleeding, leaving only a small patch of dark, damp stains beneath it.

On the stone bricks beside the corpse, sword marks crisscrossed, the deepest of which were three inches deep, with a thin layer of frost around the edges, gleaming eerily in the moonlight.

"Keep quiet."

Su Bai turned his head and looked at the servant woman who had just peeked out from the side gate. He spoke in a very low voice, but it reached her ears clearly.

The maid was in her early forties, surnamed Zhou. She had worked as a servant in the magistrate's household for many years and was known for her boldness and diligence.

Just now, she vaguely heard some strange noises in the backyard from the side room. When she got up and put on her clothes, she was worried that a thief had broken in and that she should go and check it out.

Seeing the corpse on the ground by the moonlight, Sister Zhou's face turned as white as the undergarment in her hands. A muffled gurgling sound came from her throat—she forcefully covered her mouth with both hands, her knuckles turning white, silencing the scream that was about to burst from her throat.

Su Bai nodded, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather tonight: "Nothing, go back to sleep. Wait for me at the back door first thing tomorrow morning."

Sister-in-law Zhou nodded repeatedly, took two steps back, and her legs went weak when she turned around. She staggered and had to hold onto the wall to steady herself. Without daring to look back, she hurriedly disappeared behind the side gate.

The side door closed gently, making a barely audible creak.

The next day at dawn, as the sky was just beginning to lighten and the morning mist still shrouded the streets and alleys of Fenjiang County.

Sister-in-law Zhou pushed a wheelbarrow, its wheels rolling on the bluestone road with a monotonous rumbling sound.

The vehicle was covered with a grayish-white coarse cloth, and the outline of a human figure could be vaguely seen under the cloth, swaying slightly with the bumps of the wheels.

She kept her head down, staring only at the road three feet ahead, her hands trembling slightly as she pushed the cart, her knuckles turning white.

Su Bai walked beside her, his steps were unhurried and his expression was indifferent, as if he were just going out to run errands.

After crossing two streets, the gray gate of the General Garrison Command came into view.

The stone lions in front of the gate were damp with the morning mist, covered with a layer of fine water droplets, making them appear even more somber than usual.

Several bailiffs were sweeping at the entrance, their bamboo brooms making a rustling sound as they swept across the stone surface. Seeing Su Bai approach, they all stopped what they were doing.

"Lord Su." A young constable greeted him with a smile, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the cart. His broom froze in mid-air. "This is—"

"Wait outside for a moment," Su Bai said to Sister Zhou, and stepped up the stairs.

The coarse cloth covering the wrist wasn't very tight. When the cart passed the threshold, it jolted, and a stiff wrist slipped out of the cloth. The wrist was bluish-gray with lividity, the knuckles were curled into claws, and dried dirt remained under the fingernails.

The constables' expressions changed simultaneously, and their hands holding brooms froze.

Su Bai had already entered the gate, his figure disappearing behind the screen wall.

They looked at each other, neither daring to ask a question. They pretended not to see anything and continued sweeping, but their movements were much stiffer than before, and the sound of the brooms scraping the ground was out of rhythm.

The windows of the pavilion were half-open.

Ning Yuechan sat behind her desk, a stack of official documents beside her, but she didn't read them. She just stared blankly out the window.

The morning light slanted in through the window, casting faint shadows on her face.

She looked much more haggard than usual, with a deep weariness between her brows and two faint dark circles under her eyes.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, she turned around and saw Su Bai. A complex expression flashed in her eyes, a mixture of surprise and inexplicable guilt.

"Su Bai." She spoke, her voice a little hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken properly in a long time, "I—"

She paused, took a deep breath, lowered her eyes, and her eyelashes trembled slightly: "I've gone back to my family. They—refused to get involved in your affairs. I—"

Her voice was even lower, tinged with bitterness: "I feel ashamed before you."

This is also why she didn't look for Su Bai immediately after returning.

However, he did not go to the prefectural government and stayed in Fenjiang County.

I had planned to think of a way to help Su Bai in the coming days, but I didn't expect Su Bai to come here on his own today.

Su Bai stood at the door, looking at the woman.

She was dressed in a plain-colored blouse, her hair neatly styled in a bun, but a few stray hairs at her temples were slightly loose, making her face look even more tired.

He stepped into the room, his boots creaking softly on the wooden floor. He stopped before the desk and said gently, "Lord Ning, there's no need for that. I understand."

Ning Yuechan looked up at him, her gaze filled with inquiry.

Su Bai remained calm, his gaze as clear as still water: "Families have their considerations, and adults have their difficulties. If I were the patriarch of the Ning family, I wouldn't stand up for an outsider who has nothing to do with me. I don't blame you, sir, nor do I blame the Ning family."

He paused slightly, his tone becoming more serious, even warmer: "Besides, I believe the adults will do their best to help me. That's enough."

Ning Yuechan stared at him blankly for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, a smile tinged with self-mockery: "You're quite—open-minded."

She raised her hand to rub her temples, her fingers gently pressing on her forehead. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Su Bai's expression turn serious, his gaze suddenly sharpening, and he said, "My lord, someone broke into the inner quarters of the magistrate's residence last night with the intention of assassinating you."

Ning Yuechan's hand paused between her brows, her gaze suddenly hardening, and her pupils slightly contracting.

Where are they?

"Killed him." Su Bai answered casually, as if it were just a trivial matter. "I brought the body here; it's right outside the door. Would you like to take a look, sir, and see if you can recognize who he is?"

Ning Yuechan stared at him for a couple of moments, then suddenly stood up, her movements so swift that her clothes fluttered: "You killed him?"

'

"Yes."

"What is his cultivation level?"

"Mid-stage True Qi Realm"

Ning Yuechan stopped in her tracks, frozen in place, her pupils contracting sharply.

I realized it, but I wasn't that surprised.

Su Bai seems to have surpassed her.

That was once just a lowly temporary servant in the Skin Refining Realm.

She slowly turned around, her movements almost stiff, and looked at the young man in front of her again.

Su Bai stood in the morning light, his posture as straight as a pine tree, his expression calm and serene, showing no trace of pride or ostentation.

The morning light cast a soft glow on his profile, revealing a composure beyond his years. But it was precisely this tranquility that stirred a storm within Ning Yuechan's heart.

He killed a mid-stage True Qi Realm cultivator.

She certainly knew what that meant.

Of all the direct descendants of the Ning family who were nurtured with the full strength of the clan, only a handful could reach the True Qi Realm before the age of thirty.

Su Bai, who just a few months ago was a commoner who couldn't practice martial arts and was doing the lowest-level jobs in the prison, is now able to kill an assassin in the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm.

"You—" Her voice was a little hoarse, her throat bobbing slightly, "It's in post-production?"

Su Bai nodded, his expression unchanged: "Late stage of True Qi Realm."

He raised his right hand, his fingers loosely clenched, the movement slow and composed.

A cloud of white mist suddenly condensed between his palms, carrying a chilling aura.

The mist spun rapidly, condensing into tiny ice crystals that refracted the sunlight, creating a dazzling display of light. In an instant, it exploded, transforming into more than ten sharp sword energies that crisscrossed in the air, emitting a faint whistling sound, before finally embedding themselves in the corner of the table.

After a few muffled thuds, a fine patch of sword marks was left on the corner of the table. Some were half an inch deep, while others were shallow enough to cut through the wood grain. A thin layer of frost had formed on the edges, which was slowly melting in the sunlight, seeping out tiny water droplets.

Ning Yuechan stared intently at the sword mark, remaining silent for a long time.

The Frost Sword Technique has been perfected.

She naturally recognized this technique.

When Su Bai first obtained this manual, she had told him not to practice it.

But now... it seems there's no way to change it, since the training has already begun.

Unexpectedly, he actually mastered it.

How long has it been?

All things considered, it's only been a month or so.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart, and focused her attention on sensing the aura emanating from Su Bai.

The flow of true qi is profound and solid, without any sense of emptiness, like a steady river flowing quietly through the meridians.

It doesn't seem like they used any powerful drugs to induce labor, nor does it seem like they practiced any evil techniques.

This is genuine internal energy cultivated through real practice.

Ning Yuechan suddenly felt a little lost, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

A pearl shines brightly.

When she first discovered Su Bai's talent, she thought it was an opportunity for the Ning family.

Anyone who lends a helping hand during his most difficult time will surely earn a good reputation in return.

However, those family members were only focused on their immediate interests and worried about the Li family's power, so they pushed this opportunity away.

Now, trying to win them over would likely cost ten times more, and they might not even appreciate it.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but her face remained impassive. She simply sighed softly, a sigh that carried unspoken meaning: "Let's go, let's go see that corpse."

Downstairs, Sister Zhou had already pushed the cart into a corner of the yard. She herself retreated far away, standing against the wall with her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes darting away, not daring to look at the cart.

Ning Yuechan stepped forward and reached out to lift the coarse cloth.

The corpse's face was exposed to the sunlight.

The man, in his thirties, had an ordinary face that would be easily lost in a crowd. He was not tall, but his legs were thick-boned with broad feet covered in calluses, a mark left by years of martial arts training.

Ning Yuechan's gaze fell on those legs, and she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Wind God Leg." She straightened up, her tone certain, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. "A veteran of the martial world, famous for at least ten years. This person has excellent lightness skills and fierce leg techniques. He specializes in assassination, his whereabouts are mysterious, and the government has been wanted for three years without success."

She turned to Su Bai, her gaze increasingly complex, and looked him up and down: "You not only killed him, but you also prevented him from escaping?"

Su Bai smiled faintly, like a ray of sunshine in winter: "He can't escape."

Ning Yuechan remained silent for a moment, her gaze lingering on Su Bai's face for a long time. Suddenly, she smiled, a smile carrying a hint of relief, a touch of satisfaction, and a trace of admiration that she herself didn't realize: "Good. Good indeed."

She turned and walked back, her clothes fluttering gently in the morning breeze: "Come with me."

The two returned to their apartment upstairs. Ning Yuechan took a wooden box from the cabinet and pushed it in front of Su Bai.

The wooden box was made of sandalwood, with a smooth surface and a faint woody fragrance.

"The final part of the Azure Origin Technique contains a secret method that I know you've never mastered. Here you go."

Su Bai accepted the wooden box with some delight; what he needed most was the method to conceal his aura.

It felt heavy in his hand. He didn't rush to open it, but instead looked up at her, his gaze calm and profound.

Ning Yuechan sat down behind her desk, pondered for a moment, her fingers unconsciously tapping the surface, and suddenly said, "You just said you came to me wanting more help?"

Su Bai nodded, his gaze honest: "I need more techniques—swordplay, lightness skills, internal energy cultivation, anything goes, I want them all."

"Superior cultivation technique—" Ning Yuechan murmured, repeating it over and over. Suddenly, she raised her eyes, her gaze brightening as if she had thought of something. "Su Bai, you just displayed your strength to let me know that you are worth reconsidering by the Ning family?"

Su Bai did not deny it, but just looked at her quietly with a faint smile on his lips.

Ning Yuechan smiled, this time with a hint of joy, the gloom between her brows dissipating considerably: "Good, very good. Since you have this idea, then I won't hide it from you—there might be another solution to the current predicament."

Su Bai's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes flickered slightly: "You mean, sir—"

"You are now at the late stage of the True Qi Realm." Ning Yuechan stood up, walked to the window with her hands behind her back, and spoke from the window with her back to him. "With this strength, you are already a top-notch fighter in Fenjiang County. Even in the prefectural city, you could get a higher official position in the government."

She turned around, her gaze intense, as if flames were dancing in her eyes: "You can be replaced in your position as jailer."

Su Bai seemed lost in thought, his fingers gently stroking the surface of the wooden box: "My lord—"

"I'm going back to the Ning family," Ning Yuechan said decisively, her tone revealing an unwavering resolve. "I'll bring news that you've reached the late stage of the True Qi Realm. This time, they should know that they're not helping an unknown nobody, but a genius with a bright future."

She paused, her tone resolute, and gazed out the window into the distance: "With the strength of the late True Qi Realm, many things will be different. If the Ning family is willing to lend a hand, it's not impossible for them to secure you a substantive position as the General Commander. At that time, the Ning family will also protect you, and it won't be so easy for the Li family to touch you again."

Su Bai remained silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully with a solemn and sincere gesture: "Thank you, sir."

Ning Yuechan waved her hand, her gaze falling on him, her expression as complex as the water in a deep pool, containing admiration, regret, and a trace of inexplicable melancholy: "No need to thank me. You earned it yourself."

She gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, the clouds on the horizon tinged with a pale gold by the sunlight, and sighed softly: "Even a pearl covered in dust will eventually shine. Su Bai, you are very good. Even better than I imagined."

Morning light streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow between the two of them.