Yuan Wu Alley

I have a sword that can cleave all things in heaven and earth!

This was not a declaration, but represented Chen Mu's heart and will. It was a pure white spiritual world after refinement, a mark completely imprinted, and also the Daoist Art that Chen Mu had chosen.

Heart Sword!

With the heart as the sword, whatever is thought, nothing is unresponsive.

Chen Mu didn't know if his choice was the most correct one, but his knowledge of swords was the most extensive, from a single sword breaking all techniques, to a sword opening the heavenly gate and cleaving the sun, moon, and stars!

Although the source of these ideas was merely ethereal and not seen in reality, the heart was also ethereal, and these thoughts were the root of the Heart Sword's existence.

Simply put,

Imagination represents strength!

Among the Sorcerers and even the countless Martial Artists in this world, there might be many who were extremely skilled with the sword, but their understanding of the sword's upper limit was vague.

Even if someone looked up at the sky and thought of a sword opening the heavens, it would at most be a fleeting thought. It was impossible to have such firm belief, as even a sword opening a mountain was already a legend!

But Chen Mu was different.

His breadth of knowledge was unmatched. Ideas like a sword breaking all techniques, a sword opening the heavenly gate, and even a sword causing the birth and death of the universe – he could take these chaotic thoughts as beliefs, fill his spiritual world with them, and transform them into the power of his Heart Sword.

"Heart Sword, this is my Daoist Art."

Chen Mu murmured.

The Dao Technique Realm was indeed a qualitative change. At this moment, he could not only feel the qualitative change in his heart and soul, but also feel that his will was unprecedentedly strong.

It was as if, just as he thought in his heart, a single sword could cleave the sun, moon, and stars!

Although this was false, it represented a direction, the direction of his will. And with a clear direction, there was resolute will and power.

At this moment.

What Chen Mu himself could feel was a kind of purity!

Sorcerers' realms were determined upon awakening. Those Sorcerers who awakened as Fifth Rank might have been angry at the time, so their Daoist Art was fire representing anger. Perhaps they were sad, so their Daoist Art was ice.

But no matter which kind, it was impossible to achieve purity. It was impossible for their entire inner being to be filled with a single emotion, impossible for it to be directed solely in one direction. There would be impurities.

This also meant that the vast majority of Sorcerers found it difficult to unleash the full power of their Daoist Arts.

But Chen Mu was different!

Rising from a lower rank, experiencing the burning of the heart fire to incinerate impurities and distracting thoughts, and then deciding the direction of his Daoist Art himself, caused Chen Mu's spiritual world to be completely in the form of the Heart Sword, without any impurities or distracting thoughts. He could fully unleash the power of his heart and soul, reaching the extreme!

How strong was he now?

Chen Mu didn't know the answer to this question either.

The Fifth Rank Dao Technique Realm corresponded to Fourth Rank Martial Artists in terms of level. Both were no longer ordinary humans, but Chen Mu had a vague feeling that the Fourth Rank of the Martial Dao was also very fragile before his Heart Sword!

The stability of his heart and soul, the resoluteness of his will, and the purity of his Heart Sword, because of the system's enhancement, had surpassed any other Sorcerer of the same Fifth Rank, and perhaps even any from ancient times.

Chen Mu's mind flashed with the image of Zhao Li, the esteemed guest of the Xuanguo Estate.

The formation of the Daoist Art Heart Sword and the qualitative change in level made Chen Mu very eager to verify his current strength. However, he had no enmity with Zhao Li, so he wouldn't test his sword on him.

Moreover, he still had Soul Points left.

[Name: Chen Mu]

[Age: 16]

[Martial Power: Four Horses Strength]

[Heart Soul: Initial Spirit lv10 (+)]

[Soul Points: 57 points]

[Soul Roaming (Netherworld) - Can be activated]

Chen Mu summoned the system interface. He still had a considerable 57 Soul Points. Without much thought, he continuously spent these 57 Soul Points on improving his Heart Soul.

After the qualitative change, subsequent improvements did not bring about the drastic changes seen before, but rather a smooth and stable increase in Chen Mu's Heart Soul strength.

He raised his Heart Soul all the way to Initial Spirit lv14, consuming his Soul Points until only 7 points remained, finally not enough to level up again.

After leveling up four times in a row, Chen Mu could feel that his Heart Soul strength had increased by roughly forty percent, which was undoubtedly another significant improvement.

Swish.

Chen Mu opened his eyes.

With Spirit Sight activated, compared to before, the range had expanded greatly. In an instant, the situation of more than half of the Xuanguo Estate was reflected in his vision!

He saw the several Fifth Rank Martial Artists, and also saw Old Meng in the Martial Arts Academy. His vision even directly reached Zhao Li, the Fourth Rank Enshrined residing in the central part of the Xuanguo Estate.

But neither Old Meng nor Zhao Li noticed his gaze.

Clearly.

Fifth Rank Sorcerers were already on par with Fourth Rank Martial Artists in terms of level. Mere long-distance Spirit Sight was difficult for even Fourth Rank Martial Artists to detect.

Looking down with Spirit Sight, viewing the entire Xuanguo Estate felt like reading text on his palm. This feeling was also excellent, making Chen Mu's mood unprecedentedly clear, the first time since he came to this world.

Chen Mu's gaze swept over rows of eaves.

Suddenly.

His gaze paused slightly.

"Hmm... where is she going?"

In Chen Mu's vision, he saw Chen Yao seemingly having changed into a different outfit, then carrying a sword. She deliberately avoided the servants and guards of the Xuanguo Estate, and didn't use the gate, instead climbing over the wall to leave.

This caused a hint of strangeness to flash in Chen Mu's eyes.

He retracted his gaze.

After a moment of thought, Chen Mu also quietly pushed open his door and walked out.

On the street.

Chen Yao had changed into a very simple linen outfit, without any accessories. She only had a sword hanging at her waist and wore a bamboo hat on her head, giving her a bit of the air of a Jianghu knight-errant.

She quickly made her way through, following some deserted side alleys, crossing over half of Kyoto until she reached the southern part of the city, an area of streets enclosed by large walls.

At the entrance to the streets were several guards.

Chen Yao approached, said nothing, but lightly stamped her foot. The blood energy on her body surged, revealing her Eighth Rank Martial Artist realm.

The guards nodded, then moved aside, allowing Chen Yao to enter.

Behind her.

Chen Mu's figure silently appeared under an eave, watching Chen Yao enter the streets from a distance, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

"Yuan Wu Alley?"

He had never been to this area of streets, but he had certainly heard of its infamous reputation.

This place was considered the most chaotic area in all of Kyoto, a mix of all sorts of people from various walks of life. Of course, it was mostly a gathering place for lower-ranked Martial Artists below Seventh Rank; those of higher ranks wouldn't come here.

Practicing martial arts is difficult!

Especially for ordinary people, even if they obtain martial arts techniques, they often find it hard to afford the money needed for practice. Besides the daily need for high-quality meat to supplement blood energy, some special training methods also require medicinal baths and the like.

Often, most low-level Martial Artists cannot afford the daily necessities for practicing martial arts.

In this situation, Yuan Wu Alley came into being.

This place was both a casino and a place for low-level Martial Artists to compete. To practice martial arts, they would risk their lives here. As long as they could win a match, they could get some money.

Every day, there were people like Geng He who lost everything here.

And every day, people were seriously injured or even died in the arena here.

Seeing how familiar Chen Yao seemed, it was clear she had been here more than once. He just didn't know if she came here to watch others compete or to place a bet.

"Coming to this kind of place so often, no wonder she picked up so many Jianghu habits."