Mastery of the Blade, Murderous Intent in the Dark Night!

"Oh~~, a secret with Senior Sister~"

Chen He immediately put on a lewd expression, hooked his arm around Liu Chu's shoulder, and said, "Junior Brother, you've got some smooth moves. When did you hook up with Senior Sister Luo? I had absolutely no idea!"

Liu Chu glanced at him sideways: "You can tell that to Senior Sister Luo yourself."

"Forget it!"

Chen He shuddered.

Senior Sister's bad temper was common knowledge; he had no desire to go and get beaten up!

"By the way, why haven't I seen Senior Brother Lin Bei lately?"

Liu Chu suddenly asked Chen He.

Having just defeated Luo Qingyue, he felt she was a bit weak and hadn't fully forced him to reveal his true strength.

Thinking that she was in the Tendon Refining Realm yet defeated by a Skin Refining Realm martial artist, she was likely a disgrace to the Tendon Refining Realm, sitting at the very bottom of the barrel in terms of strength.

If he could spar with Senior Brother Lin Bei, perhaps he could better verify his own strength.

"Him? Someone leaked our techniques recently, so Master sent him to purge the sect!"

Chen He said casually.

"Purge the sect?"

Liu Chu's eyes showed surprise.

"Whether it's a martial arts hall, a sect, or even a family, the non-disclosure of techniques is the foundation of their existence. Once a disciple leaks them, they must be purged!"

Chen He explained: "In our Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall, whether it's an apprentice who hasn't entered the inner courtyard or an inner courtyard disciple, before they leave, Master warns them repeatedly not to leak the techniques."

"Otherwise, the light punishment is having one's limbs and tendons broken, and the heavy punishment is being killed on the spot!"

Liu Chu actually knew this, but he hadn't expected that a dignified Tendon Refining Realm martial artist like Lin Bei would need to personally go out to purge the sect.

Back then, Han Qi had joined the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall three years before him. Although he was only an apprentice, he had learned the martial arts of the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall.

However, hindered by this sect rule, he hadn't dared to teach Liu Chu how to cultivate in private.

Of course, there was another reason: given Liu Chu's conditions at the time, he couldn't even afford meat, let alone medicinal soups. Cultivating would have been a waste of effort and might even have damaged his body!

"This time it's a bit strange. There isn't just one place where techniques were leaked, so they had to let Senior Brother Lin Bei take action and bring two junior brothers along to purge the sect."

Chen He explained again, then immediately added: "With Senior Brother Lin Bei's strength, I'm sure he'll be able to complete the mission and return successfully!"

"Speaking of which, there is one thing I feel you should know."

Chen He suddenly looked at Liu Chu, his expression complex.

"What is it?"

Liu Chu looked curious.

He had been staying in the martial arts hall to cultivate, so he really couldn't think of anything that could involve him.

"It's Xu Haoran."

Chen He sighed, his expression filled with sympathy: "It seems he was stimulated by you breaking through to the inner ranks. He kept grinding his teeth and cultivating, and as a result, he overexerted himself and injured his body."

"Now, he has left the martial arts hall and returned home to recuperate. With that injury, I'm afraid it will be hard to recover in a year or a year and a half."

When Chen He reached this point, he sighed repeatedly and lamented: "People, the thing they fear most is not knowing their own limits. Take me, for example; I know I'm not cut out for the grind, so I cultivate according to my own capacity."

Liu Chu glanced at him with a strange look, as if to say: You call that cultivating according to your capacity?

Chen He read Liu Chu's expression and didn't mind, saying: "Junior Brother, my talent is limited, I can't compare to you gifted ones. If I were to compete with others like Xu Haoran did, I might not even be able to break through to the inner ranks at all!"

Hearing this, Liu Chu nodded in deep agreement.

Xu Haoran had decent talent and a good chance of breaking through to the inner ranks, but because he was competing with him, he had cultivated too hard and ended up injuring his body.

In this way, after recuperating for a year or a year and a half, the costs of medicinal soups, lost wages, and other expenses combined would likely be no small sum.

Even if his family background was decent, after such a delay and consumption, it was hard to say whether his family would still provide silver to support his continued martial arts training in the future.

He also sighed and shook his head: "I had no idea that Xu Haoran was secretly competing with me."

He was telling the truth. When he was in the outer courtyard, his heart and mind were set on breaking through to the inner ranks; he had no time to pay attention to others.

His impression of Xu Haoran was only "decent talent, diligent in practice," and beyond that, he knew nothing else.

Who could have known that the other party had been secretly competing with him all along!

Why are you competing with me? I have a double comprehension boost...

Liu Chu shook his head inwardly.

This was just an interlude, and Liu Chu didn't take it too much to heart.

Everyone's talent is different, and their fortunes are different. On the long road of life, it is inevitable to encounter all sorts of interesting or lamentable things.

The matter of Xu Haoran was just one of them.

Liu Chu wouldn't feel guilty either, because he had been completely unaware of it and had never actively provoked a desire for competition.

All of these actions were merely things the other party had chosen to do themselves.

After chatting with Chen He for a while longer and agreeing to treat him to a meal at Qunxian Residence tomorrow, Liu Chu continued practicing his blade technique.

The long blade danced, its light dazzling and brilliant, whipping up gusts of cold, sharp wind with a momentum as swift and fierce as crashing waves.

With his Comprehension Panel providing a two-fold boost, combined with the many commonalities between the perfected Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique and his blade work, his progress was nothing short of rapid.

Day after day of practice led to swift improvements in his blade technique.

His blade moves grew increasingly skillful, and the blade light became ever sharper; every strike he unleashed was executed with peak precision, as if it had been tempered a thousand times, breathtaking and soul-stirring!

Swish!

At one moment, as Liu Chu swung his long blade, a sense of sudden enlightenment surfaced in his heart. Even though this strike was extremely fierce and powerful, it suddenly veered, slashing abruptly toward his back at an incredible angle.

That immensely powerful strike showed no signs of exhaustion; in the midst of its peak intensity, it birthed a new surge of strength, altering the trajectory of the blade light in a truly astonishing display.

"Dragon-Tiger Blade-Breaking Technique, Great Success!"

Liu Chu sheathed his blade, a flash of brilliance crossing his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.

Status Panel:

Host: Liu Chu

Comprehension Multiplier: 2x (Sacrifice: 10 Treasure Fish / 100 taels of silver, 3 years of lifespan)

Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice (Great Success 18%)

Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique (Perfected)

Dragon-Tiger Blade-Breaking Technique (Great Success 1%)

"With both the Nourishing Practice and the blade technique at Great Success, the next step is to push toward perfection!"

Liu Chu looked at the techniques on his status panel, feeling very satisfied.

Reaching Great Success in his blade technique meant that even if he were surrounded, he would have the potential to cut his way out, greatly increasing his ability to handle group combat!

And after the Nourishing Practice reached Great Success, four streams of blood energy were constantly scouring his tendons, allowing his originally mediocre aptitude to now match that of someone with decent talent.

"If the Nourishing Stake Practice can break through to perfection, eight streams of blood energy will scour my tendons simultaneously, which will cause my cultivation speed to skyrocket once again!"

Liu Chu's face showed a look of anticipation.

That day, after finishing his training, he returned to the courtyard near the martial arts hall and spread out the spiced beef, roast duck, roasted chicken, and meat pies he had bought on his way back.

After wolfing down the meal, he let out a satisfied burp!

"Now that I'm not short on silver, I can get enough meat every day and don't have to worry about depleting my body anymore."

Liu Chu tossed a chicken bone aside, lay back in his chair, and looked up at the starry sky, his expression quite content.

In the blink of an eye, he had been in this world for over three years.

"Three years of arduous struggle, and I've finally stepped onto the path of martial arts and started to see progress..."

Liu Chu gazed at the high-hanging moon, feeling a sense of melancholy in his heart.

Only he knew the hardships of these past three years; there were several times he nearly didn't make it, but fortunately, life ultimately held hope.

That Comprehension Panel had given him immense hope, and in the end, it was what drove him to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

After sitting quietly for a while to let his food digest, Liu Chu returned to his room to sleep.

Yet, half an hour after he went to bed, a dark shadow silently vaulted over the courtyard wall.

"Liu Chu..."

Killing intent surfaced in the shadow's eyes, only to be quickly suppressed as they slowly crept toward the room where Liu Chu was sleeping.