Small Achievement

"What a pity... They were all promising seedlings."

Zhao Meng glanced at the four corpses on the ground. It truly was a pity.

Still, Cao A-Man, the one with the most potential, was unharmed. Besides, there were still seven more similarly promising ones.

He felt no great stir in his heart.

"Send them all out. This matter ends here. No one is to mention it again."

"But..." The other servants hesitated.

Looking around, the sword-wiping slaves all wore terrified expressions. Were they really not going to be given an explanation? Four people had been murdered in the dormitory building!

Tonight, likely none of these boys and girls, the oldest no more than eighteen, would sleep peacefully.

Several people's legs trembled uncontrollably. They lived in the rooms next to Wang Que and the others, their eyes filled with terror.

If they had returned a little earlier, then perhaps...

"Can't you tell? A beautiful woman brings disaster! Hurry up and dispose of the bodies!" Zhao Meng impatiently waved his hand.

In truth, many people thought the same. That fish-patterned bellyband had clearly been deliberately placed over Wang Que's face by the killer. There was something strange about it...

"What are you still standing around for?! The dead don't have to work. Do you lot not need to work tomorrow either?"

The four corpses were carried away, and everyone was scattered with a reprimand.

Zhao Meng grabbed a tall figure and headed outside.

Among the crowd slowly dispersing, quite a few people secretly revealed looks of satisfaction. Faint murmurs drifted through the air, barely audible—

"Serves them right." "That dog couple." "Now he can be Senior Brother in the underworld." "Damn it, he took so much of my silver, and what kind of guidance did he give me? I lost my money and still didn't get accepted..."

The resentment many had bottled up was finally released at this moment. Almost no one cared who the killer was.

However, the few who had been close to Wang Que were pale-faced and dared not say a word.

Li Mu took it all in and turned to go upstairs.

Just as he had expected, a major matter had been reduced to a minor one, then buried altogether.

Wang Que and the others did indeed have potential, but they were merely servants with potential.

Such servants could always be replaced by another batch.

"But just now, Zhao Meng pulled Zhao Tuo away with him, didn't he?"

"Big Brother, it really wasn't me."

Zhao Tuo was suddenly dragged back into the room. He immediately understood and hurriedly explained.

"I've completely cut things off with that bitch! I couldn't have killed them!"

"I never said it was you." Zhao Meng said flatly. "Still, without three to five years of swordsmanship experience, no one could have done it so decisively and precisely.

Did you see those wounds? The killer had brought the proficient-level sword momentum of Dripping Water Swordsmanship to its absolute limit.

Even I, or Steward Leng, probably couldn't have done any better."

"They were that skilled?" Zhao Tuo carefully recalled the wounds he had seen. Suddenly thinking of something, his heart turned cold. "Brother, could it have been someone from the Forging Sword Tower...?"

Zhao Meng nodded.

"Liu Yi was originally a bandit. After Mountain-Holding Vulture was wiped out several years ago, he voluntarily surrendered and came to the Forging Sword Tower of Hidden Sword Manor as an instructor. His talent for swordsmanship is indeed exceptional!

He's behaved himself these past few years, but if it was him, it wouldn't be surprising..."

"Brother, was he coming for me? Or for you?" Cold sweat poured down Zhao Tuo's back.

The woman he had been fooling around with in the laundry room turned out to be the lover of one of Liu Yi's good brothers. The woman had deliberately or unintentionally flaunted her figure before him, and he had failed to restrain himself...

"No matter what, this matter is over. If we don't pursue it, it will naturally pass and things will settle down.

Neither Leng Shuangyu nor Ye Wanqing will make a fuss over the lives of a few servants.

Still, you saw it for yourself. A beautiful woman brings disaster. You should wake up now."

Zhao Meng spoke in a deep voice.

As though awakening from a dream, Zhao Tuo thought of the miserable state of those corpses and shuddered. He quickly said, "Big Brother, I... I understand! From now on, I'll practice my swordsmanship properly and break through faster!"

"Mm..." Zhao Meng was comforted. "Remember, this is how the world works.

Without strength or status, you can only be slaughtered by others.

Wine, women, and fleeting pleasures are nothing but passing clouds. Could they possibly be more important than your life?"

"I will remember, Brother!"

Satisfied, Zhao Meng left. Rather than returning to his room, he headed for the central courtyard. He had to immediately report this matter to Steward Leng Shuangyu.

He did not notice at all that in the shadow beside the wall, a figure crouched there, blending into the night.

That figure was Li Mu.

When he saw Zhao Meng pull Zhao Tuo away earlier, seemingly to discuss something, he thought it over and still felt uneasy.

While the area was in chaos and everyone was unsettled, he put on a rain cape and went into the latrine beside the dormitory building. Then, under cover of the dark night, he quietly followed them.

The first time was unfamiliar, but the second was easy. This time, he hid himself even more carefully and was not discovered in the slightest.

"Liu Yi? An instructor from the Forging Sword Tower?"

Unexpectedly, after the two brothers analyzed the matter, they had ultimately pinned it on that man.

Someone was definitely going to carry this blame.

"I haven't practiced swordsmanship for three to five years..."

Thinking of Zhao Meng's assessment, Li Mu smiled.

Under cover of night, he returned to the dormitory building and came out through the public latrine beside it.

The entire building was being scrubbed inside and out with soapy water, and the smell was overpowering.

He casually took a bucket from someone and helped with the cleaning.

When that person recognized Li Mu, he was immediately startled. Li Mu was one of the few who had already entered the beginner level of swordsmanship!

Moreover, four people had died in a single night. Li Mu's chances of becoming a household servant had greatly increased. Before long, he might become someone this person could no longer afford to offend.

"Brother Mu, just go upstairs. How could I dare let you do this?"

"It's nothing. An extra pair of hands means we'll finish faster."

"Thank you, Brother Mu!"

Li Mu merely smiled without speaking. The young man smiled as well, thinking that Li Mu was quite a good person.

The faint bloodstains on the ground were thoroughly scrubbed away. Rainwater kept washing over them and flowed into the drains.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, it was late August.

The weather cleared. After the heavy rains, the temperature slowly began to rise again.

No one mentioned that night's events anymore.

Several new sword-wiping slaves arrived and happily moved into the rooms Wang Que and the others had left behind.

Li Mu had forced a bottle of bruise medicine on Hui Zhen, and Hui Zhen's hand had healed as well.

Gradually, everything returned to normal.

At the training ground.

"Clang! Clang! Clang..."

The ringing of metal echoed continuously as two iron swords repeatedly collided.

A gray figure and a white figure were sparring with swords. Both were tall and powerfully built, their attacks fierce.

Bang!

Suddenly, with a sharp tremor, the sword in Cao A-Man's hand flew free. He helplessly cupped his fists and said, "Instructor, I lost."

Zhao Meng smiled. "Not bad. Push yourself a little harder, and you'll be able to gain insight into proficient-level sword momentum."

He turned and swept his gaze across the field. "The remaining six of you will spar in pairs. You may switch partners often to practice more. Once you become very familiar with one another, you may appropriately use sword momentum, provided you ensure you don't injure your opponent.

"Also, the assessment date has been set. It will be held on the day of Frost's Descent, using a ranking battle point system. The top three will be selected.

"Steward Leng will personally preside over it then. Don't try any tricks. Fight seriously. If any issues are discovered, you will be expelled from the manor."

After saying that, he brought Cao A-Man aside to personally instruct him.

He did not even avoid the others while giving such personal instruction. Clearly, he thought very highly of Cao A-Man.

The others could not envy him too much. After all, Cao A-Man had been born with immense strength, and his swordsmanship progress was the fastest among them. It was only natural that he received special instruction.

Thus, they wasted no time and began forming pairs.

Li Mu began sparring with Hui Zhen.

"Blockhead, be careful."

Hui Zhen said this, his gaze turning serious as he immediately attacked.

Li Mu deliberately restrained his strength and blocked with some apparent difficulty, though his swordsmanship occasionally carried hints of guidance.

After every sparring session, Hui Zhen would always gain some insight and ask questions. Li Mu answered with a smile, guiding him rather than directly explaining.

Such sparring could also increase proficiency, so it was not a waste of time.

Li Mu also used this opportunity to thoroughly figure out the others' abilities.

He roughly determined how much strength he needed to use to ensure victory without appearing too outstanding.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Suddenly, a series of air explosions sounded in the distance, drawing everyone's attention.

Li Mu immediately saw that Cao A-Man had broken through during his sparring and entered the proficient level.

Zhao Meng laughed in relief. "At last, someone has reached proficiency."

Joy filled Cao A-Man's face. No one knew how much pressure he had endured on the night Wang Que had died so miserably.

He might be simple, but he was not stupid. He had clearly seen Wang Que's gruesome state and heard Zhao Meng's assessment. He knew that ruthless person was truly terrifying!

He had been afraid—terrified of being implicated.

Fortunately, things had remained peaceful during this period. His heart had gradually calmed, allowing him to break through today.

"Cao A-Man reached proficiency. Having the instructor personally spar with him really is nice." "Sparring is only one part of it. The main reason is his talent. He's always been ahead of us." "We need to work harder. If we don't reach proficiency, we won't even qualify for the assessment..."

The others could not help discussing it, feeling both envious and anxious.

Hui Zhen held his sword at one side, making gestures as he immersed himself in pondering the guidance Li Mu had revealed, intentionally or otherwise, during their earlier sparring.

Li Mu's gaze seemed to be directed toward Cao A-Man, but he did not actually care. He was staring at the Sword Register panel.

[Blood Qi: 7.8↑]

[Dripping Water Swordsmanship: 976/1000 (Proficient)]

"Tonight, I'll reach minor achievement. My Blood Qi is getting closer and closer to '9.'"

Cao A-Man had an innate advantage in Blood Qi and possessed high talent in the sword path, but Li Mu was already close to catching up.

During this period, he could feel the acupoints in both his arms gradually opening.

Both arms had grown faintly more muscular than before, and his strength had increased to the point where he could lift a sixty-five-jin stone lock with one hand.

If he successfully broke through to the minor achievement level, crushing Cao A-Man would be no problem.

Beneath an enormous ancient banyan tree, cicadas chirped continuously as a figure practiced sword strikes with rhythmic precision.

Suddenly, the figure stopped.

[Dripping Water Swordsmanship: 1000/1000 (Proficient)]

[Blood Qi: 7.9↑]

Li Mu relaxed slightly. He had finally reached the bottleneck of minor achievement-level sword momentum.

"Next, I need to unleash twelve thrusts in one breath with overwhelming speed and force. Each sword strike must tremble three times, creating thirty-six sword shadows, transforming Fine Rain Flying into Violent Wind and Sudden Rain..."

The instant his proficiency reached its limit, Li Mu closed his eyes.

The method to reach the minor achievement level of Dripping Water Swordsmanship poured into his mind like flowing water.

His eyes snapped open. His left hand formed a sword finger while his right tightly gripped the wooden sword. He suddenly stepped into a bow stance and thrust wildly forward!

He mobilized the Blood Qi throughout his body to its utmost limit. Every acupoint in his arms surged with force. In an instant, countless principles of exerting strength perfectly converged into one sword strike, condensed in one arm.

Dozens of sword shadows bloomed.

The sound of air being torn apart rang out without end.

The astonishing sword momentum seemed to punch straight through the air...

Dust rose from the ground, while fallen leaves were blasted in all directions, only to be smashed into powder the moment they reached midair.

The power surging from the acupoints in his arms had yet to fade. The wooden sword hummed endlessly in his hand, as though a sudden rainstorm had just ceased but its lingering force remained.

On the Sword Register, the words indicating the proficiency of Dripping Water Swordsmanship first blurred, then became clear.

[Dripping Water Swordsmanship: 1/2000 (Minor Achievement)]