Everyone Marveled! Martial Arts Enhancement!

The setting sun burned like fire at the horizon, crimson stretching across the clouds.

The lingering glow blanketed the Hu Family estate, making it seem particularly desolate.

Just then, hurried footsteps shattered the estate's silence.

Xue She charged in at the forefront, leading Wu Cai and the other head constables into the Hu Family estate. Behind them came Zhou Heng, sweat beading on his brow as he panted for breath, followed by the remaining constables.

The shock of the Wang Family's destruction last night had yet to fade. Who would have thought that not long after they had gone off duty today, news would arrive that the Hu Family had been wiped out as well?

The ordinary constables felt that what had happened in these past few days was more bizarre and eventful than their entire dozen-odd years of service.

"Brother Mu, we're here!!"

Before the man arrived, his voice did.

From far away, Wu Cai was already shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice brimming with concern.

Yet when they rushed into Hu Wanshan's small courtyard, everyone froze in place as though struck by a paralysis spell.

Sharp intakes of breath rose and fell one after another.

Blood stained the flagstones red, more glaring than the setting sun on the horizon. Unidentifiable chunks of flesh and shattered bowls and plates littered the ground.

Among them lay a male corpse torn in half at the waist. Judging by the jagged wound, it looked as though some immense force had ripped it apart alive.

It was utterly horrifying!

Mu Yang paid no mind to their shock. Holding the Black Gold Four-Edged Mace he had just obtained from the Hu Family treasury, he sat casually in a wooden chair, sipping freshly brewed tea.

If not for the dried dark-red bloodstains covering his black garments, the scene would truly have resembled some valiant young talent admiring the evening glow.

Zhou Heng swept his gaze across the courtyard. Seeing neither a monster's remains nor Hu Wanshan's corpse, only the body of an unfamiliar man, he immediately approached Mu Yang and asked in a low voice.

"Head Constable Mu, what happened here?"

If he did not know Mu Yang's character, he would truly have suspected that Mu Yang had disliked the Hu Family and exterminated them himself.

"Hu Wanshan's newly taken concubine was a Third Rank Fox Demon. She seemed to possess a means of bewitching people's hearts and turned Hu Wanshan into a mindless puppet."

"On the surface, they invited me to a banquet today. In truth, they wanted to ambush and kill me. I merely killed them instead."

Mu Yang's tone remained light and casual, as calm as if he were talking about what he had eaten that morning.

As he spoke, he pointed at the corpse torn in two. "Oh, and this man was also a martial artist bewitched by that Fox Demon. I killed him too."

Zhou Heng looked over, while Xue She also stepped up to the corpse and wiped the blood from its face.

"This is... Zhao Kui, 'Iron Hand'?"

Xue She appeared to recognize Zhao Kui, and his eyes filled with astonishment. "Two years ago, this man slaughtered all thirty-six members of the Zheng Family, a family of medicine merchants, in the neighboring county. He swept away countless amounts of money and medicinal herbs, and he's still on the wanted list. Who would have thought he had been hiding in the Hu Family!"

"Zhao Kui cultivated two High-Grade Martial Arts to Perfection. His Eagle-Claw Technique could even tear refined iron apart with his bare hands, yet a Fox Demon turned him into a puppet!"

Xue She sighed.

Zhao Kui was an exceptionally powerful Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection martial artist. Even in a one-on-one fight, Xue She could not guarantee victory.

Such an expert had actually been subdued by a Fox Demon.

More importantly, such a formidable Fox Demon had been taken down so easily by Mu Yang.

No, judging by Mu Yang's blood-covered appearance, it probably had not been all that easy.

Even his saber had shattered.

"No wonder we kept hearing over the past year that Hu Family descendants were dying sudden deaths and that servants in the estate disappeared at the drop of a hat. So the family had been controlled by a monster!" Zhou Heng murmured to himself, startled and still frightened by the thought.

Fortunately, the Fox Demon had chosen the Hu Family. Had it chosen the Zhou Family instead, Zhou Heng likely would not have ended up much better.

Listening to Xue She and Zhou Heng, Wu Cai stood to one side, dumbstruck with shock.

In the brief time since going off duty, Brother Mu had killed two Blood-Marrow Realm martial artists and a Third Rank Fox Demon powerful enough to control them?

As expected of Brother Mu. He was truly formidable!!

In the blink of an eye, the setting sun faded away.

Night had fallen.

Mu Yang changed into a clean set of fitted clothes. The Black Gold Four-Edged Mace, sheathed in a hard bamboo mace case, hung at his waist, while he carried a sack of gold and silver in one hand.

This was Mu Yang's share of the wealth after Zhou Heng and the others had finished confiscating the Hu Family's property.

Accompanied by the cool night breeze, Mu Yang soon entered his own small courtyard.

After returning home, Mu Yang shut the door. He casually placed the sack of gold and silver together with the one Zhou Heng had given him that morning, then took five thread-bound books from his robes and set them on the wooden table.

Swine-Elephant Technique, Thirty-Six Mace Techniques, Eagle-Claw Hand, Iron-Body Technique, and Dragon-Roaming Steps—all five martial arts were High-Grade Martial Arts.

He only needed four High-Grade Martial Arts to connect the muscles, tendons, and bones throughout his body and break through to Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection.

So here came the problem.

After equipping the Fox Demon Corpse, he only had three empty Equipment Slots left.

That was clearly not enough to equip four martial arts.

Mu Yang looked at the five martial arts and rapidly calculated in his heart.

Should he casually equip three martial arts and wait for some time before breaking through, or sacrifice the Blood Qi from one martial art and use the enhancement function to break through in one vigorous push today?

After pondering for a moment, Mu Yang made his decision.

[ Ding! Detected that the host has selected the enhancement target item—Thirty-Six Mace Techniques. Please select the materials required for enhancement: (), (), () ]

On the path of cultivation, every moment had to be fought for.

They were merely High-Grade Martial Arts. They were only useful to him at the moment, so there was no need to be stingy.

The reason he chose the mace techniques as the enhancement target was naturally because his current weapon was the Black Gold Four-Edged Mace.

As the enhancement interface appeared, Mu Yang waved his hand and placed Swine-Elephant Technique, Eagle-Claw Hand, and Dragon-Roaming Steps into the material slots.

[ Ding! Detected that the enhancement target is Third Rank, with the lowest attribute quality being white. The materials are Third Rank, with the lowest attribute quality being white. Enhancement conditions met. The quality of one attribute on the enhancement target will be increased! ]

Pale white particles drifted out from the three martial arts and gradually merged into Thirty-Six Mace Techniques.

A flash of blue light suddenly appeared.

[ Ding! Target item—Thirty-Six Mace Techniques has been enhanced. Attribute quality has increased! ]

[ Perfection (White) → Limit-Breaking (Blue) ]

Another reason Mu Yang had chosen to enhance Thirty-Six Mace Techniques was that this martial art had only one attribute.

There would be no chance of the enhancement going astray and wasting the martial art.

But what was Limit-Breaking?

Curious, Mu Yang looked toward the name that had changed along with the attribute's quality.

[ Equippable Item: Thirty-Six Mace Techniques +1 (High-Grade Martial Arts) ]

[ Rank: Third Rank ]

[ Equipment Effect: ① Limit-Breaking (Blue): The proficiency of the Thirty-Six Mace Techniques has reached a Limit-Breaking level beyond Perfection. When using mace-type weapons, they move as naturally as one's own arms and fingers, flexible and effortless. Furthermore, the power of mace technique moves is greatly increased. ]

[ Permanent Solidification Condition: Equip this item for ten full days, or while this item is equipped, kill any Third Rank or higher monster. ]

"When using mace-type weapons, they move as naturally as my own arms and fingers, and the power of the moves is greatly increased?"

It sounded incredibly powerful.

With a thought, Mu Yang immediately placed the enhanced +1 Thirty-Six Mace Techniques into an Equipment Slot.