Da Xuan Martial Saint

Chen Mu approached with a calm expression.

Raising his right hand, he also drew a wooden sword, and then flicked his arm, eliciting a crisp sound akin to a whip crack. Following that, he swung the sword, striking the iron column. Along with the wooden sword breaking, a mark appeared on the column.

"Indeed, it's quite good."

This remark wasn't made by the elder responsible for the assessment but muttered by Xu Hongyu, her eyes revealing a hint of appreciation.

Although they both demonstrated Tendon Changing, the quality of Tendon Changing varied greatly. Chen Mu's sinew popping revealed that his muscles and membranes were extraordinary, allowing for such crisp sounds. Moreover, the strike he delivered demonstrated Triple Momentum, showing remarkable power. The mark left on the iron column was noticeably deeper than Little Lotus's.

The elder who observed Chen Mu's performance showed a fleeting glint in his turbid, impassive eyes, but there was no further reaction—only a circle drawn indifferently on the paper.

"That's enough."

As the words were spoken.

Xu Hongyu nodded slightly and directly led Chen Mu and Little Lotus past the Hall Office, continuing to walk to the area further back.

As they walked, Xu Hongyu turned to Chen Mu and said, "Actually, just revealing your realm of Tendon Changing would have sufficed for you to pass, as most of the assessments nowadays are a mere formality; they won't intentionally make things difficult. There wasn't a need to reveal Triple Momentum... but it's no matter.

You'll need to display your true strength eventually when carrying out various tasks to accumulate merit."

Little Lotus had long ago told her about Chen Mu achieving Triple Momentum, but he rarely showed it in front of others. Xu Hongyu admired this aspect of him. Despite being younger than herself, he maintained such composure and humility, never flaunting his power before others and always acting low-key, only unleashing his might like thunder when necessary. Enjoy more content from mvl

His maturity and depth of character were hardly characteristic of a man in his twenties.

Therefore, initially, she viewed Chen Mu with a sense of seniority, but that feeling gradually dissipated. In her interactions with Chen Mu, she didn't perceive him to be someone two years younger than her.

Compared to those geniuses of her own age from various families she had encountered, Chen Mu's strength and realm aside, he felt decidedly different to her.

This, in fact, was also why she became increasingly invested in Chen Mu—not solely because of the talent he showed. After all, in this world, although strength is the most crucial part of standing one's ground, mentality and conduct are also very important.

True strength...

Chen Mu stroked his chin but said nothing, instead pondering aloud, "Hmm, this Demon-Slaying Office follows rules quite strictly, somewhat different from other Yamen."

Xu Hongyu nodded and said, "Of course. Although it's been a long time since the Imperial Court has issued any decrees down to Yu County, the Demon-Slaying Office is currently not fully controlled by any one family, and the Bureau Head is a person from the Seven Profound Sect."

"I see."

Chen Mu nodded slightly.

He had heard a bit about this. Yu City's Demon-Slaying Office, where prominent martial artists from various families were stationed, was also a battleground for their struggles. Although nominally under the jurisdiction of City Lord Xue Huaikong, in fact, the Seven Profound Sect also had a hand in it.

However, as far as he knew, the Bureau Head from the Seven Profound Sect didn't intervene in any disputes among the families, nor did he favor any side, maintaining fairness and impartiality, only intervening in major demonic calamities occasionally.

In reality.

By maintaining neutrality, he was implicitly favoring the Xue Family.

After all, in the entire Yu City, the Xue Family was dominant, with City Lord Xue Huaikong also being the Xue Family head. The Xue Family's control over the Demon-Slaying Office was stronger than other families, even controlling the sources of the Tendon Changing Pill and the Bone Tempering Pill.

Originally, his position wasn't high enough for him to understand much, but now he could basically see clearly that the source of the Tendon Changing Pill and Bone Tempering Pill was likely the Seven Profound Sect.

Soon.

The trio walked through the corridor and reached the final Hall Office, a place that was no longer dark but quite bright instead. Inside, several officials clothed in bureaucratic attire were chatting leisurely, but immediately became reserved upon seeing Chen Mu and his companions arrive.

Xu Hongyu took out her waist token and showed it to the officials.

Chen Mu followed suit, taking out his waist token along with Little Lotus.

The officials respectfully took the tokens, gave them a quick examination, and promptly handed them back, saying deferentially, "The uniforms for the three distinguished officers are ready, along with customized knives and inner armor. Please follow me to collect your items."

Chen Mu followed one of them and soon acquired a set of Green-Clothed Guard uniform, a long knife, and inner armor.

Setting aside the Green-Clothed Guard uniform for a moment, Chen Mu picked up the knife and unsheathed it with a clang, revealing a blade shimmering with cold light. It was similar in overall design to the Servant's Knife but of a much higher quality, being forged from fine iron.

The inner armor, however, was of more common quality, consisting of two connected pieces of hard armor covering the chest and back. Yet, wearing 'armor' itself denotes a different status as secretly possessing crossbow bolts and armor was a serious crime in the past.

After considering briefly, Chen Mu put on the armor to test it. It didn't hinder his movements, so he decided to wear it.

However, the effectiveness of this armor for him was rather low. Essentially, his muscles and membranes were now tougher than the iron armor. Nevertheless, an extra layer of armor ultimately provided a bit more defense.

"If I could get my hands on soft armor, that would be nice, but the soft armors that would be significantly effective for me now are basically priceless, extremely valuable..."

Chen Mu shook his head, then donned the Green-Clothed Guard uniform and took up the fine iron knife.

For him now, a Fine Iron Knife was still a low-quality Servant's Knife, and using it made no real difference. Only the divine weapons forged from Mysterious Iron, or the legendary famous swords, could be somewhat effective.

But those were just as rare and extremely expensive, and not easy to obtain.

He stepped out of the room.

He saw that from another room on the inside, Xiao He also emerged, having changed into her Green-Clothed Guard uniform. It looked like it was indeed tailored to fit her body shape, and the one she wore also fit perfectly.

Chen Mu's gaze swept past her chest but saw a sudden decline downwards, wondering if she had put on the cast iron inner armor. In truth, Xiao He wasn't lacking, but today, outside, he hadn't seen any slope, most likely because she knew about the iron inner armor beforehand and wrapped it with silk or something like that.

A Martial Artist who had reached the Tendon Changing stage overflowed with Qi-Blood, circulating freely throughout the body, so there was no need to worry about tight wrapping causing blood flow problems. Either way, it wouldn't be a big issue.

"It really fits well."

Xiao He approached and walked a circle around Chen Mu.

Chen Mu smiled faintly, saying nothing.

The Green-Clothed Guard uniform of the Demon-Slaying Office indeed seemed decent, having fewer patterns than the dark-green uniform he wore as a Prefecture Chief but made of a noticeably higher grade of material, and the embroidered patterns were made of fine silk weave... Of course, all of this was actually irrelevant.

The main point was that if an individual had a certain level of personal charm and appearance, then any clothing would seem to fit well.

As for Xiao He...

The same Green-Clothed Guard uniform somewhat diminished her demeanor.

It wasn't that Xiao He wasn't pretty, it's just that the Green-Clothed Guard uniform didn't really suit a young lady.

However.

When Xu Hongyu emerged from the innermost room, she indeed caught one's eye. The white uniform of the Demon-Slaying Office seemed on par with the white flying fish uniform she wore as Chief Constable, and both suited her temperament very well.

The main thing was that at a glance, the cut was moderate, clearly Xu Hongyu hadn't worn the inner armor. Chen Mu guessed that with Xu Hongyu's status, she likely had better soft armor and didn't need that low-end iron armor, nor the trouble Xiao He went through.

"Let's go."

Xu Hongyu walked over with a calm expression.

The few officials watched Chen Mu and the others as they left, respectfully saluting and watching as the three of them disappeared into the darkness, until Xu Hongyu and Chen Mu's figures were completely gone. Only then did someone speak in a low voice with a glimmer in their eyes:

"Xu Hongyu... she's the one from the Yu Family, as beautiful and fair-skinned as the rumors say. Even in that White-Clothed Guard uniform, she looks absolutely stunning. I doubt even the Oiran of the Tasty Fragrance Pavilion could compare."

"Shh! Do you have a death wish?"

The person beside him was startled and glared at him, saying, "Comparing the great Xu to a brothel courtesan, you've got some nerve."

The other person shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "I heard she is twenty-seven this year and has yet to marry. It's true that women who practice martial arts tend to marry later, but still..."

"Most likely she hasn't seen anyone she likes."

Another person shook their head, saying, "For someone like Officer Xu, someone who could match her in Yu City is probably one of those few individuals, and with her status, it's not just a personal matter."

It was understood by everyone that with Xu Hongyu's status as a legitimate member of the Yu Family, if she were to marry, it would either be with a young prodigy or with direct heirs of other central families through marital alliances.

Either way, it would definitely be a major event that could affect Yu City's landscape.

Naturally, it couldn't be rushed.

"Maybe that's why, after all these years..."

"Enough, get back to work."

...

After Xu Hongyu exited from the eastern Hall Office, she headed directly for the central main office.

Chen Mu followed calmly behind.

As a White-Clothed Guard of the Demon-Slaying Office, at Seventh Grade, she held a position equivalent to the Chief Constable. For Xu Hongyu, serving as a White-Clothed Guard was a lateral transfer, but in reality, the status of the Demon-Slaying Office was superior to all other Yamen, with a so-called rule of 'half-a-grade higher for officials seen.'

Put simply, now that Xu Hongyu had received information about the presence of a demon in South City District and was on her way there for demon-slaying, the Chief Constable of South City, even if holding an equivalent rank, had to fully cooperate and obey her commands — this was the 'half-a-grade higher for officials seen.'

Similarly.

As a Green-Clothed Guard, officially at Eighth Grade, my status was on par with a Deputy Head Officer of the City Guard General, which was essentially a half-grade promotion from my previous role as Prefecture Chief of Wutong Grove District, and my actual standing was even higher. In any locality, I could directly command cooperation from any City Defense Division.