Ten Days

"Alright, big brother has to keep his word."

Chen Yue giggled.

Though the children of the poor grew up early, she was only fifteen after all. And in the years since their father had left, Chen Mu had practically raised her with his own hands, so some childishness still lingered on her.

Chen Mu rubbed Chen Yue's little head, spoke with Xiao He for a while longer, then watched as Xiao He led Chen Yue away.

When he turned around—

He saw half of Wang Ni's small figure hiding behind the door.

Chen Yue was going to the Inner City to practice martial arts. Chen Mu did not think he had enough standing to have Wang Ni follow as her maidservant, not to mention Wang Ni was far too young, only ten years old.

"Your Sister Yue has left. Go back to your room."

"...Mm."

Wang Ni answered timidly and returned to the courtyard.

Chen Mu stood at the entrance, gazing for a while in the direction Chen Yue had gone before returning indoors.

He did not know whether Chen Yue would display any talent after going to the Inner City to practice martial arts. He still did not understand things like innate bone structure. Last night, he had briefly felt over Chen Yue's physique, and it seemed better than his own, but he did not know whether it was truly exceptional.

Naturally, Chen Mu hoped Chen Yue could accomplish something on the path of martial arts. Though he would not mind if she remained a little ornamental sister protected beneath his wing for life, it was always better to stand head and shoulders above the rest.

In truth,

No matter how outstanding Chen Yue became, it would still be difficult for her to truly leave the shelter of his wings. After all, even the most brilliant and talented figures in this world, those heroes who stood supreme over the Great Xuan Dynasty, likely could not compare with his System Panel.

Unless someone strangled him in the cradle, as in yesterday's ambush, so long as he was given enough time, he would surely climb step by step until he stood atop the world.

"Train."

Chen Mu took a deep breath, returned to the rear courtyard, and began practicing his saber techniques.

Now that he had reached Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment, his physique had improved significantly. His daily Skin Tempering regimen could increase from twice to three times, and he could fully endure it. All his remaining time would be devoted to practicing saber techniques.

As for the City Guard, he planned to merely stop by from time to time over the next few days. There was nothing that required him to do anything anyway, and Min Baoyi probably did not want him working either.

In Min Baoyi's eyes, the most important thing was for Chen Mu to reach Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment, or even Major Accomplishment, as soon as possible. With Chen Mu's skill in comprehending Saber Force, once he reached Skin Tempering Major Accomplishment or even Perfection, ordinary people would find it difficult to threaten him even if he had not entered Flesh Tempering. An alleyway ambush like that one would only work against someone whose Body Tempering had yet to bear fruit.

Once he reached Skin Tempering Perfection, quicklime would be utterly useless. Even the blades and weapons wielded by ordinary thugs who had never practiced Martial Arts might not be able to cut through his tempered, resilient skin. Naturally, they would pose no threat at all.

And so,

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

These ten days had been utterly without incident. There had been no follow-up to the previous ambush, and all of Nine Stripes Ward had become peaceful... though that peace was only for people of standing like Chen Mu. The impoverished masses at the bottom still struggled beneath government taxes, gang extortion, and the scourge of bandits and petty thieves.

As a head runner, Chen Mu knew all this perfectly well. But he was not so filled with righteous indignation that he would suddenly make some grand vow to change the world. It was not that he was cold and heartless; he simply would not do what lay outside his duty.

If one day his achievements eclipsed the ages and he became someone whose word carried the weight of nine tripods in the Great Xuan Dynasty, then perhaps he would reshape the world according to his own ideas. But for now, he was only a head runner. He did not possess that kind of ability.

"Enough."

He rose from the sand pit once more.

Chen Mu summoned the System Panel. When he saw that his accumulated experience had finally exceeded three hundred points, he nodded faintly.

Three hundred experience points were enough for him to break through from Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment to Major Accomplishment. At such speed and with such progress, even the most dazzling geniuses of the Inner City would likely sigh that they could not compare.

There was no need to rush.

He first washed the mud and sand from his body, then returned to his room. After his body recovered and he adjusted both his thoughts and breathing, he summoned the System Panel and chose to upgrade the Gold Jade Mo Pi Fa.

This time, the sensation was not as intense as before. Though a surging transformation still exploded within him, as if a mass of scorching blood had burst forth from his heart and flooded into the skin membranes throughout his body, unleashing indescribable pain, Chen Mu did not faint as he had last time. He endured it by sheer force of will.

Of course,

He thought it would have been better to faint, because this pain was far more intense than the pain of improving a skill. His entire body curled into a ball, and he nearly bit through his pillow. He endured for who knew how long before the agony of ten thousand needles pricking him from every corner of his body gradually faded.

His clothes had nearly been soaked through with sweat, and even the bedding beneath him was drenched over a large area.

His whole body was limp and weak, nearly drained to the point of collapse.

"Hah..."

Chen Mu released the pillow and exhaled a breath of turbid air. He barely stretched his body, and only after some time had passed did he gather enough strength to sit up from the bed.

After his body recovered a little further, Chen Mu got up, poured himself a bowl of the prepared medicinal decoction for replenishing qi and blood, and gulped it down. Then he called Wang Ni over to replace the sodden bedding.

Chen Yue had raised Wang Ni to be obedient and well-behaved. She did not ask what had happened, simply gathered up the quilt and sheets to replace them. Deep down, she was a little curious how Chen Mu had "wet the bed," though the smell was not quite so strange.

Chen Mu did not care what Wang Ni misunderstood.

He went to the side room to rest and regulate his breathing. After roughly half an hour, the medicinal decoction replenishing his qi, blood, and fluids gradually took effect. Strength slowly returned to his body, and when he clenched his fist, it had become steady and powerful once more.

"Major Accomplishment."

Chen Mu could now feel the changes in his body quite clearly.

Compared to before, the qi and blood within him had grown more vigorous. If he exerted Saber Force with all his strength, his breath would last longer. Even if he faced the siege of thirty or forty thugs, he could slaughter every one of them in a single burst of strength, without growing short of breath halfway through or needing to pause and recover after overexerting himself.

Next, the skin membranes over his entire body had become even tougher. On the surface, there seemed to be no great change. His complexion had merely darkened slightly, showing healthier wheat-colored skin. But in truth, its resilience was already comparable to the hide of a wild ox.

How tough was oxhide?

A slightly dull blade, even when hacked down with force, might only leave a pale mark without being able to cut it open.

With the skin membranes of the human body becoming as tough as oxhide, its resistance and endurance naturally far surpassed those of ordinary people. It could be said that even if Chen Mu did not know saber techniques, if he simply took a saber and hacked wildly, against ten thugs who likewise knew no saber techniques and had not tempered their bodies, after a vicious battle, he would certainly be the last one standing.

"Saber Force can practically make up for the gap of an entire major realm during the Skin Tempering and Flesh Tempering stages."

Chen Mu muttered inwardly.

A few days ago, he had sought Min Baoyi's guidance in martial arts and learned some things from him. For instance, if someone at Skin Tempering Major Accomplishment grasped Saber Force, then even against someone at Lian Rou Initial Accomplishment, so long as the other party had not grasped Saber Force, they could still contend with them.

Those who grasped Saber Force were fewer than Martial Warriors who had entered the Lian Rou Realm.

But beyond that, the gap between physiques would gradually widen. Min Baoyi had said that he himself had reached Lian Rou Completion and possessed Saber Force, yet against someone who had attained Yi Jin Minor Completion, even if that person did not know Saber Force, he would still find it difficult to win.

And in fact, among those who could cultivate a Body Tempering Method to the third realm of Tendon Transformation, there were relatively few who did not know Saber Force.

The reason was simple. Between Flesh Tempering and Tendon Transformation lay a particular gap that required a specific Qiang Jin Powder to cross. This medicinal powder was extremely expensive. Generally speaking, those who had not grasped "Force" would find it difficult to obtain such powder, unless they were direct descendants of great Lineages.

Chen Mu had learned all this from Min Baoyi. To him, it was neither near nor far, because he would soon pass through the Skin Tempering realm at the very least. After Flesh Tempering, he would have to consider Tendon Transformation.

"With Skin Tempering Major Accomplishment, even an ambush by dozens of people means little to me. Ordinary people can no longer do much to me, but against someone like Min Baoyi, I still cannot withstand even one exchange."

Chen Mu understood his own standing clearly and did not become complacent over his small achievement.

Even setting aside reaching Min Baoyi's level, he would at least need to attain Lian Rou Initial Accomplishment and grasp Dual Power of Intent before he could count as a notable figure in this Outer City. Until then, he still needed to proceed with utmost caution.

"Reaching Skin Tempering Perfection requires one thousand experience points."

With my current physique, I can perhaps temper my skin four times a day now. I can absorb one more dose of Medicinal Power. I should be able to gather those thousand experience points in less than a month.

Chen Mu nodded to himself. Though the two doses of medicinal powder, one for internal use and one for external use, were both rather expensive, he was not consuming them excessively. At most, they would cost several dozen taels of silver, which he could fully afford. He was even far more frugal than others.