Yuan Wu Alley

I had One Sword that could cleave Heaven and Earth and all things beneath them!

This was not a declaration, but a representation of Chen Mu's soul and will—the mark left after refinement upon a soulscape washed pure white, and the Daoist Arts Chen Mu had chosen.

Heart Sword!

Taking the heart as a sword, everything imagined would answer its call.

Chen Mu did not know whether his choice was the most correct one, but his knowledge of the sword was the deepest. From One Sword breaking all techniques to the sword opening Heaven's Gate and cleaving the sun, moon, and stars!

Although the sources of these ideas were all illusory and not things he had truly witnessed, the soul itself was equally illusory. These thoughts were the root of the Heart Sword's existence.

Simply put,

imagination represented strength!

Among this world's spellcasters, and even among the countless Martial Artists, there might well be many who had devoted themselves wholly to the sword, but their understanding of the sword's limits was vague.

Even if someone tilted his head toward the heavens and imagined a sword splitting the sky, it would at most flash through his mind. It was impossible for him to possess such unwavering conviction. After all, even One Sword splitting a mountain was already the stuff of legend!

But Chen Mu was different.

No one could match the breadth of his knowledge. Sword breaking all techniques, sword opening Heaven's Gate, even One Sword bringing the universe's birth and destruction—he could take all these wild, jumbled thoughts as convictions, fill his soulscape with them, and turn them into the power of his Heart Sword.

"The Heart Sword. This is my Daoist Arts."

Chen Mu murmured softly.

The Dao Technique Realm was indeed a qualitative transformation. At this very moment, he could not only sense the transformation of his Soulmind, but also feel that his will had become stronger than ever before.

It was as though, just as he imagined in his heart, One Sword could cleave the sun, moon, and stars!

Though this was false, it represented a direction—the direction of his will. And once there was a clear direction, there would also be resolute will and power.

At this moment,

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

A spellcaster's realm was determined the instant he awakened. Those spellcasters who awakened as Fifth Rank might have been angry at the time, so their Daoist Arts would represent the fire of anger. Or perhaps they had been grieving, in which case their Daoist Arts would be ice.

But no matter which it was, none could achieve purity. It was impossible for one's entire heart to contain only a single emotion or point in a single direction. Impurities would always exist.

This doomed the vast majority of spellcasters to struggle to unleash their Daoist Arts' power to its utmost.

But Chen Mu was different!

He had risen from the lower ranks, endured the tempering of the heartfire until it burned away filthy and distracting thoughts, and then chosen the direction of his Daoist Arts himself. As a result, Chen Mu's soulscape was completely shaped by the Heart Sword, without a trace of filth or distraction. He could unleash the power of his Soulmind completely, reaching the extreme!

How strong was he now?

Chen Mu did not know the answer.

The Fifth Rank Daoist Arts Realm corresponded in level to the Fourth Rank Martial Artist realm. Both had already transcended ordinary humanity, but Chen Mu had an indistinct feeling that even the Fourth Rank of Martial Arts would be incredibly fragile before his Heart Sword!

His Soulmind's stability, his will's decisiveness, and his Heart Sword's purity—all enhanced by the system—had surpassed those of any other Fifth Rank spellcaster, and perhaps even exceeded anything that had ever existed throughout the ages.

The Attendant Zhao Li of Xuanguo Estate flashed through Chen Mu's mind.

The formation of the Daoist Arts Heart Sword and the qualitative transformation in his level made Chen Mu eager to test his current strength. But Zhao Li had no enmity with him, so there was no need to test One Sword on him.

Besides, he had not used up all his Soul Points yet.

Name: Chen Mu

Age: 16

Martial Power: Four Horses Strength

Soulmind: Primordial Spirit lv10(+)

Soul Points: 57

Soul Roaming (Netherworld)—Available

Chen Mu summoned the system interface. He still had as many as 57 Soul Points, so without much thought, he began steadily spending them on raising his Soulmind.

After the qualitative transformation, the subsequent improvements no longer produced the tremendous changes they had before. Instead, Chen Mu's Soulmind strength rose gradually and steadily.

He raised his Soulmind all the way to Primordial Spirit lv14 in one go. His Soul Points fell to only 7, finally no longer enough to increase it another level.

After raising it four levels in succession, Chen Mu could feel that his Soulmind strength had increased by nearly forty percent. This was undoubtedly another substantial improvement.

Whoosh.

Chen Mu opened his eyes.

With Spirit Sight activated, its range had expanded tremendously compared to before. In an instant, most of Xuanguo Estate came into view!

He saw the several Fifth Rank Martial Artists, as well as Old Meng in the Martial Arts Academy. His sight even reached the Fourth Rank Attendant Zhao Li, who lived in the central part of Xuanguo Estate.

Yet neither Old Meng nor Zhao Li sensed his gaze in the slightest.

Clearly,

Fifth Rank spellcasters were already on the same level as Fourth Rank Martial Artists. Even a distant Spirit Sight was difficult for Fourth Rank Martial Artists to detect.

Under Spirit Sight's gaze, all of Xuanguo Estate was as clear as words in the palm of his hand. The sensation was wonderful, leaving Chen Mu's mind more at ease than ever before. It was the first time he had felt this way since coming to this world.

Chen Mu's gaze swept across roof after roof.

Suddenly,

his gaze paused slightly.

"Hmm... What is she going to do?"

Within Chen Mu's vision, he saw that Chen Yao seemed to have changed clothes and taken up a sword. She had deliberately avoided Xuanguo Estate's servants and guards, and instead of leaving through the gate, she vaulted straight over the wall.

A trace of puzzlement flashed through Chen Mu's eyes.

He withdrew his gaze.

After thinking briefly, Chen Mu also silently pushed open his door and walked out.

On the street,

Chen Yao had changed into an extremely plain hemp outfit and wore no ornaments at all. She had only a sword hanging at her waist and a Bamboo Hat on her head, giving her a touch of a wandering martial hero's bearing.

She hurried along, following deserted and secluded alleyways. She crossed nearly half of the Capital before finally reaching its southern side—a maze of streets sealed off by extensive walls.

There were several guards at the entrance to the streets.

When Chen Yao approached, she said nothing. She merely stamped her foot lightly, causing her blood qi to surge and revealing the realm of an Eighth Rank Martial Artist.

The guards nodded and moved aside, letting Chen Yao enter.

Behind her,

Chen Mu's figure appeared silently beneath a roof's eaves. He watched Chen Yao enter that maze of streets from afar, a thoughtful look flickering in his eyes.

"Yuan Wu Alley?"

He had never come to this maze of streets before, but its fame could certainly be called thunderous to the ears.

This was considered the most chaotic place in the entire Capital. All sorts of people from the three religions and nine streams mingled here like fish and dragons, though most were lower-level Martial Artists below Seventh Rank. Those of higher ranks would not come here.

Practicing martial arts was difficult!

Especially for ordinary people. Even after obtaining a martial arts manual, they often found it difficult to afford the money required for training. Their daily meals alone required high-quality meat to replenish their blood qi, while some special cultivation methods even required medicinal baths and the like.

Most lower-level Martial Artists simply could not afford the daily expenses of practicing martial arts.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Wu Alley came into being.

It was both a gambling den and a place where lower-level Martial Artists fought. To practice martial arts, they risked their lives here. So long as they won a match, they could receive a little money.

Every day, people like Geng He lost everything here.

And every day, people were grievously wounded here, or even died in the arena.

Seeing how familiar Chen Yao was with the place, it was obvious that she had come here more than once. He simply did not know whether she came to watch others fight or place a wager herself.

"Coming to a place like this so often, no wonder she's picked up so many habits of the martial world."