29: Body movement, Teng Snake Step

Jiang Chen and Wang Fusheng signed an employment contract.

The contract also guaranteed Jiang Chen's identity and was filed with the Ministry of War of the Great Lan Dynasty.

Afterward, Wang Fusheng also gave Jiang Chen a token.

It was palm-sized and made of iron.

The front read "Black Yamen", the back said "External Guard", and at the bottom was "A6", which was likely a serial number.

Jiang Chen officially became a member of the Black Yamen's External Guard.

"With this token, you can go to the Shangwu Pavilion to choose. Currently, you are a town-level External Guard, so the valid range of your token is within our Dongfeng Town area. It won't be effective in the prefectural cities."

"Make sure to protect this token. If it's lost and needs to be reissued, it will cost one hundred taels of silver."

"Understood."

Jiang Chen nodded.

He secretly thought that the reissue fee was too expensive.

He just wondered what kind of martial arts were stored in the Shangwu Pavilion of Dongfeng Town.

Subsequently, Wang Fusheng explained to Jiang Chen some ways for External Guards to earn contributions, as well as how to use contribution points.

Contributions can be earned by collecting demon intelligence, slaying demons (based on their corpses), and exchanging valuable demon Materials such as the teeth, scales, horns, or even inner cores of high-level demons for contribution points.

Contribution points can be used to purchase core intelligence, exchange for Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals, Medicinal Pills, weapons, and the like.

Most of these are consumed at the Shangwu Pavilion.

Of course, some common demon intelligence, such as news of a tiger demon appearing in Donghuai Village, is uniformly distributed by the yamen.

On weekdays, External Guards can also find their own means of livelihood by taking on bounty quests.

However, if the cumulative contribution points do not reach 100 within three consecutive months, your External Guard qualification will be revoked, and your token will be reclaimed.

"Currently, our External Guards don't have our own premises. If anything comes up, come to the Verification Hall to find me."

"There will also be some bounties for demons in the vicinity of Dongfeng Town, which will be released then."

Wang Fusheng said.

Jiang Chen nodded.

Just as Jiang Chen was about to take his leave, Wang Fusheng seemed to remember something.

He then spoke to Jiang Chen again.

"Jiang Chen, I consider you one of us, and I must give you a warning."

"Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, you need to be wary of the Ding Family, one of the three major families in town. The Black Tiger Gang should be under the control of the Ding Family, and furthermore... it's highly possible that the Ding Family is connected to demons."

Wang Fusheng hesitated repeatedly but still told Jiang Chen about this matter.

Jiang Chen's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

Clearly, this was a highly confidential matter.

Firstly, there was no evidence, and secondly, a prominent Family in such a small town likely had informants throughout the government. Wang Fusheng daring to speak out indicated his trust in Jiang Chen.

At the same time, he was taking a great risk to warn Jiang Chen to be cautious of the Ding Family.

"Understood."

Jiang Chen nodded.

Ding Maoshan was pulverized into a bloody mist yesterday, so it's unlikely any traces could be found. Therefore, even if it were brought up, it wouldn't be of much help. However, it served as a reminder for Jiang Chen to keep an eye on the Ding Family, one of the three major families.

Jiang Chen didn't expect to be up against one of the three major families so soon.

Leaving the yamen.

Jiang Chen went straight to the Shangwu Pavilion.

The Innate Realm demon's essence blood that Jiang Chen found in the rat demon's Storage Ring yesterday should be very important to the Ding Family. He estimated that it wouldn't be long before the Ding Family traced it back to him.

Since that was the case, Jiang Chen could only strike first.

First, he needed to confirm the Ding Family's demonic crimes and uproot the entire Ding Family.

That way, there would be no danger.

Therefore, improving his strength was paramount.

In front of a majestic and imposing compound.

A plaque hung above, bearing the three large characters: Shangwu Pavilion.

The Shangwu Pavilion was equivalent to the government's library. City Guards and the like could also earn contributions and exchange them for Advanced martial arts here.

At this time, there were quite a few people coming and going.

Jiang Chen also arrived at the gate's administrative office and presented his token.

"Oh? A new External Guard?"

"Work hard, and live a few more days."

"The original owner of your token, I remember, didn't even last three days before he was sent back."

The person responsible for guarding and verifying identities was a white-haired old man, currently fiddling with his tea set behind the counter.

After glancing at Jiang Chen's token, he tossed it back to Jiang Chen.

"Hmm? That bad?"

Jiang Chen hadn't expected an External Guard to be in such mortal danger?

This job didn't seem easy at all.

Those selected must have some strength, and in Dongfeng Town, they should all be of a certain caliber.

Yet, someone died in less than three days?

That was too terrifying.

"Hehe, look at your gloomy face, I was just teasing you, old man."

The old man chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen hadn't even let out a sigh of relief when he heard the old man speak again.

"That guy only lasted one day."

Jiang Chen's face darkened even further upon hearing this.

"Alright, all the Secret Manuals inside have seals. This is your unsealing key. Just fit it on to open them. The unsealing stamp can only be used once, so think carefully before you choose."

"Secret Manuals can only be read inside the Shangwu Pavilion."

"You are a newcomer. Before you have contributions, you can come in a maximum of three times, with no time limit for each stay."

The old man tossed Jiang Chen an object that looked similar to a key.

Each generation has its own anti-theft measures.

"Thank you, sir."

Although the old man was a bit eccentric, Jiang Chen didn't mind. The most urgent task was to improve his strength.

"I hope next time, I can get a Cultivation Technique."

"I can start with the Physical Body path. Since that's the case, I'll choose a movement technique first."

Jiang Chen did not neglect the fundamentals for the trivial. His Physical Body Cultivation had already reached the ninth layer of the Houtian Realm, so there was no need to rush to Cultivate Spiritual Qi.

Although he could add points, he didn't have many points at the moment.

And once a Cultivation Technique is Cultivated, it's not easy to change, unless it's of the same origin and can be improved or upgraded.

Otherwise, recultivating is a very troublesome matter.

He would see if the martial arts scroll could provide Cultivation methods then.

If not, it wouldn't be too late to find another way.

Jiang Chen believed in the great Divine Ability of the martial arts scroll.

If it said a hundredfold Physical Body enhancement, it would be a direct hundredfold.

Ten thousand jin of strength directly increased to one million jin, without any discount.

Even if there was another hundredfold enhancement next time, he would have one hundred million jin of strength!

That would send any Xiantian Realm expert flying.

Therefore, he already had offensive methods like palm and fist techniques.

What he urgently needed now was a movement technique.

Holding his only unsealing key, Jiang Chen entered the Shangwu Pavilion.

The old man at the entrance said he had three chances to enter, but once he made a selection, he could only choose that one technique, not three. And although entry was limited to three times, there was no limit to how long he could stay inside each time.

So, staying for seven or eight days was not a problem.

But Jiang Chen thought he probably wouldn't need that long.

The first floor of the Shangwu Pavilion housed the Secret Manuals, with rows of neat bookshelves and a dazzling array of books.

There were at least a thousand Secret Manuals displayed here.

Even a town-level Shangwu Pavilion had so many Secret Manuals. If it were a larger place, the collection would certainly be even richer.

Some well-known martial arts of the Jianghu could be found here.

Things like Golden Bell Shield, Iron Shirt, Twelve-Road Tan Leg, Lingbo Micro Steps... However, before these martial arts were unsealed, they only had simple introductions, and even their grades were not specified. Therefore, what you could get depended entirely on your luck and your discernment.

"Jianghu rule."

"The thickest Secret Manual is the strongest."

Among the sixteen movement technique Secret Manuals he reviewed, Jiang Chen unhesitatingly chose the last one.

Only this one was nearly twice as thick as the others next to it.

It read: "Teng Snake Step".