Four Seas Tea House, a private room on the second floor.

The clamor of the bustling market was shut out by the window. The Tea Master poured hot water, and instantly, the fragrant aroma of tea curled into the air amidst rising steam.

"Younger Brother Su, being a few years your senior, I’ll be bold and presume to call you brother."

Wang Nianshen had a sincere expression as he took an exquisite porcelain vial from his robes and pushed it toward Su Yu. "Back at the Martial Arts Arena, I was blind to your greatness and provoked you of my own accord. I deeply apologize. Please, take this Red Ginseng Jade Skin Pill as my apology."

Su Yu glanced at it and accepted it without ceremony.

’This Wang Nianshen may be a bit of a smooth talker, but he certainly knows how to handle people. Another friend is another path, and besides, we’ll be working together at the Yang Family from now on.’

"Brother Wang, you’re too kind. It was just a spar. There’s no need to dwell on it."

Seeing Su Yu accept the gift, a great weight was lifted from Wang Nianshen’s heart, and his expression relaxed.

’Ah, not only is Younger Brother Su exceptionally strong, but he’s not arrogant either. His future is limitless!’

’Sigh, why is there such a huge gap between him and my son at home? My boy hasn’t even broken through to the Martial Artist realm, yet he already acts like he owns the world.’

Wang Nianshen took a sip of tea and said, "Younger Brother Su, since we’ll both be Tributors for the Yang Family, there are a few things I should fill you in on."

"Today’s spar was actually a setup by that old fox, Yang Chongren. At first, I didn’t want to pay him any mind, but he offered me a high price of one hundred taels to provoke me into action. His goal was to use my saber to take you down a peg."

Su Yu understood. He had long since guessed Yang Chongren’s intentions. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When Wang Nianshen saw Su Yu’s expression remain unchanged, he knew the younger man had likely figured it out. "You’re a sharp one, brother. I’m sure you saw it coming! But Yang Chongren isn’t deliberately targeting you. On the contrary, he’s looking for a prize son-in-law!"

"He wants you to marry into the Yang Family and protect his massive family enterprise. But his son, Yang Gang, hasn’t broken through to the Martial Artist realm yet, and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep you in line. That’s why he wanted to put you in your place first before trying to win you over with favors."

Su Yu found this amusing.

He had only taken the Tributor position with the Yang Family and hadn’t thought that far ahead.

’But thinking back on how Yang Zhen and Yang Ai acted toward him, they did seem a bit too familiar. Especially Yang Ai, who seemed to want to stick to his side at all times. So that’s what this was all about.’

Seeing Su Yu’s unconcerned expression, Wang Nianshen laughed. "Haha, he probably thought your potential was exhausted after breaking through to the Martial Artist realm and that your strength was average. He never expected you to have such talent. He’s probably kicking himself at home right now."

Su Yu didn’t respond. As far as the Yang Family was concerned, he just wanted to take their money, do his job, and owe them nothing.

"By the way," Wang Nianshen changed the subject, "with your skills at such a young age, are you planning to participate in next month’s Martial Examination?"

Su Yu nodded. "That’s right!"

Wang Nianshen sighed, his eyes filled with a mix of envy and nostalgia. "Then your future is truly limitless, Younger Brother Su. With your saber skills, you’re bound to get a good result in the Martial Examination. You might even have a chance to join the Law Enforcement Team that everyone envies."

"But there are too many geniuses participating in the Martial Examination this year. You’ll have to be careful."

Wang Nianshen seemed very familiar with the city’s situation, ticking off names on his fingers as if counting his family treasures:

"Take the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, for example. The Martial Artists who qualify to participate are almost all geniuses. You know Sun Yan, right? A genius with a special bone structure. He’s already at the Third Acupoint and is aiming for the title of Martial Champion Scholar this time!"

"Then there’s Cui Wanhe from the Hongshan Martial Arts Hall. He’s also a Third Acupoint genius. I hear his Hongshan Saber technique has reached a state of perfection. He once killed a Martial Artist of the same realm with a single strike! He’s also declared he’s going for the top spot!"

"And Dai Xing from the Chasing Wind Martial Arts Hall. Though not on the same level as the first two, being only at the Second Acupoint, his Wind-Splitting Spear Technique is said to be otherworldly, and no one in his realm can match him. Rumor has it he ventured into Black Wind Mountain and, with only his spear, killed a mutated tiger as strong as a Third Acupoint Martial Artist!"

"This Martial Examination is truly a gathering of geniuses. I’m envious that you get to be a part of it, Younger Brother Su. Sigh!"

As he spoke, Wang Nianshen sighed again.

Although he was a Martial Artist, at a major institution like the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, he was just an outer member whom no one paid attention to, far removed from the circles of those geniuses.

Taking on these Tributor positions was just a way to shamelessly use the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall’s name.

The two drank tea and chatted for a while longer. Su Yu asked detailed questions about the upcoming Martial Examination and learned much more from him.

Black Stone City intended to turn this Martial Examination into a grand year-end event. With the world in turmoil, the Black Stone Army and the three major families seemed to be using this opportunity to stabilize morale within the city.

...

After seeing Su Yu off, Wang Nianshen sat alone in the tea house, watching the flow of people outside the window and letting out a long sigh.

’Maybe sending my son to a smaller martial arts hall wouldn’t be so bad. Look at Su Yu—he seems to have done quite well for himself at a small hall. His master must have taught him that saber technique personally for it to be so formidable.’

’Besides, the relationships between martial brothers at a small hall are probably much better, not as class-divided as at the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall. Maybe it’s a better place for an ordinary person to make a name for himself.’

’And most importantly... it would save a lot of silver!’

’Sigh, I didn’t get this Tributor position with its one hundred tael salary. I’ll just have to find another place to take up a post.’

’I hope nothing goes wrong at the next post. If I get caught in a fight between Martial Artists and get injured, it won’t be worth the price!’

...

「The next morning.」

Su Yu had just finished washing up and hadn’t yet made it to the Martial Arts Arena when there was a knock on his door.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"

"Brother Su, we’re here to bring you something."

Yang Ai’s lively voice came from outside.

Su Yu opened the door to see the two sisters standing prettily in the doorway.

Today, they weren’t wearing their training clothes but had changed into exquisite everyday attire. Yang Ai was adorably sweet in a goose-yellow tunic and skirt, while Yang Zhen was the image of gentle elegance in a long, pale purple dress.

"Come in and sit."

Su Yu welcomed the two inside.

Yang Zhen sat down quietly on a chair, while Yang Ai, with her hands behind her back, curiously wandered around the room, touching this and looking at that.

"Brother Su, your room is so plain! You don’t even have a single decent decoration!"

Su Yu smiled but didn’t say anything.

’The room is a bit plain, but I only use it for sleeping, so I don’t really need any decorations.’

"Hmph, no fun." Yang Ai stuck out her tongue and returned to the table.

Yang Zhen gave her sister a helpless glance, then took a silver note and an exquisite red porcelain vial from her sleeve.

"Brother Su, this is this month’s salary. One hundred taels."

She handed the silver note to Su Yu, then picked up the porcelain vial. A hint of barely perceptible shyness crept into her voice. "And this is a Blood Amber Pill. This medicine isn’t as potent as the Red Ginseng Jade Skin Pill, but its effects are gentler and longer-lasting. It nourishes Qi and Blood, making it perfect for a Martial Artist’s daily use. You expend a lot of energy in your daily training, so this should be just what you need."

Su Yu took the vial and uncorked it.

A faint, unusual fragrance wafted out. He tipped one out and saw a pill that was dark red and translucent, like a piece of solidified, blood-colored amber.

"What’s the market price for these pills?"

"One tael of silver per pill. There are ten in the vial."

Su Yu casually swallowed one.

As the pill went down his throat, it dissolved into a gentle, warm current that slowly permeated his entire body. The Qi and Blood that had been somewhat depleted from last night’s training was now recovering at a slow, comfortable pace.

’This really is good stuff!’

’Its effects are gentle, slowly restoring and strengthening my Qi and Blood. It will complement the Red Ginseng Jade Skin Pill perfectly!’

’Now that my body’s Qi and Blood is getting stronger, the effects of a Red Ginseng Jade Skin Pill don’t even last three days anymore. Adding this Blood Amber Pill should be just right.’

"Thank you! But these pills weren’t mentioned as part of the salary before."

As Yang Zhen was about to explain, Yang Ai leaned in, her lips in a pout. "My sister stole them from home, hehe! She secretly brought them for you, Brother Su! My sister is being so good to you~"