William Foster shook his head. He had only been in this world for a month—how could he possibly know about these things? Seeing David Thompson acting all mysterious, could there really be some huge secret?

David Thompson chuckled, “Shitou, you killed two villains the other day. I heard from people around that you seem to have learned some martial arts?”

William Foster looked up. Where was there any sign of drunkenness in this guy? His eyes were sharp and bright, staring intently at him. The drunken, hazy look from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Blinking, William Foster replied, “I have indeed learned a bit of basic martial arts!”

David Thompson nodded. “Do you know why I made you a constable? It’s because you know some basic martial arts. That makes training you much easier than someone who knows nothing at all!”

“Training?”

William Foster grew even more confused, not knowing what David Thompson wanted to train him in.

Seeing William Foster’s expression, David Thompson was convinced that William Foster really was a young man who had lived in a remote mountain village all his life, ignorant of the outside world, and at most had picked up a few rudimentary martial arts moves from who knows where.

But that was exactly the kind of young man he wanted. Raising his cup, he downed it in one gulp and began to explain with a smile, “Let me tell you this along with what I mentioned earlier!”

“Why does our constable bureau attract people from the jianghu to join us? It’s not just because the court values us and the benefits are great!”

“You have to understand, those people from the jianghu—frankly, they’re a bunch of desperados. If they want money, isn’t it easy? Whether it’s robbing and looting as bandits or sneaking around as thieves, what can ordinary people do against them?”

“So for people from the jianghu, money isn’t enough to attract them!”

David Thompson smiled at William Foster and refilled his cup, casually picking up a piece of wild chicken.

“What matters most to these people is that our constable bureau also teaches martial arts!” David Thompson wiped his greasy mouth. Seeing William Foster staring at him intently, he thought the kid was quite sharp, not realizing that William Foster was actually drawn in by the mention of martial arts training at the bureau.

“The constables get martial arts training too?”

Thinking it over, it made sense. After all, the work of constables in this world was so dangerous. If they were all just ordinary people, never mind dealing with people from the jianghu—even handling mountain bandits and thugs would be impossible. Those guys always moved in groups, while constables patrolled in teams of just three or five.

Without some real skills, you really couldn’t get anything done! If that was the case, didn’t it mean he could systematically learn martial arts at the constable bureau?

This also explained why some people from the jianghu would be willing to join the bureau as constables—money was easy to come by, but advanced martial arts were hard to learn.

As for the world he was in now, William Foster didn’t know which sects existed, but no matter the situation, those so-called great sects definitely wouldn’t take in disciples lightly. Even if someone was lucky enough to join a famous sect, it didn’t mean they’d learn advanced martial arts. From this alone, he could tell how precious his system was. As long as you had the right permissions and enough points, you’d have a suitable master to teach you one-on-one—a rare opportunity indeed.

“So, the most important thing now is to earn enough points!”

David Thompson had no idea what William Foster was thinking and continued to introduce things proudly: “And our superior, the Divine Constable Sect, is also famous in the jianghu. Especially the chief constable, Steven Harris, whose martial arts are among the best in the jianghu!”

At this point, David Thompson suddenly lowered his voice. “Actually, the main reason so many people from the jianghu come to be constables is because of the Xuangong Secret Manual!”

“The Xuangong Secret Manual? Is it a martial art?”

David Thompson burst out laughing. “It’s far more than just a martial art! It’s said that the Xuangong Secret Manual is one of the most famous divine skills in the jianghu, and it belongs to our Divine Constable Sect. Countless people have come to be constables just to learn this divine skill!”

He smacked his lips. “Honestly, if I ever got the chance, I wouldn’t even ask to learn it—just seeing it would make me satisfied!”

William Foster turned the thought over in his mind a few times, wondering if he’d have a chance to learn this Xuangong Secret Manual. But no matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem likely.

Since this divine skill was the best martial art of the Divine Constable Sect, it probably wouldn’t be shown to outsiders easily. At the very least, someone like him at the bottom rung would never get close to it.

But if he couldn’t access something so advanced, what about something more basic? Especially since he remembered what David Thompson had said earlier.

“Well, George Thompson, is there anything that ordinary constables like us can learn?”

David Thompson smiled and nodded. “Of course there is, otherwise why would I have picked you? You have a foundation, so you’ll learn quickly!”

As he spoke, he casually pulled a small booklet from his coat. “This ‘Eighteen Chopping Techniques’ is the introductory saber technique every constable must practice. Technically, I shouldn’t be giving it to you yet, but I don’t think you’re the type to settle for being an ordinary runner!”

Of course William Foster didn’t want to stay a runner forever. Who would want to be stepped on if they could climb higher? Not to mention the practical issue: becoming a real constable meant five taels of silver a month—five times his current income. Why wouldn’t he want to move up?