Chen Mo's Basic Saber Technique Reaches Major Accomplishment

A burst of clanging rang through the Cultivation Chamber.

Chen Mo and Jiang Tao were sparring.

With a loud clang, their wooden sabers collided again before springing apart.

"I'm done! Mozi, you win again! Even my saber technique at Major Accomplishment can't beat you. Isn't that way too absurd?"

Jiang Tao was the first to speak, calling a halt to the match.

Chen Mo smiled faintly. If he hadn't activated Spiritual Perception, he really wouldn't have been able to defeat Jiang Tao.

"Haha, just luck! A saber technique that hasn't reached perfection is bound to have flaws, and my eyesight happens to be pretty good!"

"Ugh!"

Jiang Tao sighed and said with a bitter smile, "It really is different after you awaken your apertures! You actually pre-cognized my moves. Every attack I made was within your expectations. Even with saber technique at Major Accomplishment, I still couldn't win."

"Taozi, you've beaten me enough times before. Now it's my turn to win for a while!"

Chen Mo wore a sly grin. Now that he had cheats, of course he had to win!

"That's true." Jiang Tao wasn't actually angry; he was merely sighing over it.

Chen Mo had awakened his apertures, so it was only natural that he could defeat him.

It wasn't as though he couldn't accept his best friend surpassing him.

"Mozi, honestly, I gained quite a lot from sparring with you just now! It made me realize that there are still plenty of shortcomings in my saber technique."

"Now I need to correct those flaws, so I won't be sparring with you anymore!"

Jiang Tao waved a hand and said with a smile.

"Sure! Same here! I need to digest what I've learned too."

Thus, the two separated once more and began training on their own, without disturbing each other.

Before he began cultivating, Chen Mo willed it, and the System Panel appeared before his eyes:

[Host: Chen Mo]

[Talent: Diligent Heaven Rewards (one part toil, one part reward; once attained, forever retained)]

[Realm: Sixth-grade Martial Disciple (Dantian shattered) Vitality Value: 62 Spiritual Power: 100.5]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Stance Training Minor Accomplishment (177/200)]

[Martial Skills: Basic Fist Technique Minor Accomplishment (42/200) Basic Saber Technique Minor Accomplishment (157/200) Basic Movement Technique Beginner (95/100)]

[Special Skill: Spiritual Perception Beginner (8/500)]

[General Proficiency Points: 0]

Basic Saber Technique proficiency had increased by 53 points. Even Basic Movement Technique proficiency had gone up by 6 points, while Spiritual Perception proficiency had increased by 5 points.

His Spiritual Power had actually increased by 0.5!

After analyzing Basic Saber Technique and practicing the saber-chopping moves to perfection, Chen Mo wasn't surprised that it had gained so much proficiency.

What surprised him was that his movement technique proficiency had increased as well.

He hadn't specifically trained Basic Movement Technique, but after thinking about how Basic Saber Technique also contained movement techniques, it was only natural that sparring with Jiang Tao had increased its proficiency.

Each use of Spiritual Perception consumed half his Spiritual Power and increased its proficiency by one point.

Chen Mo had activated it five times today. Each time, he shut it off once half his Spiritual Power had been consumed.

His Spiritual Power couldn't be completely drained. Doing so would not only leave him utterly mentally exhausted, but would also require at least an hour of rest to recover.

But if he shut off Spiritual Perception after consuming half of it and let it recover naturally, it would only take ten minutes.

The increase in Spiritual Power was something Chen Mo had never expected.

Before this, every attempt to train his Spiritual Power had left his head splitting and made him feel half-dead.

Yet now, it had improved without him even noticing.

"Diligent Heaven Rewards really is a terrifying talent! Hm? This talent is mine. Oh, then it's fine!"

This change gave Chen Mo a way to increase his Spiritual Power. From now on, he no longer needed to deliberately train it.

As long as he used Spiritual Perception, his Spiritual Power would slowly increase.

Of course, if he found a method for cultivating Spiritual Power, he would still practice it.

Suddenly, Chen Mo recalled that many novels he had read in his previous life had methods for increasing Spiritual Power.

For example, meditation—or Visualization.

One could sketch mysterious runes or some kind of model within the Sea of Consciousness, or visualize powerful Gods and Devils.

"I'll give it a try when I get back tonight!"

There was obviously no way to try it here. Chen Mo gathered his thoughts and began practicing new moves.

It was still the same method: practicing while using Spiritual Perception to analyze them.

The two cultivated separately, without disturbing each other.

Every so often, they would stop to rest for a while, spar with each other, then resume cultivating on their own.

Time slipped by without them noticing.

Before long, three hours had passed.

Chen Mo and Jiang Tao finished cultivating at the same time, left the Cultivation Chamber, and prepared to eat.

After cultivating for so long, Chen Mo had made great progress. With a thought, the System Panel only he could see appeared before his eyes.

Spiritual Power: 102
Basic Saber Technique: Major Accomplishment (53/500)
Basic Movement Technique: Minor Accomplishment (15/200)
Spiritual Perception: Beginner (38/500)

His Spiritual Power had increased by 1.5, the proficiency of his Basic Saber Technique had increased by 97 points, his Basic Movement Technique by 20 points, and his Spiritual Perception by 30 points.

Those were the gains Chen Mo had made during the final two hours of cultivation.

There seemed to be no pattern to the increase in Spiritual Power, so Chen Mo could only set it aside for now.

He had already analyzed half the moves of the Basic Saber Technique. With one more afternoon, he could basically finish the rest.

In other words, after one more afternoon, he would be able to train the Basic Saber Technique to perfection.

That being the case, he could come apply to be a sparring partner tomorrow.

Chen Mo was in high spirits. He would be able to make money tomorrow!

Then Jiang Tao's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Come on, Mozi. I'll treat you to a meal. Sparring with you today gave me a lot of gains!"

"I'll treat you to Fierce Beast Meat—the all-you-can-eat kind!"

As they walked out of the Cultivation Chamber, Jiang Tao swept out a hand grandly, intending to treat him to a meal.

Chen Mo glanced at the balance of 1,470 on his phone and did not refuse.

"Alright! When I have money next time, I'll treat you too!"

At the same time, he thought to himself, That won't take long this time!

"Sure, we'll talk when you have money! Come on, I know a restaurant where the Fierce Beast Meat is delicious."

The two walked side by side. When they reached the martial arts school's main hall, they found quite a crowd gathered there.

Most of them were students, walking in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

Both of them knew they were discussing their cultivation insights.

Others hurried along, rushing off to eat.

"Mozi, with so many people here, there might not be any vacant Cultivation Chambers this afternoon."

Seeing so many people, Jiang Tao looked a little worried.

Chen Mo remained calm.

"If there aren't any, then there aren't any. We can cultivate in the park."

"That's true! I'm happy today—let's go!"

After taking only a few steps, Jiang Tao suddenly gave Chen Mo's arm a light nudge.

"Mozi, look. Isn't that Li Donghai, that annoying guy from our class?"

"Mm, it is. Ignore him. Let's go eat." Chen Mo gave him a glance and continued outside.

"True! Paying attention to him would ruin our good mood." Jiang Tao followed close behind.

Li Donghai's family was similar to Jiang Tao's. Because his father was a Martial Artist, he looked down on Chen Mo, whose parents were ordinary people.

At school, he usually liked to make snide, sarcastic remarks. Students from ordinary families all kept their distance from him.

Chen Mo was no exception and had a poor impression of Li Donghai. However, with Jiang Tao around, he had not been bullied.