Chapter 39: Surprise

"Lin Zuzhang."

"Lin Ge."

"Good morning, Lin Zuzhang."

After the commendation ceremony ended, Lin Qing walked through the branch office, and every colleague he met became friendlier and more enthusiastic.

People, once they gain status, feel the whole world is filled with goodwill.

Lin Qing didn't waste time; he went directly to the second floor of the branch office, followed the same route as last time, and found the elevator leading to the underground chamber.

After iris recognition confirmed his identity, Lin Qing took the elevator down underground.

Then, he again walked along the corridor entirely made of glass and silver metal, reaching the chamber at its end.

As before, once the chamber sealed, one wall displayed Lin Qing's information.

But…

This time, his rank had been promoted to "First-Class Inspector" due to his meritorious service! His accumulated merit points now totaled six Third-Class Merits! "First-Class Inspector Lin Qing, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

The same slightly hoarse voice echoed in the chamber: "The rules remain the same—you must not damage this chamber, and you must leave when time is up."

"Understood." Lin Qing nodded.

"Additionally, I must give you a serious warning."

The hoarse voice said: "Once you begin learning a combat technique, if you then train another, your combat technique cultivation will be affected—both will become harder to advance, even if they're from the same series. If they're from different series, the difficulty increase will be even more extreme."

"There's such a thing?" Lin Qing blinked in surprise.

"You must understand—the essence of combat techniques is harnessing the mysterious energy within your body, and different applications are different natures of that mysterious energy."

The hoarse voice murmured: "Before you adapt and master one nature of mysterious energy, learning another technique is like simultaneously controlling two different natures—it naturally causes interference."

"So that's how it is…"

Lin Qing pondered, then asked: "Why do you always use such a vague term—'mysterious energy'? Isn't there an exact name for it?"

This was truly strange.

In all the data he'd ever seen, it was always called 'mysterious energy'—never a formal name. Online searches yielded no explanation.

What's so hard about naming it? Heavenly-Earth Force? Primordial Energy? Free-floating Energy? Cosmic Energy… any of those would work. Why only 'mysterious energy' or 'some mysterious energy'?

"This is a great secret. Neither you nor I are qualified to know it."

The hoarse voice said: "Focus on deciding whether to learn a new combat technique. Better yet, wait until you've mastered your previous one, 'Min.' Otherwise, even entering a new technique will be difficult."

"Once I've mastered a technique, there's no effect anymore, right?" Lin Qing smiled.

"Hm?"

The hoarse voice seemed startled, then asked: "Are you…?"

"Yes, I've already mastered the technique 'Min.' Is there still an effect now?" Lin Qing asked.

The hoarse voice murmured: "Didn't you just come here to learn 'Min' a month ago?"

He immediately pressed: "How long did it take you to master it?"

"About ten days," Lin Qing said.

In truth, by reverse calculation, he'd fully perfected 'Min' in seventeen days, reaching the higher 'instinct' level.

"Ten days?"

The hoarse voice fell silent for a long moment, then said: "Try activating 'Min' now."

Lin Qing didn't hesitate—he moved his foot, his body darting swiftly, shifting left and right three times in rapid succession, then stopping.

This instantaneous directional change, this agility and speed, proved he had mastered 'Min.'

Of course, he was only using four or five percent of its full potential—just the 'mastered' level.

"... No."

After a long silence, the hoarse voice suddenly said: "How could you move this fast if you'd only just mastered 'Min'?"

"Oh," Lin Qing said casually. "I got lucky—I also perfected the Qiqi version of the Morning Practice."

"No wonder…"

The hoarse voice understood, then added: "Since you've mastered 'Min,' learning a new technique from the same series won't affect you."

He suddenly spoke seriously: "It seems you have talent in combat techniques. Are you certain you mastered 'Min' within ten days? If you truly have talent in this area, the Inspection Headquarters will give you a surprise."

"This… it's been a month already. How can you verify it?" Lin Qing said.

That hoarse voice said, "Didn't you say you wanted to learn a new combat technique today? Combat techniques of the same series as the Free Body are inherently one, and their difficulties are much the same. Since you can master the 'Agile' in a short time, naturally you can also master other combat techniques in a short time."

The hoarse voice said: "Aren't you here today to learn a new technique? Techniques in the Zizai Shen series are fundamentally one system—their difficulty levels are nearly identical. If you could master 'Min' in a short time, you can master others just as quickly."

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

"Master a new technique within ten days to prove myself?" Lin Qing nodded. "Alright, I'll try."

That hoarse voice said, "I will just tell you plainly: our Patrol Headquarters has always cherished talent. As long as you can prove your talent in combat techniques, our Patrol Headquarters will do its best to cultivate you."

The hoarse voice said: "Let me be clear: the Inspection Headquarters always values talent. If you prove your talent in combat techniques, we'll do our best to cultivate you."

"First, we'll provide you with the best High-Energy Slow-Release Fluid—ten free sets—to help you rapidly push the Qiqi version to its limit and increase your chance of mastering the original Morning Practice."

"Second, the rule that merit points must be exchanged for techniques was set by the Morning Martial Arts Gym. We can't bypass it, but if you earn a First-Class Merit, the Inspection Headquarters can grant you early access to part of the 'Special-Class Merit' privileges—such as allowing you to learn the true original version of 'Zizai Shen.'"

"Third, when your strength is sufficient, you'll qualify to join the Global Elite Inspection Division. Until then, your city's Inspection Chief will personally teach you the original Morning Practice."

The hoarse voice echoed through the chamber.

After hearing these surprises, Lin Qing's lips slowly curved upward.

As long as one reveals the special nature of their combat technique talent, one can indeed obtain many benefits! Merely providing the best high-energy sustained-release liquid is already a great benefit!

Exposing his special talent in combat techniques truly brought major benefits! Just the offer of the best High-Energy Slow-Release Fluid was already a huge advantage!

One set of the MY-series High-Energy Slow-Release Fluid—even with an inspector's access through the Inspection Bureau's internal channels—cost 180,000 at the welfare price.

Ten sets meant they were giving him 1.8 million for free! He didn't need much.

【61】 Just four sets of the MY-series High-Energy Slow-Release Fluid, maintaining triple efficiency, would let him complete the advanced Qiqi version of the Morning Practice in forty days.

【62】 "Are all ten sets of the MY-series High-Energy Slow-Release Fluid really being given to me?" Lin Qing asked.

"Of course not."

That hoarse voice chuckled lowly, "Correcting two of your mistakes."

"Mistakes?" Lin Qing said.

That hoarse voice said slowly:

"First, it's not a gift. It's like you purchased it through an internal channel of the Patrol Bureau at a welfare price. You can only take it yourself. If you finish the ten sets and still haven't reached the limit, you'll only get the right to buy at the highest discount."

"Second..."

That hoarse voice smiled, "Who told you the best High-Energy Sustained-Release Fluid is the MY series?"

Lin Qing was slightly stunned.

"The ten sets of High-Energy Sustained-Release Fluid provided to you by our Patrol Headquarters are from the most efficient EPS series."

That hoarse voice said, "Not only can it achieve four times the efficiency, but it can also enhance your physical potential, giving you a certain increase in the possibility of mastering the original Morning Sun Cultivation Method!"

He chuckled lowly, "This EPS series will not be sold to the public. Even at the highest internal discount price, it would cost 1.2 million per set."

Lin Qing took a deep breath.

This EPS series High-Energy Sustained-Release Fluid, he couldn't even find it searching online. The highest discount is 1.2 million per set? How much would the original price be?

Several million? Wouldn't the ten sets be worth tens of millions?

This is just the first benefit! And the following two benefits seem equally astonishing.

One is that achieving a First-Class Merit will unlock partial 'Special-Class Merit' permissions.

The other is that the Patrol Chief of this city's Patrol Bureau will personally teach him the original Morning Sun Cultivation Method?

The captains of the Patrol Branch Bureaus hold the title of 'Patrol Officer'.

But the Patrol Chief?

As far as he knew, there was only one Patrol Chief in the entire Lin'an City—

The Chief Commander of the City Patrol Bureau, Yuan Anping! Even the Director of the City Patrol Bureau only held an administrative rank, with no title within the Patrol system.

Only those performing the actual duties of the Patrol hold a Patrol title; otherwise, like the other departments of the Patrol Branch Bureaus, they have no Patrol title.

Doesn't this mean...

If he accomplishes it, Chief Commander Yuan Anping will personally come to teach him? (End of this chapter)