Talent

Skin Tempering Perfection?

No!

It was more than ordinary Skin Tempering Perfection. Even Xiao He had not faced the poisonous water so easily; despite taking the Poison Avoidance Pill she carried with her, a red mark had still remained. Yet there was almost no visible change in Chen Mu, the effects on him negligible.

This kind of skin membrane, which even poisonous water found difficult to erode, was something even ordinary people who cultivated Skin Tempering to Perfection could not attain. This was Copper Steel Skin, forged only by those blessed with extraordinary talent—the limit of the Skin Tempering realm.

Though Xiao He had followed Xu Hongyu out of the Inner City and seen all manner of exceptionally gifted people—some with astonishing comprehension, some born with Copper Skin—someone like Chen Mu, who had cultivated Skin Tempering to this extent in merely half a year, was still exceedingly rare in her memory. More importantly, Chen Mu's comprehension was not lacking either; he had even forged Saber Force!

"..."

Xiao He gave Chen Mu a deep look. Once she came back to herself, she did not immediately investigate further. Instead, she forcibly suppressed the shock in her heart and looked toward Qin Bei. "Head runner Qin, there's a survivor here. Interrogate him. The rest of you, search the area and see whether there are any other exits. Don't rush to release the prisoners yet."

Qin Bei was also somewhat astonished by Chen Mu's ferocity at this moment. Even he had not dared charge through the poisonous water as Xiao He had, yet Chen Mu had actually dared to slaughter his way into the Poisonous Water Squad's formation alongside her. That earned several degrees of Qin Bei's respect. Seeing that Xiao He seemed to be tending to the places on Chen Mu's body that had touched the poisonous water, he took a breath, strode forward, seized the surviving Poisonous Water Squad member, his eyes turning fierce, and dragged him aside for interrogation.

Under the orders, the other Yamen Runners also began carefully exploring the surroundings.

Only then did Xiao He walk aside with Chen Mu. Taking out a white pill, she handed it to him. "This is a Poison Avoidance Pill. It can dispel most toxins. Take one, and you should be fine."

"Thank you."

Chen Mu thanked her. Judging by how he felt, the poisonous water had basically been unable to penetrate his skin membrane and had been completely blocked outside. Still, taking a Poison Avoidance Pill for safety's sake was fine.

A short while later.

Qin Bei's interrogation yielded results. As a head runner specializing in interrogations, after questioning the man, he finally learned most of the details concerning the Black Crow Sect's main altar.

First, the main altar was divided into several areas. Aside from the central forbidden ground, there were four sections: the prison area, the storage area, the living quarters, and another section. The place they were currently in was the prison area, responsible for detaining people sent in from outside and drawing blood from some of them at regular intervals to send to the forbidden ground.

Apart from the route they had entered through, there were two other paths leading respectively to the living quarters and the forbidden ground. However, both paths had now been blocked. Their task had been to trap and eliminate Chen Mu's group.

After learning this.

Neither Chen Mu nor Xiao He panicked. Such mechanisms could at most trap them for a time. Just like the road they had come through, though it had been blocked, they only needed to spend some time to reopen it. Being trapped to death was impossible.

After a brief consideration, Xiao He had Qin Bei lead the Yamen Runners to quickly clear the passage leading to the forbidden ground.

At the same time.

Chen Mu received a report from a yamen runner saying that beyond the inner side of this prison area was another section, separated by thick iron plates. It was also a prison, but the cells there held only women.

He immediately followed the yamen runner over to inspect it. Inside a prison built from iron plates, about a dozen women were being held. They all appeared quite young, none older than twenty, and the anticipated sight of disheveled clothing had not appeared.

At this moment.

The women had all gathered together, their expressions agitated.

When they had first been captured, they thought they were to be trafficked into some pleasure district. The reality proved even more terrifying: they had been imprisoned underground, where neither sun nor sky could be seen. Though they had not suffered any violation, someone came every day to draw their blood. They lived each day in trembling fear, nearly despairing, until the City Guard's men had charged in—a ray of dawn shining into the depths of the earth.

Chen Mu swept his gaze over them roughly. His eyes paused on one woman, whose features seemed vaguely familiar, and he asked, "Zhang Youying?"

"Y-Yes... it's me."

Zhang Youying answered in a trembling voice from within the crowd.

She had not recognized Chen Mu. After all, she only retained a vague impression of him from when she had been very young and had not seen him since. Especially in a time like this, with Chen Mu approaching with saber in hand and an imposing aura, the nearby Yamen Runners all kept silent, not daring to say much.

Chen Mu looked her over and saw that Zhang Youying's mental state was still fairly good. He nodded faintly to himself, then looked at the yamen runner beside him and said in a deep voice, "Count them. Record their names. Guard them well!"

There was no rush to release them now. The outside was trapped as well, so they were safer inside this iron-plated prison. Once the Black Crow Sect had been thoroughly crushed, they could all be rescued together.

Compared with the prisoners outside, who were half-dead or had simply died in the previous rat swarm, the women here were in much better condition. They were likely given food and water each day.

"Yes, Lord Chen."

The nearby constable answered respectfully.

Chen Mu nodded, then turned and left.

Mixed among the crowd, Zhang Youying saw that the Yamen Runners were not opening the prison to let them out, and she was feeling deeply uneasy. Then, hearing the runner's reply to Chen Mu, she suddenly froze, as though something had occurred to her.

Was it him?

Yes.

Otherwise, why would he have specifically asked for her name?

Thinking back now, Chen Mu's appearance did indeed bear some resemblance to a fragment of her memories from long ago.

"..."

After determining that the man just now was Chen Mu, Zhang Youying finally relaxed a little. Since Chen Mu was here, there should be no problem. They would probably be rescued soon.

Only...

A thread of grievance rose quietly in her heart.

Chen Mu had asked her name, so he had surely recognized her, yet he had left without even saying another word or two to her.

She could not help thinking wistfully that if she had agreed when Chen Hong had once wanted to arrange a marriage between her and Chen Mu, perhaps things would not be like this now. Perhaps she would never have been captured and brought to such a place, forced to spend days in fear and dread.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Watching Chen Mu's departing figure, Zhang Youying ultimately said nothing.

Arriving before the passage leading to the forbidden ground.

They saw Qin Bei leading a group of Yamen Runners in clearing the passage. A massive pile of stones blocked it, but with several slashes from Qin Bei, the larger rocks shattered, and the Yamen Runners hurriedly carried the smaller pieces away.

"Did you find her?"

Xiao He looked at Chen Mu and asked.

The City Guard's investigation into the Black Crow Sect had begun because one of Chen Mu's relatives had gone missing. Following faint traces and clues all the way, they had eventually found their way to the Black Crow Sect. Xiao He usually helped Xu Hongyu handle all kinds of intelligence, so naturally she knew.

Chen Mu nodded. "Yes. She's fine."

"That's good."

Xiao He nodded slightly.

In truth, she knew even more, including who Zhang Youying was and how Chen Mu's third aunt, Chen Hong, had once wished to arrange a marriage between Zhang Youying and Chen Mu. Yet she merely shook her head faintly at that.

It had been only natural that the marriage had not worked out then. The ability and talent Chen Mu displayed now were simply not something a girl from an ordinary family like Zhang Youying could match. Not only was he steady of heart and astonishingly perceptive, his body was also blessed with extraordinary talent. In only half a year, he had cultivated a set of Copper Steel Skin.

Although Copper Steel Skin cultivated later in life like Chen Mu's was not as innately extraordinary as someone born with Copper Skin, what was rarest was that Chen Mu possessed comprehension as well... Most of the people born with Copper Skin whom she remembered had never comprehended "Force." Some had even entered the Tendon Transformation level and still lacked the Force of technique.

And among those who forged Force at a young age, very few also possessed Copper Steel Skin.

Without a doubt.

Although Chen Mu had begun cultivating the Body Tempering Method somewhat late and missed the best years, forging Copper Steel Skin in half a year had already made up for much of that. Moreover, he also possessed Saber Force. Once he entered the Tendon Transformation level in the future, he would be nearly invincible among those of the same realm.

With such talent and strength, he was even qualified to marry a daughter of the Yu Family.

At this thought.

Xiao He could not help sighing softly again, thinking of Xu Hongyu's father. Back then, he too had possessed astonishing talent. At nineteen, he had mastered two kinds of Sword Force; at twenty, he had entered the Yi Jin Realm, shocking the Yu Family. Later, he married Xu Hongyu's mother, who was also a direct daughter of the Yu Family. After Xu Hongyu was born, he had even let her take his surname, Xu.

Yet such a figure had ultimately vanished without a trace during an incident, disappearing ever since. To this day, no one knew whether he was alive or dead.

Otherwise, Xu Hongyu's status today would have been far higher. With such a figure holding up the heavens, the Yu Family would not have fallen into such a predicament of internal strife and external troubles over these past two years, struggling forward at every step.