CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: ONBOARDING

The haunted house at 18 Shigang Alley is only one or two kilometers away from the new home. Early in the morning, Chen Shouyi arrived here with his wooden sword.

The place is quiet, with no one to disturb.

It’s undoubtedly the best place to practice.

Today, as soon as he started practicing swordsmanship, Chen Shouyi clearly felt a difference from before.

His mind seemed to focus more easily, without any effort, he entered a state of high concentration, distractions nonexistent, emotions calm, everything appeared natural.

Each move with the sword appeared no different from usual, yet carried a condensed sharp aura.

After practicing for a few minutes.

He suddenly thrust forward sharply at a nearby large camphor tree.

A sharp whistle suddenly sounded, the sword tip stopping abruptly just one or two millimeters from the tree.

The tree bark exploded into a cloud of dust by a miniature sonic boom, and a small crack about an inch long, several times finer than a hair, appeared. It was almost unnoticeable unless closely inspected.

Chen Shouyi retrieved the wooden sword and approached.

Facing the tree bark, his right hand formed a claw and grabbed forcefully. The tree’s tough bark was no stronger than paper to his current strength; a tearing sound was heard as he ripped off a large piece along with the trunk.

He examined the piece of bark in his hand carefully and was quickly surprised.

"The crack is actually three centimeters deep!"

Previously, his Sword Qi could only reach about two centimeters deep.

"Could it be the effect of the second optimization of ’Entering Stillness and Refining the Self’?"

Compared to the world-altering changes of the second optimized version of the Body Refinement Thirty-six Moves, the second optimized ’Entering Stillness and Refining the Self’ didn’t change much in terms of self-refinement, especially in the initial stages. The refining steps were almost identical, only the final refining direction changed.

The only major change was that the second optimized version allowed him to meditate more deeply, entering an inexplicably serene state.

"Obviously, under the influence of this highly deep meditation state, my mind has become more easily focused and cohesive.

The same willpower, which used to be a dull sword with a rough shape, is now sharpened and honed, becoming sharp and much more powerful."

"Three centimeters is still a bit short!" Chen Shouyi clicked his tongue.

He then waved lightly, sweeping through the grass.

At that moment, the wooden sword seemed like an extremely sharp alloy sword. The countless weeds didn’t even come into real contact with the sword as they were sliced by an invisible force, cutting a large swath instantly.

...

Monday, seven in the morning.

Chen Shouyi got up and opened the wardrobe, where several sets of suits were hanging. He casually picked one and put it on.

His face was too youthful, his skin fair and smooth, making him look like a minor.

Blending into this adult world often brought age-based disregard and distrust. Now, he purposefully dressed more maturely, with a suit being the simplest and most convenient option.

He then went to the bathroom, picked up a razor, and cleaned up the fuzz above his mouth.

Looking in the mirror, he immediately felt much better.

With the fuzz gone from his lips, the high school student’s vibe had nearly disappeared. Were his eyes sharper and expression colder, no one would likely question his age.

The house was empty; his parents and sister had gone out early to find a restaurant location.

He left the neighborhood, had breakfast at a breakfast shop, and hailed a cab for the downtown police substation.

Sitting in the car, he closed his eyes and opened the attribute panel.

Strength: 13.4

Agility: 13.4

Physique: 13.9

Intelligence: 12.6

Perception: 11.5

Willpower: 12.5

Knowledge: Chinese Language (Mastery 6); Physics (Proficient 12); Biology (Proficient 10); Chemistry (Proficient 11); Math (Proficient 9); English (Proficient 6); Computer Science (Beginner 6); Cooking (Beginner 5); Body Refinement Thirty-six Moves (Mastery 5); Entering Stillness and Refining the Self (Mastery 1); Swordsmanship (Proficient 20); Archery (Proficient 13)

Talent Ability: Beginner Self-Healing

Energy Accumulation: 0.24

"In the past couple of days, both agility and perception have increased by 0.1, and swordsmanship has reached ’Proficient 20,’ just a step away from mastery, yet I feel stuck at a bottleneck, as if something is missing," he thought to himself.

In fact, he had a vague guess about what was missing.

He hadn’t completed the ’Refining Flesh’ stage of Entering Stillness and Refining the Self yet. Compared to those senior martial artists, he still lacked something, falling short like a machine lacking lubrication, making each move slightly awkward.

His practice of Entering Stillness and Refining the Self was still too brief, totaling only about two months from the beginning. Without the body’s initial transformation by knowledge and then the absorption of the mysterious tree seed that rapidly boosted physical attributes, his progress would have been much slower.

Relying solely on a little practice and training, he would at best be a martial artist apprentice, far from being a martial artist.

Unfortunately, physical attributes might grow through fortuitous encounters, but mental attributes could only gradually improve, resulting in perception lagging significantly behind.

"Luckily, there’s no rush. In terms of combat power, with physical qualities far exceeding ordinary martial artists, especially with agility a full point higher, my combat abilities should be no less than those of senior martial artists!"

...

Half an hour later, Chen Shouyi walked into the downtown police substation. Not bothering to search, he went straight to the service window in the service hall and inquired:

"Hello, I’m a new martial artist here for a secondment, who should I contact for the onboarding procedures?"

A pretty female officer with light makeup heard this and immediately stood up: "Hello, Sir, for this matter, you need to contact the personnel department. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Would that be too much trouble?"

"Not at all, not at all! Please wait a moment." The policewoman left her post and opened the back office: "A safety consultant is here to start the job. Xiao Jun, can you cover for me?"

"A new safety consultant!" A surprised voice came from inside as a petite, young woman officer stepped out, looking outside at Chen Shouyi with awe before saying to the other officer: "Alright, you go ahead."

Soon, the pretty policewoman returned: "Sir, please follow me."

Chen Shouyi nodded.

The two left the service hall and walked towards an office building behind it. Chen Shouyi spoke up: "Are there many safety consultants here?"

"I’m not entirely sure; safety consultants belong to the Public Safety Police Unit, but there should be around ten."

That many, Chen Shouyi thought to himself. It truly is the provincial capital; just one district’s police substation has so many seconded martial artists.

"Sir, you look so young?" The policewoman complimented with a slight smile.

"Really? Maybe it’s because I have a baby face!" Chen Shouyi replied with a smile.

Thankfully, he was wearing formal attire.

Soon, the two arrived at the office of the Director of the Personnel Department on the fourth floor. The policewoman walked up and knocked on the door. With a "Come in" reply, she opened the door for him: "Director Zhang, the new safety consultant is here to start the job."

The Director of the Personnel Department was a mid-aged man in his thirties or forties, wearing glasses. When he saw Chen Shouyi entering, he immediately stood up, quickly walked over to shake hands, and said with a smile: "You must be Mr. Chen Shouyi. We received the Director’s notification in advance; welcome to our downtown police substation."

"No need for formalities!"

"Please take a seat first, I’ll notify the director." Director Zhang exited the office.

Soon, a solidly built middle-aged man entered with a hearty laugh.

Chen Shouyi stood up.

"Please, have a seat! Don’t be so formal!

Mr. Chen, you are indeed talented at such a young age. When the files came through the day before yesterday, I was also taken aback. Our substation highly values such talent.

Once your onboarding is complete, we’ll arrange a meeting for you to get to know the other colleagues in the Public Safety Police Unit. It would be awkward for nobody to recognize each other then.

In principle, safety consultants don’t need to attend regular work hours; you’ll only be called upon in emergencies, and a dedicated liaison will be arranged to contact you."