As If Relieved of a Heavy Burden

"Die, damn you!"

Seeing the surrounding Patrol Inspectors charge over timidly under Xu Yuan's shouts, the burly man was clearly even angrier.

He roared as he swung his broadsword, wanting to finish off the Patrol Inspectors charging at him, but unfortunately, including Xu Yuan, the few Patrol Inspectors who had closed in were all men who cherished their lives.

The moment the situation looked even slightly wrong, the men immediately retreated far away, and with Chu Mu tangling with and restraining him, the burly man did not dare act too wantonly either.

And once the situation grew even slightly better, the few Patrol Inspectors surrounded him again. Several bright, gleaming blades were naturally impossible for the burly man to ignore.

With the situation changing like this, Chu Mu undoubtedly felt much more at ease. At the very least, it was no longer a life-and-death crisis with danger springing up at every turn.

Only then did Chu Mu truly have the slightest spare thought to feel out his saber technique in real combat.

After entering the mountains, he had gone through one life-and-death fight after another, and his saber technique's proficiency had leapt forward by more than two hundred points. Naturally, it was impossible for there to be no change.

Chu Mu still swung one slash after another, and he still defended more and attacked less.

As blade collided with blade, one strike after another, many insights also surged into Chu Mu's mind.

Up until now, what Chu Mu felt most deeply about saber technique was none other than exertion of force!

It was just like an ordinary person who had never undergone professional training. If they threw a punch, it would be extremely difficult for them to bring out all of their own strength. They might even injure themselves if things went badly.

Saber technique was naturally the same.

Especially in actual combat. In that fight with the Black-Clothed Man earlier, under the Spirit Radiance Blessing, that extreme control over his own force, that feeling almost like using three or two taels to move a thousand jin, undoubtedly pointed Chu Mu in the right direction.

Not to mention, right now he only possessed the force of an ordinary person. If he cultivated Real Skill, with terrifying strength like that of the burly man before him, how frightening would extreme control be?

As he carefully sensed it like this, Chu Mu also keenly noticed that although the burly man before him had terrifying strength, he did not possess overly refined control over his power.

The heavy force behind every move and stance was simply because his own strength was terrifying.

Then, recalling his earlier exchanges with that Black-Clothed Man and that Shaonian, Chu Mu finally realized that it seemed that the Black-Clothed Man and that Shaonian were the same.

None of them had overly refined control over their strength. It was purely their own innate power.

The Martial Arts of this world don't place importance on controlling force?

This thought flashed through Chu Mu's mind and vanished, yet he seemed to understand a little.

After all, the Martial Arts of this world truly did not follow common sense. As long as someone had even a little skill, each and every one of them was like a superhuman, possessing physical qualities far beyond ordinary people.

In that case, it seemed normal not to pay attention to controlling force...

Chu Mu secretly guessed, while the blade in his hand did not pause in the slightest.

As if by instinct, he swung one slash after another, blocking the burly man's offensive while also seeking chances to attack.

This exchange was clearly different from before. Whether facing that Shaonian or the Black-Clothed Man, Chu Mu had been almost unable to resist, and the gap between them had also been almost impossible to make up for.

But now, his saber technique had advanced greatly. Although this burly man was also remarkably skilled, he had not reached the point where Chu Mu was completely unable to resist him, and there were also the Patrol Inspectors at the side assisting and restraining him.

Thus, though Chu Mu was at a disadvantage, he was still fighting back and forth.

This kind of back-and-forth exchange was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for tempering for Chu Mu.

His state of mind and saber technique were clearly improving slowly amid this pressuring exchange.

This feeling was undoubtedly addictive, even intoxicating! When he usually practiced saber technique alone, even if he practiced it hundreds or thousands of times, it was still very hard to experience this feeling of blades colliding, of life and death hanging on a single slash.

Compared to Chu Mu's immersion, as the burly man failed to break through after attacking for a long time, he clearly grew increasingly anxious.

Especially as the surrounding Patrol Inspectors recovered order, slowly found their footing amid this surprise attack, and even began to counterattack, the burly man's anxiety also became increasingly obvious.

It had already been because they were in a weaker position that they had no choice but to make a desperate counterattack, and when this desperate counterattack turned into a stalemate, the possibility of failure would undoubtedly expand without limit.

And in a life-and-death fight, there was clearly nothing more important than one's state of mind.

Once the mind became chaotic, the saber technique naturally became chaotic as well.

Chu Mu sensed this very clearly.

Chu Mu was somewhat surprised, but when he glanced around, he seemed to understand again.

Chu Mu's state of mind clearly became even more relaxed.

If he could not beat him, then dragging things out for a while was still no problem.

Once he had dragged it out enough, other Patrol Inspectors would naturally come over to support them.

"Die!"

The burly man grew increasingly violent. His face was ashen, and his large, bell-like eyes glared fixedly at Chu Mu. His violent state of mind was also clearly reflected in the way he swung his blade.

The blade, already heavy with overwhelming force, was clearly several degrees heavier still. When their strength collided, it shook Chu Mu until the web between his thumb and forefinger went numb.

Chu Mu gripped the saber hilt tightly, still blocking this increasingly violent offensive at an unhurried pace.

Around this burly man, Chu Mu, and the few timid Patrol Inspectors at the sides were clearly like a great net that seemed fragile yet was incomparably sturdy, tightly ensnaring this increasingly violent burly man within it, making it difficult for him to advance even an inch.

When the burly man swung another slash over, Chu Mu raised his saber out of habit, only to see the burly man feint. That whistling blade actually chopped directly toward a timid Patrol Inspector at the side.

In an instant, all that could be seen was a flash of blade-light, and then a fine head flew high into the air. Blood sprayed out like a gushing spring, and body and head were already separated.

With the burly man's feint, in the span of a breath, the originally unbreakable great net had clearly been torn open with a gap.

Chu Mu's heart tightened. His originally relaxed state of mind vanished completely under that feinted slash.

One slash, and head and body split in two. With a life snuffed out right before their eyes, the already-cowering patrol inspectors at the side were instantly scared witless, retreating one after another, not daring to come forward again.

In that instant, the situation shifted, and the pressure all came down on Chu Mu at once.

"Dog official! I'll kill you!"

An even more violent force traveled along the blade into Chu Mu's body. Slash after slash—in the space of barely a few breaths, Chu Mu was beaten back more than a dozen steps.

Yet in that very instant, a flicker of something unusual caught at the corner of his eye, and Chu Mu immediately changed his mind.

He had meant to retreat further, to keep stalling for time, but that backward movement came to an abrupt halt as well.

He glanced again at that odd mark on the ground. Chu Mu gritted his teeth, and a ruthless light flashed in his eyes.

Clang! One slash came down viciously on the incoming blade. Then his blade turned with the momentum and—chopped down! Chop! Chop! Chop! No other move at all, just a single chopping strike!

Chu Mu roared as he swung his blade in a frenzy! The sudden burst of aggression clearly caught the brawny man somewhat off guard, forcing him back several steps in succession.

The distance to the oddity Chu Mu had glimpsed seemed now to be only a hand's breadth away.

"Die!"

Chu Mu bellowed. Blue veins bulged on his forehead as he poured almost every last bit of strength in his life into it! Clang! An ear-piercing tremor rang out! Faced with this all-out strike from Chu Mu, the brawny man still did not have to expend much effort before easily blocking it.

The only price was that he took just a tiny half-step backward.

Only a tiny half-step. The brawny man was full of disdain. Chu Mu... felt as if a great weight had lifted from him.