Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Thirty-Six: The Way of Martial Arts

Changning entered the palace to see the Empress Bai Wan, while Chen Chang'an patiently waited at the Princess's residence. Unexpectedly, Li Shu sent word that he wished to meet him; it was just as well, for Chen Chang'an had matters he intended to consult about. After bidding the maidservants farewell, he departed.

Upon arriving at the Judicial Office, Wu Yuanheng was present, tending to the wounded Ye Lin and Hua Mulan. It was rumored they'd consumed the spiritual medicine gifted by Cao Wu, and their recovery was nearly complete.

Li Shu rubbed the copper coin in his hand, his gaze shifting from the patients to Chen Chang'an. "Hey, little brother Chen, the case is solved, and you deserve the greatest credit!"

Chen Chang'an chuckled, "Well... it's nothing, really. So, what does Lord Li want with me?"

Li Shu glanced warily at the rotund Wu Yuanheng, then approached and draped an arm around Chen Chang'an's neck, whispering, "Little brother Chen, I know many renowned physicians in the realm. Perhaps they can treat your eye condition. Come, join our Judicial Office; I'll grant you the same fifth-rank monthly salary."

His eyes rolled exaggeratedly and he added, "How about an official position, too?"

"Ah... I..."

Chen Chang'an was pondering how to politely decline when Wu Yuanheng, who had been tending to Ye Lin and Hua Mulan, could no longer sit still. He stood up, eyes wide. "Li, what do you mean? The Judicial Office exists merely to imprison criminals—not suitable for brother Chen. Brother Chen is meticulous and excels at investigation; the Punishment Bureau is the best fit for him. That's what it means to make use of talent. To have him guard prisoners? Ha!"

He brushed Li Shu aside and smiled at Chen Chang'an. "Brother Chen, come to our Punishment Bureau. I'll arrange an important position for you, with a monthly salary of twenty taels of silver."

The starting base salary for miscellaneous officials in the Great Min is twelve taels, so Wu Yuanheng's offer was exceedingly generous. Li Shu, hearing this, was instantly displeased and stiffened his neck like a mother hen about to peck. "No, no, brother Chen is still better suited to the Judicial Office."

"If you come to our Judicial Office, I'll appoint you as warden—thirty taels a month, report at six in the morning, finish at eight in the evening."

Chen Chang'an nearly jumped up on the spot. Based on modern hours, Li Shu was offering a proper nine-to-five—something countless workers dream of. Clearly, these two fools wanted to poach him, having seen his excellent performance in two cases.

Yet Chen Chang'an remained determined to refuse; he firmly believed that with knowledge from the future, opening a hotpot restaurant or a bar and KTV would be a far easier and more lucrative path than being controlled by the government.

Besides, he still owned the Fragrant Courtyard, and with proper use of resources, he could thrive in the underworld.

As he pondered, the rotund Wu Yuanheng shoved Li Shu aside again. "What do you know? Reporting at six, you say? My Punishment Bureau reports at seven, and dismissal at six in the evening!"

"You..." Li Shu was fuming.

Wu Yuanheng replied calmly, "What's wrong with that?"

From their exchanged glances, it was clear they were both thinking, "You troublemaker." After a moment of confrontation, Wu Yuanheng took action, bumping Li Shu aside.

"Ah!"

Li Shu shrieked, grabbing Wu Yuanheng's hefty frame. They locked arms, wrestling like ruffians in a street brawl, rolling and tugging around the small room.

"Uh..."

Chen Chang'an was speechless—why were they actually fighting? Hastily, he moved to separate them, and as he bent down, the gold token hidden in his robe fell to the ground with a clang. Li Shu and Wu Yuanheng froze, their expressions instantly turning blank.

"The Black Robe Token?"

"Cao Wu's Black Robe Token—how do you have it?"

Chen Chang'an scratched his head. "Well, actually, Sister Wu said I should consider it, and if I wish to join the Black Robe Guard, I could take the token to Black Robe Lane and find her."

"......"
"......"

Li Shu and Wu Yuanheng fell silent, their faces different but both equally wilted. The Black Robe Guard's status far surpassed the Three Bureaus; even their direct superior, Wen Changming, was not on equal footing. If Cao Wu showed interest in Chen Chang'an, there was nothing more to compete for.

Unless one day Cao Wu publicly declared, "That Chen fellow, the Black Robe Guard does not welcome you." They exchanged glances for half a second, coughed in turn, "Ahem, so that's how it is."

"Oh, to join the Black Robe Guard, especially with Cao Wu's personal invitation—very good, congratulations!"

"Hey, Lord Wu, why are we on the floor, wrestling each other?"

"Perhaps... perhaps because the Xiao Lian case is finally solved, and we are overjoyed!"

"Yes... yes, that's it, that's it."

"Hahaha!"

They stood up, brushing dust off their clothes, dryly laughing. Li Shu glanced at Chen Chang'an, somewhat embarrassed. "Hey, why are you here, brother Chen?"

Chen Chang'an was speechless. "Wasn't it you who called me?"

"Oh, it's nothing, you can go back!" Li Shu waved him off.

Chen Chang'an: "......"

After a pause, he said, "If you two lords have no further business, I do have a question I'd like to ask, if I may?"

Neither responded, meaning he was free to speak. Chen Chang'an went straight to the point. "Actually, I'd like to cultivate, so I wanted to ask about which path would suit me best?"

Although Peach Blossom mentioned that the Fragrant Courtyard housed secret techniques from a thousand years ago, there was a gap in time; it could only serve as a cheat, not as a true cultivation path. To genuinely walk this path in the real world, he still needed guidance.

To put it simply, his steady cultivation was like building a cannon mount; no matter how powerful the secret arts from the Fragrant Courtyard, ultimately, they were just the shells.

Yes, that's exactly it.

Confucianism? Requires daily study—pass!

Buddhism and Daoism? Surely have strict precepts, shaving one's head and abstaining from women—pass!

So his path was limited to martial arts or cultivation. In fact, from the moment he crossed over, he'd been preparing, though always delayed by too many matters.

Li Shu and Wu Yuanheng stared, eyes wide, speaking in unison, "So you're preparing... to join the Black Robe Guard?"

Chen Chang'an shook his head, innocent as could be. "No, who says cultivation must mean joining the Black Robe Guard? I just want to grow stronger to protect myself!"

"Really?" Both glared, as if interrogating him.

Chen Chang'an patted his chest in assurance!

Li Shu nodded, "Oh, that's fine. Since you wish to cultivate, I have a Body-Refining Manual here. Study it diligently—wait, you're blind, how will you read? Have someone read it to you."

"Body-Refining Manual? Is it martial arts?" Chen Chang'an asked cautiously.

Li Shu tossed his sleeve, "Of course it's martial arts, what else did you expect?"

Chen Chang'an pouted, "Is it possible I might be better suited for another system? Like my brother-in-law, cultivating the Dao?"

Wu Yuanheng shook his head, "Among all the cultivation systems in Great Min today, aside from martial arts, the others have prerequisites. Take cultivation, for instance—you need a spiritual root, recognition from a sect, and guidance from an elder."

"Your brother-in-law was only able to join because he had direct guidance from Zhen Ziping, the master of Bashan Sword Sect."

"So... I can only pursue martial arts?"

Chen Chang'an spread his hands, understanding the hidden rules. Martial arts had no threshold; anyone could practice. The others required prerequisites. Compared to his previous life, it was like the difference between entering a factory and a state enterprise.

Indeed, rough martial artists were everywhere.

"All right, thank you, Lord Li!" Chen Chang'an bowed slightly.

Wu Yuanheng spoke up, "I also have some pills needed for early martial arts training and methods to stabilize your foundation. I'll have them sent over later."

"Thank you, Lord Wu!" Chen Chang'an bowed again.

In the time that followed, he engaged in deep discussion with Li Shu and Wu Yuanheng about martial arts knowledge. He learned that from entry to supreme strength, there were nine ranks: first rank, bone training; second rank, body refinement; third rank, technique awakening; fourth rank, mountain opening; fifth rank, spirit forging; sixth rank, integration; seventh rank, life and death; eighth rank, post-mystical; and ninth rank, true martial!

At the third rank, martial artists awakened their original technique—a unique ability. Of course, some might never awaken it, no matter how hard they try. The advanced form, Image Fusion, was usually achieved at the life and death stage, though the exceptionally talented might achieve it earlier.

As for the current distribution of martial arts power in the Central Plains, there were said to be ten high-rank experts, with the court holding six or seven of them. Two had reached the eighth rank, post-mystical realm—Wang You and Zhou Yao.

The former resides on the ninth floor of the Weapon Vault, leader of the Black Robe Guard; the latter governs the martial world, the foremost martial artist. That’s “Central Plains and Nine Provinces,” because to the east, the small nation of Yingzhou has another post-mystical expert, Chang Dengtuo.

However, since he lost narrowly to Wang You in a duel years ago, he has not appeared publicly. Of course, this is only what’s widely known; it’s possible that hidden in some corner of the Nine Provinces, others might have secretly cultivated to this level—or even beyond.

By afternoon, Chen Chang'an received notice from a maidservant at the Princess's residence. He left the Judicial Office carrying Li Shu's Body-Refining Manual and Wu Yuanheng's assorted pill recipes.

Arriving at the Princess's residence, the beloved Changning had indeed secured the imperial decree restoring the Su family's inner city registration. Chen Chang'an gratefully accepted it, thanked her repeatedly, and returned to the Su mansion with blurred, mosaic-like vision.

He reached the gate at sunset, straightened his attire, cleared his throat, and prepared to show off the imperial edict to these so-called “family” members. Yet before he could speak, crowds surged from both sides of the Su mansion, mostly elderly women—some four or five hundred strong. The sight made his heart clench.

They pressed in, surrounding Chen Chang'an tightly at the center.

"What’s this..." he began to ask, when shouts erupted around him.

"Your Su family’s eldest son, Su Dingfeng, sliced off the tiles on my roof with his sword—pay up!"

"That’s right, pay up! I was eating peacefully at home when he chopped down my hundred-year-old jujube tree with his sword. He must compensate!"

"......"
"......"

The complaints poured in, all manner of grievances: dead chickens, dead ducks—even a particularly bizarre one, an old man was squatting on the toilet when a burst of sword energy whisked away the roof, exposing him to passersby, demanding compensation for emotional distress.

"Good heavens!"

Chen Chang'an recalled his brother-in-law's cry to cleave a thousand mountains, waving his sword and soaring from the Princess's garden. He was dumbfounded. Was this fellow ever going to behave?

Dingfeng, the perpetrator!