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

"Officer Su, you're quite good." Ning Yuechan's cool voice came. She slowly put down the book in her hand and lightly tapped the table with her fingertip. "I thought you were just a little talented before, but it seems that your talent is not low at all."

Su Bai's heart skipped a beat.

He then suddenly realized that the Lord Ning in front of him was probably the only expert who could see through his true martial arts level.

How long has it been? Since our last meeting, I've already jumped from the first level of martial arts to the second level.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, faintly visible in the morning light filtering through the windowpane.

"Thanks to Lord Ning," Su Bai said, his mind racing, his head bowed even lower, but his voice remained steady. "I had the honor of observing Lord Ning's battle last time, and I gained some insights. I don't know how... but I've broken through again."

Su Bai tried to make his tone carry a suitable sense of fear and gratitude, hoping that this compliment would ease the other party's expression.

Ning Yuechan did not respond, but simply raised her eyes, her gaze falling on him like still water.

The only sounds in the room were the distant, faint noise of the street market and the soft dripping of water from the copper water clock beside the desk.

"Su Bai, your father, Su Anguo," she spoke again, her voice steady and each word clear as engraving, "died in battle four months ago during the operation to suppress the demons of the Reincarnation Sect, and was awarded merit. Therefore, you are hereby appointed as a temporary officer to fill the vacancy."

She paused slightly, her fingertips lightly tracing the yellowed register on the table: "According to the records, you did not show any martial arts talent from a young age. I have verified this—there are still your father's former colleagues in the General Garrison Command. These old matters are not difficult to investigate."

Su Bai held his breath, his shoulders and back tensed up.

"Therefore, your father never laid a foundation for you or prepared you to learn martial arts in advance. So," Ning Yuechan's gaze swept over him again, though not sharp, it carried a penetrating insight, "you only started practicing martial arts after you became a temporary constable."

She leaned forward slightly, her sleeves rustling softly on the table: "I observed that the power flowing through your body back then was indeed the 'Tiger and Leopard Force'; now, your aura reveals a burning intensity, and it has transformed into the 'Blazing Sun Force'—both are orthodox techniques passed down in our sect. Therefore, what I said should be correct."

Su Bai felt that gaze pressing down on his shoulder as if it were a physical thing, and his throat went dry.

"This morning, you single-handedly fought two martial arts masters at the first level. Your swordsmanship was already disciplined, far surpassing that of ordinary fighters." Ning Yuechan's tone remained calm, yet it pierced Su Bai's ears like fine needles. "I only summoned you here for a brief meeting to offer some encouragement. Unexpectedly..."

When she paused speaking, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

"I didn't expect you to have already broken through to the second realm of martial arts."

As she finished speaking, she leaned back in her chair, a faint, almost playful glint in her eyes: "Truly a genius."

As he listened to each sentence, Su Bai felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been forced to the edge of a cliff.

He lowered his head, staring intently at the pattern on a blue brick in front of his shoe, his voice strained: "Lord Ning, you flatter me! I would never dare to claim genius before you!"

"No need to be so modest," Ning Yuechan suddenly chuckled.

The laughter wasn't warm, but it was like the first cracks of spring ice, clear and crisp.

"I won't pry into your secrets." Her tone turned indifferent, yet carried a condescending composure. "You need to understand—some secrets that you cherish as your life, secrets you'd rather take to your grave, may be utterly insignificant in my eyes."

As she spoke, the corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing a faint yet genuine smile.

Su Bai's rapid progress is indeed remarkable, but how old is he now?

In this small county town of Fenjiang, how much weight can the so-called "opportunities" or "secrets" that one can come across really carry?

Ning Yuechan had no interest in taking it.

In fact, until this morning, she had never really looked at the young constable.

It was only when Wei Zhiyao came to report his achievements that he mentioned it a few more times.

She had just become slightly interested and casually asked about the situation.

Upon learning that Su Bai had never practiced martial arts before, she conceived the idea of ​​"summoning him for a meeting," intending only to offer some encouragement and fulfill her subordinate's wishes.

Unexpectedly, this meeting turned out to be quite interesting.

Ning Yuechan tapped her fingertips lightly on the edge of the table, her mind already changed.

This Su Bai has decent courage and talent; it seems... he could be nurtured a bit.

If they can truly become successful in the future, having another capable person would be quite good.

Thinking of this, Ning Yuechan turned to the female servant standing to the side and instructed, "Xiao Hong, go and fetch my sandalwood box."

The woman named Xiaohong nodded quickly and turned to leave the room.

A moment later, she returned carrying a dark brown wooden box with a warm, lustrous surface, and placed it steadily on the desk in front of Ning Yuechan.

Ning Yuechan's gaze fell on Su Bai, and she slightly raised her chin: "Open it."

Su Bai was secretly surprised.

Ning Yuechan's words had already eased his tense nerves a little, so what did she mean by this?

A vague guess began to form in his mind, but he dared not be sure.

"My lord, what is this...?" Su Bai looked up and asked cautiously.

"Consider this a small gift from me to you as we meet." Ning Yuechan's tone was calm as her fingertips lightly brushed the edge of the wooden box. "Don't worry about it. I have no special requests. I only hope that you will be more diligent in your duties in the future. There are three secret manuals in the box. You may choose one."

"This..." Su Bai hesitated, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I cannot accept a reward without merit. I am already grateful for your kindness in granting me this position as a servant, and I dare not accept any further gifts."

"Oh?" Ning Yuechan raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Judging from Constable Su's words, does he feel unworthy of this gift, or unworthy of the greater responsibilities to come? Or perhaps..." She paused, her eyes clear, "...looks down on what I, Ning Yuechan, have given him?"

Su Bai's heart skipped a beat. Without further hesitation, he immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "This humble servant dares not! This humble servant thanks you for your kindness, sir! If you ever have any requests in the future, Su Bai will do his utmost to serve you!"

His voice was firm, and as he lowered his head, his gaze fell precisely on a very thin shadow in the crack between the blue bricks in front of him.

"Okay, get up." Ning Yuechan's lips curled up slightly, clearly quite satisfied with Su Bai's reaction.

She raised her hand to indicate, "Open the wooden box and choose one for yourself."

"Yes, sir!"

Having already gone through the process of declining, Su Bai no longer hesitated this time.

He stood up, stepped forward, and reached for the wooden box. The lid wasn't locked; he easily pried it open with a little force.

The box was lined with a layer of dark blue soft silk, which held three thread-bound booklets of varying thicknesses.

Su Bai carefully picked up each page and examined the cover. Sunlight streamed in from the side window, illuminating the varying shades of ink on the paper:

"Golden Bell Cover" - a form of hard qigong;

The Thirteen Styles of Gale – a sword technique;

"Flying on Grass" - a type of light-body skill.