Talent Breaks One Hundred

"Wooden Buddha statues from the Sacred Buddha Temple? Never seen one."

"The ruined temple where this little monk used to stay worshipped a headless Buddha statue. Master had no money to repair it, so I never even knew what Buddha I was praying to. Master only said that as long as there was a Buddha in one's heart, that was enough..."

At dinner, Li Mu once again asked Hui Zhen about the Sacred Buddha Temple.

He had thought that, as someone who had once been a monk, Hui Zhen would know something about it.

Instead, Hui Zhen was utterly clueless.

He began lamenting something else instead.

"Fan Rong was killed by a thief last night. Did you know? That's why they searched everywhere."

So they were claiming it was the thief's doing... Li Mu remained silent and did not correct him. Let the matter end there.

"Cao A-Man left too... Of the new recruits at Myriad Swords Tower, only us two are left. Brother Tuo even specifically brought me a pound of Red-Scaled Python meat today and told me to work hard. He must have given you even more, right?"

"Yeah, two pounds."

"Only two pounds?! If I were in charge, I'd give you ten! That way, you could break through faster and beat the new servants from the other four towers until they were crawling around looking for their teeth at the year-end martial arts tournament."

Hui Zhen was not jealous. Instead, he felt it was unfair to Li Mu and said indignantly, "You should've seen Instructor Liu Yi from the Forging Sword Tower this morning. He looked down on everyone else, as though other than Cao A-Man, they were all worthless mediocrities. This little monk can't help it, but you're different, Wooden One. Your understanding of swordsmanship is even better than Instructor Zhao's. You definitely have talent. If the meat isn't enough, take some from me. Break through sooner and make them see you in a new light!"

Hui Zhen had long been holding back a breath of anger—anger born from his background, his talent, and the contempt of others. Liu Yi had merely ignited it.

Yet he knew his own limits. He knew he did not have the ability to change his fate.

But his only good brother had that potential!

The little monk was more than willing to give Li Mu his own share to help him along.

After all, when Hui Zhen was in trouble, Li Mu truly helped him. The guidance Li Mu had given him was something he could never repay if priced according to Wang Que's rates. On the day of the arena match, Li Mu had even risked offending Fan Rong to vent his anger for him.

Yet even now, Li Mu had only eaten a few bites of meat. He had not taken a single coin of the promised silver.

For such a close friend, what reason was there not to help with all his strength?

At once, he took out some dried meat and handed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu was not about to snatch this little bit of dried meat from him...

"I have enough. Don't worry about me. Didn't you want to take revenge with your own hands? Eat more good food and break through sooner."

Li Mu shook his head with a smile and patted Hui Zhen on the shoulder. "Little monk, don't let it come to me covering you from the rear while you don't even dare step up and cut off their heads."

"Who are you looking down on, Benefactor Li Mu?" Hui Zhen smiled, but determination shone in his eyes. He had always trained in silence too; he simply had not improved as rapidly as Li Mu.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Inside the small house.

The youth in white swung his sword sideways. His strike seemed to draw in thunder, releasing a rumbling thunderclap.

Then he suddenly chopped downward, like cleaving through waves and splitting the sea—a single sword severing a river tide! Roaring waves thundered in its wake!

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 1/500 (Beginner)]

"It worked. The first form of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual."

Li Mu smiled.

After three days of relentless training that pushed him beyond his limits, he had finally entered the beginner stage and mastered the first form.

The cultivation method for the second form, Moon-Severing over a Calm Lake, also appeared in his mind.

Unlike the Dripping Water Swordsmanship, the sword force of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual gathered upon the blade, making the weapon sharper and tougher.

Yet when that force struck, it could truly produce a mysterious illusion, capable of intimidating an enemy's mind.

"It's time to improve my talent. I wonder how much a single recording of a green-grade sword manual can raise it."

A thought crossed Li Mu's mind.

His vision blurred, and the Sword Talisman Space appeared before him, surrounded by sword shadows that filled the heavens.

The moment his consciousness entered, he sensed a message.

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual has reached the Beginner stage and can be recorded]

Li Mu sat before [Evolution Two: Sword-Inquiring Platform] and began copying it down.

His insights from cultivating the first beginner-level form of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual became pages upon pages of sword manual records in the blink of an eye.

A moment later.

[Beginner-level Water-Questioning Sword Manual fully recorded. Sword Dao talent +50.0]

"It actually added 50 points!" Li Mu was shocked, nearly thinking he had heard wrong.

Looking carefully, the Sword Register information had changed dramatically.

[Sword Dao talent: 100.0 (Green)]

Now he could confirm it. Each recording increased his talent according to the minimum talent requirement for entering the beginner stage.

His talent had now surpassed that of who knew how many people!

"If I fully record the Water-Questioning Sword Manual, could my talent rise by another 150?"

Li Mu's heart trembled. What kind of concept was 250 points of Sword Dao talent? It was five times greater than Leng Shuangyu's...

A smile appeared on his face.

His talent might be poor, but he could continually improve it. One day, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with heaven's favored geniuses!

After leaving the Sword Talisman Space, he immediately practiced the second form of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual once. Sure enough, his proficiency gain had increased to 2 points each time.

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 3/500 (Beginner)]

Still, his qi and blood were insufficient, and the strain was immense. With his current physique, he could only practice ten times a day.

He was far from satisfied with that speed. He had to break through as soon as possible.

An oil lamp quietly cast its light upon the white-clothed youth's face.

[Qi and blood: 9.9↑ (exotic beast meat digesting)]

Li Mu sat at the table, his fingers continuously tapping its surface.

Watching his qi and blood remain completely still, he felt a faint sense of helplessness.

He could already clearly sense that only two crucial acupoints in his arms remained unopened. Whenever he practiced swordsmanship, the qi and blood he mobilized with all his strength constantly battered those two barriers.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not break through them.

The medicinal effects of the Meridian-Loosening Powder had already been fully absorbed. He still had exotic beast meat, and the status had continually shown improvement, but there was no actual result.

Now, he could understand what Zhao Meng had once said.

Breaking through with qi and blood really was difficult.

Moreover, he could sense that faint impurities from the two packets of medicine remained in his body.

Using medicine to pile up qi and blood truly came with hidden dangers. As they accumulated, minor issues would become major problems.

"It seems Meridian-Loosening Powder, exotic beast meat, and martial arts training alone aren't enough to break through this shackle."

"In the end, do I still have to use that strand of sword qi..."

Li Mu entered the Sword Talisman Space and looked at the strand of white sword qi slowly floating and circling within [Evolution Four: Sword-Storage Pool].

This was his only strand of sword qi, comparable to a great medicine. It could temper qi and blood, break through shackles, and refine the spirit.

At present, this strand of sword qi was extremely precious to him. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to use it.

But now, he had no choice.

If he waited any longer, there likely would be no result.

After all, both his innate physique and talent were poor.

His consciousness walked to the Sword-Storage Pool and reached out to touch it. Immediately, a message appeared.

[One strand of white sword qi. Can temper the body and refine the spirit]

"Temper my body."

"Break through for me, no matter what!"

With a thought, the strand of sword qi leapt out like a fish-dragon, shooting into Li Mu's body in an instant.

His entire consciousness was jolted out of the Sword Talisman Space at once.

[Qi and blood: 9.9↑ (sword qi tempering body, exotic beast meat digesting)]

The moment Li Mu sensed that message, a wrenching pain suddenly erupted throughout his body.

It felt as though countless tiny swords were continuously cutting him apart.

It was agony like being sliced to death!!

Li Mu's face turned pale. Sweat poured from his entire body as he snatched up a towel and bit down on it fiercely, stopping himself from crying out.

If this drew anyone's attention, it would be troublesome!

He could only endure. He had to endure!

This breakthrough had to succeed!

Li Mu thrust both hands into the floor, even tearing through the floorboards with his bare fingers...