From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

"Was that officer talking to me?"

Shi Dunzi, with his head down, was caught off guard by Jin Buhuan's words and thought he must have misheard. His big eyes widened in surprise.

When I came to my senses, my mouth had uncontrollably stretched into a wide grin, revealing my neat, white teeth, and I thought to myself:

"Did the Taoist master really succeed?!"

Day after day of physical training, braving the wind and practicing horseback riding in the dead of winter—all for this day!

"The stone pier has been verified and is correct."

Just then, the clerk beside him, holding the register, cleared his throat and announced loudly, "To be reserved for the next round!"

Every word struck Shi Dunzi's heart.

He then seemed to snap out of his daze, hurriedly bowing deeply towards Jin Buhuan and Liu Kui, and replied in a muffled voice:

"Thank you, sir! Thank you for your kindness!"

After saying that, he straightened his burly frame and strode excitedly toward the "second round of selection" area.

Liu Kui remained silent throughout, seemingly having no objection to the handling of Jin Buhuan.

The other constables were annoyed. Seeing that Lao Jin's cunning scheme had succeeded, they could easily guess that a promising talent had been snatched away.

"Old Jin, shut your smile." The constable Bai Ri Mang, a colleague, was the most upset. He and Jin Bu Huan had always been good friends, but because of this relationship, comparisons between them were inevitable. He glanced at Jin Bu Huan, his tone laced with a sour, teasing tone:

"Your mouth is practically stretched to your ears! Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you!"

Seeing this, the remaining few asked questions.

"That's right, Lao Jin, when you were examining that big guy just now, your eyes were practically glued to him." Constable Song Jiwen leaned closer, his eyes full of curiosity. "So, Lao Jin, what kind of guy is that?"

He raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically:

"Could it be some extraordinary talent?"

Upon hearing this, the others all perked up their ears.

Jin Buhuan merely smiled faintly, slowly glancing at each of them, but the smile in his eyes and brows couldn't be hidden. He uttered a cryptic question:

"It's acceptable, it's acceptable."

"Go to hell!" Upon hearing these two flippant words, Bai Ri Mang rolled his eyes to the sky and spat out a curse.

"You son of a bitch, it's pointless to ask."

Seeing this, the other constables exchanged glances, shook their heads, and laughed and scolded, "You fat Jin, we've worked together for years, and you're still keeping things to yourself and keeping us in suspense."

"Alright."

Liu Kui's voice was not loud, but it instantly silenced the commotion: "This is not a place for idle gossip."

Seeing this, everyone put away their playful expressions, put on cold faces, and turned their gazes to the martial arts performers waiting below the stage, adopting a businesslike demeanor.

"continue."

Seeing that everyone was behaving themselves, Liu Kui raised his hand and gave the clerk a wink.

The clerk quickly stood up, holding the register, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, "Next couple—"

At the command, the atmosphere on the competition platform became tense once again.

"Number 18 versus number 18!"

The clerk's clear and melodious voice rang in my ears.

Two men emerged from the crowd, one tall and one short. The taller one walked steadily to the edge of the field, to the weapons rack, and picked up a ghost-head saber, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. The shorter one, however, was empty-handed, except for his hands, which were dark and shiny, with thick, large knuckles.

No nonsense.

There were no flowery phrases like "thank you" or "please enlighten me."

The moment the two stood in the center of the stage, and the clerk shouted "Rise!", the arena had become a battlefield of carnage.

"The demon's head splits the mountain!"

The tall man roared, his ghost-headed knife whistling fiercely as he slashed down at the short man's neck, intending to defeat him in one strike.

"No wonder he uses a knife; he must have learned a martial art to protect himself."

Zhu Hong stood at the edge of the shade of a tree, with a stone bench beside him. He had one hand behind his back, his expression impassioned, and he shouted, "Brother Zhu, look at these two, who will win?"

"The one who uses his palm."

"Why?" Shi Dunzi was taken aback, turned to look at him, his large, round eyes filled with suspicion.

"The one wielding the knife got the better deal!"

He had barely finished speaking when the outcome on the stage was already decided.

All I heard was:

"Sizzle—"

The sound of tearing cloth was extremely jarring.

Before anyone could see what was happening, the tall man's sword strike abruptly stopped.

It turned out that the short man who practiced Iron Palm was actually a ruthless character who didn't care about his life. Seeing the blade rushing towards him, he didn't dodge or flinch. Instead, he risked taking the blow to his left arm and, taking advantage of the momentary opening, rolled into the tall man's arms and closed in.

One strike, the "Heart-Piercing Palm".

It was pressed hard onto the tall man's chest.

"Well……"

The tall man let out a muffled groan, and the ghost-head knife in his hand clattered to the ground. He staggered back several steps, fell down on the stage, clutching his chest, too weak to even get up.

"This?" Shi Dunzi froze on the spot, his mouth agape, speechless for a long time. He turned to look at Zhu Hong, his voice full of astonishment:

"You were absolutely right, Brother Zhu!" He scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled, and asked again:

"But how do you know that the one with the iron palm will win?"

"When that knife came down just now, I was sweating bullets!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Hong's lips curled slightly, a faint smile flashing in his eyes, but he only said lightly, "Just a guess."

"A guess?"

Shi Dunzi was even more astonished, and raised his voice even higher, "How is this possible!" He clearly didn't believe it.

No one can predict the future and have it come true immediately; it's impossible without exceptional insight.

Zhu Hong, a mischievous glint in his eye, grinned and said lightly, "I've always enjoyed gambling, gambling on things others look down on." He paused, his gaze returning to the stage, and slowly added:

Grandma always said that the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.

Shi Dunzi was taken aback:

"I see……"

Before the words were finished, the last two men locked in combat had already decided the outcome.

One man stumbled and fell several feet away, while another stood up, his chest rising and falling slightly. In a daze, everyone looked up and saw that the sun had already begun to set in the west, casting a slanting shadow on the eaves of the government office.

Twenty-two people emerged victorious and stood together on the open ground at the eastern end.

Only three people were still dressed neatly and undamaged. The rest of them had torn sleeves, bruises on their foreheads, or bloodstains on their forearms, but they all stood up straight, pressed their lips tightly together, and refused to show the slightest sign of dejection.

"Next, the second round of the competition!"

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, and Liu Kui strode up to the center of the platform. He stood there, his imposing figure and leopard-like eyes sweeping over the crowd. "Listen to the rules! One person, one fight; only the winner is counted!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd below the stage felt a chill run down their spines; whether they were dragons or worms, it would all come down to this moment.

Liu Kui, however, seemed not to notice, and continued:

"After this battle, the eleven who have emerged will be reviewed and selected by the head constables of each prefecture. Those who pass will be added to the 'List of Names' and will receive a salary from Jinyang Prefecture and serve as Jinyang constables. Those who don't pass—" He deliberately dragged out his words: "will be added to the reserve roster of the constables and will train with the team without receiving a regular salary. They will be re-evaluated after six months."

Having said that, he raised his hand, brandished his sword, and said sternly:

Do any of you have any objections?