Chapter 128: Heroic Credentials, Wu Gong Hall

True Qi surged to the injury, soothing the blood. Pei Ye led his horse away from the gambling den and headed once again toward the inn pointed out by passersby.

This time, he finally found the right place. Looking at the pillars polished smooth and shiny by constant handling, the slightly loose front gate, and the old, dust-covered wooden window lattices, Pei Ye narrowed his eyes in satisfaction—this was the inn he had imagined.

"Waiter, take the horse!" Pei Ye called out.

"Coming—just a moment—" A long, resonant response came from inside. Pei Ye stood outside the threshold and waited for a while before the waiter came running out, wiping sweat—this kind of short, indifferent delay was also quite familiar to Pei Ye.

"Is the guest looking to stay the night?" The waiter took the reins.

"Yes, how much for a night?"

"Thirty wen for a shared bunk! Only one 'Ren' grade room left, one hundred wen for you to stay! Two hundred wen per night for a 'Di' grade room, with hot water prepared; four hundred wen for a 'Tian' grade room, with soup morning and evening and cold tea at noon—if you have any requests, we are at your beck and call!" The waiter recited clearly in one breath, then led the horse and said, "Our horse is truly magnificent; we can't treat it poorly, can we?"

"The horse needs the top-tier care," Pei Ye said. "And I'll take the remaining 'Ren' grade room."

"That's already two hundred wen for you; why not let me give you a discount? Two hundred and fifty wen, the horse still gets top-tier care, and I'll upgrade you to a 'Di' grade room."

"No need, just like this."

"Alrighty." The waiter led the horse to the back. "Please go to the shopkeeper to register in the ledger."

Pei Ye paused, not understanding the meaning of this—he had only stayed at an inn twice before.

Pei Ye was just about to ask, but seeing the waiter had already led the horse to the backyard, he simply stepped over the threshold.

Arriving at the counter, the shopkeeper was hunched over, reading a ledger by candlelight. Pei Ye tapped the table lightly: "Shopkeeper, I'm a guest. The waiter said I need to register in the ledger."

The shopkeeper looked up at him, pushed the ledger aside, and picked up another ledger with an oily black cover from the side. Flipping to a blank page, he picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and with the tip hovering over the paper, lowered his head to prepare to write.

Pei Ye watched him earnestly.

Two breaths of silence passed.

The shopkeeper looked up and frowned: "Speak."

"Speak what?" Pei Ye paused. "Oh, that, I'm staying in a 'Ren' grade room."

"Who cares what room you're staying in? Register your information."

"What information?"

"Name, where you live, why you came, where you came from, and where you're going. If you don't make it clear, who would dare take you in? Haven't you ever stayed at an inn before?"

"I've stayed at an inn in a town outside for two nights, and there was no such thing."

"Outside is outside. Hurry up and speak." The first line had already been soaked by the dripping ink; the shopkeeper started a new line.

Pei Ye stated the facts. The shopkeeper recorded them one by one. After stopping the brush, he looked up at Pei Ye and said, "Little brother is here for the Wu Bi? May your martial fortune shine bright."

"Many thanks."

The shopkeeper pulled a key from under the counter, tied to a small wooden tag with the room number written on it.

Pei Ye took it. Just then, a burly man with a thick waist and broad shoulders walked over from the back and placed a dark iron tag on the counter. He said in a rough voice: "'Di' grade room."

The shopkeeper picked up the tag, looked at it, handed it back, and pulled another key from below to hand to him.

The burly man stomped upstairs. Pei Ye stood where he was, watching him go up, and leaned toward the shopkeeper, curious: "Shopkeeper, why didn't he have to register?"

The shopkeeper had already spread out the ledger again. Hearing this, he looked up and scrutinized him from head to toe twice, frowning: "Are you really here for the Wu Bi?"

"Yes."

"Bring me your documents to see."

Pei Ye took out the documents. The shopkeeper placed them under the candlelight and read them carefully, muttering to himself: "It really is."

He handed them back: "You're already here for the Wu Bi, so how come you don't know anything? It's like you crawled out of the mountains."

"..." Pei Ye put away the documents. "What exactly was that tag just now?"

"Cultivator's Credential, the Iron Fish Talisman."

"... Oh!" Pei Ye actually did know this.

He remembered that Master Huang had always wanted to obtain one, and Master Zheng had one, but he had never shown it to them.

This was a credential for a martial artist to settle down and establish their career.

Since martial artists practiced martial arts, they needed a place to use them, but the "employers" who used martial arts also needed to gauge the strength of the cultivator. Before the Cultivator's Credential appeared, this was a troublesome matter. The Cultivator's Credential issued by the Immortal Platform helped everyone complete the "evaluation" step.

The Immortal Platform's "evaluation" included cultivation, martial arts, actual combat, and many other aspects, finally synthesizing a rough level to issue the credential accordingly.

Because the Immortal Platform was sufficiently powerful and rigorous, this small credential was sufficiently authoritative. Today, more than thirty years after this policy was implemented, such a credential basically represented what the public recognized as "entering the hall," or even "achieving success and fame."

For many martial practitioners with average talent, the end point of ten or twenty years of struggle was this Iron Fish Talisman. Some famous escort agencies and martial arts halls, when recruiting head escorts or masters, often used this as the first threshold.

The Immortal Platform's definition for the Fish Talisman was "traveling the Jianghu, warding off shrimp and leeches." Holding this talisman allowed unimpeded passage through the Great Tang, priority in taking on martial tasks, and the ability to pledge it at any government-run bank for ten taels of silver at any time.

Further up were the Copper Sparrow Talisman and the Silver Falcon Talisman. And when one crossed the Eighth Life Realm and reached the Mystic Gate Jade Staircase, this kind of evaluation became optional—how weak could the weakest Master be?

So at this time, one could almost directly obtain the "Mystic Jade Crane Talisman"—previously, when Shen Yanping spoke of Jing Ziwang's strength, he said he was "wearing the Mystic Crane robes," which was an elegant way of saying he had entered the Mystic Gate Realm.

"Every Wu Bi issues Heroic Credentials to the top sixteen. For little brother to be able to come to the Wu Bi at such an age, you are truly young and promising. Sooner or later, an Iron Fish Talisman will definitely be yours." The shopkeeper encouraged, "What is little brother's current cultivation?"

"First Life."

"Oh, well, stay safe."

Pei Ye went upstairs, entered the room, lit the candle, and arranged his luggage one by one.

The "Ren" grade room was indeed a bit cramped, but fortunately, Pei Ye only had one person and one cat. And to be honest, this bed was better than the one at home; at least it was very stable after lying down, not wobbling at all.

Pei Ye stretched his body, sat cross-legged on the bed, and took out the old two items again—the sword case and the Cicada Sparrow Sword Art.

The "Cicada Sparrow Sword" only lacked the last two moves to be fully dismantled. After reading it tonight, he could start truly practicing tomorrow. The dark blue in the Heart-Slicing Glaze had finally visibly faded a bit, and his meridian tree, under its nourishment, would also enter the next stage.

Only Pei Ye lifted the little cat; it had been quite listless these past two days.

A pair of emerald eyes looked at him faintly. Under this gaze, he felt embarrassed to ask when the Chi blood could come again.

"What do you want to eat? Let's order some food."

The black cat tilted its head slightly and thought: "Sugar buns, I guess."

One person and one cat ate the food and washed up inside and out, removing the wind and dust of the past few days, and then Pei Ye continued to lie on the bed and read.

Gradually, the night grew deep and quiet. Pei Ye closed the last page; the Cicada Sparrow Sword had been fully dismantled.

But the progress of the other hand did not perfectly match—it was still about half an hour of absorption away from breaking through to the Second Life.

Seeing that the night was already deep, Pei Ye did not linger, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down.

He still needed to save his full energy for tomorrow morning.

If it were in the past, he definitely wouldn't have been this composed. He remembered the few days before breaking through to the Life-Generating Qi back then; because of the sensation in his dantian, he was almost so excited that he practiced day and night without stopping, and every day when he opened his eyes, he would first feel the state of his abdomen.

But now, he could restrain himself in the face of a breakthrough within reach.

A person's changes always happen imperceptibly, and before looking back suddenly, a youth will not discover his own growth.

——

When the sky was just beginning to brighten the next day, Pei Ye opened his eyes, feeling refreshed. After a good night's sleep, the autumn air outside was cool and crisp. Pei Ye tidied up his gear, carried his sword, walked onto the street, and headed toward the martial arts hall.

Arriving back in front of the red-lacquered gate, Pei Ye was just about to knock again when he saw the side gate was already open, so he simply stepped inside.

This martial arts hall was naturally quite large, but the martial arts field was not hard to find. The man from yesterday had already told him the training ground was "right downstairs," and upon entering and looking up, that three-story building stood in front, separated by a few walls.

Pei Ye walked straight ahead. When passing a courtyard on the west side, his footsteps paused—there was a faint sound of sword-swinging inside. He was hesitating whether it was here, but the noise in front also became clear. Through a half-open gate, a corner of the wide square was already revealed.

Pei Ye walked straight through the gate, and his field of vision suddenly opened up.

A huge circular martial arts field, with weapon racks on the left and a wide variety of equipment on the right, most of which Pei Ye couldn't recognize the use of. Directly in front of the martial arts field, a three-story building stood separated by a wall.

More than twenty people wearing martial arts uniforms were gathered in the front part of the martial arts field, moving around. They were of different ages, heights, and weights. From time to time, people would retreat from the crowd in twos and threes, holding porridge and buns in their hands.

It was mealtime.

Pei Ye walked forward with light steps. This atmosphere of many people eating and practicing together brought back a sense of familiar intimacy.

Zhang Junxue's tall back was quite eye-catching. Pei Ye walked over from behind and tapped her shoulder lightly. The woman turned around, holding a bowl of porridge and... eight buns the size of fists in her hands.

Pei Ye curled his lips—what an astonishing appetite. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a "pfft" snicker from the side. The person said without covering their voice: "What a pig."

Pei Ye frowned and turned his head, seeing it was a thin youth with short hair tied up just past his neck, a long face, and narrow eyes, glancing at Zhang Junxue.

Zhang Junxue seemed not to hear, nodded dully at Pei Ye, and walked out of the queue.

"Yo, you know each other?" The narrow-eyed youth looked Pei Ye up and down with some surprise. Several people nearby also looked over curiously. "Haven't seen you the past few days. Who are you to her?"

Pei Ye glanced at him, didn't speak, served porridge, took a few buns, and also left the queue.

A voice came from behind: "Yo, mutes gathering in a nest."

Several bursts of laughter.

Pei Ye walked out of the crowd, looked around, and only then saw Zhang Junxue squatting in a far corner. He walked over and squatted down too.

The woman was still eating buns dully without speaking. Between two bites, one was already down her throat.

"Why didn't you wait for me?"

"You... can choose not to be too familiar with me."

Pei Ye smiled: "Why, are you that ostracized by others?"

"..." Zhang Junxue swallowed a bun in one bite this time.

"Who are they?"

"Zheng Shou County."

"Oh, a grudge?"

"... Don't know."

"..." Pei Ye turned his head and looked over, seeing those seven or eight people squatting in one place.

Xu Gu was a strong county, Zheng Shou was a rich county. The quotas for the two counties were the same, but sending everyone who could reach the Third Life into the Dragon Gate class had nothing to do with "strength"; it was a move that only "wealth" could accomplish.

The grudge Zhang Junxue "didn't know" about was probably just a dispute over quotas.

For a small county like Fenghuai, no matter how much they squeezed, two or three quotas had to be given. Xu Gu and Zheng Shou wanted to bite off another quota, and the other side's meat was the fattest.

After the meal, everyone lined up on the martial arts field. Zhang Junxue was at the end, and Pei Ye stood beside her.

A tall, burly middle-aged man with thick hair and beard stood in front and coughed twice.

The queue quieted down.

"First, let's talk about one important thing." The man's voice was slow and majestic. "The courtyard on the west side has never been allowed to be entered. Someone moved in yesterday. From now on, it is even more forbidden to enter without permission. A reminder: the people inside are not from the martial arts hall. If you are rude, you will bear the consequences yourself."

"Then, let's talk about today's arrangements as usual."

"In a while, we will continue the explanation of the Bai Zhu Pavilion. It will conclude today. Next is the usual hour of training, and after that, an hour of sparring. That's the content for the morning."

"In the afternoon, an hour of practicing your respective martial arts, with masters patrolling and guiding. Those who don't want to be exposed can still go to the training room on the east side."

"Next is our martial arts hall's small competition every three days. The rewards for the top three this period are still one Ginseng Pill, two taels of silver, and one tael of silver."

"In the evening, it's still an hour of personal free improvement. Any questions or gains can be asked of the masters. Some people have already had plans drawn up by the masters; just practice according to them."

"Finally, the government office released the detailed rules for the Golden Autumn Wu Bi rewards today." The man looked at the students who immediately stretched their necks. "It was originally going to be announced in three days, but we will try our best to get a copy for everyone today. If not, at the latest tomorrow, we will definitely let everyone see it."

"Good!"

"Alright, sit down with intervals, and let Master Wang continue to tell everyone about the fighting style of the Bai Zhu Pavilion."

Pei Ye sat down curiously, watching an old man with white hair and beard walk up holding a short sword.

For the next half hour or so, the old man introduced a sword art of the Bai Zhu Pavilion along with a demonstration.

This naturally couldn't be the true form of that sword art, and the old man couldn't tell them where the flaws in every move were—let alone that he didn't know, even if he did, he wouldn't dare to say.

The old man just let these young people who had never been in contact with the three major sects have a cognition of the three sects' martial arts, show their styles, and teach them the overall thinking of dealing with them.

For example, after finishing this sword art, the old man summarized: The style of the Bai Zhu Pavilion's martial arts is standard "using speed to beat slowness, striking after the enemy." They are good at using short weapons, their bodies and arms are swift, and relying on "short" and "fast," after you make a move, they are accustomed to observing for half a move, and then striking directly at the flaw.

The Bai Zhu Pavilion's martial arts are not as profound as the other two sects, but their disciples have excellent eyesight, their moves are clean and neat, and the outcome is often extremely fast. In a realm like the Third, Fourth, or Fifth Life, such a simple and clean approach is even more effective.

After the explanation, people stood up and scattered to start basic training. At the same time, the old man took the short sword and found them one by one to spar, letting them personally feel the style of the Bai Zhu Pavilion.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 129 =====