Major Accomplishment

That was right.

Wei Lun had been killed by Chen Mu.

Everyone in that courtyard—the guards and servants alike—had all died by his hand.

Five months had passed since Chen Yue went to the Inner City to study martial arts. It seemed like a long time, yet it was actually less time than he had spent cultivating the Whirlwind Saber Technique from Major Accomplishment to Perfection.

But during this time, his strength had surged forward by leaps and bounds, climbing all the way upward.

His System Panel was now quite substantial as well.

Martial Arts: Whirlwind Saber Technique (Perfection), Fierce Wind Saber Technique (Perfection), Spirit Wind Sword Technique (Major Accomplishment)

Experience: 1125 points

Both the Whirlwind Saber Technique and Fierce Wind Saber Technique had reached Perfection. Now, with a single saber, he could wield both the "Whirlwind" and "Fierce Wind" Saber Forces at once. Since Whirlwind and Fierce Wind shared similar qualities, the two Saber Forces meshed remarkably well and did not feel awkward to employ.

As for the Spirit Wind Sword Technique, it was another martial art he had later found under the Xun Wind lineage. Though it was a sword technique, sabers and swords were not so distinct from one another, and with the System Panel, he had no issue of unfamiliarity caused by using different weapons.

Moreover.

Compared with the Whirlwind Saber and Fierce Wind Saber, the Spirit Wind Sword Technique was an exceedingly hidden method of his. Just as when he killed Wei Lun and those guards, he had used nothing but the Spirit Wind Sword Technique. No one could possibly connect it to him.

After Min Baoyi personally examined the wounds, he concluded that the culprit was some formidable swordsman whose swordsmanship had not yet reached the level of Intent, but whose physique was exceptionally powerful—at least Lian Rou Completion. Those whose physiques surpassed their techniques usually came from backgrounds of considerable standing.

After all, as long as one had money, one could keep tempering the body. So long as one could produce several thousand taels of silver, even someone with mediocre talent could forge a body at Lian Rou Completion. Small households, however, simply did not possess such wealth.

But precisely because of that,

Min Baoyi's judgment had missed by a hair and erred by a thousand miles.

Wild Bull Lian Rou Method (Major Accomplishment)

Experience: 243 points

Chen Mu's Lian Rou Method had only reached the level of Major Accomplishment. There was still some distance to go before Perfection.

Yet because he cultivated three Mo Pi Fa concurrently, all of which had reached Perfection, his body possessed Copper Steel Skin. In the Flesh Tempering realm, he was like a tiger that had grown wings. Even with only Lian Rou Great Accomplishment, when he erupted with all his strength, he could rival an ordinary Lian Rou Completion martial warrior!

That was the true reason Min Baoyi had misjudged him.

In truth, with Chen Mu's current skill and methods, even facing someone like Min Baoyi, he would not be at any disadvantage. Once he unleashed Dual Power of Intent, defeating him would not be difficult either.

It was precisely because he possessed such strength and confidence that Chen Mu had gradually become more active. Cultivating the Lian Rou Method and Mo Pi Fa had consumed too much silver, leaving him somewhat short of funds, so he straightforwardly set foot upon the path of murder and robbery.

In times like these.

What made money fastest?

Robbery, of course.

Moreover, such incidents rose one after another, happening almost every day. They were impossible to distinguish clearly. The City Guard received reports like these every day, but generally could not be bothered to investigate, unless some wealthy and powerful household had been hit by thieves and used their connections to exert pressure on the City Guard. Only then would they seriously look into it.

As a head runner of the City Guard, Chen Mu might not have known Nine Stripes Ward like the back of his hand, but he was at least extremely familiar with it. Finding suitable targets was exceedingly easy, and people like Wei Lun were precisely his targets.

It was not entirely because the man had committed countless atrocities, his crimes too numerous to record.

Chen Mu had always disliked hypocrisy. He could not be bothered to find some banner of punishing evil and eliminating wickedness for his murder and robbery. Killing was killing. He had chosen Wei Lun more because the man had no other complicated background or connections. Once he died, everything would end there.

Min Baoyi's subsequent reaction to the incident had also been largely consistent with Chen Mu's judgment.

As for the young girl who had found a sliver of fortune amid her misfortune last night, he had even fewer thoughts about her. His home was not some refuge, after all. He had no interest in casually bringing people home. One old servant and one maid were enough.

Killing Wei Lun along with all his guards and servants was enough. He had not untied the ropes on her body in order to keep her from running about. As long as she remained in the house, the City Guard would naturally discover her the next day. Hearing from Liu Song and Li Tie that she had already returned home, Chen Mu felt no great stir in his heart. Nor did he need that girl to recognize him and repay his kindness someday.

That was what the Outer City was like.

Commoner families lived from one day to the next.

Even wealthy households trembled in fear, hiring numerous martial warrior guards and worrying that formidable men would come to murder and plunder.

Only upon reaching the Inner City could one call it a place of peace. Not only did the city lord's guards patrol day and night, but the guards of the various great lineages also routinely patrolled their respective streets and alleys, along with the many martial halls and martial warriors.

Once anything happened, the culprit could be dragged out immediately.

Just like Tang Quan.

A figure at Lian Rou Completion who had mastered Intent, not inferior to Min Baoyi in the slightest. He had even fled to the Outer City after committing his crime, yet in the end, he had still been forcibly dragged out.

Even if Chen Mu had not encountered him that day, and he had fortunately lived a little longer, he still would never have escaped in the end.

"Mm..."

Chen Mu thought for a moment, then took twenty Gold Leaves from that pile of silver and packed them into a small pouch. He then buried the remaining Gold Leaves and nearly two hundred taels of silver beneath the floor tiles again.

Then he pressed the floor tiles down with a chest and placed thirty or forty taels' worth of loose silver ingots and lumps inside it.

Silver was heavy.

Thus, wealthy people generally did not carry silver on them. What they usually carried were Gold Leaves like these. Each was worth roughly ten taels of silver, so twenty of them amounted to two hundred taels. At most, they would have servants carry a dozen or so taels of silver for daily expenses.

Chen Yue was now studying martial arts at the Yu Family Martial Hall in the Inner City. Though she had entered through Xu Hongyu's connections, and the Yu Family Martial Hall provided her daily food, clothing, and medicinal powder, she still needed some money on hand in case of unexpected need. For instance, if she accidentally sprained her muscles or bones while training, she would need to buy some high-quality medicine for tendon and bone injuries.

Earlier, Chen Mu had asked someone to deliver several dozen taels of silver to Chen Yue.

Things had been relatively poor then. Now that he was finally a little more well-off, he planned to personally make a trip to the Inner City and give these twenty Gold Leaves to Chen Yue, so she would not find herself in an especially difficult situation.

Two hundred taels of silver seemed like a lot, but in truth, it was nothing much on Chen Yue's side. After all, those able to enter the Yu Family Martial Hall to study martial arts were either direct or collateral members of the Yu Family, outside forces with some standing like Min Baoyi, or wealthy households with fortunes beyond measure. To them, several hundred taels of silver was merely a sprinkle of water.

Thus, he was not worried that this small sum would cause Chen Yue any trouble.

After making some simple preparations.

Chen Mu changed into plain clothes, though he still hung his Yamen Saber at his side. Then he took the Gold Leaves and left home, heading for the Inner City.

It was also his first visit to see her in nearly five months. After so long, the little girl's resentment toward him had probably become like the surging river, endless and unbroken.