His words stopped abruptly.
Liu Ye didn’t need to explain further. Wang Ping figured it out on his own. "...Fishing?"
"You’ve got a bright future, kid."
Liu Ye smiled. "Exactly. Shouchong wants to use the County Magistrate’s Office’s reputation to advance his Martial Arts, and the Magistrate wants to use this opportunity to completely eradicate the White Lotus Sect."
"When it comes down to it, it’s all about who’s more capable."
"Winner takes all. That’s the way of the world."
As he finished, Liu Ye’s voice suddenly dropped.
"But, as everyone knows... fishing requires bait. And whether you catch the fish or not, the bait is always left for dead."
’So that’s it.’ This was the real reason no constable was willing to step up, even though Chen Haoyan had offered his family’s Martial Arts as a reward.
Wang Ping understood now, but he felt no fear. In fact, he was even more excited. He decided he would go find Chen Haoyan as soon as his Outer Heaven Demon was off cooldown.
Meanwhile, Liu Ye noticed the change in Wang Ping’s expression and frowned.
"You still plan on getting started as soon as possible?"
Liu Ye frowned more deeply. "If you don’t get your foot in the door, the sky could fall and you’d be fine. But once you’re in, the Magistrate might come looking for you."
"If you agree then, you’ll be signing your own death warrant. If you refuse, you’ll anger the Magistrate, and your career will be finished."
"Why go through all that?"
For the piece of silver he’d received, Liu Ye’s advice was sincere. But Wang Ping just shook his head, with no intention of explaining himself.
After all, it was hard to explain something like this to someone who didn’t have a system.
"Sigh, fine."
Seeing Wang Ping’s insistence, Master Liu stopped trying to persuade him and changed the subject. "About the [Yama’s Three Demonic Sabers]... you were right not to rush into learning it."
"As its name implies, this Saber Technique only has three moves."
"The three saber forms are Greed, Aversion, and Ignorance. They correspond to the levels of Entry, Minor Accomplishment, and Major Accomplishment. When you can combine all three into one, you’ve reached the Perfection stage."
"It’s called a demonic saber technique because of the emotions it embodies. The three poisons—Greed, Aversion, and Ignorance—are the root of human depravity. If you try to learn it without proper preparation, you’ll likely suffer a backlash from the ’Greed’ Saber Intent of the entry-level form and be driven mad. Countless constables have died this way."
Wang Ping’s brow furrowed at his words.
’It’s that dangerous? Good thing I was cautious and didn’t just rush in...’
At this thought, he looked back at Liu Ye, who had conveniently stopped his explanation. Wang Ping got the hint. He took out another piece of broken silver and slipped it to him with a handshake.
"Master Liu, I’d appreciate a bit more of your guidance."
"Of course! Of course!"
Liu Ye’s face lit up.
"To be honest, you’re lucky you came to me. You found the right person. The Magistrate probably assigned you to me because of my signature skill."
’A signature skill?’
The next second, Wang Ping watched as Liu Ye reached into his shirt and pulled out a thin booklet. "This skill of mine is a Martial Arts technique I came across by a stroke of luck."
"Unlike most Martial Arts, this technique doesn’t use a weapon. You use your own body as the weapon. Strictly speaking, it’s considered a low-tier technique."
"Low-tier?" Wang Ping sounded skeptical.
By this point, he had a decent understanding of this world’s Martial Arts. A "low-tier" technique meant it couldn’t be used to train any of the six stages: Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones, Blood, and Marrow.
’What’s the point of such a useless technique?’
But seeing Wang Ping’s reaction, Liu Ye just smiled smugly.
"Don’t be so quick to judge. Hear me out first."
"My Martial Art is called the [Iron Bull Skill]. At the Perfection stage, the condensed martial form is called the ’Golden Spear That Never Falls.’ The corresponding ’weapon’... is the family jewels between your legs."
’Then again, judging a Cultivation Technique by its tier is far too superficial. There are no useless Cultivation Techniques, only useless people!’