Breaking Limits in Martial Arts: Grinding Your Way to Becoming a Martial Saint in a Chaotic Era

"Officer Qi, the Wu family appreciates your kindness."

Wu Boxian's voice remained unhurried: "But as you know, sponsoring someone to practice martial arts isn't something that can be done in a day or two. Meat, medicine, pills—all of these cost money. It would easily cost at least a hundred taels a year, and that's a conservative estimate."

He paused, his gaze falling on the now-cold teacup on the table: "If we're just looking to train a skilled Ming Jin practitioner, frankly, the Wu family doesn't lack that. What we lack is someone who can break through to An Jin, someone who can uphold our reputation and keep the place in check."

"I understand," Qi Mao nodded, his voice a little dry. "It was me... I misjudged him."

He gave a wry smile. The smile was on his face, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, but there was no smile in his eyes.

"To be honest, Brother Wu, I really think highly of that kid." Qi Mao raised his head, his gaze somewhat complicated. "I've met a lot of people in my life, and some you can tell at a glance—this person won't amount to anything. But Xu Qing is different. When he stands there, you can feel a... how should I put it, a certain energy. It's not the kind of loud, boastful energy, it's something that's ingrained in your bones, like a knife that hasn't been sharpened yet."

He paused, then sighed deeply: "I thought he was a diamond in the rough, and I wanted the Wu family to sponsor him as soon as possible... I also wanted to find him a good employer. Who knew..."

He shook his head and didn't say anything more.

Wu Boxian stood up, straightened his sleeves, and resumed the polite tone he had when he entered: "Officer Qi, we in the Wu family appreciate your kindness. If a suitable candidate comes along later, we can discuss it further. Thank you for the tea today."

"I'll see you off." Qi Mao also stood up, his face displaying the usual smile he wore when dealing with people in the government office.

The two reached the doorway, and Wu Boxian bowed to take his leave. Qi Mao stood on the threshold, watching Wu Boxian's figure walk through the courtyard and disappear behind the screen wall.

Qi Mao stood there for a while, then turned and went back into the house.

The teacups on the table hadn't been cleared away yet, and Wu Baek-hsien had only taken a sip of his. The tea had already lost its heat and gone completely cold. The bright green tea leaves were still floating on the surface, and it had already turned bitter.

......

After Xue Guang showed Xu Qing around the streets, they returned to the yamen.

Xu Qing didn't rush back to the martial arts school. He turned a corner and headed towards his aunt's steamed bun shop. His aunt's steamed bun shop wasn't in his assigned area, but it wasn't far; he could get there by walking through a few alleys.

He was dressed in a black robe, with a waist tag and a knife hanging from his waist. He walked down the street at a moderate pace, his eyes scanning both sides of the street.

Several vendors saw him, their faces beaming with smiles, and bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, sir."

Xu Qing nodded slightly, without saying anything.

He wasn't used to being called "official," but he knew that this uniform and this badge represented the rules. They weren't bowing down to him as a person, but to his attire. Wearing this uniform, even the most arrogant gangsters wouldn't dare to act recklessly in public.

Inside the steamed bun shop, Xu Yan was kneading dough with her head down, while Xu Cheng was tending the fire in the back room.

Xu Qing stepped forward and called out, "Auntie."

Xu Yan looked up and paused for a moment. Her gaze first fell on his face, then moved down to his black robe, and then to the waist badge and knife at his waist.

"Qing'er? Why are you dressed like this?" Her voice was a little unsteady, as if she hadn't stood up properly.

Xu Qing smiled and said, "Auntie, I successfully passed the test and broke through to the Ming Jin level. I've been assigned to a position in the yamen. I'm a constable now."

Xu Yan's eyes suddenly turned red, very suddenly.

She didn't understand concepts like "locking gates" or "manifesting strength," nor did she grasp the rules and intricacies of martial arts training. But she knew one thing: her nephew had made something of himself. Not just empty words like "made something of himself," but a genuine achievement. He was a constable, with a badge hanging from his waist and a knife in his hand.

She wiped her hands, leaving white streaks of flour on her apron. She stepped forward and pulled Xu Qing up and down, looking her over. She touched the cuffs of the black robe, then the raised characters on the waist tag, and tears suddenly streamed down her face.

"Good...good...our Qing'er has made something of herself...she's become an official..." she said, wiping away tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears she shed.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Cheng came out from the back room, carrying a steamer basket. White steam billowed out from the gaps in the basket, covering his face. He was stunned when he saw Xu Qing's attire. The steamer basket was placed on the table with a muffled thud, but he didn't even notice.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat, and in the end he could only manage to utter, "Ah Qing, well done."

Xu Qing sat in the steamed bun shop for a while. Xu Yan brought him a basket of steamed buns and a bowl of porridge.

He ate slowly, his gaze occasionally sweeping across the street. It wasn't a casual look; it was purposeful, carrying a sense of anticipation.

He is waiting.

It's not about waiting for a specific person to come, but about waiting for the people of the Azure Dragon Hall to see it.

He knew that gang members had the sharpest eyes and the keenest noses. The news of a new constable on the streets would reach their ears very quickly.

He deliberately showed up at his aunt's steamed bun shop, wearing his black uniform and swaggering around eating steamed buns, just to let them see that this constable had a connection with this shop. It wasn't just passing by, it wasn't a coincidence, he was a regular customer, he was family.

Sure enough, less than an incense stick's time later, two figures appeared on the street corner, peeking around furtively. The two men were hiding in the corner, craning their necks to look in their direction.

They stood on the street corner for a while, whispered a few words to each other, and then one of them walked away quickly, while the other stayed behind, leaning against the wall, pretending to sunbathe, but his eyes were always fixed on the direction of the steamed bun shop.

Xu Qing ignored them, as if he hadn't seen them. He finished the last steamed bun, drank the porridge in his bowl, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, smiled and said goodbye to his aunt and uncle, and got up to return to the martial arts school.

He didn't look back even once. But he knew those eyes were fixed on his back until he turned into the alley and disappeared from sight.

The news spread faster than the wind.

Less than half an hour later, in the courtyard of the Green Dragon Hall, Deputy Chief Ma was sitting in a recliner drinking tea. The tea was coarse, brewed from large leaves, and tasted bitter and astringent, but he was used to it.

A subordinate rushed in, his shoes making a clattering sound on the blue bricks. He ran up to him, bent down, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Deputy Chief Ma frowned and put down his teacup. "From the Zhao Family Martial Arts School? A newly appointed constable? And connected to the Xu Family Steamed Bun Shop?"

"Yes. I've found out. The constable's name is Xu Qing, and he's the nephew of Xu Yan, the owner of the steamed bun shop. He's progressed very quickly in his martial arts training; he reached the Ming Jin level in just twenty days!"

"Twenty days to develop Ming Jin?!" Deputy Gang Leader Ma's eyes widened. His eyes weren't big to begin with, and this widening made them look somewhat comical.

His gaze flickered, like beads on an abacus, then he picked up the teacup and put it down again, the tea swirling in the bowl and spilling a little onto the stone table: "Anything else?"

"And..." The subordinate hesitated for a moment, lowering his voice as if afraid of being overheard by those outside the courtyard, "News has spread from the yamen that this Constable Xu knocked down a disciple named Han Bao from the Benlei Martial Arts School with a single punch yesterday at the yamen's martial arts training ground. Han Bao had just broken through to the Ming Jin realm and was considered one of the better new disciples at the Benlei Martial Arts School."

Deputy Chief Ma paused for a moment.

One punch knocks him down?

He squinted, his mind racing. He picked up the teacup and took a big gulp. A little tea spilled from the corner of his mouth, running down his chin and into his neck. He wiped it with his sleeve, not caring at all.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and a glint of light flashed in his pupils.

He thought of Chen Jiang.

His good-for-nothing brother-in-law, that good-for-nothing who knew nothing but eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, was beaten to death in his house in the west of the city. His face was so badly bruised that he was unrecognizable.

He investigated for several days, but the trail ended with Xu Qing, and the matter was eventually dropped.

Xu Qing is the nephew of Xu Cheng, the owner of the steamed bun shop. Chen Jiang also frequently visited the shop during that period, harassing the owner's wife, vandalizing the shop, and causing trouble. Xu Qing wanted Wu Mingyuan's help because of this, but Wu Mingyuan said it had nothing to do with him, which scared Xu Qing so much that he wet his pants.

This Xu Qing... Xu Yan's nephew, a disciple of the Zhao Family Martial Arts School, a newly appointed constable, capable of knocking down someone of the same skill level with a single punch. Could it be him?

Deputy Chief Ma shook his head. He had rejected himself.

The one who killed Chen Jiang was a master of internal energy, whose internal organs were shattered by the shockwave. The force was incredibly powerful; there was no faking it. Xu Qingcai, on the other hand, was only at the level of external energy, so he couldn't have done that. Besides, he hadn't even broken through to the level of external energy at that time, making it even more impossible for him.

He put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers on the armrest a few times.

This Xu Qing seems like a tough nut to crack.

Zhao Yan of the Zhao Family Martial Arts School is a master of the Transformation Realm, someone he can't afford to offend. Now that Xu Qing has taken up an official post, he's even more untouchable. An official's authority over a thief is a matter of course. No matter how arrogant the Green Dragon Hall is, they wouldn't dare openly challenge the government.

Should we give him face?

Deputy Chief Ma pondered for a moment.

"Pass on my message," he said, his voice neither warm nor cold. "From now on, stop collecting protection money from the Xu family's steamed bun shop. Let Lai Tou handle it personally, and don't let those fools under him cause any more trouble."

Lai Tou was a minor leader in the Qingjiao Hall, with a Ming Jin cultivation level. He had been in the gang for seven or eight years and managed more than a dozen people.

The subordinate was taken aback for a moment, as if he hadn't expected his boss to specifically ask the bald man to handle something for such a small steamed bun shop. But he quickly nodded, replied "Yes," and left.

Before noon, Lai Tou went to the steamed bun shop.

He walked into the steamed bun shop alone, dressed in a gray cloth outfit, with a smile on his face. His smile was just right, neither obsequious nor arrogant, just like an ordinary customer buying steamed buns.

"Boss Xu, I've offended you greatly in the past." He cupped his hands in greeting, his voice low but very polite. "From today onwards, your protection fee will be waived. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to West City to find me."

After saying that, he placed the two bags of pastries he was carrying on the counter, turned around and left.

Xu Cheng stood frozen by the table, a damp rag still clutched in his hand, water dripping from between his fingers. His mouth was agape, his eyes fixed on the doorway. The bald man's figure had vanished, but he remained staring in that direction, as if he'd been paralyzed.

Xu Yan came out of the inner room, her eyes still red. They had been red ever since Xu Qing left, and the redness hadn't faded.

When she heard what the bald man said and saw the two packages of pastries on the counter, tears streamed down her face. She tried to wipe them with the back of her hand, but her hand was also wet, and the more she wiped, the more tears fell, and she couldn't stop them.

Xu Cheng snapped out of his daze, his lips trembling as he tried to say something, but a stone seemed to be stuck in his throat. He looked at Xu Yan, then at the long alleyway leading to the entrance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew who was responsible.

Because of Xu Qing.

That was Xu Yan's nephew who fished in Blackwater Bay. He earned his position as a constable through his own hard work, and with that official status, the Qingjiao Gang members voluntarily came to his door to waive the protection fees.

Let's compare Xu Qing with Xu Qing.

His nephew's sister-in-law would borrow money from him every few days, but she never paid it back and thought it was perfectly normal.

The eldest sister-in-law had no sense of propriety, bragging everywhere that Xu Qing knew the Wu family's son. And what happened? Chen Jiang's death had nothing to do with Xu Qing; instead, he became a laughingstock among the neighbors.

They're the same nephew, so why is there such a big difference?

Xu Cheng shook his head, a slow shake that expressed all the helplessness and heartache in his heart.

He wrung out the rag, turned around, and looked at Xu Yan: "Yan'er, from now on... let's take better care of Qing'er."

Xu Yan nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes again.