When Song Changming came out of Chunfeng Garden, his entire body carried the scent of wine and rouge powder.
Feeling the cool breeze blowing down the street, his eyes gradually cleared up.
He turned to look at the still bustling Chunfeng Garden, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and headed home.
The sky was already getting light. Although he had abundant energy due to his martial arts practice, he still needed sleep every day, just not as long as an entire night.
He usually needed only two or three hours of sleep; more rest was required only when he was particularly exhausted.
Walking through Three Alleys, a path he was incredibly familiar with due to his daily comings and goings, he heard the sounds of the alley neighbors from time to time.
"Mother, I don't want to go to school."
"My dear, you are destined to be a high official one day. How can you do that without education? You must go to school."
"I want candied hawthorn, not porridge!"
"I see you're asking for trouble. If you keep fussing, do you want me to ask the Song family boy from the alley to take you away? He's a patrol guard from the Patrol Armor Bureau, did you hear me? Drink the porridge!"
"No no no, I'll drink, I'll drink, alright…"
Accompanied by these neighborly sounds, Song Changming returned to his Song residence.
The big house was still that big house, and after nearly a year of living there, the once abandoned residence now had much more of a lively atmosphere.
The main door was constantly polished, looking very new, and the words "Song Residence" were engraved on the post beside it, marking the identity of the owner of the house.
When he entered the house, his parents were not yet awake, so Song Changming went inside and immediately fell asleep.
It was only when the sun was high in the sky that he woke up.
He was not in a hurry to go on duty, so he took his sword to the courtyard to begin his daily sword training.
After being busy all night, even if he rested for the entire day today, it would be fine.
Ordinarily, other patrol guards might need to report to Liang Chuan Mountain or him, but as the deputy of the patrol guard, he did not need to report to his superiors anymore.
"Changming, first go and drink the porridge, and there's beef cut for you, all stewed in the pot," Song's mother said immediately upon seeing Song Changming come out.
"Alright," Song Changming stretched and nodded in agreement.
In the past, their breakfast would never include such an extravagant item as meat. Now, as Song Changming climbed in rank in the Patrol Armor Bureau, the living conditions at home visibly improved.
Even his originally thin parents were now in notably better health, with much less sallow complexions, looking much more ruddy.
It was clear that now, Song Changming had become the pillar of support at home.
After drinking two big bowls of thick porridge and a plate of beef, he felt a sense of warmth in his body, and returned to the courtyard to focus on practicing his sword.
Father Song had originally been by the large water tank, checking on the condition of the bisho silkworms, and upon seeing Song Changming begin his sword practice, he moved a small chair over to watch, his eyes showing satisfaction.
He loved watching his son practice swordsmanship, feeling a sense of fulfillment in seeing his son succeed.
"One day, my son will surely achieve brilliance and bring honor to our family..."
In the courtyard, the wind whistled as Song Changming swung his sword rapidly. The gleam of the blade flickered amidst the gale, resembling a swimming silver snake, or like a group of ghosts wailing in the fierce wind.
A powerful sword momentum continually surged forth; if an opponent were standing in front of him at that moment, they would undoubtedly feel the overwhelming pressure.
Compared to a year ago, Song Changming's sword skill was much stronger.
Over the past year, his sword skill had accumulated enough to complete the final breakthrough and refinement, entering the Great Success Realm!
His strength had significantly increased as a result; the might of his sword momentum was such that even Liang Chuan Mountain could no longer claim to suppress him!
After a long while, with the sun high overhead, Song Changming stopped, drenched in sweat.
He glanced at his own panel.
[Soul-breaking Saber: Great Success (99/5000)]
His experience value had increased by two points. To further advance from the Great Success Realm would require a full 5,000 experience points.
Accumulating that would take him, at his current growth rate, nearly three years, at the very least, and it wouldn't be easy.
But at least there was hope; it was not something unattainable.
Many swordsmen practice diligently for twenty years and have yet to achieve great success in even one sword skill. Yet he already accomplished it, so there's nothing to be unsatisfied about.
Among the several patrol captains, only Liang Chuan Mountain, Zhao Dezhi, and Qian Wen had achieved great success in their sword skills; the remaining three had only reached the Minor Success Realm, highlighting the difficulty of achieving great success in sword skill.
The progress in his sword skill could be considered Song Changming's greatest achievement at the moment, and his most significant asset in establishing himself in the Patrol Armor Bureau.
Yet compared to his sword skill, his progression in body refinement was far slower.
This was entirely a matter of accumulating over time, a meticulous work of water grinding stone. Song Changming's experience in body refinement was still short, so he could only slowly catch up with others. Compared to a year ago, although there was progress, there was no new breakthrough, with "slow" being the standout word.
[Great Strength Bull Demon Skill: Strength of One Bull (112/200)]
It's no wonder that body refinement is said to be a lifelong endeavor; without a lifetime of accumulation, it's truly difficult for ordinary people to achieve much.
Song Changming now clearly understood his shortcomings.
His sword skill progressed too quickly, while his time spent on body refinement was too short. As a result, even though he had the Great Success Realm in sword skill, he often felt somewhat lacking in strength.
Limited by the progression of body refinement, he found it hard to fully unleash the power of his sword skill at the Great Success Realm.
To speed up progress in body refinement, one must consume wild ginseng and take medicinal baths!
Ultimately, it all came down to a lack of money and silver.
As a deputy now, in addition to his monthly salary increasing to eight thousand copper coins, he occasionally received bonuses and other supplementary income, which seemed okay but was barely enough for the occasional consumption of wild ginseng or a medicinal bath.
To fully satisfy the needs of body refining skills, it was still insufficient.
The efficiency of body refinement had considerable room for improvement.
Thinking about how to make money, Song Changming couldn't help but walk over to the large water tank in the courtyard.
Father Song was sprinkling some dead mosquitoes into the tank.
According to the breeding method described, these bisho silkworms had a fairly broad diet, as they could eat not only ephemeridae and algae in the water but also mosquitoes and flies for digestion.
In fact, they preferred the remains of mosquitoes and flies over food in the water, which helped them grow healthily.
After the initial period, many bisho silkworms were lost, but things had finally stabilized, yielding some high-quality products.
Song Changming noticed that there were about a dozen Bisho silkworms, each about the thickness of a finger, in the tank.
Their bodies were semi-transparent, faintly visible as they floated in the water.
They disliked the scorching sun during the day, hiding at the bottom of the water.
When moonlight appeared at night, they would surface and bubble.
Thus, they preferred nighttime to daytime.
Among the dozen or so matured bisho silkworms, about five had a ring of blue patterns on them.
These were the Blue-Striped Green Water Silkworms, the preliminary results of their year's cultivation.
Ordinary bisho silkworms generally have a molting process once a year, after which there's a probability they could become Blue-Striped Green Water Silkworms.
The quality of Blue-Striped Green Water Silkworms is much higher than that of ordinary non-striped bisho silkworms, and their market price is several times that of the latter.
For someone like him involved in such cultivation, making a profit by merely selling non-striped bisho silkworms might yield some earnings, but only small amounts.
It's only by raising this kind of Blue-Striped Green Water Silkworms that profits can multiply and become substantial.