Jiang Tao's Discovery

Jiang Tao simply could not afford to provoke the scions of powerful families.

For a goddess like Li Mengxue, it was enough to admire her from afar. Getting close would bring nothing good.

Jiang Tao was not some love-struck fool. Naturally, he would not stupidly invite unnecessary trouble.

Sure enough, when he entered the Cultivation Chamber and the doors were closing, he saw several scions of powerful families hurrying past. They were clearly looking for Li Mengxue.

Once the doors shut completely, Jiang Tao's expression darkened.

Because he thought of his good friend Chen Mo being attacked a few days ago. It was possible that those scions of powerful families had something to do with it.

Some time ago, while using the school's Cultivation Chamber, Chen Mo had said something to Li Mengxue. A few days later, Chen Mo had been ambushed.

Thinking of how those scions of powerful families behaved, Jiang Tao felt certain they were connected to it.

Besides, those scions had prior offenses. He had heard that quite a few people had been bullied by them.

Naturally, Jiang Tao kept far away from people like that.

His father was only a low-rank Martial Artist. With a single word, those scions could make it impossible for his family to survive in Jiangbei City.

Jiang Tao wanted to seek justice for Chen Mo, but when he considered his own capabilities, he had no choice but to give up.

He did not have that ability.

Moreover, from Chen Mo's account, there had been no sign at all of the attacker. Without any evidence, even if they truly confirmed that those people had done it, they still would not be able to get justice.

Instead, if those people turned around and dealt with them, it might very well lead to their family being destroyed.

Besides, Jiang Tao was only suspicious for now.

"I'd better not tell Mozi about this. There's no point in telling him, and it'll only make him feel even more stifled."

Having made up his mind, Jiang Tao immediately reined in his emotions, forced out a smile, and turned toward Chen Mo.

At that moment, Chen Mo was still swinging his saber without pause.

His clothes and hair had already been soaked through with sweat, yet Chen Mo seemed wholly unaware and still did not stop.

Holding an Energy Drink, Jiang Tao watched silently.

He knew that Chen Mo was extremely diligent. Every time he trained, he would work until drenched in sweat, stopping only when he could no longer hold on.

This time, Jiang Tao noticed that Chen Mo's training method was different from before.

He could not help but be somewhat surprised.

Repeating one single chopping motion over and over without stopping was boring to death.

If it were him, he could never do that.

Was this kind of practice even useful? Jiang Tao was deeply doubtful.

Seeing no sign that Chen Mo intended to stop, Jiang Tao continued observing. He wanted to see whether Chen Mo could get anything out of it. If it was useless, he would persuade Chen Mo to stop.

Training with his original methods, especially sparring, would bring greater improvement.

Actual combat was the most useful training method.

However, as he watched, Jiang Tao began to notice something.

He happened to see Chen Mo practice a variation of the saber-chopping technique. At first glance, he could tell it was at Minor Accomplishment.

But as time passed, after practicing the move a dozen or so times, it had actually reached Major Accomplishment.

That visibly rapid rate of improvement left him utterly stunned.

And it was not over yet. Not long after his shock set in, Chen Mo practiced it several dozen more times, and the move actually reached perfection!

This!

How was that possible?!

Jiang Tao even suspected that he was hallucinating.

A move going from Minor Accomplishment to perfection in barely over ten minutes!

How was he supposed to believe that?

Just as he widened his eyes, wanting to see clearly whether it truly was a perfected move, Chen Mo stopped.

Jiang Tao was thoroughly dissatisfied. He had already taken his pants off, and Chen Mo was calling it a day!

He hurriedly spoke up.

"Mozi, show me the saber-chopping moves again. I thought I saw one of the variations in your saber technique reach perfection just now, but I don't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me."

Chen Mo had noticed Jiang Tao the moment he came over.

There was only one variation left before all the saber-chopping moves reached perfection, which was why he had not stopped.

Now that the saber-chopping moves had reached perfection, he stopped to rest as well. Training with his full concentration consumed quite a bit of mental and physical energy.

"Sure!"

Chen Mo did not refuse. Gripping the Wooden Saber, he executed every variation of the saber-chopping technique.

This time, Jiang Tao finally saw it clearly. Every move had reached perfection.

"No mistake about it! Mozi, your machete forms have reached Perfection! They're exactly the same as the ones our homeroom teacher demonstrated!"

Jiang Tao stared straight at Chen Mo in astonishment, as if he were seeing him for the first time.

"Damn! Mozi, how did you do that?"

"I just kept practicing, and then I knew how!"

Chen Mo replied with a smile.

Jiang Tao looked deeply suspicious, his expression plainly saying that Chen Mo was lying to him.

"How is that possible? You just kept practicing and then you knew how? I..."

Halfway through, Jiang Tao immediately shut his mouth. He had just seen with his own eyes how Chen Mo had gone from Minor Accomplishment to Perfection, step by step.

It really was just as Chen Mo had said!

Had he suddenly become enlightened?

Seeing Jiang Tao trail off and stand there lost in thought, Chen Mo explained, "I'm not lying. I really did just keep practicing until I knew how."

With the Diligent Heaven Rewards talent, "keep practicing and then you'll know how" was a perfectly sound explanation.

Yet even after Chen Mo said that, Jiang Tao still didn't respond.

Chen Mo stepped forward and met Jiang Tao's eyes. Seeing how unfocused his gaze was, it was obvious he was spacing out.

So he reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Taozi, what are you thinking about? Were you so dazzled by my talent that you shut down?"

"Mozi, do you think I'm that kind of person? How could I shut down?" Jiang Tao hurriedly retorted once he came back to his senses.

"Then why weren't you saying anything just now?"

"I was thinking about the changes in you. In your case, you've probably become enlightened!"

Jiang Tao explained.

At the mention of enlightenment, Chen Mo recalled the stories circulating around school and guided Jiang Tao along that line.

"Does my situation count as becoming enlightened? I heard there was an upperclassman at our school whose comprehension greatly improved after becoming enlightened, and his cultivation speed became incredibly fast. But my situation isn't nearly as fast as the legends say!"

"When I practice Stance Training, my speed hasn't improved by much either."

"I see!" Jiang Tao stroked his chin, pondering for a while before speaking. "Then you're probably in a half-enlightened state. You might improve further in the future."

"Taozi, is that even a thing? Half-enlightened? Either you're enlightened or you're not—how can you be only halfway there?"

Chen Mo found the explanation rather ridiculous. At the same time, he silently reminded himself that he was using a cheat, not becoming enlightened.

Jiang Tao immediately argued back.

"Why not? A door can be half-open or fully open. Becoming enlightened is just like opening a door!"

"Fine! I won't argue with you about it!" Chen Mo didn't care what it was called. Either way, he had opened up!

"Taozi, once I become a Martial Artist, I'll definitely look out for you!"

"Sure! Once I become a Martial Artist, I'll look out for you too! We're good brothers!"

"Good brothers!" The two exchanged smiles.

"Here, have some Energy Drink and replenish your energy!" Jiang Tao suddenly remembered that he still hadn't given Chen Mo the Energy Drink he had bought, so he immediately handed it over.

"Thanks!" Chen Mo didn't stand on ceremony. Taking the drink, he twisted off the cap and gulped it down.

In just a few seconds, Chen Mo drained the entire bottle. The exhaustion in both body and mind rapidly faded away.

"This drink works pretty well. It's just a little expensive."