Blue Grade

Inside the room.

Li Mu held Black Frost, silently honing his swordsmanship.

[Qi and Blood: 14.9↑ (exotic beast meat still being digested)]

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 553/1000 (proficient)]

During this period, nourished by the dried Black Mountain Wolf King meat, his cultivation of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual had raised his qi and blood at an astonishing pace, continually opening the acupoints in his legs.

As his qi and blood grew, his body's endurance steadily increased, and his cultivation speed rose from sixty proficiency points a day to seventy.

Having his sword transport slot taken from him did not affect Li Mu's state of mind. He had fought his way out from being a mere servant. Back then, he could not even understand the beginner's sword manual handed to him. He would never again feel that kind of despair. No situation, however harsh, could be worse than before.

His sparring partner changed from Guan Gu, with qi and blood at "11.7," to Jiao Yang, with "13.3 qi and blood."

With his Clear Sword Eyes, Li Mu was simply too good at spotting openings.

He even began trying to fight one against two, but he was quickly defeated.

Guan Gu and Jiao Yang were already shocked enough. They had never seen anyone at the first qi-and-blood stage dare to spar like this.

They reminded Li Mu that if he completely mastered the Water-Questioning Sword Manual, then with the agility of the fourth form, Dream Spring Tiger Run, combined with his ability to seize openings, he really could fight one against two.

Zhao Tuo, watching from the side, nodded and said:

"The gap within the first qi-and-blood stage isn't that great. If your speed can keep you facing only one opponent at a time and prevent the second person from interfering, then fighting one against two is possible."

"Speed requires powerful qi and blood to support it! Without formidable qi and blood, how could you bring your speed into play? So the stronger one's qi and blood, the faster one becomes. It may sound like nonsense, but in truth, it is the goal of every martial artist. That is why some say that under heaven, martial arts are invincible only through speed. In fact, anyone who can reach the ultimate in speed must also possess extremely powerful qi and blood."

Li Mu seemed to gain some insight.

Standing watch in the tower, patrolling at night, sparring, practicing swordsmanship, reviewing his battles, reading, studying maps.

Li Mu's life was exceptionally fulfilling. Every moment was filled with plans. He seized the time to learn about the forces he might come into contact with, while also investigating some of this world's secrets concerning demons and Sacred Buddha Temple.

Unfortunately, he found only scattered fragments. Much of it was clearly fabricated rumor.

The true secrets seemed to be concealed by an invisible hand.

Li Mu could sense that this world was truly far from simple, but with his current strength and status, he was still nowhere near able to come into contact with those matters.

Though his intelligence gathering had hit a wall, his strength continued to rise steadily.

Another seven days passed.

Moonlight spilled over the winding Spirit Ravine spring, scattering shimmering fragments of light.

Li Mu stood halfway up the mountain, sword in hand.

The proficiency of the third form of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual had finally filled.

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 1000/1000 (proficient)]

[Qi and Blood: 15.2↑ (exotic beast meat still being digested)]

By now, his qi and blood had already left Guan Gu and Jiao Yang far behind.

Compared to Tian Zeyi's qi-and-blood value of "15.6," he was only short by a mere 0.4.

With such qi-and-blood strength, among the newcomers of the four towers who had been there less than a year, he was already above average.

"The fourth form, Dream Spring Tiger Run..."

Li Mu closed his eyes as the cultivation principles of the fourth form of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual flashed through his mind.

The qi and blood throughout his body instantly divided, fifty percent flowing into his legs and fifty percent into his arms.

Whoosh.

His body suddenly moved.

He burst forth in an instant, like a yellow dragon emerging from the earth. He leaped ten paces and abruptly thrust out his sword.

Then he suddenly turned and leaped back, his figure vanishing in a flash.

Forward, backward, left, and right—four successive leaps, all completed in an instant.

Like a fierce tiger, he leaped wildly along the edge of the spring again and again. His body was swift as a ghost, impossible to catch, and every leap was a savage pounce.

Four sword strikes in succession, with thunderous roars and surging tides rising one after another!

The sword light blazed as though it would tear apart the night!

Clang!

Li Mu abruptly halted, sheathed his sword, and stood still. Black Frost reflected the moonlight, bright and dazzling.

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual: 1/2000 (minor mastery)]

"I can barely use the fourth form now. With this, my strength has entered the forefront among all household servants..."

Li Mu smiled. If he encountered a wolf pack again, he was confident that he could kill the lesser wolves even faster! Against the Black Mountain Wolf King, he would no longer be at a disadvantage either!

"Sword Talisman Space."

With a thought, Li Mu arrived before the Sword-Inquiring Platform.

[Water-Questioning Sword Manual has reached minor mastery and can be recorded]

The familiar message appeared, and Li Mu had already lifted his brush and begun writing.

Drops of cultivation insight fell from his brush tip. As he once more filled in omissions and corrected flaws, along with all the experiences from his previous sparring matches, Li Mu gained an even deeper understanding.

[Minor-mastery Water-Questioning Sword Manual recording complete. Sword Dao Talent +50.0]

[Sword Dao Talent: 200.0 (blue)]

In an instant, the green light and shadows on Evolution One's wall faded, replaced by a dazzling deep blue.

"My talent has finally risen to the blue grade." Joy filled Li Mu's heart.

He had already noticed that different talent grades corresponded to different tiers of sword manuals.

10.0 was white-grade talent, as well as the minimum talent needed to begin learning first-tier sword manuals.

50.0 was green-grade talent, also the minimum requirement for second-tier sword manuals.

Now, his talent had reached 200.0 and advanced to the blue grade.

That meant he could learn the most basic third-tier sword manuals.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any third-tier sword manuals on hand. Hidden Sword Manor controls martial arts extremely tightly. Unless I can borrow one from the Sword Canon Tower...

"But those who are not formal disciples cannot enter the Sword Canon Tower. I still do not have permission."

"Either I find a way through Steward Leng.

"Or I use the chance to enter the city and look for a sword manual."

The higher the grade of a sword manual, the stronger it was, and the more talent it could raise.

Having made up his mind, Li Mu withdrew from the Sword Talisman Space.

He discovered that his legs had become increasingly robust, as if all the nutrients were being poured into them.

Tempering all 720 acupoints throughout the body seemed to bring about such obvious physical strengthening.

But Li Mu was somewhat unsure how Leng Shuangyu and Ye Wanqing had managed to undergo so little change...

Perhaps female martial cultivators had other secrets to their cultivation.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Li Mu, the slot has been confirmed!" Zhao Tuo laughed loudly outside. His booming voice made the whole room tremble slightly. "We leave tomorrow!"

"My slot has been confirmed?"

Li Mu immediately rose and opened the door, inviting Zhao Tuo inside. He cut off two taels of precious Wolf King exotic beast meat and poured two bowls of rice wine.

Zhao Tuo seemed even happier than Li Mu.

This confirmed that Leng Shuangyu had successfully reclaimed the interests that belonged to Myriad Swords Tower, giving Myriad Swords Tower a small victory.

"Brother Tuo, you all put in a lot of effort." Li Mu raised his cup.

"We're brothers. No need for that. The outer city is far more chaotic than the inner city. I heard gangs are fighting over territory, so you must be careful and don't get dragged into it.

"If something happens, even if the experts accompanying the group from the manor go save you, they'll still think you don't follow the rules and cause trouble recklessly. Then you absolutely won't be able to become a formal disciple. Even if you break through the third and fourth stages, the Manor Lord and the others won't accept you..."

Zhao Tuo told Li Mu about several important places he could visit, as well as many rules, going into great detail.

Since becoming life-and-death friends with Li Mu, he had treated him like his own younger brother in every regard.

Li Mu remembered everything one by one and asked about the location of Azure River Academy.

Zhao Tuo's description made him yearn for Azure River City even more.

Though the world was chaotic, Azure River City was still fairly lively at present. There were many merchants from different regions and many martial artists passing through.

Li Mu believed this trip would certainly bring gains.

The next morning.

Li Mu followed the convoy out through the manor gates.

Immediately, ragged famine refugees climbed up from the ground around them, wanting to approach.

They had all seen the Third Manor Lord's carriage.

It was the only carriage drawn by two horses, and even its driver was a core disciple dressed in a silver-white sword robe.

That meant the person inside had to be an important noble.

If that noble showed them kindness, their circumstances might change.

But they were kept apart by the Night Watch Tower servants responsible for maintaining order.

The Azure-Edge Swords did not even need to leave their sheaths. The strength of the servants who had broken through the first stage was already enough to prevent them from crossing even a single step.

They could only cry out pitifully as they watched the convoy slowly depart.

Li Mu silently watched the scene and thought of how, four months ago, he had been just like them, struggling on the brink of life and death. Only after he had finally entered the manor as a servant and awakened the Great Expansion Sword Register had everything begun to change...

His circumstances had improved somewhat, but the world remained the same.

"In this world, the insignificant are like dying candles."

Li Mu silently suppressed that faint emotion and exchanged nods with Xing Yuanjia, who was leading the group.

A trace of warmth also appeared on Xing Yuanjia's ever-tense face.

He thought highly of Li Mu.

On this trip to Azure River City, he had also asked Li Mu to deliver a letter home for him.

While serving in the Night Watch Tower, it was not easy to return home even once.

The convoy set off at an unhurried pace.

The entire journey was calm. Let alone mountain bandits, they did not even encounter a single passerby.

Everyone relaxed and chatted. One household servant spoke up:

"There was once a merchant caravan from Azure River County. One time, they were transporting goods to Jiangnan Commandery and chatting along the way to relieve their boredom. Suddenly, someone jokingly said, 'As this group of ours keeps walking, perhaps another person will suddenly appear among us.'

"Everyone burst out laughing, treating it as nonsense. Then someone suddenly felt that something was wrong, as though there really was something extra. But when they carefully counted, the numbers matched.

"As they continued onward, that inexplicable feeling in everyone's hearts grew stronger and stronger, yet no one dared say it aloud...

"They all felt as though unfamiliar eyes were silently watching them from some corner of the group.

"But whenever they turned to look, there was nothing there... In the end, guess what happened?"

"It turned out it wasn't an extra person. It was an extra horse..."

Everyone liked such strange and supernatural tales. They found them interesting, and even chewing their dry rations became more enjoyable.

Li Mu walked at the very back with a Myriad Swords Tower servant, getting acquainted with him.

[Bu Zheng, Qi and Blood 17.8, Spirit 5.0, Sword Dao Talent: 37.5]

"Brother Bu, you've been practicing swordsmanship for three years?" Li Mu's gaze swept over his information. He felt that Bu Zheng would make a good sparring partner.

"Yes, three years. My talent is poor, and I don't have much money. Even now, I haven't managed to accumulate enough qi and blood to break through the second stage. Mainly, I haven't had luck as good as yours and Brother Tuo's. You went out once and hunted an exotic beast, and it was even high quality.

"My luck is terrible. Either I can't find exotic beasts, or all sorts of situations arise. I've even encountered exotic beasts I couldn't deal with and could only avoid from afar. Later, I gave up completely."

Bu Zheng was very envious. He too had come from hardship. To fight for a path forward, he had taken quite a few low-quality great medicines to break through stages, and now his progress had grown increasingly slow. If he had received nourishment from exotic beast meat like Black Mountain Wolf King meat back then, he might have chosen to temper his foundation and rely on himself to break through, instead of ending up where he was now.

"Your luck will change someday." Li Mu comforted him, while also sighing to himself. Hunting was dangerous, and he would not be going again anytime soon.

The two walked behind the convoy, drinking water and eating flatbread. They listened to the stories with great interest and chatted from time to time, never finding the journey dull.

"Brother Bu, have you noticed that there's one more person in the convoy?"

Li Mu casually counted heads, then suddenly realized something was wrong.