The next morning.
"What?"
Lin Qing looked at Team Leader Han in surprise and couldn't help but ask, "Luo Tuo is dead? Killed at Iron Stone Bar? When?"
"The exact time is still uncertain, but it should have been last night."
Team Leader Han glanced at him and said, "I heard you had a conflict with the Blue Scarf Gang yesterday morning?"
"Yes." Lin Qing nodded, "I just happened to run into the Blue Scarf Gang collecting protection money, so I made a few sarcastic remarks to them, but Luo Tuo was quite respectful towards me, didn't take the protection money, and just left."
Team Leader Han nodded slightly and said, "After all, you are the Patrol Department for Iron Stone Street; of course, he would give you face."
"But how could Luo Tuo suddenly be murdered?"
Lin Qing wondered, "Could it have been a gang fight? He fought in Black Boxing; he must have been strong, right?"
"It's hard to say." Team Leader Han said, "The forensic conclusion from the police side is that he died from a slash to the throat. Although it's hard to identify the type of weapon due to the body being burned, the single wound on the body speaks volumes about the killer's strength."
Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "When I ran into the Blue Scarf Gang yesterday, there was a big guy with terrifying strength next to Luo Tuo; he bent the iron railing with a single punch. Could he have been the one?"
Team Leader Han shook his head slightly and said, "He's also dead, took a knife to the palm, and likewise died from a slash to the throat."
"He's dead too?" Lin Qing said, startled.
"The killer is very strong."
Team Leader Han spoke softly, "It's very likely a master at the team leader's level."
Lin Qing realized and said, "No wonder the police haven't summoned me."
"As soon as the forensic report came out, they knew it wasn't you. You are too far behind." Team Leader Han shook his head.
In his view, Lin Qing had just recently mastered the 4-6 version of the Practice Method, and he was still far from the limit of the Practice Method, and he had only learned one Combat Skill, which took him five days to get started on.
A mere beginner's level Combat Skill provided no significant enhancement to strength.
This level of strength was at the bottom among the team leaders of the Xiao Shan District Bureau, and even farther from the team leader level.
"So what is the temporary operation the bureau has assigned to us?" Lin Qing asked.
"Haven't you seen the members of the Blue Scarf Gang after their reorganization?"
Team Leader Han said, "The upper levels want us to cooperate with a team to search Iron Stone Bar and its surroundings, detain any suspicious individuals. The police are still reviewing surveillance footage, but so far, there are no clues."
Lin Qing nodded his head.
Everything was as he expected.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon.
After the Patrol Team finished searching the area around Iron Stone Bar and sent away all those Blue Scarf Gang members as suspects, the Blue Scarf Gang that had just been established for a day announced its dissolution once again.
[Order Level increased by 0.1]
After the team disbanded, Lin Qing looked at the Order Level that reached 0.8 and was still quite pleased.
In his previous life, he lived in a completely stable and peaceful era, where the highest Order Level was only 0.9.
Now, it wasn't much different.
According to his understanding, there were two key factors to increasing the Order Level.
One was to expand the living circle or, to put it another way, social class.
The living circle of ordinary people is just so big, and no matter how stable it is, it's probably hard to reach 1.0.
The second is to eliminate as many unstable factors within one's living circle as possible, such as potential crises, incidents affecting order, etc.
Both of these actually required his strength to be strong enough.
With strength, one has status and can eliminate crises and quell chaos.
That evening, Lin Qing received some good news.
"Lin Qing, the bureau has already arranged a coach for you. Starting from tomorrow, you can learn the 7-7 version of the Practice Method from him."
"Although it's a bit late, you're in luck. I heard this coach was once a student of the outer hall at Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall."
...
January 12th, 11 a.m.
Lin Qing arrived at Blue Sky Martial Arts Training Center as scheduled by the Patrol Bureau.
Although Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall was peerless, there were other training centers that taught the basics of martial arts, specifically coaching various martial arts fundamentals.
Blue Sky Martial Arts Training Center was marketed with the selling point that 'students from Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall are coaches at our training center.' With various promotions, the effects were indeed good; judging from the number of students at the training center, the popularity was obviously strong.
After confirming his reservation, Lin Qing made his way to the private training room at the end of the second floor of the training center.
This coach, who had signed an agreement with the Inspection Bureau, was named 'Tan Yanwen'.
He looked to be around twenty, seemingly plain in appearance, but seated cross-legged on the ground, he exuded an air of serene confidence, the mark of a martial arts expert.
"Hello Coach Tan, I am Lin Qing from the Xiao Shan District Patrol Bureau, a third-level officer at the Patrol Department." Lin Qing greeted politely.
"Mhm."
Tan Yanwen sized up Lin Qing and nodded slightly, "I heard you're only eighteen and you've mastered the 46-version Sunrise Training Method in how long exactly?"
"If I count seriously, a few months?" Lin Qing purposefully understated his actual progress since no one knew for sure.
"Not bad, although your talent isn't outstanding, it isn't too far off." Tan Yanwen said softly, "You do indeed have a fair chance of mastering the 77-version Practice Method."
Lin Qing knew that when the other party spoke of 'outstanding' talent, he was referring to Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall's classification for talent assessment.
Ordinary, Outstanding, Exceptional.
With outstanding talent, you would be taken in as an external student at Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall.
As for the inner hall students, that remained a mystery, and even those with exceptional talent might not qualify.
Lin Qing couldn't help but ask, "Coach Tan, I heard that almost all with outstanding talent can master the 77-version Sunrise Training Method, and there's even hope for mastering the original version?"
"Talent is just talent, it doesn't determine everything."
Tan Yanwen shook his head slightly, "If they aren't diligent enough, there are still those in Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall who haven't managed to master even the 77-version Practice Method by the age of twenty and eventually get let go."
He didn't say much more and stood up, "Let's start now, I have things to do at noon. From now on, come to find me at ten in the morning and we'll finish at twelve. I'll teach you for up to three days. If you still haven't learned it after three days, then there's nothing more I can do."
"Okay." Lin Qing nodded.
"The 77-version Practice Method simply involves more complex movements based on the 46-version's foundation, but the Breathing Method is actually simplified."
Tan Yanwen said, "I will deliberately emphasize the variations in breathing. I'll do it once slowly, then at a normal speed. Watch carefully, remember the gist first, and then I'll teach you each movement individually."
With that, Tan Yanwen began his demonstration.
Lin Qing watched attentively, memorizing every movement and its coordination with the breathing.
After two demonstrations.
Tan Yanwen looked at Lin Qing, "Your turn. Try it and I will correct each movement for you."
Lin Qing nodded and began to imitate the moves as best he could.
Once he finished the sequence, Tan Yanwen was surprised to find that this young patrol officer had made almost no mistakes, only minor inaccuracies in the coordination of breathing and movement.
"You have a good memory and body control."
Tan Yanwen praised quietly, "It seems you won't need to come tomorrow. Two more lessons should be enough for you to become proficient."
Twenty minutes later.
"It's already very standardized."
Tan Yanwen nodded slightly, "From here, you need to adjust on your own, try to find a state that activates more of your body's potential, that's how you'll absorb more Mysterious Energy."
"Okay." Lin Qing nodded.
He also noticed that the 77-version Sunrise Training Method had been recorded on his panel.
Next, as soon as he finished acquiring Combat Skill "Speed," he would be able to access the 77-version Sunrise Training Method directly!
"It's still early, not even two hours of class time have passed." Tan Yanwen smiled, "I didn't expect teaching to be this relaxing this time?"
He sat down on the floor, "If you have something to do, you can leave. If not, you can stay and chat. After all, the lesson isn't over yet."
Lin Qing thought for a moment and said, "If you don't mind, Coach Tan, can you tell me about the requirements for joining Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall?"
"You want to go?" Tan Yanwen asked.
"I heard students of Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall get to live in the urban circle, who wouldn't want that?" Lin Qing said frankly.
Naturally, he too wanted to live in the more peaceful and stable urban circle, and at that time, his Order Level would surely increase significantly.
"It's not necessarily a good thing."
Tan Yanwen shook his head and said, "External students don't qualify to live in the urban circle, they only get passes. Also, if you haven't entered the inner hall before turning twenty, you'll be asked to leave."
He glanced at Lin Qing, "If you want to live in the urban circle, your only chance is to join the inner hall, but the difficulty is... heh..."
His laugh seemed to carry a hint of self-deprecation, yet it also seemed to mock the young man's fanciful thoughts.
"Join the inner hall before turning twenty?"
Lin Qing promptly asked, "What kind of talent is required to join the inner hall?"
"The inner hall doesn't look at talent." Tan Yanwen shook his head, "The key lies in 'Awakening'."
"Awakening?" Lin Qing asked curiously.
Tan Yanwen paused for a moment before speaking in a tone mixed with helplessness and longing, "Either the 'Genetic Awakening' that breaks free from the genetic shackles, or the incredibly rare 'Telekinesis Awakening' that breaks through mental barriers."
He paused again, then joked, "Of course, there's also a type of Awakening that almost only exists in legends."
"What is it?" Lin Qing couldn't help but look at him.