[Chen Mo] Race: Human Gender: Male Age: 15/80 Talent: Quite Potential Skills: Archery (Perfect Accomplishment), Tracking (Initiation), Culinary Arts (Initiation) Cultivation Techniques: Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique (Proficient), Tiger Fist (Perfect Accomplishment) Realm: Body Tempering (Inner Strength) Enlightenment Count: 0
"I used two enlightenments just to raise the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique from Initiation to Proficient. I'm growing more and more eager to see what this technique can do."
After moving his body around in the courtyard and carefully reviewing the panel's information, Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction.
"My lifespan actually increased by a full ten years! This is only the Proficient-level Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique. Once it reaches Perfect Accomplishment, my lifespan upper limit will most likely surpass a hundred years."
Reaching a hundred years old was absolutely considered a long life in this world, yet Chen Mo could attain it with ease.
It was not just his age. His strength had also improved to a certain extent, though his realm remained unchanged. He was still in the Inner Strength Realm.
With my current strength, I should have no opponents in the Inner Strength Realm, right? Chen Mo thought.
Although he had not broken through to the Divine Strength Realm, the improvements to his age and body still delighted Chen Mo. Looking forward to the benefits of the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique reaching Perfect Accomplishment, a powerful premonition arose in his heart—he could rely on this technique to become a Divine Strength Realm martial artist.
After spending more time in the courtyard feeling out the changes in his strength and fully adapting to them, Chen Mo left the house. He moved through the shops of the Commercial District, browsing and asking around, and discovered that cultivation techniques were indeed sold here, though they were all Trash Tier techniques.
There were all kinds available.
Even Trash Tier cultivation techniques cost around twenty taels of silver.
That might not have seemed too expensive, but few people bought them because their returns were too low. Only by cultivating them to the Perfection Realm could one possibly become a martial artist—and even then, only the lowest-ranking Strength Refining Realm martial artist.
For an ordinary person, cultivating a Trash Tier technique to Perfection Realm would definitely take decades.
Unfortunately, once a person passed the age of thirty-five, if they had not reached the Qi and Blood Realm, their bodily functions would begin to decline, and their cultivation efficiency would fall accordingly. Their energy and stamina simply could not keep up.
Not to mention ordinary people who had not even reached the Strength Refining Realm. Once they passed that age, becoming a Strength Refining Realm martial artist became even more difficult.
Even if they successfully cultivated a Trash Tier technique to perfection before the age of thirty-five and reached the Strength Refining Realm, they would still need to pass through the Inner Strength Realm, Divine Strength Realm, and Divine Valor Realm before achieving complete Body Tempering. Only after that came the Qi and Blood Realm.
For the rest of their lives, they would basically only be Strength Refining Realm martial artists. Once they grew old, their realms could even regress due to physical decline, turning them back into ordinary people. The losses far outweighed the gains.
Yet even with such meager returns, Trash Tier cultivation techniques were not cheap. After all, they were techniques that could allow one to become a martial artist.
Chen Mo did not have much money on him, so he could only choose carefully. After visiting every shop that sold cultivation techniques, he found that the Shi Quan Merchant Association offered the lowest prices. Their selections were all roughly the same, so he did not hesitate any longer.
For sixty taels of silver, Chen Mo bought the Body Hardening Iron Body Technique, the movement technique Flying Cloud Steps, and the Cleaving Wind Saber Technique, making up for his current weakness of knowing only a Fist Technique.
Having a realm without knowing Martial Skills would only make him a reckless brute. Knowing only a Fist Technique imposed too many limitations, and Chen Mo did not want to possess such obvious shortcomings.
The three cultivation techniques would be enough to occupy him for a long time. He just did not know how much they would improve his strength once they were all cultivated to Perfect Accomplishment.
The Zheng Family Martial Arts School was certainly no longer worth considering. With his strength by then, entering a Martial Arts School in the Inner City should not be a problem. He would possess considerable means of self-preservation and no longer need to fear exposing his strength.
For now, though, he still had to keep his head down and develop for another stretch.
With that thought in mind, Chen Mo returned to his rented house and began living in seclusion. Apart from the people from the merchant caravan, he knew no one else in Hequ County. Hardly anyone would come to disturb him, and he was happy to enjoy the peace.
The Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique did not need much practice. Its realm mainly improved through enlightenment. More importantly, with his Quite Potential talent, his cultivation efficiency was too low, and it would slow the initiation progress of his other cultivation techniques.
Chen Mo's foremost goal was to cultivate the three newly purchased techniques to the Initiation level. After that, he could directly undergo enlightenment and rapidly grow stronger.
Of the three techniques, Flying Cloud Steps and the Cleaving Wind Blade had no additional cultivation requirements. He only needed to practice them step by step. The Iron Body Technique, as a Body Hardening Cultivation Technique, needed to be used alongside the appropriate medicinal baths and ointments, making it somewhat more troublesome.
He just did not know whether he would still need to prepare the corresponding medicinal baths and ointments if he used enlightenment to advance the Iron Body Technique after reaching Initiation.
With a goal in mind, Chen Mo's life became regular. He kept busy every day, but his current talent was clearly not that impressive, and he could not bring all three cultivation techniques to Initiation in a short time.
Fortunately, time was what he lacked least now. He also had more than forty taels of silver left, which was completely enough.
And so, a week passed...
Using all seven opportunities for enlightenment on the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique, Chen Mo successfully raised it to the Great Accomplishment Realm. The strength of one arm had already surpassed a thousand jin, and his recovery ability had become even more formidable.
From Proficient to Minor Accomplishment, it took three enlightenments. From Minor Accomplishment to Great Accomplishment, it took another four.
Following this trend, cultivating the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique to Perfect Accomplishment would likely require another five enlightenments—five days.
He was clearly only in the Inner Strength Realm, yet the strength of one arm had surpassed a thousand jin, reaching the standard of the Divine Strength Realm. Chen Mo was in an excellent mood.
However, when the tree desired stillness, the wind would not cease.
That day, Chen Mo did as usual. After getting up early and going out for breakfast, he bought some ingredients and medicinal herbs needed to cultivate the Iron Body Technique, then headed straight home without wandering around.
The difference was that, on his way back, he distinctly sensed that he was being followed.
Trouble. Can't they just let me lie low in peace?
Just as Chen Mo was preparing to use the same trick again and turn into an empty alley, he discovered more than ten men in green robes standing before him. The man at the front was built almost like Chen Chao and was just as brawny.
Yet he did not give Chen Mo any sense of danger, which meant he was most likely an embroidered pillow.
Behind Zhuang Han, a man with bandages wrapped around his shoulder stepped forward, glaring at Chen Mo with fury.
"Kid, I finally found you!"
"In broad daylight, you're openly blocking someone's path like this. Is that really alright?" Chen Mo recognized the speaker.
It was precisely the man he had knocked unconscious with a stick not long ago. As for the one whose head had struck the wall, he did not appear. He was presumably still unable to get out of bed.
Chen Mo quietly regretted it. His mercy had brought him all this subsequent trouble.
Sure enough, he should have handled things more cleanly.
"Hehe, don't worry. Even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will come over here," the Bandaged Man sneered.
Hearing that, Chen Mo nodded slightly.
"Then that's good."
Before the other party could speak again, he explosively pushed off with his feet and charged straight at the people blocking his way.
"How dare you!" the leader shouted as he rushed forward to meet him.
Yet he had barely started moving when Chen Mo was already before him. A bad premonition surged from his heart, and he instinctively raised both arms to block.
Outnumbered, Chen Mo did not hold back. Seizing the initiative, he drove a punch directly into the man's blocking arms.
Crack~
His arms were forcibly broken by Chen Mo's punch. The immense force sent him flying backward after his arms snapped, crashing into the crowd behind him.
The people who had been preparing to attack were all dumbfounded.
They recalled what the Bandaged Man had said earlier—that Chen Mo was merely somewhat strong, and that the reason he had defeated them was mainly because he had launched a sneak attack...
But now, after landing his first blow, Chen Mo pressed his advantage. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, he had no enemy capable of withstanding a single exchange. Seeing his fierce appearance as he knocked out one "little friend" with every punch, their intestines turned green with regret. This was merely somewhat strong?
Wasn't even their gang leader weaker than this man?
From the very beginning, the battle had been completely one-sided. Facing this group of ordinary people who had not even reached the Strength Refining Realm, Chen Mo did not feel the slightest threat.
Everyone struck by his fists seemed to have been hit head-on by a speeding carriage. They were sent flying outright, making for an extremely exaggerated sight.
Later on, Chen Mo even felt that fighting this way was too inefficient. He grabbed the nearest person by the shoulder and swung him around. After only a few swings, he had cleared the field. Aside from a few with better physical constitutions, who lay on the ground wailing, the rest had already passed out.
Turning around, Chen Mo found that the people who had originally intended to encircle him from behind had all fled. He raised an eyebrow.
"Was that all?"
A few minutes later, Chen Mo left the alley with more than thirty taels of silver on him. It seemed he could lie low for a while longer...
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