Inspection Office
"Commander Jiang!"
Two guards standing at the entrance immediately bowed respectfully when they saw Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning gave a slight nod in return and stepped through the gate, making his way toward his assigned courtyard.
Lu Yi didn't follow.
According to protocol, unrelated personnel were not allowed inside the Inspection Office.
Though no one would dare say anything even if Jiang Ning brought her in, he wasn't one to break rules unnecessarily nor was there any real need to.
Just then
"Xiao Jiu?" Jiang Ning looked surprised as he saw Xie Xiaojiu walking out of his courtyard.
When she saw him, she quickly cupped her hands in salute. "Sir!"
"What a coincidence!" Jiang Ning smiled.
Xie Xiaojiu pressed her lips together, knowing full well it wasn't a coincidence at all.
She had gone in and out of the Inspection Office dozens of times today
Just waiting for this exact moment.
Now that she had finally caught him, she steadied herself.
"Sir, it's been a while."
"It has been a while," Jiang Ning replied with a tinge of emotion.
The two hadn't seen each other during the entire month-long holiday.
Even on New Year's Day, Xie Xiaojiu hadn't come by to pay her respects.
Jiang Ning had been puzzled at the time but later came to understand.
With everything Xie Zhentian had stirred up at the Xie residence, he had spent considerable effort convincing Xiaojiu to act as a messenger.
After all, she was not only Xie Zhentian's daughter, the Ninth Miss of the Xie family but also now worked under Jiang Ning and had a good relationship with him.
But perhaps because of that relationship, Xiaojiu hadn't wanted to put him in a difficult position.
Which was likely why they didn't meet during the entire break.
Now walking behind Jiang Ning, Xiaojiu looked at his back and suddenly spoke up.
"Sir… thank you."
"Thank me for what?" Jiang Ning turned and smiled.
"Thank you for giving the Xie family a chance," she said quietly.
Jiang Ning replied, "It wasn't me who gave the Xie family a chance it was the Xie family who gave themselves a chance. Xie Zhentian was willing to make painful sacrifices to cut out the rot. He executed who needed executing, and arrested who needed arresting. I simply gave him a chance after that. He opened up his granaries to feed the people. While good deeds don't cancel out past sins, they still brought benefit to the county."
"If I were a few years younger, maybe I wouldn't have tolerated even a speck of filth in my eyes. Whether black or gray, if I had the strength, I'd have wiped them all out given this county a pure, righteous sky."
"Reach out a hand, and I'd cut it off. Stick out your neck, and I'll take the head. Only pure white would be allowed no room for evil or corruption."
"That would certainly be satisfying but in a world like this, with disasters happening left and right, that kind of purge would only bring more suffering to the people. More deaths."
"And this world is far too vast. How could I possibly control it all?"
"Besides… I'm no saint. Any good I've done is simply what I could do at the time just lending a hand."
He chuckled at that.
He hadn't set out to be a benevolent ruler or savior of the common folk.
Things had simply unfolded this way, and he had gone along with it.
He also understood clearly: letting the now somewhat "reformed" Xie family live, forcing them to break off their toxic limbs and survive under his watch.
That was the most beneficial outcome for the county.
Now that the Xie family had opened their warehouses and distributed grain, they had likely saved countless lives in this bitter winter.
Any other clan or power rising to the same heights as the Cao, Liu, and Xie families would likely have done no better.
And perhaps much worse.
As they say, those who slay dragons eventually become dragons themselves.
It's a vicious cycle a trap of human nature that's impossible to escape.
Even Jiang Ning himself… wasn't sure whether he'd always stay true to his original ideals.
Let alone any family or faction.
Unless he never strayed from his path and wielded absolute control over Luoshui County
Only then could the people truly live in peace and happiness.
But he wasn't their babysitter.
He had no desire to play the nursemaid.
And it wasn't his responsibility either.
In any era, in any world, under any circumstance
The only one anyone can truly rely on… is themselves.
Everything else is just fate and fortune.
Moments later
Jiang Ning arrived at his desk.
He casually picked up a stack of documents sitting on the table about ten or so pages thick.
He skimmed through them briefly and quickly understood what they were.
A collection of minor reports summarizing various happenings in Luoshui County over the past month or so.
Nothing major.
The Inspection Office had one main duty: whoever dared stir up trouble no matter if they were commoners, officials, wealthy merchants, or members of sects or gangs.
They would be caught. Or killed.
The Worship Sect was the clearest example of such a hidden threat.
The Office's recent efforts had focused on rooting out the sect's presence within the county.
Ever since Jiang Ning had destroyed one of the sect's key strongholds and recovered that strange idol once enshrined in the City God Temple,
The sect had effectively vanished from Luoshui.
They no longer dared to show their faces.
Because the local powers the Cao and Liu families had been implicated in collusion with the Worship Sect, they had already been eradicated, their families destroyed.
So during this month-long holiday, there hadn't been anything major to report.
Jiang Ning skimmed through the documents briefly, then set them aside.
"Is the Prefect in?" he asked Xie Xiaojiu, who was following behind him.
"He is. Commander Ye came looking for you earlier this morning, but you hadn't reported in yet, so you didn't meet. He asked me to remind you to stop by the Prefect's office once you arrived."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning nodded thoughtfully.
He had a feeling about this.
For Hong Minghu to come looking for him first thing, it likely wasn't a bad thing.
More likely, it was something good.
After all, on the night of the New Year, he alone had defended the entire city.
Suppressing the Black Mountain Army's rebellion with just his archery skills.
That was no small achievement.
Achievements called for recognition and reward.
Jiang Ning suspected that Hong Minghu reaching out so quickly probably had something to do with that event.
He wasn't in any rush about it though.
What was rightfully his wouldn't be taken away.
Here in the Inspection Office, even Hong Minghu despite his rank was no longer truly above him.
Over half a month ago, Jiang Ning was already capable of taking on two enemies at once
He had slain two fifth-rank Inner Strength cultivators from the Worship Sect above the waters of Luoshui.
And that was then.
Now, his martial cultivation had progressed even further
His Jade Bone refinement had advanced significantly, and he was just a few days away from fully forging it.
As for his combat techniques, they had undergone even greater breakthroughs.
His spiritual power had evolved, granting him the ability to open the Heavenly Eye.
His blade techniques had broken through previous limits, and the force of his strikes had reached new heights.
Compared to half a month ago, his current strength was on a completely different level.
The progress was nothing short of dramatic.
Especially with the breakthrough in his blade technique
It had drastically boosted his overall combat power.
The blade was always his strongest means of killing
And with this breakthrough, his strength had become even more dominant.
If he were to face those two fifth-rank Inner Strength Worship Sect fighters again
One strike would be enough to kill them outright.
He was no longer the same person.
So now, even Hong Minghu who had only entered the fifth rank by relying on external means
Was no match for him in terms of strength.
In today's Luoshui County, unless some hidden master emerged from the shadows, the only person he wasn't confident in facing…
Was that old woman from the Internal Affairs Division the one Hong Minghu referred to as "Granny Bai."
With that in mind, Jiang Ning spoke up:
"Is the old lady from the Internal Affairs Division in today?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaojiu quickly replied:
"She is. She was already out sunbathing this morning. And since today is payroll day, several subordinates went to the Internal Affairs Division earlier to collect supplies."
Jiang Ning nodded. "I'll head over there, then."
"Sir, I'll come too!" Xie Xiaojiu said, quickly following behind.
She didn't mention anything more about the Xie family
But in her heart, she was deeply grateful that Jiang Ning had given them a second chance.
Internal Affairs Division
As Jiang Ning stepped into the courtyard of the Internal Affairs Division, he saw an older woman sitting leisurely in the sunlight.
She looked to be in her early fifties, with a few strands of silver in her hair, but her features resembled that of someone in her forties.
Eyes half-closed, she sat there with the composure of someone beyond the world's cares.
The sound of the two entering the courtyard made her slowly open her eyes.
"It's you?"
"Greetings, senior," Jiang Ning said with a respectful salute.
The moment he saw her, he had the impulse to secretly activate his Heavenly Eye to get a glimpse of her true nature.
Bu.t as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a chill ran through his entire body, and instinct screamed that it was a terrible idea.
In that instant, he understood
This woman was truly unfathomable.
Someone with hidden depths far beyond his current perception.
His attitude became even more respectful.
"You've done well, boy," the old woman said, nodding with approval.
"Luoshui County stayed safe these past days, and it's thanks to you."
Jiang Ning humbly replied,
"It's my duty. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Since the people call me 'sir,' I should take up the responsibility to protect them."
"Very good. Very good!"
The old woman nodded again, clearly pleased with his answer.
Then, with a flick of her hand, a cloth pouch appeared in her grasp and was tossed toward Jiang Ning.
"This is your pay. Due to logistics issues, I've been handling the distribution for now. As for your meritorious defense of the city, someone from the higher-ups will come to acknowledge that personally."
Jiang Ning caught the pouch midair, then made it vanish into his Spatial Ring with a thought.
At this stage, his salary didn't mean much to him anymore
It wasn't even enough to cover the cost of a single meal these days.
So there was no need to check it.
After storing it away, Jiang Ning cupped his hands again and asked:
"Senior, do I currently have the clearance to learn about the fifth rank of martial cultivation in the Inner Strength realm?"
The old woman glanced at Jiang Ning and immediately understood his intention.
She gave a slight nod. "That's right. Within the nine ranks of martial cultivation, there's a significant division. Everything below the fifth rank is known as the External Body Refinement training and tempering the skin, muscles, tendons, and bones."
"The methods to achieve these four stages aren't considered top secrets. With enough money, they're easily obtainable."
"Joining a sect or martial school would also grant you access to these methods without much difficulty."
"Among these four steps of External Body Refinement, only a few key techniques are truly considered top-tier secrets. For example, in the skin-tempering phase, the methods to cultivate a 'golden body' are extremely rare. Across the entire world, there are only a handful fewer than the fingers on both hands."
"And among them, the most renowned is the Indestructible Vajra Body from Vajra Temple. If one successfully cultivates it, even though it's technically still within the ninth rank, it can allow a martial artist to battle those in the sixth rank on equal footing."
Standing before the old woman, Jiang Ning quietly listened. When he heard this, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"That powerful?" he asked, eyes wide.
"Powerful?" The old woman gave him a calm look and shook her head. "Your perspective is still too limited. You don't yet understand the terror of a golden body. You must realize the body is a unified whole. If one can refine a golden body, do you think the muscles, tendons, and bones would remain weak?"
Hearing that, Jiang Ning nodded in agreement.
"You're right!"
He found her words quite convincing.
That's why, after forging iron bones, profound bones, and jade bones, the physical body undergoes a full transformation.
If the human body is like a grand building, then the bones are the load-bearing pillars and steel framework.
The sturdier the structure, the more magnificent the building.
Likewise, as the bones evolve, the strength of the entire body increases.
So the old woman's explanation deeply resonated with him.
The body is indeed a unified whole.
These four steps of external refinement may have different areas of emphasis, but they don't merely strengthen one part in isolation.
The ninth-rank skin-tempering phase focuses on external defense for the resilience of the skin.
But at the same time, it boosts physical strength and blood vitality.
The eighth-rank strength training phase emphasizes raw power it's all about developing the muscle groups.
Thus, strength increases dramatically at this stage. Though defense and other traits improve as well, strength dominates the growth making up about 80–90% of the gains.
At the seventh-rank tendon-tempering phase, the focus shifts to explosive power refining the large tendons of the body.
This gives rise to astonishing bursts of force. A punch at this stage, powered by the explosive tension of the tendons, is like a bowstring releasing an arrow devastatingly fast and strong.
The improvements outside of explosive power diminish compared to the eighth rank.
But everything changes at the sixth rank.
The sixth-rank bone-refining stage focuses on enhancing the strength of the skeleton itself.
At this stage, the bones gradually evolve, progressing from iron bones to profound bones to jade bones.
Iron bones rival the strength of tenfold-refined steel.
Profound bones match a hundredfold-refined steel.
Jade bones rival a thousandfold-refined steel.
This bone-hardening stage is primarily about structural strength like outfitting the body with an internal suit of armor.
Once jade bones are fully forged, every bone in the body gains the hardness of thousandfold-refined steel.
To put this into perspective: standard seventh-rank martial artists typically wield weapons made from thousandfold steel.
Weapons refined ten thousand times? Those are considered divine weapons.
Even in a large county like Luoshui, there isn't a single ten-thousandfold-refined divine weapon available in any forge.
It takes immense strength and stamina to refine iron to that level.
Luoshui simply doesn't have any martial artists powerful enough to work as such blacksmiths.
Therefore, someone who has reached the sixth rank and successfully forged jade bones within Luoshui could be considered invincible.
A martial artist with jade bones could let someone swing a thousandfold-refined blade at their neck… and it wouldn't even break the skin.
Their skull alone would be impervious to such weapons.
And with 206 bones in the body, nearly every vital area is protected.
This level of survivability is what makes sixth-rank martial artists truly fearsome.
After all, the importance of bones within the body cannot be overstated.
So with each stage of transformation in this sixth-rank bone-refining phase, the body as a whole grows significantly stronger.
Far more than the total enhancements from the first three stages of body refinement.
All of this only further validated what Granny Bai had said:
The human body is a unified whole.
There's no such thing as improving only one part in isolation
Only different focal points.
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