Chapter 31: The Momentum of the Wave-Subduing Saber (Please follow, favorite, and vote with monthly tickets and recommendation votes)

The Outer City was chaotic; patrolling at night was an extremely dangerous undertaking.

Whenever night fell, the Outer City became teeming with all sorts of people: various gangs, thieves, and even young masters and ladies from the Inner City out to perform acts of chivalry...

Aside from the thieves, who were somewhat easy to bully, no one else was someone the constables and bailiffs could afford to offend.

If one encountered a gang skirmish, it was best to stay far away.

Even if intervention was necessary, it had to be left to the head constables and squad leaders to handle.

In order to earn more "performance points," Su Mu had patrolled the night on behalf of others many times and was intimately familiar with the entire process.

After passing through the night with extreme caution, he successfully pocketed 15 points.

In the days that followed, Su Mu became doubly careful. Aside from his official duties, he would return to his rented courtyard and stay behind closed doors.

He strictly avoided any place that felt even slightly dangerous.

Having rejected Sima He Yuxing of the South City Bureau, Su Mu did not dare to gamble on whether this Sima was magnanimous or petty.

He could only guarantee that he would never commit a mistake, so that at least no one could find a pretext to deal with him openly.

As for other underhanded methods, he could only deal with them as they came.

To his surprise, neither He Yuxing nor Zhao Ji made things difficult for him.

At least, not on the surface.

Since others weren't looking for trouble with him, Su Mu naturally wouldn't seek it out. He was happy to perform his duties well every day and often patrolled the night for other constables.

This actually earned him a decent reputation among the constables.

One night, he patrolled for another constable again. As dawn began to break, he completed his duty, walked home along the main road, and carefully secured all the doors and windows.

Immediately after, a flash of blade light illuminated the room.

The room was not large, but Su Mu was already intimately familiar with the placement of the bed, table, chair, and other miscellaneous items. The long saber in his hand flew up and down, yet it never touched a single object.

When saber techniques reach Great Success, the next step is the Realm of Perfection. Perfection means the saber technique is seamless and flawless; most importantly, once a saber technique reaches perfection, one must master the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent.

The Wave-Subduing Saber Intent meant that the power within the blade was like successive waves, stacking one upon another—at most, even nine layers of waves could be stacked.

According to the saber manual, with the Nine-Fold Wave, one could slay a Skin-Tempering martial artist who had not yet mastered perfection, even without having undergone Body Tempering themselves.

However, the manual did not clearly explain how to practice the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent, leaving only the word "comprehension."

During these days, in addition to his duties, Su Mu spent all his remaining time practicing the Wave-Subduing Saber Technique.

After months of bitter training, Su Mu wanted to see if he could comprehend the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent through his own effort and intuition alone, without relying on the system panel.

But the reality was that despite his hard training, aside from making his physique a bit more robust, there was almost no progress in his saber technique.

Comprehension was a mysterious and profound thing; it was hard to say what it truly was.

Su Mu knew that if he continued to train hard, perhaps a flash of inspiration would one day allow him to grasp the intent, but it was more likely that he would remain stuck for decades.

From Great Success to Perfection, countless martial artists had been trapped and died; no one could claim they were certain to comprehend that final step.

"Many people practice the saber for a lifetime and may never comprehend the intent," Su Mu thought to himself. "It is normal if I cannot grasp it; it doesn't prove my comprehension is lacking."

Su Mu did not dwell on it for long and summoned the system panel.

【Name: Su Mu】 【Identity: Constable (Official)】 【Points: 1000】 【Martial Arts: Wave-Subduing Saber Technique (Great Success/+), Archery (Entry Level/+)】

The 1000 points were all earned through his hard work in fulfilling his duties as a constable, bit by bit.

He had earned these points through his own efforts, and his breakthrough to the perfection of the saber technique was also due to himself, without relying on external objects.

He had a clear conscience regarding this breakthrough.

Su Mu closed his eyes, and with a thought, he tapped the "+" next to the Wave-Subduing Saber Technique.

*Boom!*

In an instant, Su Mu felt as if his head were exploding. Countless immersive images were suddenly crammed into his mind.

Innumerable scenes flashed through his mind almost simultaneously, as if he were watching countless films at once.

Even though there were countless films, he was somehow able to see them all clearly at the same time, and every image felt as if he had experienced it personally—vivid and deeply etched in his memory.

These images included fighting for life and death while wandering the martial world, practicing saber techniques amidst crashing waves, and fighting on the battlefield as a soldier...

Just as Su Mu's spirit was about to collapse under the weight of these numerous images, they suddenly merged into a single flash of spiritual light, integrating into his saber technique.

Through countless brushes with death and countless times crawling back from the brink, he finally experienced a flash of insight. His saber technique finally stepped into the realm of seamless perfection.

A vision appeared in his mind: he stood atop a crashing wave and delivered a single strike, the multiple layers of power actually slicing through all nine layers of the wave.

The saber becomes the Nine-Fold Wave—the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent!

Su Mu abruptly opened his eyes.

The long saber on the table leaped into his hand. He took a step forward and unleashed a strike.

This strike carried no specific form; it was a plain, ordinary slash that even someone who had never practiced the saber could perform.

*Boom!*

The blade struck the door. In the blink of an eye, the edge had struck the same spot nine times. The jujube-wood door shattered into pieces, unable to bear the load.

This was the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent—a single strike containing nine layers of force!

When a saber technique reaches this level, it can be called "breaking out of the cocoon like a butterfly." One no longer needs to be bound by forms; every move and every strike can contain the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent.

With a saber intent capable of splitting even nine-fold waves, it couldn't be said to be infinitely strong, but at the very least, there were few people left in the South City who could defeat him.

Even if Xing Zhaofu were to come back to life, Su Mu would no longer be defenseless.

With such strength, he was more than qualified to be a squad leader in the South City Bureau.

Those few squad leaders at the first stage of Body Tempering only had saber techniques at the Great Success level; if it truly came to a fight to the death, they might not even be his match.

Having mastered the Wave-Subduing Saber Intent, he finally felt he had a true foundation to stand on. Even if the South City Bureau could not accommodate him, he could leave with composure.

To put it bluntly, even if he were to turn to banditry and join a mountain stronghold, he could at least secure a seat as a chieftain.

"Back then, that 'Taiping' brother promised that if I could master the Wave-Subduing Saber Technique to perfection within three years, he would grant me a future," Su Mu thought to himself.

He had never forgotten that terrifying demon from that night, nor that breathtakingly magnificent demon-slaying strike.

Even now, thinking of that demon caused a tremor in his soul. That demon was more terrifying than Xing Zhaofu, and even more so than the Great Chieftain of Black Dragon Fortress.

"To be able to slay such a terrifying demon, that 'Taiping' brother's identity must be extraordinary. At the very least, he shouldn't be inferior to He Yuxing," Su Mu mused. "The future he promised me shouldn't be too bad."

In the past, he had no right to choose. But now, he wanted to be a good person... No, he wanted to be a person who could decide his own destiny!

(End of Chapter)