For a constable in the Outer City, night patrol was almost the most dangerous part of the job.
Once night fell, all manner of ghouls and fiends would take the stage.
Gangs, thieves, Knights, and the rich young masters and ladies who fancied themselves Knights...
A competent constable's most basic skill was knowing what to handle and what to leave alone.
Stick your nose where it didn't belong, and you could wind up dead in the street right then and there.
That was why most constables hated night patrol duty.
Su Mu was the only exception. To earn a little extra "performance bonus," he had filled in for others on night patrol many times and knew the routine inside and out.
He passed the night with great care, successfully pocketing 15 Identity Points.
In the days that followed, Su Mu became twice as careful. Outside of his duties, he would return to his small, rented courtyard and refuse to leave.
He stayed far away from any place that felt even remotely dangerous.
Having refused South City Sima Hu Yuxing, Su Mu didn't dare gamble on whether the Sima was magnanimous or small-minded.
He could only ensure he made absolutely no mistakes. That way, at least, no one would have any leverage over him.
As for any underhanded schemes, he would just have to deal with them as they came.
To his surprise, neither Hu Yuxing nor Zhao Ji made things difficult for him.
At least, not on the surface.
Since no one was causing him trouble, Su Mu certainly wasn't about to go looking for it. He was content to perform his duties each day, and he often took over night patrol shifts for other constables.
This, in turn, earned him a good reputation among the constables.
This particular night, he was once again covering for another constable. When the sky began to lighten at dawn, he handed off his duties, walked home along the main road, and carefully shut all his doors and windows.
In the next moment, the glint of a saber lit up the room.
Su Mu had long since pushed everything in the room against the walls, clearing a space for him to practice.
As he unleashed his technique, a flurry of brilliant saber light filled the room, dazzling the eye.
His saber technique had reached Mastery. The next step was the Realm of Perfection. Perfection meant the technique was fluid and flawless, but most importantly, achieving Perfection required one to master the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum.
The Submerging Wave Saber Momentum allowed the force of the saber to stack layer upon layer like ocean waves, reaching a maximum of Nine Waves.
According to the technique manual, with the Nine Waves, one could slay a Skin Tempering Martial Artist who had not achieved Perfection in their own art, even without having gone through Quenching Body themselves.
However, the technique manual wasn't clear on how to practice the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum, leaving behind only a single word: Enlightenment.
For the past several days, Su Mu had spent every waking moment outside of his duties practicing the Submerging Wave Saber Technique.
After months of arduous training, Su Mu wanted to see if he could grasp the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum through his own effort and insight, without relying on the panel.
But the truth was, besides making his body more muscular, the hard training of the past months had brought almost no improvement to his saber technique.
Insight was a mysterious thing, profound and elusive; it was hard to say what it even was.
Su Mu knew that if he continued to train relentlessly, a flash of inspiration might one day allow him to grasp the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum. But it was far more likely that he would still be stuck at this stage decades later.
The chasm between Mastery and Perfection had been the doom of countless martial practitioners; no one could ever guarantee they would comprehend that final step.
Although Su Mu had long held a clear understanding of his own talent—or lack thereof—he wouldn't have been able to give up without at least trying.
Now, he had tried. He was, indeed, no genius.
Fortunately, he had a talent all his own.
'System panel, appear.'
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable (Clerk)]
[Points: 1000]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Mastery/+), Archery (Beginner/+)]
He had earned all 1000 of those Identity Points bit by painstaking bit, through the diligent performance of his duties as a constable.
'I accumulated these Identity Points myself, drop by drop. They're filled with my sweat and effort. It's no different from training on my own.'
'Using the system panel to break through... I have a clear conscience.'
Su Mu closed his eyes. With a single thought, he pressed the "+" symbol next to Submerging Wave Saber Technique.
BOOM!
In an instant, Su Mu felt his head explode as countless firsthand experiences were violently shoved into his mind.
Countless images flashed through his mind at once, as if he were watching an infinite number of movies simultaneously.
Despite the sheer number of "films," he could somehow watch them all clearly at once. Each scene felt like a personal memory, vivid and unforgettable.
These scenes included life-and-death duels while roaming the Jianghu, arduous saber training amidst crashing waves, and desperate battles on the front lines as a soldier...
Just as Su Mu's mind was about to shatter from the sheer volume of images, the countless scenes suddenly fused into a single spark of insight that merged with his saber technique.
Countless near-death experiences, countless moments of clawing back from the brink... a sudden epiphany struck, and the saber technique finally reached the realm of flawless perfection.
An image formed in his mind: he stood atop a crashing wave, and with a single slash, multiple layers of force cleaved all nine crests of the wave apart.
The Saber of Nine Waves, the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum!
Su Mu's eyes snapped open.
The long saber on the table leaped into his hand. He took a step forward and slashed.
This slash followed no particular form; it was an ordinary strike that even someone with no training could execute.
BOOM!
The saber landed on the door. In the blink of an eye, its edge struck the same spot nine times. The jujube wood door, unable to bear the force, burst into pieces.
This was the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum—a single slash containing nine layers of force!
When a saber technique reached this level, it was a true metamorphosis. He was no longer bound by rigid forms; any move, any strike, could now contain the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum.
With a Saber Momentum that could cleave apart Nine Waves, it was hard to say just how strong he was. At the very least, there were few people in South City who could still defeat him.
Even if Xing Zhao Fu came back from the dead, he would no longer be completely helpless against him.
With such strength, becoming a squad leader in the South City Bureau was more than achievable.
The few squad leaders at the First Stage of Body Tempering only had their martial arts at the Mastery level. In a real fight to the death, they might not even be his match.
Having mastered the Submerging Wave Saber Momentum, he finally had what it took to stand on his own. Even if the South City Bureau would no longer have him, he could leave with confidence.
To put it bluntly, with his current abilities, even if he were to fall in with bandits and join some mountain stronghold, he could at least secure a leadership position.
'Back then, that man 'Taiping' promised that if I could practice the Submerging Wave Saber Technique to Perfection within three years, he would grant me a promising future.'
Su Mu thought to himself.
'I've never forgotten the terrifying demon from that night, or that incredibly cool, demon-slaying strike.'
'Even now, the memory of that demon makes my spirit tremble. That thing was far more terrifying than Xing Zhao Fu, even more terrifying than the leader of the Black Dragon Stronghold.'
Su Mu mused, 'To be able to slay such a terrifying demon, that 'Taiping' fellow must have an extraordinary identity. He has to be at least on par with Hu Yuxing. The future he promised me... it can't be too bad, can it?'
'Before, I had no right to choose. But now, I want to be a good person... no, that's not it. I want to be a person who can decide his own fate. A man!'