A Slow Bird Must Take Flight First

The token was displayed, and the Bookstore Owner, who had been speaking fluently, suddenly froze. Then his smile grew even more radiant.

"So you're an honored sir from the Patrol Bureau. This old man was blind and failed to recognize a Noble..."

"How about this? These things originally cost eighteen silver. I'll give you a discount, fifteen silver in total. What do you think, my lord?"

Chu Mu took a deep look at the Bookstore Owner before him. After holding his gaze for a moment, his tense expression suddenly relaxed, and his smile became just as radiant.

"Then... I'll borrow the owner's auspicious words!"

With that, Chu Mu took out several Banknotes and placed them on the table.

"How refreshing, my lord. Come by more often in the future. I'll make the decision myself and give you a ten-percent discount."

At those words, a glint flashed through Chu Mu's eyes. He smiled, then suddenly changed the subject. "I have a nephew who has reached the age for elementary education. Does the owner know how much Tuition Fee the Official School requires?"

"The Official School?"

The Bookstore Owner was stunned for a moment before saying, "The Official School is expensive. Scholar Chang's Private School only requires forty silver in annual Tuition Fee, but the Official School requires sixty silver."

"However, the instructor at the Official School is this county's Wang Juren. He's an official master registered with the Imperial Court's Ministry of Personnel. Whenever there's a vacancy, he might well become the County Magistrate of a county. If you can establish a teacher-student relationship with him, that wouldn't be a mere matter of twenty silver..."

Chu Mu nodded and asked no more questions. After exchanging a few perfunctory words, he carried the Writing Supplies he had purchased out of the bookstore.

"Knowledge is priceless..."

Looking back at the bookstore, Chu Mu couldn't help shaking his head. With the cost of studying so exorbitant, how could it be explained away with a single phrase like "knowledge is priceless"?

The thought only flashed through his mind before Chu Mu suppressed it.

Matters concerning the world had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

And if they did, he would have to think of every possible way to distance himself from them.

He was merely a small-time nobody. A small-time nobody ought to have the Self-Awareness befitting a small-time nobody.

When it came to Self-Awareness, Chu Mu felt that he at least knew his own limits.

But on second thought, Chu Mu also found this era rather interesting.

On one hand, food was exceedingly cheap. On the other, learning was exceedingly expensive. Even medical treatment seemed rather costly.

Moreover, judging by those Banknotes, the production techniques of this era probably had some highly commendable aspects as well.

Amid these wild thoughts, Chu Mu once again returned to his little home.

He glanced at the "Spiritual Radiance Value" on the Light Screen Panel. After wandering around for several hours, it had risen by roughly two percent. Standing in the courtyard, Chu Mu pondered for a moment before once again looking at the Writing Supplies in his hand.

After a while, Chu Mu secretly shook his head. "Spiritual Radiance Value" was hard-won. For now, whether he was studying or practicing martial arts, he ought to prioritize accumulating "Spiritual Radiance Value." As for the specifics, he would first have to take up his post at the Patrol Bureau.

After all, this era was still shrouded in mist to him.

Recalling the scene from that night while the "Spiritual Radiance Value" was enhancing him, Chu Mu couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement in his heart.

Only by standing atop a lofty height could one understand one's own insignificance.

That kind of wisdom was truly intoxicating.

Before long, Chu Mu steadied himself after his excitement. He would guard against pride and impatience, and be cautious in speech and conduct...

External things could be relied upon, but he himself could not afford to slacken.

After putting away the Writing Supplies he had bought, Chu Mu did not idle around. The Original Owner of this body and his father had both been far from tidy. Whether it was the bedroom or the small courtyard in front of the door, everything could be described as slovenly.

Chu Mu did not have any particular cleanliness obsession, but keeping his own living quarters cleaner would certainly make them more comfortable.

Especially a house with its own courtyard like this one. In his previous life, after drifting through the city for so long, Chu Mu had yearned for one for ages.

Who could have imagined that after failing to realize this dream through more than a decade of ordinary, fruitless living, he would now simply pick up one ready-made?

In this life, it would all begin here...

Carrying a broom and bucket, Chu Mu looked at the house with its own gate and courtyard, the smile at the corners of his lips deepening.

After a busy day, Chu Mu did not put down his tools until nightfall. Although he had not yet finished cleaning everything, the house was finally much more refreshed.

Compared to before, it had gained several shades of brightness and neatness.

After resting for a while, he finished drinking the medicine he had already boiled, then filled his stomach with the leftovers from noon. Chu Mu carried a reclining chair into the courtyard and leisurely lay down.

The autumn air was crisp and refreshing. Although late autumn was approaching and the chill had grown stronger, night had only just fallen and the lingering warmth had yet to fade. Combined with the coolness of the night, the temperature was just right.

There were no clouds in the night sky. Stars All Over the Sky glittered in the deep, splendid darkness.

In his previous life, after spending so long in the city and cooping himself up in a tiny box of an apartment, it had already been many years since Chu Mu had seen such a brilliant starry sky.

Gazing at that dazzling starry sky, Chu Mu couldn't help having a sudden thought. Could this world also be a planet? Did it have a universe as well?

It had a moon and a sun, just as this world did.

Even the Big Dipper Seven Stars could be seen clearly.

What connection did this world have to Earth in his previous life?

Or was it all a dream of Zhuang Zhou? Had he dreamed of his previous life, or was he dreaming of the present? With his body and mind relaxed, all kinds of thoughts flickered through his mind.

No one knew how much time passed before Chu Mu returned to his senses from his wild thoughts. After resting for a while longer, he rose from the reclining chair.

He went inside to retrieve his Service Saber, then returned to the courtyard.

"Spiritual Radiance Value" came from single-minded concentration. Concentration was easy, but being free of distracting thoughts was clearly no simple matter.

Most of the time, one became free of distracting thoughts without realizing it. If one deliberately tried to reach that state, however, it was surprisingly difficult.

These past few days, almost all of the "Spiritual Radiance Value" had come from being free of distracting thoughts without realizing it, rather than from Chu Mu consciously controlling that state.

Fortunately, after pondering it for these past few days, Chu Mu had gained some experience. That was to release his miscellaneous thoughts first, then focus on one matter.

After letting his mind wander wildly for a while, he would then calm his heart and focus on one matter. This could also allow him to achieve single-minded concentration.

At this moment, the only thing in Chu Mu's mind was the scene of practicing the blade while in the Spirit Radiance State that night. There was nothing else.

A figure, several blade techniques.

They cycled through Chu Mu's mind again and again.

After a long while, Chu Mu's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and the long blade in his hand rose with them.

There was nothing fancy about it. He simply raised the blade, brought it down, withdrew it, swung it out, withdrew it again, then performed an Upward Strike...

The Basic Blade Style followed one move after another.

After only a short while, Chu Mu stood with his blade sheathed. Of course, he had not stopped voluntarily. The soreness spreading through every part of his body had forced him to stop.

With the insight from his previous life, Chu Mu naturally would not act recklessly.

"What a world of difference!"

Gently stroking the blade, Chu Mu shook his head and sighed. The difference between practicing this blade technique in his normal state and practicing it in the "Spirit Radiance State" was simply enormous.

The most obvious point was that after practicing for only a short while, his improvement was negligible. He could not sense any progress at all. Yet in the "Spirit Radiance" state, even a brief moment brought progress that could be seen with the naked eye.

The gap between a genius and an ordinary person seemed impossible to make up, no matter how much sweat one shed.

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, unable to stop himself from feeling somewhat disheartened.

After a long while, Chu Mu seemed to have figured something out. He let out a long breath, casually returned the long blade to its sheath, and turned toward the room.

"Even a genius needs diligence. A slow bird... needs to take flight first..."

As he walked, he muttered the sentence under his breath. His voice quickly scattered into the evening breeze...