Chapter 27 - 21: Came in Through the Backdoor
After washing away the grime and sweat and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Jiang Mu arrived at his Government Office feeling refreshed and invigorated.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he heard the sound of something whistling through the air.
Zhang Xiaokui was drenched in sweat as he practiced his Saber Skill. Seeing Jiang Mu arrive, he quickly stopped, cupped his fist, and bowed.
"Lord."
Ever since scoring a huge amount of merit by following Jiang Mu, the young man’s attitude had done a complete one-eighty, and he now respected him from the bottom of his heart.
As long as there was meat on the table, even if your leader was a husky, he was a wise and formidable husky.
Hearing the commotion, Zhang Daxie also hurried out from the main hall. He bowed and said, "Lord."
Jiang Mu gave a slight nod and looked at Zhang Xiaokui. "How is your cultivation progressing?"
Zhang Xiaokui couldn’t hide his excitement.
"Reporting, Lord. My progress has been incredibly fast. I’ll be able to break through in as little as three to five days, or half a month at the most!"
He’d used the merits from last time to trade for numerous auxiliary Pills. On top of that, Jiang Mu had gifted him a Tier Three Demon Pill. After refining and consuming it, the medicinal power was immense.
Now, he only needed to get himself into the right state of mind before attempting the breakthrough.
At this thought, he felt even more grateful to Jiang Mu.
If he had continued to rot away in the Third Hall, an opportunity like this would probably never have come his way, not even in his next life.
Jiang Mu nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. But how did you know I broke through too?"
Zhang Xiaokui: "?"
’I didn’t know.’
In contrast, his more perceptive brother, Zhang Daxie, reacted in a flash.
He carefully sized up the aura around Jiang Mu, his face filled with astonishment. "Lord Jiang, you’ve already broken through to the Second Realm?"
"What?!"
Only then did it dawn on Zhang Xiaokui, his face filled with utter shock.
’You have to remember, Jiang Mu had only just barely stepped into the First Realm a short while ago. How much time had passed since then?’
’It hadn’t even been a full month, had it?’
’Hall Master, isn’t your progress a little... outrageous?’
’Sure, the world wasn’t short on monstrous prodigies with natural Dao Bodies who could advance by leaps and bounds in their youth.’
’But Jiang Mu was an older Cultivator who had started late in life, with a widely acknowledged mediocre aptitude. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem like someone with that kind of potential.’
Jiang Mu waved his hand dismissively, his tone nonchalant. "Just got lucky."
He then drew the saber from his waist and grinned at Zhang Xiaokui. "Come on, Xiao Kui. Let’s spar."
Zhang Daxie’s expression changed, and he quickly tried to talk him out of it.
"You can’t, Lord Jiang! Since you’ve just broken through, your top priority should be to stabilize your new realm and solidify your foundation. Your Qi and Blood are still unstable. If you fight rashly now, you could easily damage your core, and what’s more..."
Zhang Daxie didn’t dare to say the rest out loud.
’Besides, you’ll definitely lose!’
’One is a novice who just entered the Second Realm. The other is a veteran at the peak of the Second Realm, with one foot already in the Third Realm.’
’The gap between them was immense.’
’If he lost, how could he save face?’
’How would he maintain his authority in the hall after that?’
But Jiang Mu was unconcerned. "It’s fine. We’ll just be pulling our punches. It’s only a spar."
Zhang Xiaokui instinctively started to step forward.
Zhang Daxie grabbed his brother’s sleeve and whispered, "Take it easy on him. Just use fifty percent of your strength. Let Lord Jiang save some face."
The straightforward Zhang Xiaokui frowned, displeased.
"Brother, you’re insulting me, and you’re insulting Lord Jiang! How can you be dishonest in a martial arts spar?"
Zhang Daxie was exasperated.
’Oh, my foolish brother!’
’You’re almost at the Third Realm! One slash from your saber will send Lord Jiang flying, won’t it?’
"What are you two whispering about over there?"
Jiang Mu was growing impatient. He gestured with his saber. "Hurry up. I can’t wait."
Zhang Xiaokui shook off his brother’s hand and strode into the center of the yard.
Zhang Daxie sighed and put a hand to his forehead.
Jiang Mu warmed up his wrists. Seeing the worried look on Zhang Daxie’s face, he assumed he was concerned for his brother and offered some reassurance. "Don’t worry, Daxie. I’ll hold back. I won’t hurt your brother."
The corner of Zhang Daxie’s mouth twitched violently.
He suddenly realized that while his Hall Master was a good man, he was also a little too overconfident for his own good.
To Zhang Xiaokui, however, those words were grating.
He had a blunt personality and had often been ostracized back in the Third Hall for his inability to suck up to his superiors.
He detested the insincere pleasantries of officialdom.
He was grateful to Jiang Mu, but words like that... wasn’t he looking down on him?
A martial contest was a battle of wills and pride!
Zhang Xiaokui cupped his fist and said in a solemn voice, "Lord Jiang, forgive my impertinence!"
BOOM!
Before his voice had even faded, he drew his saber and charged.
The dirt and gravel exploded under his feet.
Seeing this, Zhang Daxie, who knew his brother best, felt his heart sink.
’It’s over. The fool is really going all out!’
Zhang Daxie gritted his teeth, turned, and ran back into the building to fetch healing medicine for Lord Jiang ahead of time.
But he had only just turned and taken a single step—
BAM!!
A dull thud exploded behind him.
Zhang Daxie whipped his head around, stunned, only to see a figure sent flying backward, smashing heavily into a pile of dirt and kicking up a cloud of dust.
That figure... was none other than his own brother.
And in the middle of the yard,
Jiang Mu still stood in his original spot.
He hadn’t moved so much as an inch.
Jiang Mu flicked his blade and said apologetically to the dumbfounded Zhang Daxie,
"Sorry about that. I couldn’t quite hold back."
Zhang Daxie: "..."
...
After some effort, he managed to dig his brother out of the dirt pile.
Zhang Xiaokui’s topknot was a mess, his mouth was full of grit, and his eyes were glazed over. He had clearly been dazed by the blow.
Fortunately, he hadn’t suffered any internal injuries.
Zhang Xiaokui stared blankly at his saber, now broken in two, then looked at Jiang Mu and mumbled,
"Lord Jiang... what was that Saber Skill you just used?"
’It was too fast.’
’Too powerful.’
He hadn’t even seen how Jiang Mu had struck. He only felt an immense force wash over him, and the saber form he took so much pride in had shattered like paper.
"The Heaven-Breaking Eight Skills."
Jiang Mu said casually. "Aren’t you practicing it as well?"
"?"
Zhang Xiaokui looked as if his entire world had been turned upside down. "But... it felt completely different from the way I practice it."
"Your aptitude is average. You haven’t grasped the true essence of this Saber Skill. You’ve only learned the form, not the spirit."
Jiang Mu said with a straight face, "This Saber Skill emphasizes a single concept: ’Break.’ Once you truly comprehend that, you’ll naturally be able to wield it with the same power I do."
’Is that really it?’
Zhang Xiaokui was skeptical.
He had seen Master Yan, a man famous for his ferocious Saber Skill, execute the Heaven-Breaking Eight Skills at the perfected level.
Its power was immense, but compared to the strike Jiang Mu had just delivered...
’It felt like it was missing something.’
He even had a faint feeling that if they were to fight at the same realm, Lord Jiang could probably still crush him.
Zhang Daxie gazed at Jiang Mu, his expression unreadably complex.
’A newly-ascended Second Realm practitioner had defeated a near-expert on the verge of the Third Realm in a single blow.’
’The whole scene felt completely surreal.’
"Anyone here?"
A cold, clear female voice suddenly called out from beyond the courtyard gate.
A woman in black with a mask over her face walked in. Her tight-fitting combat gear outlined a full, graceful figure. Her ample chest, which seemed larger than her head, made her waist appear exceptionally slender, giving her an air of natural, voluptuous beauty.
And yet, her aura was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old jade, warning all to keep their distance.
"Who are you looking for?"
Zhang Daxie, keenly sensing the Practitioner’s aura on her, stepped in front of Jiang Mu, eyeing the newcomer warily.
The woman’s eyes shifted, and her dark brows furrowed slightly.
"The sign outside says this is the Eighth Hall Government Office of the Demon-slaying Bureau. Why are there only three of you? Where is everyone else? Out on a mission?"
"And you are...?" Zhang Daxie asked in a low voice.
The woman couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. With a flick of her slender wrist, she presented a Token before his eyes.
Zhang Daxie took a closer look, and his expression changed dramatically. He quickly cupped his fist in a salute. "Greetings, Lord Patrol Envoy!"
Within the Demon-slaying Bureau, Demon Slayer Envoys were divided into two categories.
One type, like Jiang Mu, was permanently stationed in a region to handle local Demon Fiend affairs.
The other type held a special status. With their Token, they could freely travel the entire country to investigate and slay demons, wielding considerable authority.
These individuals were known as "Patrol Envoys."
Every single one was an elite who had crawled their way out of a mountain of corpses.
"My name is Ling Ye."
The woman withdrew her Token, her tone still glacial and her aura severe. "I’ve tracked a case to the Hu State border and require your cooperation. Go and get your Hall Master."
Zhang Daxie froze for a moment, then pointed at Jiang Mu.
"Lord Patrol Envoy, this is the Hall Master of our Eighth Hall, Lord Jiang."
"Hm?"
Ling Ye froze.
She took half a step forward, her cold eyes carefully scanning him from head to toe, her gaze filled with disbelief.
"You’re not joking, are you?"
"Second Realm? A Hall Master? How did you get this position?"
Jiang Mu’s expression was calm as he replied modestly,
"Replying to the Lord Patrol Envoy, I relied on my own strength to get in through the back door."