In a blink of an eye, he had transformed from a temporary Yamen Runner into an official Yamen Runner. Even after getting off duty, Chen Ping'an still felt as if he was living in a dream.
Although he had anticipated it many times, when it truly happened, he was overjoyed.
Returning to his small courtyard, Chen Er'ya was still busy in the kitchen. She greeted him as usual.
But when she saw Chen Ping'an appear in the kitchen with a saber at his waist, Xiao Yatou froze.
"Brother, this saber..."
She remembered clearly that when Chen Father was still alive, she would see him return home with his saber every day.
However, after her brother became a Yamen Runner, she had never seen him return with a saber.
Xiao Yatou knew that only official Yamen Runners were allowed to carry their sabers home.
Now, could it be...
Xiao Yatou's face instantly lit up with immense joy.
"Brother, you've become an official Yamen Runner?"
"Yes," Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile.
After receiving Chen Ping'an's affirmative reply, Xiao Yatou jumped up excitedly, even forgetting the dish she was stir-frying in the wok.
"That's great! That's great! Brother has become an official Yamen Runner! That's great!"
Seeing Chen Er'ya's happiness, Chen Ping'an's mood also became extremely joyful.
It felt so good to have someone to share his joy with!
"Brother, life is getting better little by little!" Xiao Yatou was very excited, full of hope for the future.
"Yes, life is getting better," Chen Ping'an affectionately stroked Chen Er'ya's head.
After becoming an official Yamen Runner, his monthly salary increased from eight qian of silver to one liang and two qian!
Moreover, as he continued to serve as an official Yamen Runner, his monthly salary would continue to rise!
However, Chen Ping'an was no longer focused on this; his next goal was to become a Chief Constable!
"Oh no, the dish is going to burn!"
White smoke billowed from the wok, and Chen Er'ya immediately broke free from Chen Ping'an's embrace, picked up the spatula, and continued stir-frying the dish.
Chen Ping'an smiled knowingly.
......
After dinner, Chen Ping'an began to study the Gongmen Thirteen Blades, which had just been bestowed upon him today.
The Gongmen Thirteen Blades was the standard saber technique for official Yamen Runners in the Zhenfu Division, belonging to the lower-tier saber arts.
However, even though it was a lower-tier saber art, if practiced to the point of Perfection, its power could be extremely terrifying.
Back then, Chen Father's Gongmen Thirteen Blades was so formidable that he, with his Qi Blood Second Stage Perfection cultivation, could fight a Qi Blood Third Stage expert without defeat.
As Chen Ping'an flipped through the saber technique once, the content of the saber technique was successfully recorded by his Golden Finger panel.
He happened to have the saber bestowed by the Zhenfu Division at hand, and Chen Ping'an, itching to try it out, immediately began practicing.
Speaking of his saber, although it was an ordinary weapon, it was incomparable to civilian tools like choppers.
With a single strike, an ordinary person would likely be severely injured if not killed.
Horizontal chops and vertical slashes!
Chen Ping'an stood in the center of the courtyard, holding his saber, and with a turn, he executed a strike.
Whoosh!
A strong gust of wind rose!
As a Qi Blood Third Stage practitioner, his strength was incredibly astonishing.
Next, Chen Ping'an began practicing the Gongmen Thirteen Blades, move by move.
The Gongmen Thirteen Blades consists of thirteen forms, each with different applications in various scenarios.
It emphasizes methods of exerting force, techniques of execution, and flexible application.
After about half an hour, Chen Ping'an completed one full practice of the Gongmen Thirteen Blades.
+1.
An experience symbol appeared.
Name: Chen Ping'an
Realm: Qi Blood Third Stage
Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Perfection, Flying Locust Stone Minor Achievement (23/40), Gongmen Thirteen Blades Not Yet Initiated (1/5)
......
"Again!"
A hint of joy flashed in Chen Ping'an's eyes. This progress was faster than he had imagined.
He was indeed a martial arts Genius!
After entering the Qi Blood Third Stage, Chen Ping'an's Qi and Blood greatly increased, and he practiced the Gongmen Thirteen Blades 3 times in a row.
While Chen Ping'an practiced his saber, Chen Er'ya sat inside the house, resting her chin on her hand, watching Chen Ping'an with eyes full of adoration.
"Alas, the courtyard is still too small!"
He hadn't felt it before when practicing Iron Cloth and Flying Locust Stone, but now that he was practicing saber techniques, he felt a bit restricted.
This small courtyard was barely sufficient!
"Keep working hard, move to a new home soon!"
After finishing his saber practice, Chen Ping'an had no intention of stopping and continued to practice Flying Locust Stone.
The Dao is long and arduous; only through daily hard work can one progress!
Compared to many, he was undoubtedly fortunate.
Every step of his progress could be recorded, ultimately transforming the mundane into the miraculous.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One Flying Locust Stone after another was continuously thrown into the pile of stones, making clashing sounds.
While he could normally practice Flying Locust Stone 4 times, this time Chen Ping'an only practiced twice due to the significant physical exertion from practicing the saber technique.
Name: Chen Ping'an
Realm: Qi Blood Third Stage
Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Perfection, Flying Locust Stone Minor Achievement (25/40), Gongmen Thirteen Blades Not Yet Initiated (3/5)
......
Looking at the Golden Finger panel floating in the Void Realm, Chen Ping'an felt quite at ease.
At this rate, his Gongmen Thirteen Blades would successfully achieve Initiation by tomorrow morning!
That night, Chen Er'ya was in excellent spirits and chatted with Chen Ping'an until very late.
They talked about many things, about Chen Father and Chen Mother, about their past life, and they also envisioned their future.
As they spoke, Chen Ping'an could see tiny stars twinkling in Chen Er'ya's eyes.
"Nannan, what kind of person do you want to become in the future?" Chen Ping'an couldn't help but ask Chen Er'ya this question.
Xiao Yatou thought for a while before answering Chen Ping'an's question.
"I don't know what kind of person I'll become in the future. But when Father was still here, he taught me quite a few characters. I want to continue learning!"
"Reading and writing! That's good, Nannan, your brother supports you!"
This was the first time Chen Ping'an learned about Chen Er'ya's dream.
As her brother, he was determined to help Xiao Yatou achieve this dream.
However, he knew that while learning to read and write was easy, truly mastering it and making a name for oneself required immense effort.
The effort needed for that, solely with his current status as an official Yamen Runner, was far from enough!
"Faster, I need to be faster!" Chen Ping'an felt a sense of urgency in his heart.
......
Early the next morning, Chen Ping'an practiced the Gongmen Thirteen Blades twice in a row.
He successfully accumulated enough experience points, and as his spirit condensed, a large amount of starlight entered his glabella, and various usage techniques of the Gongmen Thirteen Blades surged into his mind.
Gongmen Thirteen Blades, Initiation!
As the saber technique achieved Initiation, the Qi and Blood within Chen Ping'an's body were pushed forward slightly.
If quantified by distance, it was roughly at a level slightly less than the middle of Qi Blood Third Stage.
"Continue! Continue!"
After finishing his saber practice, Chen Ping'an then practiced Flying Locust Stone twice more.
The experience points next to Flying Locust Stone on his panel also increased from 25 to 27.
After completing all of this, he wiped himself clean, ate breakfast, and hurried to the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office.
Today, he would have new assignments and arrangements.