Soul Nurturing

Chen Mu wiped the blood from beneath his nose and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

If not for the searing pain in his chest and organs, he would have burst out laughing.

"Even if you're impervious to blades and bullets, I'll still kill you!"

Just then, a flash of white entered his vision.

Chen Mu suddenly turned, killing intent surging.

At some point, a figure clad in white had appeared atop the opposite wall.

His hair hung loose, and his clothes were disheveled, clearly thrown on in a hurry.

He held a thick-backed broadsword in his right hand, his eyes bright and alert.

Eldest Young Master Zuo—Zuo Sheng!

Meeting Chen Mu's murderous gaze, Zuo Sheng's eyelids twitched. He immediately raised his sword and cupped his fist in a solemn salute. "Senior Brother Chen!"

Chen Mu froze, then remembered that this man was also one of Sheng Hong's disciples.

Thinking of that bargain-bin master he had riddled with holes, Chen Mu could not help feeling a little guilty.

Yet none of it showed on his face. He merely stared at the other man expressionlessly.

The atmosphere congealed.

Zuo Sheng's scalp went numb beneath that stare. He glanced at Daoist Qianshan, who had been riddled with holes, and his heart jolted violently.

He immediately softened his tone and raised a hand. "Senior Brother, please carry on."

Chen Mu nodded expressionlessly.

Then, under Zuo Sheng's curious gaze, he went beneath the eaves and viciously drove his bloodstained Short Sword into the wall.

Bang!

He pried a slightly deformed copper coin out of the wall.

Zuo Sheng: "..."

Next, under Zuo Sheng's increasingly strange gaze, Chen Mu searched all over the courtyard.

He picked up every copper coin and piece of broken silver he had thrown out and Daoist Qianshan had knocked flying.

Watching Chen Mu scour the ground as though he intended to scrape up every last inch.

Zuo Sheng truly could not bear to watch any longer. He cupped his hands in farewell. "Senior Brother, take your time. This junior brother's attire is improper, so I'll take my leave first."

Chen Mu nodded expressionlessly without even looking at him.

Once Zuo Sheng jumped down from the wall.

Chen Mu moved as though his backside had caught fire.

He did not even bother with the broken silver at his feet. Grabbing Daoist Qianshan's and the Pale-Faced Youth's corpses, he darted to the base of the wall in two strides.

He yanked the Short Sword from the wall, then flipped onto the top.

With Dash and Evasion working together, he made several leaps and vanished miserably into the night.

Almost the instant Chen Mu disappeared, Zuo Sheng jumped back onto the wall.

He glanced at the scattered bits of silver and copper, then at the distant vanishing figure, and could not help shaking his head with a laugh. "He even fooled me."

"What a pity about Daoist Qianshan's treasures..."

"I might not catch him even if I chase him, and I'm not sure whether he still has other tricks up his sleeve if we fight..."

"Forget it."

Zuo Sheng shook his head.

But when he looked at the blood on the ground, his face darkened.

He did not know why this bargain-bin senior brother of his had been here.

But Daoist Qianshan coming near his home in the dead of night could only mean ill intent.

"I need to move. I must move!"

As usual, Jie Jia entered the residence behind Tianyi Hall.

A heavy medicinal smell rushed into his nostrils.

Looking up, he saw Chen Mu beneath the Pavilion, his entire body swollen nearly a size larger.

Jie Jia frowned. "You fought someone? How are your injuries?"

Chen Mu waved weakly. "Won't die."

That Daoist Qianshan's combat prowess had definitely been a whole realm above his own.

Just one slap had nearly taken half his life.

Then he had erupted at his Limit and unleashed Heaven-and-Earth Strike, straining every muscle in his body.

Now, even drawing a breath made his entire body ache.

"Who did it?" Jie Jia asked solemnly.

"A round-faced Daoist," Chen Mu sighed.

Jie Jia's face filled with killing intent. "I'll go kill him!"

Chen Mu brightened. "For free?!"

Jie Jia's eyelids drooped, and his expression returned to blank indifference. He slowly sat beneath the Pavilion as though nothing had happened.

Chen Mu immediately chuckled.

I knew it.

The old bastard had acted so sincerely, but he still fucking wanted to make money off me!

After dinner, the two sat beneath the Pavilion and chatted.

"Is there any martial art that can make someone impervious to blades and bullets?" Chen Mu asked.

His Iron Lotus Seeds were comparable to handgun bullets.

Yet that round-faced Daoist had blocked them with his bare palm!

Beside the stone table, Jie Jia held a Bamboo Cup and slowly sipped Iced Herbal Tea through a white wheat-stalk straw.

"Yes."

"Where can I learn it?"

Slurp, slurp...

Jie Jia calmly sipped his Herbal Tea.

Depressed, Chen Mu took out a piece of broken silver worth around half a tael and placed it on the table.

Jie Jia pinched it, casually rolled it into Silver Beads, and slipped them into his sleeve.

"Didn't your master tell you? A Body Tempering Technique can make you impervious to blades and bullets," Jie Jia said blandly.

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia suspiciously.

He only knew that the Body Tempering Technique had three transformations: Muscle Strengthening, Bone Strengthening, and Marrow Cleansing.

Chen Mu touched his increasingly resilient skin.

As Muscle Strengthening and Bone Strengthening progressed, a special layer of tissue had formed beneath his skin, and his defenses had indeed improved.

But blocking bullets barehanded like that round-faced Daoist? Difficult!

Jie Jia's eyes shifted as he glanced at Chen Mu. His expression was like that of someone looking at a country bumpkin.

"Ten years of Body Refining, a hundred years of Soul Nurturing."

"As long as you cultivate Soul Force, you can become impervious to blades and bullets."

Soul Force? What the hell was that?

"The person who injured you wasn't afraid of swords and blades?" Jie Jia looked at Chen Mu skeptically. "How did you survive?"

Chen Mu: "..."

Not only did I survive, I killed that bastard!

"Once a Body Tempering Technique reaches mastery, there's a chance of cultivating a Roaming Soul."

"Depending on the Body Tempering Technique, a patch of Black Membrane resembling steel armor will appear on certain parts of the skin. Once activated, it can split mountains and break rocks, and render one impervious to blades and bullets."

"Experts can make the Roaming Soul travel throughout their entire body, indirectly making them unafraid of swords and blades."

Chen Mu froze.

It had been dark last night, so he had not noticed.

But thinking back now, that round-faced Daoist's palm had indeed been pitch-black.

No wonder a single swipe had nearly taken half his life.

If not for the Spirit-Disturbing Incense, the consequences...

So this was the power of a Roaming Soul?

"You should stop dreaming," Jie Jia said, glancing at Chen Mu to crush his hopes.

"Fewer than one in a thousand can train a Body Tempering Technique to mastery."

"And fewer than one in ten thousand can cultivate Soul Force."

"If the Body Tempering Technique is high enough in rank, it may be possible. But the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique..."

"Tsk, tsk..." Jie Jia shook his head with a regretful look.

Unwilling to accept it, Chen Mu asked, "Is there no other way?"

Jie Jia's eyes shifted as he stared at Chen Mu's left sleeve.

"I have an extremely advanced Body Tempering Technique."

"After switching to it, there's a high chance you'll cultivate Soul Force." Jie Jia tempted him without leaving a trace.

"Really?!" Chen Mu was overjoyed.

"Absolutely genuine!" Jie Jia declared confidently.

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia hopefully. "Can I buy it on credit?"

Jie Jia: "..."

Get lost and go cool off somewhere!

He could see it now. This little bastard was fucking mocking him again!

Chen Mu happily sipped his Iced Herbal Tea.

Was the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique weak?

But he had the Proficiency Cheat!

Whether it was weak or not, he would find out once he grinded it to the top.

After seeing off the disgruntled Jie Jia.

Chen Mu painfully shuffled back beneath the Pavilion.

He had been too excited last night to feel much.

Today, his injuries had fully flared up. Even moving hurt.

"I can't travel far like this." Chen Mu frowned as he thought.

After killing the round-faced Daoist, he wanted to get farther and farther away from Qingshan County.

But in his current state, he simply could not travel far.

"I'll recover first."

With a thought, he summoned the Gray Proficiency Wall.

Writing: 1666/10000/Second Tier;

Drawing: 1533/10000/Second Tier;

Throwing: 7553/10000/Tier 3;

Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique: 4009/10000/Tier 3;

Cooking: 8926/10000/Tier 1;

Medicine Crafting: 4852/10000/Second Tier;

Sleeve Sword: 816/10000/Tier 3;

"Thankfully, I got Sleeve Sword to Tier 3 in advance."

"Without Heaven-and-Earth Strike, that Paper Man really would have cost me my life!"