Chapter 113: Status and Lineage

Following Xing Yan’s recommendation, Zhuang Jin confirmed his appointment for next month in the North District as the Warden of Dongqiaowu. After registering and receiving his credentials, he went to the herb fields outside the city to pack up his belongings. Once the goods were transported over, estimating that the time for the meeting had arrived, he had Chen Yun lead Yu Xiaoxiao, Min Shang, and the servants in tidying up, while he set off for the "Du" headquarters.

A "Du" is a regional administrative unit, similar to a "Street" or a "Ward." One "Du" encompasses ten wards, governed by a Du Warden, a position typically held by someone at the Tenth Meridian realm.

Zhuang Jin arrived neither too early nor too late, finding six or seven other ward wardens already present. Among the ten ward wardens in the Du, Zhuang Jin only recognized one: Liu Licheng of Pingshui Po. Liu was the warden who had collaborated with Dongqiaowu during their joint operations in August and September, though he had not yet arrived.

Zhuang Jin stepped forward to greet the others, but they responded with cold indifference, not even offering their names. It was clear they had no desire to associate with him.

"We are strangers, and I have never offended them, so why this reaction? If it were just one or two, perhaps they simply disliked me, but for five or six of them to act this way..." Zhuang Jin pondered and soon realized the answer: background.

The other ward wardens were all long-standing members of the Shen family who had learned martial arts through personal connections. Zhuang Jin, however, had been recruited as an external martial apprentice. Because their backgrounds differed, the others viewed him as an outsider, instinctively feeling that he was encroaching upon their interests and subconsciously excluding him.

He had not felt this exclusion while at the First to Sixth Meridian levels because, to some extent, those levels were merely "high-end consumables." No one cares where consumables come from. But at the Seventh Meridian, everything changed. His status had undergone a qualitative shift, and the ward wardens found it psychologically unacceptable that a former "consumable" was now sitting at the same table as them.

"The higher one climbs, the fewer the seats and the more crowded the space becomes; it naturally grows more closed and feudal, placing greater value on pedigree and lineage," Zhuang Jin sighed to himself.

This was not his first time experiencing this. The Miao Lun case and Zhao Bin’s involvement were testament to this. Had it not been for the intervention of the Eighth and Ninth Young Masters, the other Department Head of the Law Enforcement Division, You Donglai, might have been biased as well. Since his promotion last month, returning to the herb fields had been the same; the gap between the Fourth/Fifth/Sixth Meridians was too great for him to be seen as a peer, but even the wardens of other districts had been cold and distant.

He had sensed it before, but now Zhuang Jin realized it more profoundly: "It is just like the old-fashioned aristocracy of my previous life. Faced with emerging capital forces, even when the latter’s strength is equivalent, they refuse to acknowledge it out of arrogance and pride."

This was a collision between old and new forces, unavoidable, and Zhuang Jin, whether willing or not, was caught in the middle. Were it not for his high potential and his reputation for being grateful and reliable, it likely would have been worse than mere coldness.

"So, whether I like it or not, I have become the forerunner and spokesperson for the force of externally recruited martial apprentices? Such a vanguard often faces tragedy and sacrifice—I do not want to play that role!"

Zhuang Jin contemplated his strategy: "Be low-key, show goodwill, and present an image of being harmless. When necessary, I can even echo their views on pedigree, demonstrating the tact and self-awareness of someone who knows their place, catering to their notions of lineage to avoid being collectively ostracized or targeted."

As the first martial apprentice recruited from the outside to break through to the Seventh Meridian and enter the rentier class, this was technically a betrayal of his own class. But class interests were not his interests, and he had a flexible moral bottom line.

"Ensuring I am not collectively ostracized or targeted will buy me time and space to maximize my strength! Right now, our strength is similar, which is why they feel uncomfortable. But once my strength surpasses theirs—since martial arts honors the strong—they will wake up. Once the gap becomes too wide, they won't even be able to muster the energy to be jealous!"

Just like Xiang Qichen—would he still dare to be jealous of him now?

As Zhuang Jin reflected, Liu Licheng arrived. His attitude was friendly, unlike the others. This was not surprising; first, they had known each other before, and Zhuang Jin’s two successful interventions in August and September had brought some prestige to Liu. Second, their wards were partners in joint operations, requiring them to watch each other's backs; naturally, they could not be as cold as the others.

With Liu Licheng’s introduction, and Zhuang Jin’s "tactful" and "sensible" behavior, the other wardens softened slightly, at least offering a nod.

Liu then shared some intelligence: the Du Warden, Guo Liangping, was a Tenth Meridian master. He was a man of rigid principles who detested any lack of thoroughness in executing orders and possessed a decisive, lightning-fast style.

Before long, Guo Liangping arrived. He was a middle-aged man with a bronze complexion, piercing eyes, and the disciplined air of a military veteran.

"Regarding the situation in the North District: in August and September, the Herb King Gang engaged in continuous border-skirmishing. Last month, our Shen family retaliated, mobilizing several Sixth Meridian experts from the South District. The Herb King Gang, unable to hold their ground, bowed their heads, and both sides established formal rules. Now, the standard for a ward consists of six street wardens: two at the Sixth Meridian, two at the Fifth, and two at the Fourth..."

Guo Liangping pointed to the sand table. "At the start of August, our Shen family held two-thirds of the North District streets, and the Herb King Gang held one-third. Now, we hold five-sixths, and they are left with only one-sixth. Our next goal is further compression until the Herb King Gang is completely expelled from the North District!"

Because of this compression, the Herb King Gang’s territory had shrunk. Dongqiaowu had been a frontline ward in August, bordering the gang’s influence, but it was no longer on the edge. The current model involved two wards coordinating with other "Du" units to attack, rotating to the frontline while others provided support.

They drew lots. Zhuang Jin’s Dongqiaowu and Liu Licheng’s Pingshui Po were assigned to the frontline on the evening of the sixth.

Because of the Herb King Gang’s history of skirting the rules, most wardens didn't trust them. Especially after being taken advantage of last month, they instinctively expected a counterattack and were not enthusiastic. Seeing Zhuang Jin and Liu Licheng draw the first frontline rotation of the month, some even looked on with faint schadenfreude.

However, Zhuang Jin believed that since the contract had just been signed, the Herb King Gang would not dare to violate it or skirt the rules, at least in the short term. Striking first this month might actually be the safest option.

...

After the meeting, Zhuang Jin returned to the Dongqiaowu headquarters. His residence was a spacious, two-courtyard compound with five bays.

However, for safety reasons, the courtyard was narrow with high walls. Compared to the riverside villa on Fujing Street, the scenery was far inferior. The only highlight was a stone-walled flower bed containing phoenix-tail bamboo, roses, hibiscus, and cockscombs—flowers bloomed there throughout the seasons.

Beside the flower bed was a dried-up pond, about a square zhang in size. Chen Yun had a servant place a split bamboo pipe there, drawing water from a waterwheel outside through the wall. She added three or five fish to the pond, which added a touch of life to an otherwise unremarkable courtyard.

The advantage was that it was spacious enough to accommodate Yu Xiaoxiao and Min Shang.

By the time Zhuang Jin returned, everything had been tidied up. After dinner and cultivation, he slept early, as there would be another meeting within the ward tomorrow.

...

The next day, the first of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhuang Jin went to the adjacent ward headquarters for a meeting. Among the ordinary First to Third Meridian martial artists waiting outside, he was surprised to see a familiar face.